A child’s death is a profound loss for mothers and affects hundreds of thousands of women. Mothers report inconsolable and progressive grief that is distinct from depression and impacts daily emotions and functions. The brain mechanisms responsible for this relatively common and profound mental health problem are unclear, hampering its clinical recognition and care. In an initial exploration of this condition, we used resting state functional MRI (fMRI) scans to examine functional connectivity in key circuits, and task-based fMRI to examine (...) brain network activity in grieving mothers in response to pictures of their deceased child and as well as recognizable deceased celebrities and unfamiliar individuals. We compared nine mothers who had lost an adult child and aged-matched control mothers with a living child of a similar age. Additionally, we collected diffusion imaging scans to probe structural connectivity and complemented the imaging studies with neuropsychological assessments. Increased functional activation in Ventral Attention/Salience Networks accompanied by a reduced activation in the medial prefrontal cortex in response to the deceased child’s picture robustly distinguished the grieving mothers from controls. Heightened resting-state functional connectivity between the paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PVT) and the amygdala distinguished the grieving mothers from the controls and correlated with subjective grief severity. Structurally, maternal grief and its severity were associated with alterations in corticolimbic white matter tracts. Finally, grieving mothers performed worse than controls on neuropsychological tests of learning, memory, and executive function, linked with grief severity. Reduced activation in cortical regions inhibiting emotions and changes in the PVT circuitry—a region involved in long-term emotional memories and decision making under conflict—distinguish grieving mothers from controls. Notably, the magnitude of neurobiological changes correlates with the subjective severity of grief. Together, these new discoveries delineate a prevalent and under-recognized mental health syndrome and chart a path for its appreciation and care. (shrink)

For human interaction, it is important to understand what emotional state others are in. Especially the observation of faces aids us in putting behaviours into context and gives insight into emotions and mental states of others. Detecting whether someone is nervous, a form of state anxiety, is such an example as it reveals a person’s familiarity and contentment with the circumstances. With recent developments in computer vision we developed behavioural nervousness models to show which time-varying facial cues reveal whether someone (...) is nervous in an interview setting. The facial changes, reflecting a state of anxiety, led to more visual exposure and less chemosensory (taste and olfaction) exposure. However, experienced observers had difficulty picking up these changes and failed to detect nervousness levels accurately therewith. This study highlights humans’ limited capacity in determining complex emotional states but at the same time provides an automated model that can assist us in achieving fair assessments of so far unexplored emotional states. (shrink)

Respecting patients’ rights is a fundamental aspect of providing quality healthcare. The present investigation attempts to explore the awareness among patients about their rights in a coastal township in India. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 215 patients admitted to the wards of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Mangalore. Awareness among patients regarding their rights varied for various issues and ranged between 48.4 and 87.4 %. Awareness about patients’ rights was independent of gender, socio-economic and educational status. (...) Doctors were found to be the most common source of information for patient’s about their rights in the study. Doctors must conform to the relevant legislations and involve patients in all aspects of healthcare. There is a need to increase awareness among patients about their rights to ensure informed decisions and better health care services. (shrink)

The ritual tympanum of the god Mithra has no clear interpretation to date. In particular, the animals under the bull remain mysterious. If they have been considered as representations of certain constellations, this esoteric hypothesis remains disputed. Could the god Mithra, symbol of the Roman army, be attracted by the stars? Another hypothesis is to consider this religion as pragmatic. These small animals would be familiar to the Romans. They would symbolise trust. To understand Mithra, don't we (...) have to change our way of seeing the Roman mentality? (shrink)

Mithras—Miθra—Mitra: Der römische Gott Mithras aus der Perspektive der vergleichenden Religionsgeschichte. By Jaan Lahe. Kasion, vol. 3. Münster: Zaphon, 2019. Pp. 271, 30 pls. €88.

This paper examines several passages in which Nietzsche considers burgeoning Christianity’s relationship to the secretive “mystery cults” that flourished alongside the official state religions of ancient Rome. The purpose of this paper is four-fold. i) To shed light on an unexplored aspect of Nietzsche’s philosophy. ii) To explore the intellectual reality behind some of his specific charges concerning Pauline Christianity’s indebtedness to the ancient Mithras cult. iii) To assess the validity of several of Nietzsche’s accusations in this area in light (...) of more recent scholarship. iv) To contrast the middle-period Nietzsche’s treatment of this theme with several of his end-of-career ruminations. I make the case that while some of his later claims concerning this topic are indeed exaggerated, they nonetheless reveal remarkable insight into a fascinating aspect of late antiquity. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Klio Jahrgang: 96 Heft: 1 Seiten: 183-217.

The traditional grand narrative correlating the decline of Graeco-Roman religion with the rise of Christianity has been under pressure for three decades. This book argues that the alternative accounts now emerging significantly underestimate the role of three major cults, of Cybele and Attis, Isis and Serapis, and Mithras. Although their differences are plain, these cults present sufficient common features to justify their being taken typologically as a group. All were selective adaptations of much older cults of the Fertile Crescent. It (...) was their relative sophistication, their combination of the imaginative power of unfamiliar myth with distinctive ritual performance and ethical seriousness, that enabled them both to focus and to articulate a sense of the autonomy of religion from the socio-political order, a sense they shared with Early Christianity. The notion of 'mystery' was central to their ability to navigate the Weberian shift from ritualist to ethical salvation. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft Jahrgang: 25 Heft: 2 Seiten: 233-262.

A paperback reprint of the work in which Cumont shows "how and why a certain Mazdean sect failed under the Caesars to become the dominant religion of the empire."--A. C. P.

A study on the complex relationship between Platonism and the East, and on the Neoplatonic interpretations of some eastern cults in the Roman world, including Isis, Magna Mater, Mithras, and Sol Invictus.

Introduction: becoming a philosopher -- Traveling South -- A stateless man's passport -- Night train through Mont Cenis -- The camels of Pisa -- Naples: first revelation of the South -- "The school of educators" at the Villa Rubinacci -- Richard Wagner in Sorrento -- The monastery of free spirits -- Dreaming of the dead -- Walks on the land of the sirens -- The carnival of Naples -- Mithras at Capri -- Sorrentiner papiere -- Rée-alism and the chemical combinations (...) of atoms -- The logic of dreams -- An epicurean in Sorrento -- Sacred music on an African background -- The sun of knowledge and the ground of things -- The blessed isles -- The bells of Genoa and Nietzschean epiphanies -- Epiphanies -- The value of human things -- Crossed geneses -- The azure bell of innocence -- Zarathustra's night song -- Epilogue to the bell -- Torna a Surriento. (shrink)

This is the first book to describe and explain all of the ancient world's major mystery cults--one of the most intriguing but least understood aspects of Greek and Roman religion. In the nocturnal Mysteries at Eleusis, participants dramatically re-enacted the story of Demeter's loss and recovery of her daughter Persephone; in the Bacchic cult, bands of women ran wild in the Greek countryside to honor Dionysus; and in the mysteries of Mithras, men came to understand the nature of the universe (...) and their place within it through frightening initiation ceremonies and astrological teachings. These cults were an important part of life in the ancient Mediterranean world, but their actual practices were shrouded in secrecy, and many of their features have remained unclear until now. By richly illustrating the evidence from ancient art and archaeology, and drawing on enlightening new work in the anthropology and cognitive science of religion, Mystery Cults of the Ancient World allows readers to imagine as never before what it was like to take part in these ecstatic and life-changing religious rituals--and what they meant to those who participated in them. Stunning images of Greek painted pottery, Roman frescoes, inscribed gold tablets from Greek and South Italian tombs, and excavated remains of religious sanctuaries help show what participants in these initiatory cults actually did and experienced. A fresh and accessible introduction to a fascinating subject, this is a book that will interest general readers, as well as students and scholars of classics and religion. (shrink)

In this chapter, typical examples of methodological individualism explanation are borrowed from Raymond Boudon’s writings. They respectively aim at answering the following questions:Why did Athens’ allies defect in the Peloponnesian War?When does social organization aim at eliminating unintended effects?Why does the rule of unanimity often prevail in traditional village societies?Why do members of an unorganized group tend to defect?Why are collective powers often governed by the iron law of oligarchy?Why did capitalist agriculture develop much more slowly in France than in (...) England in the eighteenth century?Why has the immoral character of interest lending disappeared in modern societies?Why is there no socialism in the United States?Why do economic booms seem to be associated with higher suicide rates?Why does the diffusion of an innovation follow a chain reaction process in situations where interpersonal influence is greater?Why were Mithra cult and Freemasonry, respectively, successful in Ancient Rome and modern Prussia?Why were the peasants in ancient Rome hostile to monotheism?Why did the French intellectuals of the late eighteenth century worship Reason?Why did Indian peasants not adopt the birth control measures advocated by the Indian administration?Why do conflicts between employees in a Taylorized firm tend to be more violent? (shrink)

Sunlight carried an extensive tapestry of significance in Mithraism, indicating divine strength, illumination, spiritual rebirth, and ethical instruction. It was a deep metaphor for the riddles of life, death, and the search for heavenly understanding, not just a physical phenomenon. With its sophisticated rituals and symbolic language, the Mithraic Mysteries employed sunlight as a potent tool to transmit spiritual concepts and assist initiates on their transformational journey from the dark into the bright light of Mithras. While Mithraism’s exact practices have (...) mostly gone into history, the symbolic importance of sunshine in this ancient religion remains brilliant in religious studies, shedding light on the continuing human yearning for spiritual illumination and enlightenment. One of the most prominent and recurring symbols in Mithraism was sunlight, which held deep symbolic meaning for its practitioners. In this paper, we will explore the significance of sunlight in Mithraism, examining how it represented various aspects of this enigmatic faith. This study investigates the symbolic meaning of sunshine in the context of Mithraism, examining its various interpretations and functions in this mysterious faith’s spiritual and intellectual landscape. (shrink)

L’article étudie plusieurs aspects des sortilèges divinatoires des papyrus magiques de l’Égypte romaine. D’abord, il soutient que les limites entre la magie et la divination sont estompées, la divination étant une pratique magique comme les autres. Ensuite, il analyse la complexité des éléments qui configurent ces sortilèges et recettes divinatoires, ainsi que la pratique magique en général : les prêtres et l’activité des temples, les risques d’un entourage hostile, la considération positive de ces prêtres pendant ces siècles en certains milieux, (...) le nouveau profil des « prêtres-lecteurs » et les types de divination pratiqués. Il ajoute quelques remarques à propos des particularités de deux textes complexes, la « Liturgie de Mithra » et la « Kosmopoiia de Leiden ». (shrink)