Research

Dissertation: Trauma Perspectives  

I am currently writing a dissertation under the supervision of Carl Craver, and will be graduating in May 2023 from Washington University in St. Louis, with a PhD in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology (PNP). My research revolves around trauma: What is trauma? Who determines what counts as a "traumatic experience" and what doesn't? Can entire groups be traumatized? 

Philosophical Papers

"The Levels Metaphor and the Implicit/Explicit Distinction" (2022)

Judith Carlisle 

In Routledge Handbook of Philosophy and Implicit Cognition, edited by J. Robert Thompson.

Abstract: Are explicit mental states at a “higher level” than implicit mental states? Many philosophers and cognitive scientists have assumed that the explicit/implicit distinction implies that there are distinct levels of cognition – and that developing our understanding of levels could clarify the nature of the implicit/explicit distinction. Others have suggested that this assumption is unfounded – that explicit and implicit mental states are on the same level. What are the arguments used to support each side of this debate? Here I will taxonomize these arguments while attempting to clarify two questions as they arise within this debate. First, what is the sense of level in play? Is it levels of organization? Or levels of complexity, processing, or sophistication? Is it perhaps best explicated by reference to Marr’s division of the computational, algorithmic, and implementational levels? Second, what is the central contrast between the explicit and the implicit? Is it between the conscious and the unconscious? The intentional and the unintentional? The rational and the automatic? Answering these questions will hopefully clarify the nature of this debate and show where the true disagreement lies.

"Microbiota, Symbiosis and Individuality Summer School Meeting Report" (2020) 

Isobel Ronai, Gregor P. Greslehner, Federico Boem, Judith Carlisle, Adrian Stencel, Javier Suárez, Saliha Bayir, Wiebke Bretting, Joana Formosinho, Anna C. Guerrero, William H. Morgan, Cybèle Prigot-Maurice, Salome Rodeck, Marie Vasse, Jacqueline M. Wallis & Oryan Zacks 

In Microbiome 8 (1): 117. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-020-00898-7.

Abstract: How does microbiota research impact our understanding of biological individuality? We summarize the interdisciplinary summer school on “Microbiota, symbiosis and individuality: conceptual and philosophical issues” (July 2019), which was supported by a European Research Council starting grant project “Immunity, DEvelopment, and the Microbiota” (IDEM). The summer school centered around interdisciplinary group work on four facets of microbiota research: holobionts, individuality, causation, and human health. The conceptual discussion of cutting-edge empirical research provided new insights into microbiota and highlights the value of incorporating into meetings experts from other disciplines, such as philosophy and history of science.

(Under Review): "The Episodic Memory Question"

Abstract: This paper considers the Episodic Memory Question, which asks about the significance of episodic memory in the development of psychological trauma. Many accounts of trauma reasonably assume that traumatic memories play a central role in defining and explaining trauma. In this paper, I outline two of these accounts—due to Bessel van der Kolk and Avishai Margalit—before offering a series of counterexample cases in which episodic memory does not seem to play the central role that either of these accounts specify. These counterexamples, I conclude, have important philosophical implications for our definition and explanation of trauma, as well as clinical implications for specific rare cases of trauma. 

Empirical Papers

“Effect of Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial” (2022)

Yoni K. Ashar; Alan Gordon; Howard Schubiner; Christie Uipi; Karen Knight; Zachary Anderson; Judith Carlisle; Laurie Polisky; Stephan Geuter; Thomas F. Flood; Philip A. Kragel; Sona Dimidjian; Mark A. Lumley; Tor D. Wager 

In JAMA Psychiatry 79 (1): 13–23. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.2669.

Media related to the project:

“Body Size and Symbiotic Status Influence Gonad Development in Aiptasia Pallida Anemones.” (2017)

Judith F. Carlisle, Grant K. Murphy, and Alison M. Roark. 

In Symbiosis 71 (2):121–27. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13199-016-0456-1

Representative histological sections of sampled anemones: 

a) Female symbiotic anemone with oocytes present; b) male symbiotic anemone with sperm follicles present; c) magnified inset of panel a; d) magnified inset of panel b; e) female aposymbiotic anemone with no oocytes present; f) male aposymbiotic anemone with no sperm follicles present. Anemones were sectioned at 7 μm and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Scale bar = 1 mm. Abbreviations: CM = complete mesentery, DMs = directive mesenteries, IM = incomplete mesentery, MF = mesenterial filament, Os = oocytes, S = siphonoglyph, SFs = sperm follicles, TM = tertiary mesentery