A Psychological Experiment on the Correspondence between Colors and Voiced Vowels in Non-synesthetes'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyahara, Tomoko; Koda, Ai; Sekiguchi, Rikuko; Amemiya, Toshihiko

In this study, we investigated the nature of cross-modal associations between colors and vowels. In Experiment 1, we examined the patterns of synesthetic correspondence between colors and vowels in a perceptual similarity experiment. The results were as follows: red was chosen for /a/, yellow was chosen for /i/, and blue was chosen for /o/ significantly more than any other vowels. Interestingly this pattern of correspondence is similar to the pattern of colored hearing reported by synesthetes. In Experiment 2, we investigated the robustness of these cross-modal associations using an implicit association test (IAT). A clear congruence effect was found. Participants responded faster in congruent conditions (/i/ and yellow, /o/ and blue) than in incongruent conditions (/i/ and blue, /o/ and yellow). This result suggests that the weak synesthesia between vowels and colors in non-synesthtes is not the fact of mere conscious choice, but reflects some underlying implicit associations.

Crossmodal Congruency Benefits of Tactile and Visual Signalling

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-11-12

modal information format seemed to produce faster and more accurate performance. The question of learning complex tactile communication signals...SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: We conducted an experiment in which tactile messages were created based on five common military arm and hand signals. We...compared response times and accuracy rates of novice individuals responding to visual and tactile representations of these messages, which were

Distinct Olfactory Cross-Modal Effects on the Human Motor System

PubMed Central

Rossi, Simone; De Capua, Alberto; Pasqualetti, Patrizio; Ulivelli, Monica; Falzarano, Vincenzo; Bartalini, Sabina; Passero, Stefano; Nuti, Daniele

2008-01-01

Background Converging evidence indicates that action observation and action-related sounds activate cross-modally the human motor system. Since olfaction, the most ancestral sense, may have behavioural consequences on human activities, we causally investigated by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) whether food odour could additionally facilitate the human motor system during the observation of grasping objects with alimentary valence, and the degree of specificity of these effects. Methodology/Principal Findings In a repeated-measure block design, carried out on 24 healthy individuals participating to three different experiments, we show that sniffing alimentary odorants immediately increases the motor potentials evoked in hand muscles by TMS of the motor cortex. This effect was odorant-specific and was absent when subjects were presented with odorants including a potentially noxious trigeminal component. The smell-induced corticospinal facilitation of hand muscles during observation of grasping was an additive effect which superimposed to that induced by the mere observation of grasping actions for food or non-food objects. The odour-induced motor facilitation took place only in case of congruence between the sniffed odour and the observed grasped food, and specifically involved the muscle acting as prime mover for hand/fingers shaping in the observed action. Conclusions/Significance Complex olfactory cross-modal effects on the human corticospinal system are physiologically demonstrable. They are odorant-specific and, depending on the experimental context, muscle- and action-specific as well. This finding implies potential new diagnostic and rehabilitative applications. PMID:18301777

[Ventriloquism and audio-visual integration of voice and face].

PubMed

Yokosawa, Kazuhiko; Kanaya, Shoko

2012-07-01

Presenting synchronous auditory and visual stimuli in separate locations creates the illusion that the sound originates from the direction of the visual stimulus. Participants' auditory localization bias, called the ventriloquism effect, has revealed factors affecting the perceptual integration of audio-visual stimuli. However, many studies on audio-visual processes have focused on performance in simplified experimental situations, with a single stimulus in each sensory modality. These results cannot necessarily explain our perceptual behavior in natural scenes, where various signals exist within a single sensory modality. In the present study we report the contributions of a cognitive factor, that is, the audio-visual congruency of speech, although this factor has often been underestimated in previous ventriloquism research. Thus, we investigated the contribution of speech congruency on the ventriloquism effect using a spoken utterance and two videos of a talking face. The salience of facial movements was also manipulated. As a result, when bilateral visual stimuli are presented in synchrony with a single voice, cross-modal speech congruency was found to have a significant impact on the ventriloquism effect. This result also indicated that more salient visual utterances attracted participants' auditory localization. The congruent pairing of audio-visual utterances elicited greater localization bias than did incongruent pairing, whereas previous studies have reported little dependency on the reality of stimuli in ventriloquism. Moreover, audio-visual illusory congruency, owing to the McGurk effect, caused substantial visual interference to auditory localization. This suggests that a greater flexibility in responding to multi-sensory environments exists than has been previously considered.

Time-compressed spoken word primes crossmodally enhance processing of semantically congruent visual targets.

PubMed

Mahr, Angela; Wentura, Dirk

2014-02-01

Findings from three experiments support the conclusion that auditory primes facilitate the processing of related targets. In Experiments 1 and 2, we employed a crossmodal Stroop color identification task with auditory color words (as primes) and visual color patches (as targets). Responses were faster for congruent priming, in comparison to neutral or incongruent priming. This effect also emerged for different levels of time compression of the auditory primes (to 30 % and 10 % of the original length; i.e., 120 and 40 ms) and turned out to be even more pronounced under high-perceptual-load conditions (Exps. 1 and 2). In Experiment 3, target-present or -absent decisions for brief target displays had to be made, thereby ruling out response-priming processes as a cause of the congruency effects. Nevertheless, target detection (d') was increased by congruent primes (30 % compression) in comparison to incongruent or neutral primes. Our results suggest semantic object-based auditory-visual interactions, which rapidly increase the denoted target object's salience. This would apply, in particular, to complex visual scenes.

Coherent emotional perception from body expressions and the voice.

PubMed

Yeh, Pei-Wen; Geangu, Elena; Reid, Vincent

2016-10-01

Perceiving emotion from multiple modalities enhances the perceptual sensitivity of an individual. This allows more accurate judgments of others' emotional states, which is crucial to appropriate social interactions. It is known that body expressions effectively convey emotional messages, although fewer studies have examined how this information is combined with the auditory cues. The present study used event-related potentials (ERP) to investigate the interaction between emotional body expressions and vocalizations. We also examined emotional congruency between auditory and visual information to determine how preceding visual context influences later auditory processing. Consistent with prior findings, a reduced N1 amplitude was observed in the audiovisual condition compared to an auditory-only condition. While this component was not sensitive to the modality congruency, the P2 was sensitive to the emotionally incompatible audiovisual pairs. Further, the direction of these congruency effects was different in terms of facilitation or suppression based on the preceding contexts. Overall, the results indicate a functionally dissociated mechanism underlying two stages of emotional processing whereby N1 is involved in cross-modal processing, whereas P2 is related to assessing a unifying perceptual content. These data also indicate that emotion integration can be affected by the specific emotion that is presented. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visually induced gains in pitch discrimination: Linking audio-visual processing with auditory abilities.

PubMed

Møller, Cecilie; Højlund, Andreas; Bærentsen, Klaus B; Hansen, Niels Chr; Skewes, Joshua C; Vuust, Peter

2018-05-01

Perception is fundamentally a multisensory experience. The principle of inverse effectiveness (PoIE) states how the multisensory gain is maximal when responses to the unisensory constituents of the stimuli are weak. It is one of the basic principles underlying multisensory processing of spatiotemporally corresponding crossmodal stimuli that are well established at behavioral as well as neural levels. It is not yet clear, however, how modality-specific stimulus features influence discrimination of subtle changes in a crossmodally corresponding feature belonging to another modality. Here, we tested the hypothesis that reliance on visual cues to pitch discrimination follow the PoIE at the interindividual level (i.e., varies with varying levels of auditory-only pitch discrimination abilities). Using an oddball pitch discrimination task, we measured the effect of varying visually perceived vertical position in participants exhibiting a wide range of pitch discrimination abilities (i.e., musicians and nonmusicians). Visual cues significantly enhanced pitch discrimination as measured by the sensitivity index d', and more so in the crossmodally congruent than incongruent condition. The magnitude of gain caused by compatible visual cues was associated with individual pitch discrimination thresholds, as predicted by the PoIE. This was not the case for the magnitude of the congruence effect, which was unrelated to individual pitch discrimination thresholds, indicating that the pitch-height association is robust to variations in auditory skills. Our findings shed light on individual differences in multisensory processing by suggesting that relevant multisensory information that crucially aids some perceivers' performance may be of less importance to others, depending on their unisensory abilities.

Attention Modulates Visual-Tactile Interaction in Spatial Pattern Matching

PubMed Central

Göschl, Florian; Engel, Andreas K.; Friese, Uwe

2014-01-01

Factors influencing crossmodal interactions are manifold and operate in a stimulus-driven, bottom-up fashion, as well as via top-down control. Here, we evaluate the interplay of stimulus congruence and attention in a visual-tactile task. To this end, we used a matching paradigm requiring the identification of spatial patterns that were concurrently presented visually on a computer screen and haptically to the fingertips by means of a Braille stimulator. Stimulation in our paradigm was always bimodal with only the allocation of attention being manipulated between conditions. In separate blocks of the experiment, participants were instructed to (a) focus on a single modality to detect a specific target pattern, (b) pay attention to both modalities to detect a specific target pattern, or (c) to explicitly evaluate if the patterns in both modalities were congruent or not. For visual as well as tactile targets, congruent stimulus pairs led to quicker and more accurate detection compared to incongruent stimulation. This congruence facilitation effect was more prominent under divided attention. Incongruent stimulation led to behavioral decrements under divided attention as compared to selectively attending a single sensory channel. Additionally, when participants were asked to evaluate congruence explicitly, congruent stimulation was associated with better performance than incongruent stimulation. Our results extend previous findings from audiovisual studies, showing that stimulus congruence also resulted in behavioral improvements in visuotactile pattern matching. The interplay of stimulus processing and attentional control seems to be organized in a highly flexible fashion, with the integration of signals depending on both bottom-up and top-down factors, rather than occurring in an ‘all-or-nothing’ manner. PMID:25203102

Content congruency and its interplay with temporal synchrony modulate integration between rhythmic audiovisual streams.

PubMed

Su, Yi-Huang

2014-01-01

Both lower-level stimulus factors (e.g., temporal proximity) and higher-level cognitive factors (e.g., content congruency) are known to influence multisensory integration. The former can direct attention in a converging manner, and the latter can indicate whether information from the two modalities belongs together. The present research investigated whether and how these two factors interacted in the perception of rhythmic, audiovisual (AV) streams derived from a human movement scenario. Congruency here was based on sensorimotor correspondence pertaining to rhythm perception. Participants attended to bimodal stimuli consisting of a humanlike figure moving regularly to a sequence of auditory beat, and detected a possible auditory temporal deviant. The figure moved either downwards (congruently) or upwards (incongruently) to the downbeat, while in both situations the movement was either synchronous with the beat, or lagging behind it. Greater cross-modal binding was expected to hinder deviant detection. Results revealed poorer detection for congruent than for incongruent streams, suggesting stronger integration in the former. False alarms increased in asynchronous stimuli only for congruent streams, indicating greater tendency for deviant report due to visual capture of asynchronous auditory events. In addition, a greater increase in perceived synchrony was associated with a greater reduction in false alarms for congruent streams, while the pattern was reversed for incongruent ones. These results demonstrate that content congruency as a top-down factor not only promotes integration, but also modulates bottom-up effects of synchrony. Results are also discussed regarding how theories of integration and attentional entrainment may be combined in the context of rhythmic multisensory stimuli.

The contribution of perceptual factors and training on varying audiovisual integration capacity.

PubMed

Wilbiks, Jonathan M P; Dyson, Benjamin J

2018-06-01

The suggestion that the capacity of audiovisual integration has an upper limit of 1 was challenged in 4 experiments using perceptual factors and training to enhance the binding of auditory and visual information. Participants were required to note a number of specific visual dot locations that changed in polarity when a critical auditory stimulus was presented, under relatively fast (200-ms stimulus onset asynchrony [SOA]) and slow (700-ms SOA) rates of presentation. In Experiment 1, transient cross-modal congruency between the brightness of polarity change and pitch of the auditory tone was manipulated. In Experiment 2, sustained chunking was enabled on certain trials by connecting varying dot locations with vertices. In Experiment 3, training was employed to determine if capacity would increase through repeated experience with an intermediate presentation rate (450 ms). Estimates of audiovisual integration capacity (K) were larger than 1 during cross-modal congruency at slow presentation rates (Experiment 1), during perceptual chunking at slow and fast presentation rates (Experiment 2), and, during an intermediate presentation rate posttraining (Experiment 3). Finally, Experiment 4 showed a linear increase in K using SOAs ranging from 100 to 600 ms, suggestive of quantitative rather than qualitative changes in the mechanisms in audiovisual integration as a function of presentation rate. The data compromise the suggestion that the capacity of audiovisual integration is limited to 1 and suggest that the ability to bind sounds to sights is contingent on individual and environmental factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Arousal Rules: An Empirical Investigation into the Aesthetic Experience of Cross-Modal Perception with Emotional Visual Music

PubMed Central

Lee, Irene Eunyoung; Latchoumane, Charles-Francois V.; Jeong, Jaeseung

2017-01-01

Emotional visual music is a promising tool for the study of aesthetic perception in human psychology; however, the production of such stimuli and the mechanisms of auditory-visual emotion perception remain poorly understood. In Experiment 1, we suggested a literature-based, directive approach to emotional visual music design, and inspected the emotional meanings thereof using the self-rated psychometric and electroencephalographic (EEG) responses of the viewers. A two-dimensional (2D) approach to the assessment of emotion (the valence-arousal plane) with frontal alpha power asymmetry EEG (as a proposed index of valence) validated our visual music as an emotional stimulus. In Experiment 2, we used our synthetic stimuli to investigate possible underlying mechanisms of affective evaluation mechanisms in relation to audio and visual integration conditions between modalities (namely congruent, complementation, or incongruent combinations). In this experiment, we found that, when arousal information between auditory and visual modalities was contradictory [for example, active (+) on the audio channel but passive (−) on the video channel], the perceived emotion of cross-modal perception (visual music) followed the channel conveying the stronger arousal. Moreover, we found that an enhancement effect (heightened and compacted in subjects' emotional responses) in the aesthetic perception of visual music might occur when the two channels contained contradictory arousal information and positive congruency in valence and texture/control. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to propose a literature-based directive production of emotional visual music prototypes and the validations thereof for the study of cross-modally evoked aesthetic experiences in human subjects. PMID:28421007

Arousal Rules: An Empirical Investigation into the Aesthetic Experience of Cross-Modal Perception with Emotional Visual Music.

PubMed

Lee, Irene Eunyoung; Latchoumane, Charles-Francois V; Jeong, Jaeseung

2017-01-01

Emotional visual music is a promising tool for the study of aesthetic perception in human psychology; however, the production of such stimuli and the mechanisms of auditory-visual emotion perception remain poorly understood. In Experiment 1, we suggested a literature-based, directive approach to emotional visual music design, and inspected the emotional meanings thereof using the self-rated psychometric and electroencephalographic (EEG) responses of the viewers. A two-dimensional (2D) approach to the assessment of emotion (the valence-arousal plane) with frontal alpha power asymmetry EEG (as a proposed index of valence) validated our visual music as an emotional stimulus. In Experiment 2, we used our synthetic stimuli to investigate possible underlying mechanisms of affective evaluation mechanisms in relation to audio and visual integration conditions between modalities (namely congruent, complementation, or incongruent combinations). In this experiment, we found that, when arousal information between auditory and visual modalities was contradictory [for example, active (+) on the audio channel but passive (-) on the video channel], the perceived emotion of cross-modal perception (visual music) followed the channel conveying the stronger arousal. Moreover, we found that an enhancement effect (heightened and compacted in subjects' emotional responses) in the aesthetic perception of visual music might occur when the two channels contained contradictory arousal information and positive congruency in valence and texture/control. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to propose a literature-based directive production of emotional visual music prototypes and the validations thereof for the study of cross-modally evoked aesthetic experiences in human subjects.

Lower pitch is larger, yet falling pitches shrink.

PubMed

Eitan, Zohar; Schupak, Asi; Gotler, Alex; Marks, Lawrence E

2014-01-01

Experiments using diverse paradigms, including speeded discrimination, indicate that pitch and visually-perceived size interact perceptually, and that higher pitch is congruent with smaller size. While nearly all of these studies used static stimuli, here we examine the interaction of dynamic pitch and dynamic size, using Garner's speeded discrimination paradigm. Experiment 1 examined the interaction of continuous rise/fall in pitch and increase/decrease in object size. Experiment 2 examined the interaction of static pitch and size (steady high/low pitches and large/small visual objects), using an identical procedure. Results indicate that static and dynamic auditory and visual stimuli interact in opposite ways. While for static stimuli (Experiment 2), higher pitch is congruent with smaller size (as suggested by earlier work), for dynamic stimuli (Experiment 1), ascending pitch is congruent with growing size, and descending pitch with shrinking size. In addition, while static stimuli (Experiment 2) exhibit both congruence and Garner effects, dynamic stimuli (Experiment 1) present congruence effects without Garner interference, a pattern that is not consistent with prevalent interpretations of Garner's paradigm. Our interpretation of these results focuses on effects of within-trial changes on processing in dynamic tasks and on the association of changes in apparent size with implied changes in distance. Results suggest that static and dynamic stimuli can differ substantially in their cross-modal mappings, and may rely on different processing mechanisms.

Color of scents: chromatic stimuli modulate odor responses in the human brain.

PubMed

Osterbauer, Robert A; Matthews, Paul M; Jenkinson, Mark; Beckmann, Christian F; Hansen, Peter C; Calvert, Gemma A

2005-06-01

Color has a profound effect on the perception of odors. For example, strawberry-flavored drinks smell more pleasant when colored red than green and descriptions of the "nose" of a wine are dramatically influenced by its color. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we demonstrate a neurophysiological correlate of these cross-modal visual influences on olfactory perception. Subjects were scanned while exposed either to odors or colors in isolation or to color-odor combinations that were rated on the basis of how well they were perceived to match. Activity in caudal regions of the orbitofrontal cortex and in the insular cortex increased progressively with the perceived congruency of the odor-color pairs. These findings demonstrate the neuronal correlates of olfactory response modulation by color cues in brain areas previously identified as encoding the hedonic value of smells.

The picture superiority effect in a cross-modality recognition task.

PubMed

Stenbert, G; Radeborg, K; Hedman, L R

1995-07-01

Words and pictures were studied and recognition tests given in which each studied object was to be recognized in both word and picture format. The main dependent variable was the latency of the recognition decision. The purpose was to investigate the effects of study modality (word or picture), of congruence between study and test modalities, and of priming resulting from repeated testing. Experiments 1 and 2 used the same basic design, but the latter also varied retention interval. Experiment 3 added a manipulation of instructions to name studied objects, and Experiment 4 deviated from the others by presenting both picture and word referring to the same object together for study. The results showed that congruence between study and test modalities consistently facilitated recognition. Furthermore, items studied as pictures were more rapidly recognized than were items studied as words. With repeated testing, the second instance was affected by its predecessor, but the facilitating effect of picture-to-word priming exceeded that of word-to-picture priming. The finds suggest a two- stage recognition process, in which the first is based on perceptual familiarity and the second uses semantic links for a retrieval search. Common-code theories that grant privileged access to the semantic code for pictures or, alternatively, dual-code theories that assume mnemonic superiority for the image code are supported by the findings. Explanations of the picture superiority effect as resulting from dual encoding of pictures are not supported by the data.

A social Bouba/Kiki effect: A bias for people whose names match their faces.

PubMed

Barton, David N; Halberstadt, Jamin

2018-06-01

The "bouba/kiki effect" is the robust tendency to associate rounded objects (vs. angular objects) with names that require rounding of the mouth to pronounce, and may reflect synesthesia-like mapping across perceptual modalities. Here we show for the first time a "social" bouba/kiki effect, such that experimental participants associate round names ("Bob," "Lou") with round-faced (vs. angular-faced) individuals. Moreover, consistent with a bias for expectancy-consistent information, we find that participants like targets with "matching" names, both when name-face fit is measured and when it is experimentally manipulated. Finally, we show that such bias could have important practical consequences: An analysis of voting data reveals that Senatorial candidates earn 10% more votes when their names fit their faces very well, versus very poorly. These and similar cross-modal congruencies suggest that social judgment involves not only amodal application of stored information (e.g., stereotypes) to new stimuli, but also integration of perceptual and bodily input.

Assessing implicit odor localization in humans using a cross-modal spatial cueing paradigm.

PubMed

Moessnang, Carolin; Finkelmeyer, Andreas; Vossen, Alexandra; Schneider, Frank; Habel, Ute

2011-01-01

Navigation based on chemosensory information is one of the most important skills in the animal kingdom. Studies on odor localization suggest that humans have lost this ability. However, the experimental approaches used so far were limited to explicit judgements, which might ignore a residual ability for directional smelling on an implicit level without conscious appraisal. A novel cueing paradigm was developed in order to determine whether an implicit ability for directional smelling exists. Participants performed a visual two-alternative forced choice task in which the target was preceded either by a side-congruent or a side-incongruent olfactory spatial cue. An explicit odor localization task was implemented in a second experiment. No effect of cue congruency on mean reaction times could be found. However, a time by condition interaction emerged, with significantly slower responses to congruently compared to incongruently cued targets at the beginning of the experiment. This cueing effect gradually disappeared throughout the course of the experiment. In addition, participants performed at chance level in the explicit odor localization task, thus confirming the results of previous research. The implicit cueing task suggests the existence of spatial information processing in the olfactory system. Response slowing after a side-congruent olfactory cue is interpreted as a cross-modal attentional interference effect. In addition, habituation might have led to a gradual disappearance of the cueing effect. It is concluded that under immobile conditions with passive monorhinal stimulation, humans are unable to explicitly determine the location of a pure odorant. Implicitly, however, odor localization seems to exert an influence on human behaviour. To our knowledge, these data are the first to show implicit effects of odor localization on overt human behaviour and thus support the hypothesis of residual directional smelling in humans. © 2011 Moessnang et al.

Crossmodal processing of emotions in alcohol-dependence and Korsakoff syndrome.

PubMed

Brion, Mélanie; D'Hondt, Fabien; Lannoy, Séverine; Pitel, Anne-Lise; Davidoff, Donald A; Maurage, Pierre

2017-09-01

Decoding emotional information from faces and voices is crucial for efficient interpersonal communication. Emotional decoding deficits have been found in alcohol-dependence (ALC), particularly in crossmodal situations (with simultaneous stimulations from different modalities), but are still underexplored in Korsakoff syndrome (KS). The aim of this study is to determine whether the continuity hypothesis, postulating a gradual worsening of cognitive and brain impairments from ALC to KS, is valid for emotional crossmodal processing. Sixteen KS, 17 ALC and 19 matched healthy controls (CP) had to detect the emotion (anger or happiness) displayed by auditory, visual or crossmodal auditory-visual stimuli. Crossmodal stimuli were either emotionally congruent (leading to a facilitation effect, i.e. enhanced performance for crossmodal condition compared to unimodal ones) or incongruent (leading to an interference effect, i.e. decreased performance for crossmodal condition due to discordant information across modalities). Reaction times and accuracy were recorded. Crossmodal integration for congruent information was dampened only in ALC, while both ALC and KS demonstrated, compared to CP, decreased performance for decoding emotional facial expressions in the incongruent condition. The crossmodal integration appears impaired in ALC but preserved in KS. Both alcohol-related disorders present an increased interference effect. These results show the interest of more ecological designs, using crossmodal stimuli, to explore emotional decoding in alcohol-related disorders. They also suggest that the continuum hypothesis cannot be generalised to emotional decoding abilities.

Age-related differences in audiovisual interactions of semantically different stimuli.

PubMed

Viggiano, Maria Pia; Giovannelli, Fabio; Giganti, Fiorenza; Rossi, Arianna; Metitieri, Tiziana; Rebai, Mohamed; Guerrini, Renzo; Cincotta, Massimo

2017-01-01

Converging results have shown that adults benefit from congruent multisensory stimulation in the identification of complex stimuli, whereas the developmental trajectory of the ability to integrate multisensory inputs in children is less well understood. In this study we explored the effects of audiovisual semantic congruency on identification of visually presented stimuli belonging to different categories, using a cross-modal approach. Four groups of children ranging in age from 6 to 13 years and adults were administered an object identification task of visually presented pictures belonging to living and nonliving entities. Stimuli were presented in visual, congruent audiovisual, incongruent audiovisual, and noise conditions. Results showed that children under 12 years of age did not benefit from multisensory presentation in speeding up the identification. In children the incoherent audiovisual condition had an interfering effect, especially for the identification of living things. These data suggest that the facilitating effect of the audiovisual interaction into semantic factors undergoes developmental changes and the consolidation of adult-like processing of multisensory stimuli begins in late childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Cross-modal links among vision, audition, and touch in complex environments.

PubMed

Ferris, Thomas K; Sarter, Nadine B

2008-02-01

This study sought to determine whether performance effects of cross-modal spatial links that were observed in earlier laboratory studies scale to more complex environments and need to be considered in multimodal interface design. It also revisits the unresolved issue of cross-modal cuing asymmetries. Previous laboratory studies employing simple cues, tasks, and/or targets have demonstrated that the efficiency of processing visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli is affected by the modality, lateralization, and timing of surrounding cues. Very few studies have investigated these cross-modal constraints in the context of more complex environments to determine whether they scale and how complexity affects the nature of cross-modal cuing asymmetries. Amicroworld simulation of battlefield operations with a complex task set and meaningful visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli was used to investigate cuing effects for all cross-modal pairings. Significant asymmetric performance effects of cross-modal spatial links were observed. Auditory cues shortened response latencies for collocated visual targets but visual cues did not do the same for collocated auditory targets. Responses to contralateral (rather than ipsilateral) targets were faster for tactually cued auditory targets and each visual-tactile cue-target combination, suggesting an inhibition-of-return effect. The spatial relationships between multimodal cues and targets significantly affect target response times in complex environments. The performance effects of cross-modal links and the observed cross-modal cuing asymmetries need to be examined in more detail and considered in future interface design. The findings from this study have implications for the design of multimodal and adaptive interfaces and for supporting attention management in complex, data-rich domains.

Audio-Visual, Visuo-Tactile and Audio-Tactile Correspondences in Preschoolers.

PubMed

Nava, Elena; Grassi, Massimo; Turati, Chiara

2016-01-01

Interest in crossmodal correspondences has recently seen a renaissance thanks to numerous studies in human adults. Yet, still very little is known about crossmodal correspondences in children, particularly in sensory pairings other than audition and vision. In the current study, we investigated whether 4-5-year-old children match auditory pitch to the spatial motion of visual objects (audio-visual condition). In addition, we investigated whether this correspondence extends to touch, i.e., whether children also match auditory pitch to the spatial motion of touch (audio-tactile condition) and the spatial motion of visual objects to touch (visuo-tactile condition). In two experiments, two different groups of children were asked to indicate which of two stimuli fitted best with a centrally located third stimulus (Experiment 1), or to report whether two presented stimuli fitted together well (Experiment 2). We found sensitivity to the congruency of all of the sensory pairings only in Experiment 2, suggesting that only under specific circumstances can these correspondences be observed. Our results suggest that pitch-height correspondences for audio-visual and audio-tactile combinations may still be weak in preschool children, and speculate that this could be due to immature linguistic and auditory cues that are still developing at age five.

Brain activity during divided and selective attention to auditory and visual sentence comprehension tasks

PubMed Central

Moisala, Mona; Salmela, Viljami; Salo, Emma; Carlson, Synnöve; Vuontela, Virve; Salonen, Oili; Alho, Kimmo

2015-01-01

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we measured brain activity of human participants while they performed a sentence congruence judgment task in either the visual or auditory modality separately, or in both modalities simultaneously. Significant performance decrements were observed when attention was divided between the two modalities compared with when one modality was selectively attended. Compared with selective attention (i.e., single tasking), divided attention (i.e., dual-tasking) did not recruit additional cortical regions, but resulted in increased activity in medial and lateral frontal regions which were also activated by the component tasks when performed separately. Areas involved in semantic language processing were revealed predominantly in the left lateral prefrontal cortex by contrasting incongruent with congruent sentences. These areas also showed significant activity increases during divided attention in relation to selective attention. In the sensory cortices, no crossmodal inhibition was observed during divided attention when compared with selective attention to one modality. Our results suggest that the observed performance decrements during dual-tasking are due to interference of the two tasks because they utilize the same part of the cortex. Moreover, semantic dual-tasking did not appear to recruit additional brain areas in comparison with single tasking, and no crossmodal inhibition was observed during intermodal divided attention. PMID:25745395

Brain activity during divided and selective attention to auditory and visual sentence comprehension tasks.

PubMed

Moisala, Mona; Salmela, Viljami; Salo, Emma; Carlson, Synnöve; Vuontela, Virve; Salonen, Oili; Alho, Kimmo

2015-01-01

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we measured brain activity of human participants while they performed a sentence congruence judgment task in either the visual or auditory modality separately, or in both modalities simultaneously. Significant performance decrements were observed when attention was divided between the two modalities compared with when one modality was selectively attended. Compared with selective attention (i.e., single tasking), divided attention (i.e., dual-tasking) did not recruit additional cortical regions, but resulted in increased activity in medial and lateral frontal regions which were also activated by the component tasks when performed separately. Areas involved in semantic language processing were revealed predominantly in the left lateral prefrontal cortex by contrasting incongruent with congruent sentences. These areas also showed significant activity increases during divided attention in relation to selective attention. In the sensory cortices, no crossmodal inhibition was observed during divided attention when compared with selective attention to one modality. Our results suggest that the observed performance decrements during dual-tasking are due to interference of the two tasks because they utilize the same part of the cortex. Moreover, semantic dual-tasking did not appear to recruit additional brain areas in comparison with single tasking, and no crossmodal inhibition was observed during intermodal divided attention.

How Children Use Emotional Prosody: Crossmodal Emotional Integration?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gil, Sandrine; Hattouti, Jamila; Laval, Virginie

2016-01-01

A crossmodal effect has been observed in the processing of facial and vocal emotion in adults and infants. For the first time, we assessed whether this effect is present in childhood by administering a crossmodal task similar to those used in seminal studies featuring emotional faces (i.e., a continuum of emotional expressions running from…

Influence of auditory spatial attention on cross-modal semantic priming effect: evidence from N400 effect.

PubMed

Wang, Hongyan; Zhang, Gaoyan; Liu, Baolin

2017-01-01

Semantic priming is an important research topic in the field of cognitive neuroscience. Previous studies have shown that the uni-modal semantic priming effect can be modulated by attention. However, the influence of attention on cross-modal semantic priming is unclear. To investigate this issue, the present study combined a cross-modal semantic priming paradigm with an auditory spatial attention paradigm, presenting the visual pictures as the prime stimuli and the semantically related or unrelated sounds as the target stimuli. Event-related potentials results showed that when the target sound was attended to, the N400 effect was evoked. The N400 effect was also observed when the target sound was not attended to, demonstrating that the cross-modal semantic priming effect persists even though the target stimulus is not focused on. Further analyses revealed that the N400 effect evoked by the unattended sound was significantly lower than the effect evoked by the attended sound. This contrast provides new evidence that the cross-modal semantic priming effect can be modulated by attention.

Auditory peripersonal space in humans.

PubMed

Farnè, Alessandro; Làdavas, Elisabetta

2002-10-01

In the present study we report neuropsychological evidence of the existence of an auditory peripersonal space representation around the head in humans and its characteristics. In a group of right brain-damaged patients with tactile extinction, we found that a sound delivered near the ipsilesional side of the head (20 cm) strongly extinguished a tactile stimulus delivered to the contralesional side of the head (cross-modal auditory-tactile extinction). By contrast, when an auditory stimulus was presented far from the head (70 cm), cross-modal extinction was dramatically reduced. This spatially specific cross-modal extinction was most consistently found (i.e., both in the front and back spaces) when a complex sound was presented, like a white noise burst. Pure tones produced spatially specific cross-modal extinction when presented in the back space, but not in the front space. In addition, the most severe cross-modal extinction emerged when sounds came from behind the head, thus showing that the back space is more sensitive than the front space to the sensory interaction of auditory-tactile inputs. Finally, when cross-modal effects were investigated by reversing the spatial arrangement of cross-modal stimuli (i.e., touch on the right and sound on the left), we found that an ipsilesional tactile stimulus, although inducing a small amount of cross-modal tactile-auditory extinction, did not produce any spatial-specific effect. Therefore, the selective aspects of cross-modal interaction found near the head cannot be explained by a competition between a damaged left spatial representation and an intact right spatial representation. Thus, consistent with neurophysiological evidence from monkeys, our findings strongly support the existence, in humans, of an integrated cross-modal system coding auditory and tactile stimuli near the body, that is, in the peripersonal space.

The taste-visual cross-modal Stroop effect: An event-related brain potential study.

PubMed

Xiao, X; Dupuis-Roy, N; Yang, X L; Qiu, J F; Zhang, Q L

2014-03-28

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to explore, for the first time, the electrophysiological correlates of the taste-visual cross-modal Stroop effect. Eighteen healthy participants were presented with a taste stimulus and a food image, and asked to categorize the image as "sweet" or "sour" by pressing the relevant button as quickly as possible. Accurate categorization of the image was faster when it was presented with a congruent taste stimulus (e.g., sour taste/image of lemon) than with an incongruent one (e.g., sour taste/image of ice cream). ERP analyses revealed a negative difference component (ND430-620) between 430 and 620ms in the taste-visual cross-modal Stroop interference. Dipole source analysis of the difference wave (incongruent minus congruent) indicated that two generators localized in the prefrontal cortex and the parahippocampal gyrus contributed to this taste-visual cross-modal Stroop effect. This result suggests that the prefrontal cortex is associated with the process of conflict control in the taste-visual cross-modal Stroop effect. Also, we speculate that the parahippocampal gyrus is associated with the process of discordant information in the taste-visual cross-modal Stroop effect. Copyright © 2014 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How children use emotional prosody: Crossmodal emotional integration?

PubMed

Gil, Sandrine; Hattouti, Jamila; Laval, Virginie

2016-07-01

A crossmodal effect has been observed in the processing of facial and vocal emotion in adults and infants. For the first time, we assessed whether this effect is present in childhood by administering a crossmodal task similar to those used in seminal studies featuring emotional faces (i.e., a continuum of emotional expressions running from happiness to sadness: 90% happy, 60% happy, 30% happy, neutral, 30% sad, 60% sad, 90% sad) and emotional prosody (i.e., sad vs. happy). Participants were 5-, 7-, and 9-year-old children and a control group of adult students. The children had a different pattern of results from the adults, with only the 9-year-olds exhibiting the crossmodal effect whatever the emotional condition. These results advance our understanding of emotional prosody processing and the efficiency of crossmodal integration in children and are discussed in terms of a developmental trajectory and factors that may modulate the efficiency of this effect in children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The Role of RT Carry-Over for Congruence Sequence Effects in Masked Priming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huber-Huber, Christoph; Ansorge, Ulrich

2017-01-01

The present study disentangles 2 sources of the congruence sequence effect with masked primes: congruence and response time of the previous trial (reaction time [RT] carry-over). Using arrows as primes and targets and a metacontrast masking procedure we found congruence as well as congruence sequence effects. In addition, congruence sequence…

The role of RT carry-over for congruence sequence effects in masked priming.

PubMed

Huber-Huber, Christoph; Ansorge, Ulrich

2017-05-01

The present study disentangles 2 sources of the congruence sequence effect with masked primes: congruence and response time of the previous trial (reaction time [RT] carry-over). Using arrows as primes and targets and a metacontrast masking procedure we found congruence as well as congruence sequence effects. In addition, congruence sequence effects decreased when RT carry-over was accounted for in a mixed model analysis, suggesting that RT carry-over contributes to congruence sequence effects in masked priming. Crucially, effects of previous trial congruence were not cancelled out completely indicating that RT carry-over and previous trial congruence are 2 sources feeding into the congruence sequence effect. A secondary task requiring response speed judgments demonstrated general awareness of response speed (Experiments 1), but removing this secondary task (Experiment 2) showed that RT carry-over effects were also present in single-task conditions. During (dual-task) prime-awareness test parts of both experiments, however, RT carry-over failed to modulate congruence effects, suggesting that some task sets of the participants can prevent the effect. The basic RT carry-over effects are consistent with the conflict adaptation account, with the adaptation to the statistics of the environment (ASE) model, and possibly with the temporal learning explanation. Additionally considering the task-dependence of RT carry-over, the results are most compatible with the conflict adaptation account. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Filling-in visual motion with sounds.

PubMed

Väljamäe, A; Soto-Faraco, S

2008-10-01

Information about the motion of objects can be extracted by multiple sensory modalities, and, as a consequence, object motion perception typically involves the integration of multi-sensory information. Often, in naturalistic settings, the flow of such information can be rather discontinuous (e.g. a cat racing through the furniture in a cluttered room is partly seen and partly heard). This study addressed audio-visual interactions in the perception of time-sampled object motion by measuring adaptation after-effects. We found significant auditory after-effects following adaptation to unisensory auditory and visual motion in depth, sampled at 12.5 Hz. The visually induced (cross-modal) auditory motion after-effect was eliminated if visual adaptors flashed at half of the rate (6.25 Hz). Remarkably, the addition of the high-rate acoustic flutter (12.5 Hz) to this ineffective, sparsely time-sampled, visual adaptor restored the auditory after-effect to a level comparable to what was seen with high-rate bimodal adaptors (flashes and beeps). Our results suggest that this auditory-induced reinstatement of the motion after-effect from the poor visual signals resulted from the occurrence of sound-induced illusory flashes. This effect was found to be dependent both on the directional congruency between modalities and on the rate of auditory flutter. The auditory filling-in of time-sampled visual motion supports the feasibility of using reduced frame rate visual content in multisensory broadcasting and virtual reality applications.

Enhancing emotional experiences to dance through music: the role of valence and arousal in the cross-modal bias.

PubMed

Christensen, Julia F; Gaigg, Sebastian B; Gomila, Antoni; Oke, Peter; Calvo-Merino, Beatriz

2014-01-01

It is well established that emotional responses to stimuli presented to one perceptive modality (e.g., visual) are modulated by the concurrent presentation of affective information to another modality (e.g., auditory)-an effect known as the cross-modal bias. However, the affective mechanisms mediating this effect are still not fully understood. It remains unclear what role different dimensions of stimulus valence and arousal play in mediating the effect, and to what extent cross-modal influences impact not only our perception and conscious affective experiences, but also our psychophysiological emotional response. We addressed these issues by measuring participants' subjective emotion ratings and their Galvanic Skin Responses (GSR) in a cross-modal affect perception paradigm employing videos of ballet dance movements and instrumental classical music as the stimuli. We chose these stimuli to explore the cross-modal bias in a context of stimuli (ballet dance movements) that most participants would have relatively little prior experience with. Results showed (i) that the cross-modal bias was more pronounced for sad than for happy movements, whereas it was equivalent when contrasting high vs. low arousal movements; and (ii) that movement valence did not modulate participants' GSR, while movement arousal did, such that GSR was potentiated in the case of low arousal movements with sad music and when high arousal movements were paired with happy music. Results are discussed in the context of the affective dimension of neuroentrainment and with regards to implications for the art community.

What colour does that feel? Tactile--visual mapping and the development of cross-modality.

PubMed

Ludwig, Vera U; Simner, Julia

2013-04-01

Humans share implicit preferences for cross-modal mappings (e.g., low pitch sounds are preferentially paired with darker colours). Individuals with synaesthesia experience cross-modal mappings to a conscious degree (e.g., they may see colours when they hear sounds). The neonatal synaesthesia hypothesis claims that all humans may be born with this explicit cross-modal perception, which dies out in most people through childhood, leaving only implicit associations in the average adult. Although there is evidence for decreasing cross-modality throughout early infancy, it is unclear whether this decline continues to take place throughout childhood and adolescence. This large-scale study had two goals. First, we aimed to establish whether human non-synaesthetes systematically map tactile and visual dimensions - a combination that has rarely been studied. Second, we asked whether tactile-visual associations may be more pronounced in younger compared to older participants. 210 participants between the ages of 5-74 years assigned colours to tactile stimuli. Smoothness, softness and roundness of stimuli positively correlated with luminance of the chosen colour; and smoothness and softness also positively correlated with chroma. Moreover, tactile sensations were associated with specific colours (e.g., softness with pink). There were no age differences for luminance effects. Chroma effects, however, were found exclusively in children and adolescents. Our findings are consistent with the neonatal synaesthesia hypothesis which suggests that all humans are born with strong cross-modal perception which is pruned away or inhibited throughout development. Moreover, the findings suggest that a decline of some forms of cross-modality may take place over a much longer time span than previously assumed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Congruency sequence effect in cross-task context: evidence for dimension-specific modulation.

PubMed

Lee, Jaeyong; Cho, Yang Seok

2013-11-01

The congruency sequence effect refers to a reduced congruency effect after incongruent trials relative to congruent trials. This modulation is thought to be, at least in part, due to the control mechanisms resolving conflict. The present study examined the nature of the control mechanisms by having participants perform two different tasks in an alternating way. When participants performed horizontal and vertical Simon tasks in Experiment 1A, and horizontal and vertical spatial Stroop task in Experiment 1B, no congruency sequence effect was obtained between the task congruencies. When the Simon task and spatial Stroop task were performed with different response sets in Experiment 2, no congruency sequence effect was obtained. However, in Experiment 3, in which the participants performed the horizontal Simon and spatial Stroop tasks with an identical response set, a significant congruency sequence effect was obtained between the task congruencies. In Experiment 4, no congruency sequence effect was obtained when participants performed two tasks having different task-irrelevant dimensions with the identical response set. The findings suggest inhibitory processing between the task-irrelevant dimension and response mode after conflict. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Conflict Background Triggered Congruency Sequence Effects in Graphic Judgment Task

PubMed Central

Zhao, Liang; Wang, Yonghui

2013-01-01

Congruency sequence effects refer to the reduction of congruency effects when following an incongruent trial than following a congruent trial. The conflict monitoring account, one of the most influential contributions to this effect, assumes that the sequential modulations are evoked by response conflict. The present study aimed at exploring the congruency sequence effects in the absence of response conflict. We found congruency sequence effects occurred in graphic judgment task, in which the conflict stimuli acted as irrelevant information. The findings reveal that processing task-irrelevant conflict stimulus features could also induce sequential modulations of interference. The results do not support the interpretation of conflict monitoring and favor a feature integration account that the congruency sequence effects are attributed to the repetitions of stimulus and response features. PMID:23372766

Aging and the visual, haptic, and cross-modal perception of natural object shape.

PubMed

Norman, J Farley; Crabtree, Charles E; Norman, Hideko F; Moncrief, Brandon K; Herrmann, Molly; Kapley, Noah

2006-01-01

One hundred observers participated in two experiments designed to investigate aging and the perception of natural object shape. In the experiments, younger and older observers performed either a same/different shape discrimination task (experiment 1) or a cross-modal matching task (experiment 2). Quantitative effects of age were found in both experiments. The effect of age in experiment 1 was limited to cross-modal shape discrimination: there was no effect of age upon unimodal (ie within a single perceptual modality) shape discrimination. The effect of age in experiment 2 was eliminated when the older observers were either given an unlimited amount of time to perform the task or when the number of response alternatives was decreased. Overall, the results of the experiments reveal that older observers can effectively perceive 3-D shape from both vision and haptics.

Visual adaptation enhances action sound discrimination.

PubMed

Barraclough, Nick E; Page, Steve A; Keefe, Bruce D

2017-01-01

Prolonged exposure, or adaptation, to a stimulus in 1 modality can bias, but also enhance, perception of a subsequent stimulus presented within the same modality. However, recent research has also found that adaptation in 1 modality can bias perception in another modality. Here, we show a novel crossmodal adaptation effect, where adaptation to a visual stimulus enhances subsequent auditory perception. We found that when compared to no adaptation, prior adaptation to visual, auditory, or audiovisual hand actions enhanced discrimination between 2 subsequently presented hand action sounds. Discrimination was most enhanced when the visual action "matched" the auditory action. In addition, prior adaptation to a visual, auditory, or audiovisual action caused subsequent ambiguous action sounds to be perceived as less like the adaptor. In contrast, these crossmodal action aftereffects were not generated by adaptation to the names of actions. Enhanced crossmodal discrimination and crossmodal perceptual aftereffects may result from separate mechanisms operating in audiovisual action sensitive neurons within perceptual systems. Adaptation-induced crossmodal enhancements cannot be explained by postperceptual responses or decisions. More generally, these results together indicate that adaptation is a ubiquitous mechanism for optimizing perceptual processing of multisensory stimuli.

Context Influences Holistic Processing of Non-face Objects in the Composite Task

PubMed Central

Richler, Jennifer J.; Bukach, Cindy M.; Gauthier, Isabel

2013-01-01

We explore whether holistic-like effects can be observed for non-face objects in novices as a result of the task context. We measure contextually-induced congruency effects for novel objects (Greebles) in a sequential matching selective attention task (composite task). When format at study was blocked, congruency effects were observed for study-misaligned, but not study-aligned, conditions (Experiment 1). However, congruency effects were observed in all conditions when study formats were randomized (Experiment 2), revealing that the presence of certain trial types (study-misaligned) in an experiment can induce congruency effects. In a dual task, a congruency effect for Greebles was induced in trials where a face was first encoded, only if it was aligned (Experiment 3). Thus, congruency effects can be induced by context that operates at the scale of the entire experiment or within a single trial. Implications for using the composite task to measure holistic processing are discussed. PMID:19304644

Learning Discriminative Binary Codes for Large-scale Cross-modal Retrieval.

PubMed

Xu, Xing; Shen, Fumin; Yang, Yang; Shen, Heng Tao; Li, Xuelong

2017-05-01

Hashing based methods have attracted considerable attention for efficient cross-modal retrieval on large-scale multimedia data. The core problem of cross-modal hashing is how to learn compact binary codes that construct the underlying correlations between heterogeneous features from different modalities. A majority of recent approaches aim at learning hash functions to preserve the pairwise similarities defined by given class labels. However, these methods fail to explicitly explore the discriminative property of class labels during hash function learning. In addition, they usually discard the discrete constraints imposed on the to-be-learned binary codes, and compromise to solve a relaxed problem with quantization to obtain the approximate binary solution. Therefore, the binary codes generated by these methods are suboptimal and less discriminative to different classes. To overcome these drawbacks, we propose a novel cross-modal hashing method, termed discrete cross-modal hashing (DCH), which directly learns discriminative binary codes while retaining the discrete constraints. Specifically, DCH learns modality-specific hash functions for generating unified binary codes, and these binary codes are viewed as representative features for discriminative classification with class labels. An effective discrete optimization algorithm is developed for DCH to jointly learn the modality-specific hash function and the unified binary codes. Extensive experiments on three benchmark data sets highlight the superiority of DCH under various cross-modal scenarios and show its state-of-the-art performance.

Are we on the same page? The performance effects of congruence between supervisor and group trust.

PubMed

Carter, Min Z; Mossholder, Kevin W

2015-09-01

Taking a multiple-stakeholder perspective, we examined the effects of supervisor-work group trust congruence on groups' task and contextual performance using a polynomial regression and response surface analytical framework. We expected motivation experienced by work groups to mediate the positive influence of trust congruence on performance. Although hypothesized congruence effects on performance were more strongly supported for affective rather than for cognitive trust, we found significant indirect effects on performance (via work group motivation) for both types of trust. We discuss the performance effects of trust congruence and incongruence between supervisors and work groups, as well as implications for practice and future research. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Large-scale Cross-modality Search via Collective Matrix Factorization Hashing.

PubMed

Ding, Guiguang; Guo, Yuchen; Zhou, Jile; Gao, Yue

2016-09-08

By transforming data into binary representation, i.e., Hashing, we can perform high-speed search with low storage cost, and thus Hashing has collected increasing research interest in the recent years. Recently, how to generate Hashcode for multimodal data (e.g., images with textual tags, documents with photos, etc) for large-scale cross-modality search (e.g., searching semantically related images in database for a document query) is an important research issue because of the fast growth of multimodal data in the Web. To address this issue, a novel framework for multimodal Hashing is proposed, termed as Collective Matrix Factorization Hashing (CMFH). The key idea of CMFH is to learn unified Hashcodes for different modalities of one multimodal instance in the shared latent semantic space in which different modalities can be effectively connected. Therefore, accurate cross-modality search is supported. Based on the general framework, we extend it in the unsupervised scenario where it tries to preserve the Euclidean structure, and in the supervised scenario where it fully exploits the label information of data. The corresponding theoretical analysis and the optimization algorithms are given. We conducted comprehensive experiments on three benchmark datasets for cross-modality search. The experimental results demonstrate that CMFH can significantly outperform several state-of-the-art cross-modality Hashing methods, which validates the effectiveness of the proposed CMFH.

Oxytocin mediates early experience-dependent cross-modal plasticity in the sensory cortices.

PubMed

Zheng, Jing-Jing; Li, Shu-Jing; Zhang, Xiao-Di; Miao, Wan-Ying; Zhang, Dinghong; Yao, Haishan; Yu, Xiang

2014-03-01

Sensory experience is critical to development and plasticity of neural circuits. Here we report a new form of plasticity in neonatal mice, where early sensory experience cross-modally regulates development of all sensory cortices via oxytocin signaling. Unimodal sensory deprivation from birth through whisker deprivation or dark rearing reduced excitatory synaptic transmission in the correspondent sensory cortex and cross-modally in other sensory cortices. Sensory experience regulated synthesis and secretion of the neuropeptide oxytocin as well as its level in the cortex. Both in vivo oxytocin injection and increased sensory experience elevated excitatory synaptic transmission in multiple sensory cortices and significantly rescued the effects of sensory deprivation. Together, these results identify a new function for oxytocin in promoting cross-modal, experience-dependent cortical development. This link between sensory experience and oxytocin is particularly relevant to autism, where hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to sensory inputs is prevalent and oxytocin is a hotly debated potential therapy.

Effect of Perceptual Load on Semantic Access by Speech in Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jerger, Susan; Damian, Markus F.; Mills, Candice; Bartlett, James; Tye-Murray, Nancy; Abdi, Herve

2013-01-01

Purpose: To examine whether semantic access by speech requires attention in children. Method: Children ("N" = 200) named pictures and ignored distractors on a cross-modal (distractors: auditory-no face) or multimodal (distractors: auditory-static face and audiovisual- dynamic face) picture word task. The cross-modal task had a low load,…

Multisensory brand search: How the meaning of sounds guides consumers' visual attention.

PubMed

Knoeferle, Klemens M; Knoeferle, Pia; Velasco, Carlos; Spence, Charles

2016-06-01

Building on models of crossmodal attention, the present research proposes that brand search is inherently multisensory, in that the consumers' visual search for a specific brand can be facilitated by semantically related stimuli that are presented in another sensory modality. A series of 5 experiments demonstrates that the presentation of spatially nonpredictive auditory stimuli associated with products (e.g., usage sounds or product-related jingles) can crossmodally facilitate consumers' visual search for, and selection of, products. Eye-tracking data (Experiment 2) revealed that the crossmodal effect of auditory cues on visual search manifested itself not only in RTs, but also in the earliest stages of visual attentional processing, thus suggesting that the semantic information embedded within sounds can modulate the perceptual saliency of the target products' visual representations. Crossmodal facilitation was even observed for newly learnt associations between unfamiliar brands and sonic logos, implicating multisensory short-term learning in establishing audiovisual semantic associations. The facilitation effect was stronger when searching complex rather than simple visual displays, thus suggesting a modulatory role of perceptual load. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Cross-Modal Attention Effects in the Vestibular Cortex during Attentive Tracking of Moving Objects.

PubMed

Frank, Sebastian M; Sun, Liwei; Forster, Lisa; Tse, Peter U; Greenlee, Mark W

2016-12-14

The midposterior fundus of the Sylvian fissure in the human brain is central to the cortical processing of vestibular cues. At least two vestibular areas are located at this site: the parietoinsular vestibular cortex (PIVC) and the posterior insular cortex (PIC). It is now well established that activity in sensory systems is subject to cross-modal attention effects. Attending to a stimulus in one sensory modality enhances activity in the corresponding cortical sensory system, but simultaneously suppresses activity in other sensory systems. Here, we wanted to probe whether such cross-modal attention effects also target the vestibular system. To this end, we used a visual multiple-object tracking task. By parametrically varying the number of tracked targets, we could measure the effect of attentional load on the PIVC and the PIC while holding the perceptual load constant. Participants performed the tracking task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results show that, compared with passive viewing of object motion, activity during object tracking was suppressed in the PIVC and enhanced in the PIC. Greater attentional load, induced by increasing the number of tracked targets, was associated with a corresponding increase in the suppression of activity in the PIVC. Activity in the anterior part of the PIC decreased with increasing load, whereas load effects were absent in the posterior PIC. Results of a control experiment show that attention-induced suppression in the PIVC is stronger than any suppression evoked by the visual stimulus per se. Overall, our results suggest that attention has a cross-modal modulatory effect on the vestibular cortex during visual object tracking. In this study we investigate cross-modal attention effects in the human vestibular cortex. We applied the visual multiple-object tracking task because it is known to evoke attentional load effects on neural activity in visual motion-processing and attention-processing areas. Here we demonstrate a load-dependent effect of attention on the activation in the vestibular cortex, despite constant visual motion stimulation. We find that activity in the parietoinsular vestibular cortex is more strongly suppressed the greater the attentional load on the visual tracking task. These findings suggest cross-modal attentional modulation in the vestibular cortex. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/3612720-09$15.00/0.

Interaction of Perceptual Grouping and Crossmodal Temporal Capture in Tactile Apparent-Motion

PubMed Central

Chen, Lihan; Shi, Zhuanghua; Müller, Hermann J.

2011-01-01

Previous studies have shown that in tasks requiring participants to report the direction of apparent motion, task-irrelevant mono-beeps can “capture” visual motion perception when the beeps occur temporally close to the visual stimuli. However, the contributions of the relative timing of multimodal events and the event structure, modulating uni- and/or crossmodal perceptual grouping, remain unclear. To examine this question and extend the investigation to the tactile modality, the current experiments presented tactile two-tap apparent-motion streams, with an SOA of 400 ms between successive, left-/right-hand middle-finger taps, accompanied by task-irrelevant, non-spatial auditory stimuli. The streams were shown for 90 seconds, and participants' task was to continuously report the perceived (left- or rightward) direction of tactile motion. In Experiment 1, each tactile stimulus was paired with an auditory beep, though odd-numbered taps were paired with an asynchronous beep, with audiotactile SOAs ranging from −75 ms to 75 ms. Perceived direction of tactile motion varied systematically with audiotactile SOA, indicative of a temporal-capture effect. In Experiment 2, two audiotactile SOAs—one short (75 ms), one long (325 ms)—were compared. The long-SOA condition preserved the crossmodal event structure (so the temporal-capture dynamics should have been similar to that in Experiment 1), but both beeps now occurred temporally close to the taps on one side (even-numbered taps). The two SOAs were found to produce opposite modulations of apparent motion, indicative of an influence of crossmodal grouping. In Experiment 3, only odd-numbered, but not even-numbered, taps were paired with auditory beeps. This abolished the temporal-capture effect and, instead, a dominant percept of apparent motion from the audiotactile side to the tactile-only side was observed independently of the SOA variation. These findings suggest that asymmetric crossmodal grouping leads to an attentional modulation of apparent motion, which inhibits crossmodal temporal-capture effects. PMID:21383834

Working Memory Capacity and Stroop Interference: Global versus Local Indices of Executive Control

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meier, Matt E.; Kane, Michael J.

2013-01-01

Two experiments examined the relations among working memory capacity (WMC), congruency-sequence effects, proportion-congruency effects, and the color-word Stroop effect to test whether congruency-sequence effects might inform theoretical claims regarding WMC's prediction of Stroop interference. In Experiment 1, subjects completed either a…

Congruency sequence effect without feature integration and contingency learning.

PubMed

Kim, Sanga; Cho, Yang Seok

2014-06-01

The magnitude of congruency effects, such as the flanker-compatibility effects, has been found to vary as a function of the congruency of the previous trial. Some studies have suggested that this congruency sequence effect is attributable to stimulus and/or response priming, and/or contingency learning, whereas other studies have suggested that the control process triggered by conflict modulates the congruency effect. The present study examined whether sequential modulation can occur without stimulus and response repetitions and contingency learning. Participants were asked to perform two color flanker-compatibility tasks alternately in a trial-by-trial manner, with four fingers of one hand in Experiment 1 and with the index and middle fingers of two hands in Experiment 2, to avoid stimulus and response repetitions and contingency learning. A significant congruency sequence effect was obtained between the congruencies of the two tasks in Experiment 1 but not in Experiment 2. These results provide evidence for the idea that the sequential modulation is, at least in part, an outcome of the top-down control process triggered by conflict, which is specific to response mode. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatiotemporal Processing in Crossmodal Interactions for Perception of the External World: A Review

PubMed Central

Hidaka, Souta; Teramoto, Wataru; Sugita, Yoichi

2015-01-01

Research regarding crossmodal interactions has garnered much interest in the last few decades. A variety of studies have demonstrated that multisensory information (vision, audition, tactile sensation, and so on) can perceptually interact with each other in the spatial and temporal domains. Findings regarding crossmodal interactions in the spatiotemporal domain (i.e., motion processing) have also been reported, with updates in the last few years. In this review, we summarize past and recent findings on spatiotemporal processing in crossmodal interactions regarding perception of the external world. A traditional view regarding crossmodal interactions holds that vision is superior to audition in spatial processing, but audition is dominant over vision in temporal processing. Similarly, vision is considered to have dominant effects over the other sensory modalities (i.e., visual capture) in spatiotemporal processing. However, recent findings demonstrate that sound could have a driving effect on visual motion perception. Moreover, studies regarding perceptual associative learning reported that, after association is established between a sound sequence without spatial information and visual motion information, the sound sequence could trigger visual motion perception. Other sensory information, such as motor action or smell, has also exhibited similar driving effects on visual motion perception. Additionally, recent brain imaging studies demonstrate that similar activation patterns could be observed in several brain areas, including the motion processing areas, between spatiotemporal information from different sensory modalities. Based on these findings, we suggest that multimodal information could mutually interact in spatiotemporal processing in the percept of the external world and that common perceptual and neural underlying mechanisms would exist for spatiotemporal processing. PMID:26733827

Visual and cross-modal cues increase the identification of overlapping visual stimuli in Balint's syndrome.

PubMed

D'Imperio, Daniela; Scandola, Michele; Gobbetto, Valeria; Bulgarelli, Cristina; Salgarello, Matteo; Avesani, Renato; Moro, Valentina

2017-10-01

Cross-modal interactions improve the processing of external stimuli, particularly when an isolated sensory modality is impaired. When information from different modalities is integrated, object recognition is facilitated probably as a result of bottom-up and top-down processes. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential effects of cross-modal stimulation in a case of simultanagnosia. We report a detailed analysis of clinical symptoms and an 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) brain positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) study of a patient affected by Balint's syndrome, a rare and invasive visual-spatial disorder following bilateral parieto-occipital lesions. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of visual and nonvisual cues on performance in tasks involving the recognition of overlapping pictures. Four modalities of sensory cues were used: visual, tactile, olfactory, and auditory. Data from neuropsychological tests showed the presence of ocular apraxia, optic ataxia, and simultanagnosia. The results of the experiment indicate a positive effect of the cues on the recognition of overlapping pictures, not only in the identification of the congruent valid-cued stimulus (target) but also in the identification of the other, noncued stimuli. All the sensory modalities analyzed (except the auditory stimulus) were efficacious in terms of increasing visual recognition. Cross-modal integration improved the patient's ability to recognize overlapping figures. However, while in the visual unimodal modality both bottom-up (priming, familiarity effect, disengagement of attention) and top-down processes (mental representation and short-term memory, the endogenous orientation of attention) are involved, in the cross-modal integration it is semantic representations that mainly activate visual recognition processes. These results are potentially useful for the design of rehabilitation training for attentional and visual-perceptual deficits.

Effects of expectation congruency on event-related potentials (ERPs) to facial expressions depend on cognitive load during the expectation phase.

PubMed

Lin, Huiyan; Schulz, Claudia; Straube, Thomas

2016-10-01

Previous studies have shown that event-related potentials (ERPs) to facial expressions are modulated by expectation (congruency) and that the ERP effects of expectation congruency are altered by cognitive tasks during the expectation phase. However, it is as yet unknown whether the congruency ERP effects can be modulated by the amount of cognitive load during the expectation phase. To address this question, electroencephalogram (EEG) was acquired when participants viewed fearful and neutral facial expressions. Before the presentation of facial expressions, a cue indicating the expression of a face and subsequently, an expectation interval without any cues were presented. Facial expressions were congruent with the cues in 75% of all trials. During the expectation interval, participants had to solve a cognitive task, in which several letters were presented for target letter detection. The letters were all the same under low load, but differed under high load. Event-related potential (ERP) results showed that the amount of cognitive load during the expectation phase altered the congruency effect in N2 and EPN amplitudes for fearful faces. Congruent as compared to incongruent fearful expressions elicited larger N2 and smaller EPN amplitudes under low load, but these congruency effects were not observed under high load. For neutral faces, a congruency effect in late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes was modulated by cognitive load during the expectation phase. The LPP was more positive for incongruent as compared to congruent faces under low load, but the congruency effect was not evident under high load. The findings indicate that congruency effects on ERPs are modulated by the amount of cognitive load the expectation phase and that this modulation is altered by facial expression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Different Levels of Learning Interact to Shape the Congruency Sequence Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weissman, Daniel H.; Hawks, Zoë W.; Egner, Tobias

2016-01-01

The congruency effect in distracter interference tasks is often reduced after incongruent relative to congruent trials. Moreover, this "congruency sequence effect" (CSE) is influenced by learning related to concrete stimulus and response features as well as by learning related to abstract cognitive control processes. There is an ongoing…

The time course of episodic associative retrieval: electrophysiological correlates of cued recall of unimodal and crossmodal pair-associate learning.

PubMed

Tibon, Roni; Levy, Daniel A

2014-03-01

Little is known about the time course of processes supporting episodic cued recall. To examine these processes, we recorded event-related scalp electrical potentials during episodic cued recall following pair-associate learning of unimodal object-picture pairs and crossmodal object-picture and sound pairs. Successful cued recall of unimodal associates was characterized by markedly early scalp potential differences over frontal areas, while cued recall of both unimodal and crossmodal associates were reflected by subsequent differences recorded over frontal and parietal areas. Notably, unimodal cued recall success divergences over frontal areas were apparent in a time window generally assumed to reflect the operation of familiarity but not recollection processes, raising the possibility that retrieval success effects in that temporal window may reflect additional mnemonic processes beyond familiarity. Furthermore, parietal scalp potential recall success differences, which did not distinguish between crossmodal and unimodal tasks, seemingly support attentional or buffer accounts of posterior parietal mnemonic function but appear to constrain signal accumulation, expectation, or representational accounts.

The Parallel Episodic Processing (PEP) model: dissociating contingency and conflict adaptation in the item-specific proportion congruent paradigm.

PubMed

Schmidt, James R

2013-01-01

The present work introduces a computational model, the Parallel Episodic Processing (PEP) model, which demonstrates that contingency learning achieved via simple storage and retrieval of episodic memories can explain the item-specific proportion congruency effect in the colour-word Stroop paradigm. The current work also presents a new experimental procedure to more directly dissociate contingency biases from conflict adaptation (i.e., proportion congruency). This was done with three different types of incongruent words that allow a comparison of: (a) high versus low contingency while keeping proportion congruency constant, and (b) high versus low proportion congruency while keeping contingency constant. Results demonstrated a significant contingency effect, but no effect of proportion congruence. It was further shown that the proportion congruency associated with the colour does not matter, either. Thus, the results quite directly demonstrate that ISPC effects are not due to conflict adaptation, but instead to contingency learning biases. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of Worker Classification, Crystallization, and Job Autonomy on Congruence-Satisfaction Relationships.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Obermesik, John W.; Beehr, Terry A.

A majority of the congruence-satisfaction literature has used interest measures based on Holland's theory, although the measures' accuracy in predicting job satisfaction is questionable. Divergent findings among studies on occupational congruence-job satisfaction may be due to ineffective measures of congruence and job satisfaction and lack of…

An Investigation of the Sampling Distribution of the Congruence Coefficient.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broadbooks, Wendy J.; Elmore, Patricia B.

This study developed and investigated an empirical sampling distribution of the congruence coefficient. The effects of sample size, number of variables, and population value of the congruence coefficient on the sampling distribution of the congruence coefficient were examined. Sample data were generated on the basis of the common factor model and…

The effect of congruence in patient and therapist alliance on patient's symptomatic levels.

PubMed

Zilcha-Mano, Sigal; Snyder, John; Silberschatz, George

2017-05-01

The ability of alliance to predict outcome has been widely demonstrated, but less is known about the effect of the level of congruence between patient and therapist alliance ratings on outcome. In the current study we examined whether the degree of congruence between patient and therapist alliance ratings can predict symptomatic levels 1 month later in treatment. The sample consisted of 127 patient-therapist dyads. Patients and therapists reported on their alliance levels, and patients reported their symptomatic levels 1 month later. Polynomial regression and response surface analysis were used to examine congruence. Findings suggest that when the congruence level of patient and therapist alliance ratings was not taken into account, only the therapist's alliance served as a significant predictor of symptomatic levels. But when the degree of congruence between patient and therapist alliance ratings was considered, the degree of congruence was a significant predictor of symptomatic levels 1 month later in treatment. Findings support the importance of the level of congruence between patient and therapist alliance ratings in predicting patient's symptomatic levels.

Effects of interest-major congruence, motivation, and academic performance on timely degree attainment.

PubMed

Allen, Jeff; Robbins, Steve

2010-01-01

Using longitudinal student data from 15 four-year (n = 3,072) and 13 (n = 788) two-year postsecondary institutions, the authors tested the effects of interest-major congruence, motivation, and 1st-year academic performance on timely degree completion. Findings suggest that interest-major congruence has a direct effect on timely degree completion at both institutional settings and that motivation has indirect effects (via 1st-year academic performance). The total effects of both interest-major congruence and motivation on timely degree completion underscore the importance of both constructs in understanding student adjustment and postsecondary success. Implications for theory and counseling practice are discussed.

On the relative contributions of multisensory integration and crossmodal exogenous spatial attention to multisensory response enhancement.

PubMed

Van der Stoep, N; Spence, C; Nijboer, T C W; Van der Stigchel, S

2015-11-01

Two processes that can give rise to multisensory response enhancement (MRE) are multisensory integration (MSI) and crossmodal exogenous spatial attention. It is, however, currently unclear what the relative contribution of each of these is to MRE. We investigated this issue using two tasks that are generally assumed to measure MSI (a redundant target effect task) and crossmodal exogenous spatial attention (a spatial cueing task). One block of trials consisted of unimodal auditory and visual targets designed to provide a unimodal baseline. In two other blocks of trials, the participants were presented with spatially and temporally aligned and misaligned audiovisual (AV) targets (0, 50, 100, and 200ms SOA). In the integration block, the participants were instructed to respond to the onset of the first target stimulus that they detected (A or V). The instruction for the cueing block was to respond only to the onset of the visual targets. The targets could appear at one of three locations: left, center, and right. The participants were instructed to respond only to lateral targets. The results indicated that MRE was caused by MSI at 0ms SOA. At 50ms SOA, both crossmodal exogenous spatial attention and MSI contributed to the observed MRE, whereas the MRE observed at the 100 and 200ms SOAs was attributable to crossmodal exogenous spatial attention, alerting, and temporal preparation. These results therefore suggest that there may be a temporal window in which both MSI and exogenous crossmodal spatial attention can contribute to multisensory response enhancement. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Linear Subspace Ranking Hashing for Cross-Modal Retrieval.

PubMed

Li, Kai; Qi, Guo-Jun; Ye, Jun; Hua, Kien A

2017-09-01

Hashing has attracted a great deal of research in recent years due to its effectiveness for the retrieval and indexing of large-scale high-dimensional multimedia data. In this paper, we propose a novel ranking-based hashing framework that maps data from different modalities into a common Hamming space where the cross-modal similarity can be measured using Hamming distance. Unlike existing cross-modal hashing algorithms where the learned hash functions are binary space partitioning functions, such as the sign and threshold function, the proposed hashing scheme takes advantage of a new class of hash functions closely related to rank correlation measures which are known to be scale-invariant, numerically stable, and highly nonlinear. Specifically, we jointly learn two groups of linear subspaces, one for each modality, so that features' ranking orders in different linear subspaces maximally preserve the cross-modal similarities. We show that the ranking-based hash function has a natural probabilistic approximation which transforms the original highly discontinuous optimization problem into one that can be efficiently solved using simple gradient descent algorithms. The proposed hashing framework is also flexible in the sense that the optimization procedures are not tied up to any specific form of loss function, which is typical for existing cross-modal hashing methods, but rather we can flexibly accommodate different loss functions with minimal changes to the learning steps. We demonstrate through extensive experiments on four widely-used real-world multimodal datasets that the proposed cross-modal hashing method can achieve competitive performance against several state-of-the-arts with only moderate training and testing time.

Effects of Interest-Major Congruence, Motivation, and Academic Performance on Timely Degree Attainment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Jeff; Robbins, Steve

2010-01-01

Using longitudinal student data from 15 four-year (n = 3,072) and 13 (n = 788) two-year postsecondary institutions, the authors tested the effects of interest-major congruence, motivation, and 1st-year academic performance on timely degree completion. Findings suggest that interest-major congruence has a direct effect on timely degree completion…

Why It Is Too Early to Lose Control in Accounts of Item-Specific Proportion Congruency Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bugg, Julie M.; Jacoby, Larry L.; Chanani, Swati

2011-01-01

The item-specific proportion congruency (ISPC) effect is the finding of attenuated interference for mostly incongruent as compared to mostly congruent items. A debate in the Stroop literature concerns the mechanisms underlying this effect. Noting a confound between proportion congruency and contingency, Schmidt and Besner (2008) suggested that…

Attention Modulation by Proportion Congruency: The Asymmetrical List Shifting Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrahamse, Elger L.; Duthoo, Wout; Notebaert, Wim; Risko, Evan F.

2013-01-01

Proportion congruency effects represent hallmark phenomena in current theorizing about cognitive control. This is based on the notion that proportion congruency determines the relative levels of attention to relevant and irrelevant information in conflict tasks. However, little empirical evidence exists that uniquely supports such an attention…

Behold the voice of wrath: cross-modal modulation of visual attention by anger prosody.

PubMed

Brosch, Tobias; Grandjean, Didier; Sander, David; Scherer, Klaus R

2008-03-01

Emotionally relevant stimuli are prioritized in human information processing. It has repeatedly been shown that selective spatial attention is modulated by the emotional content of a stimulus. Until now, studies investigating this phenomenon have only examined within-modality effects, most frequently using pictures of emotional stimuli to modulate visual attention. In this study, we used simultaneously presented utterances with emotional and neutral prosody as cues for a visually presented target in a cross-modal dot probe task. Response times towards targets were faster when they appeared at the location of the source of the emotional prosody. Our results show for the first time a cross-modal attentional modulation of visual attention by auditory affective prosody.

False recollections and the congruence of suggested information.

PubMed

Pérez-Mata, Nieves; Diges, Margarita

2007-10-01

In two experiments, congruence of postevent information was manipulated in order to explore its role in the misinformation effect. Congruence of a detail was empirically defined as its compatibility (or match) with a concrete event. Based on this idea it was predicted that a congruent suggested detail would be more easily accepted than an incongruent one. In Experiments 1 and 2 two factors(congruence and truth value ) were manipulated within-subjects, and a two-alternative forced-choice recognition test was used followed by phenomenological judgements. Furthermore, in the second experiment participants were asked to describe four critical items (two seen and two suggested details)to explore differences and similarities between real and unreal memories. Both experiments clearly showed that the congruence of false information caused a robust misinformation effect, so that congruent information was much more accepted than false incongruent information. Furthermore, congruence increased the descriptive and phenomenological similarities between perceived and suggested memories, thus contributing to the misleading effect.

Impact of encoding depth on awareness of perceptual effects in recognition memory.

PubMed

Gardiner, J M; Gregg, V H; Mashru, R; Thaman, M

2001-04-01

Pictorial stimuli are more likely to be recognized if they are the same size, rather than a different size, at study and at test. This size congruency effect was replicated in two experiments in which the encoding variables were respectively undivided versus divided attention and level of processing. In terms of performance, these variables influenced recognition and did not influence size congruency effects. But in terms of awareness, measured by remember and know responses, these variables did influence size congruency effects. With undivided attention and with a deep level of processing, size congruency effects occurred only in remembering. With divided attention and with a shallow level of processing, size congruency effects occurred only in knowing. The results show that effects that occur in remembering may also occur independently in knowing. They support theories in which remembering and knowing reflect different memory processes or systems. They do not support the theory that remembering and knowing reflect differences in trace strength.

Grouping and Segregation of Sensory Events by Actions in Temporal Audio-Visual Recalibration.

PubMed

Ikumi, Nara; Soto-Faraco, Salvador

2016-01-01

Perception in multi-sensory environments involves both grouping and segregation of events across sensory modalities. Temporal coincidence between events is considered a strong cue to resolve multisensory perception. However, differences in physical transmission and neural processing times amongst modalities complicate this picture. This is illustrated by cross-modal recalibration, whereby adaptation to audio-visual asynchrony produces shifts in perceived simultaneity. Here, we examined whether voluntary actions might serve as a temporal anchor to cross-modal recalibration in time. Participants were tested on an audio-visual simultaneity judgment task after an adaptation phase where they had to synchronize voluntary actions with audio-visual pairs presented at a fixed asynchrony (vision leading or vision lagging). Our analysis focused on the magnitude of cross-modal recalibration to the adapted audio-visual asynchrony as a function of the nature of the actions during adaptation, putatively fostering cross-modal grouping or, segregation. We found larger temporal adjustments when actions promoted grouping than segregation of sensory events. However, a control experiment suggested that additional factors, such as attention to planning/execution of actions, could have an impact on recalibration effects. Contrary to the view that cross-modal temporal organization is mainly driven by external factors related to the stimulus or environment, our findings add supporting evidence for the idea that perceptual adjustments strongly depend on the observer's inner states induced by motor and cognitive demands.

Grouping and Segregation of Sensory Events by Actions in Temporal Audio-Visual Recalibration

PubMed Central

Ikumi, Nara; Soto-Faraco, Salvador

2017-01-01

Perception in multi-sensory environments involves both grouping and segregation of events across sensory modalities. Temporal coincidence between events is considered a strong cue to resolve multisensory perception. However, differences in physical transmission and neural processing times amongst modalities complicate this picture. This is illustrated by cross-modal recalibration, whereby adaptation to audio-visual asynchrony produces shifts in perceived simultaneity. Here, we examined whether voluntary actions might serve as a temporal anchor to cross-modal recalibration in time. Participants were tested on an audio-visual simultaneity judgment task after an adaptation phase where they had to synchronize voluntary actions with audio-visual pairs presented at a fixed asynchrony (vision leading or vision lagging). Our analysis focused on the magnitude of cross-modal recalibration to the adapted audio-visual asynchrony as a function of the nature of the actions during adaptation, putatively fostering cross-modal grouping or, segregation. We found larger temporal adjustments when actions promoted grouping than segregation of sensory events. However, a control experiment suggested that additional factors, such as attention to planning/execution of actions, could have an impact on recalibration effects. Contrary to the view that cross-modal temporal organization is mainly driven by external factors related to the stimulus or environment, our findings add supporting evidence for the idea that perceptual adjustments strongly depend on the observer's inner states induced by motor and cognitive demands. PMID:28154529

Compensating for age limits through emotional crossmodal integration

PubMed Central

Chaby, Laurence; Boullay, Viviane Luherne-du; Chetouani, Mohamed; Plaza, Monique

2015-01-01

Social interactions in daily life necessitate the integration of social signals from different sensory modalities. In the aging literature, it is well established that the recognition of emotion in facial expressions declines with advancing age, and this also occurs with vocal expressions. By contrast, crossmodal integration processing in healthy aging individuals is less documented. Here, we investigated the age-related effects on emotion recognition when faces and voices were presented alone or simultaneously, allowing for crossmodal integration. In this study, 31 young adults (M = 25.8 years) and 31 older adults (M = 67.2 years) were instructed to identify several basic emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust) and a neutral expression, which were displayed as visual (facial expressions), auditory (non-verbal affective vocalizations) or crossmodal (simultaneous, congruent facial and vocal affective expressions) stimuli. The results showed that older adults performed slower and worse than younger adults at recognizing negative emotions from isolated faces and voices. In the crossmodal condition, although slower, older adults were as accurate as younger except for anger. Importantly, additional analyses using the “race model” demonstrate that older adults benefited to the same extent as younger adults from the combination of facial and vocal emotional stimuli. These results help explain some conflicting results in the literature and may clarify emotional abilities related to daily life that are partially spared among older adults. PMID:26074845

Musicians are more consistent: Gestural cross-modal mappings of pitch, loudness and tempo in real-time

PubMed Central

Küssner, Mats B.; Tidhar, Dan; Prior, Helen M.; Leech-Wilkinson, Daniel

2014-01-01

Cross-modal mappings of auditory stimuli reveal valuable insights into how humans make sense of sound and music. Whereas researchers have investigated cross-modal mappings of sound features varied in isolation within paradigms such as speeded classification and forced-choice matching tasks, investigations of representations of concurrently varied sound features (e.g., pitch, loudness and tempo) with overt gestures—accounting for the intrinsic link between movement and sound—are scant. To explore the role of bodily gestures in cross-modal mappings of auditory stimuli we asked 64 musically trained and untrained participants to represent pure tones—continually sounding and concurrently varied in pitch, loudness and tempo—with gestures while the sound stimuli were played. We hypothesized musical training to lead to more consistent mappings between pitch and height, loudness and distance/height, and tempo and speed of hand movement and muscular energy. Our results corroborate previously reported pitch vs. height (higher pitch leading to higher elevation in space) and tempo vs. speed (increasing tempo leading to increasing speed of hand movement) associations, but also reveal novel findings pertaining to musical training which influenced consistency of pitch mappings, annulling a commonly observed bias for convex (i.e., rising–falling) pitch contours. Moreover, we reveal effects of interactions between musical parameters on cross-modal mappings (e.g., pitch and loudness on speed of hand movement), highlighting the importance of studying auditory stimuli concurrently varied in different musical parameters. Results are discussed in light of cross-modal cognition, with particular emphasis on studies within (embodied) music cognition. Implications for theoretical refinements and potential clinical applications are provided. PMID:25120506

Cross-modal enhancement of speech detection in young and older adults: does signal content matter?

PubMed

Tye-Murray, Nancy; Spehar, Brent; Myerson, Joel; Sommers, Mitchell S; Hale, Sandra

2011-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of age and visual content on cross-modal enhancement of auditory speech detection. Visual content consisted of three clearly distinct types of visual information: an unaltered video clip of a talker's face, a low-contrast version of the same clip, and a mouth-like Lissajous figure. It was hypothesized that both young and older adults would exhibit reduced enhancement as visual content diverged from the original clip of the talker's face, but that the decrease would be greater for older participants. Nineteen young adults and 19 older adults were asked to detect a single spoken syllable (/ba/) in speech-shaped noise, and the level of the signal was adaptively varied to establish the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at threshold. There was an auditory-only baseline condition and three audiovisual conditions in which the syllable was accompanied by one of the three visual signals (the unaltered clip of the talker's face, the low-contrast version of that clip, or the Lissajous figure). For each audiovisual condition, the SNR at threshold was compared with the SNR at threshold for the auditory-only condition to measure the amount of cross-modal enhancement. Young adults exhibited significant cross-modal enhancement with all three types of visual stimuli, with the greatest amount of enhancement observed for the unaltered clip of the talker's face. Older adults, in contrast, exhibited significant cross-modal enhancement only with the unaltered face. Results of this study suggest that visual signal content affects cross-modal enhancement of speech detection in both young and older adults. They also support a hypothesized age-related deficit in processing low-contrast visual speech stimuli, even in older adults with normal contrast sensitivity.

Cross-modality Sharpening of Visual Cortical Processing through Layer 1-Mediated Inhibition and Disinhibition

PubMed Central

Ibrahim, Leena A.; Mesik, Lukas; Ji, Xu-ying; Fang, Qi; Li, Hai-fu; Li, Ya-tang; Zingg, Brian; Zhang, Li I.; Tao, Huizhong Whit

2016-01-01

Summary Cross-modality interaction in sensory perception is advantageous for animals’ survival. How cortical sensory processing is cross-modally modulated and what are the underlying neural circuits remain poorly understood. In mouse primary visual cortex (V1), we discovered that orientation selectivity of layer (L)2/3 but not L4 excitatory neurons was sharpened in the presence of sound or optogenetic activation of projections from primary auditory cortex (A1) to V1. The effect was manifested by decreased average visual responses yet increased responses at the preferred orientation. It was more pronounced at lower visual contrast, and was diminished by suppressing L1 activity. L1 neurons were strongly innervated by A1-V1 axons and excited by sound, while visual responses of L2/3 vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) neurons were suppressed by sound, both preferentially at the cell's preferred orientation. These results suggest that the cross-modality modulation is achieved primarily through L1 neuron and L2/3 VIP-cell mediated inhibitory and disinhibitory circuits. PMID:26898778

Auditory Emotion Word Primes Influence Emotional Face Categorization in Children and Adults, but Not Vice Versa.

PubMed

Vesker, Michael; Bahn, Daniela; Kauschke, Christina; Tschense, Monika; Degé, Franziska; Schwarzer, Gudrun

2018-01-01

In order to assess how the perception of audible speech and facial expressions influence one another for the perception of emotions, and how this influence might change over the course of development, we conducted two cross-modal priming experiments with three age groups of children (6-, 9-, and 12-years old), as well as college-aged adults. In Experiment 1, 74 children and 24 adult participants were tasked with categorizing photographs of emotional faces as positive or negative as quickly as possible after being primed with emotion words presented via audio in valence-congruent and valence-incongruent trials. In Experiment 2, 67 children and 24 adult participants carried out a similar categorization task, but with faces acting as visual primes, and emotion words acting as auditory targets. The results of Experiment 1 showed that participants made more errors when categorizing positive faces primed by negative words versus positive words, and that 6-year-old children are particularly sensitive to positive word primes, giving faster correct responses regardless of target valence. Meanwhile, the results of Experiment 2 did not show any congruency effects for priming by facial expressions. Thus, audible emotion words seem to exert an influence on the emotional categorization of faces, while faces do not seem to influence the categorization of emotion words in a significant way.

Adaptation to faces and voices: unimodal, cross-modal, and sex-specific effects.

PubMed

Little, Anthony C; Feinberg, David R; Debruine, Lisa M; Jones, Benedict C

2013-11-01

Exposure, or adaptation, to faces or voices biases perceptions of subsequent stimuli, for example, causing faces to appear more normal than they would be otherwise if they are similar to the previously presented stimuli. Studies also suggest that there may be cross-modal adaptation between sound and vision, although the evidence is inconsistent. We examined adaptation effects within and across voices and faces and also tested whether adaptation crosses between male and female stimuli. We exposed participants to sex-typical or sex-atypical stimuli and measured the perceived normality of subsequent stimuli. Exposure to female faces or voices altered perceptions of subsequent female stimuli, and these adaptation effects crossed modality; exposure to voices influenced judgments of faces, and vice versa. We also found that exposure to female stimuli did not influence perception of subsequent male stimuli. Our data demonstrate that recent experience of faces and voices changes subsequent perception and that mental representations of faces and voices may not be modality dependent. Both unimodal and cross-modal adaptation effects appear to be relatively sex-specific.

Auditory cross-modal reorganization in cochlear implant users indicates audio-visual integration.

PubMed

Stropahl, Maren; Debener, Stefan

2017-01-01

There is clear evidence for cross-modal cortical reorganization in the auditory system of post-lingually deafened cochlear implant (CI) users. A recent report suggests that moderate sensori-neural hearing loss is already sufficient to initiate corresponding cortical changes. To what extend these changes are deprivation-induced or related to sensory recovery is still debated. Moreover, the influence of cross-modal reorganization on CI benefit is also still unclear. While reorganization during deafness may impede speech recovery, reorganization also has beneficial influences on face recognition and lip-reading. As CI users were observed to show differences in multisensory integration, the question arises if cross-modal reorganization is related to audio-visual integration skills. The current electroencephalography study investigated cortical reorganization in experienced post-lingually deafened CI users ( n  = 18), untreated mild to moderately hearing impaired individuals (n = 18) and normal hearing controls ( n  = 17). Cross-modal activation of the auditory cortex by means of EEG source localization in response to human faces and audio-visual integration, quantified with the McGurk illusion, were measured. CI users revealed stronger cross-modal activations compared to age-matched normal hearing individuals. Furthermore, CI users showed a relationship between cross-modal activation and audio-visual integration strength. This may further support a beneficial relationship between cross-modal activation and daily-life communication skills that may not be fully captured by laboratory-based speech perception tests. Interestingly, hearing impaired individuals showed behavioral and neurophysiological results that were numerically between the other two groups, and they showed a moderate relationship between cross-modal activation and the degree of hearing loss. This further supports the notion that auditory deprivation evokes a reorganization of the auditory system even at early stages of hearing loss.

THE REELIN RECEPTORS VLDLR AND ApoER2 REGULATE SENSORIMOTOR GATING IN MICE

PubMed Central

Barr, Alasdair M.; Fish, Kenneth N.; Markou, Athina

2007-01-01

Summary Postmortem brain loss of reelin is noted in schizophrenia patients. Accordingly, heterozygous reeler mutant mice have been proposed as a putative model of this disorder. Little is known, however, about the involvement of the two receptors for reelin, Very-Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor (VLDLR) and Apolipoprotein E Receptor 2 (ApoER2), on pre-cognitive processes of relevance to deficits seen in schizophrenia. Thus, we evaluated sensorimotor gating in mutant mice heterozygous or homozygous for the two reelin receptors. Mutant mice lacking one of these reelin receptors were tested for prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex prior to and following puberty, and on a crossmodal PPI task, involving the presentation of acoustic and tactile stimuli. Furthermore, because schizophrenia patients show increased sensitivity to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor blockade, we assessed the sensitivity of these mice to the PPI-disruptive effects of the NMDA receptor antagonist phencyclidine. The results demonstrated that acoustic PPI did not differ between mutant and wildtype mice. However, VLDLR homozygous mice displayed significant deficits in crossmodal PPI, while ApoER2 heterozygous and homozygous mice displayed significantly increased crossmodal PPI. Both ApoER2 and VLDLR heterozygous and homozygous mice exhibited greater sensitivity to the PPI-disruptive effects of phencyclidine than wildtype mice. These results indicate that partial or complete loss of either one of the reelin receptors results in a complex pattern of alterations in PPI function that include alterations in crossmodal, but not acoustic, PPI and increased sensitivity to NMDA receptor blockade. Thus, reelin receptor function appears to be critically involved in crossmodal PPI and the modulation of the PPI response by NMDA receptors. These findings have relevance to a range of neuropsychiatric disorders that involve sensorimotor gating deficits, including schizophrenia.. PMID:17261317

Associative learning changes cross-modal representations in the gustatory cortex

PubMed Central

Vincis, Roberto; Fontanini, Alfredo

2016-01-01

A growing body of literature has demonstrated that primary sensory cortices are not exclusively unimodal, but can respond to stimuli of different sensory modalities. However, several questions concerning the neural representation of cross-modal stimuli remain open. Indeed, it is poorly understood if cross-modal stimuli evoke unique or overlapping representations in a primary sensory cortex and whether learning can modulate these representations. Here we recorded single unit responses to auditory, visual, somatosensory, and olfactory stimuli in the gustatory cortex (GC) of alert rats before and after associative learning. We found that, in untrained rats, the majority of GC neurons were modulated by a single modality. Upon learning, both prevalence of cross-modal responsive neurons and their breadth of tuning increased, leading to a greater overlap of representations. Altogether, our results show that the gustatory cortex represents cross-modal stimuli according to their sensory identity, and that learning changes the overlap of cross-modal representations. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16420.001 PMID:27572258

[Factors related to nurses' patient identification behavior and the moderating effect of person-organization value congruence climate within nursing units].

PubMed

Kim, Young Mee; Kang, Seung Wan; Kim, Se Young

2014-04-01

This research was an empirical study designed to identify precursors and interaction effects related to nurses' patient identification behavior. A multilevel analysis methodology was used. A self-report survey was administered to registered nurses (RNs) of a university hospital in South Korea. Of the questionnaires, 1114 were analyzed. The individual-level factors that had a significantly positive association with patient identification behavior were person-organization value congruence, organizational commitment, occupational commitment, tenure at the hospital, and tenure at the unit. Significantly negative group-level precursors of patient identification behavior were burnout climate and the number of RNs. Two interaction effects of the person-organization value congruence climate were identified. The first was a group-level moderating effect in which the negative relationship between the number of RNs and patient identification behavior was weaker when the nursing unit's value congruence climate was high. The second was a cross-level moderating effect in which the positive relationship between tenure at the unit and patient identification behavior was weaker when value congruence climate was high. This study simultaneously tested both individual-level and group-level factors that potentially influence patient identification behavior and identified the moderating role of person-organization value congruence climate. Implications of these results are discussed.

How holistic processing of faces relates to cognitive control and intelligence.

PubMed

Gauthier, Isabel; Chua, Kao-Wei; Richler, Jennifer J

2018-04-16

The Vanderbilt Holistic Processing Test for faces (VHPT-F) is the first standard test designed to measure individual differences in holistic processing. The test measures failures of selective attention to face parts through congruency effects, an operational definition of holistic processing. However, this conception of holistic processing has been challenged by the suggestion that it may tap into the same selective attention or cognitive control mechanisms that yield congruency effects in Stroop and Flanker paradigms. Here, we report data from 130 subjects on the VHPT-F, several versions of Stroop and Flanker tasks, as well as fluid IQ. Results suggested a small degree of shared variance in Stroop and Flanker congruency effects, which did not relate to congruency effects on the VHPT-F. Variability on the VHPT-F was also not correlated with Fluid IQ. In sum, we find no evidence that holistic face processing as measured by congruency in the VHPT-F is accounted for by domain-general control mechanisms.

Unconscious Cross-Modal Priming of Auditory Sound Localization by Visual Words

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ansorge, Ulrich; Khalid, Shah; Laback, Bernhard

2016-01-01

Little is known about the cross-modal integration of unconscious and conscious information. In the current study, we therefore tested whether the spatial meaning of an unconscious visual word, such as "up", influences the perceived location of a subsequently presented auditory target. Although cross-modal integration of unconscious…

Cross-modal representation of spoken and written word meaning in left pars triangularis.

PubMed

Liuzzi, Antonietta Gabriella; Bruffaerts, Rose; Peeters, Ronald; Adamczuk, Katarzyna; Keuleers, Emmanuel; De Deyne, Simon; Storms, Gerrit; Dupont, Patrick; Vandenberghe, Rik

2017-04-15

The correspondence in meaning extracted from written versus spoken input remains to be fully understood neurobiologically. Here, in a total of 38 subjects, the functional anatomy of cross-modal semantic similarity for concrete words was determined based on a dual criterion: First, a voxelwise univariate analysis had to show significant activation during a semantic task (property verification) performed with written and spoken concrete words compared to the perceptually matched control condition. Second, in an independent dataset, in these clusters, the similarity in fMRI response pattern to two distinct entities, one presented as a written and the other as a spoken word, had to correlate with the similarity in meaning between these entities. The left ventral occipitotemporal transition zone and ventromedial temporal cortex, retrosplenial cortex, pars orbitalis bilaterally, and the left pars triangularis were all activated in the univariate contrast. Only the left pars triangularis showed a cross-modal semantic similarity effect. There was no effect of phonological nor orthographic similarity in this region. The cross-modal semantic similarity effect was confirmed by a secondary analysis in the cytoarchitectonically defined BA45. A semantic similarity effect was also present in the ventral occipital regions but only within the visual modality, and in the anterior superior temporal cortex only within the auditory modality. This study provides direct evidence for the coding of word meaning in BA45 and positions its contribution to semantic processing at the confluence of input-modality specific pathways that code for meaning within the respective input modalities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Clock synchronization by accelerated observers - Metric construction for arbitrary congruences of world lines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henriksen, R. N.; Nelson, L. A.

1985-01-01

Clock synchronization in an arbitrarily accelerated observer congruence is considered. A general solution is obtained that maintains the isotropy and coordinate independence of the one-way speed of light. Attention is also given to various particular cases including, rotating disk congruence or ring congruence. An explicit, congruence-based spacetime metric is constructed according to Einstein's clock synchronization procedure and the equation for the geodesics of the space-time was derived using Hamilton-Jacobi method. The application of interferometric techniques (absolute phase radio interferometry, VLBI) to the detection of the 'global Sagnac effect' is also discussed.

Priming within and across modalities: exploring the nature of rCBF increases and decreases.

PubMed

Badgaiyan, R D; Schacter, D L; Alpert, N M

2001-02-01

Neuroimaging studies suggest that within-modality priming is associated with reduced regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the extrastriate area, whereas cross-modality priming is associated with increased rCBF in prefrontal cortex. To characterize the nature of rCBF changes in within- and cross-modality priming, we conducted two neuroimaging experiments using positron emission tomography (PET). In experiment 1, rCBF changes in within-modality auditory priming on a word stem completion task were observed under same- and different-voice conditions. Both conditions were associated with decreased rCBF in extrastriate cortex. In the different-voice condition there were additional rCBF changes in the middle temporal gyrus and prefrontal cortex. Results suggest that the extrastriate involvement in within-modality priming is sensitive to a change in sensory modality of target stimuli between study and test, but not to a change in the feature of a stimulus within the same modality. In experiment 2, we studied cross-modality priming on a visual stem completion test after encoding under full- and divided-attention conditions. Increased rCBF in the anterior prefrontal cortex was observed in the full- but not in the divided-attention condition. Because explicit retrieval is compromised after encoding under the divided-attention condition, prefrontal involvement in cross-modality priming indicates recruitment of an aspect of explicit retrieval mechanism. The aspect of explicit retrieval that is most likely to be involved in cross-modality priming is the familiarity effect. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Medial Unicondylar Knee Arthroplasty Improves Patellofemoral Congruence: a Possible Mechanistic Explanation for Poor Association Between Patellofemoral Degeneration and Clinical Outcome.

PubMed

Thein, Ran; Zuiderbaan, Hendrik A; Khamaisy, Saker; Nawabi, Danyal H; Poultsides, Lazaros A; Pearle, Andrew D

2015-11-01

The purpose was to determine the effect of medial fixed bearing unicondylar knee arthroplasty (UKA) on postoperative patellofemoral joint (PFJ) congruence and analyze the relationship of preoperative PFJ degeneration on clinical outcome. We retrospectively reviewed 110 patients (113 knees) who underwent medial UKA. Radiographs were evaluated to ascertain PFJ degenerative changes and congruence. Clinical outcomes were assessed preoperatively and postoperatively. The postoperative absolute patellar congruence angle (10.05 ± 10.28) was significantly improved compared with the preoperative value (14.23 ± 11.22) (P = 0.0038). No correlation was found between preoperative PFJ congruence or degeneration severity, and WOMAC scores at two-year follow up. Pre-operative PFJ congruence and degenerative changes do not affect UKA clinical outcomes. This finding may be explained by the post-op PFJ congruence improvement. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Color selectivity of the spatial congruency effect: evidence from the focused attention paradigm.

PubMed

Makovac, Elena; Gerbino, Walter

2014-01-01

The multisensory response enhancement (MRE), occurring when the response to a visual target integrated with a spatially congruent sound is stronger than the response to the visual target alone, is believed to be mediated by the superior colliculus (SC) (Stein & Meredith, 1993). Here, we used a focused attention paradigm to show that the spatial congruency effect occurs with red (SC-effective) but not blue (SC-ineffective) visual stimuli, when presented with spatially congruent sounds. To isolate the chromatic component of SC-ineffective targets and to demonstrate the selectivity of the spatial congruency effect we used the random luminance modulation technique (Experiment 1) and the tritanopic technique (Experiment 2). Our results indicate that the spatial congruency effect does not require the distribution of attention over different sensory modalities and provide correlational evidence that the SC mediates the effect.

Characteristic sounds facilitate visual search.

PubMed

Iordanescu, Lucica; Guzman-Martinez, Emmanuel; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

2008-06-01

In a natural environment, objects that we look for often make characteristic sounds. A hiding cat may meow, or the keys in the cluttered drawer may jingle when moved. Using a visual search paradigm, we demonstrated that characteristic sounds facilitated visual localization of objects, even when the sounds carried no location information. For example, finding a cat was faster when participants heard a meow sound. In contrast, sounds had no effect when participants searched for names rather than pictures of objects. For example, hearing "meow" did not facilitate localization of the word cat. These results suggest that characteristic sounds cross-modally enhance visual (rather than conceptual) processing of the corresponding objects. Our behavioral demonstration of object-based cross-modal enhancement complements the extensive literature on space-based cross-modal interactions. When looking for your keys next time, you might want to play jingling sounds.

Crossmodal interactions during non-linguistic auditory processing in cochlear-implanted deaf patients.

PubMed

Barone, Pascal; Chambaudie, Laure; Strelnikov, Kuzma; Fraysse, Bernard; Marx, Mathieu; Belin, Pascal; Deguine, Olivier

2016-10-01

Due to signal distortion, speech comprehension in cochlear-implanted (CI) patients relies strongly on visual information, a compensatory strategy supported by important cortical crossmodal reorganisations. Though crossmodal interactions are evident for speech processing, it is unclear whether a visual influence is observed in CI patients during non-linguistic visual-auditory processing, such as face-voice interactions, which are important in social communication. We analyse and compare visual-auditory interactions in CI patients and normal-hearing subjects (NHS) at equivalent auditory performance levels. Proficient CI patients and NHS performed a voice-gender categorisation in the visual-auditory modality from a morphing-generated voice continuum between male and female speakers, while ignoring the presentation of a male or female visual face. Our data show that during the face-voice interaction, CI deaf patients are strongly influenced by visual information when performing an auditory gender categorisation task, in spite of maximum recovery of auditory speech. No such effect is observed in NHS, even in situations of CI simulation. Our hypothesis is that the functional crossmodal reorganisation that occurs in deafness could influence nonverbal processing, such as face-voice interaction; this is important for patient internal supramodal representation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chess masters show a hallmark of face processing with chess.

PubMed

Boggan, Amy L; Bartlett, James C; Krawczyk, Daniel C

2012-02-01

Face processing has several distinctive hallmarks that researchers have attributed either to face-specific mechanisms or to extensive experience distinguishing faces. Here, we examined the face-processing hallmark of selective attention failure--as indexed by the congruency effect in the composite paradigm--in a domain of extreme expertise: chess. Among 27 experts, we found that the congruency effect was equally strong with chessboards and faces. Further, comparing these experts with recreational players and novices, we observed a trade-off: Chess expertise was positively related to the congruency effect with chess yet negatively related to the congruency effect with faces. These and other findings reveal a case of expertise-dependent, facelike processing of objects of expertise and suggest that face and expert-chess recognition share common processes.

Crossmodal Connections of Primary Sensory Cortices Largely Vanish During Normal Aging

PubMed Central

Henschke, Julia U.; Ohl, Frank W.; Budinger, Eike

2018-01-01

During aging, human response times (RTs) to unisensory and crossmodal stimuli decrease. However, the elderly benefit more from crossmodal stimulus representations than younger people. The underlying short-latency multisensory integration process is mediated by direct crossmodal connections at the level of primary sensory cortices. We investigate the age-related changes of these connections using a rodent model (Mongolian gerbil), retrograde tracer injections into the primary auditory (A1), somatosensory (S1), and visual cortex (V1), and immunohistochemistry for markers of apoptosis (Caspase-3), axonal plasticity (Growth associated protein 43, GAP 43), and a calcium-binding protein (Parvalbumin, PV). In adult animals, primary sensory cortices receive a substantial number of direct thalamic inputs from nuclei of their matched, but also from nuclei of non-matched sensory modalities. There are also direct intracortical connections among primary sensory cortices and connections with secondary sensory cortices of other modalities. In very old animals, the crossmodal connections strongly decrease in number or vanish entirely. This is likely due to a retraction of the projection neuron axonal branches rather than ongoing programmed cell death. The loss of crossmodal connections is also accompanied by changes in anatomical correlates of inhibition and excitation in the sensory thalamus and cortex. Together, the loss and restructuring of crossmodal connections during aging suggest a shift of multisensory processing from primary cortices towards other sensory brain areas in elderly individuals. PMID:29551970

Crossmodal Connections of Primary Sensory Cortices Largely Vanish During Normal Aging.

PubMed

Henschke, Julia U; Ohl, Frank W; Budinger, Eike

2018-01-01

During aging, human response times (RTs) to unisensory and crossmodal stimuli decrease. However, the elderly benefit more from crossmodal stimulus representations than younger people. The underlying short-latency multisensory integration process is mediated by direct crossmodal connections at the level of primary sensory cortices. We investigate the age-related changes of these connections using a rodent model (Mongolian gerbil), retrograde tracer injections into the primary auditory (A1), somatosensory (S1), and visual cortex (V1), and immunohistochemistry for markers of apoptosis (Caspase-3), axonal plasticity (Growth associated protein 43, GAP 43), and a calcium-binding protein (Parvalbumin, PV). In adult animals, primary sensory cortices receive a substantial number of direct thalamic inputs from nuclei of their matched, but also from nuclei of non-matched sensory modalities. There are also direct intracortical connections among primary sensory cortices and connections with secondary sensory cortices of other modalities. In very old animals, the crossmodal connections strongly decrease in number or vanish entirely. This is likely due to a retraction of the projection neuron axonal branches rather than ongoing programmed cell death. The loss of crossmodal connections is also accompanied by changes in anatomical correlates of inhibition and excitation in the sensory thalamus and cortex. Together, the loss and restructuring of crossmodal connections during aging suggest a shift of multisensory processing from primary cortices towards other sensory brain areas in elderly individuals.

Do early sensory cortices integrate cross-modal information?

PubMed

Kayser, Christoph; Logothetis, Nikos K

2007-09-01

Our different senses provide complementary evidence about the environment and their interaction often aids behavioral performance or alters the quality of the sensory percept. A traditional view defers the merging of sensory information to higher association cortices, and posits that a large part of the brain can be reduced into a collection of unisensory systems that can be studied in isolation. Recent studies, however, challenge this view and suggest that cross-modal interactions can already occur in areas hitherto regarded as unisensory. We review results from functional imaging and electrophysiology exemplifying cross-modal interactions that occur early during the evoked response, and at the earliest stages of sensory cortical processing. Although anatomical studies revealed several potential origins of these cross-modal influences, there is yet no clear relation between particular functional observations and specific anatomical connections. In addition, our view on sensory integration at the neuronal level is coined by many studies on subcortical model systems of sensory integration; yet, the patterns of cross-modal interaction in cortex deviate from these model systems in several ways. Consequently, future studies on cortical sensory integration need to leave the descriptive level and need to incorporate cross-modal influences into models of the organization of sensory processing. Only then will we be able to determine whether early cross-modal interactions truly merit the label sensory integration, and how they increase a sensory system's ability to scrutinize its environment and finally aid behavior.

Contextual Congruency Effect in Natural Scene Categorization: Different Strategies in Humans and Monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

PubMed Central

Collet, Anne-Claire; Fize, Denis; VanRullen, Rufin

2015-01-01

Rapid visual categorization is a crucial ability for survival of many animal species, including monkeys and humans. In real conditions, objects (either animate or inanimate) are never isolated but embedded in a complex background made of multiple elements. It has been shown in humans and monkeys that the contextual background can either enhance or impair object categorization, depending on context/object congruency (for example, an animal in a natural vs. man-made environment). Moreover, a scene is not only a collection of objects; it also has global physical features (i.e phase and amplitude of Fourier spatial frequencies) which help define its gist. In our experiment, we aimed to explore and compare the contribution of the amplitude spectrum of scenes in the context-object congruency effect in monkeys and humans. We designed a rapid visual categorization task, Animal versus Non-Animal, using as contexts both real scenes photographs and noisy backgrounds built from the amplitude spectrum of real scenes but with randomized phase spectrum. We showed that even if the contextual congruency effect was comparable in both species when the context was a real scene, it differed when the foreground object was surrounded by a noisy background: in monkeys we found a similar congruency effect in both conditions, but in humans the congruency effect was absent (or even reversed) when the context was a noisy background. PMID:26207915

[Effects of nurses' perception of servant leadership on leader effectiveness, satisfaction and additional effort: focused on the mediating effects of leader trust and value congruence].

PubMed

Han, Sang Sook; Kim, Nam Eun

2012-02-01

This study was done to examine the effects of nurses' perception of servant leadership on leader effectiveness, satisfaction and promoting additional effort. The focus was the mediating effects of leader trust and value congruence. Data were collected from 361 RN-BSN students and nurses participating in nationally attended in-service training programs. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and structural analysis with SPSS 17.0 windows program and Amos 7.0. Direct effects of nurses' perception of servant leadership were negative, but mediating effects of trust and value congruency were positively correlated with leader effectiveness, satisfaction and additional effort, that is servant leadership should be effective through mediating factors. The study results indicate that if the middle managers of nurses can build leader trust and value congruency between nurses through servant leadership, leader effectiveness, satisfaction and additional effort on the part of the nurses could result in a positive change in the long term.

The effect of unimodal affective priming on dichotic emotion recognition.

PubMed

Voyer, Daniel; Myles, Daniel

2017-11-15

The present report concerns two experiments extending to unimodal priming the cross-modal priming effects observed with auditory emotions by Harding and Voyer [(2016). Laterality effects in cross-modal affective priming. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 21, 585-605]. Experiment 1 used binaural targets to establish the presence of the priming effect and Experiment 2 used dichotically presented targets to examine auditory asymmetries. In Experiment 1, 82 university students completed a task in which binaural targets consisting of one of 4 English words inflected in one of 4 emotional tones were preceded by binaural primes consisting of one of 4 Mandarin words pronounced in the same (congruent) or different (incongruent) emotional tones. Trials where the prime emotion was congruent with the target emotion showed faster responses and higher accuracy in identifying the target emotion. In Experiment 2, 60 undergraduate students participated and the target was presented dichotically instead of binaurally. Primes congruent with the left ear produced a large left ear advantage, whereas right congruent primes produced a right ear advantage. These results indicate that unimodal priming produces stronger effects than those observed under cross-modal priming. The findings suggest that priming should likely be considered a strong top-down influence on laterality effects.

Values Congruence: Its Effect on Perceptions of Montana Elementary School Principal Leadership Practices and Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zorn, Daniel Roy

2010-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between principal and teacher values congruence and perceived principal leadership practices. Additionally, this study considered the relationship between values congruence, leadership practices, and student achievement. The perceptions teachers hold regarding their principal's…

Delineating the effect of semantic congruency on episodic memory: the role of integration and relatedness.

PubMed

Bein, Oded; Livneh, Neta; Reggev, Niv; Gilead, Michael; Goshen-Gottstein, Yonatan; Maril, Anat

2015-01-01

A fundamental challenge in the study of learning and memory is to understand the role of existing knowledge in the encoding and retrieval of new episodic information. The importance of prior knowledge in memory is demonstrated in the congruency effect-the robust finding wherein participants display better memory for items that are compatible, rather than incompatible, with their pre-existing semantic knowledge. Despite its robustness, the mechanism underlying this effect is not well understood. In four studies, we provide evidence that demonstrates the privileged explanatory power of the elaboration-integration account over alternative hypotheses. Furthermore, we question the implicit assumption that the congruency effect pertains to the truthfulness/sensibility of a subject-predicate proposition, and show that congruency is a function of semantic relatedness between item and context words.

Coupling between Theta Oscillations and Cognitive Control Network during Cross-Modal Visual and Auditory Attention: Supramodal vs Modality-Specific Mechanisms.

PubMed

Wang, Wuyi; Viswanathan, Shivakumar; Lee, Taraz; Grafton, Scott T

2016-01-01

Cortical theta band oscillations (4-8 Hz) in EEG signals have been shown to be important for a variety of different cognitive control operations in visual attention paradigms. However the synchronization source of these signals as defined by fMRI BOLD activity and the extent to which theta oscillations play a role in multimodal attention remains unknown. Here we investigated the extent to which cross-modal visual and auditory attention impacts theta oscillations. Using a simultaneous EEG-fMRI paradigm, healthy human participants performed an attentional vigilance task with six cross-modal conditions using naturalistic stimuli. To assess supramodal mechanisms, modulation of theta oscillation amplitude for attention to either visual or auditory stimuli was correlated with BOLD activity by conjunction analysis. Negative correlation was localized to cortical regions associated with the default mode network and positively with ventral premotor areas. Modality-associated attention to visual stimuli was marked by a positive correlation of theta and BOLD activity in fronto-parietal area that was not observed in the auditory condition. A positive correlation of theta and BOLD activity was observed in auditory cortex, while a negative correlation of theta and BOLD activity was observed in visual cortex during auditory attention. The data support a supramodal interaction of theta activity with of DMN function, and modality-associated processes within fronto-parietal networks related to top-down theta related cognitive control in cross-modal visual attention. On the other hand, in sensory cortices there are opposing effects of theta activity during cross-modal auditory attention.

Enhanced tactile encoding and memory recognition in congenital blindness.

PubMed

D'Angiulli, Amedeo; Waraich, Paul

2002-06-01

Several behavioural studies have shown that early-blind persons possess superior tactile skills. Since neurophysiological data show that early-blind persons recruit visual as well as somatosensory cortex to carry out tactile processing (cross-modal plasticity), blind persons' sharper tactile skills may be related to cortical re-organisation resulting from loss of vision early in their life. To examine the nature of blind individuals' tactile superiority and its implications for cross-modal plasticity, we compared the tactile performance of congenitally totally blind, low-vision and sighted children on raised-line picture identification test and re-test, assessing effects of task familiarity, exploratory strategy and memory recognition. What distinguished the blind from the other children was higher memory recognition and higher tactile encoding associated with efficient exploration. These results suggest that enhanced perceptual encoding and recognition memory may be two cognitive correlates of cross-modal plasticity in congenital blindness.

Characteristic sounds facilitate visual search

PubMed Central

Iordanescu, Lucica; Guzman-Martinez, Emmanuel; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

2009-01-01

In a natural environment, objects that we look for often make characteristic sounds. A hiding cat may meow, or the keys in the cluttered drawer may jingle when moved. Using a visual search paradigm, we demonstrated that characteristic sounds facilitated visual localization of objects, even when the sounds carried no location information. For example, finding a cat was faster when participants heard a meow sound. In contrast, sounds had no effect when participants searched for names rather than pictures of objects. For example, hearing “meow” did not facilitate localization of the word cat. These results suggest that characteristic sounds cross-modally enhance visual (rather than conceptual) processing of the corresponding objects. Our behavioral demonstration of object-based cross-modal enhancement complements the extensive literature on space-based cross-modal interactions. When looking for your keys next time, you might want to play jingling sounds. PMID:18567253

Neural practice effect during cross-modal selective attention: Supra-modal and modality-specific effects.

PubMed

Xia, Jing; Zhang, Wei; Jiang, Yizhou; Li, You; Chen, Qi

2018-05-16

Practice and experiences gradually shape the central nervous system, from the synaptic level to large-scale neural networks. In natural multisensory environment, even when inundated by streams of information from multiple sensory modalities, our brain does not give equal weight to different modalities. Rather, visual information more frequently receives preferential processing and eventually dominates consciousness and behavior, i.e., visual dominance. It remains unknown, however, the supra-modal and modality-specific practice effect during cross-modal selective attention, and moreover whether the practice effect shows similar modality preferences as the visual dominance effect in the multisensory environment. To answer the above two questions, we adopted a cross-modal selective attention paradigm in conjunction with the hybrid fMRI design. Behaviorally, visual performance significantly improved while auditory performance remained constant with practice, indicating that visual attention more flexibly adapted behavior with practice than auditory attention. At the neural level, the practice effect was associated with decreasing neural activity in the frontoparietal executive network and increasing activity in the default mode network, which occurred independently of the modality attended, i.e., the supra-modal mechanisms. On the other hand, functional decoupling between the auditory and the visual system was observed with the progress of practice, which varied as a function of the modality attended. The auditory system was functionally decoupled with both the dorsal and ventral visual stream during auditory attention while was decoupled only with the ventral visual stream during visual attention. To efficiently suppress the irrelevant visual information with practice, auditory attention needs to additionally decouple the auditory system from the dorsal visual stream. The modality-specific mechanisms, together with the behavioral effect, thus support the visual dominance model in terms of the practice effect during cross-modal selective attention. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neural differences between the processing of musical meaning conveyed by direction of pitch change and natural music in congenital amusia.

PubMed

Zhou, Linshu; Liu, Fang; Jing, Xiaoyi; Jiang, Cunmei

2017-02-01

Music is a unique communication system for human beings. Iconic musical meaning is one dimension of musical meaning, which emerges from musical information resembling sounds of objects, qualities of objects, or qualities of abstract concepts. The present study investigated whether congenital amusia, a disorder of musical pitch perception, impacts the processing of iconic musical meaning. With a cross-modal semantic priming paradigm, target images were primed by semantically congruent or incongruent musical excerpts, which were characterized by direction (upward or downward) of pitch change (Experiment 1), or were selected from natural music (Experiment 2). Twelve Mandarin-speaking amusics and 12 controls performed a recognition (implicit) and a semantic congruency judgment (explicit) task while their EEG waveforms were recorded. Unlike controls, amusics failed to elicit an N400 effect when musical meaning was represented by direction of pitch change, regardless of the nature of the tasks (implicit versus explicit). However, the N400 effect in response to musical meaning in natural musical excerpts was observed for both the groups in both types of tasks. These results indicate that amusics are able to process iconic musical meaning through multiple acoustic cues in natural musical excerpts, but not through the direction of pitch change. This is the first study to investigate the processing of musical meaning in congenital amusia, providing evidence in support of the "melodic contour deafness hypothesis" with regard to iconic musical meaning processing in this disorder. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the role of attention for the processing of emotions in speech: sex differences revisited.

PubMed

Schirmer, Annett; Kotz, Sonja A; Friederici, Angela D

2005-08-01

In a previous cross-modal priming study [A. Schirmer, A.S. Kotz, A.D. Friederici, Sex differentiates the role of emotional prosody during word processing, Cogn. Brain Res. 14 (2002) 228-233.], we found that women integrated emotional prosody and word valence earlier than men. Both sexes showed a smaller N400 in the event-related potential to emotional words when these words were preceded by a sentence with congruous compared to incongruous emotional prosody. However, women showed this effect with a 200-ms interval between prime sentence and target word whereas men showed the effect with a 750-ms interval. The present study was designed to determine whether these sex differences prevail when attention is directed towards the emotional content of prosody and word meaning. To this end, we presented the same prime sentences and target words as in our previous study. Sentences were spoken with happy or sad prosody and followed by a congruous or incongruous emotional word or pseudoword. The interval between sentence offset and target onset was 200 ms. In addition to performing a lexical decision, participants were asked to decide whether or not a word matched the emotional prosody of the preceding sentence. The combined lexical and congruence judgment failed to reveal differences in emotional-prosodic priming between men and women. Both sexes showed smaller N400 amplitudes to emotionally congruent compared to incongruent words. This suggests that the presence of sex differences in emotional-prosodic priming depends on whether or not participants are instructed to take emotional prosody into account.

Auditory Sensory Substitution is Intuitive and Automatic with Texture Stimuli

PubMed Central

Stiles, Noelle R. B.; Shimojo, Shinsuke

2015-01-01

Millions of people are blind worldwide. Sensory substitution (SS) devices (e.g., vOICe) can assist the blind by encoding a video stream into a sound pattern, recruiting visual brain areas for auditory analysis via crossmodal interactions and plasticity. SS devices often require extensive training to attain limited functionality. In contrast to conventional attention-intensive SS training that starts with visual primitives (e.g., geometrical shapes), we argue that sensory substitution can be engaged efficiently by using stimuli (such as textures) associated with intrinsic crossmodal mappings. Crossmodal mappings link images with sounds and tactile patterns. We show that intuitive SS sounds can be matched to the correct images by naive sighted participants just as well as by intensively-trained participants. This result indicates that existing crossmodal interactions and amodal sensory cortical processing may be as important in the interpretation of patterns by SS as crossmodal plasticity (e.g., the strengthening of existing connections or the formation of new ones), especially at the earlier stages of SS usage. An SS training procedure based on crossmodal mappings could both considerably improve participant performance and shorten training times, thereby enabling SS devices to significantly expand blind capabilities. PMID:26490260

Leader-follower value congruence in social responsibility and ethical satisfaction: a polynomial regression analysis.

PubMed

Kang, Seung-Wan; Byun, Gukdo; Park, Hun-Joon

2014-12-01

This paper presents empirical research into the relationship between leader-follower value congruence in social responsibility and the level of ethical satisfaction for employees in the workplace. 163 dyads were analyzed, each consisting of a team leader and an employee working at a large manufacturing company in South Korea. Following current methodological recommendations for congruence research, polynomial regression and response surface modeling methodologies were used to determine the effects of value congruence. Results indicate that leader-follower value congruence in social responsibility was positively related to the ethical satisfaction of employees. Furthermore, employees' ethical satisfaction was stronger when aligned with a leader with high social responsibility. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Gender affects semantic competition: the effect of gender in a non-gender-marking language.

PubMed

Fukumura, Kumiko; Hyönä, Jukka; Scholfield, Merete

2013-07-01

English speakers tend to produce fewer pronouns when a referential competitor has the same gender as the referent than otherwise. Traditionally, this gender congruence effect has been explained in terms of ambiguity avoidance (e.g., Arnold, Eisenband, Brown-Schmidt, & Trueswell, 2000; Fukumura, Van Gompel, & Pickering, 2010). However, an alternative hypothesis is that the competitor's gender congruence affects semantic competition, making the referent less accessible relative to when the competitor has a different gender (Arnold & Griffin, 2007). Experiment 1 found that even in Finnish, which is a nongendered language, the competitor's gender congruence results in fewer pronouns, supporting the semantic competition account. In Experiment 2, Finnish native speakers took part in an English version of the same experiment. The effect of gender congruence was larger in Experiment 2 than in Experiment 1, suggesting that the presence of a same-gender competitor resulted in a larger reduction in pronoun use in English than in Finnish. In contrast, other nonlinguistic similarity had similar effects in both experiments. This indicates that the effect of gender congruence in English is not entirely driven by semantic competition: Speakers also avoid gender-ambiguous pronouns. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Interest Congruency as a Moderator of the Relationships between Job Tenure and Job Satisfaction and Mental Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Kenneth; Wiener, Yoash

1977-01-01

In a sample of 54 middle managers, significant moderator effects were found for the mental health indices of self-esteem, life-satisfaction, and overall mental health and for satisfaction with supervision. These indices correlated positively with job tenure for high congruency individuals. For low congruency individuals, the obtained correlations…

Effects of Working Memory Span on Processing of Lexical Associations and Congruence in Spoken Discourse

PubMed Central

Boudewyn, Megan A.; Long, Debra L.; Swaab, Tamara Y.

2013-01-01

The goal of this study was to determine whether variability in working memory (WM) capacity and cognitive control affects the processing of global discourse congruence and local associations among words when participants listened to short discourse passages. The final, critical word of each passage was either associated or unassociated with a preceding prime word (e.g., “He was not prepared for the fame and fortune/praise”). These critical words were also either congruent or incongruent with respect to the preceding discourse context [e.g., a context in which a prestigious prize was won (congruent) or in which the protagonist had been arrested (incongruent)]. We used multiple regression to assess the unique contribution of suppression ability (our measure of cognitive control) and WM capacity on the amplitude of individual N400 effects of congruence and association. Our measure of suppression ability did not predict the size of the N400 effects of association or congruence. However, as expected, the results showed that high WM capacity individuals were less sensitive to the presence of lexical associations (showed smaller N400 association effects). Furthermore, differences in WM capacity were related to differences in the topographic distribution of the N400 effects of discourse congruence. The topographic differences in the global congruence effects indicate differences in the underlying neural generators of the N400 effects, as a function of WM. This suggests additional, or at a minimum, distinct, processing on the part of higher capacity individuals when tasked with integrating incoming words into the developing discourse representation. PMID:23407753

Effects of working memory span on processing of lexical associations and congruence in spoken discourse.

PubMed

Boudewyn, Megan A; Long, Debra L; Swaab, Tamara Y

2013-01-01

The goal of this study was to determine whether variability in working memory (WM) capacity and cognitive control affects the processing of global discourse congruence and local associations among words when participants listened to short discourse passages. The final, critical word of each passage was either associated or unassociated with a preceding prime word (e.g., "He was not prepared for the fame and fortune/praise"). These critical words were also either congruent or incongruent with respect to the preceding discourse context [e.g., a context in which a prestigious prize was won (congruent) or in which the protagonist had been arrested (incongruent)]. We used multiple regression to assess the unique contribution of suppression ability (our measure of cognitive control) and WM capacity on the amplitude of individual N400 effects of congruence and association. Our measure of suppression ability did not predict the size of the N400 effects of association or congruence. However, as expected, the results showed that high WM capacity individuals were less sensitive to the presence of lexical associations (showed smaller N400 association effects). Furthermore, differences in WM capacity were related to differences in the topographic distribution of the N400 effects of discourse congruence. The topographic differences in the global congruence effects indicate differences in the underlying neural generators of the N400 effects, as a function of WM. This suggests additional, or at a minimum, distinct, processing on the part of higher capacity individuals when tasked with integrating incoming words into the developing discourse representation.

Temporal ventriloquism: crossmodal interaction on the time dimension. 1. Evidence from auditory-visual temporal order judgment.

PubMed

Bertelson, Paul; Aschersleben, Gisa

2003-10-01

In the well-known visual bias of auditory location (alias the ventriloquist effect), auditory and visual events presented in separate locations appear closer together, provided the presentations are synchronized. Here, we consider the possibility of the converse phenomenon: crossmodal attraction on the time dimension conditional on spatial proximity. Participants judged the order of occurrence of sound bursts and light flashes, respectively, separated in time by varying stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) and delivered either in the same or in different locations. Presentation was organized using randomly mixed psychophysical staircases, by which the SOA was reduced progressively until a point of uncertainty was reached. This point was reached at longer SOAs with the sounds in the same frontal location as the flashes than in different places, showing that apparent temporal separation is effectively longer in the first condition. Together with a similar one obtained recently in a case of tactile-visual discrepancy, this result supports a view in which timing and spatial layout of the inputs play to some extent inter-changeable roles in the pairing operation at the base of crossmodal interaction.

An Event-Related Potential Study of Cross-modal Morphological and Phonological Priming

PubMed Central

Justus, Timothy; Yang, Jennifer; Larsen, Jary; de Mornay Davies, Paul; Swick, Diane

2009-01-01

The current work investigated whether differences in phonological overlap between the past- and present-tense forms of regular and irregular verbs can account for the graded neurophysiological effects of verb regularity observed in past-tense priming designs. Event-related potentials were recorded from sixteen healthy participants who performed a lexical-decision task in which past-tense primes immediately preceded present-tense targets. To minimize intra-modal phonological priming effects, cross-modal presentation between auditory primes and visual targets was employed, and results were compared to a companion intra-modal auditory study (Justus, Larsen, de Mornay Davies, & Swick, 2008). For both regular and irregular verbs, faster response times and reduced N400 components were observed for present-tense forms when primed by the corresponding past-tense forms. Although behavioral facilitation was observed with a pseudopast phonological control condition, neither this condition nor an orthographic-phonological control produced significant N400 priming effects. Instead, these two types of priming were associated with a post-lexical anterior negativity (PLAN). Results are discussed with regard to dual- and single-system theories of inflectional morphology, as well as intra- and cross-modal prelexical priming. PMID:20160930

The sense of agency is action-effect causality perception based on cross-modal grouping.

PubMed

Kawabe, Takahiro; Roseboom, Warrick; Nishida, Shin'ya

2013-07-22

Sense of agency, the experience of controlling external events through one's actions, stems from contiguity between action- and effect-related signals. Here we show that human observers link their action- and effect-related signals using a computational principle common to cross-modal sensory grouping. We first report that the detection of a delay between tactile and visual stimuli is enhanced when both stimuli are synchronized with separate auditory stimuli (experiment 1). This occurs because the synchronized auditory stimuli hinder the potential grouping between tactile and visual stimuli. We subsequently demonstrate an analogous effect on observers' key press as an action and a sensory event. This change is associated with a modulation in sense of agency; namely, sense of agency, as evaluated by apparent compressions of action-effect intervals (intentional binding) or subjective causality ratings, is impaired when both participant's action and its putative visual effect events are synchronized with auditory tones (experiments 2 and 3). Moreover, a similar role of action-effect grouping in determining sense of agency is demonstrated when the additional signal is presented in the modality identical to an effect event (experiment 4). These results are consistent with the view that sense of agency is the result of general processes of causal perception and that cross-modal grouping plays a central role in these processes.

The sense of agency is action–effect causality perception based on cross-modal grouping

PubMed Central

Kawabe, Takahiro; Roseboom, Warrick; Nishida, Shin'ya

2013-01-01

Sense of agency, the experience of controlling external events through one's actions, stems from contiguity between action- and effect-related signals. Here we show that human observers link their action- and effect-related signals using a computational principle common to cross-modal sensory grouping. We first report that the detection of a delay between tactile and visual stimuli is enhanced when both stimuli are synchronized with separate auditory stimuli (experiment 1). This occurs because the synchronized auditory stimuli hinder the potential grouping between tactile and visual stimuli. We subsequently demonstrate an analogous effect on observers' key press as an action and a sensory event. This change is associated with a modulation in sense of agency; namely, sense of agency, as evaluated by apparent compressions of action–effect intervals (intentional binding) or subjective causality ratings, is impaired when both participant's action and its putative visual effect events are synchronized with auditory tones (experiments 2 and 3). Moreover, a similar role of action–effect grouping in determining sense of agency is demonstrated when the additional signal is presented in the modality identical to an effect event (experiment 4). These results are consistent with the view that sense of agency is the result of general processes of causal perception and that cross-modal grouping plays a central role in these processes. PMID:23740784

Effect of perceptual load on semantic access by speech in children

PubMed Central

Jerger, Susan; Damian, Markus F.; Mills, Candice; Bartlett, James; Tye-Murray, Nancy; Abdi, Hervè

2013-01-01

Purpose To examine whether semantic access by speech requires attention in children. Method Children (N=200) named pictures and ignored distractors on a cross-modal (distractors: auditory-no face) or multi-modal (distractors: auditory-static face and audiovisual-dynamic face) picture word task. The cross-modal had a low load, and the multi-modal had a high load [i.e., respectively naming pictures displayed 1) on a blank screen vs 2) below the talker’s face on his T-shirt]. Semantic content of distractors was manipulated to be related vs unrelated to picture (e.g., picture dog with distractors bear vs cheese). Lavie's (2005) perceptual load model proposes that semantic access is independent of capacity limited attentional resources if irrelevant semantic-content manipulation influences naming times on both tasks despite variations in loads but dependent on attentional resources exhausted by higher load task if irrelevant content influences naming only on cross-modal (low load). Results Irrelevant semantic content affected performance for both tasks in 6- to 9-year-olds, but only on cross-modal in 4–5-year-olds. The addition of visual speech did not influence results on the multi-modal task. Conclusion Younger and older children differ in dependence on attentional resources for semantic access by speech. PMID:22896045

Crossmodal correspondences in product packaging. Assessing color-flavor correspondences for potato chips (crisps).

PubMed

Piqueras-Fiszman, Betina; Spence, Charles

2011-12-01

We report a study designed to investigate consumers' crossmodal associations between the color of packaging and flavor varieties in crisps (potato chips). This product category was chosen because of the long-established but conflicting color-flavor conventions that exist for the salt and vinegar and cheese and onion flavor varieties in the UK. The use of both implicit and explicit measures of this crossmodal association revealed that consumers responded more slowly, and made more errors, when they had to pair the color and flavor that they implicitly thought of as being "incongruent" with the same response key. Furthermore, clustering consumers by the brand that they normally purchased revealed that the main reason why this pattern of results was observed could be their differing acquaintance with one brand versus another. In addition, when participants tried the two types of crisps from "congruently" and "incongruently" colored packets, some were unable to guess the flavor correctly in the latter case. These strong crossmodal associations did not have a significant effect on participants' hedonic appraisal of the crisps, but did arouse confusion. These results are relevant in terms of R&D, since ascertaining the appropriate color of the packaging across flavor varieties ought normally to help achieve immediate product recognition and consumer satisfaction. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of perceptual load on semantic access by speech in children.

PubMed

Jerger, Susan; Damian, Markus F; Mills, Candice; Bartlett, James; Tye-Murray, Nancy; Abdi, Hervé

2013-04-01

To examine whether semantic access by speech requires attention in children. Children (N = 200) named pictures and ignored distractors on a cross-modal (distractors: auditory-no face) or multimodal (distractors: auditory-static face and audiovisual-dynamic face) picture word task. The cross-modal task had a low load, and the multimodal task had a high load (i.e., respectively naming pictures displayed on a blank screen vs. below the talker's face on his T-shirt). Semantic content of distractors was manipulated to be related vs. unrelated to the picture (e.g., picture "dog" with distractors "bear" vs. "cheese"). If irrelevant semantic content manipulation influences naming times on both tasks despite variations in loads, Lavie's (2005) perceptual load model proposes that semantic access is independent of capacity-limited attentional resources; if, however, irrelevant content influences naming only on the cross-modal task (low load), the perceptual load model proposes that semantic access is dependent on attentional resources exhausted by the higher load task. Irrelevant semantic content affected performance for both tasks in 6- to 9-year-olds but only on the cross-modal task in 4- to 5-year-olds. The addition of visual speech did not influence results on the multimodal task. Younger and older children differ in dependence on attentional resources for semantic access by speech.

Learning to perceive differences in solid shape through vision and touch.

PubMed

Norman, J Farley; Clayton, Anna Marie; Norman, Hideko F; Crabtree, Charles E

2008-01-01

A single experiment was designed to investigate perceptual learning and the discrimination of 3-D object shape. Ninety-six observers were presented with naturally shaped solid objects either visually, haptically, or across the modalities of vision and touch. The observers' task was to judge whether the two sequentially presented objects on any given trial possessed the same or different 3-D shapes. The results of the experiment revealed that significant perceptual learning occurred in all modality conditions, both unimodal and cross-modal. The amount of the observers' perceptual learning, as indexed by increases in hit rate and d', was similar for all of the modality conditions. The observers' hit rates were highest for the unimodal conditions and lowest in the cross-modal conditions. Lengthening the inter-stimulus interval from 3 to 15 s led to increases in hit rates and decreases in response bias. The results also revealed the existence of an asymmetry between two otherwise equivalent cross-modal conditions: in particular, the observers' perceptual sensitivity was higher for the vision-haptic condition and lower for the haptic-vision condition. In general, the results indicate that effective cross-modal shape comparisons can be made between the modalities of vision and active touch, but that complete information transfer does not occur.

Linguistic and Perceptual Mapping in Spatial Representations: An Attentional Account.

PubMed

Valdés-Conroy, Berenice; Hinojosa, José A; Román, Francisco J; Romero-Ferreiro, Verónica

2018-03-01

Building on evidence for embodied representations, we investigated whether Spanish spatial terms map onto the NEAR/FAR perceptual division of space. Using a long horizontal display, we measured congruency effects during the processing of spatial terms presented in NEAR or FAR space. Across three experiments, we manipulated the task demands in order to investigate the role of endogenous attention in linguistic and perceptual space mapping. We predicted congruency effects only when spatial properties were relevant for the task (reaching estimation task, Experiment 1) but not when attention was allocated to other features (lexical decision, Experiment 2; and color, Experiment 3). Results showed faster responses for words presented in Near-space in all experiments. Consistent with our hypothesis, congruency effects were observed only when a reaching estimate was requested. Our results add important evidence for the role of top-down processing in congruency effects from embodied representations of spatial terms. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Measuring Stratigraphic Congruence Across Trees, Higher Taxa, and Time.

PubMed

O'Connor, Anne; Wills, Matthew A

2016-09-01

The congruence between the order of cladistic branching and the first appearance dates of fossil lineages can be quantified using a variety of indices. Good matching is a prerequisite for the accurate time calibration of trees, while the distribution of congruence indices across large samples of cladograms has underpinned claims about temporal and taxonomic patterns of completeness in the fossil record. The most widely used stratigraphic congruence indices are the stratigraphic consistency index (SCI), the modified Manhattan stratigraphic measure (MSM*), and the gap excess ratio (GER) (plus its derivatives; the topological GER and the modified GER). Many factors are believed to variously bias these indices, with several empirical and simulation studies addressing some subset of the putative interactions. This study combines both approaches to quantify the effects (on all five indices) of eight variables reasoned to constrain the distribution of possible values (the number of taxa, tree balance, tree resolution, range of first occurrence (FO) dates, center of gravity of FO dates, the variability of FO dates, percentage of extant taxa, and percentage of taxa with no fossil record). Our empirical data set comprised 647 published animal and plant cladograms spanning the entire Phanerozoic, and for these data we also modeled the effects of mean age of FOs (as a proxy for clade age), the taxonomic rank of the clade, and the higher taxonomic group to which it belonged. The center of gravity of FO dates had not been investigated hitherto, and this was found to correlate most strongly with some measures of stratigraphic congruence in our empirical study (top-heavy clades had better congruence). The modified GER was the index least susceptible to bias. We found significant differences across higher taxa for all indices; arthropods had lower congruence and tetrapods higher congruence. Stratigraphic congruence-however measured-also varied throughout the Phanerozoic, reflecting the taxonomic composition of our sample. Notably, periods containing a high proportion of arthropods had poorer congruence overall than those with higher proportions of tetrapods. [Fossil calibration; gap excess ratio; manhattan stratigraphic metric; molecular clocks; stratigraphic congruence.]. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Systematic Biologists.

Delineating the Effect of Semantic Congruency on Episodic Memory: The Role of Integration and Relatedness

PubMed Central

Bein, Oded; Livneh, Neta; Reggev, Niv; Gilead, Michael; Goshen-Gottstein, Yonatan; Maril, Anat

2015-01-01

A fundamental challenge in the study of learning and memory is to understand the role of existing knowledge in the encoding and retrieval of new episodic information. The importance of prior knowledge in memory is demonstrated in the congruency effect—the robust finding wherein participants display better memory for items that are compatible, rather than incompatible, with their pre-existing semantic knowledge. Despite its robustness, the mechanism underlying this effect is not well understood. In four studies, we provide evidence that demonstrates the privileged explanatory power of the elaboration-integration account over alternative hypotheses. Furthermore, we question the implicit assumption that the congruency effect pertains to the truthfulness/sensibility of a subject-predicate proposition, and show that congruency is a function of semantic relatedness between item and context words. PMID:25695759

The bidirectional congruency effect of brightness-valence metaphoric association in the Stroop-like and priming paradigms.

PubMed

Huang, Yanli; Tse, Chi-Shing; Xie, Jiushu

2017-11-04

The conceptual metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, 1999) postulates a unidirectional metaphoric association between abstract and concrete concepts: sensorimotor experience activated by concrete concepts facilitates the processing of abstract concepts, but not the other way around. However, this unidirectional view has been challenged by studies that reported a bidirectional metaphoric association. In three experiments, we tested the directionality of the brightness-valence metaphoric association, using Stroop-like paradigm, priming paradigm, and Stroop-like paradigm with a go/no-go manipulation. Both mean and vincentile analyses of reaction time data were performed. We showed that the directionality of brightness-valence metaphoric congruency effect could be modulated by the activation level of the brightness/valence information. Both brightness-to-valence and valence-to-brightness metaphoric congruency effects occurred in the priming paradigm, which could be attributed to the presentation of prime that pre-activated the brightness or valence information. However, in the Stroop-like paradigm the metaphoric congruency effect was only observed in the brightness-to-valence direction, but not in the valence-to-brightness direction. When the go/no-go manipulation was used to boost the activation of word meaning in the Stroop-like paradigm, the valence-to-brightness metaphoric congruency effect was observed. Vincentile analyses further revealed that valence-to-brightness metaphoric congruency effect approached significance in the Stroop-like paradigm when participants' reaction times were slower (at around 490ms). The implications of the current findings on the conceptual metaphor theory and embodied cognition are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Use a rabbit or a rhino to sell a carrot? The effect of character-product congruence on children's liking of healthy foods.

PubMed

de Droog, Simone M; Buijzen, Moniek; Valkenburg, Patti M

2012-01-01

This study investigated whether unfamiliar characters are as effective as familiar characters in stimulating children's affective responses toward healthy foods. In particular, the authors investigated whether an unfamiliar character which is congruent with a product can be as effective as a familiar character. The authors tested 2 types of character-product congruence: conceptual congruence (on the basis of a familiar link), and perceptual congruence (on the basis of color similarity). In a repeated measures design, 166 children (4-6 years old) were exposed to a picture of a carrot combined randomly with 5 different types of character: an (incongruent) familiar character and four unfamiliar characters varying in character-product congruence (i.e., both conceptually and perceptually congruent, conceptual only, perceptual only, and incongruent). The authors measured children's automatic affective responses toward these character-product combinations using a time-constrained task, and elaborate affective responses using a nonconstrained task. Results revealed that the conceptually congruent unfamiliar characters were just as effective as the familiar character in increasing children's automatic affective responses. However, the familiar character triggered the most positive elaborate affective responses. Results are explained in light of processing fluency and parasocial relationship theories.

Cortical GABAergic Interneurons in Cross-Modal Plasticity following Early Blindness

PubMed Central

Desgent, Sébastien; Ptito, Maurice

2012-01-01

Early loss of a given sensory input in mammals causes anatomical and functional modifications in the brain via a process called cross-modal plasticity. In the past four decades, several animal models have illuminated our understanding of the biological substrates involved in cross-modal plasticity. Progressively, studies are now starting to emphasise on cell-specific mechanisms that may be responsible for this intermodal sensory plasticity. Inhibitory interneurons expressing γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) play an important role in maintaining the appropriate dynamic range of cortical excitation, in critical periods of developmental plasticity, in receptive field refinement, and in treatment of sensory information reaching the cerebral cortex. The diverse interneuron population is very sensitive to sensory experience during development. GABAergic neurons are therefore well suited to act as a gate for mediating cross-modal plasticity. This paper attempts to highlight the links between early sensory deprivation, cortical GABAergic interneuron alterations, and cross-modal plasticity, discuss its implications, and further provide insights for future research in the field. PMID:22720175

Cross-Modal Retrieval With CNN Visual Features: A New Baseline.

PubMed

Wei, Yunchao; Zhao, Yao; Lu, Canyi; Wei, Shikui; Liu, Luoqi; Zhu, Zhenfeng; Yan, Shuicheng

2017-02-01

Recently, convolutional neural network (CNN) visual features have demonstrated their powerful ability as a universal representation for various recognition tasks. In this paper, cross-modal retrieval with CNN visual features is implemented with several classic methods. Specifically, off-the-shelf CNN visual features are extracted from the CNN model, which is pretrained on ImageNet with more than one million images from 1000 object categories, as a generic image representation to tackle cross-modal retrieval. To further enhance the representational ability of CNN visual features, based on the pretrained CNN model on ImageNet, a fine-tuning step is performed by using the open source Caffe CNN library for each target data set. Besides, we propose a deep semantic matching method to address the cross-modal retrieval problem with respect to samples which are annotated with one or multiple labels. Extensive experiments on five popular publicly available data sets well demonstrate the superiority of CNN visual features for cross-modal retrieval.

Cross-modal versus within-modal recall: differences in behavioral and brain responses.

PubMed

Butler, Andrew J; James, Karin H

2011-10-31

Although human experience is multisensory in nature, previous research has focused predominantly on memory for unisensory as opposed to multisensory information. In this work, we sought to investigate behavioral and neural differences between the cued recall of cross-modal audiovisual associations versus within-modal visual or auditory associations. Participants were presented with cue-target associations comprised of pairs of nonsense objects, pairs of nonsense sounds, objects paired with sounds, and sounds paired with objects. Subsequently, they were required to recall the modality of the target given the cue while behavioral accuracy, reaction time, and blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) activation were measured. Successful within-modal recall was associated with modality-specific reactivation in primary perceptual regions, and was more accurate than cross-modal retrieval. When auditory targets were correctly or incorrectly recalled using a cross-modal visual cue, there was re-activation in auditory association cortex, and recall of information from cross-modal associations activated the hippocampus to a greater degree than within-modal associations. Findings support theories that propose an overlap between regions active during perception and memory, and show that behavioral and neural differences exist between within- and cross-modal associations. Overall the current study highlights the importance of the role of multisensory information in memory. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cross-cultural differences in crossmodal correspondences between basic tastes and visual features

PubMed Central

Wan, Xiaoang; Woods, Andy T.; van den Bosch, Jasper J. F.; McKenzie, Kirsten J.; Velasco, Carlos; Spence, Charles

2014-01-01

We report a cross-cultural study designed to investigate crossmodal correspondences between a variety of visual features (11 colors, 15 shapes, and 2 textures) and the five basic taste terms (bitter, salty, sour, sweet, and umami). A total of 452 participants from China, India, Malaysia, and the USA viewed color patches, shapes, and textures online and had to choose the taste term that best matched the image and then rate their confidence in their choice. Across the four groups of participants, the results revealed a number of crossmodal correspondences between certain colors/shapes and bitter, sour, and sweet tastes. Crossmodal correspondences were also documented between the color white and smooth/rough textures on the one hand and the salt taste on the other. Cross-cultural differences were observed in the correspondences between certain colors, shapes, and one of the textures and the taste terms. The taste-patterns shown by the participants from the four countries tested in the present study are quite different from one another, and these differences cannot easily be attributed merely to whether a country is Eastern or Western. These findings therefore highlight the impact of cultural background on crossmodal correspondences. As such, they raise a number of interesting questions regarding the neural mechanisms underlying crossmodal correspondences. PMID:25538643

Cross-cultural differences in crossmodal correspondences between basic tastes and visual features.

PubMed

Wan, Xiaoang; Woods, Andy T; van den Bosch, Jasper J F; McKenzie, Kirsten J; Velasco, Carlos; Spence, Charles

2014-01-01

We report a cross-cultural study designed to investigate crossmodal correspondences between a variety of visual features (11 colors, 15 shapes, and 2 textures) and the five basic taste terms (bitter, salty, sour, sweet, and umami). A total of 452 participants from China, India, Malaysia, and the USA viewed color patches, shapes, and textures online and had to choose the taste term that best matched the image and then rate their confidence in their choice. Across the four groups of participants, the results revealed a number of crossmodal correspondences between certain colors/shapes and bitter, sour, and sweet tastes. Crossmodal correspondences were also documented between the color white and smooth/rough textures on the one hand and the salt taste on the other. Cross-cultural differences were observed in the correspondences between certain colors, shapes, and one of the textures and the taste terms. The taste-patterns shown by the participants from the four countries tested in the present study are quite different from one another, and these differences cannot easily be attributed merely to whether a country is Eastern or Western. These findings therefore highlight the impact of cultural background on crossmodal correspondences. As such, they raise a number of interesting questions regarding the neural mechanisms underlying crossmodal correspondences.

Experimental and clinical usefulness of crossmodal paradigms in psychiatry: an illustration from emotional processing in alcohol-dependence

PubMed Central

Maurage, Pierre; Campanella, Salvatore

2013-01-01

Crossmodal processing (i.e., the construction of a unified representation stemming from distinct sensorial modalities inputs) constitutes a crucial ability in humans' everyday life. It has been extensively explored at cognitive and cerebral levels during the last decade among healthy controls. Paradoxically however, and while difficulties to perform this integrative process have been suggested in a large range of psychopathological states (e.g., schizophrenia and autism), these crossmodal paradigms have been very rarely used in the exploration of psychiatric populations. The main aim of the present paper is thus to underline the experimental and clinical usefulness of exploring crossmodal processes in psychiatry. We will illustrate this proposal by means of the recent data obtained in the crossmodal exploration of emotional alterations in alcohol-dependence. Indeed, emotional decoding impairments might have a role in the development and maintenance of alcohol-dependence, and have been extensively investigated by means of experiments using separated visual or auditory stimulations. Besides these unimodal explorations, we have recently conducted several studies using audio-visual crossmodal paradigms, which has allowed us to improve the ecological validity of the unimodal experimental designs and to offer new insights on the emotional alterations among alcohol-dependent individuals. We will show how these preliminary results can be extended to develop a coherent and ambitious research program using crossmodal designs in various psychiatric populations and sensory modalities. We will finally end the paper by underlining the various potential clinical applications and the fundamental implications that can be raised by this emerging project. PMID:23898250

Judging emotional congruency: Explicit attention to situational context modulates processing of facial expressions of emotion.

PubMed

Diéguez-Risco, Teresa; Aguado, Luis; Albert, Jacobo; Hinojosa, José Antonio

2015-12-01

The influence of explicit evaluative processes on the contextual integration of facial expressions of emotion was studied in a procedure that required the participants to judge the congruency of happy and angry faces with preceding sentences describing emotion-inducing situations. Judgments were faster on congruent trials in the case of happy faces and on incongruent trials in the case of angry faces. At the electrophysiological level, a congruency effect was observed in the face-sensitive N170 component that showed larger amplitudes on incongruent trials. An interactive effect of congruency and emotion appeared on the LPP (late positive potential), with larger amplitudes in response to happy faces that followed anger-inducing situations. These results show that the deliberate intention to judge the contextual congruency of facial expressions influences not only processes involved in affective evaluation such as those indexed by the LPP but also earlier processing stages that are involved in face perception. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Leader-team congruence in power distance values and team effectiveness: the mediating role of procedural justice climate.

PubMed

Cole, Michael S; Carter, Min Z; Zhang, Zhen

2013-11-01

We examine the effect of (in)congruence between leaders' and teams' power distance values on team effectiveness. We hypothesize that the (in)congruence between these values would differentially predict team effectiveness, with procedural justice climate serving as a mediator. Using multisource data and polynomial regression, we found that similarities (and differences) between leaders' and their teams' power distance values can have consequential effects on teams' justice climate and, ultimately, their effectiveness (viz., team performance and team organizational citizenship behavior). We conclude that to fully understand the implications of power distance, one should consider the multiple perspectives of both leaders and team members. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Congruence between patient characteristics and interventions may partly explain medication adherence intervention effectiveness: an analysis of 190 randomized controlled trials from a Cochrane systematic review.

PubMed

Allemann, Samuel S; Nieuwlaat, Robby; Navarro, Tamara; Haynes, Brian; Hersberger, Kurt E; Arnet, Isabelle

2017-11-01

Due to the negative outcomes of medication nonadherence, interventions to improve adherence have been the focus of countless studies. The congruence between adherence-related patient characteristics and interventions may partly explain the variability of effectiveness in medication adherence studies. In their latest update of a Cochrane review reporting inconsistent effects of adherence interventions, the authors offered access to their database for subanalysis. We aimed to use this database to assess congruence between adherence-related patient characteristics and interventions and its association with intervention effects. We developed a congruence score consisting of six features related to inclusion criteria, patient characteristics at baseline, and intervention design. Two independent raters extracted and scored items from the 190 studies available in the Cochrane database. We correlated overall congruence score and individual features with intervention effects regarding adherence and clinical outcomes using Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test and Fisher's exact test. Interrater reliability for newly extracted data was almost perfect with a Cohen's Kappa of 0.92 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.89-0.94; P < 0.001]. Although present in only six studies, the inclusion of nonadherent patients was the single feature significantly associated with effective adherence interventions (P = 0.003). Moreover, effective adherence interventions were significantly associated with improved clinical outcomes (odds ratio = 6.0; 95% CI = 3.1-12.0; P < 0.0001). However, neither the overall congruence score nor any other individual feature (i.e., "determinants of nonadherence as inclusion criteria," "tailoring of interventions to the inclusion criteria," "reasons for nonadherence assessed at baseline," "adjustment of intervention to individual patient needs," and "theory-based interventions") was significantly associated with intervention effects. The presence of only six studies that included nonadherent patients and the interdependency of this feature with the remaining five might preclude a conclusive assessment of congruence between patient characteristics and adherence interventions. In order to obtain clinical benefits from effective adherence interventions, we encourage researchers to focus on the inclusion of nonadherent patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of nurses' emotional intelligence on their organizational citizenship behavior, with mediating effects of leader trust and value congruence.

PubMed

Lim, So-Hee; Han, Sang-Sook; Joo, Yun-Su

2018-02-20

To investigate the causal relationship between nurses' emotional intelligence and their organizational citizenship behavior and the possible mediating effects of leader trust and value congruence. The participants were 348 nurses who were working in a general hospital in a metropolitan area. The data were collected from December 16, 2012 to February 20, 2013. The hypothetical model of emotional intelligence, organizational citizenship behavior, leader trust, and value congruence was fitted to the actual data via structural equation modeling. The leaders' emotional intelligence had a direct positive effect on leader trust and value congruence; however, the nurses' own emotional intelligence had a negative effect on these two variables. Furthermore, leader trust had a direct positive effect on organizational citizenship behavior; value congruence had no such relationship. The nurses' emotional intelligence had a partial, indirect effect on organizational citizenship behavior via leader trust. In a nursing organization, it is necessary to build a system, such as mentoring, to be able to exchange emotions actively among the members in order to enhance emotional intelligence and have the same values between leaders and members throughout open communication. Therefore, nurse managers can contribute greatly to the enhancement of organizational performance by promoting members' organizational citizenship behavior through improving their relationships with them and gaining their trust, while concurrently making efforts to further develop their emotional intelligence. © 2018 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.

Emotional congruence with children and sexual offending against children: a meta-analytic review.

PubMed

McPhail, Ian V; Hermann, Chantal A; Nunes, Kevin L

2013-08-01

Emotional congruence with children is an exaggerated affective and cognitive affiliation with children that is posited to be involved in the initiation and maintenance of sexual offending against children. The current meta-analysis examined the relationship between emotional congruence with children and sexual offending against children, sexual recidivism, and change following sexual offender treatment. A systematic literature review of online academic databases, conference proceedings, governmental agency websites, and article, book chapter, and book reference lists was performed. Thirty studies on emotional congruence with children in sexual offenders against children (SOC) were included in a random-effects meta-analysis. Extrafamilial SOC-especially those with male victims--evidenced higher emotional congruence with children than most non--SOC comparison groups and intrafamilial SOC. In contrast, intrafamilial SOC evidenced less emotional congruence with children than many of the non-SOC comparison groups. Higher levels of emotional congruence with children were associated with moderately higher rates of sexual recidivism. The association between emotional congruence with children and sexual recidivism was significantly stronger in extrafamilial SOC samples (d = 0.58, 95% CI [0.31, 0.85]) compared with intrafamilial SOC samples (d = -0.15, 95% CI [-0.58, 0.27]). Similarly, emotional congruence with children showed a significant reduction from pre- to posttreatment for extrafamilial SOC (d = 0.41, 95% CI [0.33, 0.85]), but not for intrafamilial SOC (d = 0.06, 95% CI [-0.10, 0.22]). Emotional congruence with children is a characteristic of extrafamilial SOC, is moderately predictive of sexual recidivism, and is potentially amenable through treatment efforts. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Proportion Congruency and Practice: A Contingency Learning Account of Asymmetric List Shifting Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt, James R.

2016-01-01

Performance is impaired when a distracting stimulus is incongruent with the target stimulus (e.g., "green" printed in red). This congruency effect is decreased when the proportion of incongruent trials is increased, termed the proportion congruent effect. This effect is typically interpreted in terms of the adaptation of attention in…

Disentangling effects of abiotic factors and biotic interactions on cross-taxon congruence in species turnover patterns of plants, moths and beetles.

PubMed

Duan, Meichun; Liu, Yunhui; Yu, Zhenrong; Baudry, Jacques; Li, Liangtao; Wang, Changliu; Axmacher, Jan C

2016-04-01

High cross-taxon congruence in species diversity patterns is essential for the use of surrogate taxa in biodiversity conservation, but presence and strength of congruence in species turnover patterns, and the relative contributions of abiotic environmental factors and biotic interaction towards this congruence, remain poorly understood. In our study, we used variation partitioning in multiple regressions to quantify cross-taxon congruence in community dissimilarities of vascular plants, geometrid and arciinid moths and carabid beetles, subsequently investigating their respective underpinning by abiotic factors and biotic interactions. Significant cross-taxon congruence observed across all taxon pairs was linked to their similar responses towards elevation change. Changes in the vegetation composition were closely linked to carabid turnover, with vegetation structure and associated microclimatic conditions proposed causes of this link. In contrast, moth assemblages appeared to be dominated by generalist species whose turnover was weakly associated with vegetation changes. Overall, abiotic factors exerted a stronger influence on cross-taxon congruence across our study sites than biotic interactions. The weak congruence in turnover observed particularly between plants and moths highlights the importance of multi-taxon approaches based on groupings of taxa with similar turnovers, rather than the use of single surrogate taxa or environmental proxies, in biodiversity assessments.

Disentangling effects of abiotic factors and biotic interactions on cross-taxon congruence in species turnover patterns of plants, moths and beetles

PubMed Central

Duan, Meichun; Liu, Yunhui; Yu, Zhenrong; Baudry, Jacques; Li, Liangtao; Wang, Changliu; Axmacher, Jan C.

2016-01-01

High cross-taxon congruence in species diversity patterns is essential for the use of surrogate taxa in biodiversity conservation, but presence and strength of congruence in species turnover patterns, and the relative contributions of abiotic environmental factors and biotic interaction towards this congruence, remain poorly understood. In our study, we used variation partitioning in multiple regressions to quantify cross-taxon congruence in community dissimilarities of vascular plants, geometrid and arciinid moths and carabid beetles, subsequently investigating their respective underpinning by abiotic factors and biotic interactions. Significant cross-taxon congruence observed across all taxon pairs was linked to their similar responses towards elevation change. Changes in the vegetation composition were closely linked to carabid turnover, with vegetation structure and associated microclimatic conditions proposed causes of this link. In contrast, moth assemblages appeared to be dominated by generalist species whose turnover was weakly associated with vegetation changes. Overall, abiotic factors exerted a stronger influence on cross-taxon congruence across our study sites than biotic interactions. The weak congruence in turnover observed particularly between plants and moths highlights the importance of multi-taxon approaches based on groupings of taxa with similar turnovers, rather than the use of single surrogate taxa or environmental proxies, in biodiversity assessments. PMID:27032533

Cross-modal illusory conjunctions between vision and touch.

PubMed

Cinel, Caterina; Humphreys, Glyn W; Poli, Riccardo

2002-10-01

Cross-modal illusory conjunctions (ICs) happen when, under conditions of divided attention, felt textures are reported as being seen or vice versa. Experiments provided evidence for these errors, demonstrated that ICs are more frequent if tactile and visual stimuli are in the same hemispace, and showed that ICs still occur under forced-choice conditions but do not occur when attention to the felt texture is increased. Cross-modal ICs were also found in a patient with parietal damage even with relatively long presentations of visual stimuli. The data are consistent with there being cross-modal integration of sensory information, with the modality of origin sometimes being misattributed when attention is constrained. The empirical conclusions from the experiments are supported by formal models.

Neuronal Correlates of Cross-Modal Transfer in the Cerebellum and Pontine Nuclei

PubMed Central

Campolattaro, Matthew M.; Kashef, Alireza; Lee, Inah; Freeman, John H.

2011-01-01

Cross-modal transfer occurs when learning established with a stimulus from one sensory modality facilitates subsequent learning with a new stimulus from a different sensory modality. The current study examined neuronal correlates of cross-modal transfer of Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning in rats. Neuronal activity was recorded from tetrodes within the anterior interpositus nucleus (IPN) of the cerebellum and basilar pontine nucleus (PN) during different phases of training. After stimulus pre-exposure and unpaired training sessions with a tone conditioned stimulus (CS), light CS, and periorbital stimulation unconditioned stimulus (US), rats received associative training with one of the CSs and the US (CS1-US). Training then continued on the same day with the other CS to assess cross-modal transfer (CS2-US). The final training session included associative training with both CSs on separate trials to establish stronger cross-modal transfer (CS1/CS2). Neurons in the IPN and PN showed primarily unimodal responses during pre-training sessions. Learning-related facilitation of activity correlated with the conditioned response (CR) developed in the IPN and PN during CS1-US training. Subsequent CS2-US training resulted in acquisition of CRs and learning-related neuronal activity in the IPN but substantially less little learning-related activity in the PN. Additional CS1/CS2 training increased CRs and learning-related activity in the IPN and PN during CS2-US trials. The findings suggest that cross-modal neuronal plasticity in the PN is driven by excitatory feedback from the IPN to the PN. Interacting plasticity mechanisms in the IPN and PN may underlie behavioral cross-modal transfer in eyeblink conditioning. PMID:21411647

Measuring Stratigraphic Congruence Across Trees, Higher Taxa, and Time

PubMed Central

O'Connor, Anne; Wills, Matthew A.

2016-01-01

The congruence between the order of cladistic branching and the first appearance dates of fossil lineages can be quantified using a variety of indices. Good matching is a prerequisite for the accurate time calibration of trees, while the distribution of congruence indices across large samples of cladograms has underpinned claims about temporal and taxonomic patterns of completeness in the fossil record. The most widely used stratigraphic congruence indices are the stratigraphic consistency index (SCI), the modified Manhattan stratigraphic measure (MSM*), and the gap excess ratio (GER) (plus its derivatives; the topological GER and the modified GER). Many factors are believed to variously bias these indices, with several empirical and simulation studies addressing some subset of the putative interactions. This study combines both approaches to quantify the effects (on all five indices) of eight variables reasoned to constrain the distribution of possible values (the number of taxa, tree balance, tree resolution, range of first occurrence (FO) dates, center of gravity of FO dates, the variability of FO dates, percentage of extant taxa, and percentage of taxa with no fossil record). Our empirical data set comprised 647 published animal and plant cladograms spanning the entire Phanerozoic, and for these data we also modeled the effects of mean age of FOs (as a proxy for clade age), the taxonomic rank of the clade, and the higher taxonomic group to which it belonged. The center of gravity of FO dates had not been investigated hitherto, and this was found to correlate most strongly with some measures of stratigraphic congruence in our empirical study (top-heavy clades had better congruence). The modified GER was the index least susceptible to bias. We found significant differences across higher taxa for all indices; arthropods had lower congruence and tetrapods higher congruence. Stratigraphic congruence—however measured—also varied throughout the Phanerozoic, reflecting the taxonomic composition of our sample. Notably, periods containing a high proportion of arthropods had poorer congruence overall than those with higher proportions of tetrapods. [Fossil calibration; gap excess ratio; manhattan stratigraphic metric; molecular clocks; stratigraphic congruence.] PMID:27155010

Conditional automaticity in subliminal morphosyntactic priming.

PubMed

Ansorge, Ulrich; Reynvoet, Bert; Hendler, Jessica; Oettl, Lennart; Evert, Stefan

2013-07-01

We used a gender-classification task to test the principles of subliminal morphosyntactic priming. In Experiment 1, masked, subliminal feminine or masculine articles were used as primes. They preceded a visible target noun. Subliminal articles either had a morphosyntactically congruent or incongruent gender with the targets. In a gender-classification task of the target nouns, subliminal articles primed the responses: responses were faster in congruent than incongruent conditions (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, we tested whether this congruence effect depended on gender relevance. In line with a relevance-dependence, the congruence effect only occurred in a gender-classification task but was absent in another categorical discrimination of the target nouns (Experiment 2). The congruence effect also depended on correct word order. It was diminished when nouns preceded articles (Experiment 3). Finally, the congruence effect was replicated with a larger set of targets but only for masculine targets (Experiment 4). Results are discussed in light of theories of subliminal priming in general and of subliminal syntactic priming in particular.

Revealing List-Level Control in the Stroop Task by Uncovering Its Benefits and a Cost

PubMed Central

Bugg, Julie M.; McDaniel, Mark A.; Scullin, Michael K.; Braver, Todd S.

2012-01-01

Interference is reduced in mostly incongruent relative to mostly congruent lists. Classic accounts of this list-wide proportion congruence effect assume that list-level control processes strategically modulate word reading. Contemporary accounts posit that reliance on the word is modulated poststimulus onset by item-specific information (e.g., proportion congruency of the word). To adjudicate between these accounts, we used novel designs featuring neutral trials. In two experiments, we showed that the list-wide proportion congruence effect is accompanied by a change in neutral trial color-naming performance. Because neutral words have no item-specific bias, this pattern can be attributed to list-level control. Additionally, we showed that list-level attenuation of word reading led to a cost to performance on a secondary prospective memory task but only when that task required processing of the irrelevant, neutral word. These findings indicate that the list-wide proportion congruence effect at least partially reflects list-level control and challenge purely item-specific accounts of this effect. PMID:21767049

Cross-modal transfer of the conditioned eyeblink response during interstimulus interval discrimination training in young rats

PubMed Central

Brown, Kevin L.; Stanton, Mark E.

2008-01-01

Eyeblink classical conditioning (EBC) was observed across a broad developmental period with tasks utilizing two interstimulus intervals (ISIs). In ISI discrimination, two distinct conditioned stimuli (CSs; light and tone) are reinforced with a periocular shock unconditioned stimulus (US) at two different CS-US intervals. Temporal uncertainty is identical in design with the exception that the same CS is presented at both intervals. Developmental changes in conditioning have been reported in each task beyond ages when single-ISI learning is well developed. The present study sought to replicate and extend these previous findings by testing each task at four separate ages. Consistent with previous findings, younger rats (postnatal day – PD - 23 and 30) trained in ISI discrimination showed evidence of enhanced cross-modal influence of the short CS-US pairing upon long CS conditioning relative to older subjects. ISI discrimination training at PD43-47 yielded outcomes similar to those in adults (PD65-71). Cross-modal transfer effects in this task therefore appear to diminish between PD30 and PD43-47. Comparisons of ISI discrimination with temporal uncertainty indicated that cross-modal transfer in ISI discrimination at the youngest ages did not represent complete generalization across CSs. ISI discrimination undergoes a more protracted developmental emergence than single-cue EBC and may be a more sensitive indicator of developmental disorders involving cerebellar dysfunction. PMID:18726989

Early Cross-modal Plasticity in Adults.

PubMed

Lo Verde, Luca; Morrone, Maria Concetta; Lunghi, Claudia

2017-03-01

It is known that, after a prolonged period of visual deprivation, the adult visual cortex can be recruited for nonvisual processing, reflecting cross-modal plasticity. Here, we investigated whether cross-modal plasticity can occur at short timescales in the typical adult brain by comparing the interaction between vision and touch during binocular rivalry before and after a brief period of monocular deprivation, which strongly alters ocular balance favoring the deprived eye. While viewing dichoptically two gratings of orthogonal orientation, participants were asked to actively explore a haptic grating congruent in orientation to one of the two rivalrous stimuli. We repeated this procedure before and after 150 min of monocular deprivation. We first confirmed that haptic stimulation interacted with vision during rivalry promoting dominance of the congruent visuo-haptic stimulus and that monocular deprivation increased the deprived eye and decreased the nondeprived eye dominance. Interestingly, after deprivation, we found that the effect of touch did not change for the nondeprived eye, whereas it disappeared for the deprived eye, which was potentiated after deprivation. The absence of visuo-haptic interaction for the deprived eye lasted for over 1 hr and was not attributable to a masking induced by the stronger response of the deprived eye as confirmed by a control experiment. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the adult human visual cortex retains a high degree of cross-modal plasticity, which can occur even at very short timescales.

Does value congruence between nurses and supervisors effect job satisfaction and turnover?

PubMed

Hunt, Deborah

2014-07-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of congruency of leadership support and value of patient outcomes between nurses and nurse managers and nurses' job satisfaction and turnover intent. Turnover most often has a negative effect on an organization. Leadership support and patient outcomes have been identified as important factors, but congruency has not been studied in great detail. This quantitative non-experimental study included registered nurses (92) and nurse managers (21) in five non-magnet hospitals in the United States. Value congruence on leadership support was correlated with job satisfaction: Satisfaction in Nursing Scale (SINs)-Workload Barriers (r = 0.327, Administrative Support r = 0.544 and Collegiality = 0.920, P < 0.05). Value congruence and leadership support (Leadership Practices Inventory, LPI) was negatively correlated with turnover intent (r = 0.317, P < 0.05). When all variables were combined a correlation of Value of Patient Outcomes (VOPOS) and the Anticipated Turnover Scale (ATS) (r = 0.099, P > 0.05) was noted. Value congruence of leadership support is related to job satisfaction and may be a factor in turnover intent. Nurse Administrators can use these results to develop policies to address the turnover especially in the area of leadership support. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cross-modal working memory binding and word recognition skills: how specific is the link?

PubMed

Wang, Shinmin; Allen, Richard J

2018-04-01

Recent research has suggested that the creation of temporary bound representations of information from different sources within working memory uniquely relates to word recognition abilities in school-age children. However, it is unclear to what extent this link is attributable specifically to the binding ability for cross-modal information. This study examined the performance of Grade 3 (8-9 years old) children on binding tasks requiring either temporary association formation of two visual items (i.e., within-modal binding) or pairs of visually presented abstract shapes and auditorily presented nonwords (i.e., cross-modal binding). Children's word recognition skills were related to performance on the cross-modal binding task but not on the within-modal binding task. Further regression models showed that cross-modal binding memory was a significant predictor of word recognition when memory for its constituent elements, general abilities, and crucially, within-modal binding memory were taken into account. These findings may suggest a specific link between the ability to bind information across modalities within working memory and word recognition skills.

Cross-modal individual recognition in wild African lions.

PubMed

Gilfillan, Geoffrey; Vitale, Jessica; McNutt, John Weldon; McComb, Karen

2016-08-01

Individual recognition is considered to have been fundamental in the evolution of complex social systems and is thought to be a widespread ability throughout the animal kingdom. Although robust evidence for individual recognition remains limited, recent experimental paradigms that examine cross-modal processing have demonstrated individual recognition in a range of captive non-human animals. It is now highly relevant to test whether cross-modal individual recognition exists within wild populations and thus examine how it is employed during natural social interactions. We address this question by testing audio-visual cross-modal individual recognition in wild African lions (Panthera leo) using an expectancy-violation paradigm. When presented with a scenario where the playback of a loud-call (roaring) broadcast from behind a visual block is incongruent with the conspecific previously seen there, subjects responded more strongly than during the congruent scenario where the call and individual matched. These findings suggest that lions are capable of audio-visual cross-modal individual recognition and provide a useful method for studying this ability in wild populations. © 2016 The Author(s).

Infants are superior in implicit crossmodal learning and use other learning mechanisms than adults

PubMed Central

von Frieling, Marco; Röder, Brigitte

2017-01-01

During development internal models of the sensory world must be acquired which have to be continuously adapted later. We used event-related potentials (ERP) to test the hypothesis that infants extract crossmodal statistics implicitly while adults learn them when task relevant. Participants were passively exposed to frequent standard audio-visual combinations (A1V1, A2V2, p=0.35 each), rare recombinations of these standard stimuli (A1V2, A2V1, p=0.10 each), and a rare audio-visual deviant with infrequent auditory and visual elements (A3V3, p=0.10). While both six-month-old infants and adults differentiated between rare deviants and standards involving early neural processing stages only infants were sensitive to crossmodal statistics as indicated by a late ERP difference between standard and recombined stimuli. A second experiment revealed that adults differentiated recombined and standard combinations when crossmodal combinations were task relevant. These results demonstrate a heightened sensitivity for crossmodal statistics in infants and a change in learning mode from infancy to adulthood. PMID:28949291

Neonatal Restriction of Tactile Inputs Leads to Long-Lasting Impairments of Cross-Modal Processing

PubMed Central

Röder, Brigitte; Hanganu-Opatz, Ileana L.

2015-01-01

Optimal behavior relies on the combination of inputs from multiple senses through complex interactions within neocortical networks. The ontogeny of this multisensory interplay is still unknown. Here, we identify critical factors that control the development of visual-tactile processing by combining in vivo electrophysiology with anatomical/functional assessment of cortico-cortical communication and behavioral investigation of pigmented rats. We demonstrate that the transient reduction of unimodal (tactile) inputs during a short period of neonatal development prior to the first cross-modal experience affects feed-forward subcortico-cortical interactions by attenuating the cross-modal enhancement of evoked responses in the adult primary somatosensory cortex. Moreover, the neonatal manipulation alters cortico-cortical interactions by decreasing the cross-modal synchrony and directionality in line with the sparsification of direct projections between primary somatosensory and visual cortices. At the behavioral level, these functional and structural deficits resulted in lower cross-modal matching abilities. Thus, neonatal unimodal experience during defined developmental stages is necessary for setting up the neuronal networks of multisensory processing. PMID:26600123

Spatial Attention Effects during Conscious and Nonconscious Processing of Visual Features and Objects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tapia, Evelina; Breitmeyer, Bruno G.; Jacob, Jane; Broyles, Elizabeth C.

2013-01-01

Flanker congruency effects were measured in a masked flanker task to assess the properties of spatial attention during conscious and nonconscious processing of form, color, and conjunctions of these features. We found that (1) consciously and nonconsciously processed colored shape distractors (i.e., flankers) produce flanker congruency effects;…

Performance of normal adults and children on central auditory diagnostic tests and their corresponding visual analogs.

PubMed

Bellis, Teri James; Ross, Jody

2011-09-01

It has been suggested that, in order to validate a diagnosis of (C)APD (central auditory processing disorder), testing using direct cross-modal analogs should be performed to demonstrate that deficits exist solely or primarily in the auditory modality (McFarland and Cacace, 1995; Cacace and McFarland, 2005). This modality-specific viewpoint is controversial and not universally accepted (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA], 2005; Musiek et al, 2005). Further, no such analogs have been developed to date, and neither the feasibility of such testing in normally functioning individuals nor the concurrent validity of cross-modal analogs has been established. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of cross-modal testing by examining the performance of normal adults and children on four tests of central auditory function and their corresponding visual analogs. In addition, this study investigated the degree to which concurrent validity of auditory and visual versions of these tests could be demonstrated. An experimental repeated measures design was employed. Participants consisted of two groups (adults, n=10; children, n=10) with normal and symmetrical hearing sensitivity, normal or corrected-to-normal visual acuity, and no family or personal history of auditory/otologic, language, learning, neurologic, or related disorders. Visual analogs of four tests in common clinical use for the diagnosis of (C)APD were developed (Dichotic Digits [Musiek, 1983]; Frequency Patterns [Pinheiro and Ptacek, 1971]; Duration Patterns [Pinheiro and Musiek, 1985]; and the Random Gap Detection Test [RGDT; Keith, 2000]). Participants underwent two 1 hr test sessions separated by at least 1 wk. Order of sessions (auditory, visual) and tests within each session were counterbalanced across participants. ANOVAs (analyses of variance) were used to examine effects of group, modality, and laterality (for the Dichotic/Dichoptic Digits tests) or response condition (for the auditory and visual Frequency Patterns and Duration Patterns tests). Pearson product-moment correlations were used to investigate relationships between auditory and visual performance. Adults performed significantly better than children on the Dichotic/Dichoptic Digits tests. Results also revealed a significant effect of modality, with auditory better than visual, and a significant modality×laterality interaction, with a right-ear advantage seen for the auditory task and a left-visual-field advantage seen for the visual task. For the Frequency Patterns test and its visual analog, results revealed a significant modality×response condition interaction, with humming better than labeling for the auditory version but the reversed effect for the visual version. For Duration Patterns testing, visual performance was significantly poorer than auditory performance. Due to poor test-retest reliability and ceiling effects for the auditory and visual gap-detection tasks, analyses could not be performed. No cross-modal correlations were observed for any test. Results demonstrated that cross-modal testing is at least feasible using easily accessible computer hardware and software. The lack of any cross-modal correlations suggests independent processing mechanisms for auditory and visual versions of each task. Examination of performance in individuals with central auditory and pan-sensory disorders is needed to determine the utility of cross-modal analogs in the differential diagnosis of (C)APD. American Academy of Audiology.

On Response Bias in the Face Congruency Effect for Internal and External Features

PubMed Central

Meinhardt, Günter; Meinhardt-Injac, Bozana; Persike, Malte

2017-01-01

Some years ago Cheung et al. (2008) proposed the complete design (CD) for measuring the failure of selective attention in composite objects. Since the CD is a fully balanced design, analysis of response bias may reveal potential effects of the experimental manipulation, the stimulus material, and/or attributes of the observers. Here we used the CD to prove whether external features modulate perception of internal features with the context congruency paradigm (Nachson et al., 1995; Meinhardt-Injac et al., 2010) in a larger sample of N = 303 subjects. We found a large congruency effect (Cohen's d = 1.78), which was attenuated by face inversion (d = 1.32). The congruency relation also strongly modulated response bias. In incongruent trials the proportion of “different” responses was much larger than in congruent trials (d = 0.79), which was again attenuated by face inversion (d = 0.43). Because in incongruent trials the wholes formed by integrating external and internal features are always different, while in congruent trials same and different wholes occur with the same frequency, a congruency related bias effect is expected from holistic integration. Our results suggest two behavioral markers of holistic processing in the context congruency paradigm: a performance advantage in congruent compared to incongruent trials, and a tendency toward more “different” responses in incongruent, compared to congruent trials. Since the results for both markers differed only quantitatively in upright and inverted presentation, our findings indicate no change of the face processing mode by picture plane rotation. A potential transfer to the composite face paradigm is discussed. PMID:29089880

Impact of value congruence on work-family conflicts: the mediating role of work-related support.

PubMed

Pan, Su-Ying; Yeh, Ying-Jung Yvonne

2012-01-01

Based on past research regarding the relationship between person-environment fit and work-family conflict (WFC), we examined the mediating effects of perceived organization/supervisor support on the relationship between person-organization/supervisor value congruence and WFC. A structural equation model was used to test three hypotheses using data collected from 637 workers in Taiwan. Person-organization value congruence regarding role boundaries was found to be positively correlated with employee perception of organizational support, resulting in reduced WFC. Person-supervisor value congruence regarding role boundaries also increased employee perception of organizational support, mediated by perceived supervisor support. Research and managerial implications are discussed.

One bout of open skill exercise improves cross-modal perception and immediate memory in healthy older adults who habitually exercise.

PubMed

O'Brien, Jessica; Ottoboni, Giovanni; Tessari, Alessia; Setti, Annalisa

2017-01-01

One single bout of exercise can be associated with positive effects on cognition, due to physiological changes associated with muscular activity, increased arousal, and training of cognitive skills during exercise. While the positive effects of life-long physical activity on cognitive ageing are well demonstrated, it is not well established whether one bout of exercise is sufficient to register such benefits in older adults. The aim of this study was to test the effect of one bout of exercise on two cognitive processes essential to daily life and known to decline with ageing: audio-visual perception and immediate memory. Fifty-eight older adults took part in a quasi-experimental design study and were divided into three groups based on their habitual activity (open skill exercise (mean age = 69.65, SD = 5.64), closed skill exercise, N = 18, 94% female; sedentary activity-control group, N = 21, 62% female). They were then tested before and after their activity (duration between 60 and 80 minutes). Results showed improvement in sensitivity in audio-visual perception in the open skill group and improvements in one of the measures of immediate memory in both exercise groups, after controlling for baseline differences including global cognition and health. These findings indicate that immediate benefits for cross-modal perception and memory can be obtained after open skill exercise. However, improvements after closed skill exercise may be limited to memory benefits. Perceptual benefits are likely to be associated with arousal, while memory benefits may be due to the training effects provided by task requirements during exercise. The respective role of qualitative and quantitative differences between these activities in terms of immediate cognitive benefits should be further investigated. Importantly, the present results present the first evidence for a modulation of cross-modal perception by exercise, providing a plausible avenue for rehabilitation of cross-modal perception deficits, which are emerging as a significant contributor to functional decline in ageing.

Manipulating Bodily Presence Affects Cross-Modal Spatial Attention: A Virtual-Reality-Based ERP Study.

PubMed

Harjunen, Ville J; Ahmed, Imtiaj; Jacucci, Giulio; Ravaja, Niklas; Spapé, Michiel M

2017-01-01

Earlier studies have revealed cross-modal visuo-tactile interactions in endogenous spatial attention. The current research used event-related potentials (ERPs) and virtual reality (VR) to identify how the visual cues of the perceiver's body affect visuo-tactile interaction in endogenous spatial attention and at what point in time the effect takes place. A bimodal oddball task with lateralized tactile and visual stimuli was presented in two VR conditions, one with and one without visible hands, and one VR-free control with hands in view. Participants were required to silently count one type of stimulus and ignore all other stimuli presented in irrelevant modality or location. The presence of hands was found to modulate early and late components of somatosensory and visual evoked potentials. For sensory-perceptual stages, the presence of virtual or real hands was found to amplify attention-related negativity on the somatosensory N140 and cross-modal interaction in somatosensory and visual P200. For postperceptual stages, an amplified N200 component was obtained in somatosensory and visual evoked potentials, indicating increased response inhibition in response to non-target stimuli. The effect of somatosensory, but not visual, N200 enhanced when the virtual hands were present. The findings suggest that bodily presence affects sustained cross-modal spatial attention between vision and touch and that this effect is specifically present in ERPs related to early- and late-sensory processing, as well as response inhibition, but do not affect later attention and memory-related P3 activity. Finally, the experiments provide commeasurable scenarios for the estimation of the signal and noise ratio to quantify effects related to the use of a head mounted display (HMD). However, despite valid a-priori reasons for fearing signal interference due to a HMD, we observed no significant drop in the robustness of our ERP measurements.

Manipulating Bodily Presence Affects Cross-Modal Spatial Attention: A Virtual-Reality-Based ERP Study

PubMed Central

Harjunen, Ville J.; Ahmed, Imtiaj; Jacucci, Giulio; Ravaja, Niklas; Spapé, Michiel M.

2017-01-01

Earlier studies have revealed cross-modal visuo-tactile interactions in endogenous spatial attention. The current research used event-related potentials (ERPs) and virtual reality (VR) to identify how the visual cues of the perceiver’s body affect visuo-tactile interaction in endogenous spatial attention and at what point in time the effect takes place. A bimodal oddball task with lateralized tactile and visual stimuli was presented in two VR conditions, one with and one without visible hands, and one VR-free control with hands in view. Participants were required to silently count one type of stimulus and ignore all other stimuli presented in irrelevant modality or location. The presence of hands was found to modulate early and late components of somatosensory and visual evoked potentials. For sensory-perceptual stages, the presence of virtual or real hands was found to amplify attention-related negativity on the somatosensory N140 and cross-modal interaction in somatosensory and visual P200. For postperceptual stages, an amplified N200 component was obtained in somatosensory and visual evoked potentials, indicating increased response inhibition in response to non-target stimuli. The effect of somatosensory, but not visual, N200 enhanced when the virtual hands were present. The findings suggest that bodily presence affects sustained cross-modal spatial attention between vision and touch and that this effect is specifically present in ERPs related to early- and late-sensory processing, as well as response inhibition, but do not affect later attention and memory-related P3 activity. Finally, the experiments provide commeasurable scenarios for the estimation of the signal and noise ratio to quantify effects related to the use of a head mounted display (HMD). However, despite valid a-priori reasons for fearing signal interference due to a HMD, we observed no significant drop in the robustness of our ERP measurements. PMID:28275346

Perceptual effects in auralization of virtual rooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleiner, Mendel; Larsson, Pontus; Vastfjall, Daniel; Torres, Rendell R.

2002-05-01

By using various types of binaural simulation (or ``auralization'') of physical environments, it is now possible to study basic perceptual issues relevant to room acoustics, as well to simulate the acoustic conditions found in concert halls and other auditoria. Binaural simulation of physical spaces in general is also important to virtual reality systems. This presentation will begin with an overview of the issues encountered in the auralization of room and other environments. We will then discuss the influence of various approximations in room modeling, in particular, edge- and surface scattering, on the perceived room response. Finally, we will discuss cross-modal effects, such as the influence of visual cues on the perception of auditory cues, and the influence of cross-modal effects on the judgement of ``perceived presence'' and the rating of room acoustic quality.

Attentional Factors in Conceptual Congruency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santiago, Julio; Ouellet, Marc; Roman, Antonio; Valenzuela, Javier

2012-01-01

Conceptual congruency effects are biases induced by an irrelevant conceptual dimension of a task (e.g., location in vertical space) on the processing of another, relevant dimension (e.g., judging words' emotional evaluation). Such effects are a central empirical pillar for recent views about how the mind/brain represents concepts. In the present…

Dissociations of spatial congruence effects across response measures: an examination of delta plots.

PubMed

Miller, Jeff; Roüast, Nora M

2016-09-01

Spatial congruence ("Simon") effects on reaction time (RT) and response force (RF) were studied in two experiments requiring speeded choice responses to the color of a stimulus located irrelevantly to the left or right of fixation. In Experiment 1 with unimanual responses, both RT and incorrect-hand RF were sensitive to spatial congruence, and both showed larger Simon effects following a congruent trial than following an incongruent one. RT and incorrect-hand RF were dissociated in distributional (i.e., delta plot) analyses, however. As in previous studies, the Simon effect on RT was largest for the fastest responses and diminished as RT increased (i.e., decreasing delta plot). In contrast, Simon effects on RF did not decrease for slower responses; if anything, they increased slightly. In Experiment 2 participants made bimanual responses, allowing measurement of the spatial congruence effect for each trial. Responses were both faster and more forceful with the spatially congruent hand than with the spatially incongruent one, but neither of these effects decreased for slower responses. Overall, the results demonstrate that at least some motor-level effects of irrelevant spatial location persist for slower responses.

Interaction between Phonemic Abilities and Syllable Congruency Effect in Young Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chetail, Fabienne; Mathey, Stephanie

2013-01-01

This study investigated whether and to what extent phonemic abilities of young readers (Grade 5) influence syllabic effects in reading. More precisely, the syllable congruency effect was tested in the lexical decision task combined with masked priming in eleven-year-old children. Target words were preceded by a pseudo-word prime sharing the first…

Predicting the Gap: Perceptual Congruence between American Principals and Their Teachers' Ratings of Leadership Effectiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goff, Peter T; Goldring, Ellen; Bickman, Leonard

2014-01-01

The aim of this study is to determine the extent to which principals' self-ratings of leadership effectiveness coincide with their teachers' perceptions of their leadership effectiveness. Furthermore, we explore several characteristics of teachers and principals in an attempt to identify the factors that may predict congruence in…

Evaluating the Effect of Cognitive Dysfunction on Mental Imagery in Patients with Stroke Using Temporal Congruence and the Imagined ‘Timed Up and Go’ Test (iTUG)

PubMed Central

Bonnyaud, Céline; Fery, Yves-André; Bussel, Bernard; Roche, Nicolas

2017-01-01

Background Motor imagery (MI) capacity may be altered following stroke. MI is evaluated by measuring temporal congruence between the timed performance of an imagined and an executed task. Temporal congruence between imagined and physical gait-related activities has not been evaluated following stroke. Moreover, the effect of cognitive dysfunction on temporal congruence is not known. Objective To assess temporal congruence between the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) and the imagined TUG (iTUG) tests in patients with stroke and to investigate the role played by cognitive dysfunctions in changes in temporal congruence. Methods TUG and iTUG performance were recorded and compared in twenty patients with chronic stroke and 20 controls. Cognitive function was measured using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA), the Frontal Assessment Battery at Bedside (FAB) and the Bells Test. Results The temporal congruence of the patients with stroke was significantly altered compared to the controls, indicating a loss of MI capacity (respectively 45.11 ±35.11 vs 24.36 ±17.91, p = 0.02). Furthermore, iTUG test results were positively correlated with pathological scores on the Bells Test (r = 0.085, p = 0.013), likely suggesting that impairment of attention was a contributing factor. Conclusion These results highlight the importance of evaluating potential attention disorder in patients with stroke to optimise the use of MI for rehabilitation and recovery. However further study is needed to determine how MI should be used in the case of cognitive dysfunction. PMID:28125616

Evaluating the Effect of Cognitive Dysfunction on Mental Imagery in Patients with Stroke Using Temporal Congruence and the Imagined 'Timed Up and Go' Test (iTUG).

PubMed

Geiger, Maxime; Bonnyaud, Céline; Fery, Yves-André; Bussel, Bernard; Roche, Nicolas

2017-01-01

Motor imagery (MI) capacity may be altered following stroke. MI is evaluated by measuring temporal congruence between the timed performance of an imagined and an executed task. Temporal congruence between imagined and physical gait-related activities has not been evaluated following stroke. Moreover, the effect of cognitive dysfunction on temporal congruence is not known. To assess temporal congruence between the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) and the imagined TUG (iTUG) tests in patients with stroke and to investigate the role played by cognitive dysfunctions in changes in temporal congruence. TUG and iTUG performance were recorded and compared in twenty patients with chronic stroke and 20 controls. Cognitive function was measured using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA), the Frontal Assessment Battery at Bedside (FAB) and the Bells Test. The temporal congruence of the patients with stroke was significantly altered compared to the controls, indicating a loss of MI capacity (respectively 45.11 ±35.11 vs 24.36 ±17.91, p = 0.02). Furthermore, iTUG test results were positively correlated with pathological scores on the Bells Test (r = 0.085, p = 0.013), likely suggesting that impairment of attention was a contributing factor. These results highlight the importance of evaluating potential attention disorder in patients with stroke to optimise the use of MI for rehabilitation and recovery. However further study is needed to determine how MI should be used in the case of cognitive dysfunction.

The effect of synesthetic associations between the visual and auditory modalities on the Colavita effect.

PubMed

Stekelenburg, Jeroen J; Keetels, Mirjam

2016-05-01

The Colavita effect refers to the phenomenon that when confronted with an audiovisual stimulus, observers report more often to have perceived the visual than the auditory component. The Colavita effect depends on low-level stimulus factors such as spatial and temporal proximity between the unimodal signals. Here, we examined whether the Colavita effect is modulated by synesthetic congruency between visual size and auditory pitch. If the Colavita effect depends on synesthetic congruency, we expect a larger Colavita effect for synesthetically congruent size/pitch (large visual stimulus/low-pitched tone; small visual stimulus/high-pitched tone) than synesthetically incongruent (large visual stimulus/high-pitched tone; small visual stimulus/low-pitched tone) combinations. Participants had to identify stimulus type (visual, auditory or audiovisual). The study replicated the Colavita effect because participants reported more often the visual than auditory component of the audiovisual stimuli. Synesthetic congruency had, however, no effect on the magnitude of the Colavita effect. EEG recordings to congruent and incongruent audiovisual pairings showed a late frontal congruency effect at 400-550 ms and an occipitoparietal effect at 690-800 ms with neural sources in the anterior cingulate and premotor cortex for the 400- to 550-ms window and premotor cortex, inferior parietal lobule and the posterior middle temporal gyrus for the 690- to 800-ms window. The electrophysiological data show that synesthetic congruency was probably detected in a processing stage subsequent to the Colavita effect. We conclude that-in a modality detection task-the Colavita effect can be modulated by low-level structural factors but not by higher-order associations between auditory and visual inputs.

Value congruence, control, sense of community and demands as determinants of burnout syndrome among hospitality workers.

PubMed

Asensio-Martínez, Ángela; Leiter, Michael P; Gascón, Santiago; Gumuchian, Stephanie; Masluk, Bárbara; Herrera-Mercadal, Paola; Albesa, Agustín; García-Campayo, Javier

2017-09-07

Employees working in the hospitality industry are constantly exposed to occupational stressors that may lead employees into experiencing burnout syndrome. Research addressing the interactive effects of control, community and value congruence to alleviate the impact of workplace demands on experiencing burnout is relatively limited. The present study examined relationships among control, community and value congruence, workplace demands and the three components of burnout. A sample of 418 employees working in a variety of hospitality associations including restaurants and hotels in Spain were recruited. Moderation analyses and linear regressions analyzed the predictive power of control, community and value congruence as moderating variables. Results indicate that control, community and value congruence were successful buffers in the relationships between workplace demands and the burnout dimensions. The present findings offer suggestions for future research on potential moderating variables, as well as implications for reducing burnout among hospitality employees.

Moral Values Congruence and Miners' Policy Following Behavior: The Role of Supervisor Morality.

PubMed

Lu, Hui; Chen, Hong; Du, Wei; Long, Ruyin

2017-06-01

Ethical culture construction is beneficial to maximize policy following behavior (PFB) and avoid accidents of coal miners in an economic downturn. This paper examines the congruence between coal mine ethical culture values (ECVs) and miners' moral values (MVs) and the relationship with PFB. To shed light on this relationship, supervisor moral values (SMVs) act as a key moderator. We build on the initial structure of values to measure ECVs, MVs, and SMVs. At the same time, available congruence was defined to describe the relationship between the two values. Drawing upon a survey of 267 miners in Chinese large state-owned coal mining enterprises, results revealed that ECVs-MVs congruence had a linear relationship with intrinsic PFB (IPFB) and a non-linear relationship with extrinsic PFB. These findings demonstrate that SMVs had a moderating effect on the relationship between ECVs-MVs congruence and extrinsic PFB. Thus, we continued to calculate the available congruence scope in tested enterprises. Furthermore, this study gives relative management proposals and suggestions to improve miners' moral standards and to reduce coal mine accidents.

Morphological structure mediates the notional meaning of gender marking: Evidence from the gender-congruency effect in Hebrew speech production.

PubMed

Deutsch, Avital; Dank, Maya

2018-02-01

This study investigated the gender-congruency effect of animate nouns in Hebrew. The Picture-Word Interference paradigm was used to manipulate gender congruency between target pictures and spoken distractors. Naming latency revealed an inhibitory gender-congruency effect, as naming the pictures took longer in the presence of a gender-congruent distractor than with a distractor from a different gender category. The inhibitory effect was demonstrated for feminine (morphologically marked) nouns, across two stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) (Experiments 1a and 1b), and masculine (morphologically unmarked) nouns (Experiment 2). The same pattern was observed when participants had to produce bare nouns (Experiment 1) or gender-marked noun phrases (Experiment 3). The inhibitory pattern of the effect resembles previous findings of bare nouns in a subset of Romance languages, including Italian and Spanish. These findings add to previous research which investigated the gender-congruency effect of inanimate nouns, where no effect of gender-congruent words was found. The results are discussed in relation to the null effect previously found for inanimate nouns. The comparison of the present and previous studies is motivated by a common linguistic distinction between animate and inanimate nouns in Hebrew, which ascribes grammatical gender specifications to derivational structures (for inanimate nouns) versus inflectional structures (for animate nouns). Given the difference in the notional meaning of gender specification for animate and inanimate nouns, the case of Hebrew exemplifies how language-specific characteristics, such as rich morphological structures, can be used by the linguistic system to express conceptual distinctions at the form-word level.

(In)Congruence of implicit and explicit communal motives predicts the quality and stability of couple relationships.

PubMed

Hagemeyer, Birk; Neberich, Wiebke; Asendorpf, Jens B; Neyer, Franz J

2013-08-01

Previous research has shown that motive congruence, as observed in convergingly high or low scores on implicit and explicit motive measures, promotes well-being and health. Extending this individual perspective to the realm of couple relationships, the present investigation examined intra- and interpersonal effects of communal motive (in)congruence on relationship satisfaction and stability. The implicit partner-related need for communion, the explicit desire for closeness, and relationship satisfaction were assessed in a sample of 547 heterosexual couples aged 18 to 73 years. In a one-year follow-up study, information on relationship stability was obtained, and relationship satisfaction was reassessed. The researchers tested cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of motive (in)congruence by dyadic moderation analyses. Individuals scoring congruently high on both motives reported the highest relationship satisfaction in concurrence with motive assessment and 1 year later. In addition, motive incongruence predicted an increased risk of relationship breakup over 1 year. The results highlight the significance of both implicit and explicit motives for couple relationships. Motive incongruence was confirmed as a dispositional risk factor that so far has not been considered in couple research. Future research directions addressing potential mediators of the observed effects and potential moderators of motive (in)congruence are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The precedence of topological change over top-down attention in masked priming.

PubMed

Huang, Yan; Zhou, Tiangang; Chen, Lin

2011-10-14

Recent data indicate that unconscious masked priming can be mediated by top-down attentional set, so that priming effects of congruence between a masked prime and a subsequent probe vanish when the congruence ceases to be task relevant. Here, we show that, while the attentional set determines masked priming for color and orientation features, it does not fully determine priming based on the topological properties of stimuli. Specifically, across a series of different choice-RT tasks, we find that topological congruence between prime and probe stimuli affects RTs for the probes even when other stimulus information (e.g., color or orientation) is required for the response, whereas congruence priming effects of color or orientation occur only when these features are response relevant. Our results suggest that changes in topological properties take precedence over task-directed top-down attentional modulation in masked priming.

The effects of work factors on nurses' job satisfaction, quality of care and turnover intentions in oncology.

PubMed

Gillet, Nicolas; Fouquereau, Evelyne; Coillot, Hélène; Cougot, Baptiste; Moret, Leïla; Dupont, Sophie; Bonnetain, Franck; Colombat, Philippe

2018-05-01

We examined the effects of perceived supervisor support, value congruence and hospital nurse staffing on nurses' job satisfaction through the satisfaction of the three psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Then, we examined the links between job satisfaction and quality of care as well as turnover intentions from the workplace. There is growing interest in the relationships between work factors and nurses' job satisfaction. However, minimal research has investigated the effects of perceived supervisor support, value congruence and staffing on nurses' job satisfaction and the psychological mechanisms by which these factors lead to positive outcomes. A cross-sectional questionnaire was distributed in 11 oncology units between September 2015 - February 2016. Data were collected from a sample of 144 French nurses who completed measures of perceived supervisor support, value congruence, staffing adequacy, psychological need satisfaction, job satisfaction, quality of care and turnover intentions. The hypothesized model was tested with path analyses. Results revealed that psychological need satisfaction partially mediated the effects of perceived supervisor support, value congruence and hospital nurse staffing on job satisfaction. Moreover, job satisfaction was positively associated with quality of care and negatively linked to turnover intentions. Overall, these findings provide insight into the influence of perceived supervisor support, value congruence and staffing on nurses' attitudes and behaviours. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cross-modal discrepancies in coarticulation and the integration of speech information: the McGurk effect with mismatched vowels.

PubMed

Green, K P; Gerdeman, A

1995-12-01

Two experiments examined the impact of a discrepancy in vowel quality between the auditory and visual modalities on the perception of a syllable-initial consonant. One experiment examined the effect of such a discrepancy on the McGurk effect by cross-dubbing auditory /bi/ tokens onto visual /ga/ articulations (and vice versa). A discrepancy in vowel category significantly reduced the magnitude of the McGurk effect and changed the pattern of responses. A 2nd experiment investigated the effect of such a discrepancy on the speeded classification of the initial consonant. Mean reaction times to classify the tokens increased when the vowel information was discrepant between the 2 modalities but not when the vowel information was consistent. These experiments indicate that the perceptual system is sensitive to cross-modal discrepancies in the coarticulatory information between a consonant and its following vowel during phonetic perception.

Sequential roles of primary somatosensory cortex and posterior parietal cortex in tactile-visual cross-modal working memory: a single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (spTMS) study.

PubMed

Ku, Yixuan; Zhao, Di; Hao, Ning; Hu, Yi; Bodner, Mark; Zhou, Yong-Di

2015-01-01

Both monkey neurophysiological and human EEG studies have shown that association cortices, as well as primary sensory cortical areas, play an essential role in sequential neural processes underlying cross-modal working memory. The present study aims to further examine causal and sequential roles of the primary sensory cortex and association cortex in cross-modal working memory. Individual MRI-based single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (spTMS) was applied to bilateral primary somatosensory cortices (SI) and the contralateral posterior parietal cortex (PPC), while participants were performing a tactile-visual cross-modal delayed matching-to-sample task. Time points of spTMS were 300 ms, 600 ms, 900 ms after the onset of the tactile sample stimulus in the task. The accuracy of task performance and reaction time were significantly impaired when spTMS was applied to the contralateral SI at 300 ms. Significant impairment on performance accuracy was also observed when the contralateral PPC was stimulated at 600 ms. SI and PPC play sequential and distinct roles in neural processes of cross-modal associations and working memory. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Practice and Colour-Word Integration in Stroop Interference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gul, Amara; Humphreys, Glyn W.

2015-01-01

Congruency effects were examined using a manual response version of the Stroop task in which the relationship between the colour word and its hue on incongruent trials was either kept constant or varied randomly across different pairings within the stimulus set. Congruency effects were increased in the condition where the incongruent hue-word…

Congruence Effect in Semantic Categorization with Masked Primes with Narrow and Broad Categories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quinn, Wendy Maree; Kinoshita, Sachiko

2008-01-01

In semantic categorization, masked primes that are category-congruent with the target (e.g., "Planets: mars-VENUS") facilitate responses relative to category-incongruent primes (e.g., "tree-VENUS"). The present study investigated why this category congruence effect is more consistently found with narrow categories (e.g., "Numbers larger/smaller…

Can Contingency Learning Alone Account for Item-Specific Control? Evidence from within- and Between-Language ISPC Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atalay, Nart Bedin; Misirlisoy, Mine

2012-01-01

The item-specific proportion congruence (ISPC) manipulation (Jacoby, Lindsay, & Hessels, 2003) produces larger Stroop interference for mostly congruent items than mostly incongruent items. This effect has been attributed to dynamic control over word-reading processes. However, proportion congruence of an item in the ISPC manipulation is…

Interpreting instructional cues in task switching procedures: the role of mediator retrieval.

PubMed

Logan, Gordon D; Schneider, Darryl W

2006-03-01

In 3 experiments the role of mediators in task switching with transparent and nontransparent cues was examined. Subjects switched between magnitude (greater or less than 5) and parity (odd or even) judgments of single digits. A cue-target congruency effect indicated mediator use: subjects responded faster to congruent cue-target combinations (e.g., ODD-3) than to incongruent cue-target combinations (e.g., ODD-4). Experiment 1 revealed significant congruency effects with transparent word cues (ODD, EVEN, HIGH, and LOW) and with relatively transparent letter cues (O, E, H, and L) but not with nontransparent letter cues (D, V, G, and W). Experiment 2 revealed significant congruency effects after subjects who were trained with nontransparent letter cues were informed of the relations between cues and word mediators halfway through the experiment. Experiment 3 showed that congruency effects with relatively transparent letter cues diminished over 10 sessions of practice, suggesting that subjects used mediators less as practice progressed. The results are discussed in terms of the role of mediators in interpreting instructional cues.

The neural basis of visual dominance in the context of audio-visual object processing.

PubMed

Schmid, Carmen; Büchel, Christian; Rose, Michael

2011-03-01

Visual dominance refers to the observation that in bimodal environments vision often has an advantage over other senses in human. Therefore, a better memory performance for visual compared to, e.g., auditory material is assumed. However, the reason for this preferential processing and the relation to the memory formation is largely unknown. In this fMRI experiment, we manipulated cross-modal competition and attention, two factors that both modulate bimodal stimulus processing and can affect memory formation. Pictures and sounds of objects were presented simultaneously in two levels of recognisability, thus manipulating the amount of cross-modal competition. Attention was manipulated via task instruction and directed either to the visual or the auditory modality. The factorial design allowed a direct comparison of the effects between both modalities. The resulting memory performance showed that visual dominance was limited to a distinct task setting. Visual was superior to auditory object memory only when allocating attention towards the competing modality. During encoding, cross-modal competition and attention towards the opponent domain reduced fMRI signals in both neural systems, but cross-modal competition was more pronounced in the auditory system and only in auditory cortex this competition was further modulated by attention. Furthermore, neural activity reduction in auditory cortex during encoding was closely related to the behavioural auditory memory impairment. These results indicate that visual dominance emerges from a less pronounced vulnerability of the visual system against competition from the auditory domain. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Cognitive and emotional feeling states and controllability: effects on judgment contents and processing style].

PubMed

Lantermann, E D; Otto, J H

1994-01-01

Reviews summarizing experiments on the interaction of emotional and cognitive processes generally conclude that moods or feelings influence memory, decision-making, and learning processes. The congruency effects observed concern the content or quality of cognition involved as well as the style of information processing. This experiment aimed to further differentiate the conditions of the congruency effects. Therefore, with a 3-factorial design, the influence of (1) positive and negative feelings, (2) a detached and vivid mode of experiencing, and (3) cognitive control on two aspects of probability estimates concerning future events were investigated. 194 female and male subjects (M = 22.58, SD = 4.85 years of age) participated. The feeling states were induced by an autobiographical recollection procedure, and the modality and control conditions were manipulated by means of instructions. 3-way interactions for the content and style of judgments as dependent variables support the expected mood-congruency effects. Three factors quality these effects. First, the mood-congruity effect as described in the literature can be interpreted as being composed of two different parts, a strong emotional and a weak cognitive mood-congruency effect, the latter being an artifact, if real emotion-cognition relationships are concerned. Second, the influence of feelings on information processing style can only be replicated under conditions of "hot" cognition, and so is a truly emotional phenomenon. Third, the interactions of mood, control, and modality point towards different control strategies being implicit in various feeling states. Positive mood is ruled by "compensation" control, whereas negative mood states are governed by "congruency" control if future life events are evaluated.

Enhancing Congruence between Implicit Motives and Explicit Goal Commitments: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Roch, Ramona M; Rösch, Andreas G; Schultheiss, Oliver C

2017-01-01

Objective: Theory and research suggest that the pursuit of personal goals that do not fit a person's affect-based implicit motives results in impaired emotional well-being, including increased symptoms of depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate an intervention designed to enhance motive-goal congruence and study its impact on well-being. Method: Seventy-four German students (mean age = 22.91, SD = 3.68; 64.9% female) without current psychopathology, randomly allocated to three groups: motivational feedback (FB; n = 25; participants learned about the fit between their implicit motives and explicit goals), FB + congruence-enhancement training (CET; n = 22; participants also engaged in exercises to increase the fit between their implicit motives and goals), and a no-intervention control group ( n = 27), were administered measures of implicit motives, personal goal commitments, happiness, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction 3 weeks before (T1) and 6 weeks after (T2) treatment. Results: On two types of congruence measures derived from motive and goal assessments, treated participants showed increases in agentic (power and achievement) congruence, with improvements being most consistent in the FB+CET group. Treated participants also showed a trend-level depressive symptom reduction, but no changes on other well-being measures. Although increases in overall and agentic motivational congruence were associated with increases in affective well-being, treatment-based reduction of depressive symptoms was not mediated by treatment-based agentic congruence changes. Conclusion: These findings document that motivational congruence can be effectively enhanced, that changes in motivational congruence are associated with changes in affective well-being, and they suggest that individuals' implicit motives should be considered when personal goals are discussed in the therapeutic process.

Enhancing Congruence between Implicit Motives and Explicit Goal Commitments: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Roch, Ramona M.; Rösch, Andreas G.; Schultheiss, Oliver C.

2017-01-01

Objective: Theory and research suggest that the pursuit of personal goals that do not fit a person's affect-based implicit motives results in impaired emotional well-being, including increased symptoms of depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate an intervention designed to enhance motive-goal congruence and study its impact on well-being. Method: Seventy-four German students (mean age = 22.91, SD = 3.68; 64.9% female) without current psychopathology, randomly allocated to three groups: motivational feedback (FB; n = 25; participants learned about the fit between their implicit motives and explicit goals), FB + congruence-enhancement training (CET; n = 22; participants also engaged in exercises to increase the fit between their implicit motives and goals), and a no-intervention control group (n = 27), were administered measures of implicit motives, personal goal commitments, happiness, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction 3 weeks before (T1) and 6 weeks after (T2) treatment. Results: On two types of congruence measures derived from motive and goal assessments, treated participants showed increases in agentic (power and achievement) congruence, with improvements being most consistent in the FB+CET group. Treated participants also showed a trend-level depressive symptom reduction, but no changes on other well-being measures. Although increases in overall and agentic motivational congruence were associated with increases in affective well-being, treatment-based reduction of depressive symptoms was not mediated by treatment-based agentic congruence changes. Conclusion: These findings document that motivational congruence can be effectively enhanced, that changes in motivational congruence are associated with changes in affective well-being, and they suggest that individuals' implicit motives should be considered when personal goals are discussed in the therapeutic process. PMID:28955267

Cross-modal plasticity in developmental and age-related hearing loss: Clinical implications.

PubMed

Glick, Hannah; Sharma, Anu

2017-01-01

This review explores cross-modal cortical plasticity as a result of auditory deprivation in populations with hearing loss across the age spectrum, from development to adulthood. Cross-modal plasticity refers to the phenomenon when deprivation in one sensory modality (e.g. the auditory modality as in deafness or hearing loss) results in the recruitment of cortical resources of the deprived modality by intact sensory modalities (e.g. visual or somatosensory systems). We discuss recruitment of auditory cortical resources for visual and somatosensory processing in deafness and in lesser degrees of hearing loss. We describe developmental cross-modal re-organization in the context of congenital or pre-lingual deafness in childhood and in the context of adult-onset, age-related hearing loss, with a focus on how cross-modal plasticity relates to clinical outcomes. We provide both single-subject and group-level evidence of cross-modal re-organization by the visual and somatosensory systems in bilateral, congenital deafness, single-sided deafness, adults with early-stage, mild-moderate hearing loss, and individual adult and pediatric patients exhibit excellent and average speech perception with hearing aids and cochlear implants. We discuss a framework in which changes in cortical resource allocation secondary to hearing loss results in decreased intra-modal plasticity in auditory cortex, accompanied by increased cross-modal recruitment of auditory cortices by the other sensory systems, and simultaneous compensatory activation of frontal cortices. The frontal cortices, as we will discuss, play an important role in mediating cognitive compensation in hearing loss. Given the wide range of variability in behavioral performance following audiological intervention, changes in cortical plasticity may play a valuable role in the prediction of clinical outcomes following intervention. Further, the development of new technologies and rehabilitation strategies that incorporate brain-based biomarkers may help better serve hearing impaired populations across the lifespan. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cross-modal project prioritization : a TPCB peer exchange.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-05-01

This report highlights key recommendations and best practices identified at the peer exchange on Cross-Modal Project Prioritization, held on December 16 and 17, 2014, in Raleigh, North Carolina. This event was sponsored by the Transportation Planning...

Grasp cueing and joint attention.

PubMed

Tschentscher, Nadja; Fischer, Martin H

2008-10-01

We studied how two different hand posture cues affect joint attention in normal observers. Visual targets appeared over lateralized objects, with different delays after centrally presented hand postures. Attention was cued by either hand direction or the congruency between hand aperture and object size. Participants pressed a button when they detected a target. Direction cues alone facilitated target detection following short delays but aperture cues alone were ineffective. In contrast, when hand postures combined direction and aperture cues, aperture congruency effects without directional congruency effects emerged and persisted, but only for power grips. These results suggest that parallel parameter specification makes joint attention mechanisms exquisitely sensitive to the timing and content of contextual cues.

Functional brain and age-related changes associated with congruency in task switching

PubMed Central

Eich, Teal S.; Parker, David; Liu, Dan; Oh, Hwamee; Razlighi, Qolamreza; Gazes, Yunglin; Habeck, Christian; Stern, Yaakov

2016-01-01

Alternating between completing two simple tasks, as opposed to completing only one task, has been shown to produce costs to performance and changes to neural patterns of activity, effects which are augmented in old age. Cognitive conflict may arise from factors other than switching tasks, however. Sensorimotor congruency (whether stimulus-response mappings are the same or different for the two tasks) has been shown to behaviorally moderate switch costs in older, but not younger adults. In the current study, we used fMRI to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms of response-conflict congruency effects within a task switching paradigm in older (N=75) and younger (N=62) adults. Behaviorally, incongruency moderated age-related differences in switch costs. Neurally, switch costs were associated with greater activation in the dorsal attention network for older relative to younger adults. We also found that older adults recruited an additional set of brain areas in the ventral attention network to a greater extent than did younger adults to resolve congruency-related response-conflict. These results suggest both a network and an age-based dissociation between congruency and switch costs in task switching. PMID:27520472

The effects of perceptual priming on 4-year-olds' haptic-to-visual cross-modal transfer.

PubMed

Kalagher, Hilary

2013-01-01

Four-year-old children often have difficulty visually recognizing objects that were previously experienced only haptically. This experiment attempts to improve their performance in these haptic-to-visual transfer tasks. Sixty-two 4-year-old children participated in priming trials in which they explored eight unfamiliar objects visually, haptically, or visually and haptically together. Subsequently, all children participated in the same haptic-to-visual cross-modal transfer task. In this task, children haptically explored the objects that were presented in the priming phase and then visually identified a match from among three test objects, each matching the object on only one dimension (shape, texture, or color). Children in all priming conditions predominantly made shape-based matches; however, the most shape-based matches were made in the Visual and Haptic condition. All kinds of priming provided the necessary memory traces upon which subsequent haptic exploration could build a strong enough representation to enable subsequent visual recognition. Haptic exploration patterns during the cross-modal transfer task are discussed and the detailed analyses provide a unique contribution to our understanding of the development of haptic exploratory procedures.

Congenital Anophthalmia and Binocular Neonatal Enucleation Differently Affect the Proteome of Primary and Secondary Visual Cortices in Mice.

PubMed

Laramée, Marie-Eve; Smolders, Katrien; Hu, Tjing-Tjing; Bronchti, Gilles; Boire, Denis; Arckens, Lutgarde

2016-01-01

In blind individuals, visually deprived occipital areas are activated by non-visual stimuli. The extent of this cross-modal activation depends on the age at onset of blindness. Cross-modal inputs have access to several anatomical pathways to reactivate deprived visual areas. Ectopic cross-modal subcortical connections have been shown in anophthalmic animals but not in animals deprived of sight at a later age. Direct and indirect cross-modal cortical connections toward visual areas could also be involved, yet the number of neurons implicated is similar between blind mice and sighted controls. Changes at the axon terminal, dendritic spine or synaptic level are therefore expected upon loss of visual inputs. Here, the proteome of V1, V2M and V2L from P0-enucleated, anophthalmic and sighted mice, sharing a common genetic background (C57BL/6J x ZRDCT/An), was investigated by 2-D DIGE and Western analyses to identify molecular adaptations to enucleation and/or anophthalmia. Few proteins were differentially expressed in enucleated or anophthalmic mice in comparison to sighted mice. The loss of sight affected three pathways: metabolism, synaptic transmission and morphogenesis. Most changes were detected in V1, followed by V2M. Overall, cross-modal adaptations could be promoted in both models of early blindness but not through the exact same molecular strategy. A lower metabolic activity observed in visual areas of blind mice suggests that even if cross-modal inputs reactivate visual areas, they could remain suboptimally processed.

Congenital Anophthalmia and Binocular Neonatal Enucleation Differently Affect the Proteome of Primary and Secondary Visual Cortices in Mice

PubMed Central

Smolders, Katrien; Hu, Tjing-Tjing; Bronchti, Gilles; Boire, Denis; Arckens, Lutgarde

2016-01-01

In blind individuals, visually deprived occipital areas are activated by non-visual stimuli. The extent of this cross-modal activation depends on the age at onset of blindness. Cross-modal inputs have access to several anatomical pathways to reactivate deprived visual areas. Ectopic cross-modal subcortical connections have been shown in anophthalmic animals but not in animals deprived of sight at a later age. Direct and indirect cross-modal cortical connections toward visual areas could also be involved, yet the number of neurons implicated is similar between blind mice and sighted controls. Changes at the axon terminal, dendritic spine or synaptic level are therefore expected upon loss of visual inputs. Here, the proteome of V1, V2M and V2L from P0-enucleated, anophthalmic and sighted mice, sharing a common genetic background (C57BL/6J x ZRDCT/An), was investigated by 2-D DIGE and Western analyses to identify molecular adaptations to enucleation and/or anophthalmia. Few proteins were differentially expressed in enucleated or anophthalmic mice in comparison to sighted mice. The loss of sight affected three pathways: metabolism, synaptic transmission and morphogenesis. Most changes were detected in V1, followed by V2M. Overall, cross-modal adaptations could be promoted in both models of early blindness but not through the exact same molecular strategy. A lower metabolic activity observed in visual areas of blind mice suggests that even if cross-modal inputs reactivate visual areas, they could remain suboptimally processed. PMID:27410964

Olfactory-visual integration facilitates perception of subthreshold negative emotion.

PubMed

Novak, Lucas R; Gitelman, Darren R; Schuyler, Brianna; Li, Wen

2015-10-01

A fast growing literature of multisensory emotion integration notwithstanding, the chemical senses, intimately associated with emotion, have been largely overlooked. Moreover, an ecologically highly relevant principle of "inverse effectiveness", rendering maximal integration efficacy with impoverished sensory input, remains to be assessed in emotion integration. Presenting minute, subthreshold negative (vs. neutral) cues in faces and odors, we demonstrated olfactory-visual emotion integration in improved emotion detection (especially among individuals with weaker perception of unimodal negative cues) and response enhancement in the amygdala. Moreover, while perceptual gain for visual negative emotion involved the posterior superior temporal sulcus/pSTS, perceptual gain for olfactory negative emotion engaged both the associative olfactory (orbitofrontal) cortex and amygdala. Dynamic causal modeling (DCM) analysis of fMRI timeseries further revealed connectivity strengthening among these areas during crossmodal emotion integration. That multisensory (but not low-level unisensory) areas exhibited both enhanced response and region-to-region coupling favors a top-down (vs. bottom-up) account for olfactory-visual emotion integration. Current findings thus confirm the involvement of multisensory convergence areas, while highlighting unique characteristics of olfaction-related integration. Furthermore, successful crossmodal binding of subthreshold aversive cues not only supports the principle of "inverse effectiveness" in emotion integration but also accentuates the automatic, unconscious quality of crossmodal emotion synthesis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lady Liberty and Godfather Death as candidates for linguistic relativity? Scrutinizing the gender congruency effect on personified allegories with explicit and implicit measures.

PubMed

Bender, Andrea; Beller, Sieghard; Klauer, Karl Christoph

2016-01-01

Linguistic relativity--the idea that language affects thought by way of its grammatical categorizations--has been controversially debated for decades. One of the contested cases is the grammatical gender of nouns, which is claimed to affect how their referents are conceptualized (i.e., as rather female or male in congruence with the grammatical gender of the noun), especially when used allegorically. But is this association strong enough to be detected in implicit measures, and, if so, can we disentangle effects of grammatical gender and allegorical association? Three experiments with native speakers of German tackled these questions. They revealed a gender congruency effect on allegorically used nouns, but this effect was stronger with an explicit measure (assignment of biological sex) than with an implicit measure (Extrinsic Affective Simon Task) and disappeared in the implicit measure when grammatical gender and allegorical associations were set into contrast. Taken together, these findings indicate that the observed congruency effect was driven by the association of nouns with personifications rather than by their grammatical gender. In conclusion, we also discuss implications of these findings for linguistic relativity.

Memory systems in the rat: effects of reward probability, context, and congruency between working and reference memory.

PubMed

Roberts, William A; Guitar, Nicole A; Marsh, Heidi L; MacDonald, Hayden

2016-05-01

The interaction of working and reference memory was studied in rats on an eight-arm radial maze. In two experiments, rats were trained to perform working memory and reference memory tasks. On working memory trials, they were allowed to enter four randomly chosen arms for reward in a study phase and then had to choose the unentered arms for reward in a test phase. On reference memory trials, they had to learn to visit the same four arms on the maze on every trial for reward. Retention was tested on working memory trials in which the interval between the study and test phase was 15 s, 15 min, or 30 min. At each retention interval, tests were performed in which the correct WM arms were either congruent or incongruent with the correct RM arms. Both experiments showed that congruency interacted with retention interval, yielding more forgetting at 30 min on incongruent trials than on congruent trials. The effect of reference memory strength on the congruency effect was examined in Experiment 1, and the effect of associating different contexts with working and reference memory on the congruency effect was studied in Experiment 2.

Between- and within-Ear Congruency and Laterality Effects in an Auditory Semantic/Emotional Prosody Conflict Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Techentin, Cheryl; Voyer, Daniel; Klein, Raymond M.

2009-01-01

The present study investigated the influence of within- and between-ear congruency on interference and laterality effects in an auditory semantic/prosodic conflict task. Participants were presented dichotically with words (e.g., mad, sad, glad) pronounced in either congruent or incongruent emotional tones (e.g., angry, happy, or sad) and…

The Effects of College Major and Job Field Congruence on Job Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolniak, Gregory C.; Pascarella, Ernest T.

2005-01-01

This study investigated predictors of job satisfaction and builds on previous research on the effects of bachelor's degree majors and job field congruence on job satisfaction. Data on workers' job experiences in 2001 were matched to those workers' college experiences across 30 institutions and background characteristics up to 25 years earlier.…

The role of semantic self-perceptions in temporal distance perceptions toward autobiographical events: the semantic congruence model.

PubMed

Gebauer, Jochen E; Haddock, Geoffrey; Broemer, Philip; von Hecker, Ulrich

2013-11-01

Why do some autobiographical events feel as if they happened yesterday, whereas others feel like ancient history? Such temporal distance perceptions have surprisingly little to do with actual calendar time distance. Instead, psychologists have found that people typically perceive positive autobiographical events as overly recent, while perceiving negative events as overly distant. The origins of this temporal distance bias have been sought in self-enhancement strivings and mood congruence between autobiographical events and chronic mood. As such, past research exclusively focused on the evaluative features of autobiographical events, while neglecting semantic features. To close this gap, we introduce a semantic congruence model. Capitalizing on the Big Two self-perception dimensions, Study 1 showed that high semantic congruence between recalled autobiographical events and trait self-perceptions render the recalled events subjectively recent. Specifically, interpersonally warm (competent) individuals perceived autobiographical events reflecting warmth (competence) as relatively recent, but warm (competent) individuals did not perceive events reflecting competence (warmth) as relatively recent. Study 2 found that conscious perceptions of congruence mediate these effects. Studies 3 and 4 showed that neither mood congruence nor self-enhancement account for these results. Study 5 extended the results from the Big Two to the Big Five self-perception dimensions, while affirming the independence of the semantic congruence model from evaluative influences. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Neural substrate of initiation of cross-modal working memory retrieval.

PubMed

Zhang, Yangyang; Hu, Yang; Guan, Shuchen; Hong, Xiaolong; Wang, Zhaoxin; Li, Xianchun

2014-01-01

Cross-modal working memory requires integrating stimuli from different modalities and it is associated with co-activation of distributed networks in the brain. However, how brain initiates cross-modal working memory retrieval remains not clear yet. In the present study, we developed a cued matching task, in which the necessity for cross-modal/unimodal memory retrieval and its initiation time were controlled by a task cue appeared in the delay period. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), significantly larger brain activations were observed in the left lateral prefrontal cortex (l-LPFC), left superior parietal lobe (l-SPL), and thalamus in the cued cross-modal matching trials (CCMT) compared to those in the cued unimodal matching trials (CUMT). However, no significant differences in the brain activations prior to task cue were observed for sensory stimulation in the l-LPFC and l-SPL areas. Although thalamus displayed differential responses to the sensory stimulation between two conditions, the differential responses were not the same with responses to the task cues. These results revealed that the frontoparietal-thalamus network participated in the initiation of cross-modal working memory retrieval. Secondly, the l-SPL and thalamus showed differential activations between maintenance and working memory retrieval, which might be associated with the enhanced demand for cognitive resources.

The Interaction of Arousal and Valence in Affective Priming: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence

PubMed Central

Zhang, Qin; Kong, Lingyue; Jiang, Yang

2013-01-01

The affective priming paradigm has been studied extensively and applied in many fields during the past two decades. Most research thus far has focused on the valence dimension. Whether emotional arousal influences affective priming remains poorly understood. The present study demonstrates how arousal impacts evaluation of affective words using reaction time and event-related potential (ERP) measures. Eighteen younger subjects evaluated pleasantness of target words after seeing affective pictures as primes. The participants’ responses were faster and/or more accurate for valence-congruent trials than for incongruent trials, particularly with high-arousal stimuli. An ERP affective priming effect (N400) also occurred mainly in high-arousing stimulus pairs. In addition, whereas valence congruency influenced both the N400 and the LPP, arousal congruency influenced only the LPP, suggesting that arousal congruency mainly modulates post-semantic processes, but valence congruency effects begin with semantic processes. Overall, our current findings indicate that the arousal level of visual images impacts both behavioral and ERP effects of affective priming. Section Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience PMID:22820299

Effects of spatial congruency on saccade and visual discrimination performance in a dual-task paradigm.

PubMed

Moehler, Tobias; Fiehler, Katja

2014-12-01

The present study investigated the coupling of selection-for-perception and selection-for-action during saccadic eye movement planning in three dual-task experiments. We focused on the effects of spatial congruency of saccade target (ST) location and discrimination target (DT) location and the time between ST-cue and Go-signal (SOA) on saccadic eye movement performance. In two experiments, participants performed a visual discrimination task at a cued location while programming a saccadic eye movement to a cued location. In the third experiment, the discrimination task was not cued and appeared at a random location. Spatial congruency of ST-location and DT-location resulted in enhanced perceptual performance irrespective of SOA. Perceptual performance in spatially incongruent trials was above chance, but only when the DT-location was cued. Saccade accuracy and precision were also affected by spatial congruency showing superior performance when the ST- and DT-location coincided. Saccade latency was only affected by spatial congruency when the DT-cue was predictive of the ST-location. Moreover, saccades consistently curved away from the incongruent DT-locations. Importantly, the effects of spatial congruency on saccade parameters only occurred when the DT-location was cued; therefore, results from experiments 1 and 2 are due to the endogenous allocation of attention to the DT-location and not caused by the salience of the probe. The SOA affected saccade latency showing decreasing latencies with increasing SOA. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that visuospatial attention can be voluntarily distributed upon spatially distinct perceptual and motor goals in dual-task situations, resulting in a decline of visual discrimination and saccade performance.

Different levels of learning interact to shape the congruency sequence effect.

PubMed

Weissman, Daniel H; Hawks, Zoë W; Egner, Tobias

2016-04-01

The congruency effect in distracter interference tasks is often reduced after incongruent relative to congruent trials. Moreover, this congruency sequence effect (CSE) is influenced by learning related to concrete stimulus and response features as well as by learning related to abstract cognitive control processes. There is an ongoing debate, however, over whether interactions between these learning processes are best explained by an episodic retrieval account, an adaptation by binding account, or a cognitive efficiency account of the CSE. To make this distinction, we orthogonally manipulated the expression of these learning processes in a novel factorial design involving the prime-probe arrow task. In Experiment 1, these processes interacted in an over-additive fashion to influence CSE magnitude. In Experiment 2, we replicated this interaction while showing it was not driven by conditional differences in the size of the congruency effect. In Experiment 3, we ruled out an alternative account of this interaction as reflecting conditional differences in learning related to concrete stimulus and response features. These findings support an episodic retrieval account of the CSE, in which repeating a stimulus feature from the previous trial facilitates the retrieval and use of previous-trial control parameters, thereby boosting control in the current trial. In contrast, they do not fit with (a) an adaptation by binding account, in which CSE magnitude is directly related to the size of the congruency effect, or (b) a cognitive efficiency account, in which costly control processes are recruited only when behavioral adjustments cannot be mediated by low-level associative mechanisms. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Scene Integration Without Awareness: No Conclusive Evidence for Processing Scene Congruency During Continuous Flash Suppression.

PubMed

Moors, Pieter; Boelens, David; van Overwalle, Jaana; Wagemans, Johan

2016-07-01

A recent study showed that scenes with an object-background relationship that is semantically incongruent break interocular suppression faster than scenes with a semantically congruent relationship. These results implied that semantic relations between the objects and the background of a scene could be extracted in the absence of visual awareness of the stimulus. In the current study, we assessed the replicability of this finding and tried to rule out an alternative explanation dependent on low-level differences between the stimuli. Furthermore, we used a Bayesian analysis to quantify the evidence in favor of the presence or absence of a scene-congruency effect. Across three experiments, we found no convincing evidence for a scene-congruency effect or a modulation of scene congruency by scene inversion. These findings question the generalizability of previous observations and cast doubt on whether genuine semantic processing of object-background relationships in scenes can manifest during interocular suppression. © The Author(s) 2016.

Reducing Stereotype Threat With Embodied Triggers: A Case of Sensorimotor-Mental Congruence.

PubMed

Chalabaev, Aïna; Radel, Rémi; Masicampo, E J; Dru, Vincent

2016-08-01

In four experiments, we tested whether embodied triggers may reduce stereotype threat. We predicted that left-side sensorimotor inductions would increase cognitive performance under stereotype threat, because such inductions are linked to avoidance motivation among right-handers. This sensorimotor-mental congruence hypothesis rests on regulatory fit research showing that stereotype threat may be reduced by avoidance-oriented interventions, and motor congruence research showing positive effects when two parameters of a motor action activate the same motivational system (avoidance or approach). Results indicated that under stereotype threat, cognitive performance was higher when participants contracted their left hand (Study 1) or when the stimuli were presented on the left side of the visual field (Studies 2-4), as compared with right-hand contraction or right-side visual stimulation. These results were observed on math (Studies 1, 2, and 4) and Stroop (Study 3) performance. An indirect effect of congruence on math performance through subjective fluency was also observed. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Examining Construct Congruence for Psychometric Tests: A Note on an Extension to Binary Items and Nesting Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raykov, Tenko; Marcoulides, George A.; Dimitrov, Dimiter M.; Li, Tatyana

2018-01-01

This article extends the procedure outlined in the article by Raykov, Marcoulides, and Tong for testing congruence of latent constructs to the setting of binary items and clustering effects. In this widely used setting in contemporary educational and psychological research, the method can be used to examine if two or more homogeneous…

Are Automatic Conceptual Cores the Gold Standard of Semantic Processing? The Context-Dependence of Spatial Meaning in Grounded Congruency Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lebois, Lauren A. M.; Wilson-Mendenhall, Christine D.; Barsalou, Lawrence W.

2015-01-01

According to grounded cognition, words whose semantics contain sensory-motor features activate sensory-motor simulations, which, in turn, interact with spatial responses to produce grounded congruency effects (e.g., processing the spatial feature of "up" for sky should be faster for up vs. down responses). Growing evidence shows these…

Exploring the Effects of Congruence and Holland's Personality Codes on Job Satisfaction: An Application of Hierarchical Linear Modeling Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ishitani, Terry T.

2010-01-01

This study applied hierarchical linear modeling to investigate the effect of congruence on intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of job satisfaction. Particular focus was given to differences in job satisfaction by gender and by Holland's first-letter codes. The study sample included nationally represented 1462 female and 1280 male college graduates who…

Control processes through the suppression of the automatic response activation triggered by task-irrelevant information in the Simon-type tasks.

PubMed

Kim, Sanga; Lee, Sang Ho; Cho, Yang Seok

2015-11-01

The congruency sequence effect, one of the indices of cognitive control, refers to a smaller congruency effect after an incongruent than congruent trial. Although the effect has been found across a variety of conflict tasks, there is not yet agreement on the underlying mechanism. The present study investigated the mechanism underlying cognitive control by using a cross-task paradigm. In Experiments 1, 2, and 3, participants performed a modified Simon task and a spatial Stroop task alternately in a trial-by-trial manner. The task-irrelevant dimension of the two tasks was perceptually and conceptually identical in Experiment 1, whereas it was perceptually different but conceptually identical in Experiment 2. The response sets for both tasks were different in Experiment 3. In Experiment 4, participants performed two Simon tasks with different task-relevant dimensions. In all experiments in which the task-irrelevant dimension and response mode were shared, significant congruency sequence effects were found between the two different congruencies, indicating that Simon-type conflicts were resolved by a control mechanism, which is specific to an abstract task-irrelevant stimulus spatial dimension. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How visual timing and form information affect speech and non-speech processing.

PubMed

Kim, Jeesun; Davis, Chris

2014-10-01

Auditory speech processing is facilitated when the talker's face/head movements are seen. This effect is typically explained in terms of visual speech providing form and/or timing information. We determined the effect of both types of information on a speech/non-speech task (non-speech stimuli were spectrally rotated speech). All stimuli were presented paired with the talker's static or moving face. Two types of moving face stimuli were used: full-face versions (both spoken form and timing information available) and modified face versions (only timing information provided by peri-oral motion available). The results showed that the peri-oral timing information facilitated response time for speech and non-speech stimuli compared to a static face. An additional facilitatory effect was found for full-face versions compared to the timing condition; this effect only occurred for speech stimuli. We propose the timing effect was due to cross-modal phase resetting; the form effect to cross-modal priming. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

On the spatial specificity of audiovisual crossmodal exogenous cuing effects.

PubMed

Lee, Jae; Spence, Charles

2017-06-01

It is generally-accepted that the presentation of an auditory cue will direct an observer's spatial attention to the region of space from where it originates and therefore facilitate responses to visual targets presented there rather than from a different position within the cued hemifield. However, to date, there has been surprisingly limited evidence published in support of such within-hemifield crossmodal exogenous spatial cuing effects. Here, we report two experiments designed to investigate within- and between-hemifield spatial cuing effects in the case of audiovisual exogenous covert orienting. Auditory cues were presented from one of four frontal loudspeakers (two on either side of central fixation). There were eight possible visual target locations (one above and another below each of the loudspeakers). The auditory cues were evenly separated laterally by 30° in Experiment 1, and by 10° in Experiment 2. The potential cue and target locations were separated vertically by approximately 19° in Experiment 1, and by 4° in Experiment 2. On each trial, the participants made a speeded elevation (i.e., up vs. down) discrimination response to the visual target following the presentation of a spatially-nonpredictive auditory cue. Within-hemifield spatial cuing effects were observed only when the auditory cues were presented from the inner locations. Between-hemifield spatial cuing effects were observed in both experiments. Taken together, these results demonstrate that crossmodal exogenous shifts of spatial attention depend on the eccentricity of both the cue and target in a way that has not been made explicit by previous research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A pain in the bud? Implications of cross-modal sensitivity for pain experience.

PubMed

Perkins, Monica; de Bruyne, Marien; Giummarra, Melita J

2016-11-01

There is growing evidence that enhanced sensitivity to painful clinical procedures and chronic pain are related to greater sensitivity to other sensory inputs, such as bitter taste. We examined cross-modal sensitivities in two studies. Study 1 assessed associations between bitter taste sensitivity, pain tolerance, and fear of pain in 48 healthy young adults. Participants were classified as non-tasters, tasters and super-tasters using a bitter taste test (6-n-propythiouracil; PROP). The latter group had significantly higher fear of pain (Fear of Pain Questionnaire) than tasters (p=.036, effect size r = .48). There was only a trend for an association between bitter taste intensity ratings and intensity of pain at the point of pain tolerance in a cold pressor test (p=.04). In Study 2, 40 healthy young adults completed the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile before rating intensity and unpleasantness of innocuous (33 °C), moderate (41 °C), and high intensity (44 °C) thermal pain stimulations. The sensory-sensitivity subscale was positively correlated with both intensity and unpleasantness ratings. Canonical correlation showed that only sensitivity to audition and touch (not taste/smell) were associated with intensity of moderate and high (not innocuous) thermal stimuli. Together these findings suggest that there are cross-modal associations predominantly between sensitivity to exteroceptive inputs (i.e., taste, touch, sound) and the affective dimensions of pain, including noxious heat and intolerable cold pain, in healthy adults. These cross-modal sensitivities may arise due to greater psychological aversion to salient sensations, or from shared neural circuitry for processing disparate sensory modalities.

A perception theory in mind-body medicine: guided imagery and mindful meditation as cross-modal adaptation.

PubMed

Bedford, Felice L

2012-02-01

A new theory of mind-body interaction in healing is proposed based on considerations from the field of perception. It is suggested that the combined effect of visual imagery and mindful meditation on physical healing is simply another example of cross-modal adaptation in perception, much like adaptation to prism-displaced vision. It is argued that psychological interventions produce a conflict between the perceptual modalities of the immune system and vision (or touch), which leads to change in the immune system in order to realign the modalities. It is argued that mind-body interactions do not exist because of higher-order cognitive thoughts or beliefs influencing the body, but instead result from ordinary interactions between lower-level perceptual modalities that function to detect when sensory systems have made an error. The theory helps explain why certain illnesses may be more amenable to mind-body interaction, such as autoimmune conditions in which a sensory system (the immune system) has made an error. It also renders sensible erroneous changes, such as those brought about by "faith healers," as conflicts between modalities that are resolved in favor of the wrong modality. The present view provides one of very few psychological theories of how guided imagery and mindfulness meditation bring about positive physical change. Also discussed are issues of self versus non-self, pain, cancer, body schema, attention, consciousness, and, importantly, developing the concept that the immune system is a rightful perceptual modality. Recognizing mind-body healing as perceptual cross-modal adaptation implies that a century of cross-modal perception research is applicable to the immune system.

Breast cancer treatment decision making among Latinas and non-Latina Whites: a communication model predicting decisional outcomes and quality of life.

PubMed

Yanez, Betina; Stanton, Annette L; Maly, Rose C

2012-09-01

Deciding among medical treatment options is a pivotal event following cancer diagnosis, a task that can be particularly daunting for individuals uncomfortable with communication in a medical context. Few studies have explored the surgical decision-making process and associated outcomes among Latinas. We propose a model to elucidate pathways through which acculturation (indicated by language use) and reports of communication effectiveness specific to medical decision making contribute to decisional outcomes (i.e., congruency between preferred and actual involvement in decision making, treatment satisfaction) and quality of life among Latinas and non-Latina White women with breast cancer. Latinas (N = 326) and non-Latina Whites (N = 168) completed measures six months after breast cancer diagnosis, and quality of life was assessed 18 months after diagnosis. Structural equation modeling was used to examine relationships between language use, communication effectiveness, and outcomes. Among Latinas, 63% reported congruency in decision making, whereas 76% of non-Latina Whites reported congruency. In Latinas, greater use of English was related to better reported communication effectiveness. Effectiveness in communication was not related to congruency in decision making, but several indicators of effectiveness in communication were related to greater treatment satisfaction, as was greater congruency in decision making. Greater treatment satisfaction predicted more favorable quality of life. The final model fit the data well only for Latinas. Differences in quality of life and effectiveness in communication were observed between racial/ethnic groups. Findings underscore the importance of developing targeted interventions for physicians and Latinas with breast cancer to enhance communication in decision making. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

A conceptual lemon: theta burst stimulation to the left anterior temporal lobe untangles object representation and its canonical color.

PubMed

Chiou, Rocco; Sowman, Paul F; Etchell, Andrew C; Rich, Anina N

2014-05-01

Object recognition benefits greatly from our knowledge of typical color (e.g., a lemon is usually yellow). Most research on object color knowledge focuses on whether both knowledge and perception of object color recruit the well-established neural substrates of color vision (the V4 complex). Compared with the intensive investigation of the V4 complex, we know little about where and how neural mechanisms beyond V4 contribute to color knowledge. The anterior temporal lobe (ATL) is thought to act as a "hub" that supports semantic memory by integrating different modality-specific contents into a meaningful entity at a supramodal conceptual level, making it a good candidate zone for mediating the mappings between object attributes. Here, we explore whether the ATL is critical for integrating typical color with other object attributes (object shape and name), akin to its role in combining nonperceptual semantic representations. In separate experimental sessions, we applied TMS to disrupt neural processing in the left ATL and a control site (the occipital pole). Participants performed an object naming task that probes color knowledge and elicits a reliable color congruency effect as well as a control quantity naming task that also elicits a cognitive congruency effect but involves no conceptual integration. Critically, ATL stimulation eliminated the otherwise robust color congruency effect but had no impact on the numerical congruency effect, indicating a selective disruption of object color knowledge. Neither color nor numerical congruency effects were affected by stimulation at the control occipital site, ruling out nonspecific effects of cortical stimulation. Our findings suggest that the ATL is involved in the representation of object concepts that include their canonical colors.

Cross-Modal Binding in Developmental Dyslexia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Manon W.; Branigan, Holly P.; Parra, Mario A.; Logie, Robert H.

2013-01-01

The ability to learn visual-phonological associations is a unique predictor of word reading, and individuals with developmental dyslexia show impaired ability in learning these associations. In this study, we compared developmentally dyslexic and nondyslexic adults on their ability to form cross-modal associations (or "bindings") based…

A Cross-Modal Assessment of Reading Achievement in Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webb, Kathryn; And Others

1982-01-01

This study examined the ability of the Listen and Look (LL) test of cross-modal perception and the Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT) to predict reading achievement. Data from 79 first-grade pupils were analyzed. Both the LL and MRT demonstrated predictive validity. (Author/BW)

Cross-mode bioelectrical impedance analysis in a standing position for estimating fat-free mass validated against dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.

PubMed

Huang, Ai-Chun; Chen, Yu-Yawn; Chuang, Chih-Lin; Chiang, Li-Ming; Lu, Hsueh-Kuan; Lin, Hung-Chi; Chen, Kuen-Tsann; Hsiao, An-Chi; Hsieh, Kuen-Chang

2015-11-01

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is commonly used to assess body composition. Cross-mode (left hand to right foot, Z(CR)) BIA presumably uses the longest current path in the human body, which may generate better results when estimating fat-free mass (FFM). We compared the cross-mode with the hand-to-foot mode (right hand to right foot, Z(HF)) using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as the reference. We hypothesized that when comparing anthropometric parameters using stepwise regression analysis, the impedance value from the cross-mode analysis would have better prediction accuracy than that from the hand-to-foot mode analysis. We studied 264 men and 232 women (mean ages, 32.19 ± 14.95 and 34.51 ± 14.96 years, respectively; mean body mass indexes, 24.54 ± 3.74 and 23.44 ± 4.61 kg/m2, respectively). The DXA-measured FFMs in men and women were 58.85 ± 8.15 and 40.48 ± 5.64 kg, respectively. Multiple stepwise linear regression analyses were performed to construct sex-specific FFM equations. The correlations of FFM measured by DXA vs. FFM from hand-to-foot mode and estimated FFM by cross-mode were 0.85 and 0.86 in women, with standard errors of estimate of 2.96 and 2.92 kg, respectively. In men, they were 0.91 and 0.91, with standard errors of the estimates of 3.34 and 3.48 kg, respectively. Bland-Altman plots showed limits of agreement of -6.78 to 6.78 kg for FFM from hand-to-foot mode and -7.06 to 7.06 kg for estimated FFM by cross-mode for men, and -5.91 to 5.91 and -5.84 to 5.84 kg, respectively, for women. Paired t tests showed no significant differences between the 2 modes (P > .05). Hence, cross-mode BIA appears to represent a reasonable and practical application for assessing FFM in Chinese populations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perceptual learning in temporal discrimination: asymmetric cross-modal transfer from audition to vision.

PubMed

Bratzke, Daniel; Seifried, Tanja; Ulrich, Rolf

2012-08-01

This study assessed possible cross-modal transfer effects of training in a temporal discrimination task from vision to audition as well as from audition to vision. We employed a pretest-training-post-test design including a control group that performed only the pretest and the post-test. Trained participants showed better discrimination performance with their trained interval than the control group. This training effect transferred to the other modality only for those participants who had been trained with auditory stimuli. The present study thus demonstrates for the first time that training on temporal discrimination within the auditory modality can transfer to the visual modality but not vice versa. This finding represents a novel illustration of auditory dominance in temporal processing and is consistent with the notion that time is primarily encoded in the auditory system.

Effect of Syllable Congruency in Sixth Graders in the Lexical Decision Task with Masked Priming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chetail, Fabienne; Mathey, Stephanie

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the syllable in visual recognition of French words in Grade 6. To do so, the syllabic congruency effect was examined in the lexical decision task combined with masked priming. Target words were preceded by pseudoword primes sharing the first letters that either corresponded to the syllable…

Affect and Persuasion: Effects on Motivation for Information Processing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leach, Mark M; Stoltenberg, Cal D.

The relationship between mood and information processing, particularly when reviewing the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion, lacks conclusive evidence. This study was designed to investigate the hypothesis that information processing would be greater for mood-topic congruence than non mood-topic congruence. Undergraduate students (N=216)…

Modality-specific effects on crosstalk in task switching: evidence from modality compatibility using bimodal stimulation.

PubMed

Stephan, Denise Nadine; Koch, Iring

2016-11-01

The present study was aimed at examining modality-specific influences in task switching. To this end, participants switched either between modality compatible tasks (auditory-vocal and visual-manual) or incompatible spatial discrimination tasks (auditory-manual and visual-vocal). In addition, auditory and visual stimuli were presented simultaneously (i.e., bimodally) in each trial, so that selective attention was required to process the task-relevant stimulus. The inclusion of bimodal stimuli enabled us to assess congruence effects as a converging measure of increased between-task interference. The tasks followed a pre-instructed sequence of double alternations (AABB), so that no explicit task cues were required. The results show that switching between two modality incompatible tasks increases both switch costs and congruence effects compared to switching between two modality compatible tasks. The finding of increased congruence effects in modality incompatible tasks supports our explanation in terms of ideomotor "backward" linkages between anticipated response effects and the stimuli that called for this response in the first place. According to this generalized ideomotor idea, the modality match between response effects and stimuli would prime selection of a response in the compatible modality. This priming would cause increased difficulties to ignore the competing stimulus and hence increases the congruence effect. Moreover, performance would be hindered when switching between modality incompatible tasks and facilitated when switching between modality compatible tasks.

Gender Congruency From a Neutral Point of View: The Roles of Gender Classes and Conceptual Connotations.

PubMed

Bender, Andrea; Beller, Sieghard; Klauer, Karl Christoph

2018-02-01

The question of whether language affects thought is long-standing, with grammatical gender being one of the most contended instances. Empirical evidence focuses on the gender congruency effect, according to which referents of masculine nouns are conceptualized more strongly as male and those of feminine nouns more strongly as female. While some recent studies suggest that this effect is driven by conceptual connotations rather than grammatical properties, research remains theoretically inconclusive because of the confounding of grammatical gender and conceptual connotations in gendered (masculine or feminine) nouns. Taking advantage of the fact that German also includes a neuter gender, the current study attempted to disentangle the relative contributions of grammatical properties and connotations to the emergence of the gender congruency effect. In three pairs of experiments, neuter and gendered nouns were compared in an Extrinsic Affective Simon Task based on gender associations, controlled for a possible role of gender-indicating articles. A congruency effect emerged equally strongly for neuter and gendered nouns, but disappeared when including connotations as covariate, thereby effectively excluding grammatical gender as the (only) driving force for this effect. Based on a critical discussion of these findings, we propose a possible mechanism for the emergence of the effect that also has the potential to accommodate conflicting patterns of findings from previous research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

The effect of early visual deprivation on the neural bases of multisensory processing.

PubMed

Guerreiro, Maria J S; Putzar, Lisa; Röder, Brigitte

2015-06-01

Developmental vision is deemed to be necessary for the maturation of multisensory cortical circuits. Thus far, this has only been investigated in animal studies, which have shown that congenital visual deprivation markedly reduces the capability of neurons to integrate cross-modal inputs. The present study investigated the effect of transient congenital visual deprivation on the neural mechanisms of multisensory processing in humans. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare responses of visual and auditory cortical areas to visual, auditory and audio-visual stimulation in cataract-reversal patients and normally sighted controls. The results showed that cataract-reversal patients, unlike normally sighted controls, did not exhibit multisensory integration in auditory areas. Furthermore, cataract-reversal patients, but not normally sighted controls, exhibited lower visual cortical processing within visual cortex during audio-visual stimulation than during visual stimulation. These results indicate that congenital visual deprivation affects the capability of cortical areas to integrate cross-modal inputs in humans, possibly because visual processing is suppressed during cross-modal stimulation. Arguably, the lack of vision in the first months after birth may result in a reorganization of visual cortex, including the suppression of noisy visual input from the deprived retina in order to reduce interference during auditory processing. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Conflict control in task conflict and response conflict.

PubMed

Braverman, Ami; Meiran, Nachshon

2015-03-01

Studies have suggested that conflict control can modulate conflict effects in response to differing levels of conflict context. The current study probed, in two experiments of proportion congruence, the relevance of both task conflict (between a currently relevant task and irrelevant task alternatives) and response conflict (between a currently relevant response and irrelevant response alternatives) to conflict control. In Experiment 1, proportion congruence between blocks was manipulated and in Experiment 2, proportion congruence was manipulated between items. The response conflict effect was smaller when proportion of incongruence was high, regardless if task conflict or response conflict proportions were manipulated. These findings suggest that both task conflict and response conflict are monitored but that only response conflict is being influenced by this monitoring process. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Manipulating affective state influences conditioned appetitive responses.

PubMed

Arnaudova, Inna; Krypotos, Angelos-Miltiadis; Effting, Marieke; Kindt, Merel; Beckers, Tom

2017-10-06

Affective states influence how individuals process information and behave. Some theories predict emotional congruency effects (e.g. preferential processing of negative information in negative affective states). Emotional congruency should theoretically obstruct the learning of reward associations (appetitive learning) and their ability to guide behaviour under negative mood. Two studies tested the effects of the induction of a negative affective state on appetitive Pavlovian learning, in which neutral stimuli were associated with chocolate (Experiment 1) or alcohol (Experiment 2) rewards. In both experiments, participants showed enhanced approach tendencies towards predictors of reward after a negative relative to a positive performance feedback manipulation. This increase was related to a reduction in positive affect in Experiment 1 only. No effects of the manipulation on conditioned reward expectancies, craving, or consumption were observed. Overall, our findings support the idea of counter-regulation, rather than emotional congruency effects. Negative affective states might therefore serve as a vulnerability factor for addiction, through increasing conditioned approach tendencies.

The influence of approach-avoidance motivational orientation on conflict adaptation.

PubMed

Hengstler, Maikel; Holland, Rob W; van Steenbergen, Henk; van Knippenberg, Ad

2014-06-01

To deal effectively with a continuously changing environment, our cognitive system adaptively regulates resource allocation. Earlier findings showed that an avoidance orientation (induced by arm extension), relative to an approach orientation (induced by arm flexion), enhanced sustained cognitive control. In avoidance conditions, performance on a cognitive control task was enhanced, as indicated by a reduced congruency effect, relative to approach conditions. Extending these findings, in the present behavioral studies we investigated dynamic adaptations in cognitive control-that is, conflict adaptation. We proposed that an avoidance state recruits more resources in response to conflicting signals, and thereby increases conflict adaptation. Conversely, in an approach state, conflict processing diminishes, which consequently weakens conflict adaptation. As predicted, approach versus avoidance arm movements affected both behavioral congruency effects and conflict adaptation: As compared to approach, avoidance movements elicited reduced congruency effects and increased conflict adaptation. These results are discussed in line with a possible underlying neuropsychological model.

Spatial Attention and Audiovisual Interactions in Apparent Motion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanabria, Daniel; Soto-Faraco, Salvador; Spence, Charles

2007-01-01

In this study, the authors combined the cross-modal dynamic capture task (involving the horizontal apparent movement of visual and auditory stimuli) with spatial cuing in the vertical dimension to investigate the role of spatial attention in cross-modal interactions during motion perception. Spatial attention was manipulated endogenously, either…

An investigation of the time course of category congruence and priming distance effects in number classification tasks.

PubMed

Perry, Jason R; Lupker, Stephen J

2012-09-01

The issue investigated in the present research is the nature of the information that is responsible for producing masked priming effects (e.g., semantic information or stimulus-response [S-R] associations) when responding to number stimuli. This issue was addressed by assessing both the magnitude of the category congruence (priming) effect and the nature of the priming distance effect across trials using single-digit primes and targets. Participants made either magnitude (i.e., whether the number presented was larger or smaller than 5) or identification (i.e., press the left button if the number was either a 1, 2, 3, or 4 or the right button if the number was either a 6, 7, 8, or 9) judgments. The results indicated that, regardless of task instruction, there was a clear priming distance effect and a significantly increasing category congruence effect. These results indicated that both semantic activation and S-R associations play important roles in producing masked priming effects.

Interaction in planning vocalizations and grasping.

PubMed

Tiainen, Mikko; Tiippana, Kaisa; Vainio, Martti; Komeilipoor, Naeem; Vainio, Lari

2017-08-01

Previous studies have shown a congruency effect between manual grasping and syllable articulation. For instance, a power grip is associated with syllables whose articulation involves the tongue body and/or large mouth aperture ([kɑ]) whereas a precision grip is associated with articulations that involve the tongue tip and/or small mouth aperture ([ti]). Previously, this effect has been observed in manual reaction times. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate whether this congruency effect also takes place in vocal responses and to investigate involvement of action selection processes in the effect. The congruency effect was found in vocal and manual responses regardless of whether or not the syllable or grip was known a priori, suggesting that the effect operates with minimal or absent action selection processes. In addition, the effect was observed in vocal responses even when the grip was only prepared but not performed, suggesting that merely planning a grip response primes the corresponding articulatory response. These results support the view that articulation and grasping are processed in a partially overlapping network.

Effects of appropriate and inappropriate odors on product evaluations.

PubMed

Schifferstein, Hendrik N J; Miciiaut, Anne M K

2002-12-01

In accounting for an odorant's effect on the evaluation of a product, both the odor's intrinsic pleasantness and its appropriateness for that particular product are relevant. When comparing the effects of pleasant smells, consumers are likely to prefer products with appropriate smells to those with an inappropriate smell. We investigated the effect of adding congruent and incongruent odorants on product evaluations for each of three product categories: food (tea, instant whip, cake mix), personal care (shampoo, deodorant, lip balm), and household products (cream cleaner, air freshener, furniture wax). In a between-subjects design, 96 respondents judged scented and unscented products presented in commercial packages of major national brands. The respondents assessed the overall evaluation, 14 to 19 beliefs about the product, buying intention, and the frequency of use for each product. Respondents were instructed to evaluate each product as they would in a store. Although congruency ratings between odor and product show that the manipulation of congruency was successful, no main effect was found for the congruency on overall evaluations of the products. To account for this unexpected finding, we speculate that congruency between odor and product may be more important during product consumption or product use than during its selection. In addition, the odor's effects may have been attenuated in our experiment because we asked our respondents to rate each product on the attribute 'has a nice smell'.

Rapid modulation of spoken word recognition by visual primes.

PubMed

Okano, Kana; Grainger, Jonathan; Holcomb, Phillip J

2016-02-01

In a masked cross-modal priming experiment with ERP recordings, spoken Japanese words were primed with words written in one of the two syllabary scripts of Japanese. An early priming effect, peaking at around 200ms after onset of the spoken word target, was seen in left lateral electrode sites for Katakana primes, and later effects were seen for both Hiragana and Katakana primes on the N400 ERP component. The early effect is thought to reflect the efficiency with which words in Katakana script make contact with sublexical phonological representations involved in spoken language comprehension, due to the particular way this script is used by Japanese readers. This demonstrates fast-acting influences of visual primes on the processing of auditory target words, and suggests that briefly presented visual primes can influence sublexical processing of auditory target words. The later N400 priming effects, on the other hand, most likely reflect cross-modal influences on activity at the level of whole-word phonology and semantics.

Rapid modulation of spoken word recognition by visual primes

PubMed Central

Okano, Kana; Grainger, Jonathan; Holcomb, Phillip J.

2015-01-01

In a masked cross-modal priming experiment with ERP recordings, spoken Japanese words were primed with words written in one of the two syllabary scripts of Japanese. An early priming effect, peaking at around 200ms after onset of the spoken word target, was seen in left lateral electrode sites for Katakana primes, and later effects were seen for both Hiragana and Katakana primes on the N400 ERP component. The early effect is thought to reflect the efficiency with which words in Katakana script make contact with sublexical phonological representations involved in spoken language comprehension, due to the particular way this script is used by Japanese readers. This demonstrates fast-acting influences of visual primes on the processing of auditory target words, and suggests that briefly presented visual primes can influence sublexical processing of auditory target words. The later N400 priming effects, on the other hand, most likely reflect cross-modal influences on activity at the level of whole-word phonology and semantics. PMID:26516296

Liking Goes with Liking: An Intuitive Congruence between Preference and Prominence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morvinski, Coby; Amir, On

2018-01-01

In a series of 8 experiments, we demonstrate the existence of a "labeling effect" wherein people intuitively relate preferred choices to prominently labeled cues (such as heads as opposed to tails in a coin toss) and vice versa. Importantly, the observed congruence is asymmetric--it does not manifest for nonprominent cues and…

The Impact of Congruence between Perceived and Preferred Leadership on Satisfaction among College Student-Athletes in Singapore

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chia, Jingyi Shannon; Pyun, Do Young; Kwon, Hyungil Harry

2015-01-01

Chelladurai developed the Multidimensional Model of Leadership, which was designed to be situation-specific to examine leadership behaviour and effectiveness in sporting contexts. Applying Chelladurai's concept to the Singapore sporting context, this study aimed to assess the impact of congruence between perceived and preferred leadership…

Examining Congruence within School-Family Partnerships: Definition, Importance, and Current Measurement Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glueck, Courtney L.; Reschly, Amy L.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this article is to explore the construct of congruence, particularly with regard to school-family collaboration and partnerships. An in-depth review of the empirical and theoretical literature supporting a shift in focus from encouraging family involvement to creating effective school-family partnerships is presented, followed by an…

Basic multisensory functions can be acquired after congenital visual pattern deprivation in humans.

PubMed

Putzar, Lisa; Gondan, Matthias; Röder, Brigitte

2012-01-01

People treated for bilateral congenital cataracts offer a model to study the influence of visual deprivation in early infancy on visual and multisensory development. We investigated cross-modal integration capabilities in cataract patients using a simple detection task that provided redundant information to two different senses. In both patients and controls, redundancy gains were consistent with coactivation models, indicating an integrated processing of modality-specific information. This finding is in contrast with recent studies showing impaired higher-level multisensory interactions in cataract patients. The present results suggest that basic cross-modal integrative processes for simple short stimuli do not depend on visual and/or crossmodal input since birth.

Face Recognition, Musical Appraisal, and Emotional Crossmodal Bias.

PubMed

Invitto, Sara; Calcagnì, Antonio; Mignozzi, Arianna; Scardino, Rosanna; Piraino, Giulia; Turchi, Daniele; De Feudis, Irio; Brunetti, Antonio; Bevilacqua, Vitoantonio; de Tommaso, Marina

2017-01-01

Recent research on the crossmodal integration of visual and auditory perception suggests that evaluations of emotional information in one sensory modality may tend toward the emotional value generated in another sensory modality. This implies that the emotions elicited by musical stimuli can influence the perception of emotional stimuli presented in other sensory modalities, through a top-down process. The aim of this work was to investigate how crossmodal perceptual processing influences emotional face recognition and how potential modulation of this processing induced by music could be influenced by the subject's musical competence. We investigated how emotional face recognition processing could be modulated by listening to music and how this modulation varies according to the subjective emotional salience of the music and the listener's musical competence. The sample consisted of 24 participants: 12 professional musicians and 12 university students (non-musicians). Participants performed an emotional go/no-go task whilst listening to music by Albeniz, Chopin, or Mozart. The target stimuli were emotionally neutral facial expressions. We examined the N170 Event-Related Potential (ERP) and behavioral responses (i.e., motor reaction time to target recognition and musical emotional judgment). A linear mixed-effects model and a decision-tree learning technique were applied to N170 amplitudes and latencies. The main findings of the study were that musicians' behavioral responses and N170 is more affected by the emotional value of music administered in the emotional go/no-go task and this bias is also apparent in responses to the non-target emotional face. This suggests that emotional information, coming from multiple sensory channels, activates a crossmodal integration process that depends upon the stimuli emotional salience and the listener's appraisal.

Factors Associated with Congruence Between Preferred and Actual Place of Death

PubMed Central

Bell, Christina L.; Somogyi-Zalud, Emese; Masaki, Kamal H.

2009-01-01

Congruence between preferred and actual place of death may be an essential component in terminal care. Most patients prefer a home death, but many patients do not die in their preferred location. Specialized (physician, hospice and palliative) home care visits may increase home deaths, but factors associated with congruence have not been systematically reviewed. This study sought to review the extent of congruence reported in the literature, and examine factors that may influence congruence. In July 2009, a comprehensive literature search was performed using MEDLINE, Psych Info, CINAHL, and Web of Science. Reference lists, related articles, and the past five years of six palliative care journals were also searched. Overall congruence rates (percentage of met preferences for all locations of death) were calculated for each study using reported data to allow cross-study comparison. Eighteen articles described 30% to 91% congruence. Eight specialized home care studies reported 59% to 91% congruence. A physician-led home care program reported 91% congruence. Of the 10 studies without specialized home care for all patients, seven reported 56% to 71% congruence and most reported unique care programs. Of the remaining three studies without specialized home care for all patients, two reported 43% to 46% congruence among hospital inpatients, and one elicited patient preference “if everything were possible,” with 30% congruence. Physician support, hospice enrollment, and family support improved congruence in multiple studies. Research in this important area must consider potential sources of bias, the method of eliciting patient preference, and the absence of a single ideal place of death. PMID:20116205

Factors associated with congruence between preferred and actual place of death.

PubMed

Bell, Christina L; Somogyi-Zalud, Emese; Masaki, Kamal H

2010-03-01

Congruence between preferred and actual place of death may be an essential component in terminal care. Most patients prefer a home death, but many patients do not die in their preferred location. Specialized (physician, hospice, and palliative) home care visits may increase home deaths, but factors associated with congruence have not been systematically reviewed. This study sought to review the extent of congruence reported in the literature and examine factors that may influence congruence. In July 2009, a comprehensive literature search was performed using MEDLINE, PsychInfo, CINAHL, and Web of Science. Reference lists, related articles, and the past five years of six palliative care journals were also searched. Overall congruence rates (percentage of met preferences for all locations of death) were calculated for each study using reported data to allow cross-study comparison. Eighteen articles described 30%-91% congruence. Eight specialized home care studies reported 59%-91% congruence. A physician-led home care program reported 91% congruence. Of the 10 studies without specialized home care for all patients, seven reported 56%-71% congruence and most reported unique care programs. Of the remaining three studies without specialized home care for all patients, two reported 43%-46% congruence among hospital inpatients, and one elicited patient preference "if everything were possible," with 30% congruence. Physician support, hospice enrollment, and family support improved congruence in multiple studies. Research in this important area must consider potential sources of bias, the method of eliciting patient preference, and the absence of a single ideal place of death. (c) 2010 U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Body Size Is a Significant Predictor of Congruency in Species Richness Patterns: A Meta-Analysis of Aquatic Studies

PubMed Central

Velghe, Katherine; Gregory-Eaves, Irene

2013-01-01

Biodiversity losses over the next century are predicted to result in alterations of ecosystem functions that are on par with other major drivers of global change. Given the seriousness of this issue, there is a need to effectively monitor global biodiversity. Because performing biodiversity censuses of all taxonomic groups is prohibitively costly, indicator groups have been studied to estimate the biodiversity of different taxonomic groups. Quantifying cross-taxon congruence is a method of evaluating the assumption that the diversity of one taxonomic group can be used to predict the diversity of another. To improve the predictive ability of cross-taxon congruence in aquatic ecosystems, we evaluated whether body size, measured as the ratio of average body length between organismal groups, is a significant predictor of their cross-taxon biodiversity congruence. To test this hypothesis, we searched the published literature and screened for studies that used species richness correlations as their metric of cross-taxon congruence. We extracted 96 correlation coefficients from 16 studies, which encompassed 784 inland water bodies. With these correlation coefficients, we conducted a categorical meta-analysis, grouping data based on the body size ratio of organisms. Our results showed that cross-taxon congruence is variable among sites and between different groups (r values ranging between −0.53 to 0.88). In addition, our quantitative meta-analysis demonstrated that organisms most similar in body size showed stronger species richness correlations than organisms which differed increasingly in size (radj 2 = 0.94, p = 0.02). We propose that future studies applying biodiversity indicators in aquatic ecosystems consider functional traits such as body size, so as to increase their success at predicting the biodiversity of taxonomic groups where cost-effective conservation tools are needed. PMID:23468903

Vague Congruences and Quotient Lattice Implication Algebras

PubMed Central

Qin, Xiaoyan; Xu, Yang

2014-01-01

The aim of this paper is to further develop the congruence theory on lattice implication algebras. Firstly, we introduce the notions of vague similarity relations based on vague relations and vague congruence relations. Secondly, the equivalent characterizations of vague congruence relations are investigated. Thirdly, the relation between the set of vague filters and the set of vague congruences is studied. Finally, we construct a new lattice implication algebra induced by a vague congruence, and the homomorphism theorem is given. PMID:25133207

Roughness in Lattice Ordered Effect Algebras

PubMed Central

Xin, Xiao Long; Hua, Xiu Juan; Zhu, Xi

2014-01-01

Many authors have studied roughness on various algebraic systems. In this paper, we consider a lattice ordered effect algebra and discuss its roughness in this context. Moreover, we introduce the notions of the interior and the closure of a subset and give some of their properties in effect algebras. Finally, we use a Riesz ideal induced congruence and define a function e(a, b) in a lattice ordered effect algebra E and build a relationship between it and congruence classes. Then we study some properties about approximation of lattice ordered effect algebras. PMID:25170523

Cross-Modal Interactions in the Experience of Musical Performances: Physiological Correlates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapados, Catherine; Levitin, Daniel J.

2008-01-01

This experiment was conducted to investigate cross-modal interactions in the emotional experience of music listeners. Previous research showed that visual information present in a musical performance is rich in expressive content, and moderates the subjective emotional experience of a participant listening and/or observing musical stimuli [Vines,…

The Function of Consciousness in Multisensory Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, Terry D.; Ramsey, Ashley K.

2012-01-01

The function of consciousness was explored in two contexts of audio-visual speech, cross-modal visual attention guidance and McGurk cross-modal integration. Experiments 1, 2, and 3 utilized a novel cueing paradigm in which two different flash suppressed lip-streams cooccured with speech sounds matching one of these streams. A visual target was…

Plasticity of Ability to Form Cross-Modal Representations in Infant Japanese Macaques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adachi, Ikuma; Kuwahata, Hiroko; Fujita, Kazuo; Tomonaga, Masaki; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro

2009-01-01

In a previous study, Adachi, Kuwahata, Fujita, Tomonaga & Matsuzawa demonstrated that infant Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) form cross-modal representations of conspecifics but not of humans. However, because the subjects in the experiment were raised in a large social group and had considerably less exposure to humans than to…

The informativity of sound modulates crossmodal facilitation of visual discrimination: a fMRI study.

PubMed

Li, Qi; Yu, Hongtao; Li, Xiujun; Sun, Hongzan; Yang, Jingjing; Li, Chunlin

2017-01-18

Many studies have investigated behavioral crossmodal facilitation when a visual stimulus is accompanied by a concurrent task-irrelevant sound. Lippert and colleagues reported that a concurrent task-irrelevant sound reduced the uncertainty of the timing of the visual display and improved perceptional responses (informative sound). However, the neural mechanism by which the informativity of sound affected crossmodal facilitation of visual discrimination remained unclear. In this study, we used event-related functional MRI to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the role of informativity of sound in crossmodal facilitation of visual discrimination. Significantly faster reaction times were observed when there was an informative relationship between auditory and visual stimuli. The functional MRI results showed sound informativity-induced activation enhancement including the left fusiform gyrus and the right lateral occipital complex. Further correlation analysis showed that the right lateral occipital complex was significantly correlated with the behavioral benefit in reaction times. This suggests that this region was modulated by the informative relationship within audiovisual stimuli that was learnt during the experiment, resulting in late-stage multisensory integration and enhanced behavioral responses.

Cross-modal interaction between visual and olfactory learning in Apis cerana.

PubMed

Zhang, Li-Zhen; Zhang, Shao-Wu; Wang, Zi-Long; Yan, Wei-Yu; Zeng, Zhi-Jiang

2014-10-01

The power of the small honeybee brain carrying out behavioral and cognitive tasks has been shown repeatedly to be highly impressive. The present study investigates, for the first time, the cross-modal interaction between visual and olfactory learning in Apis cerana. To explore the role and molecular mechanisms of cross-modal learning in A. cerana, the honeybees were trained and tested in a modified Y-maze with seven visual and five olfactory stimulus, where a robust visual threshold for black/white grating (period of 2.8°-3.8°) and relatively olfactory threshold (concentration of 50-25%) was obtained. Meanwhile, the expression levels of five genes (AcCREB, Acdop1, Acdop2, Acdop3, Actyr1) related to learning and memory were analyzed under different training conditions by real-time RT-PCR. The experimental results indicate that A. cerana could exhibit cross-modal interactions between visual and olfactory learning by reducing the threshold level of the conditioning stimuli, and that these genes may play important roles in the learning process of honeybees.

Thermal-to-visible face recognition using partial least squares.

PubMed

Hu, Shuowen; Choi, Jonghyun; Chan, Alex L; Schwartz, William Robson

2015-03-01

Although visible face recognition has been an active area of research for several decades, cross-modal face recognition has only been explored by the biometrics community relatively recently. Thermal-to-visible face recognition is one of the most difficult cross-modal face recognition challenges, because of the difference in phenomenology between the thermal and visible imaging modalities. We address the cross-modal recognition problem using a partial least squares (PLS) regression-based approach consisting of preprocessing, feature extraction, and PLS model building. The preprocessing and feature extraction stages are designed to reduce the modality gap between the thermal and visible facial signatures, and facilitate the subsequent one-vs-all PLS-based model building. We incorporate multi-modal information into the PLS model building stage to enhance cross-modal recognition. The performance of the proposed recognition algorithm is evaluated on three challenging datasets containing visible and thermal imagery acquired under different experimental scenarios: time-lapse, physical tasks, mental tasks, and subject-to-camera range. These scenarios represent difficult challenges relevant to real-world applications. We demonstrate that the proposed method performs robustly for the examined scenarios.

Evaluative priming in a semantic flanker task: ERP evidence for a mutual facilitation explanation.

PubMed

Schmitz, Melanie; Wentura, Dirk; Brinkmann, Thorsten A

2014-03-01

In semantic flanker tasks, target categorization response times are affected by the semantic compatibility of the flanker and target. With positive and negative category exemplars, we investigated the influence of evaluative congruency (whether flanker and target share evaluative valence) on the flanker effect, using behavioral and electrophysiological measures. We hypothesized a moderation of the flanker effect by evaluative congruency on the basis of the assumption that evaluatively congruent concepts mutually facilitate each other's activation (see Schmitz & Wentura in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 38:984-1000, 2012). Applying an onset delay of 50 ms for the flanker, we aimed to decrease the facilitative effect of an evaluatively congruent flanker on target encoding and, at the same time, increase the facilitative effect of an evaluatively congruent target on flanker encoding. As a consequence of increased flanker activation in the case of evaluative congruency, we expected a semantically incompatible flanker to interfere with the target categorization to a larger extent (as compared with an evaluatively incongruent pairing). Confirming our hypotheses, the flanker effect significantly depended on evaluative congruency, in both mean response times and N2 mean amplitudes. Thus, the present study provided behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for the mutual facilitation of evaluatively congruent concepts. Implications for the representation of evaluative connotations of semantic concepts are discussed.

What is the link between synaesthesia and sound symbolism?

PubMed Central

Bankieris, Kaitlyn; Simner, Julia

2015-01-01

Sound symbolism is a property of certain words which have a direct link between their phonological form and their semantic meaning. In certain instances, sound symbolism can allow non-native speakers to understand the meanings of etymologically unfamiliar foreign words, although the mechanisms driving this are not well understood. We examined whether sound symbolism might be mediated by the same types of cross-modal processes that typify synaesthetic experiences. Synaesthesia is an inherited condition in which sensory or cognitive stimuli (e.g., sounds, words) cause additional, unusual cross-modal percepts (e.g., sounds trigger colours, words trigger tastes). Synaesthesia may be an exaggeration of normal cross-modal processing, and if so, there may be a link between synaesthesia and the type of cross-modality inherent in sound symbolism. To test this we predicted that synaesthetes would have superior understanding of unfamiliar (sound symbolic) foreign words. In our study, 19 grapheme-colour synaesthetes and 57 non-synaesthete controls were presented with 400 adjectives from 10 unfamiliar languages and were asked to guess the meaning of each word in a two-alternative forced-choice task. Both groups showed superior understanding compared to chance levels, but synaesthetes significantly outperformed controls. This heightened ability suggests that sound symbolism may rely on the types of cross-modal integration that drive synaesthetes’ unusual experiences. It also suggests that synaesthesia endows or co-occurs with heightened multi-modal skills, and that this can arise in domains unrelated to the specific form of synaesthesia. PMID:25498744

Reduced frontal theta oscillations indicate altered crossmodal prediction error processing in schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Keil, Julian; Balz, Johanna; Gallinat, Jürgen; Senkowski, Daniel

2016-01-01

Our brain generates predictions about forthcoming stimuli and compares predicted with incoming input. Failures in predicting events might contribute to hallucinations and delusions in schizophrenia (SZ). When a stimulus violates prediction, neural activity that reflects prediction error (PE) processing is found. While PE processing deficits have been reported in unisensory paradigms, it is unknown whether SZ patients (SZP) show altered crossmodal PE processing. We measured high-density electroencephalography and applied source estimation approaches to investigate crossmodal PE processing generated by audiovisual speech. In SZP and healthy control participants (HC), we used an established paradigm in which high- and low-predictive visual syllables were paired with congruent or incongruent auditory syllables. We examined crossmodal PE processing in SZP and HC by comparing differences in event-related potentials and neural oscillations between incongruent and congruent high- and low-predictive audiovisual syllables. In both groups event-related potentials between 206 and 250 ms were larger in high- compared with low-predictive syllables, suggesting intact audiovisual incongruence detection in the auditory cortex of SZP. The analysis of oscillatory responses revealed theta-band (4–7 Hz) power enhancement in high- compared with low-predictive syllables between 230 and 370 ms in the frontal cortex of HC but not SZP. Thus aberrant frontal theta-band oscillations reflect crossmodal PE processing deficits in SZ. The present study suggests a top-down multisensory processing deficit and highlights the role of dysfunctional frontal oscillations for the SZ psychopathology. PMID:27358314

Congruence Reconsidered.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tudor, Keith; Worrall, Mike

1994-01-01

Discusses Carl Rogers' definitions of congruence, and identifies four specific requirements for the concept and practice of therapeutic congruence. Examines the interface between congruence and the other necessary and sufficient conditions of change, drawing on examples from practice. (JPS)

An extended research of crossmodal correspondence between color and sound in psychology and cognitive ergonomics.

PubMed

Sun, Xiuwen; Li, Xiaoling; Ji, Lingyu; Han, Feng; Wang, Huifen; Liu, Yang; Chen, Yao; Lou, Zhiyuan; Li, Zhuoyun

2018-01-01

Based on the existing research on sound symbolism and crossmodal correspondence, this study proposed an extended research on cross-modal correspondence between various sound attributes and color properties in a group of non-synesthetes. In Experiment 1, we assessed the associations between each property of sounds and colors. Twenty sounds with five auditory properties (pitch, roughness, sharpness, tempo and discontinuity), each varied in four levels, were used as the sound stimuli. Forty-nine colors with different hues, saturation and brightness were used to match to those sounds. Result revealed that besides pitch and tempo, roughness and sharpness also played roles in sound-color correspondence. Reaction times of sound-hue were a little longer than the reaction times of sound-lightness. In Experiment 2, a speeded target discrimination task was used to assess whether the associations between sound attributes and color properties could invoke natural cross-modal correspondence and improve participants' cognitive efficiency in cognitive tasks. Several typical sound-color pairings were selected according to the results of Experiment 1. Participants were divided into two groups (congruent and incongruent). In each trial participants had to judge whether the presented color could appropriately be associated with the sound stimuli. Result revealed that participants responded more quickly and accurately in the congruent group than in the incongruent group. It was also found that there was no significant difference in reaction times and error rates between sound-hue and sound-lightness. The results of Experiment 1 and 2 indicate the existence of a robust crossmodal correspondence between multiple attributes of sound and color, which also has strong influence on cognitive tasks. The inconsistency of the reaction times between sound-hue and sound-lightness in Experiment 1 and 2 is probably owing to the difference in experimental protocol, which indicates that the complexity of experiment design may be an important factor in crossmodal correspondence phenomena.

An extended research of crossmodal correspondence between color and sound in psychology and cognitive ergonomics

PubMed Central

Sun, Xiuwen; Ji, Lingyu; Han, Feng; Wang, Huifen; Liu, Yang; Chen, Yao; Lou, Zhiyuan; Li, Zhuoyun

2018-01-01

Based on the existing research on sound symbolism and crossmodal correspondence, this study proposed an extended research on cross-modal correspondence between various sound attributes and color properties in a group of non-synesthetes. In Experiment 1, we assessed the associations between each property of sounds and colors. Twenty sounds with five auditory properties (pitch, roughness, sharpness, tempo and discontinuity), each varied in four levels, were used as the sound stimuli. Forty-nine colors with different hues, saturation and brightness were used to match to those sounds. Result revealed that besides pitch and tempo, roughness and sharpness also played roles in sound-color correspondence. Reaction times of sound-hue were a little longer than the reaction times of sound-lightness. In Experiment 2, a speeded target discrimination task was used to assess whether the associations between sound attributes and color properties could invoke natural cross-modal correspondence and improve participants’ cognitive efficiency in cognitive tasks. Several typical sound-color pairings were selected according to the results of Experiment 1. Participants were divided into two groups (congruent and incongruent). In each trial participants had to judge whether the presented color could appropriately be associated with the sound stimuli. Result revealed that participants responded more quickly and accurately in the congruent group than in the incongruent group. It was also found that there was no significant difference in reaction times and error rates between sound-hue and sound-lightness. The results of Experiment 1 and 2 indicate the existence of a robust crossmodal correspondence between multiple attributes of sound and color, which also has strong influence on cognitive tasks. The inconsistency of the reaction times between sound-hue and sound-lightness in Experiment 1 and 2 is probably owing to the difference in experimental protocol, which indicates that the complexity of experiment design may be an important factor in crossmodal correspondence phenomena. PMID:29507834

Green love is ugly: emotions elicited by synesthetic grapheme-color perceptions.

PubMed

Callejas, Alicia; Acosta, Alberto; Lupiáñez, Juan

2007-01-05

Synesthetes who experience grapheme-color synesthesia often report feeling uneasy when dealing with incongruently colored graphemes although no empirical data is available to confirm this phenomenon. We studied this affective reaction related to synesthetic perceptions by means of an evaluation task. We found that the perception of an incorrectly colored word affects the judgments of emotional valence. Furthermore, this effect competed with the word's emotional valence in a categorization task thus supporting the automatic nature of this synesthetically elicited affective reaction. When manipulating word valence and word color-photism congruence, we found that responses were slower (and less accurate) for inconsistent conditions than for consistent conditions. Inconsistent conditions were defined as those where semantics and color-photism congruence did not produce a similar assessment and therefore gave rise to a negative affective reaction (i.e., positive-valence words presented in a color different from the synesthete's photism or negative-valence words presented in the photism's color). We therefore observed a modulation of the congruency effect (i.e., faster reaction times to congruently colored words than incongruently colored words). Although this congruence effect has been taken as an index of the true experience of synesthesia, we observed that it can be reversed when the experimental manipulations turn an incongruently colored word into a consistent stimulus. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an affective reaction elicited by the congruency between the synesthetically induced color of a word and the color in which the word is actually presented. The underlying neural mechanisms that might be involved in this phenomenon are discussed.

Numerical Magnitude Representation in Children With Mathematical Difficulties With or Without Reading Difficulties.

PubMed

Tobia, Valentina; Fasola, Anna; Lupieri, Alice; Marzocchi, Gian Marco

2016-01-01

This study aimed to explore the spatial numerical association of response codes (SNARC), the flanker, and the numerical distance effects in children with mathematical difficulties. From a sample of 720 third, fourth, and fifth graders, 60 children were selected and divided into the following three groups: typically developing children (TD; n = 29), children with mathematical difficulties only (MD only; n = 21), and children with mathematical and reading difficulties (MD+RD; n = 10). Children were tested with a numerical Eriksen task that was built to assess SNARC, numerical distance, and flanker (first and second order congruency) effects. Children with MD only showed stronger SNARC and second order congruency effects than did TD children, whereas the numerical distance effects were similar across the three groups. Finally, the first order congruency effect was associated with reading difficulties. These results showed that children with mathematical difficulties with or without reading difficulties were globally more impaired when spatial incompatibilities were presented. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

Does sunshine prime loyal … or summer? Effects of associative relatedness on the evaluative priming effect in the valent/neutral categorisation task.

PubMed

Werner, Benedikt; von Ramin, Elisabeth; Spruyt, Adriaan; Rothermund, Klaus

2018-02-01

After 30 years of research, the mechanisms underlying the evaluative priming effect are still a topic of debate. In this study, we tested whether the evaluative priming effect can result from (uncontrolled) associative relatedness rather than evaluative congruency. Stimuli that share the same evaluative connotation are more likely to show some degree of non-evaluative associative relatedness than stimuli that have a different evaluative connotation. Therefore, unless associative relatedness is explicitly controlled for, evaluative priming effects reported in earlier research may be driven by associative relatedness instead of evaluative relatedness. To address this possibility, we performed an evaluative priming study in which evaluative congruency and associative relatedness were manipulated independently from each other. The valent/neutral categorisation task was used to ensure evaluative stimulus processing in the absence of response priming effects. Results showed an effect of associative relatedness but no (overall) effect of evaluative congruency. Our findings highlight the importance of controlling for associative relatedness when testing for evaluative priming effects.

The Effects of Role Congruence and Role Conflict on Work, Marital, and Life Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perrone, Kristin M.; Webb, L. Kay; Blalock, Rachel H.

2005-01-01

The impact of role congruence and role conflict on work, marital, and life satisfaction was studied using Super's life-span, life-space theory. A conceptual model of relationships between these variables was proposed, and gender differences were examined. Participants were 35 male and 60 female college graduates who completed surveys by mail.…

Congruence in Parent-Teacher Communication: Implications for the Efficacy of CBC for Students with Behavioral Concerns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garbacz, S. Andrew; Sheridan, Susan M.; Koziol, Natalie A.; Kwon, Kyongboon; Holmes, Shannon R.

2015-01-01

The present study examined parent-teacher congruent communication within conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC). Specifically, the study purpose was to determine the extent to which congruence in parent-teacher communication (i.e., the degree to which parents and teachers view their communication in a similar fashion) moderated CBC's effects on…

A Test of the Intergenerational Congruence in Immigrant Families-Child Scale with Southeast Asian Americans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ying, Yu-Wen; Han, Meekyung

2007-01-01

A common challenge facing immigrant families is intergenerational-intercultural conflict. Social workers are in need of an easy-to-use but psychometrically sound measure to assess this phenomenon and evaluate treatment effectiveness. The Intergenerational Congruence in Immigrant Families (ICIF) Scale was created for this purpose. The ICIF has two…

Cross-taxon congruence and environmental conditions.

PubMed

Toranza, Carolina; Arim, Matías

2010-07-16

Diversity patterns of different taxa typically covary in space, a phenomenon called cross-taxon congruence. This pattern has been explained by the effect of one taxon diversity on taxon diversity, shared biogeographic histories of different taxa, and/or common responses to environmental conditions. A meta-analysis of the association between environment and diversity patterns found that in 83 out of 85 studies, more than 60% of the spatial variability in species richness was related to variables representing energy, water or their interaction. The role of the environment determining taxa diversity patterns leads us to hypothesize that this would explain the observed cross-taxon congruence. However, recent analyses reported the persistence of cross-taxon congruence when environmental effect was statistically removed. Here we evaluate this hypothesis, analyzing the cross-taxon congruence between birds and mammals in the Brazilian Cerrado, and assess the environmental role on the spatial covariation in diversity patterns. We found a positive association between avian and mammal richness and a positive latitudinal trend for both groups in the Brazilian Cerrado. Regression analyses indicated an effect of latitude, PET, and mean temperature over both biological groups. In addition, we show that NDVI was only associated with avian diversity; while the annual relative humidity, was only correlated with mammal diversity. We determined the environmental effects on diversity in a path analysis that accounted for 73% and 76% of the spatial variation in avian and mammal richness. However, an association between avian and mammal diversity remains significant. Indeed, the importance of this link between bird and mammal diversity was also supported by a significant association between birds and mammal spatial autoregressive model residuals. Our study corroborates the main role of environmental conditions on diversity patterns, but suggests that other important mechanisms, which have not been properly evaluated, are involved in the observed cross-taxon congruence. The approaches introduced here indicate that the prevalence of a significant association among taxa, after considering the environmental determinant, could indicate both the need to incorporate additional processes (e.g. biogeographic and evolutionary history or trophic interactions) and/or the existence of a shared trend in detection biases among taxa and regions.

Preservation of crossmodal selective attention in healthy aging

PubMed Central

Hugenschmidt, Christina E.; Peiffer, Ann M.; McCoy, Thomas P.; Hayasaka, Satoru; Laurienti, Paul J.

2010-01-01

The goal of the present study was to determine if older adults benefited from attention to a specific sensory modality in a voluntary attention task and evidenced changes in voluntary or involuntary attention when compared to younger adults. Suppressing and enhancing effects of voluntary attention were assessed using two cued forced-choice tasks, one that asked participants to localize and one that asked them to categorize visual and auditory targets. Involuntary attention was assessed using the same tasks, but with no attentional cues. The effects of attention were evaluated using traditional comparisons of means and Cox proportional hazards models. All analyses showed that older adults benefited behaviorally from selective attention in both visual and auditory conditions, including robust suppressive effects of attention. Of note, the performance of the older adults was commensurate with that of younger adults in almost all analyses, suggesting that older adults can successfully engage crossmodal attention processes. Thus, age-related increases in distractibility across sensory modalities are likely due to mechanisms other than deficits in attentional processing. PMID:19404621

Suppression and Working Memory in Auditory Comprehension of L2 Narratives: Evidence from Cross-Modal Priming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Shiyu; Ma, Zheng

2016-01-01

Using a cross-modal priming task, the present study explores whether Chinese-English bilinguals process goal related information during auditory comprehension of English narratives like native speakers. Results indicate that English native speakers adopted both mechanisms of suppression and enhancement to modulate the activation of goals and keep…

Sound Symbolism in Infancy: Evidence for Sound-Shape Cross-Modal Correspondences in 4-Month-Olds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozturk, Ozge; Krehm, Madelaine; Vouloumanos, Athena

2013-01-01

Perceptual experiences in one modality are often dependent on activity from other sensory modalities. These cross-modal correspondences are also evident in language. Adults and toddlers spontaneously and consistently map particular words (e.g., "kiki") to particular shapes (e.g., angular shapes). However, the origins of these systematic mappings…

Demands, values, and burnout

PubMed Central

Leiter, Michael P.; Frank, Erica; Matheson, Timothy J.

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVE T o explore the interaction between workload and values congruence (personal values with health care system values) in the context of burnout and physician engagement and to explore the relative importance of these factors by sex, given the distinct work patterns of male and female physicians. DESIGN National mailed survey. SETTING Canada. PARTICIPANTS A random sample of 8100 Canadian physicians (response rate 40%, N = 3213); 2536 responses (from physicians working more than 35 hours per week) were analyzed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Levels of burnout, values congruence, and workload, by sex, measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory—General Scale and the Areas of Worklife Scale. RESULTS Results showed a moderate level of burnout among Canadian physicians, with relatively positive scores on exhaustion, average scores on cynicism, and mildly negative scores on professional efficacy. A series of multiple regression analyses confirmed parallel main effect contributions from manageable workload and values congruence. Both workload and values congruence predicted exhaustion and cynicism for men and women (P = .001). Only values congruence provided a significant prediction of professional efficacy for both men and women (P = .001) These predictors interacted for women on all 3 aspects of burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and diminished efficacy). Howevever, overall levels of the burnout indicators departed only modestly from normative levels. CONCLUSION W orkload and values congruence make distinct contributions to physician burnout. Work overload contributes to predicting exhaustion and cynicism; professional values crises contribute to predicting exhaustion, cynicism, and low professional efficacy. The interaction of values and workload for women in particular has implications for the distinct work-life patterns of male and female physicians. Specifically, the congruence of individual values with values inherent in the health care system appeared to be of greater consequence for women than for men. PMID:20008605

Overestimation of threat from neutral faces and voices in social anxiety.

PubMed

Peschard, Virginie; Philippot, Pierre

2017-12-01

Social anxiety (SA) is associated with a tendency to interpret social information in a more threatening manner. Most of the research in SA has focused on unimodal exploration (mostly based on facial expressions), thus neglecting the ubiquity of cross-modality. To fill this gap, the present study sought to explore whether SA influences the interpretation of facial and vocal expressions presented separately or jointly. Twenty-five high socially anxious (HSA) and 29 low socially anxious (LSA) participants completed a forced two-choice emotion identification task consisting of angry and neutral expressions conveyed by faces, voices or combined faces and voices. Participants had to identify the emotion (angry or neutral) of the presented cues as quickly and precisely as possible. Our results showed that, compared to LSA, HSA individuals show a higher propensity to misattribute anger to neutral expressions independent of cue modality and despite preserved decoding accuracy. We also found a cross-modal facilitation effect at the level of accuracy (i.e., higher accuracy in the bimodal condition compared to unimodal ones). However, such effect was not moderated by SA. Although the HSA group showed clinical cut-off scores at the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, one limitation is that we did not administer diagnostic interviews. Upcoming studies may want to test whether these results can be generalized to a clinical population. These findings highlight the usefulness of a cross-modal perspective to probe the specificity of biases in SA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cross-modal decoupling in temporal attention.

PubMed

Mühlberg, Stefanie; Oriolo, Giovanni; Soto-Faraco, Salvador

2014-06-01

Prior studies have repeatedly reported behavioural benefits to events occurring at attended, compared to unattended, points in time. It has been suggested that, as for spatial orienting, temporal orienting of attention spreads across sensory modalities in a synergistic fashion. However, the consequences of cross-modal temporal orienting of attention remain poorly understood. One challenge is that the passage of time leads to an increase in event predictability throughout a trial, thus making it difficult to interpret possible effects (or lack thereof). Here we used a design that avoids complete temporal predictability to investigate whether attending to a sensory modality (vision or touch) at a point in time confers beneficial access to events in the other, non-attended, sensory modality (touch or vision, respectively). In contrast to previous studies and to what happens with spatial attention, we found that events in one (unattended) modality do not automatically benefit from happening at the time point when another modality is expected. Instead, it seems that attention can be deployed in time with relative independence for different sensory modalities. Based on these findings, we argue that temporal orienting of attention can be cross-modally decoupled in order to flexibly react according to the environmental demands, and that the efficiency of this selective decoupling unfolds in time. © 2014 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Size-Sensitive Perceptual Representations Underlie Visual and Haptic Object Recognition

PubMed Central

Craddock, Matt; Lawson, Rebecca

2009-01-01

A variety of similarities between visual and haptic object recognition suggests that the two modalities may share common representations. However, it is unclear whether such common representations preserve low-level perceptual features or whether transfer between vision and haptics is mediated by high-level, abstract representations. Two experiments used a sequential shape-matching task to examine the effects of size changes on unimodal and crossmodal visual and haptic object recognition. Participants felt or saw 3D plastic models of familiar objects. The two objects presented on a trial were either the same size or different sizes and were the same shape or different but similar shapes. Participants were told to ignore size changes and to match on shape alone. In Experiment 1, size changes on same-shape trials impaired performance similarly for both visual-to-visual and haptic-to-haptic shape matching. In Experiment 2, size changes impaired performance on both visual-to-haptic and haptic-to-visual shape matching and there was no interaction between the cost of size changes and direction of transfer. Together the unimodal and crossmodal matching results suggest that the same, size-specific perceptual representations underlie both visual and haptic object recognition, and indicate that crossmodal memory for objects must be at least partly based on common perceptual representations. PMID:19956685

Treatment of sentence comprehension and production in aphasia: is there cross-modal generalisation?

PubMed

Adelt, Anne; Hanne, Sandra; Stadie, Nicole

2016-09-09

Exploring generalisation following treatment of language deficits in aphasia can provide insights into the functional relation of the cognitive processing systems involved. In the present study, we first review treatment outcomes of interventions targeting sentence processing deficits and, second report a treatment study examining the occurrence of practice effects and generalisation in sentence comprehension and production. In order to explore the potential linkage between processing systems involved in comprehending and producing sentences, we investigated whether improvements generalise within (i.e., uni-modal generalisation in comprehension or in production) and/or across modalities (i.e., cross-modal generalisation from comprehension to production or vice versa). Two individuals with aphasia displaying co-occurring deficits in sentence comprehension and production were trained on complex, non-canonical sentences in both modalities. Two evidence-based treatment protocols were applied in a crossover intervention study with sequence of treatment phases being randomly allocated. Both participants benefited significantly from treatment, leading to uni-modal generalisation in both comprehension and production. However, cross-modal generalisation did not occur. The magnitude of uni-modal generalisation in sentence production was related to participants' sentence comprehension performance prior to treatment. These findings support the assumption of modality-specific sub-systems for sentence comprehension and production, being linked uni-directionally from comprehension to production.

Pharmacologic attenuation of cross-modal sensory augmentation within the chronic pain insula

PubMed Central

Harte, Steven E.; Ichesco, Eric; Hampson, Johnson P.; Peltier, Scott J.; Schmidt-Wilcke, Tobias; Clauw, Daniel J.; Harris, Richard E.

2016-01-01

Abstract Pain can be elicited through all mammalian sensory pathways yet cross-modal sensory integration, and its relationship to clinical pain, is largely unexplored. Centralized chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia are often associated with symptoms of multisensory hypersensitivity. In this study, female patients with fibromyalgia demonstrated cross-modal hypersensitivity to visual and pressure stimuli compared with age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that insular activity evoked by an aversive level of visual stimulation was associated with the intensity of fibromyalgia pain. Moreover, attenuation of this insular activity by the analgesic pregabalin was accompanied by concomitant reductions in clinical pain. A multivariate classification method using support vector machines (SVM) applied to visual-evoked brain activity distinguished patients with fibromyalgia from healthy controls with 82% accuracy. A separate SVM classification of treatment effects on visual-evoked activity reliably identified when patients were administered pregabalin as compared with placebo. Both SVM analyses identified significant weights within the insular cortex during aversive visual stimulation. These data suggest that abnormal integration of multisensory and pain pathways within the insula may represent a pathophysiological mechanism in some chronic pain conditions and that insular response to aversive visual stimulation may have utility as a marker for analgesic drug development. PMID:27101425

Hand posture and cognitive control: The congruency sequence effect is reduced near the hands.

PubMed

Englert, Julia; Wentura, Dirk

2016-10-01

According to several recent articles, attentional processing seems to be modulated by the proximity of one's own hand to a stimulus. Weidler and Abrams (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 21, 462-469, 2014) found a significant reduction of the Eriksen flanker effect when the stimuli were presented close to the participants' hands. They interpreted this as evidence for stronger cognitive control near the hands. Using a near-by hands manipulation intended to vary distance while keeping posture of the hands constant, we found a modulation of the congruency sequence effect (CSE or Gratton effect), i.e., a larger flanker effect following incompatible trials than following compatible trials. The CSE was eliminated near the hands. Though we did not find a reduction in the flanker effect itself (which might be the result of using a near-by hand manipulation somewhat different from that of Weidler and Abrams), this result can be considered to be compatible with Weidler and Abrams' original hypothesis if the congruency sequence effect is interpreted in terms of cognitive control.

Congruency effects in the remote distractor paradigm: evidence for top-down modulation.

PubMed

Born, Sabine; Kerzel, Dirk

2009-08-10

In three experiments, we examined effects of target-distractor similarity in the remote distractor effect (RDE). Observers made saccades to peripheral targets that were either gray or green. Foveal or peripheral distractors were presented at the same time. The distractors could either share the target's defining property (congruent) or be different from the target (incongruent). Congruent distractors slowed down saccadic reaction times more than incongruent distractors. The increase of the RDE with target-distractor congruency depended on task demands. The more participants had to rely on the target property to locate the target, the larger the congruency effect. We conclude that the RDE can be modulated in a top-down manner. Alternative explanations such as persisting memory traces for the target property or differences in stimulus arrangement were considered but discarded. Our claim is in line with models of saccade generation which assume that the structures underlying the RDE (e.g. the superior colliculus) receive bottom-up as well as top-down information.

The congruency sequence effect 3.0: a critical test of conflict adaptation.

PubMed

Duthoo, Wout; Abrahamse, Elger L; Braem, Senne; Boehler, C Nico; Notebaert, Wim

2014-01-01

Over the last two decades, the congruency sequence effect (CSE) -the finding of a reduced congruency effect following incongruent trials in conflict tasks- has played a central role in advancing research on cognitive control. According to the influential conflict-monitoring account, the CSE reflects adjustments in selective attention that enhance task focus when needed, often termed conflict adaptation. However, this dominant interpretation of the CSE has been called into question by several alternative accounts that stress the role of episodic memory processes: feature binding and (stimulus-response) contingency learning. To evaluate the notion of conflict adaptation in accounting for the CSE, we construed versions of three widely used experimental paradigms (the colour-word Stroop, picture-word Stroop and flanker task) that effectively control for feature binding and contingency learning. Results revealed that a CSE can emerge in all three tasks. This strongly suggests a contribution of attentional control to the CSE and highlights the potential of these unprecedentedly clean paradigms for further examining cognitive control.

The Congruency Sequence Effect 3.0: A Critical Test of Conflict Adaptation

PubMed Central

Duthoo, Wout; Abrahamse, Elger L.; Braem, Senne; Boehler, C. Nico; Notebaert, Wim

2014-01-01

Over the last two decades, the congruency sequence effect (CSE) –the finding of a reduced congruency effect following incongruent trials in conflict tasks– has played a central role in advancing research on cognitive control. According to the influential conflict-monitoring account, the CSE reflects adjustments in selective attention that enhance task focus when needed, often termed conflict adaptation. However, this dominant interpretation of the CSE has been called into question by several alternative accounts that stress the role of episodic memory processes: feature binding and (stimulus-response) contingency learning. To evaluate the notion of conflict adaptation in accounting for the CSE, we construed versions of three widely used experimental paradigms (the colour-word Stroop, picture-word Stroop and flanker task) that effectively control for feature binding and contingency learning. Results revealed that a CSE can emerge in all three tasks. This strongly suggests a contribution of attentional control to the CSE and highlights the potential of these unprecedentedly clean paradigms for further examining cognitive control. PMID:25340396

Motor experience with a sport-specific implement affects motor imagery

PubMed Central

Zhu, Hua; Shen, Cheng; Zhang, Jian

2018-01-01

The present study tested whether sport-specific implements facilitate motor imagery, whereas nonspecific implements disrupt motor imagery. We asked a group of basketball players (experts) and a group of healthy controls (novices) to physically perform (motor execution) and mentally simulate (motor imagery) basketball throws. Subjects produced motor imagery when they were holding a basketball, a volleyball, or nothing. Motor imagery performance was measured by temporal congruence, which is the correspondence between imagery and execution times estimated as (imagery time minus execution time) divided by (imagery time plus execution time), as well as the vividness of motor imagery. Results showed that experts produced greater temporal congruence and vividness of kinesthetic imagery while holding a basketball compared to when they were holding nothing, suggesting a facilitation effect from sport-specific implements. In contrast, experts produced lower temporal congruence and vividness of kinesthetic imagery while holding a volleyball compared to when they were holding nothing, suggesting the interference effect of nonspecific implements. Furthermore, we found a negative correlation between temporal congruence and the vividness of kinesthetic imagery in experts while holding a basketball. On the contrary, the implement manipulation did not modulate the temporal congruence of novices. Our findings suggest that motor representation in experts is built on motor experience associated with specific-implement use and thus was subjected to modulation of the implement held. We conclude that sport-specific implements facilitate motor imagery, whereas nonspecific implements could disrupt motor representation in experts. PMID:29719738

Judgments of auditory-visual affective congruence in adolescents with and without autism: a pilot study of a new task using fMRI.

PubMed

Loveland, Katherine A; Steinberg, Joel L; Pearson, Deborah A; Mansour, Rosleen; Reddoch, Stacy

2008-10-01

One of the most widely reported developmental deficits associated with autism is difficulty perceiving and expressing emotion appropriately. Brain activation associated with performance on a new task, the Emotional Congruence Task, requires judging affective congruence of facial expression and voice, compared with their sex congruence. Participants in this pilot study were adolescents with normal IQ (n = 5) and autism or without (n = 4) autism. In the emotional congruence condition, as compared to the sex congruence of voice and face, controls had significantly more activation than the Autism group in the orbitofrontal cortex, the superior temporal, parahippocampal, and posterior cingulate gyri and occipital regions. Unlike controls, the Autism group did not have significantly greater prefrontal activation during the emotional congruence condition, but did during the sex congruence condition. Results indicate the Emotional Congruence Task can be used successfully to assess brain activation and behavior associated with integration of auditory and visual information for emotion. While the numbers in the groups are small, the results suggest that brain activity while performing the Emotional Congruence Task differed between adolescents with and without autism in fronto-limbic areas and in the superior temporal region. These findings must be confirmed using larger samples of participants.

Cross-modal associations in synaesthesia: Vowel colours in the ear of the beholder.

PubMed

Moos, Anja; Smith, Rachel; Miller, Sam R; Simmons, David R

2014-01-01

Human speech conveys many forms of information, but for some exceptional individuals (synaesthetes), listening to speech sounds can automatically induce visual percepts such as colours. In this experiment, grapheme-colour synaesthetes and controls were asked to assign colours, or shades of grey, to different vowel sounds. We then investigated whether the acoustic content of these vowel sounds influenced participants' colour and grey-shade choices. We found that both colour and grey-shade associations varied systematically with vowel changes. The colour effect was significant for both participant groups, but significantly stronger and more consistent for synaesthetes. Because not all vowel sounds that we used are "translatable" into graphemes, we conclude that acoustic-phonetic influences co-exist with established graphemic influences in the cross-modal correspondences of both synaesthetes and non-synaesthetes.

The Impact of Congruency between Preferred and Actual Learning Environments on Tenth Graders' Science Literacy in Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Chun-Yen; Yeh, Ting-Kuang; Lin, Chun-Yen; Chang, Yueh-Hsia; Chen, Chia-Li D.

2010-01-01

This study explored the effects of congruency between preferred and actual learning environment (PLE & ALE) perceptions on students' science literacy in terms of science concepts, attitudes toward science, and the understanding of the nature of science in an innovative curriculum of High Scope Project, namely Sci-Tech Mind and Humane Heart…

In Search of Coherence: To What Extent Is the Level of Congruence between Daily Actions and Espousals of Middle School Principals?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tesauro, Michele Blanche

2012-01-01

Research discloses that principals' effectiveness influences student success (Stronge, 2008). This study examined the extent of congruence between the daily activities and espousals of four middle school principals, and the extent their daily activities were artifacts of their values and beliefs about leadership. Also, this study examined if…

Evolution of crossmodal reorganization of the voice area in cochlear-implanted deaf patients.

PubMed

Rouger, Julien; Lagleyre, Sébastien; Démonet, Jean-François; Fraysse, Bernard; Deguine, Olivier; Barone, Pascal

2012-08-01

Psychophysical and neuroimaging studies in both animal and human subjects have clearly demonstrated that cortical plasticity following sensory deprivation leads to a brain functional reorganization that favors the spared modalities. In postlingually deaf patients, the use of a cochlear implant (CI) allows a recovery of the auditory function, which will probably counteract the cortical crossmodal reorganization induced by hearing loss. To study the dynamics of such reversed crossmodal plasticity, we designed a longitudinal neuroimaging study involving the follow-up of 10 postlingually deaf adult CI users engaged in a visual speechreading task. While speechreading activates Broca's area in normally hearing subjects (NHS), the activity level elicited in this region in CI patients is abnormally low and increases progressively with post-implantation time. Furthermore, speechreading in CI patients induces abnormal crossmodal activations in right anterior regions of the superior temporal cortex normally devoted to processing human voice stimuli (temporal voice-sensitive areas-TVA). These abnormal activity levels diminish with post-implantation time and tend towards the levels observed in NHS. First, our study revealed that the neuroplasticity after cochlear implantation involves not only auditory but also visual and audiovisual speech processing networks. Second, our results suggest that during deafness, the functional links between cortical regions specialized in face and voice processing are reallocated to support speech-related visual processing through cross-modal reorganization. Such reorganization allows a more efficient audiovisual integration of speech after cochlear implantation. These compensatory sensory strategies are later completed by the progressive restoration of the visuo-audio-motor speech processing loop, including Broca's area. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Changes of the directional brain networks related with brain plasticity in patients with long-term unilateral sensorineural hearing loss.

PubMed

Zhang, G-Y; Yang, M; Liu, B; Huang, Z-C; Li, J; Chen, J-Y; Chen, H; Zhang, P-P; Liu, L-J; Wang, J; Teng, G-J

2016-01-28

Previous studies often report that early auditory deprivation or congenital deafness contributes to cross-modal reorganization in the auditory-deprived cortex, and this cross-modal reorganization limits clinical benefit from cochlear prosthetics. However, there are inconsistencies among study results on cortical reorganization in those subjects with long-term unilateral sensorineural hearing loss (USNHL). It is also unclear whether there exists a similar cross-modal plasticity of the auditory cortex for acquired monaural deafness and early or congenital deafness. To address this issue, we constructed the directional brain functional networks based on entropy connectivity of resting-state functional MRI and researched changes of the networks. Thirty-four long-term USNHL individuals and seventeen normally hearing individuals participated in the test, and all USNHL patients had acquired deafness. We found that certain brain regions of the sensorimotor and visual networks presented enhanced synchronous output entropy connectivity with the left primary auditory cortex in the left long-term USNHL individuals as compared with normally hearing individuals. Especially, the left USNHL showed more significant changes of entropy connectivity than the right USNHL. No significant plastic changes were observed in the right USNHL. Our results indicate that the left primary auditory cortex (non-auditory-deprived cortex) in patients with left USNHL has been reorganized by visual and sensorimotor modalities through cross-modal plasticity. Furthermore, the cross-modal reorganization also alters the directional brain functional networks. The auditory deprivation from the left or right side generates different influences on the human brain. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Re Viewing Listening: "Clip Culture" and Cross-Modal Learning in the Music Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webb, Michael

2010-01-01

This article envisions a new, cross-modal approach to classroom music listening, one that takes advantage of students' rising screen literacy and the ever-expanding archive of music-related visual material available on DVD and on video sharing sites such as YouTube. It is grounded in current literature on music performance studies, embodied music…

Parallel pathways for cross-modal memory retrieval in Drosophila.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaonan; Ren, Qingzhong; Guo, Aike

2013-05-15

Memory-retrieval processing of cross-modal sensory preconditioning is vital for understanding the plasticity underlying the interactions between modalities. As part of the sensory preconditioning paradigm, it has been hypothesized that the conditioned response to an unreinforced cue depends on the memory of the reinforced cue via a sensory link between the two cues. To test this hypothesis, we studied cross-modal memory-retrieval processing in a genetically tractable model organism, Drosophila melanogaster. By expressing the dominant temperature-sensitive shibire(ts1) (shi(ts1)) transgene, which blocks synaptic vesicle recycling of specific neural subsets with the Gal4/UAS system at the restrictive temperature, we specifically blocked visual and olfactory memory retrieval, either alone or in combination; memory acquisition remained intact for these modalities. Blocking the memory retrieval of the reinforced olfactory cues did not impair the conditioned response to the unreinforced visual cues or vice versa, in contrast to the canonical memory-retrieval processing of sensory preconditioning. In addition, these conditioned responses can be abolished by blocking the memory retrieval of the two modalities simultaneously. In sum, our results indicated that a conditioned response to an unreinforced cue in cross-modal sensory preconditioning can be recalled through parallel pathways.

Generalization of cross-modal stimulus equivalence classes: operant processes as components in human category formation.

PubMed Central

Lane, S D; Clow, J K; Innis, A; Critchfield, T S

1998-01-01

This study employed a stimulus-class rating procedure to explore whether stimulus equivalence and stimulus generalization can combine to promote the formation of open-ended categories incorporating cross-modal stimuli. A pretest of simple auditory discrimination indicated that subjects (college students) could discriminate among a range of tones used in the main study. Before beginning the main study, 10 subjects learned to use a rating procedure for categorizing sets of stimuli as class consistent or class inconsistent. After completing conditional discrimination training with new stimuli (shapes and tones), the subjects demonstrated the formation of cross-modal equivalence classes. Subsequently, the class-inclusion rating procedure was reinstituted, this time with cross-modal sets of stimuli drawn from the equivalence classes. On some occasions, the tones of the equivalence classes were replaced by novel tones. The probability that these novel sets would be rated as class consistent was generally a function of the auditory distance between the novel tone and the tone that was explicitly included in the equivalence class. These data extend prior work on generalization of equivalence classes, and support the role of operant processes in human category formation. PMID:9821680

Those are Your Legs: The Effect of Visuo-Spatial Viewpoint on Visuo-Tactile Integration and Body Ownership

PubMed Central

Pozeg, Polona; Galli, Giulia; Blanke, Olaf

2015-01-01

Experiencing a body part as one’s own, i.e., body ownership, depends on the integration of multisensory bodily signals (including visual, tactile, and proprioceptive information) with the visual top-down signals from peripersonal space. Although it has been shown that the visuo-spatial viewpoint from where the body is seen is an important visual top-down factor for body ownership, different studies have reported diverging results. Furthermore, the role of visuo-spatial viewpoint (sometime also called first-person perspective) has only been studied for hands or the whole body, but not for the lower limbs. We thus investigated whether and how leg visuo-tactile integration and leg ownership depended on the visuo-spatial viewpoint from which the legs were seen and the anatomical similarity of the visual leg stimuli. Using a virtual leg illusion, we tested the strength of visuo-tactile integration of leg stimuli using the crossmodal congruency effect (CCE) as well as the subjective sense of leg ownership (assessed by a questionnaire). Fifteen participants viewed virtual legs or non-corporeal control objects, presented either from their habitual first-person viewpoint or from a viewpoint that was rotated by 90°(third-person viewpoint), while applying visuo-tactile stroking between the participants legs and the virtual legs shown on a head-mounted display. The data show that the first-person visuo-spatial viewpoint significantly boosts the visuo-tactile integration as well as the sense of leg ownership. Moreover, the viewpoint-dependent increment of the visuo-tactile integration was only found in the conditions when participants viewed the virtual legs (absent for control objects). These results confirm the importance of first person visuo-spatial viewpoint for the integration of visuo-tactile stimuli and extend findings from the upper extremity and the trunk to visuo-tactile integration and ownership for the legs. PMID:26635663

Epistemological Belief Congruency in Mathematics between Vocational Technology Students and Their Instructors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schommer-Aikins, Marlene; Unruh, Susan; Morphew, Jason

2015-01-01

Three questions were addressed in this study. Is there evidence of epistemological beliefs congruency between students and their instructor? Do students' epistemological beliefs, students' epistemological congruence, or both predict mathematical anxiety? Do students' epistemological beliefs, students' epistemological congruence, or both predict…

Multiplex congruence network of natural numbers.

PubMed

Yan, Xiao-Yong; Wang, Wen-Xu; Chen, Guan-Rong; Shi, Ding-Hua

2016-03-31

Congruence theory has many applications in physical, social, biological and technological systems. Congruence arithmetic has been a fundamental tool for data security and computer algebra. However, much less attention was devoted to the topological features of congruence relations among natural numbers. Here, we explore the congruence relations in the setting of a multiplex network and unveil some unique and outstanding properties of the multiplex congruence network. Analytical results show that every layer therein is a sparse and heterogeneous subnetwork with a scale-free topology. Counterintuitively, every layer has an extremely strong controllability in spite of its scale-free structure that is usually difficult to control. Another amazing feature is that the controllability is robust against targeted attacks to critical nodes but vulnerable to random failures, which also differs from ordinary scale-free networks. The multi-chain structure with a small number of chain roots arising from each layer accounts for the strong controllability and the abnormal feature. The multiplex congruence network offers a graphical solution to the simultaneous congruences problem, which may have implication in cryptography based on simultaneous congruences. Our work also gains insight into the design of networks integrating advantages of both heterogeneous and homogeneous networks without inheriting their limitations.

Multiplex congruence network of natural numbers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Xiao-Yong; Wang, Wen-Xu; Chen, Guan-Rong; Shi, Ding-Hua

2016-03-01

Congruence theory has many applications in physical, social, biological and technological systems. Congruence arithmetic has been a fundamental tool for data security and computer algebra. However, much less attention was devoted to the topological features of congruence relations among natural numbers. Here, we explore the congruence relations in the setting of a multiplex network and unveil some unique and outstanding properties of the multiplex congruence network. Analytical results show that every layer therein is a sparse and heterogeneous subnetwork with a scale-free topology. Counterintuitively, every layer has an extremely strong controllability in spite of its scale-free structure that is usually difficult to control. Another amazing feature is that the controllability is robust against targeted attacks to critical nodes but vulnerable to random failures, which also differs from ordinary scale-free networks. The multi-chain structure with a small number of chain roots arising from each layer accounts for the strong controllability and the abnormal feature. The multiplex congruence network offers a graphical solution to the simultaneous congruences problem, which may have implication in cryptography based on simultaneous congruences. Our work also gains insight into the design of networks integrating advantages of both heterogeneous and homogeneous networks without inheriting their limitations.

Body Build Satisfaction and the Congruency of Body Build Perceptions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hankins, Norman E.; Bailey, Roger C.

1979-01-01

Females were administered the somatotype rating scale. Satisfied subjects showed greater congruency between their own and wished-for body build, and greater congruency between their own and friend/date body builds, but less congruency between their own body build and the female stereotype. (Author/BEF)

Geodesic congruences in warped spacetimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Suman; Dasgupta, Anirvan; Kar, Sayan

2011-04-01

In this article, we explore the kinematics of timelike geodesic congruences in warped five-dimensional bulk spacetimes, with and without thick or thin branes. Beginning with geodesic flows in the Randall-Sundrum anti-de Sitter geometry without and with branes, we find analytical expressions for the expansion scalar and comment on the effects of including thin branes on its evolution. Later, we move on to congruences in more general warped bulk geometries with a cosmological thick brane and a time-dependent extra dimensional scale. Using analytical expressions for the velocity field, we interpret the expansion, shear and rotation (ESR) along the flows, as functions of the extra dimensional coordinate. The evolution of a cross-sectional area orthogonal to the congruence, as seen from a local observer’s point of view, is also shown graphically. Finally, the Raychaudhuri and geodesic equations in backgrounds with a thick brane are solved numerically in order to figure out the role of initial conditions (prescribed on the ESR) and spacetime curvature on the evolution of the ESR.

"Multisensory brand search: How the meaning of sounds guides consumers' visual attention": Correction to Knoeferle et al. (2016).

PubMed

2017-03-01

Reports an error in "Multisensory brand search: How the meaning of sounds guides consumers' visual attention" by Klemens M. Knoeferle, Pia Knoeferle, Carlos Velasco and Charles Spence ( Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied , 2016[Jun], Vol 22[2], 196-210). In the article, under Experiment 2, Design and Stimuli, the set number of target products and visual distractors reported in the second paragraph should be 20 and 13, respectively: "On each trial, the 16 products shown in the display were randomly selected from a set of 20 products belonging to different categories. Out of the set of 20 products, seven were potential targets, whereas the other 13 were used as visual distractors only throughout the experiment (since they were not linked to specific usage or consumption sounds)." Consequently, Appendix A in the supplemental materials has been updated. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2016-28876-002.) Building on models of crossmodal attention, the present research proposes that brand search is inherently multisensory, in that the consumers' visual search for a specific brand can be facilitated by semantically related stimuli that are presented in another sensory modality. A series of 5 experiments demonstrates that the presentation of spatially nonpredictive auditory stimuli associated with products (e.g., usage sounds or product-related jingles) can crossmodally facilitate consumers' visual search for, and selection of, products. Eye-tracking data (Experiment 2) revealed that the crossmodal effect of auditory cues on visual search manifested itself not only in RTs, but also in the earliest stages of visual attentional processing, thus suggesting that the semantic information embedded within sounds can modulate the perceptual saliency of the target products' visual representations. Crossmodal facilitation was even observed for newly learnt associations between unfamiliar brands and sonic logos, implicating multisensory short-term learning in establishing audiovisual semantic associations. The facilitation effect was stronger when searching complex rather than simple visual displays, thus suggesting a modulatory role of perceptual load. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Supramodality Effects in Visual and Haptic Spatial Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cattaneo, Zaira; Vecchi, Tomaso

2008-01-01

In this article, the authors investigated unimodal and cross-modal processes in spatial working memory. A number of locations had to be memorized within visual or haptic matrices according to different experimental conditions known to be critical in accounting for the effects of perception on imagery. Results reveal that some characteristics of…

Effects of Language Comprehension on Visual Processing--MEG Dissociates Early Perceptual and Late N400 Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hirschfeld, Gerrit; Zwitserlood, Pienie; Dobel, Christian

2011-01-01

We investigated whether and when information conveyed by spoken language impacts on the processing of visually presented objects. In contrast to traditional views, grounded-cognition posits direct links between language comprehension and perceptual processing. We used a magnetoencephalographic cross-modal priming paradigm to disentangle these…

An Expert Instructor's Use of Social Congruence, Cognitive Congruence, and Expertise in an Online Case-Based Instructional Design Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Sunnie Lee; Koehler, Adrie A.; Ertmer, Peggy; Kim, WooRi; Rico, Rudy

2018-01-01

Promoting and sustaining effective discussion--that which contributes to learning--is a skill that eludes many instructors (Darling-Hammond, 2008; Ge, Yamashiro, & Lee, 2000). This study explored the role and strategies of an expert instructor in an online advanced instructional design (ID) course that utilized a case-based learning (CBL)…

An autonomous surface discontinuity detection and quantification method by digital image correlation and phase congruency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cinar, A. F.; Barhli, S. M.; Hollis, D.; Flansbjer, M.; Tomlinson, R. A.; Marrow, T. J.; Mostafavi, M.

2017-09-01

Digital image correlation has been routinely used to measure full-field displacements in many areas of solid mechanics, including fracture mechanics. Accurate segmentation of the crack path is needed to study its interaction with the microstructure and stress fields, and studies of crack behaviour, such as the effect of closure or residual stress in fatigue, require data on its opening displacement. Such information can be obtained from any digital image correlation analysis of cracked components, but it collection by manual methods is quite onerous, particularly for massive amounts of data. We introduce the novel application of Phase Congruency to detect and quantify cracks and their opening. Unlike other crack detection techniques, Phase Congruency does not rely on adjustable threshold values that require user interaction, and so allows large datasets to be treated autonomously. The accuracy of the Phase Congruency based algorithm in detecting cracks is evaluated and compared with conventional methods such as Heaviside function fitting. As Phase Congruency is a displacement-based method, it does not suffer from the noise intensification to which gradient-based methods (e.g. strain thresholding) are susceptible. Its application is demonstrated to experimental data for cracks in quasi-brittle (Granitic rock) and ductile (Aluminium alloy) materials.

Visuotactile motion congruence enhances gamma-band activity in visual and somatosensory cortices.

PubMed

Krebber, Martin; Harwood, James; Spitzer, Bernhard; Keil, Julian; Senkowski, Daniel

2015-08-15

When touching and viewing a moving surface our visual and somatosensory systems receive congruent spatiotemporal input. Behavioral studies have shown that motion congruence facilitates interplay between visual and tactile stimuli, but the neural mechanisms underlying this interplay are not well understood. Neural oscillations play a role in motion processing and multisensory integration. They may also be crucial for visuotactile motion processing. In this electroencephalography study, we applied linear beamforming to examine the impact of visuotactile motion congruence on beta and gamma band activity (GBA) in visual and somatosensory cortices. Visual and tactile inputs comprised of gratings that moved either in the same or different directions. Participants performed a target detection task that was unrelated to motion congruence. While there were no effects in the beta band (13-21Hz), the power of GBA (50-80Hz) in visual and somatosensory cortices was larger for congruent compared with incongruent motion stimuli. This suggests enhanced bottom-up multisensory processing when visual and tactile gratings moved in the same direction. Supporting its behavioral relevance, GBA was correlated with shorter reaction times in the target detection task. We conclude that motion congruence plays an important role for the integrative processing of visuotactile stimuli in sensory cortices, as reflected by oscillatory responses in the gamma band. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The real you? The role of visual cues and comment congruence in perceptions of social attractiveness from facebook profiles.

PubMed

Hong, Seoyeon; Tandoc, Edson; Kim, Eunjin Anna; Kim, Bokyung; Wise, Kevin

2012-07-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of social cues in self-presentations and the congruence of other-generated comments with the self-presentation in people's evaluations of a profile owner. A 2 (level of social cues: high vs. low) × 2 (congruent vs. incongruent) × 2 (order) × 2 (multiple messages) mixed-subject experiment was conducted with 104 college students. The results showed that a profile owner was perceived less socially attractive when other-generated comments were incongruent with the profile owner's self-presentation. No matter how people package themselves with extravagant self-presentations, it cannot be very successful without validation from others. Interestingly, an interaction effect between congruence and the level of social cues suggested that perceived popularity was low in the incongruent condition regardless of level of social cue. Theoretical and practical implications were also discussed.

Perceptual congruency of audio-visual speech affects ventriloquism with bilateral visual stimuli.

PubMed

Kanaya, Shoko; Yokosawa, Kazuhiko

2011-02-01

Many studies on multisensory processes have focused on performance in simplified experimental situations, with a single stimulus in each sensory modality. However, these results cannot necessarily be applied to explain our perceptual behavior in natural scenes where various signals exist within one sensory modality. We investigated the role of audio-visual syllable congruency on participants' auditory localization bias or the ventriloquism effect using spoken utterances and two videos of a talking face. Salience of facial movements was also manipulated. Results indicated that more salient visual utterances attracted participants' auditory localization. Congruent pairing of audio-visual utterances elicited greater localization bias than incongruent pairing, while previous studies have reported little dependency on the reality of stimuli in ventriloquism. Moreover, audio-visual illusory congruency, owing to the McGurk effect, caused substantial visual interference on auditory localization. Multisensory performance appears more flexible and adaptive in this complex environment than in previous studies.

Liking goes with liking: An intuitive congruence between preference and prominence.

PubMed

Morvinski, Coby; Amir, On

2018-03-26

In a series of 8 experiments, we demonstrate the existence of a "labeling effect" wherein people intuitively relate preferred choices to prominently labeled cues (such as heads as opposed to tails in a coin toss) and vice versa. Importantly, the observed congruence is asymmetric-it does not manifest for nonprominent cues and nonpreferred choices. This is because the congruence is driven by a process of evaluative matching: prominent cues are liked, but nonprominent cues are neutral or at most slightly negative in contrast. When we test prominent, yet truly negatively labeled cues, we indeed find a matching with less liked products. We discuss the theoretical contributions to the study of preferences and decision making, as well as demonstrate the practical implications to researchers and practitioners by using this process to assess intuitive preferences and reduce the compromise effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Sad or fearful? The influence of body posture on adults' and children's perception of facial displays of emotion.

PubMed

Mondloch, Catherine J

2012-02-01

The current research investigated the influence of body posture on adults' and children's perception of facial displays of emotion. In each of two experiments, participants categorized facial expressions that were presented on a body posture that was congruent (e.g., a sad face on a body posing sadness) or incongruent (e.g., a sad face on a body posing fear). Adults and 8-year-olds made more errors and had longer reaction times on incongruent trials than on congruent trials when judging sad versus fearful facial expressions, an effect that was larger in 8-year-olds. The congruency effect was reduced when faces and bodies were misaligned, providing some evidence for holistic processing. Neither adults nor 8-year-olds were affected by congruency when judging sad versus happy expressions. Evidence that congruency effects vary with age and with similarity of emotional expressions is consistent with dimensional theories and "emotional seed" models of emotion perception. 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mood-specific effects in the allocation of attention across time.

PubMed

Rokke, Paul D; Lystad, Chad M

2015-01-01

Participants completed single and dual rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) tasks. Across five experiments, either the mood of the participant or valence of the target was manipulated to create pairings in which the critical target was either mood congruent or mood noncongruent. When the second target (T2) in an RSVP stream was congruent with the participant's mood, performance was enhanced. This was true for happy and sad moods and in single- and dual-task conditions. In contrast, the effects of congruence varied when the focus was on the first target (T1). When in a sad mood and having attended to a sad T1, detection of a neutral T2 was impaired, resulting in a stronger attentional blink (AB). There was no effect of stimulus-mood congruence for T1 when in a happy mood. It was concluded that mood-congruence is important for stimulus detection, but that sadness uniquely influences post-identification processing when attention is first focused on mood-congruent information.

Orientation congruency effects for familiar objects: coordinate transformations in object recognition.

PubMed

Graf, M; Kaping, D; Bülthoff, H H

2005-03-01

How do observers recognize objects after spatial transformations? Recent neurocomputational models have proposed that object recognition is based on coordinate transformations that align memory and stimulus representations. If the recognition of a misoriented object is achieved by adjusting a coordinate system (or reference frame), then recognition should be facilitated when the object is preceded by a different object in the same orientation. In the two experiments reported here, two objects were presented in brief masked displays that were in close temporal contiguity; the objects were in either congruent or incongruent picture-plane orientations. Results showed that naming accuracy was higher for congruent than for incongruent orientations. The congruency effect was independent of superordinate category membership (Experiment 1) and was found for objects with different main axes of elongation (Experiment 2). The results indicate congruency effects for common familiar objects even when they have dissimilar shapes. These findings are compatible with models in which object recognition is achieved by an adjustment of a perceptual coordinate system.

Alertness and cognitive control: Toward a spatial grouping hypothesis.

PubMed

Schneider, Darryl W

2018-05-01

A puzzling interaction involving alertness and cognitive control is indicated by the finding of faster performance but larger congruency effects on alert trials (on which alerting cues are presented before the task stimuli) than on no-alert trials in selective attention tasks. In the present study, the author conducted four experiments to test hypotheses about the interaction. Manipulation of stimulus spacing revealed a difference in congruency effects between alert and no-alert trials for narrowly spaced stimuli but not for widely spaced stimuli, inconsistent with the hypothesis that increased alertness is associated with more diffuse attention. Manipulation of color grouping revealed similar differences in congruency effects between alert and no-alert trials for same-color and different-color groupings of targets and distractors, inconsistent with the general hypothesis that increased alertness is associated with more perceptual grouping. To explain the results, the author proposes that increased alertness is associated specifically with more spatial grouping of stimuli, possibly by modulating the threshold for parsing stimulus displays into distinct objects.

Congruence of Meaning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suppes, Patrick

By looking at the history of geometry and the concept of congruence in geometry we can get a new perspective on how to think about the closeness in meaning of two sentences. As in the analysis of congruence in geometry, a definite and concrete set of proposals about congruence of meaning depends essentially on the kind of theoretical framework…

The interaction between felt touch and tactile consequences of observed actions: an action-based somatosensory congruency paradigm.

PubMed

Deschrijver, Eliane; Wiersema, Jan R; Brass, Marcel

2016-07-01

Action observation leads to a representation of both the motor aspect of an observed action (motor simulation) and its somatosensory consequences (action-based somatosensory simulation) in the observer's brain. In the current electroencephalography-study, we investigated the neuronal interplay of action-based somatosensory simulation and felt touch. We presented index or middle finger tapping movements of a human or a wooden hand, while simultaneously presenting 'tap-like' tactile sensations to either the corresponding or non-corresponding fingertip of the participant. We focused on an early stage of somatosensory processing [P50, N100 and N140 sensory evoked potentials (SEPs)] and on a later stage of higher-order processing (P3-complex). The results revealed an interaction effect of animacy and congruency in the early P50 SEP and an animacy effect in the N100/N140 SEPs. In the P3-complex, we found an interaction effect indicating that the influence of congruency was larger in the human than in the wooden hand. We argue that the P3-complex may reflect higher-order self-other distinction by signaling simulated action-based touch that does not match own tactile information. As such, the action-based somatosensory congruency paradigm might help understand higher-order social processes from a somatosensory point of view. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Is Accessing of Words Affected by Affective Valence Only? A Discrete Emotion View on the Emotional Congruency Effect

PubMed Central

Chen, Xuqian; Liu, Bo; Lin, Shouwen

2016-01-01

This paper advances the discussion on which emotion information affects word accessing. Emotion information, which is formed as a result of repeated experiences, is primary and necessary in learning and representing word meanings. Previous findings suggested that valence (i.e., positive or negative) denoted by words can be automatically activated and plays a role in many significant cognitive processes. However, there has been a lack of discussion about whether discrete emotion information (i.e., happiness, anger, sadness, and fear) is also involved in these processes. According to the hierarchy model, emotions are considered organized within an abstract-to-concrete hierarchy, in which emotion prototypes are organized following affective valence. By controlling different congruencies of emotion relations (i.e., matches or mismatches between valences and prototypes of emotion), the present study showed both an evaluative congruency effect (Experiment 1) and a discrete emotional congruency effect (Experiment 2). These findings indicate that not only affective valences but also discrete emotions can be activated under the present priming lexical decision task. However, the present findings also suggest that discrete emotions might be activated at the later priming stage as compared to valences. The present work provides evidence that information about discrete emotion could be involved in word processing. This might be a result of subjects’ embodied experiences. PMID:27379000

Is Accessing of Words Affected by Affective Valence Only? A Discrete Emotion View on the Emotional Congruency Effect.

PubMed

Chen, Xuqian; Liu, Bo; Lin, Shouwen

2016-01-01

This paper advances the discussion on which emotion information affects word accessing. Emotion information, which is formed as a result of repeated experiences, is primary and necessary in learning and representing word meanings. Previous findings suggested that valence (i.e., positive or negative) denoted by words can be automatically activated and plays a role in many significant cognitive processes. However, there has been a lack of discussion about whether discrete emotion information (i.e., happiness, anger, sadness, and fear) is also involved in these processes. According to the hierarchy model, emotions are considered organized within an abstract-to-concrete hierarchy, in which emotion prototypes are organized following affective valence. By controlling different congruencies of emotion relations (i.e., matches or mismatches between valences and prototypes of emotion), the present study showed both an evaluative congruency effect (Experiment 1) and a discrete emotional congruency effect (Experiment 2). These findings indicate that not only affective valences but also discrete emotions can be activated under the present priming lexical decision task. However, the present findings also suggest that discrete emotions might be activated at the later priming stage as compared to valences. The present work provides evidence that information about discrete emotion could be involved in word processing. This might be a result of subjects' embodied experiences.

The semantic origin of unconscious priming: Behavioral and event-related potential evidence during category congruency priming from strongly and weakly related masked words.

PubMed

Ortells, Juan J; Kiefer, Markus; Castillo, Alejandro; Megías, Montserrat; Morillas, Alejandro

2016-01-01

The mechanisms underlying masked congruency priming, semantic mechanisms such as semantic activation or non-semantic mechanisms, for example response activation, remain a matter of debate. In order to decide between these alternatives, reaction times (RTs) and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in the present study, while participants performed a semantic categorization task on visible word targets that were preceded either 167 ms (Experiment 1) or 34 ms before (Experiment 2) by briefly presented (33 ms) novel (unpracticed) masked prime words. The primes and targets belonged to different categories (unrelated), or they were either strongly or weakly semantically related category co-exemplars. Behavioral (RT) and electrophysiological masked congruency priming effects were significantly greater for strongly related pairs than for weakly related pairs, indicating a semantic origin of effects. Priming in the latter condition was not statistically reliable. Furthermore, priming effects modulated the N400 event-related potential (ERP) component, an electrophysiological index of semantic processing, but not ERPs in the time range of the N200 component, associated with response conflict and visuo-motor response priming. The present results demonstrate that masked congruency priming from novel prime words also depends on semantic processing of the primes and is not exclusively driven by non-semantic mechanisms such as response activation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Axial linear patellar displacement: a new measurement of patellofemoral congruence.

PubMed

Urch, Scott E; Tritle, Benjamin A; Shelbourne, K Donald; Gray, Tinker

2009-05-01

The tools for measuring the congruence angle with digital radiography software can be difficult to use; therefore, the authors sought to develop a new, easy, and reliable method for measuring patellofemoral congruence. The abstract goes here and covers two columns. The abstract goes The linear displacement measurement will correlate well with the congruence angle measurement. here and covers two columns. Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2. On Merchant view radiographs obtained digitally, the authors measured the congruence angle and a new linear displacement measurement on preoperative and postoperative radiographs of 31 patients who suffered unilateral patellar dislocations and 100 uninjured subjects. The linear displacement measurement was obtained by drawing a reference line across the medial and lateral trochlear facets. Perpendicular lines were drawn from the depth of the sulcus through the reference line and from the apex of the posterior tip of the patella through the reference line. The distance between the perpendicular lines was the linear displacement measurement. The measurements were obtained twice at different sittings. The observer was blinded as to the previous measurements to establish reliability. Measurements were compared to determine whether the linear displacement measurement correlated with congruence angle. Intraobserver reliability was above r(2) = .90 for all measurements. In patients with patellar dislocations, the mean congruence angle preoperatively was 33.5 degrees , compared with 12.1 mm for linear displacement (r(2) = .92). The mean congruence angle postoperatively was 11.2 degrees, compared with 4.0 mm for linear displacement (r(2) = .89). For normal subjects, the mean congruence angle was -3 degrees and the mean linear displacement was 0.2 mm. The linear displacement measurement was found to correlate with congruence angle measurements and may be an easy and useful tool for clinicians to evaluate patellofemoral congruence objectively.

Is cross-modal integration of emotional expressions independent of attentional resources?

PubMed

Vroomen, J; Driver, J; de Gelder, B

2001-12-01

In this study, we examined whether integration of visual and auditory information about emotions requires limited attentional resources. Subjects judged whether a voice expressed happiness or fear, while trying to ignore a concurrently presented static facial expression. As an additional task, the subjects had to add two numbers together rapidly (Experiment 1), count the occurrences of a target digit in a rapid serial visual presentation (Experiment 2), or judge the pitch of a tone as high or low (Experiment 3). The visible face had an impact on judgments of the emotion of the heard voice in all the experiments. This cross-modal effect was independent of whether or not the subjects performed a demanding additional task. This suggests that integration of visual and auditory information about emotions may be a mandatory process, unconstrained by attentional resources.

Cross-modal associations in synaesthesia: Vowel colours in the ear of the beholder

PubMed Central

Moos, Anja; Smith, Rachel; Miller, Sam R.; Simmons, David R.

2014-01-01

Human speech conveys many forms of information, but for some exceptional individuals (synaesthetes), listening to speech sounds can automatically induce visual percepts such as colours. In this experiment, grapheme–colour synaesthetes and controls were asked to assign colours, or shades of grey, to different vowel sounds. We then investigated whether the acoustic content of these vowel sounds influenced participants' colour and grey-shade choices. We found that both colour and grey-shade associations varied systematically with vowel changes. The colour effect was significant for both participant groups, but significantly stronger and more consistent for synaesthetes. Because not all vowel sounds that we used are “translatable” into graphemes, we conclude that acoustic–phonetic influences co-exist with established graphemic influences in the cross-modal correspondences of both synaesthetes and non-synaesthetes. PMID:25469218

Patient and caregiver congruence: the importance of dyads in heart failure care.

PubMed

Retrum, Jessica H; Nowels, Carolyn T; Bekelman, David B

2013-01-01

Informal (family) caregivers are integrally involved in chronic heart failure (HF) care. Few studies have examined HF patients and their informal caregiver as a unit in a relationship, or a dyad. Dyad congruence, or consistency in perspective, is relevant to numerous aspects of living with HF and HF care. Incongruence or lack of communication could impair disease management and advance care planning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine for congruence and incongruence between HF patients and their informal (family) caregivers. Secondary analyses examined the relationship of congruence to emotional distress and whether dyad relationship characteristics (eg, parent-child vs spouse) were associated with congruence. Thirty-four interviews consisting of HF patients and their current informal caregiver (N = 17 dyads) were conducted. Each dyad member was asked similar questions about managing HF symptoms, psychosocial care, and planning for the future. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the general inductive approach. Congruence, incongruence, and lack of communication between patients and caregivers were identified in areas such as managing illness, perceived care needs, perspectives about the future of HF, and end-of-life issues. Seven dyads were generally congruent, 4 were incongruent, and 6 demonstrated a combination of congruence and incongruence. Much of the tension and distress among dyads related to conflicting views about how emotions should be dealt with or expressed. Dyad relationship (parent-child vs spouse) was not clearly associated with congruence, although the relationship did appear to be related to perceived caregiving roles. Several areas of HF clinical and research relevance, including self-care, advance care planning, and communication, were affected by congruence. Further research is needed to define how congruence is related to other relationship characteristics, such as relationship quality, how congruence can best be measured quantitatively, and to what degree modifying congruence will lead to improved HF patient and caregiver outcomes.

Reactive recruitment of attentional control in math anxiety: an ERP study of numeric conflict monitoring and adaptation.

PubMed

Suárez-Pellicioni, Macarena; Núñez-Peña, María Isabel; Colomé, Àngels

2014-01-01

This study uses event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to investigate the electrophysiological correlates of numeric conflict monitoring in math-anxious individuals, by analyzing whether math anxiety is related to abnormal processing in early conflict detection (as shown by the N450 component) and/or in a later, response-related stage of processing (as shown by the conflict sustained potential; Conflict-SP). Conflict adaptation effects were also studied by analyzing the effect of the previous trial's congruence in current interference. To this end, 17 low math-anxious (LMA) and 17 high math-anxious (HMA) individuals were presented with a numerical Stroop task. Groups were extreme in math anxiety but did not differ in trait or state anxiety or in simple math ability. The interference effect of the current trial (incongruent-congruent) and the interference effect preceded by congruence and by incongruity were analyzed both for behavioral measures and for ERPs. A greater interference effect was found for response times in the HMA group than in the LMA one. Regarding ERPs, the LMA group showed a greater N450 component for the interference effect preceded by congruence than when preceded by incongruity, while the HMA group showed greater Conflict-SP amplitude for the interference effect preceded by congruence than when preceded by incongruity. Our study showed that the electrophysiological correlates of numeric interference in HMA individuals comprise the absence of a conflict adaptation effect in the first stage of conflict processing (N450) and an abnormal subsequent up-regulation of cognitive control in order to overcome the conflict (Conflict-SP). More concretely, our study shows that math anxiety is related to a reactive and compensatory recruitment of control resources that is implemented only when previously exposed to a stimuli presenting conflicting information.

Reactive Recruitment of Attentional Control in Math Anxiety: An ERP Study of Numeric Conflict Monitoring and Adaptation

PubMed Central

Suárez-Pellicioni, Macarena; Núñez-Peña, María Isabel; Colomé, Àngels

2014-01-01

This study uses event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to investigate the electrophysiological correlates of numeric conflict monitoring in math-anxious individuals, by analyzing whether math anxiety is related to abnormal processing in early conflict detection (as shown by the N450 component) and/or in a later, response-related stage of processing (as shown by the conflict sustained potential; Conflict-SP). Conflict adaptation effects were also studied by analyzing the effect of the previous trial’s congruence in current interference. To this end, 17 low math-anxious (LMA) and 17 high math-anxious (HMA) individuals were presented with a numerical Stroop task. Groups were extreme in math anxiety but did not differ in trait or state anxiety or in simple math ability. The interference effect of the current trial (incongruent-congruent) and the interference effect preceded by congruence and by incongruity were analyzed both for behavioral measures and for ERPs. A greater interference effect was found for response times in the HMA group than in the LMA one. Regarding ERPs, the LMA group showed a greater N450 component for the interference effect preceded by congruence than when preceded by incongruity, while the HMA group showed greater Conflict-SP amplitude for the interference effect preceded by congruence than when preceded by incongruity. Our study showed that the electrophysiological correlates of numeric interference in HMA individuals comprise the absence of a conflict adaptation effect in the first stage of conflict processing (N450) and an abnormal subsequent up-regulation of cognitive control in order to overcome the conflict (Conflict-SP). More concretely, our study shows that math anxiety is related to a reactive and compensatory recruitment of control resources that is implemented only when previously exposed to a stimuli presenting conflicting information. PMID:24918584

Improving visual spatial working memory in younger and older adults: effects of cross-modal cues.

PubMed

Curtis, Ashley F; Turner, Gary R; Park, Norman W; Murtha, Susan J E

2017-11-06

Spatially informative auditory and vibrotactile (cross-modal) cues can facilitate attention but little is known about how similar cues influence visual spatial working memory (WM) across the adult lifespan. We investigated the effects of cues (spatially informative or alerting pre-cues vs. no cues), cue modality (auditory vs. vibrotactile vs. visual), memory array size (four vs. six items), and maintenance delay (900 vs. 1800 ms) on visual spatial location WM recognition accuracy in younger adults (YA) and older adults (OA). We observed a significant interaction between spatially informative pre-cue type, array size, and delay. OA and YA benefitted equally from spatially informative pre-cues, suggesting that attentional orienting prior to WM encoding, regardless of cue modality, is preserved with age.  Contrary to predictions, alerting pre-cues generally impaired performance in both age groups, suggesting that maintaining a vigilant state of arousal by facilitating the alerting attention system does not help visual spatial location WM.

Can contingency learning alone account for item-specific control? Evidence from within- and between-language ISPC effects.

PubMed

Atalay, Nart Bedin; Misirlisoy, Mine

2012-11-01

The item-specific proportion congruence (ISPC) manipulation (Jacoby, Lindsay, & Hessels, 2003) produces larger Stroop interference for mostly congruent items than mostly incongruent items. This effect has been attributed to dynamic control over word-reading processes. However, proportion congruence of an item in the ISPC manipulation is completely confounded with response contingency, suggesting the alternative hypothesis, that the ISPC effect is a result of learning response contingencies (Schmidt & Besner, 2008). The current study asks whether the ISPC effect can be explained by a pure stimulus-response contingency-learning account, or whether other control processes play a role as well, by comparing within- and between-language conditions in a bilingual task. Experiment 1 showed that contingency learning for noncolor words was larger for the within-language than the between-language condition. Experiment 2 revealed significant ISPC effects for both within- and between-language conditions; importantly, the effect was larger in the former. The results of the contingency analyses for Experiment 2 were parallel to that of Experiment 1 and did not show an interaction between contingency and congruency. Put together, these sets of results support the view that contingency-learning processes dominate color-word ISPC effects.

Preserved Discrimination Performance and Neural Processing during Crossmodal Attention in Aging

PubMed Central

Mishra, Jyoti; Gazzaley, Adam

2013-01-01

In a recent study in younger adults (19-29 year olds) we showed evidence that distributed audiovisual attention resulted in improved discrimination performance for audiovisual stimuli compared to focused visual attention. Here, we extend our findings to healthy older adults (60-90 year olds), showing that performance benefits of distributed audiovisual attention in this population match those of younger adults. Specifically, improved performance was revealed in faster response times for semantically congruent audiovisual stimuli during distributed relative to focused visual attention, without any differences in accuracy. For semantically incongruent stimuli, discrimination accuracy was significantly improved during distributed relative to focused attention. Furthermore, event-related neural processing showed intact crossmodal integration in higher performing older adults similar to younger adults. Thus, there was insufficient evidence to support an age-related deficit in crossmodal attention. PMID:24278464

Leadership and satisfaction in tennis: examination of congruence, gender, and ability.

PubMed

Riemer, H A; Toon, K

2001-09-01

The study investigated: (a) the congruency hypothesis, and (b) the member characteristics hypotheses relating to ability and gender, of Chelladurai's (1978) Multidimensional Model of Leadership. One hundred forty-eight tennis players (77 women) competing at the NCAA Division I and II Tennis Championship level participated in the study. Results indicated athlete satisfaction (Athlete Satisfaction Scale; Riemer & Chelladurai, 1998) was not dependent on the congruence between preferred and perceived leadership behavior. Other results indicated that an athlete's level of ability did affect preferences for leadership behavior. Further, while athlete gender was responsible for some variance in preferences for autocratic behavior and positive feedback behavior, the gender of the athlete's coach had a significant effect on the athlete's preferences for social support behavior.

Response latencies are alive and well for identifying fakers on a self-report personality inventory: A reconsideration of van Hooft and Born (2012).

PubMed

Holden, Ronald R; Lambert, Christine E

2015-12-01

Van Hooft and Born (Journal of Applied Psychology 97:301-316, 2012) presented data challenging both the correctness of a congruence model of faking on personality test items and the relative merit (i.e., effect size) of response latencies for identifying fakers. We suggest that their analysis of response times was suboptimal, and that it followed neither from a congruence model of faking nor from published protocols on appropriately filtering the noise in personality test item answering times. Using new data and following recommended analytic procedures, we confirmed the relative utility of response times for identifying personality test fakers, and our obtained results, again, reinforce a congruence model of faking.

Further Insight and Additional Inference Methods for Polynomial Regression Applied to the Analysis of Congruence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Ayala; Nahum-Shani, Inbal; Doveh, Etti

2010-01-01

In their seminal paper, Edwards and Parry (1993) presented the polynomial regression as a better alternative to applying difference score in the study of congruence. Although this method is increasingly applied in congruence research, its complexity relative to other methods for assessing congruence (e.g., difference score methods) was one of the…

Cross-modality PET/CT and contrast-enhanced CT imaging for pancreatic cancer

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jian; Zuo, Chang-Jing; Jia, Ning-Yang; Wang, Jian-Hua; Hu, Sheng-Ping; Yu, Zhong-Fei; Zheng, Yuan; Zhang, An-Yu; Feng, Xiao-Yuan

2015-01-01

AIM: To explore the diagnostic value of the cross-modality fusion images provided by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) for pancreatic cancer (PC). METHODS: Data from 70 patients with pancreatic lesions who underwent CECT and PET/CT examinations at our hospital from August 2010 to October 2012 were analyzed. PET/CECT for the cross-modality image fusion was obtained using TureD software. The diagnostic efficiencies of PET/CT, CECT and PET/CECT were calculated and compared with each other using a χ2 test. P < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. RESULTS: Of the total 70 patients, 50 had PC and 20 had benign lesions. The differences in the sensitivity, negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy between CECT and PET/CECT in detecting PC were statistically significant (P < 0.05 for each). In 15 of the 31 patients with PC who underwent a surgical operation, peripancreatic vessel invasion was verified. The differences in the sensitivity, positive predictive value, NPV, and accuracy of CECT vs PET/CT and PET/CECT vs PET/CT in diagnosing peripancreatic vessel invasion were statistically significant (P < 0.05 for each). In 19 of the 31 patients with PC who underwent a surgical operation, regional lymph node metastasis was verified by postsurgical histology. There was no statistically significant difference among the three methods in detecting regional lymph node metastasis (P > 0.05 for each). In 17 of the 50 patients with PC confirmed by histology or clinical follow-up, distant metastasis was confirmed. The differences in the sensitivity and NPV between CECT and PET/CECT in detecting distant metastasis were statistically significant (P < 0.05 for each). CONCLUSION: Cross-modality image fusion of PET/CT and CECT is a convenient and effective method that can be used to diagnose and stage PC, compensating for the defects of PET/CT and CECT when they are conducted individually. PMID:25780297

Why does selective attention to parts fail in face processing?

PubMed

Richler, Jennifer J; Tanaka, James W; Brown, Danielle D; Gauthier, Isabel

2008-11-01

One hallmark of holistic face processing is an inability to selectively attend to 1 face part while ignoring information in another part. In 3 sequential matching experiments, the authors tested perceptual and decisional accounts of holistic processing by measuring congruency effects between cued and uncued composite face halves shown in spatially aligned or disjointed configurations. The authors found congruency effects when the top and bottom halves of the study face were spatially aligned, misaligned (Experiment 1), or adjacent to one another (Experiment 2). However, at test, congruency effects were reduced by misalignment and abolished for adjacent configurations. This suggests that manipulations at test are more influential than manipulations at study, consistent with a decisional account of holistic processing. When encoding demands for study and test faces were equated (Experiment 3), the authors observed effects of study configuration suggesting that, consistent with a perceptual explanation, encoding does influence the magnitude of holistic processing. Together, these results cannot be accounted for by current perceptual or decisional accounts of holistic processing and suggest the existence of an attention-dependent mechanism that can integrate spatially separated face parts.

Categorization difficulty modulates the mediated route for response selection in task switching.

PubMed

Schneider, Darryl W

2017-12-22

Conflict during response selection in task switching is indicated by the response congruency effect: worse performance for incongruent targets (requiring different responses across tasks) than for congruent targets (requiring the same response). The effect can be explained by dual-task processing in a mediated route for response selection, whereby targets are categorized with respect to both tasks. In the present study, the author tested predictions for the modulation of response congruency effects by categorization difficulty derived from a relative-speed-of-processing hypothesis. Categorization difficulty was manipulated for the relevant and irrelevant task dimensions in a novel spatial task-switching paradigm that involved judging the locations of target dots in a grid, without repetition of dot configurations. Response congruency effects were observed and they varied systematically with categorization difficulty (e.g., being larger when irrelevant categorization was easy than when it was hard). These results are consistent with the relative-speed-of-processing hypothesis and suggest that task-switching models that implement variations of the mediated route for response selection need to address the time course of categorization.

Work values and their association with burnout/work engagement among nurses in long-term care hospitals.

PubMed

Saito, Yumiko; Igarashi, Ayumi; Noguchi-Watanabe, Maiko; Takai, Yukari; Yamamoto-Mitani, Noriko

2018-05-01

To examine burnout and work engagement among nurses in Japanese long-term care hospitals and their relation to nurses' and organisational work values, and nurse-organisation congruence of such values. Nursing managers must help improve nurses' well-being; however, no research has considered strategies to improve staff outcomes in long-term care hospitals. We propose that individual nurse's work values and the congruence of these values with those of their organisations may influence burnout and work engagement. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of nurses in long-term care hospitals. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the effects of nurses' work values and nurse-organisation congruence in these values on burnout and work engagement. Higher individual intrinsic and altruistic work values were associated with improvements in nurses' burnout and work engagement. Nurse-organisation non-congruence in altruistic values was associated with lower work engagement, whereas that of intrinsic work values was not associated with either outcome variable. Promoting intrinsic and altruistic work values among nurses could be effective for improving both burnout and work engagement. Opportunities such as case conferences could foster intrinsic and altruistic work values through the review of good care practices and communication between managers/colleagues about feelings and thoughts. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cortical reorganization in postlingually deaf cochlear implant users: Intra-modal and cross-modal considerations.

PubMed

Stropahl, Maren; Chen, Ling-Chia; Debener, Stefan

2017-01-01

With the advances of cochlear implant (CI) technology, many deaf individuals can partially regain their hearing ability. However, there is a large variation in the level of recovery. Cortical changes induced by hearing deprivation and restoration with CIs have been thought to contribute to this variation. The current review aims to identify these cortical changes in postlingually deaf CI users and discusses their maladaptive or adaptive relationship to the CI outcome. Overall, intra-modal and cross-modal reorganization patterns have been identified in postlingually deaf CI users in visual and in auditory cortex. Even though cross-modal activation in auditory cortex is considered as maladaptive for speech recovery in CI users, a similar activation relates positively to lip reading skills. Furthermore, cross-modal activation of the visual cortex seems to be adaptive for speech recognition. Currently available evidence points to an involvement of further brain areas and suggests that a focus on the reversal of visual take-over of the auditory cortex may be too limited. Future investigations should consider expanded cortical as well as multi-sensory processing and capture different hierarchical processing steps. Furthermore, prospective longitudinal designs are needed to track the dynamics of cortical plasticity that takes place before and after implantation. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Time-Course of Auditory and Visual Distraction Effects in a New Crossmodal Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bendixen, Alexandra; Grimm, Sabine; Deouell, Leon Y.; Wetzel, Nicole; Madebach, Andreas; Schroger, Erich

2010-01-01

Vision often dominates audition when attentive processes are involved (e.g., the ventriloquist effect), yet little is known about the relative potential of the two modalities to initiate a "break through of the unattended". The present study was designed to systematically compare the capacity of task-irrelevant auditory and visual events to…

The Effects of Cross-Modality and Level of Self-Regulated Learning on Knowledge Acquisition with Smartpads

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Hye Yeon; Lee, Hyeon Woo

2018-01-01

Recently, there has been a transition from traditional paper or computer-based learning environments to smartpad-based learning environments, which are based on touch and involve various cognitive strategies such as touch operation and note taking. Accordingly, the use of smartpads can provide an effective learning environment through…

ERP Evidence of Early Cross-Modal Links between Auditory Selective Attention and Visuo-Spatial Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bomba, Marie D.; Singhal, Anthony

2010-01-01

Previous dual-task research pairing complex visual tasks involving non-spatial cognitive processes during dichotic listening have shown effects on the late component (Ndl) of the negative difference selective attention waveform but no effects on the early (Nde) response suggesting that the Ndl, but not the Nde, is affected by non-spatial…

Cross-modal cueing effects of visuospatial attention on conscious somatosensory perception.

PubMed

Doruk, Deniz; Chanes, Lorena; Malavera, Alejandra; Merabet, Lotfi B; Valero-Cabré, Antoni; Fregni, Felipe

2018-04-01

The impact of visuospatial attention on perception with supraliminal stimuli and stimuli at the threshold of conscious perception has been previously investigated. In this study, we assess the cross-modal effects of visuospatial attention on conscious perception for near-threshold somatosensory stimuli applied to the face. Fifteen healthy participants completed two sessions of a near-threshold cross-modality cue-target discrimination/conscious detection paradigm. Each trial began with an endogenous visuospatial cue that predicted the location of a weak near-threshold electrical pulse delivered to the right or left cheek with high probability (∼75%). Participants then completed two tasks: first, a forced-choice somatosensory discrimination task (felt once or twice?) and then, a somatosensory conscious detection task (did you feel the stimulus and, if yes, where (left/right)?). Somatosensory discrimination was evaluated with the response reaction times of correctly detected targets, whereas the somatosensory conscious detection was quantified using perceptual sensitivity (d') and response bias (beta). A 2 × 2 repeated measures ANOVA was used for statistical analysis. In the somatosensory discrimination task (1 st task), participants were significantly faster in responding to correctly detected targets (p < 0.001). In the somatosensory conscious detection task (2 nd task), a significant effect of visuospatial attention on response bias (p = 0.008) was observed, suggesting that participants had a less strict criterion for stimuli preceded by spatially valid than invalid visuospatial cues. We showed that spatial attention has the potential to modulate the discrimination and the conscious detection of near-threshold somatosensory stimuli as measured, respectively, by a reduction of reaction times and a shift in response bias toward less conservative responses when the cue predicted stimulus location. A shift in response bias indicates possible effects of spatial attention on internal decision processes. The lack of significant results in perceptual sensitivity (d') could be due to weaker effects of endogenous attention on perception.

An overture to overeating: The cross-modal effects of acoustic pitch on food preferences and serving behavior.

PubMed

Lowe, Michael; Ringler, Christine; Haws, Kelly

2018-04-01

Billions of dollars are spent annually with the aim of enticing consumers to purchase food. Yet despite the prevalence of such advertising, little is known about how the actual sensation of this advertising media affects consumer behavior, including consequential choices regarding food. This paper explores the effect of acoustic pitch in food advertising, demonstrating in two studies, including a field study in a live retail environment, how the perception of pitch in advertising can impact food desirability and decisions regarding serving size. In study 1, a field study, pitch affects actual serving sizes and purchase behavior in a live, self-serve retail setting, with low pitch leading to larger serving sizes. Study 2 demonstrates how low pitch increases desire for a food product among hungry consumers, and that this effect is mediated by perceptions of size and how filling consumers believe the product will be. We discuss these results in the context of cross-modal correspondence and mental imagery. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A sound and efficient measure of joint congruence.

PubMed

Conconi, Michele; Castelli, Vincenzo Parenti

2014-09-01

In the medical world, the term "congruence" is used to describe by visual inspection how the articular surfaces mate each other, evaluating the joint capability to distribute an applied load from a purely geometrical perspective. Congruence is commonly employed for assessing articular physiology and for the comparison between normal and pathological states. A measure of it would thus represent a valuable clinical tool. Several approaches for the quantification of joint congruence have been proposed in the biomechanical literature, differing on how the articular contact is modeled. This makes it difficult to compare different measures. In particular, in previous articles a congruence measure has been presented which proved to be efficient and suitable for the clinical practice, but it was still empirically defined. This article aims at providing a sound theoretical support to this congruence measure by means of the Winkler elastic foundation contact model which, with respect to others, has the advantage to hold also for highly conforming surfaces as most of the human articulations are. First, the geometrical relation between the applied load and the resulting peak of pressure is analytically derived from the elastic foundation contact model, providing a theoretically sound approach to the definition of a congruence measure. Then, the capability of congruence measure to capture the same geometrical relation is shown. Finally, the reliability of congruence measure is discussed. © IMechE 2014.

Effects of arousal on cognitive control: empirical tests of the conflict-modulated Hebbian-learning hypothesis.

PubMed

Brown, Stephen B R E; van Steenbergen, Henk; Kedar, Tomer; Nieuwenhuis, Sander

2014-01-01

An increasing number of empirical phenomena that were previously interpreted as a result of cognitive control, turn out to reflect (in part) simple associative-learning effects. A prime example is the proportion congruency effect, the finding that interference effects (such as the Stroop effect) decrease as the proportion of incongruent stimuli increases. While this was previously regarded as strong evidence for a global conflict monitoring-cognitive control loop, recent evidence has shown that the proportion congruency effect is largely item-specific and hence must be due to associative learning. The goal of our research was to test a recent hypothesis about the mechanism underlying such associative-learning effects, the conflict-modulated Hebbian-learning hypothesis, which proposes that the effect of conflict on associative learning is mediated by phasic arousal responses. In Experiment 1, we examined in detail the relationship between the item-specific proportion congruency effect and an autonomic measure of phasic arousal: task-evoked pupillary responses. In Experiment 2, we used a task-irrelevant phasic arousal manipulation and examined the effect on item-specific learning of incongruent stimulus-response associations. The results provide little evidence for the conflict-modulated Hebbian-learning hypothesis, which requires additional empirical support to remain tenable.

The association between patient-therapist MATRIX congruence and treatment outcome.

PubMed

Mendlovic, Shlomo; Saad, Amit; Roll, Uri; Ben Yehuda, Ariel; Tuval-Mashiah, Rivka; Atzil-Slonim, Dana

2018-03-14

The present study aimed to examine the association between patient-therapist micro-level congruence/incongruence ratio and psychotherapeutic outcome. Nine good- and nine poor-outcome psychodynamic treatments (segregated by comparing pre- and post-treatment BDI-II) were analyzed (N = 18) moment by moment using the MATRIX (total number of MATRIX codes analyzed = 11,125). MATRIX congruence was defined as similar adjacent MATRIX codes. the congruence/incongruence ratio tended to increase as the treatment progressed only in good-outcome treatments. Progression of MATRIX codes' congruence/incongruence ratio is associated with good outcome of psychotherapy.

Regret about surgical decisions among early-stage breast cancer patients: Effects of the congruence between patients' preferred and actual decision-making roles.

PubMed

Wang, Ashley Wei-Ting; Chang, Su-Mei; Chang, Cheng-Shyong; Chen, Shou-Tung; Chen, Dar-Ren; Fan, Fang; Antoni, Michael H; Hsu, Wen-Yau

2018-02-01

Early-stage breast cancer patients generally receive either a mastectomy or a lumpectomy, either by their own choice or that of their surgeon. Sometimes, there is regret about the decision afterward. To better understand regret about surgical decisions, this study examined 2 possibilities: The first is that women who take a dominant or collaborative role in decision making about the surgery express less regret afterward. The second is that congruence between preferred role and actual role predicts less regret. We also explored whether disease stage moderates the relationship between role congruence and decisional regret. In a cross-sectional design, 154 women diagnosed with breast cancer completed a survey assessing decisional role preference and actual decisional role, a measure of post-decision regret, and a measure of disturbances related to breast cancer treatment. Hierarchical regression was used to investigate prediction of decisional regret. Role congruence, not actual decisional role, was significantly associated with less decisional regret, independent of all the control variables. The interaction between disease stage and role congruence was also significant, showing that mismatch relates to regret only in women with more advanced disease. Our findings suggest that cancer patients could benefit from tailored decision support concerning their decisional role preferences in the complex scenario of medical and personal factors during the surgical decision. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Are Tutor Behaviors in Problem-Based Learning Stable? A Generalizability Study of Social Congruence, Expertise and Cognitive Congruence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Judith C.; Alwis, W. A. M.; Rotgans, Jerome I.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of three distinct tutor behaviors (1) use of subject-matter expertise, (2) social congruence and (3) cognitive congruence, in a problem-based learning (PBL) environment. The data comprised the input from 16,047 different students to a survey of 762 tutors administered in three consecutive…

When music is salty: The crossmodal associations between sound and taste.

PubMed

Guetta, Rachel; Loui, Psyche

2017-01-01

Here we investigate associations between complex auditory and complex taste stimuli. A novel piece of music was composed and recorded in four different styles of musical articulation to reflect the four basic tastes groups (sweet, sour, salty, bitter). In Experiment 1, participants performed above chance at pairing the music clips with corresponding taste words. Experiment 2 uses multidimensional scaling to interpret how participants categorize these musical stimuli, and to show that auditory categories can be organized in a similar manner as taste categories. Experiment 3 introduces four different flavors of custom-made chocolate ganache and shows that participants can match music clips with the corresponding taste stimuli with above-chance accuracy. Experiment 4 demonstrates the partial role of pleasantness in crossmodal mappings between sound and taste. The present findings confirm that individuals are able to make crossmodal associations between complex auditory and gustatory stimuli, and that valence may mediate multisensory integration in the general population.

Attenuation of the contingency detection effect in the extrastriate body area in autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Okamoto, Yuko; Kitada, Ryo; Tanabe, Hiroki C; Hayashi, Masamichi J; Kochiyama, Takanori; Munesue, Toshio; Ishitobi, Makoto; Saito, Daisuke N; Yanaka, Hisakazu T; Omori, Masao; Wada, Yuji; Okazawa, Hidehiko; Sasaki, Akihiro T; Morita, Tomoyo; Itakura, Shoji; Kosaka, Hirotaka; Sadato, Norihiro

2014-10-01

Detection of the contingency between one's own behavior and consequent social events is important for normal social development, and impaired contingency detection may be a cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To depict the neural underpinnings of this contingency effect, 19 adults with ASD and 22 control participants underwent functional MRI while imitating another's actions and their actions being imitated by the other. As the extrastriate body area (EBA) receives efference copies of one's own movements, we predicted that the EBA would show an atypical response during contingency detection in ASD. We manipulated two factors: the congruency of the executed and observed actions, and the order of action execution and observation. Both groups showed the congruency effect in the bilateral EBA during imitation. When action preceded observation, the left EBA of the control group showed the congruency effect, representing the response to being imitated, indicating contingency detection. The ASD group showed a reduced contingency effect in the left EBA. These results indicate that the function of the EBA in the contingency detection is altered in ASD. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

Latino Students' Transition to Middle School: Role of Bilingual Education and School Ethnic Context.

PubMed

Hughes, Jan N; Im, MyungHee; Kwok, Oi-Man; Cham, Heining; West, Stephen G

2015-09-01

Participants were 204 academically at-risk Latino students recruited into a study when in first grade and followed for 9 years. Using piecewise latent growth curve analyses, we investigated trajectories of teacher-rated behavioral engagement and student-reported school belonging during elementary school and middle school and the association between trajectories and enrollment in bilingual education classes in elementary school and a change in school ethnic congruence across the transition to middle school. Overall, students experienced a drop in school belonging and behavioral engagement across the transition. A moderating effect of ethnic congruence on bilingual enrollment was found. A decline in ethnic congruence was associated with more positive trajectories for students previously enrolled in bilingual classes but more negative trajectories for non-bilingual students.

Latino Students' Transition to Middle School: Role of Bilingual Education and School Ethnic Context

PubMed Central

Hughes, Jan N.; Im, MyungHee; Kwok, Oi-man; Cham, Heining; West, Stephen G.

2014-01-01

Participants were 204 academically at-risk Latino students recruited into a study when in first grade and followed for 9 years. Using piecewise latent growth curve analyses, we investigated trajectories of teacher-rated behavioral engagement and student-reported school belonging during elementary school and middle school and the association between trajectories and enrollment in bilingual education classes in elementary school and a change in school ethnic congruence across the transition to middle school. Overall, students experienced a drop in school belonging and behavioral engagement across the transition. A moderating effect of ethnic congruence on bilingual enrollment was found. A decline in ethnic congruence was associated with more positive trajectories for students previously enrolled in bilingual classes but more negative trajectories for non-bilingual students. PMID:26347591

Learning Across Senses: Cross-Modal Effects in Multisensory Statistical Learning

PubMed Central

Mitchel, Aaron D.; Weiss, Daniel J.

2014-01-01

It is currently unknown whether statistical learning is supported by modality-general or modality-specific mechanisms. One issue within this debate concerns the independence of learning in one modality from learning in other modalities. In the present study, the authors examined the extent to which statistical learning across modalities is independent by simultaneously presenting learners with auditory and visual streams. After establishing baseline rates of learning for each stream independently, they systematically varied the amount of audiovisual correspondence across 3 experiments. They found that learners were able to segment both streams successfully only when the boundaries of the audio and visual triplets were in alignment. This pattern of results suggests that learners are able to extract multiple statistical regularities across modalities provided that there is some degree of cross-modal coherence. They discuss the implications of their results in light of recent claims that multisensory statistical learning is guided by modality-independent mechanisms. PMID:21574745

Morphological Decomposition and Semantic Integration in Word Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meunier, Fanny; Longtin, Catherine-Marie

2007-01-01

In the present study, we looked at cross-modal priming effects produced by auditory presentation of morphologically complex pseudowords in order to investigate semantic integration during the processing of French morphologically complex items. In Experiment 1, we used as primes pseudowords consisting of a non-interpretable combination of roots and…

Deconstructing the McGurk-MacDonald Illusion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soto-Faraco, Salvador; Alsius, Agnes

2009-01-01

Cross-modal illusions such as the McGurk-MacDonald effect have been used to illustrate the automatic, encapsulated nature of multisensory integration. This characterization is based in the widespread assumption that the illusory percept arising from intersensory conflict reflects only the end-product of the multisensory integration process, with…

Computer Aided Training of Cognitive Processing Strategies with Developmentally Handicapped Adults.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryba, Kenneth A.; And Others

1985-01-01

Correlational results involving 60 developmentally handicaped adults indicated that a computerized cross-modal memory game had a highly significant relationship with most cognitive and motor coordination measures. Computer aided training was not effective in improving overall cognitive functioning. There was no evidence of cognitive skills being…

Thumb carpometacarpal joint congruence during functional tasks and thumb range-of-motion activities

PubMed Central

Halilaj, Eni; Moore, Douglas C; Patel, Tarpit K; Laidlaw, David H; Ladd, Amy L; Weiss, Arnold-Peter C; Crisco, Joseph J

2017-01-01

Joint incongruity is often cited as a possible etiological factor for the high incidence of thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint osteoarthritis (OA) in older women. There is evidence suggesting that biomechanics plays a role in CMC OA progression, but little is known about how CMC joint congruence, specifically, differs among different cohorts. The purpose of this in vivo study was to determine if CMC joint congruence differs with sex, age, and early stage OA for different thumb positions. Using CT data from 155 subjects and a congruence metric that is based on both articular morphology and joint posture, we did not find any differences in CMC joint congruence with sex or age group, but found that patients in the early stages of OA exhibit lower congruence than healthy subjects of the same age group. PMID:25570956

Thumb carpometacarpal joint congruence during functional tasks and thumb range-of-motion activities.

PubMed

Halilaj, Eni; Moore, Douglas C; Patel, Tarpit K; Laidlaw, David H; Ladd, Amy L; Weiss, Arnold-Peter C; Crisco, Joseph J

2014-01-01

Joint incongruity is often cited as a possible etiological factor for the high incidence of thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint osteoarthritis (OA) in older women. There is evidence suggesting that biomechanics plays a role in CMC OA progression, but little is known about how CMC joint congruence, specifically, differs among different cohorts. The purpose of this in vivo study was to determine if CMC joint congruence differs with sex, age, and early stage OA for different thumb positions. Using CT data from 155 subjects and a congruence metric that is based on both articular morphology and joint posture, we did not find any differences in CMC joint congruence with sex or age group, but found that patients in the early stages of OA exhibit lower congruence than healthy subjects of the same age group.

Methodological review: measured and reported congruence between preferred and actual place of death.

PubMed

Bell, C L; Somogyi-Zalud, E; Masaki, K H

2009-09-01

Congruence between preferred and actual place of death is an important palliative care outcome reported in the literature. We examined methods of measuring and reporting congruence to highlight variations impairing cross-study comparisons. Medline, PsychInfo, CINAHL, and Web of Science were systematically searched for clinical research studies examining patient preference and congruence as an outcome. Data were extracted into a matrix, including purpose, reported congruence, and method for eliciting preference. Studies were graded for quality. Using tables of preferred versus actual places of death, an overall congruence (total met preferences out of total preferences) and a kappa statistic of agreement were determined for each study. Twelve studies were identified. Percentage of congruence was reported using four different definitions. Ten studies provided a table or partial table of preferred versus actual deaths for each place. Three studies provided kappa statistics. No study achieved better than moderate agreement when analysed using kappa statistics. A study which elicited ideal preference reported the lowest agreement, while longitudinal studies reporting final preferred place of death yielded the highest agreement (moderate agreement). Two other studies of select populations also yielded moderate agreement. There is marked variation in methods of eliciting and reporting congruence, even among studies focused on congruence as an outcome. Cross-study comparison would be enhanced by the use of similar questions to elicit preference, tables of preferred versus actual places of death, and kappa statistics of agreement.

Correlates of emotional congruence with children in sexual offenders against children: a test of theoretical models in an incarcerated sample.

PubMed

McPhail, Ian V; Hermann, Chantal A; Fernandez, Yolanda M

2014-02-01

Emotional congruence with children is a psychological construct theoretically involved in the etiology and maintenance of sexual offending against children. Research conducted to date has not examined the relationship between emotional congruence with children and other psychological meaningful risk factors for sexual offending against children. The current study derived potential correlates of emotional congruence with children from the published literature and proposed three models of emotional congruence with children that contain relatively unique sets of correlates: the blockage, sexual deviance, and psychological immaturity models. Using Area under the Curve analysis, we assessed the relationship between emotional congruence with children and offense characteristics, victim demographics, and psychologically meaningful risk factors in a sample of incarcerated sexual offenders against children (n=221). The sexual deviance model received the most support: emotional congruence with children was significantly associated with deviant sexual interests, sexual self-regulation problems, and cognition that condones and supports child molestation. The blockage model received partial support, and the immaturity model received the least support. Based on the results, we propose a set of further predictions regarding the relationships between emotional congruence with children and other psychologically meaningful risk factors to be examined in future research. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Congruence or discrepancy? Comparing patients' health valuations and physicians' treatment goals for rehabilitation for patients with chronic conditions.

PubMed

Nagl, Michaela; Farin, Erik

2012-03-01

The aim of this study was to test the congruence of patients' health valuations and physicians' treatment goals for the rehabilitation of chronically ill patients. In addition, patient characteristics associated with greater or less congruence were to be determined. In a questionnaire study, patients' health valuations and physicians' goals were assessed in three chronic conditions [breast cancer (BC), chronic ischemic heart disease (CIHD), and chronic back pain (CBP)] using a ranking method. Sociodemographic variables and health-related quality of life were assessed as patient-related factors that influence congruence. Congruence was determined at the group (Spearman's ρ) and individual levels (percentage of congruence). Patient-related influencing factors were calculated after a simple imputation using multiple logistic regression analysis. At the group level, there were often only low correlations. The mean percentage of congruence was 34.7% (BC), 48.5% (CIHD), and 31.9% (CBP). Patients with BC or CIHD who have a higher level of education showed greater congruence. Our results indicate some high discrepancy rates between physicians' treatment goals and patients' health valuations. It is possible that patients have preferences that do not correspond well with realistic rehabilitation goals or that physicians do not take patients' individual health valuations sufficiently into consideration when setting goals.

Host and parasite morphology influence congruence between host and parasite phylogenies.

PubMed

Sweet, Andrew D; Bush, Sarah E; Gustafsson, Daniel R; Allen, Julie M; DiBlasi, Emily; Skeen, Heather R; Weckstein, Jason D; Johnson, Kevin P

2018-03-23

Comparisons of host and parasite phylogenies often show varying degrees of phylogenetic congruence. However, few studies have rigorously explored the factors driving this variation. Multiple factors such as host or parasite morphology may govern the degree of phylogenetic congruence. An ideal analysis for understanding the factors correlated with congruence would focus on a diverse host-parasite system for increased variation and statistical power. In this study, we focused on the Brueelia-complex, a diverse and widespread group of feather lice that primarily parasitise songbirds. We generated a molecular phylogeny of the lice and compared this tree with a phylogeny of their avian hosts. We also tested for the contribution of each host-parasite association to the overall congruence. The two trees overall were significantly congruent, but the contribution of individual associations to this congruence varied. To understand this variation, we developed a novel approach to test whether host, parasite or biogeographic factors were statistically associated with patterns of congruence. Both host plumage dimorphism and parasite ecomorphology were associated with patterns of congruence, whereas host body size, other plumage traits and biogeography were not. Our results lay the framework for future studies to further elucidate how these factors influence the process of host-parasite coevolution. Copyright © 2018 Australian Society for Parasitology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On national flags and language tags: Effects of flag-language congruency in bilingual word recognition.

PubMed

Grainger, Jonathan; Declerck, Mathieu; Marzouki, Yousri

2017-07-01

French-English bilinguals performed a generalized lexical decision experiment with mixed lists of French and English words and pseudo-words. In Experiment 1, each word/pseudo-word was superimposed on the picture of the French or UK flag, and flag-word congruency was manipulated. The flag was not informative with respect to either the lexical decision response or the language of the word. Nevertheless, lexical decisions to word stimuli were faster following the congruent flag compared with the incongruent flag, but only for French (L1) words. Experiment 2 replicated this flag-language congruency effect in a priming paradigm, where the word and pseudo-word targets followed the brief presentation of the flag prime, and this time effects were seen in both languages. We take these findings as evidence for a mechanism that automatically processes linguistic and non-linguistic information concerning the presence or not of a given language. Language membership information can then modulate lexical processing, in line with the architecture of the BIA model, but not the BIA+ model. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Balloons and bavoons versus spikes and shikes: ERPs reveal shared neural processes for shape-sound-meaning congruence in words, and shape-sound congruence in pseudowords.

PubMed

Sučević, Jelena; Savić, Andrej M; Popović, Mirjana B; Styles, Suzy J; Ković, Vanja

2015-01-01

There is something about the sound of a pseudoword like takete that goes better with a spiky, than a curvy shape (Köhler, 1929:1947). Yet despite decades of research into sound symbolism, the role of this effect on real words in the lexicons of natural languages remains controversial. We report one behavioural and one ERP study investigating whether sound symbolism is active during normal language processing for real words in a speaker's native language, in the same way as for novel word forms. The results indicate that sound-symbolic congruence has a number of influences on natural language processing: Written forms presented in a congruent visual context generate more errors during lexical access, as well as a chain of differences in the ERP. These effects have a very early onset (40-80 ms, 100-160 ms, 280-320 ms) and are later overshadowed by familiar types of semantic processing, indicating that sound symbolism represents an early sensory-co-activation effect. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Olfactory discrimination: when vision matters?

PubMed

Demattè, M Luisa; Sanabria, Daniel; Spence, Charles

2009-02-01

Many previous studies have attempted to investigate the effect of visual cues on olfactory perception in humans. The majority of this research has only looked at the modulatory effect of color, which has typically been explained in terms of multisensory perceptual interactions. However, such crossmodal effects may equally well relate to interactions taking place at a higher level of information processing as well. In fact, it is well-known that semantic knowledge can have a substantial effect on people's olfactory perception. In the present study, we therefore investigated the influence of visual cues, consisting of color patches and/or shapes, on people's olfactory discrimination performance. Participants had to make speeded odor discrimination responses (lemon vs. strawberry) while viewing a red or yellow color patch, an outline drawing of a strawberry or lemon, or a combination of these color and shape cues. Even though participants were instructed to ignore the visual stimuli, our results demonstrate that the accuracy of their odor discrimination responses was influenced by visual distractors. This result shows that both color and shape information are taken into account during speeded olfactory discrimination, even when such information is completely task irrelevant, hinting at the automaticity of such higher level visual-olfactory crossmodal interactions.

Grammatical-gender effects in noun-noun compound production: Evidence from German.

PubMed

Lorenz, Antje; Mädebach, Andreas; Jescheniak, Jörg D

2018-05-01

We examined how noun-noun compounds and their syntactic properties are lexically stored and processed in speech production. Using gender-marked determiner primes ( der masc , die fem , das neut [the]) in a picture naming task, we tested for specific effects from determiners congruent with either the modifier or the head of the compound target (e.g., Tee masc kanne fem [teapot]) to examine whether the constituents are processed independently at the syntactic level. Experiment 1 assessed effects of auditory gender-marked determiner primes in bare noun picture naming, and Experiment 2 assessed effects of visual gender-marked determiner primes in determiner-noun picture naming. Three prime conditions were implemented: (a) head-congruent determiner (e.g., die fem ), (b) modifier-congruent determiner (e.g., der masc ), and (c) incongruent determiner (e.g., das neuter ). We observed a facilitation effect of head congruency but no effect of modifier congruency. In Experiment 3, participants produced novel noun-noun compounds in response to two pictures, demanding independent processing of head and modifier at the syntactic level. Now, head and modifier congruency effects were obtained, demonstrating the general sensitivity of our task. Our data support the notion of a single-lemma representation of lexically stored compound nouns in the German production lexicon.

Cross-modal Savings in the Contralateral Eyelid Conditioned Response

PubMed Central

Campolattaro, Matthew M.; Buss, Eric W.; Freeman, John H.

2015-01-01

The present experiment monitored bilateral eyelid responses during eyeblink conditioning in rats trained with a unilateral unconditioned stimulus (US). Three groups of rats were used to determine if cross-modal savings occurs when the location of the US is switched from one eye to the other. Rats in each group first received paired or unpaired eyeblink conditioning with a conditioned stimulus (tone or light; CS) and a unilateral periorbital electrical stimulation US. All rats were subsequently given paired training, but with the US location (Group 1), CS modality (Group 2), or US location and CS modality (Group 3) changed. Changing the location of the US alone resulted in an immediate transfer of responding in both eyelids (Group 1) in rats that received paired training prior to the transfer session. Rats in groups 2 and 3 that initially received paired training showed facilitated learning to the new CS modality during the transfer sessions, indicating that cross-modal savings occurs whether or not the location of the US is changed. All rats that were initially given unpaired training acquired conditioned eyeblink responses similar to de novo acquisition rate during the transfer sessions. Savings of CR incidence was more robust than savings of CR amplitude when the US switched sides, a finding that has implications for elucidating the neural mechanisms of cross-modal savings. PMID:26501170

Cross-Modality Image Synthesis via Weakly Coupled and Geometry Co-Regularized Joint Dictionary Learning.

PubMed

Huang, Yawen; Shao, Ling; Frangi, Alejandro F

2018-03-01

Multi-modality medical imaging is increasingly used for comprehensive assessment of complex diseases in either diagnostic examinations or as part of medical research trials. Different imaging modalities provide complementary information about living tissues. However, multi-modal examinations are not always possible due to adversary factors, such as patient discomfort, increased cost, prolonged scanning time, and scanner unavailability. In additionally, in large imaging studies, incomplete records are not uncommon owing to image artifacts, data corruption or data loss, which compromise the potential of multi-modal acquisitions. In this paper, we propose a weakly coupled and geometry co-regularized joint dictionary learning method to address the problem of cross-modality synthesis while considering the fact that collecting the large amounts of training data is often impractical. Our learning stage requires only a few registered multi-modality image pairs as training data. To employ both paired images and a large set of unpaired data, a cross-modality image matching criterion is proposed. Then, we propose a unified model by integrating such a criterion into the joint dictionary learning and the observed common feature space for associating cross-modality data for the purpose of synthesis. Furthermore, two regularization terms are added to construct robust sparse representations. Our experimental results demonstrate superior performance of the proposed model over state-of-the-art methods.

Cross-modal signatures in maternal speech and singing

PubMed Central

Trehub, Sandra E.; Plantinga, Judy; Brcic, Jelena; Nowicki, Magda

2013-01-01

We explored the possibility of a unique cross-modal signature in maternal speech and singing that enables adults and infants to link unfamiliar speaking or singing voices with subsequently viewed silent videos of the talkers or singers. In Experiment 1, adults listened to 30-s excerpts of speech followed by successively presented 7-s silent video clips, one from the previously heard speaker (different speech content) and the other from a different speaker. They successfully identified the previously heard speaker. In Experiment 2, adults heard comparable excerpts of singing followed by silent video clips from the previously heard singer (different song) and another singer. They failed to identify the previously heard singer. In Experiment 3, the videos of talkers and singers were blurred to obscure mouth movements. Adults successfully identified the talkers and they also identified the singers from videos of different portions of the song previously heard. In Experiment 4, 6− to 8-month-old infants listened to 30-s excerpts of the same maternal speech or singing followed by exposure to the silent videos on alternating trials. They looked longer at the silent videos of previously heard talkers and singers. The findings confirm the individuality of maternal speech and singing performance as well as adults' and infants' ability to discern the unique cross-modal signatures. The cues that enable cross-modal matching of talker and singer identity remain to be determined. PMID:24198805

Visual and auditory synchronization deficits among dyslexic readers as compared to non-impaired readers: a cross-correlation algorithm analysis

PubMed Central

Sela, Itamar

2014-01-01

Visual and auditory temporal processing and crossmodal integration are crucial factors in the word decoding process. The speed of processing (SOP) gap (Asynchrony) between these two modalities, which has been suggested as related to the dyslexia phenomenon, is the focus of the current study. Nineteen dyslexic and 17 non-impaired University adult readers were given stimuli in a reaction time (RT) procedure where participants were asked to identify whether the stimulus type was only visual, only auditory or crossmodally integrated. Accuracy, RT, and Event Related Potential (ERP) measures were obtained for each of the three conditions. An algorithm to measure the contribution of the temporal SOP of each modality to the crossmodal integration in each group of participants was developed. Results obtained using this model for the analysis of the current study data, indicated that in the crossmodal integration condition the presence of the auditory modality at the pre-response time frame (between 170 and 240 ms after stimulus presentation), increased processing speed in the visual modality among the non-impaired readers, but not in the dyslexic group. The differences between the temporal SOP of the modalities among the dyslexics and the non-impaired readers give additional support to the theory that an asynchrony between the visual and auditory modalities is a cause of dyslexia. PMID:24959125

Cross-modal signatures in maternal speech and singing.

PubMed

Trehub, Sandra E; Plantinga, Judy; Brcic, Jelena; Nowicki, Magda

2013-01-01

We explored the possibility of a unique cross-modal signature in maternal speech and singing that enables adults and infants to link unfamiliar speaking or singing voices with subsequently viewed silent videos of the talkers or singers. In Experiment 1, adults listened to 30-s excerpts of speech followed by successively presented 7-s silent video clips, one from the previously heard speaker (different speech content) and the other from a different speaker. They successfully identified the previously heard speaker. In Experiment 2, adults heard comparable excerpts of singing followed by silent video clips from the previously heard singer (different song) and another singer. They failed to identify the previously heard singer. In Experiment 3, the videos of talkers and singers were blurred to obscure mouth movements. Adults successfully identified the talkers and they also identified the singers from videos of different portions of the song previously heard. In Experiment 4, 6- to 8-month-old infants listened to 30-s excerpts of the same maternal speech or singing followed by exposure to the silent videos on alternating trials. They looked longer at the silent videos of previously heard talkers and singers. The findings confirm the individuality of maternal speech and singing performance as well as adults' and infants' ability to discern the unique cross-modal signatures. The cues that enable cross-modal matching of talker and singer identity remain to be determined.

Short-term memory stores organized by information domain.

PubMed

Noyce, Abigail L; Cestero, Nishmar; Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara G; Somers, David C

2016-04-01

Vision and audition have complementary affinities, with vision excelling in spatial resolution and audition excelling in temporal resolution. Here, we investigated the relationships among the visual and auditory modalities and spatial and temporal short-term memory (STM) using change detection tasks. We created short sequences of visual or auditory items, such that each item within a sequence arose at a unique spatial location at a unique time. On each trial, two successive sequences were presented; subjects attended to either space (the sequence of locations) or time (the sequence of inter item intervals) and reported whether the patterns of locations or intervals were identical. Each subject completed blocks of unimodal trials (both sequences presented in the same modality) and crossmodal trials (Sequence 1 visual, Sequence 2 auditory, or vice versa) for both spatial and temporal tasks. We found a strong interaction between modality and task: Spatial performance was best on unimodal visual trials, whereas temporal performance was best on unimodal auditory trials. The order of modalities on crossmodal trials also mattered, suggesting that perceptual fidelity at encoding is critical to STM. Critically, no cost was attributable to crossmodal comparison: In both tasks, performance on crossmodal trials was as good as or better than on the weaker unimodal trials. STM representations of space and time can guide change detection in either the visual or the auditory modality, suggesting that the temporal or spatial organization of STM may supersede sensory-specific organization.

Approach/avoidance motivation, message framing and skin cancer prevention: a test of the congruency hypothesis.

PubMed

Hevey, David; Dolan, Michelle

2014-08-01

The congruency hypothesis posits that approach-orientated individuals are persuaded to engage in prevention behaviours by positively framed messages; conversely, negatively framed messages are more persuasive in encouraging those who are avoidance-orientated. A 2 (frame: loss vs gain) × 2 (motivation: avoidance vs approach) design examined the effects of skin cancer information on sun-protective intentions and free sunscreen sample requests among 533 young adults. Gain-framed messages had the strongest effect on sun-protective intentions for approach-oriented individuals, whereas loss-framed messages had the strongest effect on avoidance-oriented individuals. Message framing effects on precautionary sun behaviour intentions were moderated by motivational differences. © The Author(s) 2013.

Investigating the congruence of crowdsourced information with official government data: the case of pediatric clinics.

PubMed

Kim, Minki; Jung, Yuchul; Jung, Dain; Hur, Cinyoung

2014-02-03

Health 2.0 is a benefit to society by helping patients acquire knowledge about health care by harnessing collective intelligence. However, any misleading information can directly affect patients' choices of hospitals and drugs, and potentially exacerbate their health condition. This study investigates the congruence between crowdsourced information and official government data in the health care domain and identifies the determinants of low congruence where it exists. In-line with infodemiology, we suggest measures to help the patients in the regions vulnerable to inaccurate health information. We text-mined multiple online health communities in South Korea to construct the data for crowdsourced information on public health services (173,748 messages). Kendall tau and Spearman rank order correlation coefficients were used to compute the differences in 2 ranking systems of health care quality: actual government evaluations of 779 hospitals and mining results of geospecific online health communities. Then we estimated the effect of sociodemographic characteristics on the level of congruence by using an ordinary least squares regression. The regression results indicated that the standard deviation of married women's education (P=.046), population density (P=.01), number of doctors per pediatric clinic (P=.048), and birthrate (P=.002) have a significant effect on the congruence of crowdsourced data (adjusted R²=.33). Specifically, (1) the higher the birthrate in a given region, (2) the larger the variance in educational attainment, (3) the higher the population density, and (4) the greater the number of doctors per clinic, the more likely that crowdsourced information from online communities is congruent with official government data. To investigate the cause of the spread of misleading health information in the online world, we adopted a unique approach by associating mining results on hospitals from geospecific online health communities with the sociodemographic characteristics of corresponding regions. We found that the congruence of crowdsourced information on health care services varied across regions and that these variations could be explained by geospecific demographic factors. This finding can be helpful to governments in reducing the potential risk of misleading online information and the accompanying safety issues.

"Turn Up the Taste": Assessing the Role of Taste Intensity and Emotion in Mediating Crossmodal Correspondences between Basic Tastes and Pitch.

PubMed

Wang, Qian Janice; Wang, Sheila; Spence, Charles

2016-05-01

People intuitively match basic tastes to sounds of different pitches, and the matches that they make tend to be consistent across individuals. It is, though, not altogether clear what governs such crossmodal mappings between taste and auditory pitch. Here, we assess whether variations in taste intensity influence the matching of taste to pitch as well as the role of emotion in mediating such crossmodal correspondences. Participants were presented with 5 basic tastants at 3 concentrations. In Experiment 1, the participants rated the tastants in terms of their emotional arousal and valence/pleasantness, and selected a musical note (from 19 possible pitches ranging from C2 to C8) and loudness that best matched each tastant. In Experiment 2, the participants made emotion ratings and note matches in separate blocks of trials, then made emotion ratings for all 19 notes. Overall, the results of the 2 experiments revealed that both taste quality and concentration exerted a significant effect on participants' loudness selection, taste intensity rating, and valence and arousal ratings. Taste quality, not concentration levels, had a significant effect on participants' choice of pitch, but a significant positive correlation was observed between individual perceived taste intensity and pitch choice. A significant and strong correlation was also demonstrated between participants' valence assessments of tastants and their valence assessments of the best-matching musical notes. These results therefore provide evidence that: 1) pitch-taste correspondences are primarily influenced by taste quality, and to a lesser extent, by perceived intensity; and 2) such correspondences may be mediated by valence/pleasantness. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

“Turn Up the Taste”: Assessing the Role of Taste Intensity and Emotion in Mediating Crossmodal Correspondences between Basic Tastes and Pitch

PubMed Central

Wang, Sheila; Spence, Charles

2016-01-01

People intuitively match basic tastes to sounds of different pitches, and the matches that they make tend to be consistent across individuals. It is, though, not altogether clear what governs such crossmodal mappings between taste and auditory pitch. Here, we assess whether variations in taste intensity influence the matching of taste to pitch as well as the role of emotion in mediating such crossmodal correspondences. Participants were presented with 5 basic tastants at 3 concentrations. In Experiment 1, the participants rated the tastants in terms of their emotional arousal and valence/pleasantness, and selected a musical note (from 19 possible pitches ranging from C2 to C8) and loudness that best matched each tastant. In Experiment 2, the participants made emotion ratings and note matches in separate blocks of trials, then made emotion ratings for all 19 notes. Overall, the results of the 2 experiments revealed that both taste quality and concentration exerted a significant effect on participants’ loudness selection, taste intensity rating, and valence and arousal ratings. Taste quality, not concentration levels, had a significant effect on participants’ choice of pitch, but a significant positive correlation was observed between individual perceived taste intensity and pitch choice. A significant and strong correlation was also demonstrated between participants’ valence assessments of tastants and their valence assessments of the best-matching musical notes. These results therefore provide evidence that: 1) pitch–taste correspondences are primarily influenced by taste quality, and to a lesser extent, by perceived intensity; and 2) such correspondences may be mediated by valence/pleasantness. PMID:26873934

Congruence Couple Therapy for Pathological Gambling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Bonnie K.

2009-01-01

Couple therapy models for pathological gambling are limited. Congruence Couple Therapy is an integrative, humanistic, systems model that addresses intrapsychic, interpersonal, intergenerational, and universal-spiritual disconnections of pathological gamblers and their spouses to shift towards congruence. Specifically, CCT's theoretical…

Organizational goal congruence and job attitudes revisited.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1992-02-01

Vancouver and Schmitt (1991) operationalized person-organization fit in terms of goal congruence and reported that goal congruence scores were positively related to favorable job attitudes. The purpose of the present study was to replicate and extend...

Neuromagnetic brain activities associated with perceptual categorization and sound-content incongruency: a comparison between monosyllabic words and pitch names

PubMed Central

Tsai, Chen-Gia; Chen, Chien-Chung; Wen, Ya-Chien; Chou, Tai-Li

2015-01-01

In human cultures, the perceptual categorization of musical pitches relies on pitch-naming systems. A sung pitch name concurrently holds the information of fundamental frequency and pitch name. These two aspects may be either congruent or incongruent with regard to pitch categorization. The present study aimed to compare the neuromagnetic responses to musical and verbal stimuli for congruency judgments, for example a congruent pair for the pitch C4 sung with the pitch name do in a C-major context (the pitch-semantic task) or for the meaning of a word to match the speaker’s identity (the voice-semantic task). Both the behavioral data and neuromagnetic data showed that congruency detection of the speaker’s identity and word meaning was slower than that of the pitch and pitch name. Congruency effects of musical stimuli revealed that pitch categorization and semantic processing of pitch information were associated with P2m and N400m, respectively. For verbal stimuli, P2m and N400m did not show any congruency effect. In both the pitch-semantic task and the voice-semantic task, we found that incongruent stimuli evoked stronger slow waves with the latency of 500–600 ms than congruent stimuli. These findings shed new light on the neural mechanisms underlying pitch-naming processes. PMID:26347638

Olfactory Context-Dependent Memory and the Effects of Affective Congruency.

PubMed

Hackländer, Ryan P M; Bermeitinger, Christina

2017-10-31

Odors have been claimed to be particularly effective mnemonic cues, possibly because of the strong links between olfaction and emotion processing. Indeed, past research has shown that odors can bias processing towards affectively congruent material. In order to determine whether this processing bias translates to memory, we conducted 2 olfactory-enhanced-context memory experiments where we manipulated affective congruency between the olfactory context and to-be-remembered material. Given the presumed importance of valence to olfactory perception, we hypothesized that memory would be best for affectively congruent material in the olfactory enhanced context groups. Across the 2 experiments, groups which encoded and retrieved material in the presence of an odorant exhibited better memory performance than groups that did not have the added olfactory context during encoding and retrieval. While context-enhanced memory was exhibited in the presence of both pleasant and unpleasant odors, there was no indication that memory was dependent on affective congruency between the olfactory context and the to-be-remembered material. While the results provide further support for the notion that odors can act as powerful contextual mnemonic cues, they call into question the notion that affective congruency between context and focal material is important for later memory performance. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Examining Construct Congruence for Psychometric Tests: A Note on an Extension to Binary Items and Nesting Effects.

PubMed

Raykov, Tenko; Marcoulides, George A; Dimitrov, Dimiter M; Li, Tatyana

2018-02-01

This article extends the procedure outlined in the article by Raykov, Marcoulides, and Tong for testing congruence of latent constructs to the setting of binary items and clustering effects. In this widely used setting in contemporary educational and psychological research, the method can be used to examine if two or more homogeneous multicomponent instruments with distinct components measure the same construct. The approach is useful in scale construction and development research as well as in construct validation investigations. The discussed method is illustrated with data from a scholastic aptitude assessment study.

Do men and their wives see it the same way? Congruence within couples during the first year of prostate cancer.

PubMed

Ezer, Hélène; Chachamovich, Juliana L Rigol; Chachamovich, Eduardo

2011-02-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the psychosocial adjustment congruence within couples through the first year of prostate cancer experience, and to explore the personal variables that could predict congruence within couples. Eighty-one couples were interviewed at the time of diagnosis; 69 participated at 3 months and 61 at 12 months. Paired t-tests were used to examine dyadic congruence on seven domains of psychosocial adjustment. Repeated Measures ANOVAs were used to examine the congruence over time. Multiple regressions were used to determine whether mood disturbance, urinary and sexual bother, sense of coherence, and social support were predictors of congruence within couples on each of the adjustment domains. At time 1, couples had incongruent perceptions in 3 of 7 domains: health care, psychological, and social adjustment. Three months later, health care, psychological, and sexual domains showed incongruence within couples. One year after the diagnosis, there were incongruent perceptions only in sexual and psychological domains. There was little variation of the congruence within couples over time. Husbands and wives' mood disturbance, urinary and sexual bother, sense of coherence, and social support accounted for 25-63% of variance in couple congruence in the adjustment domains in the study periods. The findings suggested that there is couple congruence. Domains in which incongruence was observed are important targets for clinical interventions. Greater attention needs to be directed to assisting couples to recognize the differences between their perceptions, especially the ones related to the sexual symptoms and psychological distress. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Space-valence priming with subliminal and supraliminal words.

PubMed

Ansorge, Ulrich; Khalid, Shah; König, Peter

2013-01-01

To date it is unclear whether (1) awareness-independent non-evaluative semantic processes influence affective semantics and whether (2) awareness-independent affective semantics influence non-evaluative semantic processing. In the current study, we investigated these questions with the help of subliminal (masked) primes and visible targets in a space-valence across-category congruence effect. In line with (1), we found that subliminal space prime words influenced valence classification of supraliminal target words (Experiment 1): classifications were faster with a congruent prime (e.g., the prime "up" before the target "happy") than with an incongruent prime (e.g., the prime "up" before the target "sad"). In contrast to (2), no influence of subliminal valence primes on the classification of supraliminal space targets into up- and down-words was found (Experiment 2). Control conditions showed that standard masked response priming effects were found with both subliminal prime types, and that an across-category congruence effect was also found with supraliminal valence primes and spatial target words. The final Experiment 3 confirmed that the across-category congruence effect indeed reflected priming of target categorization of a relevant meaning category. Together, the data jointly confirmed prediction (1) that awareness-independent non-evaluative semantic priming influences valence judgments.

Building Intuitive Arguments for the Triangle Congruence Conditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piatek-Jimenez, Katrina

2008-01-01

The triangle congruence conditions are a central focus to nearly any course in Euclidean geometry. The author presents a hands-on activity that uses straws and pipe cleaners to explore and justify the triangle congruence conditions. (Contains 4 figures.)

Phonological encoding in speech-sound disorder: evidence from a cross-modal priming experiment.

PubMed

Munson, Benjamin; Krause, Miriam O P

2017-05-01

Psycholinguistic models of language production provide a framework for determining the locus of language breakdown that leads to speech-sound disorder (SSD) in children. To examine whether children with SSD differ from their age-matched peers with typical speech and language development (TD) in the ability phonologically to encode lexical items that have been accessed from memory. Thirty-six children (18 with TD, 18 with SSD) viewed pictures while listening to interfering words (IW) or a non-linguistic auditory stimulus presented over headphones either 150 ms before, concurrent with or 150 ms after picture presentation. The phonological similarity of the IW and the pictures' names varied. Picture-naming latency, accuracy and duration were tallied. All children named pictures more quickly in the presence of an IW identical to the picture's name than in the other conditions. At the +150 ms stimulus onset asynchrony, pictures were named more quickly when the IW shared phonemes with the picture's name than when they were phonologically unrelated to the picture's name. The size of this effect was similar for children with SSD and children with TD. Variation in the magnitude of inhibition and facilitation on cross-modal priming tasks across children was more strongly affected by the size of the expressive and receptive lexicons than by speech-production accuracy. Results suggest that SSD is not associated with reduced phonological encoding ability, at least as it is reflected by cross-modal naming tasks. © 2016 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Crossmodal integration enhances neural representation of task-relevant features in audiovisual face perception.

PubMed

Li, Yuanqing; Long, Jinyi; Huang, Biao; Yu, Tianyou; Wu, Wei; Liu, Yongjian; Liang, Changhong; Sun, Pei

2015-02-01

Previous studies have shown that audiovisual integration improves identification performance and enhances neural activity in heteromodal brain areas, for example, the posterior superior temporal sulcus/middle temporal gyrus (pSTS/MTG). Furthermore, it has also been demonstrated that attention plays an important role in crossmodal integration. In this study, we considered crossmodal integration in audiovisual facial perception and explored its effect on the neural representation of features. The audiovisual stimuli in the experiment consisted of facial movie clips that could be classified into 2 gender categories (male vs. female) or 2 emotion categories (crying vs. laughing). The visual/auditory-only stimuli were created from these movie clips by removing the auditory/visual contents. The subjects needed to make a judgment about the gender/emotion category for each movie clip in the audiovisual, visual-only, or auditory-only stimulus condition as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals were recorded. The neural representation of the gender/emotion feature was assessed using the decoding accuracy and the brain pattern-related reproducibility indices, obtained by a multivariate pattern analysis method from the fMRI data. In comparison to the visual-only and auditory-only stimulus conditions, we found that audiovisual integration enhanced the neural representation of task-relevant features and that feature-selective attention might play a role of modulation in the audiovisual integration. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

FMRI investigation of cross-modal interactions in beat perception: Audition primes vision, but not vice versa

PubMed Central

Grahn, Jessica A.; Henry, Molly J.; McAuley, J. Devin

2011-01-01

How we measure time and integrate temporal cues from different sensory modalities are fundamental questions in neuroscience. Sensitivity to a “beat” (such as that routinely perceived in music) differs substantially between auditory and visual modalities. Here we examined beat sensitivity in each modality, and examined cross-modal influences, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to characterize brain activity during perception of auditory and visual rhythms. In separate fMRI sessions, participants listened to auditory sequences or watched visual sequences. The order of auditory and visual sequence presentation was counterbalanced so that cross-modal order effects could be investigated. Participants judged whether sequences were speeding up or slowing down, and the pattern of tempo judgments was used to derive a measure of sensitivity to an implied beat. As expected, participants were less sensitive to an implied beat in visual sequences than in auditory sequences. However, visual sequences produced a stronger sense of beat when preceded by auditory sequences with identical temporal structure. Moreover, increases in brain activity were observed in the bilateral putamen for visual sequences preceded by auditory sequences when compared to visual sequences without prior auditory exposure. No such order-dependent differences (behavioral or neural) were found for the auditory sequences. The results provide further evidence for the role of the basal ganglia in internal generation of the beat and suggest that an internal auditory rhythm representation may be activated during visual rhythm perception. PMID:20858544

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex bridges bilateral primary somatosensory cortices during cross-modal working memory.

PubMed

Zhao, Di; Ku, Yixuan

2018-05-01

Neural activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been suggested to integrate information from distinct sensory areas. However, how the DLPFC interacts with the bilateral primary somatosensory cortices (SIs) in tactile-visual cross-modal working memory has not yet been established. In the present study, we applied single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (sp-TMS) over the contralateral DLPFC and bilateral SIs of human participants at various time points, while they performed a tactile-visual delayed matching-to-sample task with a 2-second delay. sp-TMS over the contralateral DLPFC or the contralateral SI at either an sensory encoding stage [i.e. 100 ms after the onset of a vibrotactile sample stimulus (200-ms duration)] or an early maintenance stage (i.e. 300 ms after the onset), significantly impaired the accuracy of task performance; sp-TMS over the contralateral DLPFC or the ipsilateral SI at a late maintenance stage (1600 ms and 1900 ms) also significantly disrupted the performance. Furthermore, at 300 ms after the onset of the vibrotactile sample stimulus, there was a significant correlation between the deteriorating effects of sp-TMS over the contralateral SI and the contralateral DLPFC. These results imply that the DLPFC and the bilateral SIs play causal roles at distinctive stages during cross-modal working memory, while the contralateral DLPFC communicates with the contralateral SI in the early delay, and cooperates with the ipsilateral SI in the late delay. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cross-modal Association between Auditory and Visuospatial Information in Mandarin Tone Perception in Noise by Native and Non-native Perceivers.

PubMed

Hannah, Beverly; Wang, Yue; Jongman, Allard; Sereno, Joan A; Cao, Jiguo; Nie, Yunlong

2017-01-01

Speech perception involves multiple input modalities. Research has indicated that perceivers establish cross-modal associations between auditory and visuospatial events to aid perception. Such intermodal relations can be particularly beneficial for speech development and learning, where infants and non-native perceivers need additional resources to acquire and process new sounds. This study examines how facial articulatory cues and co-speech hand gestures mimicking pitch contours in space affect non-native Mandarin tone perception. Native English as well as Mandarin perceivers identified tones embedded in noise with either congruent or incongruent Auditory-Facial (AF) and Auditory-FacialGestural (AFG) inputs. Native Mandarin results showed the expected ceiling-level performance in the congruent AF and AFG conditions. In the incongruent conditions, while AF identification was primarily auditory-based, AFG identification was partially based on gestures, demonstrating the use of gestures as valid cues in tone identification. The English perceivers' performance was poor in the congruent AF condition, but improved significantly in AFG. While the incongruent AF identification showed some reliance on facial information, incongruent AFG identification relied more on gestural than auditory-facial information. These results indicate positive effects of facial and especially gestural input on non-native tone perception, suggesting that cross-modal (visuospatial) resources can be recruited to aid auditory perception when phonetic demands are high. The current findings may inform patterns of tone acquisition and development, suggesting how multi-modal speech enhancement principles may be applied to facilitate speech learning.

Cross-modal integration of multimodal courtship signals in a wolf spider.

PubMed

Kozak, Elizabeth C; Uetz, George W

2016-11-01

Cross-modal integration, i.e., cognitive binding of information transmitted in more than one signal mode, is important in animal communication, especially in complex, noisy environments in which signals of many individuals may overlap. Males of the brush-legged wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz) use multimodal communication (visual and vibratory signals) in courtship. Because females may be courted by multiple males at the same time, they must evaluate co-occurring male signals originating from separate locations. Moreover, due to environmental complexity, individual components of male signals may be occluded, altering detection of sensory modes by females. We used digital multimodal playback to investigate the effect of spatial and temporal disparity of visual and vibratory components of male courtship signals on female mate choice. Females were presented with male courtship signals with components that varied in spatial location or temporal synchrony. Females responded to spatially disparate signal components separated by ≥90° as though they were separate sources, but responded to disparate signals separated by ≤45° as though they originated from a single source. Responses were seen as evidence for cross-modal integration. Temporal disparity (asynchrony) in signal modes also affected female receptivity. Females responded more to male signals when visual and vibratory modes were in synchrony than either out-of-synch or interleaved/alternated. These findings are consistent with those seen in both humans and other vertebrates and provide insight into how animals overcome communication challenges inherent in a complex environment.

Cross-modal Association between Auditory and Visuospatial Information in Mandarin Tone Perception in Noise by Native and Non-native Perceivers

PubMed Central

Hannah, Beverly; Wang, Yue; Jongman, Allard; Sereno, Joan A.; Cao, Jiguo; Nie, Yunlong

2017-01-01

Speech perception involves multiple input modalities. Research has indicated that perceivers establish cross-modal associations between auditory and visuospatial events to aid perception. Such intermodal relations can be particularly beneficial for speech development and learning, where infants and non-native perceivers need additional resources to acquire and process new sounds. This study examines how facial articulatory cues and co-speech hand gestures mimicking pitch contours in space affect non-native Mandarin tone perception. Native English as well as Mandarin perceivers identified tones embedded in noise with either congruent or incongruent Auditory-Facial (AF) and Auditory-FacialGestural (AFG) inputs. Native Mandarin results showed the expected ceiling-level performance in the congruent AF and AFG conditions. In the incongruent conditions, while AF identification was primarily auditory-based, AFG identification was partially based on gestures, demonstrating the use of gestures as valid cues in tone identification. The English perceivers’ performance was poor in the congruent AF condition, but improved significantly in AFG. While the incongruent AF identification showed some reliance on facial information, incongruent AFG identification relied more on gestural than auditory-facial information. These results indicate positive effects of facial and especially gestural input on non-native tone perception, suggesting that cross-modal (visuospatial) resources can be recruited to aid auditory perception when phonetic demands are high. The current findings may inform patterns of tone acquisition and development, suggesting how multi-modal speech enhancement principles may be applied to facilitate speech learning. PMID:29255435

Transfer of location-specific control to untrained locations.

PubMed

Weidler, Blaire J; Bugg, Julie M

2016-11-01

Recent research highlights a seemingly flexible and automatic form of cognitive control that is triggered by potent contextual cues, as exemplified by the location-specific proportion congruence effect--reduced compatibility effects in locations associated with a high as compared to low likelihood of conflict. We investigated just how flexible location-specific control is by examining whether novel locations effectively cue control for congruency-unbiased stimuli. In two experiments, biased (mostly compatible or mostly incompatible) training stimuli appeared in distinct locations. During a final block, unbiased (50% compatible) stimuli appeared in novel untrained locations spatially linked to biased locations. The flanker compatibly effect was reduced for unbiased stimuli in novel locations linked to a mostly incompatible compared to a mostly compatible location, indicating transfer. Transfer was observed when stimuli appeared along a linear function (Experiment 1) or in rings of a bullseye (Experiment 2). The novel transfer effects imply that location-specific control is more flexible than previously reported and further counter the complex stimulus-response learning account of location-specific proportion congruence effects. We propose that the representation and retrieval of control settings in untrained locations may depend on environmental support and the presentation of stimuli in novel locations that fall within the same categories of space as trained locations.

Procrustes Matching by Congruence Coefficients

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korth, Bruce; Tucker, L. R.

1976-01-01

Matching by Procrustes methods involves the transformation of one matrix to match with another. A special least squares criterion, the congruence coefficient, has advantages as a criterion for some factor analytic interpretations. A Procrustes method maximizing the congruence coefficient is given. (Author/JKS)

Automated x-ray/light field congruence using the LINAC EPID panel.

PubMed

Polak, Wojciech; O'Doherty, Jim; Jones, Matt

2013-03-01

X-ray/light field alignment is a test described in many guidelines for the routine quality control of clinical linear accelerators (LINAC). Currently, the gold standard method for measuring alignment is through utilization of radiographic film. However, many modern LINACs are equipped with an electronic portal imaging device (EPID) that may be used to perform this test and thus subsequently reducing overall cost, processing, and analysis time, removing operator dependency and the requirement to sustain the departmental film processor. This work describes a novel method of utilizing the EPID together with a custom inhouse designed jig and automatic image processing software allowing measurement of the light field size, x-ray field size, and congruence between them. The authors present results of testing the method for aS1000 and aS500 Varian EPID detectors for six LINACs at a range of energies (6, 10, and 15 MV) in comparison with the results obtained from the use of radiographic film. Reproducibility of the software in fully automatic operation under a range of operating conditions for a single image showed a congruence of 0.01 cm with a coefficient of variation of 0. Slight variation in congruence repeatability was noted through semiautomatic processing by four independent operators due to manual marking of positions on the jig. Testing of the methodology using the automatic method shows a high precision of 0.02 mm compared to a maximum of 0.06 mm determined by film processing. Intraindividual examination of operator measurements of congruence was shown to vary as much as 0.75 mm. Similar congruence measurements of 0.02 mm were also determined for a lower resolution EPID (aS500 model), after rescaling of the image to the aS1000 image size. The designed methodology was proven to be time efficient, cost effective, and at least as accurate as using the gold standard radiographic film. Additionally, congruence testing can be easily performed for all four cardinal gantry angles which can be difficult when using radiographic film. Therefore, the authors propose it can be used as an alternative to the radiographic film method allowing decommissioning of the film processor.

Behold the Voice of Wrath: Cross-Modal Modulation of Visual Attention by Anger Prosody

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brosch, Tobias; Grandjean, Didier; Sander, David; Scherer, Klaus R.

2008-01-01

Emotionally relevant stimuli are prioritized in human information processing. It has repeatedly been shown that selective spatial attention is modulated by the emotional content of a stimulus. Until now, studies investigating this phenomenon have only examined "within-modality" effects, most frequently using pictures of emotional stimuli to…

Eye Closure Reduces the Cross-Modal Memory Impairment Caused by Auditory Distraction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perfect, Timothy J.; Andrade, Jackie; Eagan, Irene

2011-01-01

Eyewitnesses instructed to close their eyes during retrieval recall more correct and fewer incorrect visual and auditory details. This study tested whether eye closure causes these effects through a reduction in environmental distraction. Sixty participants watched a staged event before verbally answering questions about it in the presence of…

Crossmodal Semantic Priming by Naturalistic Sounds and Spoken Words Enhances Visual Sensitivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Yi-Chuan; Spence, Charles

2011-01-01

We propose a multisensory framework based on Glaser and Glaser's (1989) general reading-naming interference model to account for the semantic priming effect by naturalistic sounds and spoken words on visual picture sensitivity. Four experiments were designed to investigate two key issues: First, can auditory stimuli enhance visual sensitivity when…

Got Rhythm...For Better and for Worse. Cross-Modal Effects of Auditory Rhythm on Visual Word Recognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brochard, Renaud; Tassin, Maxime; Zagar, Daniel

2013-01-01

The present research aimed to investigate whether, as previously observed with pictures, background auditory rhythm would also influence visual word recognition. In a lexical decision task, participants were presented with bisyllabic visual words, segmented into two successive groups of letters, while an irrelevant strongly metric auditory…

Predictors of symptom congruence among patients with acute myocardial infarction.

PubMed

Fox-Wasylyshyn, Susan

2012-01-01

The extent of congruence between one's symptom experience and preconceived ideas about the nature of myocardial infarction symptoms (ie, symptom congruence) can influence when acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients seek medical care. Lengthy delays impede timely receipt of medical interventions and result in greater morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the factors that contribute to symptom congruence. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine how AMI patients' symptom experiences and patients' demographic and clinical characteristics contribute to symptom congruence. Secondary data analyses were performed on interview data that were collected from 135 AMI patients. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to examine how specific symptom attributes and demographic and clinical characteristics contribute to symptom congruence. Chest pain/discomfort and other symptom variables (type and location) were included in step 1 of the analysis, whereas symptom severity and demographic and clinical factors were included in step 2. In a second analysis, quality descriptors of discomfort replaced chest pain/discomfort in step 1. Although chest pain/discomfort, and quality descriptors of heaviness and cutting were significant in step 1 of their respective analyses, all became nonsignificant when the variables in step 2 were added to the analyses. Severe discomfort (β = .29, P < .001), history of AMI (β = .21, P < .01), and male sex (β = .17, P < .05) were significant predictors of symptom congruence in the first analysis. Only severe discomfort (β = .23, P < .01) and history of AMI (β = .17, P < .05) were predictive of symptom congruence in the second analysis. Although the location and quality of discomfort were important components of symptom congruence, symptom severity outweighed their importance. Nonsevere symptoms were less likely to meet the expectations of AMI symptoms by those experiencing this event. Those without a previous history of AMI also experienced lower levels of symptom congruence. Implications pertaining to these findings are discussed.

Cross-Modal Perception of Noise-in-Music: Audiences Generate Spiky Shapes in Response to Auditory Roughness in a Novel Electroacoustic Concert Setting

PubMed Central

Liew, Kongmeng; Lindborg, PerMagnus; Rodrigues, Ruth; Styles, Suzy J.

2018-01-01

Noise has become integral to electroacoustic music aesthetics. In this paper, we define noise as sound that is high in auditory roughness, and examine its effect on cross-modal mapping between sound and visual shape in participants. In order to preserve the ecological validity of contemporary music aesthetics, we developed Rama, a novel interface, for presenting experimentally controlled blocks of electronically generated sounds that varied systematically in roughness, and actively collected data from audience interaction. These sounds were then embedded as musical drones within the overall sound design of a multimedia performance with live musicians, Audience members listened to these sounds, and collectively voted to create the shape of a visual graphic, presented as part of the audio–visual performance. The results of the concert setting were replicated in a controlled laboratory environment to corroborate the findings. Results show a consistent effect of auditory roughness on shape design, with rougher sounds corresponding to spikier shapes. We discuss the implications, as well as evaluate the audience interface. PMID:29515494

Cross-Modal Perception of Noise-in-Music: Audiences Generate Spiky Shapes in Response to Auditory Roughness in a Novel Electroacoustic Concert Setting.

PubMed

Liew, Kongmeng; Lindborg, PerMagnus; Rodrigues, Ruth; Styles, Suzy J

2018-01-01

Noise has become integral to electroacoustic music aesthetics. In this paper, we define noise as sound that is high in auditory roughness, and examine its effect on cross-modal mapping between sound and visual shape in participants. In order to preserve the ecological validity of contemporary music aesthetics, we developed Rama , a novel interface, for presenting experimentally controlled blocks of electronically generated sounds that varied systematically in roughness, and actively collected data from audience interaction. These sounds were then embedded as musical drones within the overall sound design of a multimedia performance with live musicians, Audience members listened to these sounds, and collectively voted to create the shape of a visual graphic, presented as part of the audio-visual performance. The results of the concert setting were replicated in a controlled laboratory environment to corroborate the findings. Results show a consistent effect of auditory roughness on shape design, with rougher sounds corresponding to spikier shapes. We discuss the implications, as well as evaluate the audience interface.

Environmental Congruence, Group Importance, and Well-Being among Paratroopers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meir, Elchanan I.; Segal-Halevi, Anat

2001-01-01

Israeli paratroopers (n=267) completed measures of group importance, role satisfaction, vocational interests, and somatic complaints. Group importance correlated with satisfaction and somatic complaints; congruence with environment did not. Congruence interacted with group importance to enhance satisfaction. (Contains 29 references.) (SK)

Neural correlates of cross-modal affective priming by music in Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Lense, Miriam D; Gordon, Reyna L; Key, Alexandra P F; Dykens, Elisabeth M

2014-04-01

Emotional connection is the main reason people engage with music, and the emotional features of music can influence processing in other domains. Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental genetic disorder where musicality and sociability are prominent aspects of the phenotype. This study examined oscillatory brain activity during a musical affective priming paradigm. Participants with WS and age-matched typically developing controls heard brief emotional musical excerpts or emotionally neutral sounds and then reported the emotional valence (happy/sad) of subsequently presented faces. Participants with WS demonstrated greater evoked fronto-central alpha activity to the happy vs sad musical excerpts. The size of these alpha effects correlated with parent-reported emotional reactivity to music. Although participant groups did not differ in accuracy of identifying facial emotions, reaction time data revealed a music priming effect only in persons with WS, who responded faster when the face matched the emotional valence of the preceding musical excerpt vs when the valence differed. Matching emotional valence was also associated with greater evoked gamma activity thought to reflect cross-modal integration. This effect was not present in controls. The results suggest a specific connection between music and socioemotional processing and have implications for clinical and educational approaches for WS.

Cross-modal and modality-specific expectancy effects between pain and disgust

PubMed Central

Sharvit, Gil; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Delplanque, Sylvain; Corradi-Dell’ Acqua, Corrado

2015-01-01

Pain sensitivity increases when a noxious stimulus is preceded by cues predicting higher intensity. However, it is unclear whether the modulation of nociception by expectancy is sensory-specific (“modality based”) or reflects the aversive-affective consequence of the upcoming event (“unpleasantness”), potentially common with other negative events. Here we compared expectancy effects for pain and disgust by using different, but equally unpleasant, nociceptive (thermal) and olfactory stimulations. Indeed both pain and disgust are aversive, associated with threat to the organism, and processed in partly overlapping brain networks. Participants saw cues predicting the unpleasantness (high/low) and the modality (pain/disgust) of upcoming thermal or olfactory stimulations, and rated the associated unpleasantness after stimuli delivery. Results showed that identical thermal stimuli were perceived as more unpleasant when preceded by cues threatening about high (as opposed to low) pain. A similar expectancy effect was found for olfactory disgust. Critically, cross-modal expectancy effects were observed on inconsistent trials when thermal stimuli were preceded by high-disgust cues or olfactory stimuli preceded by high-pain cues. However, these effects were stronger in consistent than inconsistent conditions. Taken together, our results suggest that expectation of an unpleasant event elicits representations of both its modality-specific properties and its aversive consequences. PMID:26631975

Single-unit analysis of somatosensory processing in the core auditory cortex of hearing ferrets.

PubMed

Meredith, M Alex; Allman, Brian L

2015-03-01

The recent findings in several species that the primary auditory cortex processes non-auditory information have largely overlooked the possibility of somatosensory effects. Therefore, the present investigation examined the core auditory cortices (anterior auditory field and primary auditory cortex) for tactile responsivity. Multiple single-unit recordings from anesthetised ferret cortex yielded histologically verified neurons (n = 311) tested with electronically controlled auditory, visual and tactile stimuli, and their combinations. Of the auditory neurons tested, a small proportion (17%) was influenced by visual cues, but a somewhat larger number (23%) was affected by tactile stimulation. Tactile effects rarely occurred alone and spiking responses were observed in bimodal auditory-tactile neurons. However, the broadest tactile effect that was observed, which occurred in all neuron types, was that of suppression of the response to a concurrent auditory cue. The presence of tactile effects in the core auditory cortices was supported by a substantial anatomical projection from the rostral suprasylvian sulcal somatosensory area. Collectively, these results demonstrate that crossmodal effects in the auditory cortex are not exclusively visual and that somatosensation plays a significant role in modulation of acoustic processing, and indicate that crossmodal plasticity following deafness may unmask these existing non-auditory functions. © 2015 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

ERP evidence for conflict in contingency learning.

PubMed

Whitehead, Peter S; Brewer, Gene A; Blais, Chris

2017-07-01

The proportion congruency effect refers to the observation that the magnitude of the Stroop effect increases as the proportion of congruent trials in a block increases. Contemporary work shows that proportion effects can be driven by both context and individual items, and are referred to as context-specific proportion congruency (CSPC) and item-specific proportion congruency (ISPC) effects, respectively. The conflict-modulated Hebbian learning account posits that these effects manifest from the same mechanism, while the parallel episodic processing model posits that the ISPC can occur by simple associative learning. Our prior work showed that the neural correlates of the CSPC is an N2 over frontocentral electrode sites approximately 300 ms after stimulus onset that predicts behavioral performance. There is strong consensus in the field that this N2 signal is associated with conflict detection in the medial frontal cortex. The experiment reported here assesses whether the same qualitative electrophysiological pattern of results holds for the ISPC. We find that the spatial topography of the N2 is similar but slightly delayed with a peak onset of approximately 300 ms after stimulus onset. We argue that this provides strong evidence that a single common mechanism-conflict-modulated Hebbian learning-drives both the ISPC and CSPC. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

The Word Composite Effect Depends on Abstract Lexical Representations But Not Surface Features Like Case and Font.

PubMed

Ventura, Paulo; Fernandes, Tânia; Leite, Isabel; Almeida, Vítor B; Casqueiro, Inês; Wong, Alan C-N

2017-01-01

Prior studies have shown that words show a composite effect: When readers perform a same-different matching task on a target-part of a word, performance is affected by the irrelevant part, whose influence is severely reduced when the two parts are misaligned. However, the locus of this word composite effect is largely unknown. To enlighten it, in two experiments, Portuguese readers performed the composite task on letter strings: in Experiment 1, in written words varying in surface features (between-participants: courier, notera, alternating-cAsE), and in Experiment 2 in pseudowords. The word composite effect, signaled by a significant interaction between alignment of the two word parts and congruence between parts was found in the three conditions of Experiment 1, being unaffected by NoVeLtY of the configuration or by handwritten form. This effect seems to have a lexical locus, given that in Experiment 2 only the main effect of congruence between parts was significant and was not modulated by alignment. Indeed, the cross-experiment analysis showed that words presented stronger congruence effects than pseudowords only in the aligned condition, because when misaligned the whole lexical item configuration was disrupted. Therefore, the word composite effect strongly depends on abstract lexical representations, as it is unaffected by surface features and is specific to lexical items.

Development and Examination of a Family Triadic Measure to Examine Quality of Life Family Congruence in Nursing Home Residents and Two Family Members.

PubMed

Aalgaard Kelly, Gina

2015-01-01

Objective: The overall purpose of this study was to propose and test a conceptual model and apply family analyses methods to understand quality of life family congruence in the nursing home setting. Method: Secondary data for this study were from a larger study, titled Measurement, Indicators and Improvement of the Quality of Life (QOL) in Nursing Homes . Research literature, family systems theory and human ecological assumptions, fostered the conceptual model empirically testing quality of life family congruence. Results: The study results supported a model examining nursing home residents and two family members on quality of life family congruence. Specifically, family intergenerational dynamic factors, resident personal and social-psychological factors, and nursing home family input factors were examined to identify differences in quality of life family congruence among triad families. Discussion: Formal family involvement and resident cognitive functioning were found as the two most influential factors to quality of life family congruence (QOLFC).

Development and Examination of a Family Triadic Measure to Examine Quality of Life Family Congruence in Nursing Home Residents and Two Family Members

PubMed Central

Aalgaard Kelly, Gina

2015-01-01

Objective: The overall purpose of this study was to propose and test a conceptual model and apply family analyses methods to understand quality of life family congruence in the nursing home setting. Method: Secondary data for this study were from a larger study, titled Measurement, Indicators and Improvement of the Quality of Life (QOL) in Nursing Homes. Research literature, family systems theory and human ecological assumptions, fostered the conceptual model empirically testing quality of life family congruence. Results: The study results supported a model examining nursing home residents and two family members on quality of life family congruence. Specifically, family intergenerational dynamic factors, resident personal and social-psychological factors, and nursing home family input factors were examined to identify differences in quality of life family congruence among triad families. Discussion: Formal family involvement and resident cognitive functioning were found as the two most influential factors to quality of life family congruence (QOLFC). PMID:28138474

When music is salty: The crossmodal associations between sound and taste

PubMed Central

Guetta, Rachel; Loui, Psyche

2017-01-01

Here we investigate associations between complex auditory and complex taste stimuli. A novel piece of music was composed and recorded in four different styles of musical articulation to reflect the four basic tastes groups (sweet, sour, salty, bitter). In Experiment 1, participants performed above chance at pairing the music clips with corresponding taste words. Experiment 2 uses multidimensional scaling to interpret how participants categorize these musical stimuli, and to show that auditory categories can be organized in a similar manner as taste categories. Experiment 3 introduces four different flavors of custom-made chocolate ganache and shows that participants can match music clips with the corresponding taste stimuli with above-chance accuracy. Experiment 4 demonstrates the partial role of pleasantness in crossmodal mappings between sound and taste. The present findings confirm that individuals are able to make crossmodal associations between complex auditory and gustatory stimuli, and that valence may mediate multisensory integration in the general population. PMID:28355227

Integrating Conceptual Knowledge Within and Across Representational Modalities

PubMed Central

McNorgan, Chris; Reid, Jackie; McRae, Ken

2011-01-01

Research suggests that concepts are distributed across brain regions specialized for processing information from different sensorimotor modalities. Multimodal semantic models fall into one of two broad classes differentiated by the assumed hierarchy of convergence zones over which information is integrated. In shallow models, communication within- and between-modality is accomplished using either direct connectivity, or a central semantic hub. In deep models, modalities are connected via cascading integration sites with successively wider receptive fields. Four experiments provide the first direct behavioral tests of these models using speeded tasks involving feature inference and concept activation. Shallow models predict no within-modal versus cross-modal difference in either task, whereas deep models predict a within-modal advantage for feature inference, but a cross-modal advantage for concept activation. Experiments 1 and 2 used relatedness judgments to tap participants’ knowledge of relations for within- and cross-modal feature pairs. Experiments 3 and 4 used a dual feature verification task. The pattern of decision latencies across Experiments 1 to 4 is consistent with a deep integration hierarchy. PMID:21093853

Different patterns of modality dominance across development.

PubMed

Barnhart, Wesley R; Rivera, Samuel; Robinson, Christopher W

2018-01-01

The present study sought to better understand how children, young adults, and older adults attend and respond to multisensory information. In Experiment 1, young adults were presented with two spoken words, two pictures, or two word-picture pairings and they had to determine if the two stimuli/pairings were exactly the same or different. Pairing the words and pictures together slowed down visual but not auditory response times and delayed the latency of first fixations, both of which are consistent with a proposed mechanism underlying auditory dominance. Experiment 2 examined the development of modality dominance in children, young adults, and older adults. Cross-modal presentation attenuated visual accuracy and slowed down visual response times in children, whereas older adults showed the opposite pattern, with cross-modal presentation attenuating auditory accuracy and slowing down auditory response times. Cross-modal presentation also delayed first fixations in children and young adults. Mechanisms underlying modality dominance and multisensory processing are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cross-modal learning to rank via latent joint representation.

PubMed

Wu, Fei; Jiang, Xinyang; Li, Xi; Tang, Siliang; Lu, Weiming; Zhang, Zhongfei; Zhuang, Yueting

2015-05-01

Cross-modal ranking is a research topic that is imperative to many applications involving multimodal data. Discovering a joint representation for multimodal data and learning a ranking function are essential in order to boost the cross-media retrieval (i.e., image-query-text or text-query-image). In this paper, we propose an approach to discover the latent joint representation of pairs of multimodal data (e.g., pairs of an image query and a text document) via a conditional random field and structural learning in a listwise ranking manner. We call this approach cross-modal learning to rank via latent joint representation (CML²R). In CML²R, the correlations between multimodal data are captured in terms of their sharing hidden variables (e.g., topics), and a hidden-topic-driven discriminative ranking function is learned in a listwise ranking manner. The experiments show that the proposed approach achieves a good performance in cross-media retrieval and meanwhile has the capability to learn the discriminative representation of multimodal data.

Is early osteoarthritis associated with differences in joint congruence?

PubMed Central

Conconi, Michele; Halilaj, Eni; Castelli, Vincenzo Parenti; Crisco, Joseph J.

2014-01-01

Previous studies suggest that osteoarthritis (OA) is related to abnormal or excessive articular contact stress. The peak pressure resulting from an applied load is determined by many factors, among which is shape and relative position and orientation of the articulating surfaces or, referring to a more common nomenclature, joint congruence. It has been hypothesized that anatomical differences may be among the causes of OA. Individuals with less congruent joints would likely develop higher peak pressure and thus would be more exposed to the risk of OA onset. The aim of this work was to determine if the congruence of the first carpometacarpal (CMC) joint differs with the early onset of OA or with sex, as the female population has a higher incidence of OA. 59 without and 38 with early OA were CT-scanned with their dominant or arthritic hand in a neutral configuration. The proposed measure of joint congruence is both shape and size dependent. The correlation of joint congruence with pathology and sex was analyzed both before and after normalization for joint size. We found a significant correlation between joint congruence and sex due to the sex-related differences in size. The observed correlation disappeared after normalization. Although joint congruence increased with size, it did not correlate significantly with the onset of early OA. Differences in joint congruence in this population may not be a primary cause of OA onset or predisposition, at least for the CMC joint. PMID:25468667

Is early osteoarthritis associated with differences in joint congruence?

PubMed

Conconi, Michele; Halilaj, Eni; Parenti Castelli, Vincenzo; Crisco, Joseph J

2014-12-18

Previous studies suggest that osteoarthritis (OA) is related to abnormal or excessive articular contact stress. The peak pressure resulting from an applied load is determined by many factors, among which is shape and relative position and orientation of the articulating surfaces or, referring to a more common nomenclature, joint congruence. It has been hypothesized that anatomical differences may be among the causes of OA. Individuals with less congruent joints would likely develop higher peak pressure and thus would be more exposed to the risk of OA onset. The aim of this work was to determine if the congruence of the first carpometacarpal (CMC) joint differs with the early onset of OA or with sex, as the female population has a higher incidence of OA. 59 without and 38 with early OA were CT-scanned with their dominant or arthritic hand in a neutral configuration. The proposed measure of joint congruence is both shape and size dependent. The correlation of joint congruence with pathology and sex was analyzed both before and after normalization for joint size. We found a significant correlation between joint congruence and sex due to the sex-related differences in size. The observed correlation disappeared after normalization. Although joint congruence increased with size, it did not correlate significantly with the onset of early OA. Differences in joint congruence in this population may not be a primary cause of OA onset or predisposition, at least for the CMC joint. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Learning piano melodies in visuo-motor or audio-motor training conditions and the neural correlates of their cross-modal transfer.

PubMed

Engel, Annerose; Bangert, Marc; Horbank, David; Hijmans, Brenda S; Wilkens, Katharina; Keller, Peter E; Keysers, Christian

2012-11-01

To investigate the cross-modal transfer of movement patterns necessary to perform melodies on the piano, 22 non-musicians learned to play short sequences on a piano keyboard by (1) merely listening and replaying (vision of own fingers occluded) or (2) merely observing silent finger movements and replaying (on a silent keyboard). After training, participants recognized with above chance accuracy (1) audio-motor learned sequences upon visual presentation (89±17%), and (2) visuo-motor learned sequences upon auditory presentation (77±22%). The recognition rates for visual presentation significantly exceeded those for auditory presentation (p<.05). fMRI revealed that observing finger movements corresponding to audio-motor trained melodies is associated with stronger activation in the left rolandic operculum than observing untrained sequences. This region was also involved in silent execution of sequences, suggesting that a link to motor representations may play a role in cross-modal transfer from audio-motor training condition to visual recognition. No significant differences in brain activity were found during listening to visuo-motor trained compared to untrained melodies. Cross-modal transfer was stronger from the audio-motor training condition to visual recognition and this is discussed in relation to the fact that non-musicians are familiar with how their finger movements look (motor-to-vision transformation), but not with how they sound on a piano (motor-to-sound transformation). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Object discrimination using optimized multi-frequency auditory cross-modal haptic feedback.

PubMed

Gibson, Alison; Artemiadis, Panagiotis

2014-01-01

As the field of brain-machine interfaces and neuro-prosthetics continues to grow, there is a high need for sensor and actuation mechanisms that can provide haptic feedback to the user. Current technologies employ expensive, invasive and often inefficient force feedback methods, resulting in an unrealistic solution for individuals who rely on these devices. This paper responds through the development, integration and analysis of a novel feedback architecture where haptic information during the neural control of a prosthetic hand is perceived through multi-frequency auditory signals. Through representing force magnitude with volume and force location with frequency, the feedback architecture can translate the haptic experiences of a robotic end effector into the alternative sensory modality of sound. Previous research with the proposed cross-modal feedback method confirmed its learnability, so the current work aimed to investigate which frequency map (i.e. frequency-specific locations on the hand) is optimal in helping users distinguish between hand-held objects and tasks associated with them. After short use with the cross-modal feedback during the electromyographic (EMG) control of a prosthetic hand, testing results show that users are able to use audial feedback alone to discriminate between everyday objects. While users showed adaptation to three different frequency maps, the simplest map containing only two frequencies was found to be the most useful in discriminating between objects. This outcome provides support for the feasibility and practicality of the cross-modal feedback method during the neural control of prosthetics.

Cross-modal face recognition using multi-matcher face scores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Yufeng; Blasch, Erik

2015-05-01

The performance of face recognition can be improved using information fusion of multimodal images and/or multiple algorithms. When multimodal face images are available, cross-modal recognition is meaningful for security and surveillance applications. For example, a probe face is a thermal image (especially at nighttime), while only visible face images are available in the gallery database. Matching a thermal probe face onto the visible gallery faces requires crossmodal matching approaches. A few such studies were implemented in facial feature space with medium recognition performance. In this paper, we propose a cross-modal recognition approach, where multimodal faces are cross-matched in feature space and the recognition performance is enhanced with stereo fusion at image, feature and/or score level. In the proposed scenario, there are two cameras for stereo imaging, two face imagers (visible and thermal images) in each camera, and three recognition algorithms (circular Gaussian filter, face pattern byte, linear discriminant analysis). A score vector is formed with three cross-matched face scores from the aforementioned three algorithms. A classifier (e.g., k-nearest neighbor, support vector machine, binomial logical regression [BLR]) is trained then tested with the score vectors by using 10-fold cross validations. The proposed approach was validated with a multispectral stereo face dataset from 105 subjects. Our experiments show very promising results: ACR (accuracy rate) = 97.84%, FAR (false accept rate) = 0.84% when cross-matching the fused thermal faces onto the fused visible faces by using three face scores and the BLR classifier.

Investigating common coding of observed and executed actions in the monkey brain using cross-modal multi-variate fMRI classification.

PubMed

Fiave, Prosper Agbesi; Sharma, Saloni; Jastorff, Jan; Nelissen, Koen

2018-05-19

Mirror neurons are generally described as a neural substrate hosting shared representations of actions, by simulating or 'mirroring' the actions of others onto the observer's own motor system. Since single neuron recordings are rarely feasible in humans, it has been argued that cross-modal multi-variate pattern analysis (MVPA) of non-invasive fMRI data is a suitable technique to investigate common coding of observed and executed actions, allowing researchers to infer the presence of mirror neurons in the human brain. In an effort to close the gap between monkey electrophysiology and human fMRI data with respect to the mirror neuron system, here we tested this proposal for the first time in the monkey. Rhesus monkeys either performed reach-and-grasp or reach-and-touch motor acts with their right hand in the dark or observed videos of human actors performing similar motor acts. Unimodal decoding showed that both executed or observed motor acts could be decoded from numerous brain regions. Specific portions of rostral parietal, premotor and motor cortices, previously shown to house mirror neurons, in addition to somatosensory regions, yielded significant asymmetric action-specific cross-modal decoding. These results validate the use of cross-modal multi-variate fMRI analyses to probe the representations of own and others' actions in the primate brain and support the proposed mapping of others' actions onto the observer's own motor cortices. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of image congruency on persuasiveness and recall in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.

PubMed

Kiernicki, Kristen; Helme, Donald W

2017-01-01

Although direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, content analyses suggest advertisers may not disclose drug risks in the same way they describe drug benefits. This study tests the relationship between image congruency in televised DTC advertisements, recall of risks/benefits, and perceived persuasiveness. Advertisements for Nasonex, Advair, and Lunesta were shown to college students in either their original (image incongruent) or modified (image neutral) form. Risks were easier to recall with image-neutral advertisements. Gender also had a significant interaction effect, suggesting that males and females process DTC advertisement differently.

Interplay Between the Object and Its Symbol: The Size-Congruency Effect

PubMed Central

Shen, Manqiong; Xie, Jiushu; Liu, Wenjuan; Lin, Wenjie; Chen, Zhuoming; Marmolejo-Ramos, Fernando; Wang, Ruiming

2016-01-01

Grounded cognition suggests that conceptual processing shares cognitive resources with perceptual processing. Hence, conceptual processing should be affected by perceptual processing, and vice versa. The current study explored the relationship between conceptual and perceptual processing of size. Within a pair of words, we manipulated the font size of each word, which was either congruent or incongruent with the actual size of the referred object. In Experiment 1a, participants compared object sizes that were referred to by word pairs. Higher accuracy was observed in the congruent condition (e.g., word pairs referring to larger objects in larger font sizes) than in the incongruent condition. This is known as the size-congruency effect. In Experiments 1b and 2, participants compared the font sizes of these word pairs. The size-congruency effect was not observed. In Experiments 3a and 3b, participants compared object and font sizes of word pairs depending on a task cue. Results showed that perceptual processing affected conceptual processing, and vice versa. This suggested that the association between conceptual and perceptual processes may be bidirectional but further modulated by semantic processing. Specifically, conceptual processing might only affect perceptual processing when semantic information is activated. The current study PMID:27512529

Working memory capacity predicts conflict-task performance.

PubMed

Gulbinaite, Rasa; Johnson, Addie

2014-01-01

The relationship between the ability to maintain task goals and working memory capacity (WMC) is firmly established, but evidence for WMC-related differences in conflict processing is mixed. We investigated whether WMC (measured using two complex-span tasks) mediates differences in adjustments of cognitive control in response to conflict. Participants performed a Simon task in which congruent and incongruent trials were equiprobable, but in which the proportion of congruency repetitions (congruent trials followed by congruent trials or incongruent trials followed by incongruent trials) and thus the need for trial-by-trial adjustments in cognitive control varied by block. The overall Simon effect did not depend on WMC capacity. However, for the low-WMC participants the Simon effect decreased as the proportion of congruency repetitions decreased, whereas for the high- and average-WMC participants it was relatively constant across conditions. Distribution analysis of the Simon effect showed more evidence for the inhibition of stimulus location in the low- than in the high-WMC participants, especially when the proportion of congruency repetitions was low. We hypothesize that low-WMC individuals exhibit more interference from task-irrelevant information due to weaker preparatory control prior to stimulus presentation and, thus, stronger reliance on reactive recruitment of cognitive control.

Electrophysiological evidence for speech-specific audiovisual integration.

PubMed

Baart, Martijn; Stekelenburg, Jeroen J; Vroomen, Jean

2014-01-01

Lip-read speech is integrated with heard speech at various neural levels. Here, we investigated the extent to which lip-read induced modulations of the auditory N1 and P2 (measured with EEG) are indicative of speech-specific audiovisual integration, and we explored to what extent the ERPs were modulated by phonetic audiovisual congruency. In order to disentangle speech-specific (phonetic) integration from non-speech integration, we used Sine-Wave Speech (SWS) that was perceived as speech by half of the participants (they were in speech-mode), while the other half was in non-speech mode. Results showed that the N1 obtained with audiovisual stimuli peaked earlier than the N1 evoked by auditory-only stimuli. This lip-read induced speeding up of the N1 occurred for listeners in speech and non-speech mode. In contrast, if listeners were in speech-mode, lip-read speech also modulated the auditory P2, but not if listeners were in non-speech mode, thus revealing speech-specific audiovisual binding. Comparing ERPs for phonetically congruent audiovisual stimuli with ERPs for incongruent stimuli revealed an effect of phonetic stimulus congruency that started at ~200 ms after (in)congruence became apparent. Critically, akin to the P2 suppression, congruency effects were only observed if listeners were in speech mode, and not if they were in non-speech mode. Using identical stimuli, we thus confirm that audiovisual binding involves (partially) different neural mechanisms for sound processing in speech and non-speech mode. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Value congruence in health care priority setting: social values, institutions and decisions in three countries.

PubMed

Landwehr, Claudia; Klinnert, Dorothea

2015-04-01

Most developed democracies have faced the challenge of priority setting in health care by setting up specialized agencies to take decisions on which medical services to include in public health baskets. Under the influence of Daniels and Sabin's seminal work on the topic, agencies increasingly aim to fulfil criteria of procedural justice, such as accountability and transparency. We assume, however, that the institutional design of agencies also and necessarily reflects substantial value judgments on the respective weight of distributive principles such as efficiency, need and equality. The public acceptance of prioritization decisions, and eventually of the health care system at large, will ultimately depend not only on considerations of procedural fairness, but also on the congruence between a society's values and its institutions. We study social values, institutions and decisions in three countries (France, Germany and the United Kingdom) in order to assess such congruence and formulate expectations on its effects.

Similarity and Congruence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herman, Daniel L.

This instructional unit is an introduction to the common properties of similarity and congruence. Manipulation of objects leads to a recognition of these properties. The ASA, SAS, and SSS theorems are not mentioned. Limited use is made in the application of the properties of size and shape preserved by similarity or congruence. A teacher's guide…

The modified gap excess ratio (GER*) and the stratigraphic congruence of dinosaur phylogenies.

PubMed

Wills, Matthew A; Barrett, Paul M; Heathcote, Julia F

2008-12-01

Palaeontologists routinely map their cladograms onto what is known of the fossil record. Where sister taxa first appear as fossils at different times, a ghost range is inferred to bridge the gap between these dates. Some measure of the total extent of ghost ranges across the tree underlies several indices of cladistic/stratigraphic congruence. We investigate this congruence for 19 independent, published cladograms of major dinosaur groups and report exceptional agreement between the phylogenetic and stratigraphic patterns, evidenced by sums of ghost ranges near the theoretical minima. This implies that both phylogenetic and stratigraphic data reflect faithfully the evolutionary history of dinosaurs, at least for the taxa included in this study. We formally propose modifications to an existing index of congruence (the gap excess ratio; GER), designed to remove a bias in the range of values possible with trees of different shapes. We also propose a more informative index of congruence--GER*--that takes account of the underlying distribution of sums of ghost ranges possible when permuting stratigraphic range data across the tree. Finally, we incorporate data on the range of possible first occurrence dates into our estimates of congruence, extending a procedure originally implemented with the modified Manhattan stratigraphic measure and GER to our new indices. Most dinosaur data sets maintain extremely high congruence despite such modifications.

Does patellofemoral congruence following total knee arthroplasty correlate with pain or function? Intraoperative arthroscopic assessment of 30 cases

PubMed Central

Senioris, Antoine; Rahali, Said; Malekpour, Louis; Dujardin, Franck; Courage, Olivier

2016-01-01

Background Anterior knee pain (AKP) is observed in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) both with and without patellar resurfacing, and neither patellar denervation nor secondary resurfacing are effective for treating the symptoms. The exact causes for pain remain unclear, though abnormal patellofemoral forces due to patellar malalignment or inadequate implant design can play an important role. The purpose of this study was to arthroscopically evaluate patellofemoral congruence after wound closure following TKA without patellar resurfacing and correlate it to patellar morphology and postoperative pain and function. Methods The authors prospectively studied 30 patients that received uncemented mobile-bearing TKA. Patellofemoral congruence was assessed arthroscopically after wound closure by estimating the contact area between the native patella and the prosthetic trochlea (> two-thirds, > one-third, < one-third). The findings were correlated to preoperative assessments of patellar geometry (Wiberg classification using X-rays) and clinical outcomes [Knee Society Score (KSS), AKP on Visual Analogic Scale (VAS), and patient satisfaction]. Results Knees of 22 women and 8 men aged 69.8 years (range, 61–84 years) were analyzed at 16 months (range, 12–23 months). Preoperative patellar geometry was Wiberg type A in 11, type B in 12 and type C in 7 knees. Postoperative KSS was 79.1 (range, 50.0–94) and the VAS for AKP was 1.6±1.3 (median, 1; range, 0–5). Patellar congruence was correlated with patellar morphology (P<0.001) but not correlated with any clinical outcomes (KSS, VAS or satisfaction). There were also no statistical correlations between patellar morphology or patellofemoral congruence and patient characteristics. Conclusions While patellar morphology and patellofemoral congruence are strongly related, they are not associated with clinical outcomes or patient demographics. Considering that numerous incongruent patellofemoral joints were pain-free, and conversely, many perfectly congruent patellofemoral joints had anterior pain, the authors suppose that pain is probably caused by mechanisms other than patellofemoral pressures. PMID:27570773

Does patellofemoral congruence following total knee arthroplasty correlate with pain or function? Intraoperative arthroscopic assessment of 30 cases.

PubMed

Senioris, Antoine; Saffarini, Mo; Rahali, Said; Malekpour, Louis; Dujardin, Franck; Courage, Olivier

2016-08-01

Anterior knee pain (AKP) is observed in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) both with and without patellar resurfacing, and neither patellar denervation nor secondary resurfacing are effective for treating the symptoms. The exact causes for pain remain unclear, though abnormal patellofemoral forces due to patellar malalignment or inadequate implant design can play an important role. The purpose of this study was to arthroscopically evaluate patellofemoral congruence after wound closure following TKA without patellar resurfacing and correlate it to patellar morphology and postoperative pain and function. The authors prospectively studied 30 patients that received uncemented mobile-bearing TKA. Patellofemoral congruence was assessed arthroscopically after wound closure by estimating the contact area between the native patella and the prosthetic trochlea (> two-thirds, > one-third, < one-third). The findings were correlated to preoperative assessments of patellar geometry (Wiberg classification using X-rays) and clinical outcomes [Knee Society Score (KSS), AKP on Visual Analogic Scale (VAS), and patient satisfaction]. Knees of 22 women and 8 men aged 69.8 years (range, 61-84 years) were analyzed at 16 months (range, 12-23 months). Preoperative patellar geometry was Wiberg type A in 11, type B in 12 and type C in 7 knees. Postoperative KSS was 79.1 (range, 50.0-94) and the VAS for AKP was 1.6±1.3 (median, 1; range, 0-5). Patellar congruence was correlated with patellar morphology (P<0.001) but not correlated with any clinical outcomes (KSS, VAS or satisfaction). There were also no statistical correlations between patellar morphology or patellofemoral congruence and patient characteristics. While patellar morphology and patellofemoral congruence are strongly related, they are not associated with clinical outcomes or patient demographics. Considering that numerous incongruent patellofemoral joints were pain-free, and conversely, many perfectly congruent patellofemoral joints had anterior pain, the authors suppose that pain is probably caused by mechanisms other than patellofemoral pressures.

Listeners' expectation of room acoustical parameters based on visual cues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valente, Daniel L.

Despite many studies investigating auditory spatial impressions in rooms, few have addressed the impact of simultaneous visual cues on localization and the perception of spaciousness. The current research presents an immersive audio-visual study, in which participants are instructed to make spatial congruency and quantity judgments in dynamic cross-modal environments. The results of these psychophysical tests suggest the importance of consilient audio-visual presentation to the legibility of an auditory scene. Several studies have looked into audio-visual interaction in room perception in recent years, but these studies rely on static images, speech signals, or photographs alone to represent the visual scene. Building on these studies, the aim is to propose a testing method that uses monochromatic compositing (blue-screen technique) to position a studio recording of a musical performance in a number of virtual acoustical environments and ask subjects to assess these environments. In the first experiment of the study, video footage was taken from five rooms varying in physical size from a small studio to a small performance hall. Participants were asked to perceptually align two distinct acoustical parameters---early-to-late reverberant energy ratio and reverberation time---of two solo musical performances in five contrasting visual environments according to their expectations of how the room should sound given its visual appearance. In the second experiment in the study, video footage shot from four different listening positions within a general-purpose space was coupled with sounds derived from measured binaural impulse responses (IRs). The relationship between the presented image, sound, and virtual receiver position was examined. It was found that many visual cues caused different perceived events of the acoustic environment. This included the visual attributes of the space in which the performance was located as well as the visual attributes of the performer. The addressed visual makeup of the performer included: (1) an actual video of the performance, (2) a surrogate image of the performance, for example a loudspeaker's image reproducing the performance, (3) no visual image of the performance (empty room), or (4) a multi-source visual stimulus (actual video of the performance coupled with two images of loudspeakers positioned to the left and right of the performer). For this experiment, perceived auditory events of sound were measured in terms of two subjective spatial metrics: Listener Envelopment (LEV) and Apparent Source Width (ASW) These metrics were hypothesized to be dependent on the visual imagery of the presented performance. Data was also collected by participants matching direct and reverberant sound levels for the presented audio-visual scenes. In the final experiment, participants judged spatial expectations of an ensemble of musicians presented in the five physical spaces from Experiment 1. Supporting data was accumulated in two stages. First, participants were given an audio-visual matching test, in which they were instructed to align the auditory width of a performing ensemble to a varying set of audio and visual cues. In the second stage, a conjoint analysis design paradigm was explored to extrapolate the relative magnitude of explored audio-visual factors in affecting three assessed response criteria: Congruency (the perceived match-up of the auditory and visual cues in the assessed performance), ASW and LEV. Results show that both auditory and visual factors affect the collected responses, and that the two sensory modalities coincide in distinct interactions. This study reveals participant resiliency in the presence of forced auditory-visual mismatch: Participants are able to adjust the acoustic component of the cross-modal environment in a statistically similar way despite randomized starting values for the monitored parameters. Subjective results of the experiments are presented along with objective measurements for verification.

The Effect of Implicit–Explicit Followership Congruence on Benevolent Leadership: Evidence from Chinese Family Firms

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiao; Peng, Jian

2016-01-01

Benevolent leadership, a traditional Chinese leadership style generated under the influence of Confucianism, has been under growing discussion since its proposal. However, existing research has focused mainly on the consequences of benevolent leadership, and research probing into its antecedents is scarce. To fill such research gap, the current study aims to explore the effect of the congruence between implicit positive followership prototype (PFP) and explicit positive followership trait (PFT) on benevolent leadership. Polynomial regression combined with the response surface methodology was used to test the hypotheses herein. The results, based on a sample of 241 leader–follower dyads from four Chinese family firms, indicated the following: (1) benevolent leadership is higher when leader PFP is congruent with follower PFT than when they are incongruent; (2) in cases of congruence, benevolent leadership is higher when leader PFP and follower PFT are both high rather than low; (3) in the case of incongruence, there is no significant difference for the level of benevolent leadership in two scenarios: “low leader PFP – high follower PFT” and “high leader PFP – low follower PFT”. PMID:27375514

Grammatical Gender Inhibition in Bilinguals

PubMed Central

Morales, Luis; Paolieri, Daniela; Bajo, Teresa

2011-01-01

Inhibitory control processes have been recently considered to be involved in interference resolution in bilinguals at the phonological level. In this study we explored if interference resolution is also carried out by this inhibitory mechanism at the grammatical level. Thirty-two bilinguals (Italian-L1 and Spanish-L2) participated. All of them completed two tasks. In the first one they had to name pictures in L2. We manipulated gender congruency between the two languages and the number of presentations of the pictures (1 and 5). Results showed a gender congruency effect with slower naming latencies in the incongruent condition. In the second task, participants were presented with the pictures practiced during the first naming task, but now they were asked to produce the L1 article. Results showed a grammatical gender congruency effect in L1 that increased for those words practiced five times in L2. Our conclusion is that an inhibitory mechanism was involved in the suppression of the native language during a picture naming task. Furthermore, this inhibitory process was also involved in suppressing grammatical gender when it was a source of competition between the languages. PMID:22046168

A Quantitative Review of the Effect of Computerized Testing on the Measurement of Social Desirability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dwight, Stephen A.; Feigelson, Melissa E.

2000-01-01

Conducted a meta-analysis to determine the extent to which the computer administration of a measure influences socially desirable responding. Discusses implications of the findings about impression management in terms of how they contribute to the explication of the construct of social desirability and cross-mode equivalence. (Author/SLD)

Emotional and behavioral problems among adolescent students: the role of immigrant, racial/ethnic congruence and belongingness in schools.

PubMed

Georgiades, Katholiki; Boyle, Michael H; Fife, Kelly A

2013-09-01

As levels of immigration and ethnic diversity continue to rise in most Western societies, the social demography of schools is changing rapidly. Although schools represent a prominent developmental context, relatively little is known about the extent to which the racial/ethnic composition of schools influences mental health outcomes in students. The objective of the present study is to examine the association between immigrant and racial/ethnic congruence in school-the numerical representation of a student's immigrant generational status and race/ethnicity in the student body-and levels of emotional and behavioral problems. This study also examines the extent to which the association between congruence and emotional-behavioral problems differs across racial/ethnic immigrant sub-groups and is accounted for by individual perceptions of school belonging. Data come from the in-school survey of the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) conducted in the United States. The sample is nationally representative, and includes 128 schools and 77,150 adolescents in grades 7-12 (50 % female, M age = 14.9 years, SD = 1.78). After controlling for school and family socio-demographic characteristics, immigrant and racial/ethnic congruence in school exhibited a negative association with emotional and behavioral problems for most sub-groups examined. School belonging was associated negatively with emotional and behavioral problems, and partially accounted for the effects linked to congruence in schools. The immigrant and racial/ethnic composition of schools and perceptions of belonging have strong links with emotional and behavioral problems and may represent important targets for intervention.

Emotional congruence between clients and therapists and its effect on treatment outcome.

PubMed

Atzil-Slonim, Dana; Bar-Kalifa, Eran; Fisher, Hadar; Peri, Tuvia; Lutz, Wolfgang; Rubel, Julian; Rafaeli, Eshkol

2018-01-01

The present study aimed to (a) explore 2 indices of emotional congruence-temporal similarity and directional discrepancy-between clients' and therapists' ratings of their emotions as they cofluctuate session-by-session; and (b) examine whether client/therapist emotional congruence predicts clients' symptom relief and improved functioning. The sample comprised 109 clients treated by 62 therapists in a university setting. Clients and therapists self-reported their negative (NE) and positive emotions (PE) after each session. Symptom severity and functioning level were assessed at the beginning of each session using the clients' self-reports. To assess emotional congruence, an adaptation of West and Kenny's (2011) Truth and Bias model was applied. To examine the consequences of emotional congruence, polynomial regression, and response surface analyses were conducted (Edwards & Parry, 1993). Clients and therapists were temporally similar in both PE and NE. Therapists experienced less intense PE on average, but did not experience more or less intense NE than their clients. Those therapists who experienced more intense NE than their clients were more temporally similar in their emotions to their clients. Therapist/client incongruence in both PE and NE predicted poorer next-session symptomatology; incongruence in PE was also associated with lower client next-session functioning. Session-level symptoms were better when therapists experienced more intense emotions (both PE and NE) than their clients. The findings highlight the importance of recognizing the dynamic nature of emotions in client-therapist interactions and the contribution of session-by-session emotional dynamics to outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Toward a theory of persuasive hope: effects of cognitive appraisals, hope appeals, and hope in the context of climate change.

PubMed

Chadwick, Amy E

2015-01-01

Hope has the potential to be a powerful motivator for influencing behavior. However, hope and messages that evoke hope (hope appeals) have rarely been the focus of theoretical development or empirical research. As a step toward the effective development and use of hope appeals in persuasive communication, this study conceptualized and operationalized hope appeals in the context of climate change prevention. Then, the study manipulated components of the hope evocation part of a hope appeal. Specifically, the components were designed to address appraisals of the importance, goal congruence, future expectation, and possibility of climate protection, resulting in a 2 (strong/weak importance) × 2 (strong/weak goal congruence) × 2 (strong/weak future expectation) × 2 (strong/weak possibility) between-subjects pretest-posttest factorial design. Two hundred forty-five undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of the 16 message conditions and completed the study online. The study tested whether the four appraisals predict feelings of hope. It determined whether message components that address importance, goal congruence, future expectation, and possibility affect appraisals, feelings of hope, and persuasion outcomes. Finally, this study tested the effects of feelings of hope on persuasion outcomes. This study takes an important step toward enabling the effective use of hope appeals in persuasive communication.

Space-Valence Priming with Subliminal and Supraliminal Words

PubMed Central

Ansorge, Ulrich; Khalid, Shah; König, Peter

2013-01-01

To date it is unclear whether (1) awareness-independent non-evaluative semantic processes influence affective semantics and whether (2) awareness-independent affective semantics influence non-evaluative semantic processing. In the current study, we investigated these questions with the help of subliminal (masked) primes and visible targets in a space-valence across-category congruence effect. In line with (1), we found that subliminal space prime words influenced valence classification of supraliminal target words (Experiment 1): classifications were faster with a congruent prime (e.g., the prime “up” before the target “happy”) than with an incongruent prime (e.g., the prime “up” before the target “sad”). In contrast to (2), no influence of subliminal valence primes on the classification of supraliminal space targets into up- and down-words was found (Experiment 2). Control conditions showed that standard masked response priming effects were found with both subliminal prime types, and that an across-category congruence effect was also found with supraliminal valence primes and spatial target words. The final Experiment 3 confirmed that the across-category congruence effect indeed reflected priming of target categorization of a relevant meaning category. Together, the data jointly confirmed prediction (1) that awareness-independent non-evaluative semantic priming influences valence judgments. PMID:23439863

Does Discourse Congruence Influence Spoken Language Comprehension before Lexical Association? Evidence from Event-Related Potentials

PubMed Central

Boudewyn, Megan A.; Gordon, Peter C.; Long, Debra; Polse, Lara; Swaab, Tamara Y.

2011-01-01

The goal of this study was to examine how lexical association and discourse congruence affect the time course of processing incoming words in spoken discourse. In an ERP norming study, we presented prime-target pairs in the absence of a sentence context to obtain a baseline measure of lexical priming. We observed a typical N400 effect when participants heard critical associated and unassociated target words in word pairs. In a subsequent experiment, we presented the same word pairs in spoken discourse contexts. Target words were always consistent with the local sentence context, but were congruent or not with the global discourse (e.g., “Luckily Ben had picked up some salt and pepper/basil”, preceded by a context in which Ben was preparing marinara sauce (congruent) or dealing with an icy walkway (incongruent). ERP effects of global discourse congruence preceded those of local lexical association, suggesting an early influence of the global discourse representation on lexical processing, even in locally congruent contexts. Furthermore, effects of lexical association occurred earlier in the congruent than incongruent condition. These results differ from those that have been obtained in studies of reading, suggesting that the effects may be unique to spoken word recognition. PMID:23002319

Is Red Heavier Than Yellow Even for Blind?

PubMed

Barilari, Marco; de Heering, Adélaïde; Crollen, Virginie; Collignon, Olivier; Bottini, Roberto

2018-01-01

Across cultures and languages, people find similarities between the products of different senses in mysterious ways. By studying what is called cross-modal correspondences, cognitive psychologists discovered that lemons are fast rather than slow, boulders are sour, and red is heavier than yellow. Are these cross-modal correspondences established via sensory perception or can they be learned merely through language? We contribute to this debate by demonstrating that early blind people who lack the perceptual experience of color also think that red is heavier than yellow but to a lesser extent than sighted do.

Interidentity memory transfer in dissociative identity disorder.

PubMed

Kong, Lauren L; Allen, John J B; Glisky, Elizabeth L

2008-08-01

Controversy surrounding dissociative identity disorder (DID) has focused on conflicting findings regarding the validity and nature of interidentity amnesia, illustrating the need for objective methods of examining amnesia that can discriminate between explicit and implicit memory transfer. In the present study, the authors used a cross-modal manipulation designed to mitigate implicit memory effects. Explicit memory transfer between identities was examined in 7 DID participants and 34 matched control participants. After words were presented to one identity auditorily, the authors tested another identity for memory of those words in the visual modality using an exclusion paradigm. Despite self-reported interidentity amnesia, memory for experimental stimuli transferred between identities. DID patients showed no superior ability to compartmentalize information, as would be expected with interidentity amnesia. The cross-modal nature of the test makes it unlikely that memory transfer was implicit. These findings demonstrate that subjective reports of interidentity amnesia are not necessarily corroborated by objective tests of explicit memory transfer. Copyright (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

Suppression and Working Memory in Auditory Comprehension of L2 Narratives: Evidence from Cross-Modal Priming.

PubMed

Wu, Shiyu; Ma, Zheng

2016-10-01

Using a cross-modal priming task, the present study explores whether Chinese-English bilinguals process goal related information during auditory comprehension of English narratives like native speakers. Results indicate that English native speakers adopted both mechanisms of suppression and enhancement to modulate the activation of goals and keep track of the "causal path" in narrative events and that L1 speakers with higher working memory (WM) capacity are more skilled at attenuating interference. L2 speakers, however, experienced the phenomenon of "facilitation-without-inhibition." Their difficulty in suppressing irrelevant information was related to their performance in the test of working memory capacity. For the L2 group with greater working memory capacity, the effects of both enhancement and suppression were found. These findings are discussed in light of a landscape model of L2 text comprehension which highlights the need for WM to be incorporated into comprehensive models of L2 processing as well as theories of SLA.

Congruence between Culturally Competent Treatment and Cultural Needs of Older Latinos

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costantino, Giuseppe; Malgady, Robert G.; Primavera, Louis H.

2009-01-01

This study investigated a new 2-factor construct, termed "cultural congruence", which is related to cultural competence in the delivery of mental health services to ethnic minority clients. Cultural congruence was defined as the distance between the cultural competence characteristics of the health care organization and the clients' perception of…

Congruence and Welsh-English Code-Switching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deuchar, Margaret

2005-01-01

This paper aims to contribute to elucidating the notion of congruence in code-switching with particular reference to Welsh-English data. It has been suggested that a sufficient degree of congruence or equivalence between the constituents of one language and another is necessary in order for code-switching to take place. We shall distinguish…

Cross-modal metaphorical mapping of spoken emotion words onto vertical space.

PubMed

Montoro, Pedro R; Contreras, María José; Elosúa, María Rosa; Marmolejo-Ramos, Fernando

2015-01-01

From the field of embodied cognition, previous studies have reported evidence of metaphorical mapping of emotion concepts onto a vertical spatial axis. Most of the work on this topic has used visual words as the typical experimental stimuli. However, to our knowledge, no previous study has examined the association between affect and vertical space using a cross-modal procedure. The current research is a first step toward the study of the metaphorical mapping of emotions onto vertical space by means of an auditory to visual cross-modal paradigm. In the present study, we examined whether auditory words with an emotional valence can interact with the vertical visual space according to a 'positive-up/negative-down' embodied metaphor. The general method consisted in the presentation of a spoken word denoting a positive/negative emotion prior to the spatial localization of a visual target in an upper or lower position. In Experiment 1, the spoken words were passively heard by the participants and no reliable interaction between emotion concepts and bodily simulated space was found. In contrast, Experiment 2 required more active listening of the auditory stimuli. A metaphorical mapping of affect and space was evident but limited to the participants engaged in an emotion-focused task. Our results suggest that the association of affective valence and vertical space is not activated automatically during speech processing since an explicit semantic and/or emotional evaluation of the emotionally valenced stimuli was necessary to obtain an embodied effect. The results are discussed within the framework of the embodiment hypothesis.

Cross-modal metaphorical mapping of spoken emotion words onto vertical space

PubMed Central

Montoro, Pedro R.; Contreras, María José; Elosúa, María Rosa; Marmolejo-Ramos, Fernando

2015-01-01

From the field of embodied cognition, previous studies have reported evidence of metaphorical mapping of emotion concepts onto a vertical spatial axis. Most of the work on this topic has used visual words as the typical experimental stimuli. However, to our knowledge, no previous study has examined the association between affect and vertical space using a cross-modal procedure. The current research is a first step toward the study of the metaphorical mapping of emotions onto vertical space by means of an auditory to visual cross-modal paradigm. In the present study, we examined whether auditory words with an emotional valence can interact with the vertical visual space according to a ‘positive-up/negative-down’ embodied metaphor. The general method consisted in the presentation of a spoken word denoting a positive/negative emotion prior to the spatial localization of a visual target in an upper or lower position. In Experiment 1, the spoken words were passively heard by the participants and no reliable interaction between emotion concepts and bodily simulated space was found. In contrast, Experiment 2 required more active listening of the auditory stimuli. A metaphorical mapping of affect and space was evident but limited to the participants engaged in an emotion-focused task. Our results suggest that the association of affective valence and vertical space is not activated automatically during speech processing since an explicit semantic and/or emotional evaluation of the emotionally valenced stimuli was necessary to obtain an embodied effect. The results are discussed within the framework of the embodiment hypothesis. PMID:26322007

[Research on activity evolution of cerebral cortex and hearing rehabilitation of congenitally deaf children after cochlear implant].

PubMed

Wang, X J; Liang, M J; Zhang, J P; Huang, H; Zheng, Y Q

2017-11-05

Objective: There is a significant difference in the hearing rehabilitation between the congenitally deaf children after cochlear implant(CI). The intrinsic mechanism that affects the hearing rehabilitation in patients was discussed from the perspective of evoked EEG source activity. Method: Firstly, we collected the ERP data from 23 patients and 10 control group children during 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after CI. According to the hearing rehabilitation during 12 months after CI, the patients were divided into two groups: rehabilitation of "the good" and "the poor". Then we used sLORETA to show the changes in the groups of patients' cerebral cortex and compared with the control group. Result: Cross-modal reorganization of cerebral cortex exists in the congenitally deaf children. The cross-modal reorganization gradually degraded and the activity of the relevant cortex followed by normally after CI. There was a statistically significant difference( P < 0.05) in the temporal lobe and the associated cortex around parietal lobe between "the good" and "the poor" groups after 12 months. Conclusion: The normalization of the cross-modal reorganization in patients reflects the hearing rehabilitation after CI, especially the normalization of the activity of the temporal lobe and the associated cortex around parietal lobe, which influences the rehabilitation effect of the auditory function to some extent. This research demonstrated the detection of the mechanism has important significance for the hearing recovery training and evaluation of the hearing rehabilitation after CI. Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.

The contribution of visual areas to speech comprehension: a PET study in cochlear implants patients and normal-hearing subjects.

PubMed

Giraud, Anne Lise; Truy, Eric

2002-01-01

Early visual cortex can be recruited by meaningful sounds in the absence of visual information. This occurs in particular in cochlear implant (CI) patients whose dependency on visual cues in speech comprehension is increased. Such cross-modal interaction mirrors the response of early auditory cortex to mouth movements (speech reading) and may reflect the natural expectancy of the visual counterpart of sounds, lip movements. Here we pursue the hypothesis that visual activations occur specifically in response to meaningful sounds. We performed PET in both CI patients and controls, while subjects listened either to their native language or to a completely unknown language. A recruitment of early visual cortex, the left posterior inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) and the left superior parietal cortex was observed in both groups. While no further activation occurred in the group of normal-hearing subjects, CI patients additionally recruited the right perirhinal/fusiform and mid-fusiform, the right temporo-occipito-parietal (TOP) junction and the left inferior prefrontal cortex (LIPF, Broca's area). This study confirms a participation of visual cortical areas in semantic processing of speech sounds. Observation of early visual activation in normal-hearing subjects shows that auditory-to-visual cross-modal effects can also be recruited under natural hearing conditions. In cochlear implant patients, speech activates the mid-fusiform gyrus in the vicinity of the so-called face area. This suggests that specific cross-modal interaction involving advanced stages in the visual processing hierarchy develops after cochlear implantation and may be the correlate of increased usage of lip-reading.

Light rays and the tidal gravitational pendulum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farley, A. N. St J.

2018-05-01

Null geodesic deviation in classical general relativity is expressed in terms of a scalar function, defined as the invariant magnitude of the connecting vector between neighbouring light rays in a null geodesic congruence projected onto a two-dimensional screen space orthogonal to the rays, where λ is an affine parameter along the rays. We demonstrate that η satisfies a harmonic oscillator-like equation with a λ-dependent frequency, which comprises terms accounting for local matter affecting the congruence and tidal gravitational effects from distant matter or gravitational waves passing through the congruence, represented by the amplitude, of a complex Weyl driving term. Oscillating solutions for η imply the presence of conjugate or focal points along the rays. A polarisation angle, is introduced comprising the orientation of the connecting vector on the screen space and the phase, of the Weyl driving term. Interpreting β as the polarisation of a gravitational wave encountering the light rays, we consider linearly polarised waves in the first instance. A highly non-linear, second-order ordinary differential equation, (the tidal pendulum equation), is then derived, so-called due to its analogy with the equation describing a non-linear, variable-length pendulum oscillating under gravity. The variable pendulum length is represented by the connecting vector magnitude, whilst the acceleration due to gravity in the familiar pendulum formulation is effectively replaced by . A tidal torque interpretation is also developed, where the torque is expressed as a coupling between the moment of inertia of the pendulum and the tidal gravitational field. Precessional effects are briefly discussed. A solution to the tidal pendulum equation in terms of familiar gravitational lensing variables is presented. The potential emergence of chaos in general relativity is discussed in the context of circularly, elliptically or randomly polarised gravitational waves encountering the null congruence.

Fast parallel DNA-based algorithms for molecular computation: quadratic congruence and factoring integers.

PubMed

Chang, Weng-Long

2012-03-01

Assume that n is a positive integer. If there is an integer such that M (2) ≡ C (mod n), i.e., the congruence has a solution, then C is said to be a quadratic congruence (mod n). If the congruence does not have a solution, then C is said to be a quadratic noncongruence (mod n). The task of solving the problem is central to many important applications, the most obvious being cryptography. In this article, we describe a DNA-based algorithm for solving quadratic congruence and factoring integers. In additional to this novel contribution, we also show the utility of our encoding scheme, and of the algorithm's submodules. We demonstrate how a variety of arithmetic, shifted and comparative operations, namely bitwise and full addition, subtraction, left shifter and comparison perhaps are performed using strands of DNA.

Enemies and friends in the neighborhood: orthographic similarity effects in semantic categorization.

PubMed

Pecher, Diane; Zeelenberg, René; Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan

2005-01-01

Studies investigating orthographic similarity effects in semantic tasks have produced inconsistent results. The authors investigated orthographic similarity effects in animacy decision and in contrast with previous studies, they took semantic congruency into account. In Experiments 1 and 2, performance to a target (cat) was better if a previously studied neighbor (rat) was congruent (i.e., belonged to the same animate-inanimate category) than it was if it was incongruent (e.g., mat). In Experiments 3 and 4, performance was better for targets with more preexisting congruent neighbors than for targets with more preexisting incongruent neighbors. These results demonstrate that orthographic similarity effects in semantic categorization are conditional on semantic congruency. This strongly suggests that semantic information becomes available before orthographic processing has been completed. 2005 APA

Value congruence and depressive symptoms among critical care clinicians: The mediating role of moral distress.

PubMed

Lamiani, Giulia; Dordoni, Paola; Argentero, Piergiorgio

2018-02-01

Clinicians working in intensive care units are often exposed to several job stressors that can negatively affect their mental health. Literature has acknowledged the role of value congruence and job control in determining clinicians' psychological well-being and depressive symptoms. However, potential mediators of this association have been scarcely examined. This study aimed to test the mediating role of moral distress in the relationship between value congruence and job control, on the one hand, and depression, on the other hand. A cross-sectional study involving physicians, nurses, and residents working in 7 intensive care units in the north of Italy was conducted. Clinicians were administered in the Italian Moral Distress Scale-Revised, the value and control subscales of the Areas of Worklife Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory II. Structural equation modeling was used to test the mediation model. Analysis on 170 questionnaires (response rate 72%) found no relations between job control and moral distress. A total indirect effect of value congruence on depression through moral distress (β = -.12; p = .02) was found. Moral distress contributes to the development of depressive symptoms among critical care clinicians who perceive a value incongruence with their organization and therefore should be addressed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Congruence Approximations for Entrophy Endowed Hyperbolic Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barth, Timothy J.; Saini, Subhash (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

Building upon the standard symmetrization theory for hyperbolic systems of conservation laws, congruence properties of the symmetrized system are explored. These congruence properties suggest variants of several stabilized numerical discretization procedures for hyperbolic equations (upwind finite-volume, Galerkin least-squares, discontinuous Galerkin) that benefit computationally from congruence approximation. Specifically, it becomes straightforward to construct the spatial discretization and Jacobian linearization for these schemes (given a small amount of derivative information) for possible use in Newton's method, discrete optimization, homotopy algorithms, etc. Some examples will be given for the compressible Euler equations and the nonrelativistic MHD equations using linear and quadratic spatial approximation.

Soft Congruence Relations over Rings

PubMed Central

Xin, Xiaolong; Li, Wenting

2014-01-01

Molodtsov introduced the concept of soft sets, which can be seen as a new mathematical tool for dealing with uncertainty. In this paper, we initiate the study of soft congruence relations by using the soft set theory. The notions of soft quotient rings, generalized soft ideals and generalized soft quotient rings, are introduced, and several related properties are investigated. Also, we obtain a one-to-one correspondence between soft congruence relations and idealistic soft rings and a one-to-one correspondence between soft congruence relations and soft ideals. In particular, the first, second, and third soft isomorphism theorems are established, respectively. PMID:24949493

Re-Examining the Automaticity and Directionality of the Activation of the Spatial-Valence "Good is Up" Metaphoric Association

PubMed Central

Huang, Yanli; Tse, Chi-Shing

2015-01-01

According to the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, people understand abstract concepts depending on the activation of more concrete concepts, but not vice versa. The present research aims to investigate the role of directionality and automaticity regarding the activation of the conceptual metaphor “good is up”. Experiment 1 tested the automaticity of the spatial-to-valence metaphoric congruency effect by having participants judge the valence of a positive or negative word that appeared either at the top or at the bottom of the screen. They performed the task concurrently with a 6-digit verbal rehearsal task in the working-memory-load (WML) blocks and without this task in the non-WML blocks. The spatial-to-valence metaphoric congruency effect occurred for the positive words in the non-WML blocks (i.e., positive words are judged more quickly when they appeared at the top than at the bottom of the screen), but not in the WML blocks, suggesting that this metaphoric association might not be activated automatically. Experiments 2-6 investigated the valence-to-spatial metaphoric association and its automaticity. Participants processed a positive or negative prime, which appeared at the center of the screen, and then identified a letter (p/q) that subsequently appeared at the top or bottom of the screen. The valence-to-spatial metaphoric congruency effect did not occur in the WML (6-digit verbal rehearsal) or non-WML blocks, whether response modality to the prime was key-press or vocal, or whether the prime was a word or a picture. The effect only unexpectedly occurred when the task was simultaneously performed with a 4-dot-position visuospatial rehearsal task. Nevertheless, the data collapsed across multiple experiments showed a null valence-to-spatial metaphoric congruency effect, suggesting the absence of the valence-to-spatial metaphoric association in general. The implications of the current findings for the Conceptual Metaphor Theory and its alternatives are discussed. PMID:25867748

Memory-guided selective attention: Single experiences with conflict have long-lasting effects on cognitive control.

PubMed

Brosowsky, Nicholaus P; Crump, Matthew J C

2018-05-17

Adjustments in cognitive control, as measured by congruency sequence effects, are thought to be influenced by both external stimuli and internal goals. However, this dichotomy has often overshadowed the potential contribution of past experience stored in memory. Here, we examine the role of long-term episodic memory in guiding selective attention. Our aim was to demonstrate new evidence that selective attention can be modulated by long-term retrieval of stimulus-specific attentional control settings. All the experiments used a modified flanker task involving multiple unique stimuli. Critically, each stimulus was only presented twice during the experiment: first as a prime, and second as a probe. Experiments 1 and 2 varied the number of intervening trials between prime and probe and manipulated the amount of conflict using a secondary task. Experiment 3 ensured that specific colors assigned to prime stimuli were not repeated when presented as probes. Across both Experiments 1 and 2, we consistently found smaller congruency effects on probe trials when its associated prime trial was incongruent compared with congruent, demonstrating long-term congruency sequence effects. However, Experiment 3 showed no evidence for long-term effects. These findings suggest long-term preservation of selective attention processing at the episodic level, and implicate a role for memory in updating cognitive control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Cultural Factors Relevant to Secondary School Students in Australia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia: Relative Differences and Congruencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liem, Gregory Arief D.; Martin, Andrew J.; Nair, Elizabeth; Bernardo, Allan B. I.; Prasetya, Paulus Hidajat

2009-01-01

Waldrip and Fisher (2000) proposed seven culturally relevant factors that are salient in the educational setting (gender equity, collaboration, competition, deference, modelling, teacher authority, congruence). In relation to these factors, the present study examined differences and congruencies in factor structure (i.e., differences of kind) and…

Congruence between Students' and Teachers' Goals: Implications for Social and Academic Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spera, Christopher; Wentzel, Kathryn R.

2003-01-01

This study examined student-teacher goal congruence and its relation to social and academic motivation. Based on a sample of 97 ninth-graders, high levels of goal congruence for each of the four goals measured (prosocial, responsibility, learning, performance) was positively related to student interest in class and perceived social support from…

Measuring Transgender Individuals' Comfort with Gender Identity and Appearance: Development and Validation of the Transgender Congruence Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kozee, Holly B.; Tylka, Tracy L.; Bauerband, L. Andrew

2012-01-01

Our study used the construct of congruence to conceptualize the degree to which transgender individuals feel genuine, authentic, and comfortable with their gender identity and external appearance. In Study 1, the Transgender Congruence scale (TCS) was developed, and data from 162 transgender individuals were used to estimate the reliability and…

Music-to-Color Associations of Single-Line Piano Melodies in Non-synesthetes.

PubMed

Palmer, Stephen E; Langlois, Thomas A; Schloss, Karen B

2016-01-01

Prior research has shown that non-synesthetes' color associations to classical orchestral music are strongly mediated by emotion. The present study examines similar cross-modal music-to-color associations for much better controlled musical stimuli: 64 single-line piano melodies that were generated from four basic melodies by Mozart, whose global musical parameters were manipulated in tempo(slow/fast), note-density (sparse/dense), mode (major/minor) and pitch-height (low/high). Participants first chose the three colors (from 37) that they judged to be most consistent with (and, later, the three that were most inconsistent with) the music they were hearing. They later rated each melody and each color for the strength of its association along four emotional dimensions: happy/sad, agitated/calm, angry/not-angry and strong/weak. The cross-modal choices showed that faster music in the major mode was associated with lighter, more saturated, yellower (warmer) colors than slower music in the minor mode. These results replicate and extend those of Palmer et al. (2013, Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 110, 8836-8841) with more precisely controlled musical stimuli. Further results replicated strong evidence for emotional mediation of these cross-modal associations, in that the emotional ratings of the melodies were very highly correlated with the emotional associations of the colors chosen as going best/worst with the melodies (r = 0.92, 0.85, 0.82 and 0.70 for happy/sad, strong/weak,angry/not-angry and agitated/calm, respectively). The results are discussed in terms of common emotional associations forming a cross-modal bridge between highly disparate sensory inputs.

Aging and the interaction of sensory cortical function and structure.

PubMed

Peiffer, Ann M; Hugenschmidt, Christina E; Maldjian, Joseph A; Casanova, Ramon; Srikanth, Ryali; Hayasaka, Satoru; Burdette, Jonathan H; Kraft, Robert A; Laurienti, Paul J

2009-01-01

Even the healthiest older adults experience changes in cognitive and sensory function. Studies show that older adults have reduced neural responses to sensory information. However, it is well known that sensory systems do not act in isolation but function cooperatively to either enhance or suppress neural responses to individual environmental stimuli. Very little research has been dedicated to understanding how aging affects the interactions between sensory systems, especially cross-modal deactivations or the ability of one sensory system (e.g., audition) to suppress the neural responses in another sensory system cortex (e.g., vision). Such cross-modal interactions have been implicated in attentional shifts between sensory modalities and could account for increased distractibility in older adults. To assess age-related changes in cross-modal deactivations, functional MRI studies were performed in 61 adults between 18 and 80 years old during simple auditory and visual discrimination tasks. Results within visual cortex confirmed previous findings of decreased responses to visual stimuli for older adults. Age-related changes in the visual cortical response to auditory stimuli were, however, much more complex and suggested an alteration with age in the functional interactions between the senses. Ventral visual cortical regions exhibited cross-modal deactivations in younger but not older adults, whereas more dorsal aspects of visual cortex were suppressed in older but not younger adults. These differences in deactivation also remained after adjusting for age-related reductions in brain volume of sensory cortex. Thus, functional differences in cortical activity between older and younger adults cannot solely be accounted for by differences in gray matter volume. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Cross-modal perceptual load: the impact of modality and individual differences.

PubMed

Sandhu, Rajwant; Dyson, Benjamin James

2016-05-01

Visual distractor processing tends to be more pronounced when the perceptual load (PL) of a task is low compared to when it is high [perpetual load theory (PLT); Lavie in J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 21(3):451-468, 1995]. While PLT is well established in the visual domain, application to cross-modal processing has produced mixed results, and the current study was designed in an attempt to improve previous methodologies. First, we assessed PLT using response competition, a typical metric from the uni-modal domain. Second, we looked at the impact of auditory load on visual distractors, and of visual load on auditory distractors, within the same individual. Third, we compared individual uni- and cross-modal selective attention abilities, by correlating performance with the visual Attentional Network Test (ANT). Fourth, we obtained a measure of the relative processing efficiency between vision and audition, to investigate whether processing ease influences the extent of distractor processing. Although distractor processing was evident during both attend auditory and attend visual conditions, we found that PL did not modulate processing of either visual or auditory distractors. We also found support for a correlation between the uni-modal (visual) ANT and our cross-modal task but only when the distractors were visual. Finally, although auditory processing was more impacted by visual distractors, our measure of processing efficiency only accounted for this asymmetry in the auditory high-load condition. The results are discussed with respect to the continued debate regarding the shared or separate nature of processing resources across modalities.

On the role of crossmodal prediction in audiovisual emotion perception.

PubMed

Jessen, Sarah; Kotz, Sonja A

2013-01-01

Humans rely on multiple sensory modalities to determine the emotional state of others. In fact, such multisensory perception may be one of the mechanisms explaining the ease and efficiency by which others' emotions are recognized. But how and when exactly do the different modalities interact? One aspect in multisensory perception that has received increasing interest in recent years is the concept of cross-modal prediction. In emotion perception, as in most other settings, visual information precedes the auditory information. Thereby, leading in visual information can facilitate subsequent auditory processing. While this mechanism has often been described in audiovisual speech perception, so far it has not been addressed in audiovisual emotion perception. Based on the current state of the art in (a) cross-modal prediction and (b) multisensory emotion perception research, we propose that it is essential to consider the former in order to fully understand the latter. Focusing on electroencephalographic (EEG) and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) studies, we provide a brief overview of the current research in both fields. In discussing these findings, we suggest that emotional visual information may allow more reliable predicting of auditory information compared to non-emotional visual information. In support of this hypothesis, we present a re-analysis of a previous data set that shows an inverse correlation between the N1 EEG response and the duration of visual emotional, but not non-emotional information. If the assumption that emotional content allows more reliable predicting can be corroborated in future studies, cross-modal prediction is a crucial factor in our understanding of multisensory emotion perception.

Is there a general task switching ability?

PubMed

Yehene, Einat; Meiran, Nachshon

2007-11-01

Participants were tested on two analogous task switching paradigms involving Shape/Size tasks and Vertical/Horizontal tasks, respectively, and three measures of psychometric intelligence, tapping fluid, crystallized and perceptual speed abilities. The paradigms produced similar patterns of group mean reaction times (RTs) and the vast majority of the participants showed switching cost (switch RT minus repeat RT), mixing cost (repeat RT minus single-task RT) and congruency effects. The shared intra-individual variance across paradigms and with psychometric intelligence served as criteria for general ability. Structural equations modeling indicated that switching cost with ample preparation ("residual cost") and mixing cost met these criteria. However, switching cost with little preparation and congruency effects were predominantly paradigm specific.

Global meta-analysis reveals low consistency of biodiversity congruence relationships.

PubMed

Westgate, Martin J; Barton, Philip S; Lane, Peter W; Lindenmayer, David B

2014-05-21

Knowledge of the number and distribution of species is fundamental to biodiversity conservation efforts, but this information is lacking for the majority of species on earth. Consequently, subsets of taxa are often used as proxies for biodiversity; but this assumes that different taxa display congruent distribution patterns. Here we use a global meta-analysis to show that studies of cross-taxon congruence rarely give consistent results. Instead, species richness congruence is highest at extreme spatial scales and close to the equator, while congruence in species composition is highest at large extents and grain sizes. Studies display highest variance in cross-taxon congruence when conducted in areas with dissimilar areal extents (for species richness) or latitudes (for species composition). These results undermine the assumption that a subset of taxa can be representative of biodiversity. Therefore, researchers whose goal is to prioritize locations or actions for conservation should use data from a range of taxa.

A Profile-Based Framework for Factorial Similarity and the Congruence Coefficient.

PubMed

Hartley, Anselma G; Furr, R Michael

2017-01-01

We present a novel profile-based framework for understanding factorial similarity in the context of exploratory factor analysis in general, and for understanding the congruence coefficient (a commonly used index of factor similarity) specifically. First, we introduce the profile-based framework articulating factorial similarity in terms of 3 intuitive components: general saturation similarity, differential saturation similarity, and configural similarity. We then articulate the congruence coefficient in terms of these components, along with 2 additional profile-based components, and we explain how these components resolve ambiguities that can be-and are-found when using the congruence coefficient. Finally, we present secondary analyses revealing that profile-based components of factorial are indeed linked to experts' actual evaluations of factorial similarity. Overall, the profile-based approach we present offers new insights into the ways in which researchers can examine factor similarity and holds the potential to enhance researchers' ability to understand the congruence coefficient.

How does visual language affect crossmodal plasticity and cochlear implant success?

PubMed Central

Lyness, C.R.; Woll, B.; Campbell, R.; Cardin, V.

2013-01-01

Cochlear implants (CI) are the most successful intervention for ameliorating hearing loss in severely or profoundly deaf children. Despite this, educational performance in children with CI continues to lag behind their hearing peers. From animal models and human neuroimaging studies it has been proposed the integrative functions of auditory cortex are compromised by crossmodal plasticity. This has been argued to result partly from the use of a visual language. Here we argue that ‘cochlear implant sensitive periods’ comprise both auditory and language sensitive periods, and thus cannot be fully described with animal models. Despite prevailing assumptions, there is no evidence to link the use of a visual language to poorer CI outcome. Crossmodal reorganisation of auditory cortex occurs regardless of compensatory strategies, such as sign language, used by the deaf person. In contrast, language deprivation during early sensitive periods has been repeatedly linked to poor language outcomes. Language sensitive periods have largely been ignored when considering variation in CI outcome, leading to ill-founded recommendations concerning visual language in CI habilitation. PMID:23999083

Integrating conceptual knowledge within and across representational modalities.

PubMed

McNorgan, Chris; Reid, Jackie; McRae, Ken

2011-02-01

Research suggests that concepts are distributed across brain regions specialized for processing information from different sensorimotor modalities. Multimodal semantic models fall into one of two broad classes differentiated by the assumed hierarchy of convergence zones over which information is integrated. In shallow models, communication within- and between-modality is accomplished using either direct connectivity, or a central semantic hub. In deep models, modalities are connected via cascading integration sites with successively wider receptive fields. Four experiments provide the first direct behavioral tests of these models using speeded tasks involving feature inference and concept activation. Shallow models predict no within-modal versus cross-modal difference in either task, whereas deep models predict a within-modal advantage for feature inference, but a cross-modal advantage for concept activation. Experiments 1 and 2 used relatedness judgments to tap participants' knowledge of relations for within- and cross-modal feature pairs. Experiments 3 and 4 used a dual-feature verification task. The pattern of decision latencies across Experiments 1-4 is consistent with a deep integration hierarchy. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tracking the evolution of crossmodal plasticity and visual functions before and after sight restoration

PubMed Central

Dormal, Giulia; Lepore, Franco; Harissi-Dagher, Mona; Albouy, Geneviève; Bertone, Armando; Rossion, Bruno

2014-01-01

Visual deprivation leads to massive reorganization in both the structure and function of the occipital cortex, raising crucial challenges for sight restoration. We tracked the behavioral, structural, and neurofunctional changes occurring in an early and severely visually impaired patient before and 1.5 and 7 mo after sight restoration with magnetic resonance imaging. Robust presurgical auditory responses were found in occipital cortex despite residual preoperative vision. In primary visual cortex, crossmodal auditory responses overlapped with visual responses and remained elevated even 7 mo after surgery. However, these crossmodal responses decreased in extrastriate occipital regions after surgery, together with improved behavioral vision and with increases in both gray matter density and neural activation in low-level visual regions. Selective responses in high-level visual regions involved in motion and face processing were observable even before surgery and did not evolve after surgery. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that structural and functional reorganization of occipital regions are present in an individual with a long-standing history of severe visual impairment and that such reorganizations can be partially reversed by visual restoration in adulthood. PMID:25520432

Contributions of Response Set and Semantic Relatedness to Cross-Modal Stroop-Like Picture--Word Interference in Children and Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanauer, John B.; Brooks, Patricia J.

2005-01-01

Resistance to interference from irrelevant auditory stimuli undergoes development throughout childhood. To test whether semantic processes account for age-related changes in a Stroop-like picture-word interference effect, children (3-to 12-year-olds) and adults named pictures while listening to words varying in terms of semantic relatedness to the…

Phonological Priming with Nonwords in Children with and without Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brooks, Patricia J.; Seiger-Gardner, Liat; Obeid, Rita; MacWhinney, Brian

2015-01-01

Purpose: The cross-modal picture-word interference task is used to examine contextual effects on spoken-word production. Previous work has documented lexical-phonological interference in children with specific language impairment (SLI) when a related distractor (e.g., bell) occurs prior to a picture to be named (e.g., a bed). In the current study,…

The Lexical Status of the Root in Processing Morphologically Complex Words in Arabic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shalhoub-Awwad, Yasmin; Leikin, Mark

2016-01-01

This study investigated the effects of the Arabic root in the visual word recognition process among young readers in order to explore its role in reading acquisition and its development within the structure of the Arabic mental lexicon. We examined cross-modal priming of words that were derived from the same root of the target…

Hand Movement Deviations in a Visual Search Task with Cross Modal Cuing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aslan, Asli; Aslan, Hurol

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the cross-modal effects of an auditory organization on a visual search task and to investigate the influence of the level of detail in instructions describing or hinting at the associations between auditory stimuli and the possible locations of a visual target. In addition to measuring the participants'…

Cross-modal interactions for custard desserts differ in obese and normal weight Italian women.

PubMed

Proserpio, Cristina; Laureati, Monica; Invitti, Cecilia; Pasqualinotto, Lucia; Bergamaschi, Valentina; Pagliarini, Ella

2016-05-01

The effects of variation in odors and thickening agents on sensory properties and acceptability of a model custard dessert were investigated in normal weight and obese women. Subjects rated their liking and the intensity of sensory properties (sweetness, vanilla and butter flavors, and creaminess) of 3 block samples (the first varied in vanilla aroma, the second varied in butter aroma and the third varied in xanthan gum). Significant differences were found in acceptability and intensity ratings in relation to body mass index. The addition of butter aroma in the custard was the most effective way to elicit odor-taste, odor-flavor and odor-texture interactions in obese women. In this group, butter aroma, signaling energy dense products, increased the perception of sweetness, vanilla flavor and creaminess, which are all desirable properties in a custard, while maintaining a high liking degree. Understanding cross-modal interactions in relation to nutritional status is interesting in order to develop new food products with reduced sugar and fat, that are still satisfying for the consumer. This could have important implications to reduce caloric intake and tackle the obesity epidemic. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Temporal Effects of Message Congruency on Attention to and Recall of Pictorial Health Warning Labels on Cigarette Packages.

PubMed

Lochbuehler, Kirsten; Wileyto, E Paul; Mercincavage, Melissa; Souprountchouk, Valentina; Burdge, Jordan Z; Tang, Kathy Z; Cappella, Joseph N; Strasser, Andrew A

2018-06-16

Recent research has shown that message congruency is beneficial to recall of pictorial health warning label (PWL) content after initial exposure. Despite less attention to the text warning, smokers exposed to congruent PWLs were more likely to recall the text and the message. This study aimed to replicate these findings and to examine whether congruency also affects recall after multiple exposures over time. 320 daily smokers (39.7% female; cigarettes/day: M = 15.31, SD = 7.15) were randomized to one congruent or incongruent PWL and attended 4 laboratory sessions over 10 days. During each session, eye-movements were recorded while viewing the PWL and open-ended recall of label content was assessed after exposure. Smokers who were exposed to a congruent PWL were more likely to recall the text (p = .01) and the message (p = .02) and less likely to recall the image (p = .003) of the PWL after initial exposure. By day 4, incongruent PWLs were recalled equally well as congruent PWLs. Independent of condition, image recall was initially high and remained high while text and message recall was relatively low initially but increased over time. It was not until day 7 that about 80% of text and message recall was observed. Even when exposed to the same PWL over time, smokers require multiple exposures to recall the text and the message of a PWL. More research on the effects of congruency in the natural environment, where smokers are exposed to multiple PWLs, is needed.

Effects of tutor-related behaviours on the process of problem-based learning.

PubMed

Chng, Esther; Yew, Elaine H J; Schmidt, Henk G

2011-10-01

Tutors in a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) curriculum are thought to play active roles in guiding students to develop frameworks for use in the construction of knowledge. This implies that both subject-matter expertise and the ability of tutors to facilitate the learning process must be important in helping students learn. This study examines the behavioural effects of tutors in terms of subject-matter expertise, social congruence and cognitive congruence on students' learning process and on their final achievement. The extent of students' learning at each PBL phase was estimated by tracking the number of relevant concepts recalled at the end of each learning phase, while student achievement was based on students' ability to describe and elaborate upon the relationship between relevant concepts learned. By using Analysis of Covariance, social congruence of the tutor was found to have a significant influence on learning in each PBL phase while all of the tutor-related behaviours had a significant impact on student achievement. The results suggest that the ability of tutors to communicate informally with students and hence create a less threatening learning environment that promotes a free flow exchange of ideas, has a greater impact on learning at each of the PBL phases as compared to tutors' subject-matter expertise and their ability to explain concepts in a way that is easily understood by students. The data presented indicates that these tutor-related behaviours are determinants of learning in a PBL curriculum, with social congruence having a greater influence on learning in the different PBL phases.

Evaluation of an Image-Based Tool to Examine the Effect of Fracture Alignment and Joint Congruency on Outcomes after Wrist Fracture.

PubMed

Lalone, Emily A; Grewal, Ruby; King, Graham W; MacDermid, Joy C

2015-01-01

Some mal-alignment of the wrist occurs in up to 71% of patients following a distal radius fracture. A multiple case study was used to provide proof of principle of an image-based technique to investigate the evolution and impact of post-traumatic joint changes at the distal radioulnar joint. Participants who had a unilateral distal radius fracture who previously participated in a prospective study were recruited from a single tertiary hand center. Long term follow-up measures of pain, disability, range of motion and radiographic alignment were obtained and compared to joint congruency measures. The inter-bone distance, a measure of joint congruency was quantified from reconstructed CT bone models of the distal radius and ulna and the clinical outcome was quantified using the patient rated wrist evaluation. In all four cases, acceptable post-reduction alignment and minimal pain/disability at 1-year suggested good clinical outcomes. However, 10 years following injury, 3 out of 4 patients had radiographic signs of degenerative changes occurring in their injured wrist (distal radioulnar joint/radio-carpal joint). Proximity maps displaying inter-bone distances showed asymmetrical congruency between wrists in these three patients. The 10-year PRWE (patient rated wrist evaluation) varied from 4 to 60, with 3 reporting minimal pain/disability and one experiencing high pain/disability. These illustrative cases demonstrate long-term joint damage post-fracture is common and occurs despite positive short-term clinical outcomes. Imaging and functional outcomes are not necessarily correlated. A novel congruency measure provides an indicator of the overall impact of joint mal-alignment that can be used to determine predictors of post-traumatic arthritis and is viable for clinical or large cohort studies.

Higher Language Ability is Related to Angular Gyrus Activation Increase During Semantic Processing, Independent of Sentence Incongruency.

PubMed

Van Ettinger-Veenstra, Helene; McAllister, Anita; Lundberg, Peter; Karlsson, Thomas; Engström, Maria

2016-01-01

This study investigates the relation between individual language ability and neural semantic processing abilities. Our aim was to explore whether high-level language ability would correlate to decreased activation in language-specific regions or rather increased activation in supporting language regions during processing of sentences. Moreover, we were interested if observed neural activation patterns are modulated by semantic incongruency similarly to previously observed changes upon syntactic congruency modulation. We investigated 27 healthy adults with a sentence reading task-which tapped language comprehension and inference, and modulated sentence congruency-employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We assessed the relation between neural activation, congruency modulation, and test performance on a high-level language ability assessment with multiple regression analysis. Our results showed increased activation in the left-hemispheric angular gyrus extending to the temporal lobe related to high language ability. This effect was independent of semantic congruency, and no significant relation between language ability and incongruency modulation was observed. Furthermore, there was a significant increase of activation in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) bilaterally when the sentences were incongruent, indicating that processing incongruent sentences was more demanding than processing congruent sentences and required increased activation in language regions. The correlation of high-level language ability with increased rather than decreased activation in the left angular gyrus, a region specific for language processing, is opposed to what the neural efficiency hypothesis would predict. We can conclude that no evidence is found for an interaction between semantic congruency related brain activation and high-level language performance, even though the semantic incongruent condition shows to be more demanding and evoking more neural activation.

Neural correlates of cross-modal affective priming by music in Williams syndrome

PubMed Central

Lense, Miriam D.; Gordon, Reyna L.; Key, Alexandra P. F.; Dykens, Elisabeth M.

2014-01-01

Emotional connection is the main reason people engage with music, and the emotional features of music can influence processing in other domains. Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental genetic disorder where musicality and sociability are prominent aspects of the phenotype. This study examined oscillatory brain activity during a musical affective priming paradigm. Participants with WS and age-matched typically developing controls heard brief emotional musical excerpts or emotionally neutral sounds and then reported the emotional valence (happy/sad) of subsequently presented faces. Participants with WS demonstrated greater evoked fronto-central alpha activity to the happy vs sad musical excerpts. The size of these alpha effects correlated with parent-reported emotional reactivity to music. Although participant groups did not differ in accuracy of identifying facial emotions, reaction time data revealed a music priming effect only in persons with WS, who responded faster when the face matched the emotional valence of the preceding musical excerpt vs when the valence differed. Matching emotional valence was also associated with greater evoked gamma activity thought to reflect cross-modal integration. This effect was not present in controls. The results suggest a specific connection between music and socioemotional processing and have implications for clinical and educational approaches for WS. PMID:23386738

Moderation of the Relation between Person-Environment Congruence and Academic Success: Environmental Constraint, Personal Flexibility and Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tracey, Terence J. G.; Allen, Jeff; Robbins, Steven B.

2012-01-01

The relation of interest-major congruence to indicators of college success was examined as it was moderated by environmental constraint, individual flexibility, and congruence definition in an initial sample of 88,813 undergraduates (38,787 men and 50,026 women) from 42 different colleges and universities in 16 states. College achievement (GPA…

Congruence or Discrepancy? Comparing Patients' Health Valuations and Physicians' Treatment Goals for Rehabilitation for Patients with Chronic Conditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nagl, Michaela; Farin, Erik

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to test the congruence of patients' health valuations and physicians' treatment goals for the rehabilitation of chronically ill patients. In addition, patient characteristics associated with greater or less congruence were to be determined. In a questionnaire study, patients' health valuations and physicians' goals were…

Among nonagenarians, congruence between self-rated and proxy-rated health was low but both predicted mortality.

PubMed

Vuorisalmi, Merja; Sarkeala, Tytti; Hervonen, Antti; Jylhä, Marja

2012-05-01

The congruence between self-rated global health (SRH) and proxy-rated global health (PRH), the factors associated with congruence between SRH and PRH, and their associations with mortality are examined using data from the Vitality 90+ study. The data consist of 213 pairs of subjects--aged 90 years and older--and proxies. The relationship between SRH and PRH was analyzed by chi-square test and Cohen's kappa. Logistic regression analysis was used to find out the factors that are associated with the congruence between health ratings. The association between SRH and PRH with mortality was studied using Cox proportional hazard models. The subjects rated their health more negatively than the proxies. Kappa value indicated only slight congruence between SRH and PRH, and they also predicted mortality differently. Good self-reported functional ability was associated with congruence between SRH and PRH. The results imply that the evaluation processes of SRH and PRH differ, and the measures are not directly interchangeable. Both measures are useful health indicators in very old age but SRH cannot be replaced by PRH in analyses. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

On the specificity of sequential congruency effects in implicit learning of motor and perceptual sequences.

PubMed

D'Angelo, Maria C; Jiménez, Luis; Milliken, Bruce; Lupiáñez, Juan

2013-01-01

Individuals experience less interference from conflicting information following events that contain conflicting information. Recently, Jiménez, Lupiáñez, and Vaquero (2009) demonstrated that such adaptations to conflict occur even when the source of conflict arises from implicit knowledge of sequences. There is accumulating evidence that momentary changes in adaptations made in response to conflicting information are conflict-type specific (e.g., Funes, Lupiáñez, & Humphreys, 2010a), suggesting that there are multiple modes of control. The current study examined whether conflict-specific sequential congruency effects occur when the 2 sources of conflict are implicitly learned. Participants implicitly learned a motor sequence while simultaneously learning a perceptual sequence. In a first experiment, after learning the 2 orthogonal sequences, participants expressed knowledge of the 2 sequences independently of each other in a transfer phase. In Experiments 2 and 3, within each sequence, the presence of a single control trial disrupted the expression of this specific type of learning on the following trial. There was no evidence of cross-conflict modulations in the expression of sequence learning. The results suggest that the mechanisms involved in transient shifts in conflict-specific control, as reflected in sequential congruency effects, are also engaged when the source of conflict is implicit. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Co-speech iconic gestures and visuo-spatial working memory.

PubMed

Wu, Ying Choon; Coulson, Seana

2014-11-01

Three experiments tested the role of verbal versus visuo-spatial working memory in the comprehension of co-speech iconic gestures. In Experiment 1, participants viewed congruent discourse primes in which the speaker's gestures matched the information conveyed by his speech, and incongruent ones in which the semantic content of the speaker's gestures diverged from that in his speech. Discourse primes were followed by picture probes that participants judged as being either related or unrelated to the preceding clip. Performance on this picture probe classification task was faster and more accurate after congruent than incongruent discourse primes. The effect of discourse congruency on response times was linearly related to measures of visuo-spatial, but not verbal, working memory capacity, as participants with greater visuo-spatial WM capacity benefited more from congruent gestures. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants performed the same picture probe classification task under conditions of high and low loads on concurrent visuo-spatial (Experiment 2) and verbal (Experiment 3) memory tasks. Effects of discourse congruency and verbal WM load were additive, while effects of discourse congruency and visuo-spatial WM load were interactive. Results suggest that congruent co-speech gestures facilitate multi-modal language comprehension, and indicate an important role for visuo-spatial WM in these speech-gesture integration processes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Alertness and cognitive control: Testing the early onset hypothesis.

PubMed

Schneider, Darryl W

2018-05-01

Previous research has revealed a peculiar interaction between alertness and cognitive control in selective-attention tasks: Congruency effects are larger on alert trials (on which an alerting cue is presented briefly in advance of the imperative stimulus) than on no-alert trials, despite shorter response times (RTs) on alert trials. One explanation for this finding is the early onset hypothesis, which is based on the assumptions that increased alertness shortens stimulus-encoding time and that cognitive control involves gradually focusing attention during a trial. The author tested the hypothesis in 3 experiments by manipulating alertness and stimulus quality (which were intended to shorten and lengthen stimulus-encoding time, respectively) in an arrow-based flanker task involving congruent and incongruent stimuli. Replicating past findings, the alerting manipulation led to shorter RTs but larger congruency effects on alert trials than on no-alert trials. The stimulus-quality manipulation led to longer RTs and larger congruency effects for degraded stimuli than for intact stimuli. These results provide mixed support for the early onset hypothesis, but the author discusses how data and theory might be reconciled if stimulus quality affects stimulus-encoding time and the rate of evidence accumulation in the decision process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Cross-modal activation of auditory regions during visuo-spatial working memory in early deafness.

PubMed

Ding, Hao; Qin, Wen; Liang, Meng; Ming, Dong; Wan, Baikun; Li, Qiang; Yu, Chunshui

2015-09-01

Early deafness can reshape deprived auditory regions to enable the processing of signals from the remaining intact sensory modalities. Cross-modal activation has been observed in auditory regions during non-auditory tasks in early deaf subjects. In hearing subjects, visual working memory can evoke activation of the visual cortex, which further contributes to behavioural performance. In early deaf subjects, however, whether and how auditory regions participate in visual working memory remains unclear. We hypothesized that auditory regions may be involved in visual working memory processing and activation of auditory regions may contribute to the superior behavioural performance of early deaf subjects. In this study, 41 early deaf subjects (22 females and 19 males, age range: 20-26 years, age of onset of deafness < 2 years) and 40 age- and gender-matched hearing controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a visuo-spatial delayed recognition task that consisted of encoding, maintenance and recognition stages. The early deaf subjects exhibited faster reaction times on the spatial working memory task than did the hearing controls. Compared with hearing controls, deaf subjects exhibited increased activation in the superior temporal gyrus bilaterally during the recognition stage. This increased activation amplitude predicted faster and more accurate working memory performance in deaf subjects. Deaf subjects also had increased activation in the superior temporal gyrus bilaterally during the maintenance stage and in the right superior temporal gyrus during the encoding stage. These increased activation amplitude also predicted faster reaction times on the spatial working memory task in deaf subjects. These findings suggest that cross-modal plasticity occurs in auditory association areas in early deaf subjects. These areas are involved in visuo-spatial working memory. Furthermore, amplitudes of cross-modal activation during the maintenance stage were positively correlated with the age of onset of hearing aid use and were negatively correlated with the percentage of lifetime hearing aid use in deaf subjects. These findings suggest that earlier and longer hearing aid use may inhibit cross-modal reorganization in early deaf subjects. Granger causality analysis revealed that, compared to the hearing controls, the deaf subjects had an enhanced net causal flow from the frontal eye field to the superior temporal gyrus. These findings indicate that a top-down mechanism may better account for the cross-modal activation of auditory regions in early deaf subjects.See MacSweeney and Cardin (doi:10/1093/awv197) for a scientific commentary on this article. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Congruence between gender stereotypes and activity preference in self-identified tomboys and non-tomboys.

PubMed

Martin, Carol Lynn; Dinella, Lisa M

2012-06-01

The major goal was to examine a central tenet of cognitive approaches to gender development, namely, that congruence exists between personal gender stereotypes and behaviors. Item-by-item comparisons of girls' stereotypes about activities and their preferences for activities were conducted, for both girls who claimed to be tomboys and those who did not. Congruence was expected for all girls, but because of their gender non-normative interests, tomboys may exhibit less congruence. A secondary goal was to examine factors that might influence congruence, specifically, whether tomboys develop more inclusive stereotypes and develop greater understanding of stereotype variability. Participants included 112 girls (7-12 years old, M age=9). Girls were interviewed about their activity preferences, beliefs about girls' and boys' activity preferences, understanding variability of stereotypes, and identification as tomboys. Tomboys (30% of the sample) and non-tomboys did not differ in their liking of or in the number of liked feminine activities. However, tomboys showed more interest in masculine activities than non-tomboys. Tomboys and non-tomboys did not differ in stereotype inclusiveness, although tomboys showed a trend toward more inclusive stereotypes. Both groups showed high levels of congruence between stereotypes and preferences. Congruence was stronger for nontomboys (14 times more likely to exhibit responses congruent with stereotypes vs. incongruent ones), as compared to tomboys who were four times more likely to exhibit responses congruent with stereotypes versus incongruent ones. Implications of these findings for cognitive approaches to gender development are discussed.

Predispositions to approach and avoid are contextually sensitive and goal dependent.

PubMed

Bamford, Susan; Ward, Robert

2008-04-01

The authors show that predispositions to approach and avoid do not consist simply of specific motor patterns but are more abstract functions that produce a desired environmental effect. It has been claimed that evaluating a visual stimulus as positive or negative evokes a specific motor response, extending the arm to negative stimuli, and contracting to positive stimuli. The authors showed that a large congruency effect (participants were faster to approach pleasant and avoid unpleasant stimuli, than to approach unpleasant and avoid pleasant stimuli) could be produced on a novel touchscreen paradigm (Experiment 1), and that the congruency effect could be reversed by spatial (Experiment 2) and nonspatial (Experiment 3) response effects. Thus, involuntary approach and avoid response activations are not fixed, but sensitive to context, and are specifically based on the desired goal. (Copyright) 2008 APA.

Emotional language processing: how mood affects integration processes during discourse comprehension.

PubMed

Egidi, Giovanna; Nusbaum, Howard C

2012-09-01

This research tests whether mood affects semantic processing during discourse comprehension by facilitating integration of information congruent with moods' valence. Participants in happy, sad, or neutral moods listened to stories with positive or negative endings during EEG recording. N400 peak amplitudes showed mood congruence for happy and sad participants: endings incongruent with participants' moods demonstrated larger peaks. Happy and neutral moods exhibited larger peaks for negative endings, thus showing a similarity between negativity bias (neutral mood) and mood congruence (happy mood). Mood congruence resulted in differential processing of negative information: happy mood showed larger amplitudes for negative endings than neutral mood, and sad mood showed smaller amplitudes. N400 peaks were also sensitive to whether ending valence was communicated directly or as a result of inference. This effect was moderately modulated by mood. In conclusion, the notion of context for discourse processing should include comprehenders' affective states preceding language processing. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Relationship between Student and Faculty Learning Style Congruency and Perceptions of the Classroom Environment in Colleges of Teacher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kariuki, Patrick N.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of congruence between teachers' and undergraduate education majors' learning styles in selected colleges and if the style congruence was related to student perceptions of the classroom learning environment. A related purpose was to identify needed changes in classroom environments based on the…

Arthroscopic evaluation of patellofemoral congruence with rotation of the knee joint and electrical stimulation of the quadriceps.

PubMed

Suganuma, Jun; Mochizuki, Ryuta; Inoue, Yutaka; Kitamura, Kazuya; Honda, Akio

2014-02-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the pathoanatomic features of patellar instability by arthroscopically comparing patellofemoral congruence with rotation of the knee joint and/or electrical stimulation of the quadriceps (ESQ) between knees with and without patellar instability. We retrospectively examined 83 knee joints in 83 patients. The joints were classified into 2 groups: group 1 comprised those without a history of patellar dislocation and included 59 patients (25 male and 34 female patients), and group 2 comprised those with a history of patellar dislocation and included 24 patients (9 male and 15 female patients). Evaluation of patellofemoral congruence at 30° of flexion of the knee joint was conducted based on an axial radiograph and arthroscopic findings. The congruence angle was measured on the radiograph. The position of the patellar central ridge (PPCR) on the trochlear groove during arthroscopy was measured using still video frames of knee joints with rotational stress and/or ESQ. Statistical differences in the measurements between the 2 groups were assessed with the unpaired t test and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of each measurement. There were significant differences (P < .0001) between the 2 groups in the congruence angle on radiographs and PPCR in knee joints with rotational stress and/or ESQ on arthroscopy. External and internal rotation of the knee joint caused lateral and medial patellar shift, respectively, in both groups, but the shift was significantly larger in group 2. ESQ in addition to rotation caused further patellar shift in group 2 but reduced patellar shift in group 1. Measurement of PPCR with external rotation of the knee and ESQ was the only method to show an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 1. There were significant differences in the effects of rotation of the knee joint and/or ESQ on patellofemoral congruence at 30° of flexion of the knee joint on arthroscopy between knees with and without patellar instability. Level III, diagnostic study of nonconsecutive patients. Copyright © 2014 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Atypical white-matter microstructure in congenitally deaf adults: A region of interest and tractography study using diffusion-tensor imaging.

PubMed

Karns, Christina M; Stevens, Courtney; Dow, Mark W; Schorr, Emily M; Neville, Helen J

2017-01-01

Considerable research documents the cross-modal reorganization of auditory cortices as a consequence of congenital deafness, with remapped functions that include visual and somatosensory processing of both linguistic and nonlinguistic information. Structural changes accompany this cross-modal neuroplasticity, but precisely which specific structural changes accompany congenital and early deafness and whether there are group differences in hemispheric asymmetries remain to be established. Here, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to examine microstructural white matter changes accompanying cross-modal reorganization in 23 deaf adults who were genetically, profoundly, and congenitally deaf, having learned sign language from infancy with 26 hearing controls who participated in our previous fMRI studies of cross-modal neuroplasticity. In contrast to prior literature using a whole-brain approach, we introduce a semiautomatic method for demarcating auditory regions in which regions of interest (ROIs) are defined on the normalized white matter skeleton for all participants, projected into each participants native space, and manually constrained to anatomical boundaries. White-matter ROIs were left and right Heschl's gyrus (HG), left and right anterior superior temporal gyrus (aSTG), left and right posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG), as well as one tractography-defined region in the splenium of the corpus callosum connecting homologous left and right superior temporal regions (pCC). Within these regions, we measured fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD), axial diffusivity (AD), and white-matter volume. Congenitally deaf adults had reduced FA and volume in white matter structures underlying bilateral HG, aSTG, pSTG, and reduced FA in pCC. In HG and pCC, this reduction in FA corresponded with increased RD, but differences in aSTG and pSTG could not be localized to alterations in RD or AD. Direct statistical tests of hemispheric asymmetries in these differences indicated the most prominent effects in pSTG, where the largest differences between groups occurred in the right hemisphere. Other regions did not show significant hemispheric asymmetries in group differences. Taken together, these results indicate that atypical white matter microstructure and reduced volume underlies regions of superior temporal primary and association auditory cortex and introduce a robust method for quantifying volumetric and white matter microstructural differences that can be applied to future studies of special populations. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The working memory stroop effect: when internal representations clash with external stimuli.

PubMed

Kiyonaga, Anastasia; Egner, Tobias

2014-08-01

Working memory (WM) has recently been described as internally directed attention, which implies that WM content should affect behavior exactly like an externally perceived and attended stimulus. We tested whether holding a color word in WM, rather than attending to it in the external environment, can produce interference in a color-discrimination task, which would mimic the classic Stroop effect. Over three experiments, the WM Stroop effect recapitulated core properties of the classic attentional Stroop effect, displaying equivalent congruency effects, additive contributions from stimulus- and response-level congruency, and susceptibility to modulation by the percentage of congruent and incongruent trials. Moreover, WM maintenance was inversely related to attentional demands during the WM delay between stimulus presentation and recall, with poorer memory performance following incongruent than congruent trials. Together, these results suggest that WM and attention rely on the same resources and operate over the same representations. © The Author(s) 2014.

Emotional Congruence With Children Is Associated With Sexual Deviancy in Sexual Offenders Against Children.

PubMed

Hermann, Chantal A; McPhail, Ian V; Helmus, L Maaike; Hanson, R Karl

2017-09-01

Emotional congruence with children is a psychologically meaningful risk factor for sexual offending against children. The present study examines the correlates of emotional congruence with children in a sample of 424 adult male sexual offenders who started a period of community supervision in Canada, Alaska, and Iowa between 2001 and 2005. Consistent with previous work, we found sexual offenders against children high in emotional congruence with children were more likely to be sexually deviant, have poor sexual self-regulation, experience social loneliness, and have more distorted cognitions about sex with children. Overall, our findings are most consistent with a sexual deviancy model, with some support for a blockage model.

Cross-cultural differences in item and background memory: examining the influence of emotional intensity and scene congruency.

PubMed

Mickley Steinmetz, Katherine R; Sturkie, Charlee M; Rochester, Nina M; Liu, Xiaodong; Gutchess, Angela H

2018-07-01

After viewing a scene, individuals differ in what they prioritise and remember. Culture may be one factor that influences scene memory, as Westerners have been shown to be more item-focused than Easterners (see Masuda, T., & Nisbett, R. E. (2001). Attending holistically versus analytically: Comparing the context sensitivity of Japanese and Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 922-934). However, cultures may differ in their sensitivity to scene incongruences and emotion processing, which may account for cross-cultural differences in scene memory. The current study uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine scene memory while controlling for scene congruency and the perceived emotional intensity of the images. American and East Asian participants encoded pictures that included a positive, negative, or neutral item placed on a neutral background. After a 20-min delay, participants were shown the item and background separately along with similar and new items and backgrounds to assess memory specificity. Results indicated that even when congruency and emotional intensity were controlled, there was evidence that Americans had better item memory than East Asians. Incongruent scenes were better remembered than congruent scenes. However, this effect did not differ by culture. This suggests that Americans' item focus may result in memory changes that are robust despite variations in scene congruency and perceived emotion.

Attentional reorienting triggers spatial asymmetries in a search task with cross-modal spatial cueing

PubMed Central

Paladini, Rebecca E.; Diana, Lorenzo; Zito, Giuseppe A.; Nyffeler, Thomas; Wyss, Patric; Mosimann, Urs P.; Müri, René M.; Nef, Tobias

2018-01-01

Cross-modal spatial cueing can affect performance in a visual search task. For example, search performance improves if a visual target and an auditory cue originate from the same spatial location, and it deteriorates if they originate from different locations. Moreover, it has recently been postulated that multisensory settings, i.e., experimental settings, in which critical stimuli are concurrently presented in different sensory modalities (e.g., visual and auditory), may trigger asymmetries in visuospatial attention. Thereby, a facilitation has been observed for visual stimuli presented in the right compared to the left visual space. However, it remains unclear whether auditory cueing of attention differentially affects search performance in the left and the right hemifields in audio-visual search tasks. The present study investigated whether spatial asymmetries would occur in a search task with cross-modal spatial cueing. Participants completed a visual search task that contained no auditory cues (i.e., unimodal visual condition), spatially congruent, spatially incongruent, and spatially non-informative auditory cues. To further assess participants’ accuracy in localising the auditory cues, a unimodal auditory spatial localisation task was also administered. The results demonstrated no left/right asymmetries in the unimodal visual search condition. Both an additional incongruent, as well as a spatially non-informative, auditory cue resulted in lateral asymmetries. Thereby, search times were increased for targets presented in the left compared to the right hemifield. No such spatial asymmetry was observed in the congruent condition. However, participants’ performance in the congruent condition was modulated by their tone localisation accuracy. The findings of the present study demonstrate that spatial asymmetries in multisensory processing depend on the validity of the cross-modal cues, and occur under specific attentional conditions, i.e., when visual attention has to be reoriented towards the left hemifield. PMID:29293637

Workplace Congruence and Occupational Outcomes among Social Service Workers.

PubMed

Graham, John R; Shier, Micheal L; Nicholas, David

2016-06-01

Workplace expectations reflect an important consideration in employee experience. A higher prevalence of workplace congruence between worker and employer expectations has been associated with higher levels of productivity and overall workplace satisfaction across multiple occupational groups. Little research has investigated the relationship between workplace congruence and occupational health outcomes among social service workers. This study sought to better understand the extent to which occupational congruence contributes to occupational outcomes by surveying unionised social service workers ( n = 674) employed with the Government of Alberta, Canada. Multiple regression analysis shows that greater congruence between workplace and worker expectations around workloads, workplace values and the quality of the work environment significantly: (i) decreases symptoms related to distress and secondary traumatic stress; (ii) decreases intentions to leave; and (iii) increases overall life satisfaction. The findings provide some evidence of areas within the workplace of large government run social welfare programmes that can be better aligned to worker expectations to improve occupational outcomes among social service workers.

Partner choice, relationship satisfaction, and oral contraception: the congruency hypothesis.

PubMed

Roberts, S Craig; Little, Anthony C; Burriss, Robert P; Cobey, Kelly D; Klapilová, Kateřina; Havlíček, Jan; Jones, Benedict C; DeBruine, Lisa; Petrie, Marion

2014-07-01

Hormonal fluctuation across the menstrual cycle explains temporal variation in women's judgment of the attractiveness of members of the opposite sex. Use of hormonal contraceptives could therefore influence both initial partner choice and, if contraceptive use subsequently changes, intrapair dynamics. Associations between hormonal contraceptive use and relationship satisfaction may thus be best understood by considering whether current use is congruent with use when relationships formed, rather than by considering current use alone. In the study reported here, we tested this congruency hypothesis in a survey of 365 couples. Controlling for potential confounds (including relationship duration, age, parenthood, and income), we found that congruency in current and previous hormonal contraceptive use, but not current use alone, predicted women's sexual satisfaction with their partners. Congruency was not associated with women's nonsexual satisfaction or with the satisfaction of their male partners. Our results provide empirical support for the congruency hypothesis and suggest that women's sexual satisfaction is influenced by changes in partner preference associated with change in hormonal contraceptive use. © The Author(s) 2014.

Workplace Congruence and Occupational Outcomes among Social Service Workers

PubMed Central

Graham, John R.; Shier, Micheal L.; Nicholas, David

2016-01-01

Workplace expectations reflect an important consideration in employee experience. A higher prevalence of workplace congruence between worker and employer expectations has been associated with higher levels of productivity and overall workplace satisfaction across multiple occupational groups. Little research has investigated the relationship between workplace congruence and occupational health outcomes among social service workers. This study sought to better understand the extent to which occupational congruence contributes to occupational outcomes by surveying unionised social service workers (n = 674) employed with the Government of Alberta, Canada. Multiple regression analysis shows that greater congruence between workplace and worker expectations around workloads, workplace values and the quality of the work environment significantly: (i) decreases symptoms related to distress and secondary traumatic stress; (ii) decreases intentions to leave; and (iii) increases overall life satisfaction. The findings provide some evidence of areas within the workplace of large government run social welfare programmes that can be better aligned to worker expectations to improve occupational outcomes among social service workers. PMID:27559216

The functional alterations associated with motor imagery training: a comparison between motor execution and motor imagery of sequential finger tapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hang; Yao, Li; Long, Zhiying

2011-03-01

Motor imagery training, as an effective strategy, has been more and more applied to mental disorders rehabilitation and motor skill learning. Studies on the neural mechanism underlying motor imagery have suggested that such effectiveness may be related to the functional congruence between motor execution and motor imagery. However, as compared to the studies on motor imagery, the studies on motor imagery training are much fewer. The functional alterations associated with motor imagery training and the effectiveness of motor imagery training on motor performance improvement still needs further investigation. Using fMRI, we employed a sequential finger tapping paradigm to explore the functional alterations associated with motor imagery training in both motor execution and motor imagery task. We hypothesized through 14 consecutive days motor imagery training, the motor performance could be improved and the functional congruence between motor execution and motor imagery would be sustained form pre-training phase to post-training phase. Our results confirmed the effectiveness of motor imagery training in improving motor performance and demonstrated in both pre and post-training phases, motor imagery and motor execution consistently sustained the congruence in functional neuroanatomy, including SMA (supplementary motor cortex), PMA (premotor area); M1( primary motor cortex) and cerebellum. Moreover, for both execution and imagery tasks, a similar functional alteration was observed in fusiform through motor imagery training. These findings provided an insight into the effectiveness of motor imagery training and suggested its potential therapeutic value in motor rehabilitation.

Attentional load attenuates synaesthetic priming effects in grapheme-colour synaesthesia.

PubMed

Mattingley, Jason B; Payne, Jonathan M; Rich, Anina N

2006-02-01

One of the hallmarks of grapheme-colour synaesthesia is that colours induced by letters, digits and words tend to interfere with the identification of coloured targets when the two colours are different, i.e., when they are incongruent. In a previous investigation (Mattingley et al., 2001) we found that this synaesthetic congruency effect occurs when an achromatic-letter prime precedes a coloured target, but that the effect disappears when the letter is pattern masked to prevent conscious recognition of its identity. Here we investigated whether selective attention modulates the synaesthetic congruency effect in a letter-priming task. Fourteen grapheme-colour synaesthetes and 14 matched, non-synaesthetic controls participated. The amount of selective attention available to process the letter-prime was limited by having participants perform a secondary visual task that involved discriminating pairs of gaps in adjacent limbs of a diamond surrounding the prime. In separate blocks of trials the attentional load of the secondary task was systematically varied to yield 'low load' and 'high load' conditions. We found a significant congruency effect for synaesthetes, but not for controls, when they performed a secondary attention-demanding task during presentation of the letter prime. Crucially, however, the magnitude of this priming was significantly reduced under conditions of high-load relative to low-load, indicating that attention plays an important role in modulating synaesthesia. Our findings help to explain the observation that synaesthetic colour experiences are often weak or absent during attention-demanding tasks.

Determinants of patient-family caregiver congruence on preferred place of death in taiwan.

PubMed

Tang, Siew Tzuh; Chen, Cheryl Chia-Hui; Tang, Woung-Ru; Liu, Tsang-Wu

2010-08-01

Patient-family caregiver congruence on preferred place of death not only increases the likelihood of dying at home but also contributes significantly to terminally ill cancer patients' quality of life. To examine the determinants of patient-family caregiver congruence on the preferred place of death in Taiwan. Patient-family caregiver dyads (n=1,108) were surveyed on preferences and needs for end-of-life (EOL) care. Determinants of congruence on preferences were identified by multivariate logistic regression. Patient-caregiver dyads achieved 78.1% agreement on the preferred place of death. The kappa coefficient of congruence was 0.55 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.50, 0.60). The extent of patient-family caregiver congruence on preferred place of death increased with the patient's higher functional dependence (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] and 95% CI=1.04 [1.02, 1.05]), higher patient-rated importance for dying at preferred place of death (AOR [95% CI]=1.60 [1.43, 1.79]), and having a spousal caregiver (AOR [95% CI]=1.62 [1.14, 2.31]). Other determinants of patient-family caregiver congruence included patient age (AOR [95% CI]=1.01 [1.00, 1.03]), patient-family concordance on preferred EOL care options (AOR=1.68-1.73), patient knowledge of prognosis (AOR [95% CI]=0.68 [0.48, 0.97]), and impact of caregiving on the family caregiver's life (AOR [95% CI]=0.98 [0.96, 0.99]). Increasing patient-family congruence on preferred place of death not only requires knowledge of the patient's prognosis and advance planning by both parties but also depends on family caregivers endorsing patient preferences for EOL care options and ensuring that supporting patients dying at home does not create an intolerable burden for family caregivers. Copyright (c) 2010 U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.