Propofol disrupts functional interactions between sensory and high-order processing of auditory verbal memory.

PubMed

Liu, Xiaolin; Lauer, Kathryn K; Ward, Barney D; Rao, Stephen M; Li, Shi-Jiang; Hudetz, Anthony G

2012-10-01

Current theories suggest that disrupting cortical information integration may account for the mechanism of general anesthesia in suppressing consciousness. Human cognitive operations take place in hierarchically structured neural organizations in the brain. The process of low-order neural representation of sensory stimuli becoming integrated in high-order cortices is also known as cognitive binding. Combining neuroimaging, cognitive neuroscience, and anesthetic manipulation, we examined how cognitive networks involved in auditory verbal memory are maintained in wakefulness, disrupted in propofol-induced deep sedation, and re-established in recovery. Inspired by the notion of cognitive binding, an functional magnetic resonance imaging-guided connectivity analysis was utilized to assess the integrity of functional interactions within and between different levels of the task-defined brain regions. Task-related responses persisted in the primary auditory cortex (PAC), but vanished in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and premotor areas in deep sedation. For connectivity analysis, seed regions representing sensory and high-order processing of the memory task were identified in the PAC and IFG. Propofol disrupted connections from the PAC seed to the frontal regions and thalamus, but not the connections from the IFG seed to a set of widely distributed brain regions in the temporal, frontal, and parietal lobes (with exception of the PAC). These later regions have been implicated in mediating verbal comprehension and memory. These results suggest that propofol disrupts cognition by blocking the projection of sensory information to high-order processing networks and thus preventing information integration. Such findings contribute to our understanding of anesthetic mechanisms as related to information and integration in the brain. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Arguments from Developmental Order.

PubMed

Stöckle-Schobel, Richard

2016-01-01

In this article, I investigate a special type of argument regarding the role of development in theorizing about psychological processes and cognitive capacities. Among the issues that developmental psychologists study, discovering the ontogenetic trajectory of mechanisms or capacities underpinning our cognitive functions ranks highly. The order in which functions are developed or capacities are acquired is a matter of debate between competing psychological theories, and also philosophical conceptions of the mind - getting the role and the significance of the different steps in this order right could be seen as an important virtue of such theories. Thus, a special kind of strategy in arguments between competing philosophical or psychological theories is using developmental order in arguing for or against a given psychological claim. In this article, I will introduce an analysis of arguments from developmental order, which come in two general types: arguments emphasizing the importance of the early cognitive processes and arguments emphasizing the late cognitive processes. I will discuss their role in one of the central tools for evaluating scientific theories, namely in making inferences to the best explanation. I will argue that appeal to developmental order is, by itself, an insufficient criterion for theory choice and has to be part of an argument based on other core explanatory or empirical virtues. I will end by proposing a more concerted study of philosophical issues concerning (cognitive) development, and I will present some topics that also pertain to a full-fledged 'philosophy of development.'

Martial Art Training and Cognitive Performance in Middle-Aged Adults.

PubMed

Douris, Peter; Douris, Christopher; Balder, Nicole; LaCasse, Michael; Rand, Amir; Tarapore, Freya; Zhuchkan, Aleskey; Handrakis, John

2015-09-29

Cognitive performance includes the processes of attention, memory, processing speed, and executive functioning, which typically declines with aging. Previous research has demonstrated that aerobic and resistance exercise improves cognitive performance immediately following exercise. However, there is limited research examining the effect that a cognitively complex exercise such as martial art training has on these cognitive processes. Our study compared the acute effects of 2 types of martial art training to aerobic exercise on cognitive performance in middle-aged adults. We utilized a repeated measures design with the order of the 3 exercise conditions randomly assigned and counterbalanced. Ten recreational middle-aged martial artists (mean age = 53.5 ± 8.6 years) participated in 3 treatment conditions: a typical martial art class, an atypical martial art class, and a one-hour walk at a self-selected speed. Cognitive performance was assessed by the Stroop Color and Word test. While all 3 exercise conditions improved attention and processing speed, only the 2 martial art conditions improved the highest order of cognitive performance, executive function. The effect of the 2 martial art conditions on executive function was not different. The improvement in executive function may be due to the increased cortical demand required by the more complex, coordinated motor tasks of martial art exercise compared to the more repetitive actions of walking.

Martial Art Training and Cognitive Performance in Middle-Aged Adults

PubMed Central

Douris, Peter; Douris, Christopher; Balder, Nicole; LaCasse, Michael; Rand, Amir; Tarapore, Freya; Zhuchkan, Aleskey; Handrakis, John

2015-01-01

Cognitive performance includes the processes of attention, memory, processing speed, and executive functioning, which typically declines with aging. Previous research has demonstrated that aerobic and resistance exercise improves cognitive performance immediately following exercise. However, there is limited research examining the effect that a cognitively complex exercise such as martial art training has on these cognitive processes. Our study compared the acute effects of 2 types of martial art training to aerobic exercise on cognitive performance in middle-aged adults. We utilized a repeated measures design with the order of the 3 exercise conditions randomly assigned and counterbalanced. Ten recreational middle-aged martial artists (mean age = 53.5 ± 8.6 years) participated in 3 treatment conditions: a typical martial art class, an atypical martial art class, and a one-hour walk at a self-selected speed. Cognitive performance was assessed by the Stroop Color and Word test. While all 3 exercise conditions improved attention and processing speed, only the 2 martial art conditions improved the highest order of cognitive performance, executive function. The effect of the 2 martial art conditions on executive function was not different. The improvement in executive function may be due to the increased cortical demand required by the more complex, coordinated motor tasks of martial art exercise compared to the more repetitive actions of walking. PMID:26672872

Augmenting team cognition in human-automation teams performing in complex operational environments.

PubMed

Cuevas, Haydee M; Fiore, Stephen M; Caldwell, Barrett S; Strater, Laura

2007-05-01

There is a growing reliance on automation (e.g., intelligent agents, semi-autonomous robotic systems) to effectively execute increasingly cognitively complex tasks. Successful team performance for such tasks has become even more dependent on team cognition, addressing both human-human and human-automation teams. Team cognition can be viewed as the binding mechanism that produces coordinated behavior within experienced teams, emerging from the interplay between each team member's individual cognition and team process behaviors (e.g., coordination, communication). In order to better understand team cognition in human-automation teams, team performance models need to address issues surrounding the effect of human-agent and human-robot interaction on critical team processes such as coordination and communication. Toward this end, we present a preliminary theoretical framework illustrating how the design and implementation of automation technology may influence team cognition and team coordination in complex operational environments. Integrating constructs from organizational and cognitive science, our proposed framework outlines how information exchange and updating between humans and automation technology may affect lower-level (e.g., working memory) and higher-level (e.g., sense making) cognitive processes as well as teams' higher-order "metacognitive" processes (e.g., performance monitoring). Issues surrounding human-automation interaction are discussed and implications are presented within the context of designing automation technology to improve task performance in human-automation teams.

Destination Memory and Cognitive Theory of Mind in Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

El Haj, Mohamad; Gély-Nargeot, Marie-Christine; Raffard, Stéphane

2015-01-01

Destination memory, or the ability to remember the destination to whom a piece of information was addressed, is found to be compromised in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Our paper investigated the relationship between destination memory and theory of mind in AD since both destination memory and theory of mind are social abilities that require processing attributes of interlocutors. Mild AD participants and controls were administered tasks tapping destination memory, affective theory of mind, and 1st and 2nd order cognitive theory of mind. Relative to controls, AD participants showed compromise in destination memory and 2nd order cognitive theory of mind, but preserved performance on affective and 1st order cognitive theory of mind. Significant correlations were observed between destination memory, and 1st and 2nd order cognitive theory of mind in AD participants and controls. By demonstrating a relationship between compromises in 2nd order theory of mind and in destination memory, our work highlights links between social cognition and memory functioning in AD.

A chronometric functional sub-network in the thalamo-cortical system regulates the flow of neural information necessary for conscious cognitive processes.

PubMed

León-Domínguez, Umberto; Vela-Bueno, Antonio; Froufé-Torres, Manuel; León-Carrión, Jose

2013-06-01

The thalamo-cortical system has been defined as a neural network associated with consciousness. While there seems to be wide agreement that the thalamo-cortical system directly intervenes in vigilance and arousal, a divergence of opinion persists regarding its intervention in the control of other cognitive processes necessary for consciousness. In the present manuscript, we provide a review of recent scientific findings on the thalamo-cortical system and its role in the control and regulation of the flow of neural information necessary for conscious cognitive processes. We suggest that the axis formed by the medial prefrontal cortex and different thalamic nuclei (reticular nucleus, intralaminar nucleus, and midline nucleus), represents a core component for consciousness. This axis regulates different cerebral structures which allow basic cognitive processes like attention, arousal and memory to emerge. In order to produce a synchronized coherent response, neural communication between cerebral structures must have exact timing (chronometry). Thus, a chronometric functional sub-network within the thalamo-cortical system keeps us in an optimal and continuous functional state, allowing high-order cognitive processes, essential to awareness and qualia, to take place. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Spatial Experiences & Cognitive Styles in the Solution Process of Space-Based Design Problems in the First Year of Architectural Design Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erkan Yazici, Yasemin

2013-01-01

There are many factors that influence designers in the architectural design process. Cognitive style, which varies according to the cognitive structure of persons, and spatial experience, which is created with spatial data acquired during life are two of these factors. Designers usually refer to their spatial experiences in order to find solutions…

Cognitive analysis of physicians' medication ordering activity.

PubMed

Pelayo, Sylvia; Leroy, Nicolas; Guerlinger, Sandra; Degoulet, Patrice; Meaux, Jean-Jacques; Beuscart-Zéphir, Marie-Catherine

2005-01-01

Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) addresses critical functions in healthcare systems. As the name clearly indicates, these systems focus on order entry. With regard to medication orders, such systems generally force physicians to enter exhaustively documented orders. But a cognitive analysis of the physician's medication ordering task shows that order entry is the last (and least) important step of the entire cognitive therapeutic decision making task. We performed a comparative analysis of these complex cognitive tasks in two working environments, computer-based and paper-based. The results showed that information gathering, selection and interpretation are critical cognitive functions to support the therapeutic decision making. Thus the most important requirement from the physician's perspective would be an efficient display of relevant information provided first in the form of a summarized view of the patient's current treatment, followed by in a more detailed focused display of those items pertinent to the current situation. The CPOE system examined obviously failed to provide the physicians this critical summarized view. Following these results, consistent with users' complaints, the Company decided to engage in a significant re-engineering process of their application.

Inhibitory control gains from higher-order cognitive strategy training.

PubMed

Motes, Michael A; Gamino, Jacquelyn F; Chapman, Sandra B; Rao, Neena K; Maguire, Mandy J; Brier, Matthew R; Kraut, Michael A; Hart, John

2014-02-01

The present study examined the transfer of higher-order cognitive strategy training to inhibitory control. Middle school students enrolled in a comprehension- and reasoning-focused cognitive strategy training program and passive controls participated. The training program taught students a set of steps for inferring essential gist or themes from materials. Both before and after training or a comparable duration in the case of the passive controls, participants completed a semantically cued Go/No-Go task that was designed to assess the effects of depth of semantic processing on response inhibition and components of event-related potentials (ERP) related to response inhibition. Depth of semantic processing was manipulated by varying the level of semantic categorization required for response selection and inhibition. The SMART-trained group showed inhibitory control gains and changes in fronto-central P3 ERP amplitudes on inhibition trials; whereas, the control group did not. The results provide evidence of the transfer of higher-order cognitive strategy training to inhibitory control and modulation of ERPs associated with semantically cued inhibitory control. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for cognitive strategy training, models of cognitive abilities, and education. Published by Elsevier Inc.

A single dose of oxytocin nasal spray improves higher-order social cognition in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Guastella, Adam J; Ward, Philip B; Hickie, Ian B; Shahrestani, Sara; Hodge, Marie Antoinette Redoblado; Scott, Elizabeth M; Langdon, Robyn

2015-11-01

Schizophrenia is associated with significant impairments in both higher and lower order social cognitive performance and these impairments contribute to poor social functioning. People with schizophrenia report poor social functioning to be one of their greatest unmet treatment needs. Recent studies have suggested the potential of oxytocin as such a treatment, but mixed results render it uncertain what aspects of social cognition are improved by oxytocin and, subsequently, how oxytocin might best be applied as a therapeutic. The aim of this study was to determine whether a single dose of oxytocin improved higher-order and lower-order social cognition performance for patients with schizophrenia across a well-established battery of social cognition tests. Twenty-one male patients received both a single dose of oxytocin nasal spray (24IU) and a placebo, two weeks apart in a randomized within-subjects placebo controlled design. Following each administration, participants completed the social cognition tasks, as well as a test of general neurocognition. Results revealed that oxytocin particularly enhanced performance on higher order social cognition tasks, with no effects on general neurocognition. Results for individual tasks showed most improvement on tests measuring appreciation of indirect hints and recognition of social faux pas. These results suggest that oxytocin, if combined to enhance social cognition learning, may be beneficial when targeted at higher order social cognition domains. This study also suggests that these higher order tasks, which assess social cognitive processing in a social communication context, may provide useful markers of response to oxytocin in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Can cognitive science create a cognitive economics?

PubMed

Chater, Nick

2015-02-01

Cognitive science can intersect with economics in at least three productive ways: by providing richer models of individual behaviour for use in economic analysis; by drawing from economic theory in order to model distributed cognition; and jointly to create more powerful 'rational' models of cognitive processes and social interaction. There is the prospect of moving from behavioural economics to a genuinely cognitive economics. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A content review of cognitive process measures used in pain research within adult populations.

PubMed

Day, M A; Lang, C P; Newton-John, T R O; Ehde, D M; Jensen, M P

2017-01-01

Previous research suggests that measures of cognitive process may be confounded by the inclusion of items that also assess cognitive content. The primary aims of this content review were to: (1) identify the domains of cognitive processes assessed by measures used in pain research; and (2) determine if pain-specific cognitive process measures with adequate psychometric properties exist. PsychInfo, CINAHL, PsycArticles, MEDLINE, and Academic Search Complete databases were searched to identify the measures of cognitive process used in pain research. Identified measures were double coded and the measure's items were rated as: (1) cognitive content; (2) cognitive process; (3) behavioural/social; and/or (4) emotional coping/responses to pain. A total of 319 scales were identified; of these, 29 were coded as providing an un-confounded assessment of cognitive process, and 12 were pain-specific. The cognitive process domains assessed in these measures are Absorption, Dissociation, Reappraisal, Distraction/Suppression, Acceptance, Rumination, Non-Judgment, and Enhancement. Pain-specific, un-confounded measures were identified for: Dissociation, Reappraisal, Distraction/Suppression, and Acceptance. Psychometric properties of all 319 scales are reported in supplementary material. To understand the importance of cognitive processes in influencing pain outcomes as well as explaining the efficacy of pain treatments, valid and pain-specific cognitive process measures that are not confounded with non-process domains (e.g., cognitive content) are needed. The findings of this content review suggest that future research focused on developing cognitive process measures is critical in order to advance our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie effective pain treatment. Many cognitive process measures used in pain research contain a 'mix' of items that assess cognitive process, cognitive content, and behavioural/emotional responses. Databases searched: PsychInfo, CINAHL, PsycArticles, MEDLINE and Academic Search Complete. This review describes the domains assessed by measures assessing cognitive processes in pain research, as well as the strengths and limitations of these measures. © 2016 European Pain Federation - EFIC®.

Improved Processing Speed: Online Computer-Based Cognitive Training in Older Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson, Tamara; Camfield, David; Pipingas, Andrew; Macpherson, Helen; Stough, Con

2012-01-01

In an increasingly aging population, a number of adults are concerned about declines in their cognitive abilities. Online computer-based cognitive training programs have been proposed as an accessible means by which the elderly may improve their cognitive abilities; yet, more research is needed in order to assess the efficacy of these programs. In…

Modeling Cognitive Strategies during Complex Task Performing Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazman, Sacide Guzin; Altun, Arif

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine individuals' computer based complex task performing processes and strategies in order to determine the reasons of failure by cognitive task analysis method and cued retrospective think aloud with eye movement data. Study group was five senior students from Computer Education and Instructional Technologies…

Consequences of Stimulus Type on Higher-Order Processing in Single-Sided Deaf Cochlear Implant Users.

PubMed

Finke, Mareike; Sandmann, Pascale; Bönitz, Hanna; Kral, Andrej; Büchner, Andreas

2016-01-01

Single-sided deaf subjects with a cochlear implant (CI) provide the unique opportunity to compare central auditory processing of the electrical input (CI ear) and the acoustic input (normal-hearing, NH, ear) within the same individual. In these individuals, sensory processing differs between their two ears, while cognitive abilities are the same irrespectively of the sensory input. To better understand perceptual-cognitive factors modulating speech intelligibility with a CI, this electroencephalography study examined the central-auditory processing of words, the cognitive abilities, and the speech intelligibility in 10 postlingually single-sided deaf CI users. We found lower hit rates and prolonged response times for word classification during an oddball task for the CI ear when compared with the NH ear. Also, event-related potentials reflecting sensory (N1) and higher-order processing (N2/N4) were prolonged for word classification (targets versus nontargets) with the CI ear compared with the NH ear. Our results suggest that speech processing via the CI ear and the NH ear differs both at sensory (N1) and cognitive (N2/N4) processing stages, thereby affecting the behavioral performance for speech discrimination. These results provide objective evidence for cognition to be a key factor for speech perception under adverse listening conditions, such as the degraded speech signal provided from the CI. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Systematic review of the neural basis of social cognition in patients with mood disorders.

PubMed

Cusi, Andrée M; Nazarov, Anthony; Holshausen, Katherine; Macqueen, Glenda M; McKinnon, Margaret C

2012-05-01

This review integrates neuroimaging studies of 2 domains of social cognition--emotion comprehension and theory of mind (ToM)--in patients with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. The influence of key clinical and method variables on patterns of neural activation during social cognitive processing is also examined. Studies were identified using PsycINFO and PubMed (January 1967 to May 2011). The search terms were "fMRI," "emotion comprehension," "emotion perception," "affect comprehension," "affect perception," "facial expression," "prosody," "theory of mind," "mentalizing" and "empathy" in combination with "major depressive disorder," "bipolar disorder," "major depression," "unipolar depression," "clinical depression" and "mania." Taken together, neuroimaging studies of social cognition in patients with mood disorders reveal enhanced activation in limbic and emotion-related structures and attenuated activity within frontal regions associated with emotion regulation and higher cognitive functions. These results reveal an overall lack of inhibition by higher-order cognitive structures on limbic and emotion-related structures during social cognitive processing in patients with mood disorders. Critically, key variables, including illness burden, symptom severity, comorbidity, medication status and cognitive load may moderate this pattern of neural activation. Studies that did not include control tasks or a comparator group were included in this review. Further work is needed to examine the contribution of key moderator variables and to further elucidate the neural networks underlying altered social cognition in patients with mood disorders. The neural networks under lying higher-order social cognitive processes, including empathy, remain unexplored in patients with mood disorders.

Does Higher-Order Thinking Impinge on Learner-Centric Digital Approach?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathew, Bincy; Raja, B. William Dharma

2015-01-01

Humans are social beings and the social cognition focuses on how one form impressions of other people, interpret the meaning of other people's behaviour and how people's behaviour is affected by our attitudes. The school provides complex social situations and in order to thrive, students must possess social cognition, the process of thinking about…

Thinking Science: A Way to Change Teacher Practice in Order to Raise Students' Ability to Think

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hueppauff, Sonia

2016-01-01

This article describes key facets of the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE), a curriculum that emerged in the United Kingdom, enabling teachers to accelerate the process of cognitive development so that more students could attain the higher-order thinking skills (formal operational thinking) required (Lecky, 2012). CASE, also…

Neural Network Classification of Mental Workload Conditions by Analysis of Spontaneous Electroencephalograms

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

and other higher order cognitive processe elevant to the design and use of the system. Characterization of human abilities and limitations in terms of...pilot’s workload and cognitive resources at any given moment. Before flight, the pilot can tailor the mode, type and quantity of information provided...it needs to incorporate models of human cognitive processes and resource limitations into the resource model. As mentioned earlier, characterization of

A Longitudinal Perspective on Inductive Reasoning Tasks. Illuminating the Probability of Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ifenthaler, Dirk; Seel, Norbert M.

2011-01-01

Cognitive scientists have studied internal cognitive structures, processes, and systems for decades in order to understand how they function in human learning. Nevertheless, questions concerning the diagnosis of changes in these cognitive structures while solving inductive reasoning tasks are still being scrutinized. This paper reports findings…

Big Questions Facing Vocational Psychology: A Cognitive Information Processing Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reardon, Robert C.; Lenz, Janet G.; Sampson, James P., Jr.; Peterson, Gary W.

2011-01-01

This article draws upon the authors' experience in developing cognitive information processing theory in order to examine three important questions facing vocational psychology and assessment: (a) Where should new knowledge for vocational psychology come from? (b) How do career theories and research find their way into practice? and (c) What is…

Capturing Problem-Solving Processes Using Critical Rationalism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chitpin, Stephanie; Simon, Marielle

2012-01-01

The examination of problem-solving processes continues to be a current research topic in education. Knowing how to solve problems is not only a key aspect of learning mathematics but is also at the heart of cognitive theories, linguistics, artificial intelligence, and computers sciences. Problem solving is a multistep, higher-order cognitive task…

DCS facilitation of fear extinction and exposure-based therapy may rely on lower-level, automatic mechanisms

PubMed Central

Grillon, Christian

2009-01-01

Exposure-based therapy (EBT), a leading technique in the treatment of a range of anxiety disorders, is facilitated by D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor agonist. This review discusses the potential mechanisms involved in this facilitation, and its implications for developing theories of fear conditioning in humans. Basic research in rodents suggests that DCS acts by speeding up extinction. However, several lab-based investigations found that DCS had no effect on extinction in humans. This paper proposes that these observations can be accounted for by a dual-model theory of fear conditioning in humans that engages two complementary defensive systems: a reflexive lower-order system independent of conscious awareness and a higher-order cognitive system associated with conscious awareness of danger and expectation. DCS studies in animals appear to have explored lower-order conditioning mechanisms, whereas human studies have explored higher-order cognitive processes. These observations suggest that DCS may act preferentially on lower- rather than higher-order learning. This paper presents evidence suggesting that, in humans, DCS may similarly affect lower-order learning during EBT and, consequently, may be less effective during cognitive therapy (e.g., cognitive restructuring). Finally, it is recommended that extinction studies using DCS in humans be conducted using fear-relevant stimuli (e.g., snakes), short conditional stimulus-unconditioned stimulus (CS-US) intervals, and intense US in order to promote lower-order conditioning processes. PMID:19520359

Cognitive theories and the design of e-learning environments.

PubMed

Gillani, Bijan; O'Guinn, Christina

2004-01-01

Cognitive development refers to a mental process by which knowledge is acquired, stored, and retrieved to solve problems. Therefore, cognitive developmental theories attempt to explain cognitive activities that contribute to students' intellectual development and their capacity to learn and solve problems. Cognitive developmental research has had a great impact on the constructivism movement in education and educational technology. In order to appreciate how cognitive developmental theories have contributed to the design, process and development of constructive e-learning environments, we shall first present Piaget's cognitive theory and derive an inquiry training model from it that will support a constructivism approach to teaching and learning. Second, we will discuss an example developed by NASA that used the Web as an appropriate instructional delivery medium to apply Piaget's cognitive theory to create e-learning environments.

[Acceptance and mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioral therapies].

PubMed

Ngô, Thanh-Lan

2013-01-01

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the main approaches in psychotherapy. It teaches the patient to examine the link between dysfunctional thoughts and maladaptive behaviors and to re- evaluate the cognitive biases involved in the maintenance of symptoms by using strategies such as guided discovery. CBT is constantly evolving in part to improve its' effectiveness and accessibility. Thus in the last decade, increasingly popular approaches based on mindfulness and acceptance have emerged. These therapies do not attempt to modify cognitions even when they are biased and dysfunctional but rather seek a change in the relationship between the individual and the symptoms. This article aims to present the historical context that has allowed the emergence of this trend, the points of convergence and divergence with traditional CBT as well as a brief presentation of the different therapies based on mindfulness meditation and acceptance. Hayes (2004) described three successive waves in behavior therapy, each characterized by "dominant assumptions, methods and goals": traditional behavior therapy, cognitive therapy and therapies based on mindfulness meditation and acceptance. The latter consider that human suffering occurs when the individual lives a restricted life in order avoid pain and immediate discomfort to the detriment of his global wellbeing. These therapies combine mindfulness, experiential, acceptance strategies with traditional behavior principles in order to attain lasting results. There are significant points of convergence between traditional CBT and therapies based on mindfulness meditation and acceptance. They are both empirically validated, based upon a theoretical model postulating that avoidance is key in the maintenance of psychopathology and they recommend an approach strategy in order to overcome the identified problem. They both use behavioral techniques in the context of a collaborative relationship in order to identify precise problems and to achieve specific goals. They focus on the present moment rather than on historical causes. However, they also present significant differences: control vs acceptance of thoughts, focus on cognition vs behavior, focus on the relationship between the individual and his thoughts vs cognitive content, goal of modifying dysfunctional beliefs vs metacognitive processes, use of experiential vs didactic methods, focus on symptoms vs quality of life, strategies used before vs after the unfolding of full emotional response. The main interventions based on mindfulness meditation and acceptance are: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Functional Analytic Therapy, the expanded model of Behavioral Activation, Metacognitive Therapy, Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy, Dialectic Behavior Therapy, Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy and Compassionate Mind Training. These are described in this article. They offer concepts and techniques which might enhance therapeutic efficacy. They teach a new way to deploy attention and to enter into a relationship with current experience (for example, defusion) in order to diminish cognitive reactivity, a maintenance factor for psychopathology, and to enhance psychological flexibility. The focus on cognitive process, metacognition as well as cognitive content might yield additional benefits in therapy. It is possible to combine traditional CBT with third wave approaches by using psychoeducation and cognitive restructuring in the beginning phases of therapy in order to establish thought bias and to then encourage acceptance of internal experiences as well as exposure to feared stimuli rather than to continue to use cognitive restructuring techniques. Traditional CBT and third wave approaches seem to impact different processes: the former enhance the capacity to observe and describe experiences and the latter diminish experiential avoidance and increase conscious action as well as acceptance. The identification of personal values helps to motivate the individual to undertake actions required in order to enhance quality of life. In the case of chronic illness, it diminishes suffering by increasing acceptance. Although the evidence base supporting the efficacy of third wave approaches is less robust than in the case of traditional cognitive or behavior therapy, therapies based on mindfulness meditation and acceptance are promising interventions that might help to elucidate change process and offer complementary strategies in order to help patients.

What Does God Know? Supernatural Agents' Access to Socially Strategic and Non-Strategic Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Purzycki, Benjamin G.; Finkel, Daniel N.; Shaver, John; Wales, Nathan; Cohen, Adam B.; Sosis, Richard

2012-01-01

Current evolutionary and cognitive theories of religion posit that supernatural agent concepts emerge from cognitive systems such as theory of mind and social cognition. Some argue that these concepts evolved to maintain social order by minimizing antisocial behavior. If these theories are correct, then people should process information about…

Measurement of Cognitive Load in Multimedia Learning: A Comparison of Different Objective Measures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korbach, Andreas; Brünken, Roland; Park, Babette

2017-01-01

Different indicators are interesting for analyzing human learning processes. Recent studies analyze learning performance in combination with cognitive load, as an indicator for learners' invested mental effort. In order to compare different measures of cognitive load research, the present study uses three different objective methods and one…

Missing in Action: Writing Process-Based Instructional Practices and Measures of Higher-Order Literacy Achievement in Predominantly Urban Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Briddell, Andrew

2013-01-01

This study of 1,974 fifth grade students investigated potential relationships between writing process-based instruction practices and higher-order thinking measured by a standardized literacy assessment. Writing process is defined as a highly complex, socio-cognitive process that includes: planning, text production, review, metacognition, writing…

[Sociophysiology: basic processes of empathy].

PubMed

Haker, Helene; Schimansky, Jenny; Rössler, Wulf

2010-01-01

The aim of this review is to describe sociophysiological and social cognitive processes that underlie the complex phenomenon of human empathy. Automatic reflexive processes such as physiological contagion and action mirroring are mediated by the mirror neuron system. They are a basis for further processing of social signals and a physiological link between two individuals. This link comprises simultaneous activation of shared motor representations. Shared representations lead implicitly via individual associations in the limbic and vegetative system to a shared affective state. These processes are called sociophysiology. Further controlled- reflective, self-referential processing of those social signals leads to explicit, conscious representations of others' minds. Those higher-order processes are called social cognition. The interaction of physiological and cognitive social processes lets arise the phenomenon of human empathy.

Are Cortical Motor Maps Based on Body Parts or Coordinated Actions? Implications for Embodied Semantics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernandino, Leonardo; Iacoboni, Marco

2010-01-01

The embodied cognition approach to the study of the mind proposes that higher order mental processes such as concept formation and language are essentially based on perceptual and motor processes. Contrary to the classical approach in cognitive science, in which concepts are viewed as amodal, arbitrary symbols, embodied semantics argues that…

When Kids Act Out: A Comparison of Embodied Methods to Improve Children's Memory for a Story

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berenhaus, Molly; Oakhill, Jane; Rusted, Jennifer

2015-01-01

Over the last decade, embodied cognition, the idea that sensorimotor processes facilitate higher cognitive processes, has proven useful for improving children's memory for a story. In order to compare the benefits of two embodiment techniques, active experiencing (AE) and indexing, for children's memory for a story, we compared the immediate…

The Effect of Wilderness Therapy on Adolescents' Cognitive Autonomy and Self-Efficacy: Results of a Non-Randomized Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Margalit, Daniella; Ben-Ari, Amichai

2014-01-01

Background: Adolescents participate in decision-making processes involving risky behaviors. Management of these important decisions may be promoted by enhancing adolescents' self-efficacy beliefs and cognitive autonomy. Objective: In order to elucidate the value of wilderness therapy to the successful management of decision making processes among…

Conceptualizing Personality as a Cognitive-Affective Processing System: A Framework for Models of Maladaptive Behavior Patterns and Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shoda, Yuichi; Smith, Ronald E.

2004-01-01

This article outlines a conceptualization of personality as a cognitive-affective processing system (CAPS) and explores its implications for understanding disorders and pursuing therapeutic change. The CAPS conception of personality was proposed in 1995 in order to resolve a long-standing paradox in personality and social psychology, namely, the…

How to (and how not to) think about top-down influences on visual perception.

PubMed

Teufel, Christoph; Nanay, Bence

2017-01-01

The question of whether cognition can influence perception has a long history in neuroscience and philosophy. Here, we outline a novel approach to this issue, arguing that it should be viewed within the framework of top-down information-processing. This approach leads to a reversal of the standard explanatory order of the cognitive penetration debate: we suggest studying top-down processing at various levels without preconceptions of perception or cognition. Once a clear picture has emerged about which processes have influences on those at lower levels, we can re-address the extent to which they should be considered perceptual or cognitive. Using top-down processing within the visual system as a model for higher-level influences, we argue that the current evidence indicates clear constraints on top-down influences at all stages of information processing; it does, however, not support the notion of a boundary between specific types of information-processing as proposed by the cognitive impenetrability hypothesis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Remediation of information processing following traumatic brain injury: a community-based rehabilitation approach.

PubMed

Ashley, Mark J; Ashley, Jessica; Kreber, Lisa

2012-01-01

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in disruption of information processing via damage to primary, secondary, and tertiary cortical regions, as well as, subcortical pathways supporting information flow within and between cortical structures. TBI predominantly affects the anterior frontal poles, anterior temporal poles, white matter tracts and medial temporal structures. Fundamental information processing skills such as attention, perceptual processing, categorization and cognitive distance are concentrated within these same regions and are frequently disrupted following injury. Information processing skills improve in accordance with the extent to which residual frontal and temporal neurons can be encouraged to recruit and bias neuronal networks or the degree to which the functional connectivity of neural networks can be re-established and result in re-emergence or regeneration of specific cognitive skills. Higher-order cognitive processes, i.e., memory, reasoning, problem solving and other executive functions, are dependent upon the integrity of attention, perceptual processing, categorization, and cognitive distance. A therapeutic construct for treatment of attention, perceptual processing, categorization and cognitive distance deficits is presented along with an interventional model for encouragement of re-emergence or regeneration of these fundamental information processing skills.

You are such a bad child! Appraisals as mechanisms of parental negative and positive affect.

PubMed

Gavita, Oana Alexandra; David, Daniel; DiGiuseppe, Raymond

2014-01-01

Although parent cognitions are considered important predictors that determine specific emotional reactions and parental practices, models on the cognitive strategies for regulating parental distress or positive emotions are not well developed. Our aim was to investigate the nature of cognitions involved in parental distress and satisfaction, in terms of their specificity (parental or general) and their processing levels (inferential or evaluative cognitions). We hypothesized that parent's specific evaluative cognitions will mediate the impact of more general and inferential cognitive structures on their affective reactions. We used bootstrapping procedures in order to test the mediation models proposed. Results obtained show indeed that rather specific evaluative parental cognitions are mediating the relationship between general cognitions and parental distress. In terms of the cognitive processing levels, it seems that when parents hold both low self-efficacy and parental negative global evaluations for the self/child, this adds significantly to their distress.

Color Processing in Synesthesia: What Synesthesia Can and Cannot Tell Us About Mechanisms of Color Processing.

PubMed

Janik McErlean, Agnieszka B; Banissy, Michael J

2017-01-01

Synesthetic experiences of color have been traditionally conceptualized as a perceptual phenomenon. However, recent evidence suggests a role of higher order cognition in the formation of synesthetic experiences. Here, we discuss how synesthetic experiences of color differ from and influence veridical color processing, and how non-perceptual processes such as imagery and color memory might play a role in eliciting synesthetic color experience. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

The Acquisition of Phrasal Verbs through Cognitive Linguistic Approach: The Case of Iranian EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ansari, Mohammad Javad

2016-01-01

Cognitive Linguistics has been applied in SLA in order improve the learning/acquisition process of foreign/second language. This quasi-experimental study was conducted to find the impact of the Cognitive Linguistics on learning/ acquiring the Phrasal Verbs among EFL learners at intermediate level. In this study the orientational metaphors were…

Medication errors in residential aged care facilities: a distributed cognition analysis of the information exchange process.

PubMed

Tariq, Amina; Georgiou, Andrew; Westbrook, Johanna

2013-05-01

Medication safety is a pressing concern for residential aged care facilities (RACFs). Retrospective studies in RACF settings identify inadequate communication between RACFs, doctors, hospitals and community pharmacies as the major cause of medication errors. Existing literature offers limited insight about the gaps in the existing information exchange process that may lead to medication errors. The aim of this research was to explicate the cognitive distribution that underlies RACF medication ordering and delivery to identify gaps in medication-related information exchange which lead to medication errors in RACFs. The study was undertaken in three RACFs in Sydney, Australia. Data were generated through ethnographic field work over a period of five months (May-September 2011). Triangulated analysis of data primarily focused on examining the transformation and exchange of information between different media across the process. The findings of this study highlight the extensive scope and intense nature of information exchange in RACF medication ordering and delivery. Rather than attributing error to individual care providers, the explication of distributed cognition processes enabled the identification of gaps in three information exchange dimensions which potentially contribute to the occurrence of medication errors namely: (1) design of medication charts which complicates order processing and record keeping (2) lack of coordination mechanisms between participants which results in misalignment of local practices (3) reliance on restricted communication bandwidth channels mainly telephone and fax which complicates the information processing requirements. The study demonstrates how the identification of these gaps enhances understanding of medication errors in RACFs. Application of the theoretical lens of distributed cognition can assist in enhancing our understanding of medication errors in RACFs through identification of gaps in information exchange. Understanding the dynamics of the cognitive process can inform the design of interventions to manage errors and improve residents' safety. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bilingualism and Attention: A Study of Balanced and Unbalanced Bilingual Deaf Users of American Sign Language and English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kushalnagar, Poorna; Hannay, H. Julia; Hernandez, Arturo E.

2010-01-01

Early deafness is thought to affect low-level sensorimotor processing such as selective attention, whereas bilingualism is thought to be strongly associated with higher order cognitive processing such as attention switching under cognitive load. This study explores the effects of bimodal-bilingualism (in American Sign Language and written English)…

Investigating Cognitive Processes within a Practical Art Context: A Phenomenological Case Study Focusing on Three Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hickman, Richard; Kiss, Lauren

2013-01-01

A phenomenological approach was employed in order to record and present the lived experiences of three students during a five-hour art-making activity. Theoretical definitions of cognitive processes pertinent to art and design were compared with the descriptions gathered from the students. The research was intended to portray as accurately as…

Research on Motivation in Collaborative Learning: Moving beyond the Cognitive-Situative Divide and Combining Individual and Social Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarvela, Sanna; Volet, Simone; Jarvenoja, Hanna

2010-01-01

In this article we propose that in order to advance our understanding of motivation in collaborative learning we should move beyond the cognitive-situative epistemological divide and combine individual and social processes. Our claim is that although recent research has recognized the importance of social aspects in emerging and sustained…

Self-organizing high-order cognitive functions in artificial agents: implications for possible prefrontal cortex mechanisms.

PubMed

Maniadakis, Michail; Trahanias, Panos; Tani, Jun

2012-09-01

In our daily life, we often adapt plans and behaviors according to dynamically changing world circumstances, selecting activities that make us feel more confident about the future. In this adaptation, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is believed to have an important role, applying executive control on other cognitive processes to achieve context switching and confidence monitoring; however, many questions remain open regarding the nature of neural processes supporting executive control. The current work explores possible mechanisms of this high-order cognitive function, transferring executing control in the domain of artificial cognitive systems. In particular, we study the self-organization of artificial neural networks accomplishing a robotic rule-switching task analogous to the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The obtained results show that behavioral rules may be encoded in neuro-dynamic attractors, with their geometric arrangements in phase space affecting the shaping of confidence. Analysis of the emergent dynamical structures suggests possible explanations of the interactions of high-level and low-level processes in the real brain. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Systematic review of the neural basis of social cognition in patients with mood disorders

PubMed Central

Cusi, Andrée M.; Nazarov, Anthony; Holshausen, Katherine; MacQueen, Glenda M.; McKinnon, Margaret C.

2012-01-01

Background This review integrates neuroimaging studies of 2 domains of social cognition — emotion comprehension and theory of mind (ToM) — in patients with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. The influence of key clinical and method variables on patterns of neural activation during social cognitive processing is also examined. Methods Studies were identified using PsycINFO and PubMed (January 1967 to May 2011). The search terms were “fMRI,” “emotion comprehension,” “emotion perception,” “affect comprehension,” “affect perception,” “facial expression,” “prosody,” “theory of mind,” “mentalizing” and “empathy” in combination with “major depressive disorder,” “bipolar disorder,” “major depression,” “unipolar depression,” “clinical depression” and “mania.” Results Taken together, neuroimaging studies of social cognition in patients with mood disorders reveal enhanced activation in limbic and emotion-related structures and attenuated activity within frontal regions associated with emotion regulation and higher cognitive functions. These results reveal an overall lack of inhibition by higher-order cognitive structures on limbic and emotion-related structures during social cognitive processing in patients with mood disorders. Critically, key variables, including illness burden, symptom severity, comorbidity, medication status and cognitive load may moderate this pattern of neural activation. Limitations Studies that did not include control tasks or a comparator group were included in this review. Conclusion Further work is needed to examine the contribution of key moderator variables and to further elucidate the neural networks underlying altered social cognition in patients with mood disorders. The neural networks underlying higher-order social cognitive processes, including empathy, remain unexplored in patients with mood disorders. PMID:22297065

Cognitive Processes Related to Counting in Students with Special Educational Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrasumada, S.; Vendrell, R.; Ribera, G.; Montserrat, M.

2006-01-01

This study is aimed at the mechanisms used by students with an intellectual disability in the counting process. The assessment of the counting process is carried out through experimental tests inspired by the basic principles of Gelman and Gallistel, namely one-to-one, stable order, cardinality, abstraction and order irrelevance. This is a…

The Effects of Social Cue Principles on Cognitive Load, Situational Interest, Motivation, and Achievement in Pedagogical Agent Multimedia Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Sanghoon

2015-01-01

Animated pedagogical agents have become popular in multimedia learning with combined delivery of verbal and non-verbal forms of information. In order to reduce unnecessary cognitive load caused by such multiple forms of information and also to foster generative cognitive processing, multimedia design principles with social cues are suggested…

Adaptation, expertise, and giftedness: towards an understanding of cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar network contributions.

PubMed

Koziol, Leonard F; Budding, Deborah Ely; Chidekel, Dana

2010-12-01

Current cortico-centric models of cognition lack a cohesive neuroanatomic framework that sufficiently considers overlapping levels of function, from "pathological" through "normal" to "gifted" or exceptional ability. While most cognitive theories presume an evolutionary context, few actively consider the process of adaptation, including concepts of neurodevelopment. Further, the frequent co-occurrence of "gifted" and "pathological" function is difficult to explain from a cortico-centric point of view. This comprehensive review paper proposes a framework that includes the brain's vertical organization and considers "giftedness" from an evolutionary and neurodevelopmental vantage point. We begin by discussing the current cortico-centric model of cognition and its relationship to intelligence. We then review an integrated, dual-tiered model of cognition that better explains the process of adaptation by simultaneously allowing for both stimulus-based processing and higher-order cognitive control. We consider the role of the basal ganglia within this model, particularly in relation to reward circuitry and instrumental learning. We review the important role of white matter tracts in relation to speed of adaptation and development of behavioral mastery. We examine the cerebellum's critical role in behavioral refinement and in cognitive and behavioral automation, particularly in relation to expertise and giftedness. We conclude this integrated model of brain function by considering the savant syndrome, which we believe is best understood within the context of a dual-tiered model of cognition that allows for automaticity in adaptation as well as higher-order executive control.

Auditory Cortical Plasticity Drives Training-Induced Cognitive Changes in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Dale, Corby L.; Brown, Ethan G.; Fisher, Melissa; Herman, Alexander B.; Dowling, Anne F.; Hinkley, Leighton B.; Subramaniam, Karuna; Nagarajan, Srikantan S.; Vinogradov, Sophia

2016-01-01

Schizophrenia is characterized by dysfunction in basic auditory processing, as well as higher-order operations of verbal learning and executive functions. We investigated whether targeted cognitive training of auditory processing improves neural responses to speech stimuli, and how these changes relate to higher-order cognitive functions. Patients with schizophrenia performed an auditory syllable identification task during magnetoencephalography before and after 50 hours of either targeted cognitive training or a computer games control. Healthy comparison subjects were assessed at baseline and after a 10 week no-contact interval. Prior to training, patients (N = 34) showed reduced M100 response in primary auditory cortex relative to healthy participants (N = 13). At reassessment, only the targeted cognitive training patient group (N = 18) exhibited increased M100 responses. Additionally, this group showed increased induced high gamma band activity within left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex immediately after stimulus presentation, and later in bilateral temporal cortices. Training-related changes in neural activity correlated with changes in executive function scores but not verbal learning and memory. These data suggest that computerized cognitive training that targets auditory and verbal learning operations enhances both sensory responses in auditory cortex as well as engagement of prefrontal regions, as indexed during an auditory processing task with low demands on working memory. This neural circuit enhancement is in turn associated with better executive function but not verbal memory. PMID:26152668

Motor expertise modulates the unconscious processing of human body postures.

PubMed

Güldenpenning, Iris; Koester, Dirk; Kunde, Wilfried; Weigelt, Matthias; Schack, Thomas

2011-09-01

Little is known about the cognitive background of unconscious visuomotor control of complex sports movements. Therefore, we investigated the extent to which novices and skilled high-jump athletes are able to identify visually presented body postures of the high jump unconsciously. We also asked whether or not the manner of processing differs (qualitatively or quantitatively) between these groups as a function of their motor expertise. A priming experiment with not consciously perceivable stimuli was designed to determine whether subliminal priming of movement phases (same vs. different movement phases) or temporal order (i.e. natural vs. reversed movement order) affects target processing. Participants had to decide which phase of the high jump (approach vs. flight phase) a target photograph was taken from. We found a main effect of temporal order for skilled athletes, that is, faster reaction times for prime-target pairs that reflected the natural movement order as opposed to the reversed movement order. This result indicates that temporal-order information pertaining to the domain of expertise plays a critical role in athletes' perceptual capacities. For novices, data analyses revealed an interaction between temporal order and movement phases. That is, only the reversed movement order of flight-approach pictures increased processing time. Taken together, the results suggest that the structure of cognitive movement representation modulates unconscious processing of movement pictures and points to a functional role of motor representations in visual perception.

Lost in dissociation: The main paradigms in unconscious cognition.

PubMed

Augusto, Luis M

2016-05-01

Contemporary studies in unconscious cognition are essentially founded on dissociation, i.e., on how it dissociates with respect to conscious mental processes and representations. This is claimed to be in so many and diverse ways that one is often lost in dissociation. In order to reduce this state of confusion we here carry out two major tasks: based on the central distinction between cognitive processes and representations, we identify and isolate the main dissociation paradigms; we then critically analyze their key tenets and reported findings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The organization of perception and action in complex control skills

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Richard A.; Jagacinski, Richard J.

1989-01-01

An attempt was made to describe the perceptual, cognitive, and action processes that account for highly skilled human performance in complex task environments. In order to study such a performance in a controlled setting, a laboratory task was constructed and three experiments were performed using human subjects. A general framework was developed for describing the organization of perceptual, cognitive, and action process.

Motivation and Performance within a Collaborative Computer-Based Modeling Task: Relations between Students' Achievement Goal Orientation, Self-Efficacy, Cognitive Processing, and Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sins, Patrick H. M.; van Joolingen, Wouter R.; Savelsbergh, Elwin R.; van Hout-Wolters, Bernadette

2008-01-01

Purpose of the present study was to test a conceptual model of relations among achievement goal orientation, self-efficacy, cognitive processing, and achievement of students working within a particular collaborative task context. The task involved a collaborative computer-based modeling task. In order to test the model, group measures of…

Double jeopardy in inferring cognitive processes

PubMed Central

Fific, Mario

2014-01-01

Inferences we make about underlying cognitive processes can be jeopardized in two ways due to problematic forms of aggregation. First, averaging across individuals is typically considered a very useful tool for removing random variability. The threat is that averaging across subjects leads to averaging across different cognitive strategies, thus harming our inferences. The second threat comes from the construction of inadequate research designs possessing a low diagnostic accuracy of cognitive processes. For that reason we introduced the systems factorial technology (SFT), which has primarily been designed to make inferences about underlying processing order (serial, parallel, coactive), stopping rule (terminating, exhaustive), and process dependency. SFT proposes that the minimal research design complexity to learn about n number of cognitive processes should be equal to 2n. In addition, SFT proposes that (a) each cognitive process should be controlled by a separate experimental factor, and (b) The saliency levels of all factors should be combined in a full factorial design. In the current study, the author cross combined the levels of jeopardies in a 2 × 2 analysis, leading to four different analysis conditions. The results indicate a decline in the diagnostic accuracy of inferences made about cognitive processes due to the presence of each jeopardy in isolation and when combined. The results warrant the development of more individual subject analyses and the utilization of full-factorial (SFT) experimental designs. PMID:25374545

Cognitive deconstruction of parenting in schizophrenia: the role of theory of mind.

PubMed

Mehta, Urvakhsh M; Bhagyavathi, Haralahalli D; Kumar, Channaveerachari Naveen; Thirthalli, Jagadisha; Gangadhar, Bangalore N

2014-03-01

Schizophrenia patients experience impairments across various functional roles. Emotional unresponsiveness and an inability to foster intimacy and display affection may lead to impairments in parenting. A comprehensive cognitive understanding of parenting abilities in schizophrenia has the potential to guide newer treatment strategies. As part of a larger study on functional ability in schizophrenia patients, we attempted a cognitive deconstruction of their parenting ability. Sixty-nine of the 170 patients who participated in a study on social cognition in remitted schizophrenia were parents (mean age of their children: 11.8 ± 6.2 years). They underwent comprehensive assessments for neurocognition, social cognition (theory of mind, emotion processing, social perception and attributional bias), motivation and insight. A rater blind to their cognitive status assessed their social functioning using the Groningen Social Disabilities Schedule. We examined the association of their functional ability (active involvement and affective relationship) in the parental role with their cognitive performance as well as with their level of insight and motivation. Deficits in first- and second-order theory of mind (t = 2.57, p = 0.01; t = 3.2, p = 0.002, respectively), speed of processing (t = 2.37, p = 0.02), cognitive flexibility (t = 2.26, p = 0.02) and motivation (t = 2.64, p = 0.01) had significant association with parental role dysfunction. On logistic regression, second-order theory of mind emerged as a specific predictor of parental role, even after controlling for overall functioning scores sans parental role. Second-order theory of mind deficits are specifically associated with parental role dysfunction of patients with schizophrenia. Novel treatment strategies targeting theory of mind may improve parenting abilities in individuals with schizophrenia.

Why is a computational framework for motivational and metacognitive control needed?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Ron

2018-01-01

This paper discusses, in the context of computational modelling and simulation of cognition, the relevance of deeper structures in the control of behaviour. Such deeper structures include motivational control of behaviour, which provides underlying causes for actions, and also metacognitive control, which provides higher-order processes for monitoring and regulation. It is argued that such deeper structures are important and thus cannot be ignored in computational cognitive architectures. A general framework based on the Clarion cognitive architecture is outlined that emphasises the interaction amongst action selection, motivation, and metacognition. The upshot is that it is necessary to incorporate all essential processes; short of that, the understanding of cognition can only be incomplete.

Current advances in the cognitive neuroscience of music.

PubMed

Levitin, Daniel J; Tirovolas, Anna K

2009-03-01

The study of music perception and cognition is one of the oldest topics in experimental psychology. The last 20 years have seen an increased interest in understanding the functional neuroanatomy of music processing in humans, using a variety of technologies including fMRI, PET, ERP, MEG, and lesion studies. We review current findings in the context of a rich intellectual history of research, organized by the cognitive systems underlying different aspects of human musical behavior. We pay special attention to the perception of components of musical processing, musical structure, laterality effects, cultural issues, links between music and movement, emotional processing, expertise, and the amusias. Current trends are noted, such as the increased interest in evolutionary origins of music and comparisons of music and language. The review serves to demonstrate the important role that music can play in informing broad theories of higher order cognitive processes such as music in humans.

A Case Study: Dual-Process Theories of Higher Cognition-Commentary on Evans & Stanovich (2013).

PubMed

Osman, Magda

2013-05-01

Dual-process theories of higher order cognition (DPTs) have been enjoying much success, particularly since Kahneman's 2002 Nobel prize address and recent book Thinking, Fast and Slow (2009). Historically, DPTs have attempted to provide a conceptual framework that helps classify and predict differences in patterns of behavior found under some circumstances and not others in a host of reasoning, judgment, and decision-making tasks. As evidence has changed and techniques for examining behavior have moved on, so too have DPTs. Killing two birds with one stone, Evans and Stanovich (2013, this issue) respond to five main criticisms of DPTs. Along with addressing each criticism in turn, they set out to clarify the essential defining characteristics that distinguish one form of higher order cognition from the other. The aim of this commentary is to consider the defining characteristics of Type 1 and Type 2 processing that have been proposed and to suggest that the evidence can be taken to support quantitative differences rather than qualitatively distinct processes. © The Author(s) 2013.

Persons' various experiences of learning processes in patient education for osteoarthritis, a qualitative phenomenographic approach.

PubMed

Larsson, Ingalill; Sundén, Anne; Ekvall Hansson, Eva

2018-03-30

Patient education (PE) is a core treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) with the aim to increase persons' knowledge, self-efficacy, and empowerment. To describe person's various experiences of learning processes in PE for OA. Phenomenography. Semi-structured interviews were performed with the same persons, pre- (11) and post- (9) education. Various experiences on learning processes were found and were described in an outcome space. Achieving knowledge describes self-regulated learning and strongly relates to Control, which describes a high order cognitive learning skill, and minor to Confirm, which describes a cognitive learning skill based on recognition and application. Receiving knowledge describes the expectancy of learning regulated from the educator and strongly relates to Comply, which describes a low-order cognitive learning skill, and minor to Confirm. Different experiences of motivation and learning impact on persons' learning processes which, in turn, influence the persons' capability to accomplish self-efficacy and empowerment. The outcome space may serve as a basis for discussions between healthcare educators involved in PE to better understand what learning implies and to develop PE further.

Embedding Critical Thinking in IS Curricula

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Theda; Davis, Tim; Kazlauskas, Alanah

2007-01-01

It is important for students to develop critical thinking and other higher-order thinking skills during their tertiary studies. Along with the ability to think critically comes the need to develop students' meta-cognitive skills. These abilities work together to enable students to control, monitor, and regulate their own cognitive processes and…

Is Relaxation Training Effective in the Treatment of Clinical Depression?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaty, Lee A.

The process of relaxation is a complex triarchic phenomenon that incorporates behavioral, cognitive, and physiological components. Existing literature is surveyed in order to determine the efficacy of treating various forms of depression with cognitive-behavioral relaxation strategies. Relaxation training has been shown to be effective in treating…

Impaired Processing of Serial Order Determines Working Memory Impairments in Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

De Belder, Maya; Santens, Patrick; Sieben, Anne; Fias, Wim

2017-01-01

Working memory (WM) problems are commonly observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the affected mechanisms leading to impaired WM are still insufficiently understood. The ability to efficiently process serial order in WM has been demonstrated to be fundamental to fluent daily life functioning. The decreased capability to mentally process serial position in WM has been put forward as the underlying explanation for generally compromised WM performance. Determine which mechanisms, such as order processing, are responsible for deficient WM functioning in AD. A group of AD patients (n = 32) and their partners (n = 25), assigned to the control group, were submitted to an extensive battery of neuropsychological and experimental tasks, assessing general cognitive state and functioning of several aspects related to serial order WM. The results revealed an impaired ability to bind item information to serial position within WM in AD patients compared to controls. It was additionally observed that AD patients experienced specific difficulties with directing spatial attention when searching for item information stored in WM. The processing of serial order and the allocation of attentional resources are both disrupted, explaining the generally reduced WM functioning in AD patients. Further studies should now clarify whether this observation could explain disease-related problems for other cognitive functions such as verbal expression, auditory comprehension, or planning.

Emotional and cognitive social processes are impaired in Parkinson's disease and are related to behavioral disorders.

PubMed

Narme, Pauline; Mouras, Harold; Roussel, Martine; Duru, Cécile; Krystkowiak, Pierre; Godefroy, Olivier

2013-03-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with behavioral disorders that can affect social functioning but are poorly understood. Since emotional and cognitive social processes are known to be crucial in social relationships, impairment of these processes may account for the emergence of behavioral disorders. We used a systematic battery of tests to assess emotional processes and social cognition in PD patients and relate our findings to conventional neuropsychological data (especially behavioral disorders). Twenty-three PD patients and 46 controls (matched for age and educational level) were included in the study and underwent neuropsychological testing, including an assessment of the behavioral and cognitive components of executive function. Emotional and cognitive social processes were assessed with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index caregiver-administered questionnaire (as a measure of empathy), a facial emotion recognition task and two theory of mind (ToM) tasks. When compared with controls, PD patients showed low levels of empathy (p = .006), impaired facial emotion recognition (which persisted after correction for perceptual abilities) (p = .001), poor performance in a second-order ToM task (p = .008) that assessed both cognitive (p = .004) and affective (p = .03) inferences and, lastly, frequent dysexecutive behavioral disorders (in over 40% of the patients). Overall, impaired emotional and cognitive social functioning was observed in 17% of patients and was related to certain cognitive dysexecutive disorders. In terms of behavioral dysexecutive disorders, social behavior disorders were related to impaired emotional and cognitive social functioning (p = .04) but were independent of cognitive impairments. Emotional and cognitive social processes were found to be impaired in Parkinson's disease. This impairment may account for the emergence of social behavioral disorders. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Simulation-Based Assessment Identifies Longitudinal Changes in Cognitive Skills in an Anesthesiology Residency Training Program.

PubMed

Sidi, Avner; Gravenstein, Nikolaus; Vasilopoulos, Terrie; Lampotang, Samsun

2017-06-02

We describe observed improvements in nontechnical or "higher-order" deficiencies and cognitive performance skills in an anesthesia residency cohort for a 1-year time interval. Our main objectives were to evaluate higher-order, cognitive performance and to demonstrate that simulation can effectively serve as an assessment of cognitive skills and can help detect "higher-order" deficiencies, which are not as well identified through more traditional assessment tools. We hypothesized that simulation can identify longitudinal changes in cognitive skills and that cognitive performance deficiencies can then be remediated over time. We used 50 scenarios evaluating 35 residents during 2 subsequent years, and 18 of those 35 residents were evaluated in both years (post graduate years 3 then 4) in the same or similar scenarios. Individual basic knowledge and cognitive performance during simulation-based scenarios were assessed using a 20- to 27-item scenario-specific checklist. Items were labeled as basic knowledge/technical (lower-order cognition) or advanced cognitive/nontechnical (higher-order cognition). Identical or similar scenarios were repeated annually by a subset of 18 residents during 2 successive academic years. For every scenario and item, we calculated group error scenario rate (frequency) and individual (resident) item success. Grouped individuals' success rates are calculated as mean (SD), and item success grade and group error rates are calculated and presented as proportions. For all analyses, α level is 0.05. Overall PGY4 residents' error rates were lower and success rates higher for the cognitive items compared with technical item performance in the operating room and resuscitation domains. In all 3 clinical domains, the cognitive error rate by PGY4 residents was fairly low (0.00-0.22) and the cognitive success rate by PGY4 residents was high (0.83-1.00) and significantly better compared with previous annual assessments (P < 0.05). Overall, there was an annual decrease in error rates for 2 years, primarily driven by decreases in cognitive errors. The most commonly observed cognitive error types remained anchoring, availability bias, premature closure, and confirmation bias. Simulation-based assessments can highlight cognitive performance areas of relative strength, weakness, and progress in a resident or resident cohort. We believe that they can therefore be used to inform curriculum development including activities that require higher-level cognitive processing.

Temporal Information Processing as a Basis for Auditory Comprehension: Clinical Evidence from Aphasic Patients

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oron, Anna; Szymaszek, Aneta; Szelag, Elzbieta

2015-01-01

Background: Temporal information processing (TIP) underlies many aspects of cognitive functions like language, motor control, learning, memory, attention, etc. Millisecond timing may be assessed by sequencing abilities, e.g. the perception of event order. It may be measured with auditory temporal-order-threshold (TOT), i.e. a minimum time gap…

Psilocybin disrupts sensory and higher order cognitive processing but not pre-attentive cognitive processing-study on P300 and mismatch negativity in healthy volunteers.

PubMed

Bravermanová, Anna; Viktorinová, Michaela; Tylš, Filip; Novák, Tomáš; Androvičová, Renáta; Korčák, Jakub; Horáček, Jiří; Balíková, Marie; Griškova-Bulanova, Inga; Danielová, Dominika; Vlček, Přemysl; Mohr, Pavel; Brunovský, Martin; Koudelka, Vlastimil; Páleníček, Tomáš

2018-02-01

Disruption of auditory event-related evoked potentials (ERPs) P300 and mismatch negativity (MMN), electrophysiological markers of attentive and pre-attentive cognitive processing, is repeatedly described in psychosis and schizophrenia. Similar findings were observed in a glutamatergic model of psychosis, but the role of serotonergic 5-HT 2A receptors in information processing is less clear. We studied ERPs in a serotonergic model of psychosis, induced by psilocybin, a psychedelic with 5-HT 2A/C agonistic properties, in healthy volunteers. Twenty subjects (10M/10F) were given 0.26 mg/kg of psilocybin orally in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over design. ERPs (P300, MMN) were registered during the peak of intoxication. Correlations between measured electrophysiological variables and psilocin serum levels and neuropsychological effects were also analyzed. Psilocybin induced robust psychedelic effects and psychotic-like symptoms, decreased P300 amplitude (p = 0.009) but did not affect the MMN. Psilocybin's disruptive effect on P300 correlated with the intensity of the psychedelic state, which was dependent on the psilocin serum levels. We also observed a decrease in N100 amplitude (p = 0.039) in the P300 paradigm and a negative correlation between P300 and MMN amplitude (p = 0.014). Even though pre-attentive cognition (MMN) was not affected, processing at the early perceptual level (N100) and in higher-order cognition (P300) was significantly disrupted by psilocybin. Our results have implications for the role of 5-HT 2A receptors in altered information processing in psychosis and schizophrenia.

The Cognitive Side of M1

PubMed Central

Tomasino, Barbara; Gremese, Michele

2016-01-01

The primary motor cortex (M1) is traditionally implicated in voluntary movement control. In order to test the hypothesis that there is a functional topography of M1 activation in studies where it has been implicated in higher cognitive tasks we performed activation-likelihood-estimation (ALE) meta-analyses of functional neuroimaging experiments reporting M1 activation in relation to six cognitive functional categories for which there was a sufficient number of studies to include, namely motor imagery, working memory, mental rotation, social/emotion/empathy, language, and auditory processing. The six categories activated different sub-sectors of M1, either bilaterally or lateralized to one hemisphere. Notably, the activations found in the M1 of the left or right hemisphere detected in our study were unlikely due to button presses. In fact, all contrasts were selected in order to eliminate M1 activation due to activity related to the finger button press. In addition, we identified the M1 sub-region of Area 4a commonly activated by 4/6 categories, namely motor imagery and working memory, emotion/empathy, and language. Overall, our findings lend support to the idea that there is a functional topography of M1 activation in studies where it has been found activated in higher cognitive tasks and that the left Area 4a can be involved in a number of cognitive processes, likely as a product of implicit mental simulation processing. PMID:27378891

An Overview of Non-pathological Geroneuropsychology: Implications for Nursing Practice and Research

PubMed Central

Graham, Martha A.; Fazeli, Pariya L.; Heaton, Karen; Moneyham, Linda

2011-01-01

One aspect of successful aging is maintaining cognitive functioning; that includes both subjective cognitive functioning and objective cognitive functioning even in lieu of subtle cognitive deficits that occur with normal, non-pathological aging. Age-related cognitive deficits emerge across several domains including attention, memory, language, speed of processing, executive, and psychomotor, just to name a few. A primary theory explaining such cognitive deficits is cognitive reserve theory; it posits that biological factors such as demyelination and oxidative stress interfere with neuronal communication which eventually produces observable deficits in cognitive functioning. Therefore, it is important to maintain or improve cognitive reserve in order to augment cognitive functioning in later life. This article provides a general overview of the principles of geroneuropsychology along with implications for nursing practice and research. PMID:22210304

Altered Brain Connectivity in Early Postmenopausal Women with Subjective Cognitive Impairment

PubMed Central

Vega, Jennifer N.; Zurkovsky, Lilia; Albert, Kimberly; Melo, Alyssa; Boyd, Brian; Dumas, Julie; Woodward, Neil; McDonald, Brenna C.; Saykin, Andrew J.; Park, Joon H.; Naylor, Magdalena; Newhouse, Paul A.

2016-01-01

Cognitive changes after menopause are a common complaint, especially as the loss of estradiol at menopause has been hypothesized to contribute to the higher rates of dementia in women. To explore the neural processes related to subjective cognitive complaints, this study examined resting state functional connectivity in 31 postmenopausal women (aged 50–60) in relationship to cognitive complaints following menopause. A cognitive complaint index was calculated using responses to a 120-item questionnaire. Seed regions were identified for resting state brain networks important for higher-order cognitive processes and for areas that have shown differences in volume and functional activity associated with cognitive complaints in prior studies. Results indicated a positive correlation between the executive control network and cognitive complaint score, weaker negative functional connectivity within the frontal cortex, and stronger positive connectivity within the right middle temporal gyrus in postmenopausal women who report more cognitive complaints. While longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis, these data are consistent with previous findings suggesting that high levels of cognitive complaints may reflect changes in brain connectivity and may be a potential marker for the risk of late-life cognitive dysfunction in postmenopausal women with otherwise normal cognitive performance. PMID:27721740

Empirical Support for 'Hastening-Through-Re-Automatization' by Contrasting Two Motor-Cognitive Dual Tasks.

PubMed

Langhanns, Christine; Müller, Hermann

2018-01-01

Motor-cognitive dual tasks have been intensely studied and it has been demonstrated that even well practiced movements like walking show signs of interference when performed concurrently with a challenging cognitive task. Typically walking speed is reduced, at least in elderly persons. In contrast to these findings, some authors report an increased movement frequency under dual-task conditions, which they call hastening . A tentative explanation has been proposed, assuming that the respective movements are governed by an automatic control regime. Though, under single-task conditions, these automatic processes are supervised by "higher-order" cognitive control processes. However, when a concurrent cognitive task binds all cognitive resources, the automatic process is freed from the detrimental effect of cognitive surveillance, allowing higher movement frequencies. Fast rhythmic movements (>1 Hz) should more likely be governed by such an automatic process than low frequency discrete repetitive movements. Fifteen subjects performed two repetitive movements under single and dual-task condition, that is, in combination with a mental calculation task. According to the expectations derived from the explanatory concept, we found an increased movement frequency under dual-task conditions only for the fast rhythmic movement (paddleball task) but not for the slower discrete repetitive task (pegboard task). fNIRS measurements of prefrontal cortical load confirmed the idea of an automatic processing in the paddleball task, whereas the pegboard task seems to be more controlled by processes interfering with the calculation related processing.

Dose-Related Effects of Alcohol on Cognitive Functioning

PubMed Central

Dry, Matthew J.; Burns, Nicholas R.; Nettelbeck, Ted; Farquharson, Aaron L.; White, Jason M.

2012-01-01

We assessed the suitability of six applied tests of cognitive functioning to provide a single marker for dose-related alcohol intoxication. Numerous studies have demonstrated that alcohol has a deleterious effect on specific areas of cognitive processing but few have compared the effects of alcohol across a wide range of different cognitive processes. Adult participants (N = 56, 32 males, 24 females aged 18–45 years) were randomized to control or alcohol treatments within a mixed design experiment involving multiple-dosages at approximately one hour intervals (attained mean blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of 0.00, 0.048, 0.082 and 0.10%), employing a battery of six psychometric tests; the Useful Field of View test (UFOV; processing speed together with directed attention); the Self-Ordered Pointing Task (SOPT; working memory); Inspection Time (IT; speed of processing independent from motor responding); the Traveling Salesperson Problem (TSP; strategic optimization); the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART; vigilance, response inhibition and psychomotor function); and the Trail-Making Test (TMT; cognitive flexibility and psychomotor function). Results demonstrated that impairment is not uniform across different domains of cognitive processing and that both the size of the alcohol effect and the magnitude of effect change across different dose levels are quantitatively different for different cognitive processes. Only IT met the criteria for a marker for wide-spread application: reliable dose-related decline in a basic process as a function of rising BAC level and easy to use non-invasive task properties. PMID:23209840

Adenosine, caffeine, and performance: from cognitive neuroscience of sleep to sleep pharmacogenetics.

PubMed

Urry, Emily; Landolt, Hans-Peter

2015-01-01

An intricate interplay between circadian and sleep-wake homeostatic processes regulate cognitive performance on specific tasks, and individual differences in circadian preference and sleep pressure may contribute to individual differences in distinct neurocognitive functions. Attentional performance appears to be particularly sensitive to time of day modulations and the effects of sleep deprivation. Consistent with the notion that the neuromodulator, adenosine , plays an important role in regulating sleep pressure, pharmacologic and genetic data in animals and humans demonstrate that differences in adenosinergic tone affect sleepiness, arousal and vigilant attention in rested and sleep-deprived states. Caffeine--the most often consumed stimulant in the world--blocks adenosine receptors and normally attenuates the consequences of sleep deprivation on arousal, vigilance, and attention. Nevertheless, caffeine cannot substitute for sleep, and is virtually ineffective in mitigating the impact of severe sleep loss on higher-order cognitive functions. Thus, the available evidence suggests that adenosinergic mechanisms, in particular adenosine A2A receptor-mediated signal transduction, contribute to waking-induced impairments of attentional processes, whereas additional mechanisms must be involved in higher-order cognitive consequences of sleep deprivation. Future investigations should further clarify the exact types of cognitive processes affected by inappropriate sleep. This research will aid in the quest to better understand the role of different brain systems (e.g., adenosine and adenosine receptors) in regulating sleep, and sleep-related subjective state, and cognitive processes. Furthermore, it will provide more detail on the underlying mechanisms of the detrimental effects of extended wakefulness, as well as lead to the development of effective, evidence-based countermeasures against the health consequences of circadian misalignment and chronic sleep restriction.

Visual Acuity does not Moderate Effect Sizes of Higher-Level Cognitive Tasks

PubMed Central

Houston, James R.; Bennett, Ilana J.; Allen, Philip A.; Madden, David J.

2016-01-01

Background Declining visual capacities in older adults have been posited as a driving force behind adult age differences in higher-order cognitive functions (e.g., the “common cause” hypothesis of Lindenberger & Baltes, 1994). McGowan, Patterson and Jordan (2013) also found that a surprisingly large number of published cognitive aging studies failed to include adequate measures of visual acuity. However, a recent meta-analysis of three studies (LaFleur & Salthouse, 2014) failed to find evidence that visual acuity moderated or mediated age differences in higher-level cognitive processes. In order to provide a more extensive test of whether visual acuity moderates age differences in higher-level cognitive processes, we conducted a more extensive meta-analysis of topic. Methods Using results from 456 studies, we calculated effect sizes for the main effect of age across four cognitive domains (attention, executive function, memory, and perception/language) separately for five levels of visual acuity criteria (no criteria, undisclosed criteria, self-reported acuity, 20/80-20/31, and 20/30 or better). Results As expected, age had a significant effect on each cognitive domain. However, these age effects did not further differ as a function of visual acuity criteria. Conclusion The current meta-analytic, cross-sectional results suggest that visual acuity is not significantly related to age group differences in higher-level cognitive performance—thereby replicating LaFleur and Salthouse (2014). Further efforts are needed to determine whether other measures of visual functioning (e.g. contrast sensitivity, luminance) affect age differences in cognitive functioning. PMID:27070044

Monitoring and predicting cognitive state and performance via physiological correlates of neuronal signals.

PubMed

Russo, Michael B; Stetz, Melba C; Thomas, Maria L

2005-07-01

Judgment, decision making, and situational awareness are higher-order mental abilities critically important to operational cognitive performance. Higher-order mental abilities rely on intact functioning of multiple brain regions, including the prefrontal, thalamus, and parietal areas. Real-time monitoring of individuals for cognitive performance capacity via an approach based on sampling multiple neurophysiologic signals and integrating those signals with performance prediction models potentially provides a method of supporting warfighters' and commanders' decision making and other operationally relevant mental processes and is consistent with the goals of augmented cognition. Cognitive neurophysiological assessments that directly measure brain function and subsequent cognition include positron emission tomography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, mass spectroscopy, near-infrared spectroscopy, magnetoencephalography, and electroencephalography (EEG); however, most direct measures are not practical to use in operational environments. More practical, albeit indirect measures that are generated by, but removed from the actual neural sources, are movement activity, oculometrics, heart rate, and voice stress signals. The goal of the papers in this section is to describe advances in selected direct and indirect cognitive neurophysiologic monitoring techniques as applied for the ultimate purpose of preventing operational performance failures. These papers present data acquired in a wide variety of environments, including laboratory, simulator, and clinical arenas. The papers discuss cognitive neurophysiologic measures such as digital signal processing wrist-mounted actigraphy; oculometrics including blinks, saccadic eye movements, pupillary movements, the pupil light reflex; and high-frequency EEG. These neurophysiological indices are related to cognitive performance as measured through standard test batteries and simulators with conditions including sleep loss, time on task, and aviation flight-induced fatigue.

Exploring the dynamics of collective cognition using a computational model of cognitive dissonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smart, Paul R.; Sycara, Katia; Richardson, Darren P.

2013-05-01

The socially-distributed nature of cognitive processing in a variety of organizational settings means that there is increasing scientific interest in the factors that affect collective cognition. In military coalitions, for example, there is a need to understand how factors such as communication network topology, trust, cultural differences and the potential for miscommunication affects the ability of distributed teams to generate high quality plans, to formulate effective decisions and to develop shared situation awareness. The current paper presents a computational model and associated simulation capability for performing in silico experimental analyses of collective sensemaking. This model can be used in combination with the results of human experimental studies in order to improve our understanding of the factors that influence collective sensemaking processes.

The Social Cognition of Medical Knowledge: With Special Reference to Childhood Epilepsy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacDonald, Malcolm N.; Badger, Richard; O'Regan, John

2009-01-01

This article arose out of an engagement in medical communication courses at a Gulf university. It deploys a theoretical framework derived from a (critical) sociocognitive approach to discourse analysis in order to investigate three aspects of medical discourse relating to childhood epilepsy: the cognitive processes that are entailed in relating…

Covert Shifts of Attention Function as an Implicit Aid to Insight

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Laura E.; Lleras, Alejandro

2009-01-01

Previous research shows that directed actions can unconsciously influence higher-order cognitive processing, helping learners to retain knowledge and guiding problem solvers to useful insights (e.g. Cook, S. W., Mitchell, Z., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2008). Gesturing makes learning last. "Cognition," 106, 1047-1058; Thomas, L. E., & Lleras, A. (2007).…

Conflict Adaptation and Congruency Sequence Effects to Social-Emotional Stimuli in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Worsham, Whitney; Gray, Whitney E.; Larson, Michael J.; South, Mikle

2015-01-01

Background: The modification of performance following conflict can be measured using conflict adaptation tasks thought to measure the change in the allocation of cognitive resources in order to reduce conflict interference and improve performance. While previous studies have suggested atypical processing during nonsocial cognitive control tasks,…

Technology, Learning and Instruction: Distributed Cognition in the Secondary English Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gomez, Mary Louise; Schieble, Melissa; Curwood, Jen Scott; Hassett, Dawnene

2010-01-01

In this paper, we analyse interactions between secondary students and pre-service teachers in an online environment in order to understand how their meaning-making processes embody distributed cognition. We begin by providing a theoretical review of the ways in which literacy learning is distributed across learners, objects, tools, symbols,…

Cognitive Effects of Bilingualism: How Linguistic Experience Leads to Cognitive Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bialystok, Ellen

2007-01-01

Bilinguals must have a mechanism for controlling attention to their two language systems in order to achieve fluent performance in each language without intrusions from the other. This paper examines the evidence that the experience of controlling attention to two languages boosts the development of executive control processes in childhood for…

How do the features of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy contribute to positive therapeutic change? A meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.

PubMed

Cairns, Victoria; Murray, Craig

2015-05-01

The exploration of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy through qualitative investigation is a growing area of interest within current literature, providing valuable understanding of the process of change experienced by those engaging in this therapeutic approach. This meta-synthesis aims to gain a deeper understanding of how the features of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy contribute to positive therapeutic change. Noblit and Hare's (1988) 7-step meta-ethnography method was conducted in order to synthesize the findings of seven qualitative studies. The process of reciprocal translation identified the following five major themes: i) Taking control through understanding, awareness and acceptance; ii) The impact of the group; (iii) Taking skills into everyday life; (iv) Feelings towards the self; (v) The role of expectations. The synthesis of translation identified the higher order concept of "The Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy Journey to Change", which depicts the complex interaction between the five themes in relation to how they contribute to positive therapeutic change. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research, theory and their implications for clinical practice.

Structural brain connectivity and cognitive ability differences: A multivariate distance matrix regression analysis.

PubMed

Ponsoda, Vicente; Martínez, Kenia; Pineda-Pardo, José A; Abad, Francisco J; Olea, Julio; Román, Francisco J; Barbey, Aron K; Colom, Roberto

2017-02-01

Neuroimaging research involves analyses of huge amounts of biological data that might or might not be related with cognition. This relationship is usually approached using univariate methods, and, therefore, correction methods are mandatory for reducing false positives. Nevertheless, the probability of false negatives is also increased. Multivariate frameworks have been proposed for helping to alleviate this balance. Here we apply multivariate distance matrix regression for the simultaneous analysis of biological and cognitive data, namely, structural connections among 82 brain regions and several latent factors estimating cognitive performance. We tested whether cognitive differences predict distances among individuals regarding their connectivity pattern. Beginning with 3,321 connections among regions, the 36 edges better predicted by the individuals' cognitive scores were selected. Cognitive scores were related to connectivity distances in both the full (3,321) and reduced (36) connectivity patterns. The selected edges connect regions distributed across the entire brain and the network defined by these edges supports high-order cognitive processes such as (a) (fluid) executive control, (b) (crystallized) recognition, learning, and language processing, and (c) visuospatial processing. This multivariate study suggests that one widespread, but limited number, of regions in the human brain, supports high-level cognitive ability differences. Hum Brain Mapp 38:803-816, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Semi-Markov models for interval censored transient cognitive states with back transitions and a competing risk

PubMed Central

Wei, Shaoceng; Kryscio, Richard J.

2015-01-01

Continuous-time multi-state stochastic processes are useful for modeling the flow of subjects from intact cognition to dementia with mild cognitive impairment and global impairment as intervening transient, cognitive states and death as a competing risk (Figure 1). Each subject's cognition is assessed periodically resulting in interval censoring for the cognitive states while death without dementia is not interval censored. Since back transitions among the transient states are possible, Markov chains are often applied to this type of panel data. In this manuscript we apply a Semi-Markov process in which we assume that the waiting times are Weibull distributed except for transitions from the baseline state, which are exponentially distributed and in which we assume no additional changes in cognition occur between two assessments. We implement a quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) method to calculate the higher order integration needed for likelihood estimation. We apply our model to a real dataset, the Nun Study, a cohort of 461 participants. PMID:24821001

Semi-Markov models for interval censored transient cognitive states with back transitions and a competing risk.

PubMed

Wei, Shaoceng; Kryscio, Richard J

2016-12-01

Continuous-time multi-state stochastic processes are useful for modeling the flow of subjects from intact cognition to dementia with mild cognitive impairment and global impairment as intervening transient cognitive states and death as a competing risk. Each subject's cognition is assessed periodically resulting in interval censoring for the cognitive states while death without dementia is not interval censored. Since back transitions among the transient states are possible, Markov chains are often applied to this type of panel data. In this manuscript, we apply a semi-Markov process in which we assume that the waiting times are Weibull distributed except for transitions from the baseline state, which are exponentially distributed and in which we assume no additional changes in cognition occur between two assessments. We implement a quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) method to calculate the higher order integration needed for likelihood estimation. We apply our model to a real dataset, the Nun Study, a cohort of 461 participants. © The Author(s) 2014.

Learning and cognition in insects.

PubMed

Giurfa, Martin

2015-01-01

Insects possess small brains but exhibit sophisticated behavioral performances. Recent works have reported the existence of unsuspected cognitive capabilities in various insect species, which go beyond the traditional studied framework of simple associative learning. In this study, I focus on capabilities such as attention, social learning, individual recognition, concept learning, and metacognition, and discuss their presence and mechanistic bases in insects. I analyze whether these behaviors can be explained on the basis of elemental associative learning or, on the contrary, require higher-order explanations. In doing this, I highlight experimental challenges and suggest future directions for investigating the neurobiology of higher-order learning in insects, with the goal of uncovering l architectures underlying cognitive processing. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Visual Communication and Cognition in Everyday Decision-Making.

PubMed

Jaenichen, Claudine

2017-01-01

Understanding cognition and the context of decision-making should be prioritized in the design process in order to accurately anticipate the outcome for intended audiences. A thorough understanding of cognition has been excluded from being a part of foundational design principals in visual communication. By defining leisure, direct, urgent, and emergency scenarios and providing examples of work that deeply considers the viewer's relationship to the design solution in context of these scenarios allows us to affirm the relevancy of cognition as a design variable and the importance of projects that advocate public utility.

Dual-Process Theories of Higher Cognition: Advancing the Debate.

PubMed

Evans, Jonathan St B T; Stanovich, Keith E

2013-05-01

Dual-process and dual-system theories in both cognitive and social psychology have been subjected to a number of recently published criticisms. However, they have been attacked as a category, incorrectly assuming there is a generic version that applies to all. We identify and respond to 5 main lines of argument made by such critics. We agree that some of these arguments have force against some of the theories in the literature but believe them to be overstated. We argue that the dual-processing distinction is supported by much recent evidence in cognitive science. Our preferred theoretical approach is one in which rapid autonomous processes (Type 1) are assumed to yield default responses unless intervened on by distinctive higher order reasoning processes (Type 2). What defines the difference is that Type 2 processing supports hypothetical thinking and load heavily on working memory. © The Author(s) 2013.

[Formula: see text]Executive functions and social information processing in adolescents with severe behavior problems.

PubMed

Van Nieuwenhuijzen, M; Van Rest, M M; Embregts, P J C M; Vriens, A; Oostermeijer, S; Van Bokhoven, I; Matthys, W

2017-02-01

One tradition in research for explaining aggression and antisocial behavior has focused on social information processing (SIP). Aggression and antisocial behavior have also been studied from the perspective of executive functions (EFs), the higher-order cognitive abilities that affect other cognitive processes, such as social cognitive processes. The main goal of the present study is to provide insight into the relation between EFs and SIP in adolescents with severe behavior problems. Because of the hierarchical relation between EFs and SIP, we examined EFs as predictors of SIP. We hypothesized that, first, focused attention predicts encoding and interpretation, second, inhibition predicts interpretation, response generation, evaluation, and selection, and third, working memory predicts response generation and selection. The participants consisted of 94 respondents living in residential facilities aged 12-20 years, all showing behavior problems in the clinical range according to care staff. EFs were assessed using subtests from the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Test battery. Focused attention was measured by the Flanker task, inhibition by the GoNoGo task, and working memory by the Visual Spatial Sequencing task. SIP was measured by video vignettes and a structured interview. The results indicate that positive evaluation of aggressive responses is predicted by impaired inhibition and selection of aggressive responses by a combination of impaired focused attention and inhibition. It is concluded that different components of EFs as higher-order cognitive abilities affect SIP.

Temporal Dynamics of Cognitive Performance and Anxiety Across Older Adulthood

PubMed Central

Petkus, Andrew J.; Reynolds, Chandra A.; Wetherell, Julie Loebach; Kremen, William S.; Gatz, Margaret

2017-01-01

Cognitive decline and anxiety symptoms commonly co-occur in later life, but the temporal order of changes on these two attributes is unclear. Specifically, it is unknown if greater anxiety leads to subsequent declines in cognitive performance or if worse cognitive performance leads to increased anxiety. In this study, we sought to elucidate the temporal dynamics between anxiety symptoms and cognitive performance across old age, that is, the extent to which level and change in one variable influence subsequent changes in a second variable. We examined data from 721 non-demented participants from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging. Participants completed as many as eight assessments of cognitive performance and anxiety over a 26-year period. Bivariate dual change score models were fit to examine the dynamic association between anxiety and cognitive performance. Bidirectional associations between anxiety and cognitive performance were found among measures of processing speed, attention, and memory, but not visuospatial abilities. Higher anxiety was associated with greater declines in processing speed over the duration of six years and worsening attention over a span of three years. The reverse direction was also significant in that slower processing speed, worse attention, and poorer nonverbal and working memory performance were associated with larger increases in anxiety three years later. These findings highlight that in cognitively intact older adults, the association between anxiety and worse cognitive performance is bidirectional and complex. PMID:28333502

Electrophysiological Measures of Resting State Functional Connectivity and Their Relationship with Working Memory Capacity in Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnes, Jessica J.; Woolrich, Mark W.; Baker, Kate; Colclough, Giles L.; Astle, Duncan E.

2016-01-01

Functional connectivity is the statistical association of neuronal activity time courses across distinct brain regions, supporting specific cognitive processes. This coordination of activity is likely to be highly important for complex aspects of cognition, such as the communication of fluctuating task goals from higher-order control regions to…

Effects of Risperidone on Cognitive-Motor Performance and Motor Movements in Chronically Medicated Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aman, Michael G.; Hollway, Jill A.; Leone, Sarah; Masty, Jessica; Lindsay, Ronald; Nash, Patricia; Arnold, L. Eugene

2009-01-01

This study was designed to explore the placebo-controlled effects of risperidone on cognitive-motor processes, dyskinetic movements, and behavior in children receiving maintenance risperidone therapy. Sixteen children aged 4-14 years with disruptive behavior were randomly assigned to drug order in a crossover study of risperidone and placebo for 2…

School Self-Evaluation Instruments and Cognitive Validity. Do Items Capture What They Intend to?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faddar, Jerich; Vanhoof, Jan; De Maeyer, Sven

2017-01-01

School self-evaluation (SSE) often makes use of questionnaires in order to sketch a picture of the school. How respondents cognitively process questionnaire items determines the validity of SSE results. Still, one readily assumes that respondents interpret and answer items as intended by the instrument developer (referred to as cognitive…

The embodied brain: towards a radical embodied cognitive neuroscience

PubMed Central

Kiverstein, Julian; Miller, Mark

2015-01-01

In this programmatic paper we explain why a radical embodied cognitive neuroscience is needed. We argue for such a claim based on problems that have arisen in cognitive neuroscience for the project of localizing function to specific brain structures. The problems come from research concerned with functional and structural connectivity that strongly suggests that the function a brain region serves is dynamic, and changes over time. We argue that in order to determine the function of a specific brain area, neuroscientists need to zoom out and look at the larger organism-environment system. We therefore argue that instead of looking to cognitive psychology for an analysis of psychological functions, cognitive neuroscience should look to an ecological dynamical psychology. A second aim of our paper is to develop an account of embodied cognition based on the inseparability of cognitive and emotional processing in the brain. We argue that emotions are best understood in terms of action readiness (Frijda, 1986, 2007) in the context of the organism’s ongoing skillful engagement with the environment (Rietveld, 2008; Bruineberg and Rietveld, 2014; Kiverstein and Rietveld, 2015, forthcoming). States of action readiness involve the whole living body of the organism, and are elicited by possibilities for action in the environment that matter to the organism. Since emotion and cognition are inseparable processes in the brain it follows that what is true of emotion is also true of cognition. Cognitive processes are likewise processes taking place in the whole living body of an organism as it engages with relevant possibilities for action. PMID:25999836

The educational effectiveness of computer-based instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renshaw, Carl E.; Taylor, Holly A.

2000-07-01

Although numerous studies have shown that computer-based education is effective for enhancing rote memorization, the impact of these tools on higher-order cognitive skills, such as critical thinking, is less clear. Existing methods for evaluating educational effectiveness, such as surveys, quizzes and pre- or post-interviews, may not be effective for evaluating impact on critical thinking skills because students are not always aware of the effects the software has on their thought processes. We review an alternative evaluation strategy whereby the student's mastery of a specific cognitive skill is directly assessed both before and after participating in a computer-based exercise. Methodologies for assessing cognitive skill are based on recent advances in the fields of cognitive science. Results from two studies show that computer-based exercises can positively impact the higher-order cognitive skills of some students. However, a given exercise will not impact all students equally. This suggests that further work is needed to understand how and why CAI software is more or less effective within a given population.

Layout Design of Human-Machine Interaction Interface of Cabin Based on Cognitive Ergonomics and GA-ACA.

PubMed

Deng, Li; Wang, Guohua; Yu, Suihuai

2016-01-01

In order to consider the psychological cognitive characteristics affecting operating comfort and realize the automatic layout design, cognitive ergonomics and GA-ACA (genetic algorithm and ant colony algorithm) were introduced into the layout design of human-machine interaction interface. First, from the perspective of cognitive psychology, according to the information processing process, the cognitive model of human-machine interaction interface was established. Then, the human cognitive characteristics were analyzed, and the layout principles of human-machine interaction interface were summarized as the constraints in layout design. Again, the expression form of fitness function, pheromone, and heuristic information for the layout optimization of cabin was studied. The layout design model of human-machine interaction interface was established based on GA-ACA. At last, a layout design system was developed based on this model. For validation, the human-machine interaction interface layout design of drilling rig control room was taken as an example, and the optimization result showed the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Layout Design of Human-Machine Interaction Interface of Cabin Based on Cognitive Ergonomics and GA-ACA

PubMed Central

Deng, Li; Wang, Guohua; Yu, Suihuai

2016-01-01

In order to consider the psychological cognitive characteristics affecting operating comfort and realize the automatic layout design, cognitive ergonomics and GA-ACA (genetic algorithm and ant colony algorithm) were introduced into the layout design of human-machine interaction interface. First, from the perspective of cognitive psychology, according to the information processing process, the cognitive model of human-machine interaction interface was established. Then, the human cognitive characteristics were analyzed, and the layout principles of human-machine interaction interface were summarized as the constraints in layout design. Again, the expression form of fitness function, pheromone, and heuristic information for the layout optimization of cabin was studied. The layout design model of human-machine interaction interface was established based on GA-ACA. At last, a layout design system was developed based on this model. For validation, the human-machine interaction interface layout design of drilling rig control room was taken as an example, and the optimization result showed the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. PMID:26884745

Cognitive Characteristics of Children with Genetic Syndromes

PubMed Central

Simon, Tony J.

2008-01-01

The cognitive profile of several different populations of children, each with a distinct neurogenetic disorder that has been described as fitting the pattern of a “nonverbal learning disorder”, is examined. In particular, this paper presents the view that a cognitive endophenotype, specified in terms of specific cognitive processes involving the spatial, temporal and attentional domains, can be used to generate an explanation of the neurocognitive foundation of the common impairments found in these disorders. Methods for evaluating cognitive impairments are first compared and contrasted and the concept of “nonverbal learning disorders” is described. The paper then examines data from experimental tests of spatiotemporal and executive cognitive function acquired from children with one of several disorders to determine whether such a cognitive endophenotype holds promise for moving from descriptions of to explanations for the impairments observed and whether prescriptions for therapeutic interventions might flow from such an account. Synopsis This paper presents the cognitive profile observed in children with one of several common genetic syndromes associated with “nonverbal learning disorders”. It introduces the concept of a cognitive endophenotype in order to help explain the similar pattern of impairments across the syndromes. It explores the explanation of diverse impairments in higher-order visual, spatial, temporal, numerical and executive cognitive competencies deriving from origins in more basic attentional and spatial cognitive dysfunctions. The importance of a developmental approach to understanding dysfunction is stressed. PMID:17562581

Comparable cortical activation with inferior performance in women during a novel cognitive inhibition task.

PubMed

Halari, R; Kumari, V

2005-03-07

Men are hypothesised to perform better than women at tasks requiring cognitive inhibition. The present study applied whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the neural correlates of cognitive inhibition using a novel task, requiring detection of numbers decreasing in numerical order, in relation to sex. The study involved 19 young healthy subjects (9 men, 10 women). Behavioural sex differences favouring men were found on the inhibition, but not on the automatization (i.e. detection of numbers increasing in numerical order), condition of the task. Significant areas of activation associated with cognitive inhibition included the right inferior prefrontal and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, left inferior and superior parietal lobes, and bilateral temporal regions across men and women. No brain region was significantly differently activated in men and women. Our findings demonstrate that (a) cognitive inhibition is dependent on intact processes within frontal and parietal regions, and (b) women show inferior cognitive inhibition despite of comparable activation to men in relevant regions. Equated behavioural performance may elicit sex differences in brain activation.

[Normal aging of frontal lobe functions].

PubMed

Calso, Cristina; Besnard, Jérémy; Allain, Philippe

2016-03-01

Normal aging in individuals is often associated with morphological, metabolic and cognitive changes, which particularly concern the cerebral frontal regions. Starting from the "frontal lobe hypothesis of cognitive aging" (West, 1996), the present review is based on the neuroanatomical model developed by Stuss (2008), introducing four categories of frontal lobe functions: executive control, behavioural and emotional self-regulation and decision-making, energization and meta-cognitive functions. The selected studies only address the changes of one at least of these functions. The results suggest a deterioration of several cognitive frontal abilities in normal aging: flexibility, inhibition, planning, verbal fluency, implicit decision-making, second-order and affective theory of mind. Normal aging seems also to be characterised by a general reduction in processing speed observed during neuropsychological assessment (Salthouse, 1996). Nevertheless many cognitive functions remain preserved such as automatic or non-conscious inhibition, specific capacities of flexibility and first-order theory of mind. Therefore normal aging doesn't seem to be associated with a global cognitive decline but rather with a selective change in some frontal systems, conclusion which should be taken into account for designing caring programs in normal aging.

Dissociable Stages of Problem Solving (II): First Evidence for Process-Contingent Temporal Order of Activation in Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruh, Nina; Rahm, Benjamin; Unterrainer, Josef M.; Weiller, Cornelius; Kaller, Christoph P.

2012-01-01

In a companion study, eye-movement analyses in the Tower of London task (TOL) revealed independent indicators of functionally separable cognitive processes during problem solving, with processes of building up an internal representation of the problem preceding actual planning processes. These results imply that processes of internalization and…

Cognitive effort and pupil dilation in controlled and automatic processes.

PubMed

Querino, Emanuel; Dos Santos, Lafaiete; Ginani, Giuliano; Nicolau, Eduardo; Miranda, Débora; Romano-Silva, Marco; Malloy-Diniz, Leandro

2015-01-01

The Five Digits Test (FDT) is a Stroop paradigm test that aims to evaluate executive functions. It is composed of four parts, two of which are related to automatic and two of which are related to controlled processes. It is known that pupillary diameter increases as the task's cognitive demand increases. In the present study, we evaluated whether the pupillary diameter could distinguish cognitive effort between automated and controlled cognitive processing during the FDT as the task progressed. As a control task, we used a simple reading paradigm with a similar visual aspect as the FDT. We then divided each of the four parts into two blocks in order to evaluate the differences between the first and second half of the task. Results indicated that, compared to a control task, the FDT required higher cognitive effort for each consecutive part. Moreover, the first half of every part of the FDT induced dilation more than the second. The differences in pupil dilation during the first half of the four FDT parts were statistically significant between the parts 2 and 4 (p=0.023), and between the parts 3 and 4 (p=0.006). These results provide further evidence that cognitive effort and pupil diameter can distinguish controlled from automatic processes.

The effect of embodied emotive states on cognitive categorization.

PubMed

Price, Tom F; Harmon-Jones, Eddie

2010-12-01

Research has uncovered that positive affect broadens cognitive categorization. The motivational dimensional model, however, posits that positive affect is not a unitary construct with only one cognitive consequence. Instead, this model puts forth that there are different positive affects varying in approach motivational intensity. According to this model, only positive affects lower in motivational intensity should broaden cognitive processes, whereas positive affects higher in motivational intensity should narrow cognitive processes. Consistent with these predictions, high approach positive affect has been shown to narrow attention, whereas low approach positive affect has been shown to broaden it (Gable & Harmon-Jones, 2008). High approach positive affect, therefore, might narrow categorization. Two experiments investigated this possibility by having participants respond to cognitive categorization tasks in 3 body postures designed to elicit different levels of approach motivation: reclining backward, which should evoke low approach motivation; sitting upright, which should evoke moderate approach motivation; and leaning forward, which should evoke high approach motivation. Participants smiled while in each posture in order to experience positive affect. Experiment 1 provided initial support for the idea that high approach positive affect narrows categorization and low approach positive affect broadens categorization. Experiment 2 replicated these findings with improved smiling instructions. These results extend previous work by showing that the motivational model's predictions hold for basic attentional processes as well as higher level cognitive processes such as categorization.

Process for Upgrading Cognitive Assessment Capabilities Onboard the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Picano, J. J.; Seaton, K. A.; Holland, A. W.

2016-01-01

MOTIVATION: Spaceflight poses varied and unique risks to the brain and cognitive functioning including radiation exposure, sleep disturbance, fatigue, fluid shifts (increased intracranial pressure), toxin exposure, elevated carbon dioxide, and traumatic brain injury, among others. These potential threats to cognitive functioning are capable of degrading performance and compromising mission success. Furthermore, the threats may increase in severity, and new types of threats may emerge for longer duration exploration missions. This presentation will describe the process used to identify gaps in our current approach, evaluate best practices in cognitive assessment, and transition new cognitive assessment tools to operational use. OVERVIEW: Risks to brain health and performance posed by spaceflight missions require sensitive tools to assess cognitive functioning of astronauts in flight. The Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) is the automated cognitive assessment tool currently deployed onboard the International Space Station (ISS). WinSCAT provides astronauts and flight surgeons with objective data to monitor neurocognitive functioning. WinSCAT assesses 5 discrete cognitive domains, is sensitive to changes in cognitive functioning, and was designed to be completed in less than 15 minutes. However, WinSCAT does not probe other areas of cognitive functioning that might be important to mission success. Researchers recently have developed batteries that may expand current capabilities, such as increased sensitivity to subtle fluctuations in cognitive functioning. Therefore, we engaged in a systematic process review in order to improve upon our current capabilities and incorporate new advances in cognitive assessment. This process included a literature review on newer measures of neurocognitive assessment, surveys of operational flight surgeons at NASA regarding needs and gaps in our capabilities, and expert panel review of candidate cognitive measures and assessment issues and procedures. SIGNIFICANCE: Our process and the results that flowed from it may be helpful to aeromedical professionals charged with transitioning research findings to operational use. Our specific findings regarding cognitive assessment tools are of significance to professionals who must assess readiness to perform in mission critical situations in environments involving threats to cognition and performance

A Robot-Partner for Preschool Children Learning English Using Socio-Cognitive Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazzoni, Elvis; Benvenuti, Martina

2015-01-01

This paper presents an exploratory study in which a humanoid robot (MecWilly) acted as a partner to preschool children, helping them to learn English words. In order to use the Socio-Cognitive Conflict paradigm to induce the knowledge acquisition process, we designed a playful activity in which children worked in pairs with another child or with…

Using the MATRICS to guide development of a preclinical cognitive test battery for research in schizophrenia

PubMed Central

YOUNG, Jared W; POWELL, Susan; RISBROUGH, Victoria; MARSTON, Hugh M; GEYER, Mark A

2009-01-01

Cognitive deficits in schizophrenia are among the core symptoms of the disease, correlate with functional outcome, and are not well treated with current antipsychotic therapies. In order to bring together academic, industrial, and governmental bodies to address this great ‘unmet therapeutic need’, the NIMH sponsored the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) initiative. Through careful factor analysis and consensus of expert opinion, MATRICS identified seven domains of cognition that are deficient in schizophrenia (attention/vigilance, working memory, reasoning and problem solving, processing speed, visual learning and memory, verbal learning and memory, and social cognition) and recommended a specific neuropsychological test battery to probe these domains. In order to move the field forward and outline an approach for translational research, there is a need for a “preclinical MATRICS” to develop a rodent test battery that is appropriate for drug development. In this review, we outline such an approach and review current rodent tasks that target these seven domains of cognition. The rodent tasks are discussed in terms of their validity for probing each cognitive domain as well as a brief overview of the pharmacology and manipulations relevant to schizophrenia for each task. PMID:19269307

Gestural coupling and social cognition: Möbius Syndrome as a case study

PubMed Central

Krueger, Joel; Michael, John

2012-01-01

Social cognition researchers have become increasingly interested in the ways that behavioral, physiological, and neural coupling facilitate social interaction and interpersonal understanding. We distinguish two ways of conceptualizing the role of such coupling processes in social cognition: strong and moderate interactionism. According to strong interactionism (SI), low-level coupling processes are alternatives to higher-level individual cognitive processes; the former at least sometimes render the latter superfluous. Moderate interactionism (MI) on the other hand, is an integrative approach. Its guiding assumption is that higher-level cognitive processes are likely to have been shaped by the need to coordinate, modulate, and extract information from low-level coupling processes. In this paper, we present a case study on Möbius Syndrome (MS) in order to contrast SI and MI. We show how MS—a form of congenital bilateral facial paralysis—can be a fruitful source of insight for research exploring the relation between high-level cognition and low-level coupling. Lacking a capacity for facial expression, individuals with MS are deprived of a primary channel for gestural coupling. According to SI, they lack an essential enabling feature for social interaction and interpersonal understanding more generally and thus ought to exhibit severe deficits in these areas. We challenge SI's prediction and show how MS cases offer compelling reasons for instead adopting MI's pluralistic model of social interaction and interpersonal understanding. We conclude that investigations of coupling processes within social interaction should inform rather than marginalize or eliminate investigation of higher-level individual cognition. PMID:22514529

[Contemporary cognitive theories about developmental dyscalculia].

PubMed

Castro-Cañizares, D; Estévez-Pérez, N; Reigosa-Crespo, V

To analyze the current theories describing the cognitive mechanisms underlying developmental dyscalculia. The four most researched hypotheses concerning the cognitive deficits related to developmental dyscalculia, as well as experimental evidences supporting or refusing them are presented. The first hypothesis states that developmental dyscalculia is consequence of domain general cognitive deficits. The second hypothesis suggests that it is due to a failure in the development of specialized brain systems dedicated to numerosity processing. The third hypothesis asserts the disorder is caused by a deficit in accessing quantity representation through numerical symbols. The last hypothesis states developmental dyscalculia appears as a consequence of impairments in a generalized magnitude system dedicated to the processing of continuous and discrete magnitudes. None of the hypotheses has been proven more plausible than the rest. Relevant issues rose by them need to be revisited and answered in the light of new experimental designs. In the last years the understanding of cognitive disorders involved in developmental dyscalculia has remarkably increased, but it is nonetheless insufficient. Additional research is required in order to achieve a comprehensive cognitive model of numerical processing development and its disorders. This will improve the diagnostic precision and the effectiveness of developmental dyscalculia intervention strategies.

Higher order balance control: Distinct effects between cognitive task and manual steadiness constraint on automatic postural responses.

PubMed

Coelho, Daniel Boari; Bourlinova, Catarina; Teixeira, Luis Augusto

2016-12-01

In the present experiment, we aimed to evaluate the interactive effect of performing a cognitive task simultaneously with a manual task requiring either high or low steadiness on APRs. Young volunteers performed the task of recovering upright balance following a mechanical perturbation provoked by unanticipatedly releasing a load pulling the participant's body backwards. The postural task was performed while holding a cylinder steadily on a tray. One group performed that task under high (cylinder' round side down) and another one under low (cylinder' flat side down) manual steadiness constraint. Those tasks were evaluated in the conditions of performing concurrently a cognitive numeric subtraction task and under no cognitive task. Analysis showed that performance of the cognitive task led to increased body and tray displacement, associated with higher displacement at the hip and upper trunk, and lower magnitude of activation of the GM muscle in response to the perturbation. Conversely, high manual steadiness constraint led to reduced tray velocity in association with lower values of trunk displacement, and decreased rotation amplitude at the ankle and hip joints. We found no interactions between the effects of the cognitive and manual tasks on APRs, suggesting that they were processed in parallel in the generation of responses for balance recovery. Modulation of postural responses from the manual and cognitive tasks indicates participation of higher order neural structures in the generation of APRs, with postural responses being affected by multiple mental processes occurring in parallel. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Examining neural plasticity and cognitive benefit through the unique lens of musical training.

PubMed

Moreno, Sylvain; Bidelman, Gavin M

2014-02-01

Training programs aimed to alleviate or improve auditory-cognitive abilities have either experienced mixed success or remain to be fully validated. The limited benefits of such regimens are largely attributable to our weak understanding of (i) how (and which) interventions provide the most robust and long lasting improvements to cognitive and perceptual abilities and (ii) how the neural mechanisms which underlie such abilities are positively modified by certain activities and experience. Recent studies indicate that music training provides robust, long-lasting biological benefits to auditory function. Importantly, the behavioral advantages conferred by musical experience extend beyond simple enhancements to perceptual abilities and even impact non-auditory functions necessary for higher-order aspects of cognition (e.g., working memory, intelligence). Collectively, preliminary findings indicate that alternative forms of arts engagement (e.g., visual arts training) may not yield such widespread enhancements, suggesting that music expertise uniquely taps and refines a hierarchy of brain networks subserving a variety of auditory as well as domain-general cognitive mechanisms. We infer that transfer from specific music experience to broad cognitive benefit might be mediated by the degree to which a listener's musical training tunes lower- (e.g., perceptual) and higher-order executive functions, and the coordination between these processes. Ultimately, understanding the broad impact of music on the brain will not only provide a more holistic picture of auditory processing and plasticity, but may help inform and tailor remediation and training programs designed to improve perceptual and cognitive benefits in human listeners. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A cognitive developmental approach to variability in the psychotherapeutic process with adolescents.

PubMed

Gunning, C; Verheij, F

1990-01-01

Formulated from a cognitive frame of reference, psychodynamic therapy can be viewed as acting on one of the three aspects (feeling, thought, action) in order to influence or change the client's action and thought schemes. In this paper the consequences of the interaction of cognition and emotion for psychotherapeutic practice with adolescents are explored. Knowledge of cognitive development is supposed to be important for the therapist because, from Piaget's viewpoint, the structures of affect are cognitive structures. Moreover a great variability exists in cognitive development between adolescents. This variability is due to individual, family and social variables. The cognitive structural developmental model, the relation between emotional and cognitive development and the afore-mentioned variables are discussed. Consequences are psychotherapeutic practice with adolescents are described and short case histories are given. The authors conclude that in psychotherapeutic practice psychodynamic theory and cognitive structural theory can complete each other.

The theoretical cognitive process of visualization for science education.

PubMed

Mnguni, Lindelani E

2014-01-01

The use of visual models such as pictures, diagrams and animations in science education is increasing. This is because of the complex nature associated with the concepts in the field. Students, especially entrant students, often report misconceptions and learning difficulties associated with various concepts especially those that exist at a microscopic level, such as DNA, the gene and meiosis as well as those that exist in relatively large time scales such as evolution. However the role of visual literacy in the construction of knowledge in science education has not been investigated much. This article explores the theoretical process of visualization answering the question "how can visual literacy be understood based on the theoretical cognitive process of visualization in order to inform the understanding, teaching and studying of visual literacy in science education?" Based on various theories on cognitive processes during learning for science and general education the author argues that the theoretical process of visualization consists of three stages, namely, Internalization of Visual Models, Conceptualization of Visual Models and Externalization of Visual Models. The application of this theoretical cognitive process of visualization and the stages of visualization in science education are discussed.

Cognitive insight: A systematic review.

PubMed

Van Camp, L S C; Sabbe, B G C; Oldenburg, J F E

2017-07-01

Cognitive insight is the ability to re-evaluate thoughts and beliefs in order to make thoughtful conclusions. It differs from clinical insight, as it focuses on more general metacognitive processes. Therefore, it could be relevant to diverse disorders and non-clinical subjects. There is a growing body of research on cognitive insight in individuals with and without psychosis. This review has summarised the current state of the art regarding this topic. We conclude that while cognitive insight in its current form seems valid for use in individuals with psychosis, it is less so for individuals without psychosis. Additionally, higher cognitive insight not always leads to better psychological functioning. For instance, higher levels of self-reflection are often associated with depressive mood. We therefore recommend the sub-components of cognitive insight to be studied separately. Also, it is unclear what position cognitive insight takes within the spectrum of metacognitive processes and how it relates to other self-related concepts that have been defined previously in literature. Combining future and past research on cognitive insight and its analogue concepts will help in the formation of a uniform definition that fits all subjects discussed here. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Short-term memory for order but not for item information is impaired in developmental dyslexia.

PubMed

Hachmann, Wibke M; Bogaerts, Louisa; Szmalec, Arnaud; Woumans, Evy; Duyck, Wouter; Job, Remo

2014-07-01

Recent findings suggest that people with dyslexia experience difficulties with the learning of serial order information during the transition from short- to long-term memory (Szmalec et al. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition 37(5): 1270-1279, 2011). At the same time, models of short-term memory increasingly incorporate a distinction of order and item processing (Majerus et al. Cognition 107: 395-419, 2008). The current study is aimed to investigate whether serial order processing deficiencies in dyslexia can be traced back to a selective impairment of short-term memory for serial order and whether this impairment also affects processing beyond the verbal domain. A sample of 26 adults with dyslexia and a group of age and IQ-matched controls participated in a 2 × 2 × 2 experiment in which we assessed short-term recognition performance for order and item information, using both verbal and nonverbal material. Our findings indicate that, irrespective of the type of material, participants with dyslexia recalled the individual items with the same accuracy as the matched control group, whereas the ability to recognize the serial order in which those items were presented appeared to be affected in the dyslexia group. We conclude that dyslexia is characterized by a selective impairment of short-term memory for serial order, but not for item information, and discuss the integration of these findings into current theoretical views on dyslexia and its associated dysfunctions.

Stability of auditory discrimination and novelty processing in physiological aging.

PubMed

Raggi, Alberto; Tasca, Domenica; Rundo, Francesco; Ferri, Raffaele

2013-01-01

Complex higher-order cognitive functions and their possible changes with aging are mandatory objectives of cognitive neuroscience. Event-related potentials (ERPs) allow investigators to probe the earliest stages of information processing. N100, Mismatch negativity (MMN) and P3a are auditory ERP components that reflect automatic sensory discrimination. The aim of the present study was to determine if N100, MMN and P3a parameters are stable in healthy aged subjects, compared to those of normal young adults. Normal young adults and older participants were assessed using standardized cognitive functional instruments and their ERPs were obtained with an auditory stimulation at two different interstimulus intervals, during a passive paradigm. All individuals were within the normal range on cognitive tests. No significant differences were found for any ERP parameters obtained from the two age groups. This study shows that aging is characterized by a stability of the auditory discrimination and novelty processing. This is important for the arrangement of normative for the detection of subtle preclinical changes due to abnormal brain aging.

Feasibility of neuro-morphic computing to emulate error-conflict based decision making.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Branch, Darren W.

2009-09-01

A key aspect of decision making is determining when errors or conflicts exist in information and knowing whether to continue or terminate an action. Understanding the error-conflict processing is crucial in order to emulate higher brain functions in hardware and software systems. Specific brain regions, most notably the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) are known to respond to the presence of conflicts in information by assigning a value to an action. Essentially, this conflict signal triggers strategic adjustments in cognitive control, which serve to prevent further conflict. The most probable mechanism is the ACC reports and discriminates different types of feedback,more » both positive and negative, that relate to different adaptations. Unique cells called spindle neurons that are primarily found in the ACC (layer Vb) are known to be responsible for cognitive dissonance (disambiguation between alternatives). Thus, the ACC through a specific set of cells likely plays a central role in the ability of humans to make difficult decisions and solve challenging problems in the midst of conflicting information. In addition to dealing with cognitive dissonance, decision making in high consequence scenarios also relies on the integration of multiple sets of information (sensory, reward, emotion, etc.). Thus, a second area of interest for this proposal lies in the corticostriatal networks that serve as an integration region for multiple cognitive inputs. In order to engineer neurological decision making processes in silicon devices, we will determine the key cells, inputs, and outputs of conflict/error detection in the ACC region. The second goal is understand in vitro models of corticostriatal networks and the impact of physical deficits on decision making, specifically in stressful scenarios with conflicting streams of data from multiple inputs. We will elucidate the mechanisms of cognitive data integration in order to implement a future corticostriatal-like network in silicon devices for improved decision processing.« less

Control of Visually Guided Saccades in Multiple Sclerosis: Disruption to Higher-Order Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fielding, Joanne; Kilpatrick, Trevor; Millist, Lynette; White, Owen

2009-01-01

Ocular motor abnormalities are a common feature of multiple sclerosis (MS), with more salient deficits reflecting tissue damage within brainstem and cerebellar circuits. However, MS may also result in disruption to higher level or cognitive control processes governing eye movement, including attentional processes that enhance the neural processing…

Cognitive stimulation in healthy older adults: a cognitive stimulation program using leisure activities compared to a conventional cognitive stimulation program.

PubMed

Grimaud, Élisabeth; Taconnat, Laurence; Clarys, David

2017-06-01

The aim of this study was to compare two methods of cognitive stimulation for the cognitive functions. The first method used an usual approach, the second used leisure activities in order to assess their benefits on cognitive functions (speed of processing; working memory capacity and executive functions) and psychoaffective measures (memory span and self esteem). 67 participants over 60 years old took part in the experiment. They were divided into three groups: 1 group followed a program of conventional cognitive stimulation, 1 group a program of cognitive stimulation using leisure activities and 1 control group. The different measures have been evaluated before and after the training program. Results show that the cognitive stimulation program using leisure activities is as effective on memory span, updating and memory self-perception as the program using conventional cognitive stimulation, and more effective on self-esteem than the conventional program. There is no difference between the two stimulated groups and the control group on speed of processing. Neither of the two cognitive stimulation programs provides a benefit over shifting and inhibition. These results indicate that it seems to be possible to enhance working memory and to observe far transfer benefits over self-perception (self-esteem and memory self-perception) when using leisure activities as a tool for cognitive stimulation.

[Attentional impairment after traumatic brain injury: assessment and rehabilitation].

PubMed

Ríos-Lago, M; Muñoz-Céspedes, J M; Paúl-Lapedriza, N

Attention disorders are a major problem after traumatic brain injury underlying deficits in other cognitive functions and in everyday activities, hindering the rehabilitation process and the possibility of return to work. Functional neuroimaging and neuropsychological assessment have depicted theoretical models considering attention as a complex and non-unitary process. Although there are conceptual difficulties, it seems possible to establish a theoretical background to better define attentional impairments and to guide the rehabilitation process. The aim of the present study is to review some of the most important pieces involved in the assessment and rehabilitation of attentional impairments. We also propose an appropriate model for the design of individualized rehabilitation programs. Lastly, different approaches for the rehabilitation are reviewed. Neuropsychological assessment should provide valuable strategies to better design the cognitive rehabilitation programs. It is necessary to establish a link between basic and applied neuropsychology, in order to optimize the treatments for traumatic brain injury patients. It is also emphasized that well-defined cognitive targets and skills are required, given that an unspecific stimulation of cognitive processes (pseudorehabilitation) has been shown to be unsuccessful.

A conceptual and computational model of moral decision making in human and artificial agents.

PubMed

Wallach, Wendell; Franklin, Stan; Allen, Colin

2010-07-01

Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in general, comprehensive models of human cognition. Such models aim to explain higher-order cognitive faculties, such as deliberation and planning. Given a computational representation, the validity of these models can be tested in computer simulations such as software agents or embodied robots. The push to implement computational models of this kind has created the field of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Moral decision making is arguably one of the most challenging tasks for computational approaches to higher-order cognition. The need for increasingly autonomous artificial agents to factor moral considerations into their choices and actions has given rise to another new field of inquiry variously known as Machine Morality, Machine Ethics, Roboethics, or Friendly AI. In this study, we discuss how LIDA, an AGI model of human cognition, can be adapted to model both affective and rational features of moral decision making. Using the LIDA model, we will demonstrate how moral decisions can be made in many domains using the same mechanisms that enable general decision making. Comprehensive models of human cognition typically aim for compatibility with recent research in the cognitive and neural sciences. Global workspace theory, proposed by the neuropsychologist Bernard Baars (1988), is a highly regarded model of human cognition that is currently being computationally instantiated in several software implementations. LIDA (Franklin, Baars, Ramamurthy, & Ventura, 2005) is one such computational implementation. LIDA is both a set of computational tools and an underlying model of human cognition, which provides mechanisms that are capable of explaining how an agent's selection of its next action arises from bottom-up collection of sensory data and top-down processes for making sense of its current situation. We will describe how the LIDA model helps integrate emotions into the human decision-making process, and we will elucidate a process whereby an agent can work through an ethical problem to reach a solution that takes account of ethically relevant factors. Copyright © 2010 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

The Development of a Research Environment for Neural Networks: Instantiating Neocognitions

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-21

interactive activation to adaptive reso- nance. Cognitive Science, 11:23-63. Reprinted in (Grossberg, 1988). Grossberg, S., editor (1988). Neural...higher order correlation network. Physica 22D, pages 276-306. Rosenblatt, F. (1962). Principles of Neurodynamics : Perceptrons and the Theory of Brain...and the PDP Research Group (1986b). Parallel Dis- tributed Processing: Ezplorations in the Microstructures of Cognition , volume 1: Foun- dations

The Complexity of Jokes Is Limited by Cognitive Constraints on Mentalizing

PubMed Central

Launay, Jacques; Curry, Oliver

2016-01-01

Although laughter is probably of deep evolutionary origin, the telling of jokes, being language-based, is likely to be of more recent origin within the human lineage. In language-based communication, speaker and listener are engaged in a process of mutually understanding each other’s intentions (mindstates), with a conversation minimally requiring three orders of intentionality. Mentalizing is cognitively more demanding than non-mentalizing cognition, and there is a well-attested limit at five orders in the levels of intentionality at which normal adult humans can work. Verbal jokes commonly involve commentary on the mindstates of third parties, and each such mindstate adds an additional level of intentionality and its corresponding cognitive load. We determined the number of mentalizing levels in a sample of jokes told by well-known professional comedians and show that most jokes involve either three or five orders of intentionality on the part of the comedian, depending on whether or not the joke involves other individuals’ mindstates. Within this limit there is a positive correlation between increasing levels of intentionality and subjective ratings of how funny the jokes are. The quality of jokes appears to peak when they include five to six levels of intentionality, which suggest that audiences appreciate higher mentalizing complexity whilst working within their natural cognitive constraints. PMID:26597196

Investigating the Neural Correlates of Emotion–Cognition Interaction Using an Affective Stroop Task

PubMed Central

Raschle, Nora M.; Fehlbaum, Lynn V.; Menks, Willeke M.; Euler, Felix; Sterzer, Philipp; Stadler, Christina

2017-01-01

The human brain has the capacity to integrate various sources of information and continuously adapts our behavior according to situational needs in order to allow a healthy functioning. Emotion–cognition interactions are a key example for such integrative processing. However, the neuronal correlates investigating the effects of emotion on cognition remain to be explored and replication studies are needed. Previous neuroimaging studies have indicated an involvement of emotion and cognition related brain structures including parietal and prefrontal cortices and limbic brain regions. Here, we employed whole brain event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during an affective number Stroop task and aimed at replicating previous findings using an adaptation of an existing task design in 30 healthy young adults. The Stroop task is an indicator of cognitive control and enables the quantification of interference in relation to variations in cognitive load. By the use of emotional primes (negative/neutral) prior to Stroop task performance, an emotional variation is added as well. Behavioral in-scanner data showed that negative primes delayed and disrupted cognitive processing. Trials with high cognitive demand furthermore negatively influenced cognitive control mechanisms. Neuronally, the emotional primes consistently activated emotion-related brain regions (e.g., amygdala, insula, and prefrontal brain regions) while Stroop task performance lead to activations in cognition networks of the brain (prefrontal cortices, superior temporal lobe, and insula). When assessing the effect of emotion on cognition, increased cognitive demand led to decreases in neural activation in response to emotional stimuli (negative > neutral) within prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and insular cortex. Overall, these results suggest that emotional primes significantly impact cognitive performance and increasing cognitive demand leads to reduced neuronal activation in emotion related brain regions, and therefore support previous findings investigating emotion–cognition interaction in healthy adults. Moreover, emotion and cognition seem to be tightly related to each other, as indicated by shared neural networks involved in both of these processes. Emotion processing, cognitive control, and their interaction are crucial for healthy functioning and a lack thereof is related to psychiatric disorders such as, disruptive behavior disorders. Future studies may investigate the neural characteristics of children and adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders. PMID:28919871

Arctic cognition: a study of cognitive performance in summer and winter at 69 degrees N

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brennen, T.; Martinussen, M.; Hansen, B. O.; Hjemdal, O.

1999-01-01

Evidence has accumulated over the past 15 years that affect in humans is cyclical. In winter there is a tendency to depression, with remission in summer, and this effect is stronger at higher latitudes. In order to determine whether human cognition is similarly rhythmical, this study investigated the cognitive processes of 100 participants living at 69 degrees N. Participants were tested in summer and winter on a range of cognitive tasks, including verbal memory, attention and simple reaction time tasks. The seasonally counterbalanced design and the very northerly latitude of this study provide optimal conditions for detecting impaired cognitive performance in winter, and the conclusion is negative: of five tasks with seasonal effects, four had disadvantages in summer. Like the menstrual cycle, the circannual cycle appears to influence mood but not cognition.

Similarities and differences between dreaming and waking cognition: an exploratory study.

PubMed

Kahan, T L; LaBerge, S; Levitan, L; Zimbardo, P

1997-03-01

Thirty-eight "practiced" dreamers (Study 1) and 50 "novice" dreamers (Study 2) completed questionnaires assessing the cognitive, metacognitive, and emotional qualities of recent waking and dreaming experiences. The present findings suggest that dreaming cognition is more similar to waking cognition than previously assumed and that the differences between dreaming and waking cognition are more quantitative than qualitative. Results from the two studies were generally consistent, indicating that high-order cognition during dreaming is not restricted to individuals practiced in dream recall or self-observation. None of the measured features was absent or infrequent in reports of either dreaming or waking experiences. Recollections of dreaming and waking experiences were similar for some cognitive features (e.g., attentional processes, internal commentary, and public self-consciousness) and different for other features (e.g., choice, event-related self-reflection, and affect).

Relevance Judging, Evaluation, and Decision Making in Virtual Libraries: A Descriptive Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitzgerald, Mary Ann; Galloway, Chad

2001-01-01

Describes a study that investigated the cognitive processes undergraduates used to select information while using a virtual library, GALILEO (Georgia Library Learning Online). Discusses higher order thinking processes, relevance judging, evaluation (critical thinking), decision making, reasoning involving documents, relevance-related reasoning,…

Assessing the Social Influence of Television: A Social Cognition Perspective on Cultivation Effects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shrum, L. J.

1995-01-01

Uses an information-processing perspective to illustrate how television viewing may affect social judgements. Posits heuristic processing as a mechanism that can explain why heavier television viewing results in higher first-order cultivation judgments (those requiring estimates of set size). (SR)

Emotional Intelligence and cognitive abilities - associations and sex differences.

PubMed

Pardeller, Silvia; Frajo-Apor, Beatrice; Kemmler, Georg; Hofer, Alex

2017-09-01

In order to expand on previous research, this cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and cognitive abilities in healthy adults with a special focus on potential sex differences. EI was assessed by means of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso-Emotional-Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), whereas cognitive abilities were investigated using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS), which measures key aspects of cognitive functioning, i.e. verbal memory, working memory, motor speed, verbal fluency, attention and processing speed, and reasoning and problem solving. 137 subjects (65% female) with a mean age of 38.7 ± 11.8 years were included into the study. While males and females were comparable with regard to EI, men achieved significantly higher BACS composite scores and outperformed women in the BACS subscales motor speed, attention and processing speed, and reasoning and problem solving. Verbal fluency significantly predicted EI, whereas the MSCEIT subscale understanding emotions significantly predicted the BACS composite score. Our findings support previous research and emphasize the relevance of considering cognitive abilities when assessing ability EI in healthy individuals.

Reducing cognitive skill decay and diagnostic error: theory-based practices for continuing education in health care.

PubMed

Weaver, Sallie J; Newman-Toker, David E; Rosen, Michael A

2012-01-01

Missed, delayed, or wrong diagnoses can have a severe impact on patients, providers, and the entire health care system. One mechanism implicated in such diagnostic errors is the deterioration of cognitive diagnostic skills that are used rarely or not at all over a prolonged period of time. Existing evidence regarding maintenance of effective cognitive reasoning skills in the clinical education, organizational training, and human factors literatures suggest that continuing education plays a critical role in mitigating and managing diagnostic skill decay. Recent models also underscore the role of system level factors (eg, cognitive decision support tools, just-in-time training opportunities) in supporting clinical reasoning process. The purpose of this manuscript is to offer a multidisciplinary review of cognitive models of clinical decision making skills in order to provide a list of best practices for supporting continuous improvement and maintenance of cognitive diagnostic processes through continuing education. Copyright © 2012 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

Are Pumpkins Better than Heaven? An ERP Investigation of Order Effects in the Concrete-Word Advantage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tolentino, Leida C.; Tokowicz, Natasha

2009-01-01

The present study investigated the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the processing of concrete and abstract words by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) while participants performed an English lexical decision task. Concrete and abstract words were presented in three stimulus-order conditions: abstract before concrete, concrete…

Cognitive deficits after aneurysmal and angiographically negative subarachnoid hemorrhage: Memory, attention, executive functioning, and emotion recognition.

PubMed

Buunk, Anne M; Groen, Rob J M; Veenstra, Wencke S; Metzemaekers, Jan D M; van der Hoeven, Johannes H; van Dijk, J Marc C; Spikman, Jacoba M

2016-11-01

The authors' aim was to investigate cognitive outcome in patients with aneurysmal and angiographically negative subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH and anSAH), by comparing them to healthy controls and to each other. Besides investigating cognitive functions as memory and attention, they focused on higher-order prefrontal functions, namely executive functioning (EF) and emotion recognition. Patients and healthy controls were assessed with tests measuring memory (15 Words Test, Digit Span), attention and processing speed (Trail Making Test A and B), EF (Zoo Map, Letter Fluency, Dysexecutive Questionnaire), and emotion recognition (Facial Expressions of Emotion Stimuli and Tests). Between-groups comparisons of test performances were made. Patients with aSAH scored significantly lower than healthy controls on measures of memory, processing speed, and attention, but anSAH patients did not. In the higher-order prefrontal functions (EF and emotion recognition), aSAH patients were clearly impaired when compared to healthy controls. However, anSAH patients did not perform significantly better than aSAH patients on the majority of the tests. In the subacute phase after SAH, cognitive functions, including the higher-order prefrontal functions EF and emotion recognition, were clearly impaired in aSAH patients. Patients with anSAH did not perform better than aSAH patients, which indicates that these functions may also be affected to some extent in anSAH patients. Considering the importance of these higher-order prefrontal functions for daily life functioning, and following the results of the present study, tests that measure emotion recognition and EF should be part of the standard neuropsychological assessment after SAH. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Cognitive penetration of early vision in face perception.

PubMed

Cecchi, Ariel S

2018-06-13

Cognitive and affective penetration of perception refers to the influence that higher mental states such as beliefs and emotions have on perceptual systems. Psychological and neuroscientific studies appear to show that these states modulate the visual system at the visuomotor, attentional, and late levels of processing. However, empirical evidence showing that similar consequences occur in early stages of visual processing seems to be scarce. In this paper, I argue that psychological evidence does not seem to be either sufficient or necessary to argue in favour of or against the cognitive penetration of perception in either late or early vision. In order to do that we need to have recourse to brain imaging techniques. Thus, I introduce a neuroscientific study and argue that it seems to provide well-grounded evidence for the cognitive penetration of early vision in face perception. I also examine and reject alternative explanations to my conclusion. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Predictions penetrate perception: Converging insights from brain, behaviour and disorder

PubMed Central

O’Callaghan, Claire; Kveraga, Kestutis; Shine, James M; Adams, Reginald B.; Bar, Moshe

2018-01-01

It is argued that during ongoing visual perception, the brain is generating top-down predictions to facilitate, guide and constrain the processing of incoming sensory input. Here we demonstrate that these predictions are drawn from a diverse range of cognitive processes, in order to generate the richest and most informative prediction signals. This is consistent with a central role for cognitive penetrability in visual perception. We review behavioural and mechanistic evidence that indicate a wide spectrum of domains—including object recognition, contextual associations, cognitive biases and affective state—that can directly influence visual perception. We combine these insights from the healthy brain with novel observations from neuropsychiatric disorders involving visual hallucinations, which highlight the consequences of imbalance between top-down signals and incoming sensory information. Together, these lines of evidence converge to indicate that predictive penetration, be it cognitive, social or emotional, should be considered a fundamental framework that supports visual perception. PMID:27222169

Pilot study of cognition in children with unilateral hearing loss.

PubMed

Ead, Banan; Hale, Sandra; DeAlwis, Duneesha; Lieu, Judith E C

2013-11-01

The objective of this study was to obtain preliminary data on the cognitive function of children with unilateral hearing loss in order to identify, quantify, and interpret differences in cognitive and language functions between children with unilateral hearing loss and with normal hearing. Fourteen children ages 9-14 years old (7 with severe-to-profound sensorineural unilateral hearing loss and 7 sibling controls with normal hearing) were administered five tests that assessed cognitive functions of working memory, processing speed, attention, and phonological processing. Mean composite scores for phonological processing were significantly lower for the group with unilateral hearing loss than for controls on one composite and four subtests. The unilateral hearing loss group trended toward worse performance on one additional composite and on two additional phonological processing subtests. The unilateral hearing loss group also performed worse than the control group on the complex letter span task. Analysis examining performance on the two levels of task difficulty revealed a significant main effect of task difficulty and an interaction between task difficulty and group. Cognitive function and phonological processing test results suggest two related deficits associated with unilateral hearing loss: (1) reduced accuracy and efficiency associated with phonological processing, and (2) impaired executive control function when engaged in maintaining verbal information in the face of processing incoming, irrelevant verbal information. These results provide a possible explanation for the educational difficulties experienced by children with unilateral hearing loss. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Supplementary motor area as key structure for domain-general sequence processing: A unified account.

PubMed

Cona, Giorgia; Semenza, Carlo

2017-01-01

The Supplementary Motor Area (SMA) is considered as an anatomically and functionally heterogeneous region and is implicated in several functions. We propose that SMA plays a crucial role in domain-general sequence processes, contributing to the integration of sequential elements into higher-order representations regardless of the nature of such elements (e.g., motor, temporal, spatial, numerical, linguistic, etc.). This review emphasizes the domain-general involvement of the SMA, as this region has been found to support sequence operations in a variety of cognitive domains that, albeit different, share an inherent sequence processing. These include action, time and spatial processing, numerical cognition, music and language processing, and working memory. In this light, we reviewed and synthesized recent neuroimaging, stimulation and electrophysiological studies in order to compare and reconcile the distinct sources of data by proposing a unifying account for the role of the SMA. We also discussed the differential contribution of the pre-SMA and SMA-proper in sequence operations, and possible neural mechanisms by which such operations are executed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Categorial Compositionality: A Category Theory Explanation for the Systematicity of Human Cognition

PubMed Central

Phillips, Steven; Wilson, William H.

2010-01-01

Classical and Connectionist theories of cognitive architecture seek to explain systematicity (i.e., the property of human cognition whereby cognitive capacity comes in groups of related behaviours) as a consequence of syntactically and functionally compositional representations, respectively. However, both theories depend on ad hoc assumptions to exclude specific instances of these forms of compositionality (e.g. grammars, networks) that do not account for systematicity. By analogy with the Ptolemaic (i.e. geocentric) theory of planetary motion, although either theory can be made to be consistent with the data, both nonetheless fail to fully explain it. Category theory, a branch of mathematics, provides an alternative explanation based on the formal concept of adjunction, which relates a pair of structure-preserving maps, called functors. A functor generalizes the notion of a map between representational states to include a map between state transformations (or processes). In a formal sense, systematicity is a necessary consequence of a higher-order theory of cognitive architecture, in contrast to the first-order theories derived from Classicism or Connectionism. Category theory offers a re-conceptualization for cognitive science, analogous to the one that Copernicus provided for astronomy, where representational states are no longer the center of the cognitive universe—replaced by the relationships between the maps that transform them. PMID:20661306

Categorial compositionality: a category theory explanation for the systematicity of human cognition.

PubMed

Phillips, Steven; Wilson, William H

2010-07-22

Classical and Connectionist theories of cognitive architecture seek to explain systematicity (i.e., the property of human cognition whereby cognitive capacity comes in groups of related behaviours) as a consequence of syntactically and functionally compositional representations, respectively. However, both theories depend on ad hoc assumptions to exclude specific instances of these forms of compositionality (e.g. grammars, networks) that do not account for systematicity. By analogy with the Ptolemaic (i.e. geocentric) theory of planetary motion, although either theory can be made to be consistent with the data, both nonetheless fail to fully explain it. Category theory, a branch of mathematics, provides an alternative explanation based on the formal concept of adjunction, which relates a pair of structure-preserving maps, called functors. A functor generalizes the notion of a map between representational states to include a map between state transformations (or processes). In a formal sense, systematicity is a necessary consequence of a higher-order theory of cognitive architecture, in contrast to the first-order theories derived from Classicism or Connectionism. Category theory offers a re-conceptualization for cognitive science, analogous to the one that Copernicus provided for astronomy, where representational states are no longer the center of the cognitive universe--replaced by the relationships between the maps that transform them.

Attribution and social cognitive neuroscience: a new approach for the "online-assessment" of causality ascriptions and their emotional consequences.

PubMed

Terbeck, Sylvia; Chesterman, Paul; Fischmeister, Florian Ph S; Leodolter, Ulrich; Bauer, Herbert

2008-08-15

Attribution theory plays a central role in understanding cognitive processes that have emotional consequences; however, there has been very limited attention to its neural basis. After reviewing classical studies in social psychology in which attribution has been experimentally manipulated we developed a new approach that allows the investigation of state attributions and emotional consequences using neuroscience methodologies. Participants responded to the Erikson Flanker Task, but, in order to maintain the participant's beliefs about the nature of the task and to produce a significant number of error responses, an adaptive algorithm tuned the available time to respond such that, dependent on the subject's current performance, the negative feedback rate was held at chance level. In order to initiate variation in attribution participants were informed that one and the same task was either easy or difficult. As a result of these two different instructions the two groups differed significantly in error attribution only on the locus of causality dimension. Additionally, attributions were found to be stable over a large number of trials, while accuracy and reaction time remained the same. Thus, the new paradigm is particularly suitable for cognitive neuroscience research that evaluates brain behaviour relationships of higher order processes in 'simulated achievement settings'.

Anxiety sensitivity and cannabis use problems, perceived barriers for quitting, and fear of quitting.

PubMed

Zvolensky, Michael J; Rogers, Andrew H; Manning, Kara; Hogan, Julianna B D; Paulus, Daniel J; Buckner, Julia D; Mayorga, Nubia A; Hallford, Gerald; Schmidt, Norman B

2018-05-01

Cannabis is among the most widely used psychoactive substances in the United States, and rates of cannabis use and cannabis-related problems are increasing. Anxiety sensitivity, or the fear of aversive interoceptive sensations, may be relevant to better understanding cannabis use problems and other significant cannabis use processes (e.g., beliefs about quitting). Previous research has primarily focused on the global anxiety sensitivity construct; however, anxiety sensitivity lower-order facets (Cognitive Concerns, Physical Concerns, and Social Concerns) tend to be differentially related to substance use processes in non-cannabis specific studies. The current study therefore explored anxiety sensitivity lower-order facets in relation to cannabis use problems, perceived barriers for cannabis cessation, and abstinence phobia (fear of not using cannabis) among a community sample of 203 cannabis-using adults. Results indicated that anxiety sensitivity Cognitive Concerns were significantly associated with each of the dependent measures and these effects were not explained by shared variance with the other lower-order factors or a range of other covariates (e.g., tobacco use). The present findings suggest future work may benefit from focusing on the role of anxiety sensitivity Cognitive Concerns in the maintenance of cannabis use. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Making sense of mild cognitive impairment: a qualitative exploration of the patient's experience.

PubMed

Lingler, Jennifer Hagerty; Nightingale, Marcie C; Erlen, Judith A; Kane, April L; Reynolds, Charles F; Schulz, Richard; DeKosky, Steven T

2006-12-01

The proposed dementia precursor state of mild cognitive impairment is emerging as a primary target of aging research. Yet, little is known about the subjective experience of living with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. This study examines, from the patient's perspective, the experience of living with and making sense of the diagnosis. We recruited 12 older adults with amnestic or nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment from a university-based memory disorders clinic. We conducted in-home, semistructured interviews in order to elicit rich descriptions of the personal experience of having mild cognitive impairment. We used the qualitative method of grounded theory to analyze narrative data. Understanding and coming to terms with the syndrome, or assigning meaning, constituted a fundamental aspect of living with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. This process comprised interrelated emotional and cognitive dimensions. Participants employed a range of positive, neutral, and negative phrasing in order to depict their emotional reactions to receiving a diagnosis. Cognitive representations of mild cognitive impairment included both prognosis-focused and face-value appraisals. Expectations of normal aging, personal experience with dementia, and concurrent health problems were key contextual factors that provided the backdrop against which participants assigned meaning to a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. Clinicians who disclose diagnoses of mild cognitive impairment need to be mindful of the potential for varying interpretations of the information that is conveyed. Future research needs to include systematic, longitudinal investigations of illness representation and its impact on health behaviors among individuals with mild cognitive impairment.

Using Wiki in Teacher Education: Impact on Knowledge Management Processes and Student Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Biasutti, Michele; EL-Deghaidy, Heba

2012-01-01

The current study reports on the use of Wiki as an online didactic tool to develop knowledge management (KM) processes in higher education. This study integrates social constructivist principles to learning where learners are pro-active and collaborative through higher order cognitive processes. The study was administered in two countries, namely…

Perceptual-cognitive skill and the in situ performance of soccer players.

PubMed

van Maarseveen, Mariëtte J J; Oudejans, Raôul R D; Mann, David L; Savelsbergh, Geert J P

2018-02-01

Many studies have shown that experts possess better perceptual-cognitive skills than novices (e.g., in anticipation, decision making, pattern recall), but it remains unclear whether a relationship exists between performance on those tests of perceptual-cognitive skill and actual on-field performance. In this study, we assessed the in situ performance of skilled soccer players and related the outcomes to measures of anticipation, decision making, and pattern recall. In addition, we examined gaze behaviour when performing the perceptual-cognitive tests to better understand whether the underlying processes were related when those perceptual-cognitive tasks were performed. The results revealed that on-field performance could not be predicted on the basis of performance on the perceptual-cognitive tests. Moreover, there were no strong correlations between the level of performance on the different tests. The analysis of gaze behaviour revealed differences in search rate, fixation duration, fixation order, gaze entropy, and percentage viewing time when performing the test of pattern recall, suggesting that it is driven by different processes to those used for anticipation and decision making. Altogether, the results suggest that the perceptual-cognitive tests may not be as strong determinants of actual performance as may have previously been assumed.

Neuroethical issues in pharmacological cognitive enhancement.

PubMed

Mohamed, Ahmed Dahir

2014-09-01

Neuroethics is an emerging field that in general deals with the ethics of neuroscience and the neuroscience of ethics. In particular, it is concerned with the ethical issues in the translation of neuroscience to clinical practice and in the public domain. Numerous ethical issues arise when healthy individuals use pharmacological substances known as pharmacological cognitive enhancers (PCEs) for non-medical purposes in order to boost higher-order cognitive processes such as memory, attention, and executive functions. However, information regarding their actual use, benefits, and harms to healthy individuals is currently lacking. Neuroethical issues that arise from their use include the unknown side effects that are associated with these drugs, concerns about the modification of authenticity and personhood, and as a result of inequality of access to these drugs, the lack of distributive justice and competitive fairness that they may cause in society. Healthy individuals might be coerced by social institutions that force them to take these drugs to function better. These drugs might enable or hinder healthy individuals to gain better moral and self-understanding and autonomy. However, how these drugs might achieve this still remains speculative and unknown. Hence, before concrete policy decisions are made, the cognitive effects of these drugs should be determined. The initiation of accurate surveys to determine the actual usage of these drugs by healthy individuals from different sections of the society is proposed. In addition, robust empirical research need to be conducted to delineate not only whether or not these drugs modify complex higher-order cognitive processes but also how they might alter important human virtues such as empathy, moral reasoning, creativity, and motivation in healthy individuals. WIREs Cogn Sci 2014, 5:533-549. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1306 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. The author has declared no conflicts of interest for this article. © 2014 The Authors. WIREs Cognitive Science published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Cognitive Styles and the Social Order. Final Report, Part II. O.E.O. Study B00-5135, "Thought, Race, and Opportunity."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

TenHouten, Warren D.

This report presents data developed for testing the theory that there are social processes which result in differing cognitive styles for subdominant and dominant social groups. The results of surveys of black and white persons in an urban area, of white rural farmers, and Hopi Indians are presented. The research attempts to integrate data and…

From Noise to Order: The Psychological Development of Knowledge and Phenocopy in Biology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piaget, Jean

1975-01-01

Shows that one of the most general processes in the development of cognitive structures consists in replacing exogenous knowledge by endogenous reconstructions that reconstitute the same forms but incorporate them into systems whose internal composition is a pre-requisite. Biologically equivalent process is discussed. (Author/AM)

The Linguistic and Embodied Nature of Conceptual Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Louwerse, Max M.; Jeuniaux, Patrick

2010-01-01

Recent theories of cognition have argued that embodied experience is important for conceptual processing. Embodiment can be contrasted with linguistic factors such as the typical order in which words appear in language. Here, we report four experiments that investigated the conditions under which embodiment and linguistic factors determine…

Videogame distraction using virtual reality technology for children experiencing cold pressor pain: the role of cognitive processing.

PubMed

Law, Emily F; Dahlquist, Lynnda M; Sil, Soumitri; Weiss, Karen E; Herbert, Linda Jones; Wohlheiter, Karen; Horn, Susan Berrin

2011-01-01

This study examined whether increasing the demand for central cognitive processing involved in a distraction task, by involving the child in ongoing, effortful interaction with the distraction stimulus, would increase children's tolerance for cold pressor pain. Seventy-nine children ages 6-15 years underwent a baseline cold pressor trial followed by two cold pressor trials in which they received interactive distraction (i.e., used voice commands to play a videogame) or passive distraction (in which they merely watched the output from the same videogame segment) in counterbalanced order. Both distraction conditions were presented via a virtual reality-type helmet. As expected, children demonstrated significant improvement in pain tolerance during distraction relative to baseline. Children showed the greatest improvement during the interactive distraction task. The effects of distraction on children's cold pressor pain tolerance are significantly enhanced when the distraction task also includes greater demands for central cognitive processing.

Envisioning future cognitive telerehabilitation technologies: a co-design process with clinicians.

PubMed

How, Tuck-Voon; Hwang, Amy S; Green, Robin E A; Mihailidis, Alex

2017-04-01

Purpose Cognitive telerehabilitation is the concept of delivering cognitive assessment, feedback, or therapeutic intervention at a distance through technology. With the increase of mobile devices, wearable sensors, and novel human-computer interfaces, new possibilities are emerging to expand the cognitive telerehabilitation paradigm. This research aims to: (1) explore design opportunities and considerations when applying emergent pervasive computing technologies to cognitive telerehabilitation and (2) develop a generative co-design process for use with rehabilitation clinicians. Methods We conducted a custom co-design process that used design cards, probes, and design sessions with traumatic brain injury (TBI) clinicians. All field notes and transcripts were analyzed qualitatively. Results Potential opportunities for TBI cognitive telerehabilitation exist in the areas of communication competency, executive functioning, emotional regulation, energy management, assessment, and skill training. Designers of TBI cognitive telerehabilitation technologies should consider how technologies are adapted to a patient's physical/cognitive/emotional state, their changing rehabilitation trajectory, and their surrounding life context (e.g. social considerations). Clinicians were receptive to our co-design approach. Conclusion Pervasive computing offers new opportunities for life-situated cognitive telerehabilitation. Convivial design methods, such as this co-design process, are a helpful way to explore new design opportunities and an important space for further methodological development. Implications for Rehabilitation Designers of rehabilitation technologies should consider how to extend current design methods in order to facilitate the creative contribution of rehabilitation stakeholders. This co-design approach enables a fuller participation from rehabilitation clinicians at the front-end of design. Pervasive computing has the potential to: extend the duration and intensity of cognitive telerehabilitation training (including the delivery of 'booster' sessions or maintenance therapies); provide assessment and treatment in the context of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) patient's everyday life (thereby enhancing generalization); and permit time-sensitive interventions. Long-term use of pervasive computing for TBI cognitive telerehabilitation should take into account a patient's changing recovery trajectory, their meaningful goals, and their journey from loss to redefinition.

[Voting by cognitively impaired persons: legal and ethical issues].

PubMed

Bosquet, Antoine; Medjkane, Amar; Vinceneux, Philippe; Mahé, Isabelle

2010-03-01

In democratic countries, cognitively impaired persons are a substantial and growing group of citizens. Most of them are citizens with dementia. In dementia, cognitive impairment induces a loss of some capacities, resulting in vulnerability and increased need for assistance. Voting by cognitively impaired persons raises any questions about the integrity of the electoral process, the risk of fraud and the respect of their citizenship. In France, the law is not definite about the voting of cognitively impaired persons. An objective assessment for voting capacity may be useful both for professionals in charge of voting organisation and for guardianship judge in order to help him in his decision to remove or keep the voting right of persons placed under guardianship. Assessing the reality of voting by cognitively impaired citizens is necessary to advance respect for their right to vote.

Feature precedence in processing multifeature visual information in the human brain: an event-related potential study.

PubMed

Liu, B; Meng, X; Wu, G; Huang, Y

2012-05-17

In this article, we aimed to study whether feature precedence existed in the cognitive processing of multifeature visual information in the human brain. In our experiment, we paid attention to two important visual features as follows: color and shape. In order to avoid the presence of semantic constraints between them and the resulting impact, pure color and simple geometric shape were chosen as the color feature and shape feature of visual stimulus, respectively. We adopted an "old/new" paradigm to study the cognitive processing of color feature, shape feature and the combination of color feature and shape feature, respectively. The experiment consisted of three tasks as follows: Color task, Shape task and Color-Shape task. The results showed that the feature-based pattern would be activated in the human brain in processing multifeature visual information without semantic association between features. Furthermore, shape feature was processed earlier than color feature, and the cognitive processing of color feature was more difficult than that of shape feature. Copyright © 2012 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Disentangling conscious from unconscious cognitive processing with event-related EEG potentials.

PubMed

Rohaut, B; Naccache, L

By looking for properties of consciousness, cognitive neuroscience studies have dramatically enlarged the scope of unconscious cognitive processing. This emerging knowledge inspired the development of new approaches allowing clinicians to probe and disentangle conscious from unconscious cognitive processes in non-communicating brain-injured patients both in terms of behaviour and brain activity. This information is extremely valuable in order to improve diagnosis and prognosis in such patients both at acute and chronic settings. Reciprocally, the growing observations coming from such patients suffering from disorders of consciousness provide valuable constraints to theoretical models of consciousness. In this review we chose to illustrate these recent developments by focusing on brain signals recorded with EEG at bedside in response to auditory stimuli. More precisely, we present the respective EEG markers of unconscious and conscious processing of two classes of auditory stimuli (sounds and words). We show that in both cases, conscious access to the corresponding representation (e.g.: auditory regularity and verbal semantic content) share a similar neural signature (P3b and P600/LPC) that can be distinguished from unconscious processing occurring during an earlier stage (MMN and N400). We propose a two-stage serial model of processing and discuss how unconscious and conscious signatures can be measured at bedside providing relevant informations for both diagnosis and prognosis of consciousness recovery. These two examples emphasize how fruitful can be the bidirectional approach exploring cognition in healthy subjects and in brain-damaged patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Chronic alcoholism: insights from neurophysiology.

PubMed

Campanella, S; Petit, G; Maurage, P; Kornreich, C; Verbanck, P; Noël, X

2009-01-01

Increasing knowledge of the anatomical structures and cellular processes underlying psychiatric disorders may help bridge the gap between clinical signs and basic physiological processes. Accordingly, considerable insight has been gained in recent years into a common psychiatric condition, i.e., chronic alcoholism. We reviewed various physiological parameters that are altered in chronic alcoholic patients compared to healthy individuals--continuous electroencephalogram, oculomotor measures, cognitive event-related potentials and event-related oscillations--to identify links between these physiological parameters, altered cognitive processes and specific clinical symptoms. Alcoholic patients display: (1) high beta and theta power in the resting electroencephalogram, suggesting hyperarousal of their central nervous system; (2) abnormalities in smooth pursuit eye movements, in saccadic inhibition during antisaccade tasks, and in prepulse inhibition, suggesting disturbed attention modulation and abnormal patterns of prefrontal activation that may stem from the same prefrontal "inhibitory" cortical dysfunction; (3) decreased amplitude for cognitive event-related potentials situated along the continuum of information-processing, suggesting that alcoholism is associated with neurophysiological deficits at the level of the sensory cortex and not only disturbances involving associative cortices and limbic structures; and (4) decreased theta, gamma and delta oscillations, suggesting cognitive disinhibition at a functional level. The heterogeneity of alcoholic disorders in terms of symptomatology, course and outcome is the result of various pathophysiological processes that physiological parameters may help to define. These alterations may be related to precise cognitive processes that could be easily monitored neurophysiologically in order to create more homogeneous subgroups of alcoholic individuals.

[PASS neurocognitive dysfunction in attention deficit].

PubMed

Pérez-Alvarez, F; Timoneda-Gallart, C

Attention deficit disorder shows both cognitive and behavioral patterns. To determine a particular PASS (planning, attention, successive and simultaneous) pattern in order to early diagnosis and remediation according to PASS theory. 80 patients were selected from the neuropediatric attendance, aged 6 to 12 years old, 55 boys and 25 girls. Inclusion criteria were inattention (80 cases) and inattention with hyperactive symptoms (40 cases) according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV). Exclusion criteria were the criteria of phonologic awareness previously reported, considered useful to diagnose dyslexia. A control group of 300 individuals, aged 5 to 12 years old, was used, criteria above mentioned being controlled. DN:CAS (Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System) battery, translated to native language, was given to assess PASS cognitive processes. Results were analyzed with cluster analysis and t-Student test. Statistical factor analysis of the control group had previously identified the four PASS processes: planning, attention, successive and simultaneous. The dendrogram of the cluster analysis discriminated three categories of attention deficit disorder: 1. The most frequent, with planning deficit; 2. Without planning deficit but with deficit in other processes, and 3. Just only a few cases, without cognitive processing deficit. Cognitive deficiency in terms of means of scores was statistically significant when compared to control group (p = 0.001). According to PASS pattern, planning deficiency is a relevant factor. Neurological planning is not exactly the same than neurological executive function. The behavioral pattern is mainly linked to planning deficiency, but also to other PASS processing deficits and even to no processing deficit.

BrainStorm: a psychosocial game suite design for non-invasive cross-generational cognitive capabilities data collection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, Faizan; Chen, Yiqiang; Hu, Lisha; Wang, Shuangquan; Wang, Jindong; Chen, Zhenyu; Jiang, Xinlong; Shen, Jianfei

2017-11-01

Currently available traditional as well as videogame-based cognitive assessment techniques are inappropriate due to several reasons. This paper presents a novel psychosocial game suite, BrainStorm, for non-invasive cross-generational cognitive capabilities data collection, which additionally provides cross-generational social support. A motivation behind the development of presented game suite is to provide an entertaining and exciting platform for its target users in order to collect gameplay-based cognitive capabilities data in a non-invasive manner. An extensive evaluation of the presented game suite demonstrated high acceptability and attraction for its target users. Besides, the data collection process is successfully reported as transparent and non-invasive.

Prefrontal inhibition of threat processing reduces working memory interference

PubMed Central

Clarke, Robert; Johnstone, Tom

2013-01-01

Bottom-up processes can interrupt ongoing cognitive processing in order to adaptively respond to emotional stimuli of high potential significance, such as those that threaten wellbeing. However it is vital that this interference can be modulated in certain contexts to focus on current tasks. Deficits in the ability to maintain the appropriate balance between cognitive and emotional demands can severely impact on day-to-day activities. This fMRI study examined this interaction between threat processing and cognition; 18 adult participants performed a visuospatial working memory (WM) task with two load conditions, in the presence and absence of anxiety induction by threat of electric shock. Threat of shock interfered with performance in the low cognitive load condition; however interference was eradicated under high load, consistent with engagement of emotion regulation mechanisms. Under low load the amygdala showed significant activation to threat of shock that was modulated by high cognitive load. A directed top-down control contrast identified two regions associated with top-down control; ventrolateral PFC and dorsal ACC. Dynamic causal modeling provided further evidence that under high cognitive load, top-down inhibition is exerted on the amygdala and its outputs to prefrontal regions. Additionally, we hypothesized that individual differences in a separate, non-emotional top-down control task would predict the recruitment of dorsal ACC and ventrolateral PFC during top-down control of threat. Consistent with this, performance on a separate dichotic listening task predicted dorsal ACC and ventrolateral PFC activation during high WM load under threat of shock, though activation in these regions did not directly correlate with WM performance. Together, the findings suggest that under high cognitive load and threat, top-down control is exerted by dACC and vlPFC to inhibit threat processing, thus enabling WM performance without threat-related interference. PMID:23750133

Novel applications of Tablet PCs to investigate expert cognition in the geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, Sheldon; Libarkin, Julie

2012-05-01

In this paper, we present new methodologies developed to investigate cognitive processes related to perceiving and interpreting Earth phenomena. This area of study, known as geocognition, is an emerging and vital aspect of geoscience. Geocognition gives geoscientists an understanding of how people conceptualize earth processes. For example, geocognition research can be used to generate effective strategies for increasing public scientific literacy in this new era of climate change and energy crisis. We collected spatial visualization and working memory data using a Camtasia add-on for PowerPoint to generate a unique set of static drawings and videos of the drawing process. Analyzing these data provides unique insight into the underlying cognitive processes. For example, quantitative patterns that emerge within a subpopulation of novices or experts show us the common errors and patterns in how objects are drawn, including drawing order and time spent drawing. We believe that these unique data will contribute to the ongoing efforts to generate new understanding of the nature of geoscientific expertise.

Factorial Structure of the Quick Neurological Screening Test-Revised for Children with Learning Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finlayson, Shannon B.; Obrzut, John E.

1993-01-01

Administered Quick Neurological Screening Test-Revised (QNST-R) to 122 elementary-aged children diagnosed with learning disabilities. QNST-R appeared to measure primarily lower order sensory perception/processing and fine and gross motoric skills, which are thought presumably to serve as basis for later higher order cognitive functions. Age, but…

Social Competence and Aggressive Behavior in Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dodge, Kenneth A.

A model describing the cognitive processes in which a child must engage in order to respond competently in social situations is presented in this document as the framework for several series of studies dealing with provocation by peers. A major tenet of the model is that in order to perform competently in a social situation the child must first…

Development of cognitive and affective control networks and decision making.

PubMed

Kar, Bhoomika R; Vijay, Nivita; Mishra, Shreyasi

2013-01-01

Cognitive control and decision making are two important research areas in the realm of higher-order cognition. Control processes such as interference control and monitoring in cognitive and affective contexts have been found to influence the process of decision making. Development of control processes follows a gradual growth pattern associated with the prolonged maturation of underlying neural circuits including the lateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, and the medial prefrontal cortex. These circuits are also involved in the control of processes that influences decision making, particularly with respect to choice behavior. Developmental studies on affective control have shown distinct patterns of brain activity with adolescents showing greater activation of amygdala whereas adults showing greater activity in ventral prefrontal cortex. Conflict detection, monitoring, and adaptation involve anticipation and subsequent performance adjustments which are also critical to complex decision making. We discuss the gradual developmental patterns observed in two of our studies on conflict monitoring and adaptation in affective and nonaffective contexts. Findings of these studies indicate the need to look at the differences in the effects of the development of cognitive and affective control on decision making in children and particularly adolescents. Neuroimaging studies have shown the involvement of separable neural networks for cognitive (medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate) and affective control (amygdala, ventral medial prefrontal cortex) shows that one system can affect the other also at the neural level. Hence, an understanding of the interaction and balance between the cognitive and affective brain networks may be crucial for self-regulation and decision making during the developmental period, particularly late childhood and adolescence. The chapter highlights the need for empirical investigation on the interaction between the different aspects of cognitive control and decision making from a developmental perspective. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Disentangling working memory processes during spatial span assessment: a modeling analysis of preferred eye movement strategies.

PubMed

Patt, Virginie M; Thomas, Michael L; Minassian, Arpi; Geyer, Mark A; Brown, Gregory G; Perry, William

2014-01-01

The neurocognitive processes involved during classic spatial working memory (SWM) assessment were investigated by examining naturally preferred eye movement strategies. Cognitively healthy adult volunteers were tested in a computerized version of the Corsi Block-Tapping Task--a spatial span task requiring the short term maintenance of a series of locations presented in a specific order--coupled with eye tracking. Modeling analysis was developed to characterize eye-tracking patterns across all task phases, including encoding, retention, and recall. Results revealed a natural preference for local gaze maintenance during both encoding and retention, with fewer than 40% fixated targets. These findings contrasted with the stimulus retracing pattern expected during recall as a result of task demands, with 80% fixated targets. Along with participants' self-reported strategies of mentally "making shapes," these results suggest the involvement of covert attention shifts and higher order cognitive Gestalt processes during spatial span tasks, challenging instrument validity as a single measure of SWM storage capacity.

The dynamics of human cognition: Increasing global integration coupled with decreasing segregation found using iEEG.

PubMed

Cruzat, Josephine; Deco, Gustavo; Tauste-Campo, Adrià; Principe, Alessandro; Costa, Albert; Kringelbach, Morten L; Rocamora, Rodrigo

2018-05-15

Cognitive processing requires the ability to flexibly integrate and process information across large brain networks. How do brain networks dynamically reorganize to allow broad communication between many different brain regions in order to integrate information? We record neural activity from 12 epileptic patients using intracranial EEG while performing three cognitive tasks. We assess how the functional connectivity between different brain areas changes to facilitate communication across them. At the topological level, this facilitation is characterized by measures of integration and segregation. Across all patients, we found significant increases in integration and decreases in segregation during cognitive processing, especially in the gamma band (50-90 Hz). We also found higher levels of global synchronization and functional connectivity during task execution, again particularly in the gamma band. More importantly, functional connectivity modulations were not caused by changes in the level of the underlying oscillations. Instead, these modulations were caused by a rearrangement of the mutual synchronization between the different nodes as proposed by the "Communication Through Coherence" Theory. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Communication and cognition: the social beyond language, interaction and culture.

PubMed

Mascareño, Aldo

2008-06-01

Cognition theories describe the social with terms like language, interaction or culture, whose theoretical status has also been discussed in modern sociology. These concepts are not well-positioned to understand the emergence and autonomy of social orders. Sociological theory of self-referential systems can be useful to reconstruct the bottom-up process which contributes to the emergence of the social as communication as well as to describe the way in which society exerts downward causation upon cognitive phenomena. The core of this theory is the systemic category of meaning as a shared horizon for psychic and social systems.

How Semantic Categorization Influences Inhibitory Processing in Middle-Childhood: An Event Related Potentials study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maguire, Mandy J.; White, Joshua; Brier, Matthew R.

2011-01-01

Throughout middle-childhood, inhibitory processes, which underlie many higher order cognitive tasks, are developing. Little is known about how inhibitory processes change as a task becomes conceptually more difficult during these important years. In adults, as Go/NoGo tasks become more difficult there is a systematic decrease in the P3 NoGo…

Seeing red primes tomato: evidence for comparable priming from colour and colour name primes to semantically related word targets.

PubMed

Nijboer, Tanja C W; van Zandvoort, Martine J E; de Haan, Edward H F

2006-12-01

There is ample evidence that an independent processing stream exists that subserves the perception and appreciation of colour. Neurophysiological research has identified separate brain mechanisms for the processing of wavelength and colour, and neuropsychological studies have revealed selective colour disorders, such as achromatopsia, colour agnosia, and colour anomia. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether the perception of colour may, despite its independent processing, influence other cognitive functions. Specifically, we investigate the possibility that the perception of a colour influences higher order processes such as the activation of semantically related concepts. We designed an associative priming task involving a colour prime (e.g. a red patch or the word RED) and a lexical decision response to a semantically related ('tomato' vs. 'timato') or unrelated ('grass' vs. 'griss') word target. The results of this experiment indicate that there is comparable facilitation of accessing colour-related semantics through the perception of a colour or the reading of a colour name. This suggests that colour has a direct effect on higher order level, cognitive processing. These results are discussed in terms of current models of colour processing.

The Role of Working Memory for Cognitive Control in Anorexia Nervosa versus Substance Use Disorder

PubMed Central

Brooks, Samantha J.; Funk, Sabina G.; Young, Susanne Y.; Schiöth, Helgi B.

2017-01-01

Prefrontal cortex executive functions, such as working memory (WM) interact with limbic processes to foster impulse control. Such an interaction is referred to in a growing body of publications by terms such as cognitive control, cognitive inhibition, affect regulation, self-regulation, top-down control, and cognitive–emotion interaction. The rising trend of research into cognitive control of impulsivity, using various related terms reflects the importance of research into impulse control, as failure to employ cognitions optimally may eventually result in mental disorder. Against this background, we take a novel approach using an impulse control spectrum model – where anorexia nervosa (AN) and substance use disorder (SUD) are at opposite extremes – to examine the role of WM for cognitive control. With this aim, we first summarize WM processes in the healthy brain in order to frame a systematic review of the neuropsychological, neural and genetic findings of AN and SUD. In our systematic review of WM/cognitive control, we found n = 15 studies of AN with a total of n = 582 AN and n = 365 HC participants; and n = 93 studies of SUD with n = 9106 SUD and n = 3028 HC participants. In particular, we consider how WM load/capacity may support the neural process of excessive epistemic foraging (cognitive sampling of the environment to test predictions about the world) in AN that reduces distraction from salient stimuli. We also consider the link between WM and cognitive control in people with SUD who are prone to ‘jumping to conclusions’ and reduced epistemic foraging. Finally, in light of our review, we consider WM training as a novel research tool and an adjunct to enhance treatment that improves cognitive control of impulsivity. PMID:29018381

PWC - PAIRWISE COMPARISON SOFTWARE: SOFTWARE PROGRAM FOR PAIRWISE COMPARISON TASK FOR PSYCHOMETRIC SCALING AND COGNITIVE RESEARCH

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ricks, W. R.

1994-01-01

PWC is used for pair-wise comparisons in both psychometric scaling techniques and cognitive research. The cognitive tasks and processes of a human operator of automated systems are now prominent considerations when defining system requirements. Recent developments in cognitive research have emphasized the potential utility of psychometric scaling techniques, such as multidimensional scaling, for representing human knowledge and cognitive processing structures. Such techniques involve collecting measurements of stimulus-relatedness from human observers. When data are analyzed using this scaling approach, an n-dimensional representation of the stimuli is produced. This resulting representation is said to describe the subject's cognitive or perceptual view of the stimuli. PWC applies one of the many techniques commonly used to acquire the data necessary for these types of analyses: pair-wise comparisons. PWC administers the task, collects the data from the test subject, and formats the data for analysis. It therefore addresses many of the limitations of the traditional "pen-and-paper" methods. By automating the data collection process, subjects are prevented from going back to check previous responses, the possibility of erroneous data transfer is eliminated, and the burden of the administration and taking of the test is eased. By using randomization, PWC ensures that subjects see the stimuli pairs presented in random order, and that each subject sees pairs in a different random order. PWC is written in Turbo Pascal v6.0 for IBM PC compatible computers running MS-DOS. The program has also been successfully compiled with Turbo Pascal v7.0. A sample executable is provided. PWC requires 30K of RAM for execution. The standard distribution medium for this program is a 5.25 inch 360K MS-DOS format diskette. Two electronic versions of the documentation are included on the diskette: one in ASCII format and one in MS Word for Windows format. PWC was developed in 1993.

Cognitive Characteristics of Strategic and Non-strategic Gamblers.

PubMed

Mouneyrac, Aurélie; Lemercier, Céline; Le Floch, Valérie; Challet-Bouju, Gaëlle; Moreau, Axelle; Jacques, Christian; Giroux, Isabelle

2018-03-01

Participation in strategic and non-strategic games is mostly explained in the literature by gender: men gamble on strategic games, while women gamble on non-strategic games. However, little is known about the underlying cognitive factors that could also distinguish strategic and non-strategic gamblers. We suggest that cognitive style and need for cognition also explain participation in gambling subtypes. From a dual-process perspective, cognitive style is the tendency to reject or accept the fast, automatic answer that comes immediately in response to a problem. Individuals that preferentially reject the automatic response use an analytic style, which suggest processing information in a slow way, with deep treatment. The intuitive style supposes a reliance on fast, automatic answers. The need for cognition provides a motivation to engage in effortful activities. One hundred and forty-nine gamblers (53 strategic and 96 non-strategic) answered the Cognitive Reflection Test, Need For Cognition Scale, and socio-demographic questions. A logistic regression was conducted to evaluate the influence of gender, cognitive style and need for cognition on participation in strategic and non-strategic games. Our results show that a model with both gender and cognitive variables is more accurate than a model with gender alone. Analytic (vs. intuitive) style, high (vs. low) need for cognition and being male (vs. female) are characteristics of strategic gamblers (vs. non-strategic gamblers). This study highlights the importance of considering the cognitive characteristics of strategic and non-strategic gamblers in order to develop preventive campaigns and treatments that fit the best profiles for gamblers.

Further Understanding of Complex Information Processing in Verbal Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Diane L.; Minshew, Nancy J.; Goldstein, Gerald

2015-01-01

More than 20?years ago, Minshew and colleagues proposed the Complex Information Processing model of autism in which the impairment is characterized as a generalized deficit involving multiple modalities and cognitive domains that depend on distributed cortical systems responsible for higher order abilities. Subsequent behavioral work revealed a…

Toward an Integrative Model of Creativity and Personality: Theoretical Suggestions and Preliminary Empirical Testing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fü rst, Guillaume; Ghisletta, Paolo; Lubart, Todd

2016-01-01

The present work proposes an integrative model of creativity that includes personality traits and cognitive processes. This model hypothesizes that three high-order personality factors predict two main process factors, which in turn predict intensity and achievement of creative activities. The personality factors are: "Plasticity" (high…

Analyzing Hierarchical Relationships Among Modes of Cognitive Reasoning and Integrated Science Process Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeany, Russell H.; And Others

1986-01-01

Searched for a learning hierarchy among skills comprising formal operations and integrated science processes. Ordering, theoretic, and probabilistic latent structure methods were used to analyze data collected from 700 science students. Both linear and branching relationships were identified within and across the two sets of skills. (Author/JN)

How Dynamic Is Interhemispheric Interaction? Effects of Task Switching on the across-Hemisphere Advantage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welcome, Suzanne E.; Chiarello, Christine

2008-01-01

Interaction between the cerebral hemispheres may allow both hemispheres to contribute their processing resources in order to cope efficiently with complex tasks [Banich, M. (1998). The missing link: the role of interhemispheric interaction in attentional processing. "Brain and Cognition," 36, 128-157]. The current study investigated whether the…

Consequences of Contextual Factors on Clinical Reasoning in Resident Physicians

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McBee, Elexis; Ratcliffe, Temple; Picho, Katherine; Artino, Anthony R., Jr.; Schuwirth, Lambert; Kelly, William; Masel, Jennifer; van der Vleuten, Cees; Durning, Steven J.

2015-01-01

Context specificity and the impact that contextual factors have on the complex process of clinical reasoning is poorly understood. Using situated cognition as the theoretical framework, our aim was to evaluate the verbalized clinical reasoning processes of resident physicians in order to describe what impact the presence of contextual factors have…

Cognitive Variability during Middle-Age: Possible Association with Neurodegeneration and Cognitive Reserve

PubMed Central

Ferreira, Daniel; Machado, Alejandra; Molina, Yaiza; Nieto, Antonieta; Correia, Rut; Westman, Eric; Barroso, José

2017-01-01

Objective: Increased variability in cognition with age has been argued as an indication of pathological processes. Focusing on early detection of neurodegenerative disorders, we investigated variability in cognition in healthy middle-aged adults. In order to understand possible determinants of this variability, we also investigated associations with cognitive reserve, neuroimaging markers, subjective memory complaints, depressive symptomatology, and gender. Method: Thirty-one 50 ± 2 years old individuals were investigated as target group and deviation was studied in comparison to a reference younger group of 30 individuals 40 ± 2 years old. Comprehensive neuropsychological and structural imaging protocols were collected. Brain regional volumes and cortical thickness were calculated with FreeSurfer, white matter hyperintensities with CASCADE, and mean diffusivity with FSL. Results: Across-individuals variability showed greater dispersion in lexical access, processing speed, executive functions, and memory. Variability in global cognition correlated with, reduced cortical thickness in the right parietal-temporal-occipital association cortex, and increased mean diffusivity in the cingulum bundle and right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. A trend was also observed for the correlation between global cognition and hippocampal volume and female gender. All these associations were influenced by cognitive reserve. No correlations were found with subjective memory complaints, white matter hyperintensities and depressive symptomatology. Across-domains and across-tasks variability was greater in several executive components and cognitive processing speed. Conclusion: Variability in cognition during middle-age is associated with neurodegeneration in the parietal–temporal–occipital association cortex and white matter tracts connecting this to the prefrontal dorsolateral cortex and the hippocampus. Moreover, this effect is influenced by cognitive reserve. Studying variability offers valuable information showing that differences do not occur in the same magnitude and direction across individuals, cognitive domains and tasks. These findings may have important implications for early detection of subtle cognitive impairment and clinical interpretation of deviation from normality. PMID:28649200

Dogs cannot bark: event-related brain responses to true and false negated statements as indicators of higher-order conscious processing.

PubMed

Herbert, Cornelia; Kübler, Andrea

2011-01-01

The present study investigated event-related brain potentials elicited by true and false negated statements to evaluate if discrimination of the truth value of negated information relies on conscious processing and requires higher-order cognitive processing in healthy subjects across different levels of stimulus complexity. The stimulus material consisted of true and false negated sentences (sentence level) and prime-target expressions (word level). Stimuli were presented acoustically and no overt behavioral response of the participants was required. Event-related brain potentials to target words preceded by true and false negated expressions were analyzed both within group and at the single subject level. Across the different processing conditions (word pairs and sentences), target words elicited a frontal negativity and a late positivity in the time window from 600-1000 msec post target word onset. Amplitudes of both brain potentials varied as a function of the truth value of the negated expressions. Results were confirmed at the single-subject level. In sum, our results support recent suggestions according to which evaluation of the truth value of a negated expression is a time- and cognitively demanding process that cannot be solved automatically, and thus requires conscious processing. Our paradigm provides insight into higher-order processing related to language comprehension and reasoning in healthy subjects. Future studies are needed to evaluate if our paradigm also proves sensitive for the detection of consciousness in non-responsive patients.

Affective processing in bilingual speakers: disembodied cognition?

PubMed

Pavlenko, Aneta

2012-01-01

A recent study by Keysar, Hayakawa, and An (2012) suggests that "thinking in a foreign language" may reduce decision biases because a foreign language provides a greater emotional distance than a native tongue. The possibility of such "disembodied" cognition is of great interest for theories of affect and cognition and for many other areas of psychological theory and practice, from clinical and forensic psychology to marketing, but first this claim needs to be properly evaluated. The purpose of this review is to examine the findings of clinical, introspective, cognitive, psychophysiological, and neuroimaging studies of affective processing in bilingual speakers in order to identify converging patterns of results, to evaluate the claim about "disembodied cognition," and to outline directions for future inquiry. The findings to date reveal two interrelated processing effects. First-language (L1) advantage refers to increased automaticity of affective processing in the L1 and heightened electrodermal reactivity to L1 emotion-laden words. Second-language (L2) advantage refers to decreased automaticity of affective processing in the L2, which reduces interference effects and lowers electrodermal reactivity to negative emotional stimuli. The differences in L1 and L2 affective processing suggest that in some bilingual speakers, in particular late bilinguals and foreign language users, respective languages may be differentially embodied, with the later learned language processed semantically but not affectively. This difference accounts for the reduction of framing biases in L2 processing in the study by Keysar et al. (2012). The follow-up discussion identifies the limits of the findings to date in terms of participant populations, levels of processing, and types of stimuli, puts forth alternative explanations of the documented effects, and articulates predictions to be tested in future research.

A model of the hierarchy of behaviour, cognition, and consciousness.

PubMed

Toates, Frederick

2006-03-01

Processes comparable in important respects to those underlying human conscious and non-conscious processing can be identified in a range of species and it is argued that these reflect evolutionary precursors of the human processes. A distinction is drawn between two types of processing: (1) stimulus-based and (2) higher-order. For 'higher-order,' in humans the operations of processing are themselves associated with conscious awareness. Conscious awareness sets the context for stimulus-based processing and its end-point is accessible to conscious awareness. However, the mechanics of the translation between stimulus and response proceeds without conscious control. The paper argues that higher-order processing is an evolutionary addition to stimulus-based processing. The model's value is shown for gaining insight into a range of phenomena and their link with consciousness. These include brain damage, learning, memory, development, vision, emotion, motor control, reasoning, the voluntary versus involuntary debate, and mental disorder.

Statistical process control: A feasibility study of the application of time-series measurement in early neurorehabilitation after acquired brain injury.

PubMed

Markovic, Gabriela; Schult, Marie-Louise; Bartfai, Aniko; Elg, Mattias

2017-01-31

Progress in early cognitive recovery after acquired brain injury is uneven and unpredictable, and thus the evaluation of rehabilitation is complex. The use of time-series measurements is susceptible to statistical change due to process variation. To evaluate the feasibility of using a time-series method, statistical process control, in early cognitive rehabilitation. Participants were 27 patients with acquired brain injury undergoing interdisciplinary rehabilitation of attention within 4 months post-injury. The outcome measure, the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, was analysed using statistical process control. Statistical process control identifies if and when change occurs in the process according to 3 patterns: rapid, steady or stationary performers. The statistical process control method was adjusted, in terms of constructing the baseline and the total number of measurement points, in order to measure a process in change. Statistical process control methodology is feasible for use in early cognitive rehabilitation, since it provides information about change in a process, thus enabling adjustment of the individual treatment response. Together with the results indicating discernible subgroups that respond differently to rehabilitation, statistical process control could be a valid tool in clinical decision-making. This study is a starting-point in understanding the rehabilitation process using a real-time-measurements approach.

Assessing Cognitive Ability and Simulator-Based Driving Performance in Poststroke Adults

PubMed Central

Falkmer, Torbjörn; Willstrand, Tania Dukic

2017-01-01

Driving is an important activity of daily living, which is increasingly relied upon as the population ages. It has been well-established that cognitive processes decline following a stroke and these processes may influence driving performance. There is much debate on the use of off-road neurological assessments and driving simulators as tools to predict driving performance; however, the majority of research uses unlicensed poststroke drivers, making the comparability of poststroke adults to that of a control group difficult. It stands to reason that in order to determine whether simulators and cognitive assessments can accurately assess driving performance, the baseline should be set by licenced drivers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess differences in cognitive ability and driving simulator performance in licensed community-dwelling poststroke drivers and controls. Two groups of licensed drivers (37 poststroke and 43 controls) were assessed using several cognitive tasks and using a driving simulator. The poststroke adults exhibited poorer cognitive ability; however, there were no differences in simulator performance between groups except that the poststroke drivers demonstrated less variability in driver headway. The application of these results as a prescreening toolbox for poststroke drivers is discussed. PMID:28559646

Improving executive function in childhood: evaluation of a training intervention for 5-year-old children

PubMed Central

Traverso, Laura; Viterbori, Paola; Usai, Maria Carmen

2015-01-01

Executive function (EF) refers to a set of higher order cognitive processes that control and modulate cognition under continuously changing and multiple task demands. EF plays a central role in early childhood, is associated and predictive of important cognitive achievements and has been recognized as a significant aspect of school readiness. This study examines the efficacy of a group based intervention for 5-year-old children that focuses on basic components of EF (working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility). The intervention included 12 sessions, lasted 1 month and used low-cost materials. Seventy-five children took part in the study. The results indicate that the children who attended the intervention outperformed controls in simple and more complex EF tasks. Specifically, these children exhibited increased abilities to delay gratification, to control on-going responses, to process and update information, and to manage high cognitive conflict. These results suggest the possibility that this intervention, which may be easily implemented in educational services, can promote EF during preschool period before the entrance in primary school. PMID:25983706

Improving executive function in childhood: evaluation of a training intervention for 5-year-old children.

PubMed

Traverso, Laura; Viterbori, Paola; Usai, Maria Carmen

2015-01-01

Executive function (EF) refers to a set of higher order cognitive processes that control and modulate cognition under continuously changing and multiple task demands. EF plays a central role in early childhood, is associated and predictive of important cognitive achievements and has been recognized as a significant aspect of school readiness. This study examines the efficacy of a group based intervention for 5-year-old children that focuses on basic components of EF (working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility). The intervention included 12 sessions, lasted 1 month and used low-cost materials. Seventy-five children took part in the study. The results indicate that the children who attended the intervention outperformed controls in simple and more complex EF tasks. Specifically, these children exhibited increased abilities to delay gratification, to control on-going responses, to process and update information, and to manage high cognitive conflict. These results suggest the possibility that this intervention, which may be easily implemented in educational services, can promote EF during preschool period before the entrance in primary school.

Technology and informal education: what is taught, what is learned.

PubMed

Greenfield, Patricia M

2009-01-02

The informal learning environments of television, video games, and the Internet are producing learners with a new profile of cognitive skills. This profile features widespread and sophisticated development of visual-spatial skills, such as iconic representation and spatial visualization. A pressing social problem is the prevalence of violent video games, leading to desensitization, aggressive behavior, and gender inequity in opportunities to develop visual-spatial skills. Formal education must adapt to these changes, taking advantage of new strengths in visual-spatial intelligence and compensating for new weaknesses in higher-order cognitive processes: abstract vocabulary, mindfulness, reflection, inductive problem solving, critical thinking, and imagination. These develop through the use of an older technology, reading, which, along with audio media such as radio, also stimulates imagination. Informal education therefore requires a balanced media diet using each technology's specific strengths in order to develop a complete profile of cognitive skills.

A higher-order theory of emotional consciousness

PubMed Central

LeDoux, Joseph E.; Brown, Richard

2017-01-01

Emotional states of consciousness, or what are typically called emotional feelings, are traditionally viewed as being innately programmed in subcortical areas of the brain, and are often treated as different from cognitive states of consciousness, such as those related to the perception of external stimuli. We argue that conscious experiences, regardless of their content, arise from one system in the brain. In this view, what differs in emotional and nonemotional states are the kinds of inputs that are processed by a general cortical network of cognition, a network essential for conscious experiences. Although subcortical circuits are not directly responsible for conscious feelings, they provide nonconscious inputs that coalesce with other kinds of neural signals in the cognitive assembly of conscious emotional experiences. In building the case for this proposal, we defend a modified version of what is known as the higher-order theory of consciousness. PMID:28202735

Contributions to Executive Dysfunction in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and History of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

PubMed

Jurick, Sarah M; Crocker, Laura D; Sanderson-Cimino, Mark; Keller, Amber V; Trenova, Liljana S; Boyd, Briana L; Twamley, Elizabeth W; Rodgers, Carie S; Schiehser, Dawn M; Aupperle, Robin L; Jak, Amy J

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and executive function (EF) difficulties are prevalent in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans. We evaluated the contributions of injury variables, lower-order cognitive component processes (processing speed/attention), and psychological symptoms to EF. OEF/OIF Veterans (N = 65) with PTSD and history of mTBI were administered neuropsychological tests of EF and self-report assessments of PTSD and depression. Those impaired on one or more EF measures had higher PTSD and depression symptoms and lower processing speed/attention performance than those with intact performance on all EF measures. Across participants, poorer attention/processing speed performance and higher psychological symptoms were associated with worse performance on specific aspects of EF (eg, inhibition and switching) even after accounting for injury variables. Although direct relationships between EF and injury variables were equivocal, there was an interaction between measures of injury burden and processing speed/attention such that those with greater injury burden exhibited significant and positive relationships between processing speed/attention and inhibition/switching, whereas those with lower injury burden did not. Psychological symptoms as well as lower-order component processes of EF (attention and processing speed) contribute significantly to executive dysfunction in OEF/OIF Veterans with PTSD and history of mTBI. However, there may be equivocal relationships between injury variables and EF that warrant further study. Results provide groundwork for more fully understanding cognitive symptoms in OEF/OIF Veterans with PTSD and history of mTBI that can inform psychological and cognitive interventions in this population.

Theory of mind and empathy in preclinical and clinical Huntington’s disease

PubMed Central

Adjeroud, Najia; Besnard, Jérémy; Massioui, Nicole El; Verny, Christophe; Prudean, Adriana; Scherer, Clarisse; Gohier, Bénédicte; Bonneau, Dominique

2016-01-01

We investigated cognitive and affective Theory of Mind (ToM) and empathy in patients with premanifest and manifest Huntington’s disease (HD). The relationship between ToM performance and executive skills was also examined. Sixteen preclinical and 23 clinical HD patients, and 39 healthy subjects divided into 2 control groups were given a French adaptation of the Yoni test (Shamay-Tsoory, S.G., Aharon-Peretz, J. (2007). Dissociable prefrontal networks for cognitive and affective theory of mind: a lesion study. Neuropsychologia, 45(3), 3054–67) that examines first- and second-order cognitive and affective ToM processing in separate conditions with a physical control condition. Participants were also given questionnaires of empathy and cognitive tests which mainly assessed executive functions (inhibition and mental flexibility). Clinical HD patients made significantly more errors than their controls in the first- and second-order cognitive and affective ToM conditions of the Yoni task, but exhibited no empathy deficits. However, there was no evidence that ToM impairment was related to cognitive deficits in these patients. Preclinical HD patients were unimpaired in ToM tasks and empathy measures compared with their controls. Our results are consistent with the idea that impaired affective and cognitive mentalizing emerges with the clinical manifestation of HD, but is not necessarily part of the preclinical stage. Furthermore, these impairments appear independent of executive dysfunction and empathy. PMID:26211015

Rational adaptation under task and processing constraints: implications for testing theories of cognition and action.

PubMed

Howes, Andrew; Lewis, Richard L; Vera, Alonso

2009-10-01

The authors assume that individuals adapt rationally to a utility function given constraints imposed by their cognitive architecture and the local task environment. This assumption underlies a new approach to modeling and understanding cognition-cognitively bounded rational analysis-that sharpens the predictive acuity of general, integrated theories of cognition and action. Such theories provide the necessary computational means to explain the flexible nature of human behavior but in doing so introduce extreme degrees of freedom in accounting for data. The new approach narrows the space of predicted behaviors through analysis of the payoff achieved by alternative strategies, rather than through fitting strategies and theoretical parameters to data. It extends and complements established approaches, including computational cognitive architectures, rational analysis, optimal motor control, bounded rationality, and signal detection theory. The authors illustrate the approach with a reanalysis of an existing account of psychological refractory period (PRP) dual-task performance and the development and analysis of a new theory of ordered dual-task responses. These analyses yield several novel results, including a new understanding of the role of strategic variation in existing accounts of PRP and the first predictive, quantitative account showing how the details of ordered dual-task phenomena emerge from the rational control of a cognitive system subject to the combined constraints of internal variance, motor interference, and a response selection bottleneck.

Blood Biomarkers Predict the Cognitive Effects of Aripiprazole in Patients with Acute Schizophrenia.

PubMed

Hori, Hikaru; Yoshimura, Reiji; Katsuki, Asuka; Atake, Kiyokazu; Igata, Ryohei; Konishi, Yuki; Beppu, Hiroki; Tominaga, Hirotaka

2017-03-06

Aripiprazole has been reported to exert variable effects on cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia. Therefore, in the present study, we evaluated biological markers, clinical data, and psychiatric symptoms in order to identify factors that influence cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia undergoing aripiprazole treatment. We evaluated cognitive function in 51 patients with schizophrenia using Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS), as well as background information, psychiatric symptoms, plasma catecholamine metabolites-homovanillic acid (HVA), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG)-, and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Multivariate analyses were performed in order to identify factors independently associated with cognitive function. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels, number of hospitalizations, and MHPG levels were associated with verbal memory and learning. Total hospitalization period and MHPG levels were associated with working memory. Age at first hospitalization and education were associated with motor speed. The number of hospital admissions, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale negative subscale scores (PANSS-N), MHPG levels, BDNF levels, and Drug-Induced Extrapyramidal Symptoms Scale (DIEPSS) scores were associated with verbal fluency. Homovanillic acid and MHPG levels, duration of illness, and PANSS-N scores were associated with attention and processing speed. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and MHPG levels were associated with executive function. These results suggest that treatment of psychiatric symptoms and cognitive dysfunction may be improved in patients treated with aripiprazole by controlling for these contributing factors.

The effects of context processing on social cognition impairments in adults with Asperger's syndrome

PubMed Central

Baez, Sandra; Ibanez, Agustin

2014-01-01

Social cognition—the basis of all communicative and otherwise interpersonal relationships—is embedded in specific contextual circumstances which shape intrinsic meanings. This domain is compromised in the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), including Asperger's syndrome (AS) (DSM-V). However, the few available reports of social cognition skills in adults with AS have largely neglected the effects of contextual factors. Moreover, previous studies on this population have also failed to simultaneously (a) assess multiple social cognition domains, (b) examine executive functions, (c) follow strict sample selection criteria, and (d) acknowledge the cognitive heterogeneity typical of the disorder. The study presently reviewed (Baez et al., 2012), addressed all these aspects in order to establish the basis of social cognition deficits in adult AS patients. Specifically, we assessed the performance of AS adults in multiple social cognition tasks with different context-processing requirements. The results suggest that social cognition deficits in AS imply a reduced ability to implicitly encode and integrate contextual cues needed to access social meaning. Nevertheless, the patients' performance was normal when explicit social information was presented or when the situation could be navigated with abstract rules. Here, we review the results of our study and other relevant data, and discuss their implications for the diagnosis and treatment of AS and other neuropsychiatric conditions (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, frontotemporal dementia). Finally, we analyze previous results in the light of a current neurocognitive model of social-context processing. PMID:25232301

Generalized Linear Models of Home Activity for Automatic Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults*

PubMed Central

Akl, Ahmad; Snoek, Jasper; Mihailidis, Alex

2015-01-01

With a globally aging population, the burden of care of cognitively impaired older adults is becoming increasingly concerning. Instances of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are becoming ever more frequent. Earlier detection of cognitive impairment offers significant benefits, but remains difficult to do in practice. In this paper, we develop statistical models of the behavior of older adults within their homes using sensor data in order to detect the early onset of cognitive decline. Specifically, we use inhomogenous Poisson processes to model the presence of subjects within different rooms throughout the day in the home using unobtrusive sensing technologies. We compare the distributions learned from cognitively intact and impaired subjects using information theoretic tools and observe statistical differences between the two populations which we believe can be used to help detect the onset of cognitive decline. PMID:25570050

Generalized Linear Models of home activity for automatic detection of mild cognitive impairment in older adults.

PubMed

Akl, Ahmad; Snoek, Jasper; Mihailidis, Alex

2014-01-01

With a globally aging population, the burden of care of cognitively impaired older adults is becoming increasingly concerning. Instances of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia are becoming ever more frequent. Earlier detection of cognitive impairment offers significant benefits, but remains difficult to do in practice. In this paper, we develop statistical models of the behavior of older adults within their homes using sensor data in order to detect the early onset of cognitive decline. Specifically, we use inhomogenous Poisson processes to model the presence of subjects within different rooms throughout the day in the home using unobtrusive sensing technologies. We compare the distributions learned from cognitively intact and impaired subjects using information theoretic tools and observe statistical differences between the two populations which we believe can be used to help detect the onset of cognitive decline.

Neuropsychological assessment in autism spectrum disorder and related conditions

PubMed Central

Zwick, Georg Peter

2017-01-01

Neuropsychological assessment provides a profound analysis of cognitive functioning in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals on the autistic spectrum often show a high level of anxiety and are frequently affected by comorbidities that influence their quality of life. Yet, they also have cognitive strengths that should be identified in order to develop effective support strategies. This article presents an overview of five cognitive areas that are essential for neuropsychological evaluation (ie, intelligence, attention, executive function, social cognition, and praxis) and explores the underlying causes of behavioral problems in persons with ASD. Furthermore, it stresses the importance of meticulous neuropsychological testing with regard to cognitive remediation, a method that can help to enhance single cognitive processes in a targeted manner. Objective test results suggest it might be possible to promote an improved sense of coherence. In line with the salutogenic model, this may be fundamental for human health and well-being. PMID:29398932

Teaching Creativity and Inventive Problem Solving in Science

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Engaging learners in the excitement of science, helping them discover the value of evidence-based reasoning and higher-order cognitive skills, and teaching them to become creative problem solvers have long been goals of science education reformers. But the means to achieve these goals, especially methods to promote creative thinking in scientific problem solving, have not become widely known or used. In this essay, I review the evidence that creativity is not a single hard-to-measure property. The creative process can be explained by reference to increasingly well-understood cognitive skills such as cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control that are widely distributed in the population. I explore the relationship between creativity and the higher-order cognitive skills, review assessment methods, and describe several instructional strategies for enhancing creative problem solving in the college classroom. Evidence suggests that instruction to support the development of creativity requires inquiry-based teaching that includes explicit strategies to promote cognitive flexibility. Students need to be repeatedly reminded and shown how to be creative, to integrate material across subject areas, to question their own assumptions, and to imagine other viewpoints and possibilities. Further research is required to determine whether college students' learning will be enhanced by these measures. PMID:19723812

Teaching creativity and inventive problem solving in science.

PubMed

DeHaan, Robert L

2009-01-01

Engaging learners in the excitement of science, helping them discover the value of evidence-based reasoning and higher-order cognitive skills, and teaching them to become creative problem solvers have long been goals of science education reformers. But the means to achieve these goals, especially methods to promote creative thinking in scientific problem solving, have not become widely known or used. In this essay, I review the evidence that creativity is not a single hard-to-measure property. The creative process can be explained by reference to increasingly well-understood cognitive skills such as cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control that are widely distributed in the population. I explore the relationship between creativity and the higher-order cognitive skills, review assessment methods, and describe several instructional strategies for enhancing creative problem solving in the college classroom. Evidence suggests that instruction to support the development of creativity requires inquiry-based teaching that includes explicit strategies to promote cognitive flexibility. Students need to be repeatedly reminded and shown how to be creative, to integrate material across subject areas, to question their own assumptions, and to imagine other viewpoints and possibilities. Further research is required to determine whether college students' learning will be enhanced by these measures.

Research on cognitive, social and cultural processes of written communication.

PubMed

Arroyo González, Rosario; Salvador Mata, Francisco

2009-08-01

This article compiles the investigations carried out by a Research Group of the University of Granada, Spain. Its different projects on writing's cognitive social and cultural processes have been supported by the Spanish Government. This line of research joined together linguistic, psychological, social and cultural contributions to the development of writing from the 1970s. Currently, this line of research develops in collaboration with other European Universities: (a) Interuniversity Centre for Research On Cognitive Processing in Natural and Artificial Systems (ECONA), "La Sapienza" University of Rome (Italy); (b) Anadolu University, (Eskisehir, Turkey); (c) Coimbra University (Portugal); (d) University of Zaragoza (Spain); (e) the Institute of Education of the University of London (United Kingdom). The aforementioned collaboration is materializing into projects like the International Master on Multilingual Writing: Cognitive, Intercultural and Technological Processes of Written Communication ( http://www.multilingualwriting.com ) and the International Congress: Writing in the twenty-first Century: Cognition, Multilinguisim and Technologies, held in Granada ( http://www.asprogrades.org ). This research line is focussed on the development of strategies in writing development, basic to train twenty-first century societies' citizens. In these societies, participation in production media, social exchange and the development of multilingual written communication skills through new computer technologies spread multicultural values. In order to fulfil the social exigencies, it is needed to have the collaboration of research groups for designing and applying international research projects.

Temporal Dynamics of Motivation-Cognitive Control Interactions Revealed by High-Resolution Pupillometry

PubMed Central

Chiew, Kimberly S.; Braver, Todd S.

2013-01-01

Motivational manipulations, such as the presence of performance-contingent reward incentives, can have substantial influences on cognitive control. Previous evidence suggests that reward incentives may enhance cognitive performance specifically through increased preparatory, or proactive, control processes. The present study examined reward influences on cognitive control dynamics in the AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT), using high-resolution pupillometry. In the AX-CPT, contextual cues must be actively maintained over a delay in order to appropriately respond to ambiguous target probes. A key feature of the task is that it permits dissociable characterization of preparatory, proactive control processes (i.e., utilization of context) and reactive control processes (i.e., target-evoked interference resolution). Task performance profiles suggested that reward incentives enhanced proactive control (context utilization). Critically, pupil dilation was also increased on reward incentive trials during context maintenance periods, suggesting trial-specific shifts in proactive control, particularly when context cues indicated the need to overcome the dominant target response bias. Reward incentives had both transient (i.e., trial-by-trial) and sustained (i.e., block-based) effects on pupil dilation, which may reflect distinct underlying processes. The transient pupillary effects were present even when comparing against trials matched in task performance, suggesting a unique motivational influence of reward incentives. These results suggest that pupillometry may be a useful technique for investigating reward motivational signals and their dynamic influence on cognitive control. PMID:23372557

What is the source of cultural differences? -- Examining the influence of thinking style on the attribution process.

PubMed

Jen, Chun-Hui; Lien, Yunn-Wen

2010-02-01

The present research is intended to find out whether individuals with analytic or holistic thought have different attribution processes. Cross-cultural research has suggested that East Asians, who tend to have a holistic thought pattern, differ in cognitive process from Westerners, who tend to engage in analytic thought. However, studies that found cultural difference in attribution process may have non-equivalence problems that make it hard to interpret the causal relationship between thinking style and attribution process. The present research extends this by measuring participants' thinking style within a single culture in order to ensure equivalence on potentially confounding variables such as prior knowledge and cognitive capacity. Two experiments demonstrate that both types of thinkers have identical attribution processes and suggest different thinking styles might relate to different tendencies toward situational information, but not to the attribution process itself. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cognitive Attentional Syndrome and Metacognitive Beliefs in Male Sexual Dysfunction: An Exploratory Study.

PubMed

Giuri, Simona; Caselli, Gabriele; Manfredi, Chiara; Rebecchi, Daniela; Granata, Antonio; Ruggiero, Giovanni Maria; Veronese, Guido

2017-05-01

Erectile dysfunction (ED) and premature ejaculation (PE) are two forms of male sexual disorder with both psychological and physical features. While their cognitive, attentional, and affective components have been investigated separately, there is a lack of knowledge about the role played by cognitive attentional syndrome in their onset and maintenance. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible contribution of perseverative thinking styles and thought control strategies to the development and maintenance of ED and PE. The authors hypothesized that such modes of processing might constitute a cognitive attentional syndrome specific to these disorders and sustained by particular metacognitive beliefs. A semistructured interview was administered to 11 participants with ED and 10 with PE in order to assess their metacognitive beliefs and cognitive attentional processes. The results suggest that individuals with ED and PE adopt a range of cognitive attentional strategies aimed at improving their sexual performance, and endorse both positive and negative metacognitive beliefs about these thinking responses. Overall, their cognitive and attentional patterns worsened negative internal states, reduced sexual excitement, detached them from their bodily sensations, and hindered sexual functioning. These preliminary findings suggest that perseverative thinking, thought control strategies, and metacognitive beliefs may play a key role in the onset and maintenance of male sexual dysfunction.

Parameters of Semantic Multisensory Integration Depend on Timing and Modality Order among People on the Autism Spectrum: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russo, N.; Mottron, L.; Burack, J. A.; Jemel, B.

2012-01-01

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) report difficulty integrating simultaneously presented visual and auditory stimuli (Iarocci & McDonald, 2006), albeit showing enhanced perceptual processing of unisensory stimuli, as well as an enhanced role of perception in higher-order cognitive tasks (Enhanced Perceptual Functioning (EPF) model;…

Does Mindfulness Enhance Critical Thinking? Evidence for the Mediating Effects of Executive Functioning in the Relationship between Mindfulness and Critical Thinking.

PubMed

Noone, Chris; Bunting, Brendan; Hogan, Michael J

2015-01-01

Mindfulness originated in the Buddhist tradition as a way of cultivating clarity of thought. Despite the fact that this behavior is best captured using critical thinking (CT) assessments, no studies have examined the effects of mindfulness on CT or the mechanisms underlying any such possible relationship. Even so, mindfulness has been suggested as being beneficial for CT in higher education. CT is recognized as an important higher-order cognitive process which involves the ability to analyze and evaluate evidence and arguments. Such non-automatic, reflective responses generally require the engagement of executive functioning (EF) which includes updating, inhibition, and shifting of representations in working memory. Based on research showing that mindfulness enhances aspects of EF and certain higher-order cognitive processes, we hypothesized that individuals higher in facets of dispositional mindfulness would demonstrate greater CT performance, and that this relationship would be mediated by EF. Cross-sectional assessment of these constructs in a sample of 178 university students was achieved using the observing and non-reactivity sub-scales of the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire, a battery of EF tasks and the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment. Our hypotheses were tested by constructing a multiple meditation model which was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. Evidence was found for inhibition mediating the relationships between both observing and non-reactivity and CT in different ways. Indirect-only (or full) mediation was demonstrated for the relationship between observing, inhibition, and CT. Competitive mediation was demonstrated for the relationship between non-reactivity, inhibition, and CT. This suggests additional mediators of the relationship between non-reactivity and CT which are not accounted for in this model and have a negative effect on CT in addition to the positive effect mediated by inhibition. These findings are discussed in the context of the Default Interventionist Dual Process Theory of Higher-order Cognition and previous studies on mindfulness, self-regulation, EF, and higher-order cognition. In summary, dispositional mindfulness appears to facilitate CT performance and this effect is mediated by the inhibition component of EF. However, this relationship is not straightforward which suggests many possibilities for future research.

Does Mindfulness Enhance Critical Thinking? Evidence for the Mediating Effects of Executive Functioning in the Relationship between Mindfulness and Critical Thinking

PubMed Central

Noone, Chris; Bunting, Brendan; Hogan, Michael J.

2016-01-01

Mindfulness originated in the Buddhist tradition as a way of cultivating clarity of thought. Despite the fact that this behavior is best captured using critical thinking (CT) assessments, no studies have examined the effects of mindfulness on CT or the mechanisms underlying any such possible relationship. Even so, mindfulness has been suggested as being beneficial for CT in higher education. CT is recognized as an important higher-order cognitive process which involves the ability to analyze and evaluate evidence and arguments. Such non-automatic, reflective responses generally require the engagement of executive functioning (EF) which includes updating, inhibition, and shifting of representations in working memory. Based on research showing that mindfulness enhances aspects of EF and certain higher-order cognitive processes, we hypothesized that individuals higher in facets of dispositional mindfulness would demonstrate greater CT performance, and that this relationship would be mediated by EF. Cross-sectional assessment of these constructs in a sample of 178 university students was achieved using the observing and non-reactivity sub-scales of the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire, a battery of EF tasks and the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment. Our hypotheses were tested by constructing a multiple meditation model which was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. Evidence was found for inhibition mediating the relationships between both observing and non-reactivity and CT in different ways. Indirect-only (or full) mediation was demonstrated for the relationship between observing, inhibition, and CT. Competitive mediation was demonstrated for the relationship between non-reactivity, inhibition, and CT. This suggests additional mediators of the relationship between non-reactivity and CT which are not accounted for in this model and have a negative effect on CT in addition to the positive effect mediated by inhibition. These findings are discussed in the context of the Default Interventionist Dual Process Theory of Higher-order Cognition and previous studies on mindfulness, self-regulation, EF, and higher-order cognition. In summary, dispositional mindfulness appears to facilitate CT performance and this effect is mediated by the inhibition component of EF. However, this relationship is not straightforward which suggests many possibilities for future research. PMID:26834669

Nature as a network of morphological infocomputational processes for cognitive agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dodig-Crnkovic, Gordana

2017-01-01

This paper presents a view of nature as a network of infocomputational agents organized in a dynamical hierarchy of levels. It provides a framework for unification of currently disparate understandings of natural, formal, technical, behavioral and social phenomena based on information as a structure, differences in one system that cause the differences in another system, and computation as its dynamics, i.e. physical process of morphological change in the informational structure. We address some of the frequent misunderstandings regarding the natural/morphological computational models and their relationships to physical systems, especially cognitive systems such as living beings. Natural morphological infocomputation as a conceptual framework necessitates generalization of models of computation beyond the traditional Turing machine model presenting symbol manipulation, and requires agent-based concurrent resource-sensitive models of computation in order to be able to cover the whole range of phenomena from physics to cognition. The central role of agency, particularly material vs. cognitive agency is highlighted.

Meta-cognitive student reflections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barquist, Britt; Stewart, Jim

2009-05-01

We have recently concluded a project testing the effectiveness of a weekly assignment designed to encourage awareness and improvement of meta-cognitive skills. The project is based on the idea that successful problem solvers implement a meta-cognitive process in which they identify the specific concept they are struggling with, and then identify what they understand, what they don't understand, and what they need to know in order to resolve their problem. The assignment required the students to write an email assessing the level of completion of a weekly workbook assignment and to examine in detail their experiences regarding a specific topic they struggled with. The assignment guidelines were designed to coach them through this meta-cognitive process. We responded to most emails with advice for next week's assignment. Our data follow 12 students through a quarter consisting of 11 email assignments which were scored using a rubric based on the assignment guidelines. We found no correlation between rubric scores and final grades. We do have anecdotal evidence that the assignment was beneficial.

The influence of focused-attention meditation states on the cognitive control of sequence learning.

PubMed

Chan, Russell W; Immink, Maarten A; Lushington, Kurt

2017-10-01

Cognitive control processes influence how motor sequence information is utilised and represented. Since cognitive control processes are shared amongst goal-oriented tasks, motor sequence learning and performance might be influenced by preceding cognitive tasks such as focused-attention meditation (FAM). Prior to a serial reaction time task (SRTT), participants completed either a single-session of FAM, a single-session of FAM followed by delay (FAM+) or no meditation (CONTROL). Relative to CONTROL, FAM benefitted performance in early, random-ordered blocks. However, across subsequent sequence learning blocks, FAM+ supported the highest levels of performance improvement resulting in superior performance at the end of the SRTT. Performance following FAM+ demonstrated greater reliance on embedded sequence structures than FAM. These findings illustrate that increased top-down control immediately after FAM biases the implementation of stimulus-based planning. Introduction of a delay following FAM relaxes top-down control allowing for implementation of response-based planning resulting in sequence learning benefits. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

What Can Cognitive Neuroscience Teach Us About Anorexia Nervosa?

PubMed Central

Kidd, Amelia; Steinglass, Joanna

2012-01-01

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a complex illness and highly challenging to treat. One promising approach to significantly advance our understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of AN involves developing a cognitive neuroscience model of illness. Cognitive neuroscience uses probes such as neuropsychological tasks and neuroimaging techniques to identify the neural underpinnings of behavior. With this approach, advances have been made in identifying higher order cognitive processes that likely mediate symptom expression in AN. Identification of related neuropathology is beginning. Such findings have led to the development of complex neurobehavioral models that aim to explain the etiology and persistence of AN. Future research will use these advanced tools to test and refine hypotheses about the underlying mechanisms of AN. PMID:22660896

Cognitive disorders in children's hydrocephalus.

PubMed

Zielińska, Dorota; Rajtar-Zembaty, Anna; Starowicz-Filip, Anna

Hydrocephalus is defined as an increase of volume of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricular system of the brain. It develops as a result of cerebrospinal fluid flow disorder due to dysfunctions of absorption or, less frequently, as a result of the increase of its production. Hydrocephalus may lead to various cognitive dysfunctions in children. In order to determine cognitive functioning in children with hydrocephalus, the authors reviewed available literature while investigating this subject. The profile of cognitive disorders in children with hydrocephalus may include a wide spectrum of dysfunctions and the process of neuropsychological assessment may be very demanding. The most frequently described cognitive disorders within children's hydrocephalus include attention, executive, memory, visual, spatial or linguistic dysfunctions, as well as behavioral problems. Copyright © 2017 Polish Neurological Society. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.

Rapid e-Learning Tools Selection Process for Cognitive and Psychomotor Learning Objectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ku, David Tawei; Huang, Yung-Hsin

2012-01-01

This study developed a decision making process for the selection of rapid e-learning tools that could match different learning domains. With the development of the Internet, the speed of information updates has become faster than ever. E-learning has rapidly become the mainstream for corporate training and academic instruction. In order to reduce…

Investigating the Construct Measured by Banked Gap-Fill Items: Evidence from Eye-Tracking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCray, Gareth; Brunfaut, Tineke

2018-01-01

This study investigates test-takers' processing while completing banked gap-fill tasks, designed to test reading proficiency, in order to test theoretically based expectations about the variation in cognitive processes of test-takers across levels of performance. Twenty-eight test-takers' eye traces on 24 banked gap-fill items (on six tasks) were…

Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Au, Jacky; Sheehan, Ellen; Tsai, Nancy; Duncan, Greg J; Buschkuehl, Martin; Jaeggi, Susanne M

2015-04-01

Working memory (WM), the ability to store and manipulate information for short periods of time, is an important predictor of scholastic aptitude and a critical bottleneck underlying higher-order cognitive processes, including controlled attention and reasoning. Recent interventions targeting WM have suggested plasticity of the WM system by demonstrating improvements in both trained and untrained WM tasks. However, evidence on transfer of improved WM into more general cognitive domains such as fluid intelligence (Gf) has been more equivocal. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis focusing on one specific training program, n-back. We searched PubMed and Google Scholar for all n-back training studies with Gf outcome measures, a control group, and healthy participants between 18 and 50 years of age. In total, we included 20 studies in our analyses that met our criteria and found a small but significant positive effect of n-back training on improving Gf. Several factors that moderate this transfer are identified and discussed. We conclude that short-term cognitive training on the order of weeks can result in beneficial effects in important cognitive functions as measured by laboratory tests.

Learning from professionals: Exploring cognitive rehabilitation strategies for the definition of the functional requirements of a telerehabilitation platform.

PubMed

Rosso, Giovanni; Frisiello, Antonella; Trizio, Marco; Mosso, Cristina O; Bazzani, Marco

2018-04-01

In the past few years, the advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) led to the development of platforms and applications that aim to support cognitive rehabilitation therapy that contributes to extend patients' treatment at home. In our research we adopted the Human Centered Approach to design a cognitive rehabilitation platform that is able to provide tools and features tailored to the professional needs and strategies and also able to engage patients in their treatment process. In order to explore the clinicians' point of view on the neuropsychological intervention strategies, we applied two different techniques often used in human factors research: the Critical Decision Method to study professionals' strategies with a descriptive perspective, and the Hierarchical Task Analysis to analyze the processes with a normative view. The results of our research showed that the hybrid approach adopted allowed us to have a better focus on the cognitive rehabilitation process and on the professionals' decision making mechanism. This led to a better understanding of functional requirements for supporting clinician's strategic decision making, in terms of personalization of treatments, cognitive exercises settings and feedback customization. In conclusion, our research highlights the value of the CDM to focus deeply on which functionalities professionals require from a cognitive telerehabilitation system and allowed us to design more precisely clinician-patients interactions inside the system compared to prescriptive methods currently used. Our study offers contribution to the comprehension of the rehabilitation processes, suggesting the positive impacts of an "extended" clinic treatment by adopting a flexible and adaptable tool. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Videogame Distraction using Virtual Reality Technology for Children Experiencing Cold Pressor Pain: The Role of Cognitive Processing

PubMed Central

Law, Emily F.; Sil, Soumitri; Weiss, Karen E.; Herbert, Linda Jones; Wohlheiter, Karen; Horn, Susan Berrin

2011-01-01

Objective This study examined whether increasing the demand for central cognitive processing involved in a distraction task, by involving the child in ongoing, effortful interaction with the distraction stimulus, would increase children's tolerance for cold pressor pain. Methods Seventy-nine children ages 6–15 years underwent a baseline cold pressor trial followed by two cold pressor trials in which they received interactive distraction (i.e., used voice commands to play a videogame) or passive distraction (in which they merely watched the output from the same videogame segment) in counterbalanced order. Both distraction conditions were presented via a virtual reality-type helmet. Results As expected, children demonstrated significant improvement in pain tolerance during distraction relative to baseline. Children showed the greatest improvement during the interactive distraction task. Conclusion The effects of distraction on children's cold pressor pain tolerance are significantly enhanced when the distraction task also includes greater demands for central cognitive processing. PMID:20656761

Cognitive processes associated with compulsive buying behaviours and related EEG coherence.

PubMed

Lawrence, Lee Matthew; Ciorciari, Joseph; Kyrios, Michael

2014-01-30

The behavioural and cognitive phenomena associated with Compulsive Buying (CB) have been investigated previously but the underlying neurophysiological cognitive process has received less attention. This study specifically investigated the electrophysiology of CB associated with executive processing and cue-reactivity in order to reveal differences in neural connectivity (EEG Coherence) and distinguish it from characteristics of addiction or mood disorder. Participants (N=24, M=25.38 yrs, S.D.=7.02 yrs) completed the Sensitivity to Punishment Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire and a visual memory task associated with shopping items. Sensitivities to reward and punishment were examined with EEG coherence measures for preferred and non-preferred items and compared to CB psychometrics. Widespread EEG coherence differences were found in numerous regions, with an apparent left shifted lateralisation for preferred and right shifted lateralisation for non-preferred items. Different neurophysiological networks presented with CB phenomena, reflecting cue reactivity and episodic memory, from increased arousal and attachment to items. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Social cognitive interventions for people with schizophrenia: A systematic review.

PubMed

Tan, Bhing-Leet; Lee, Sara-Ann; Lee, Jimmy

2018-06-01

Social cognition is the mental process which underpins social interactions. Increasingly, it has been recognized to be impaired in people with schizophrenia, resulting in functional problems. Correspondingly, the past ten years have seen huge developments in the study of interventions to ameliorate social cognitive deficits among people with schizophrenia. In the present review, we systematically reviewed published studies on social cognitive interventions from 2005 to 2015. Of the 61 studies included in this review, 20 were on broad-based social cognitive interventions, which incorporated neurocognitive training, specialized learning technique or virtual reality social skills training. On the other hand, 31 studies on targeted interventions either focused on specific social cognitive domains, or a range of domains. Improvements in emotion processing and theory of mind were often reported, while social perception and attributional style were less frequently measured. Both broad-based and targeted interventions achieved gains in social functioning, albeit inconsistently. Lastly, nine studies on the use of oxytocin and one study on transcranial direct current stimulation reported positive preliminary results in higher-order cognition and facial affect recognition respectively. This review revealed that a wide range of social cognitive interventions is currently available and most have shown some promise in improving social cognition outcomes. However, there is a need to use a common battery of measurements for better comparisons across interventions. Future research should examine combination therapies and the sustainability of gains beyond the intervention period. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Aging of theory of mind: the influence of educational level and cognitive processing.

PubMed

Li, Xiaoming; Wang, Kai; Wang, Fan; Tao, Qian; Xie, Yu; Cheng, Qi

2013-01-01

Previous studies of theory of mind (ToM) in old age have provided mixed results. We predicted that educational level and cognitive processing are two factors influencing the pattern of the aging of ToM. To test this hypothesis, a younger group who received higher education (mean age 20.46 years), an older group with an education level equal to that of the young group (mean age 76.29 years), and an older group with less education (mean age 73.52 years) were recruited. ToM tasks included the following tests: the second-order false-belief task, the faux-pas task, the eyes test, and tests of fundamental aspects of cognitive function that included two background tests (memory span and processing speed) and three subcomponents of executive function (inhibition, updating, and shifting). We found that the younger group and the older group with equally high education outperformed the older group with less education in false-belief and faux-pas tasks. However, there was no significant difference between the two former groups. The three groups of participants performed equivalently in the eyes test as well as in control tasks (false-belief control question, faux-pas control question, faux-pas control story, and Eyes Test control task). The younger group outperformed the other two groups in the cognitive processing tasks. Mediation analyses showed that difficulties in inhibition, memory span, and processing speed mediated the age differences in false-belief reasoning. Also, the variables of inhibition, updating, memory span, and processing speed mediated age-related variance in faux-pas. Discussion focused on the links between ToM aging, educational level, and cognitive processing. Supported by Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (number: 30870766) and Anhui Province Natural Science Foundation (number: 11040606M166).

A Content Analysis of General Chemistry Laboratory Manuals for Evidence of Higher-Order Cognitive Tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domin, Daniel S.

1999-01-01

The science laboratory instructional environment is ideal for fostering the development of problem-solving, manipulative, and higher-order thinking skills: the skills needed by today's learner to compete in an ever increasing technology-based society. This paper reports the results of a content analysis of ten general chemistry laboratory manuals. Three experiments from each manual were examined for evidence of higher-order cognitive activities. Analysis was based upon the six major cognitive categories of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The results of this study show that the overwhelming majority of general chemistry laboratory manuals provide tasks that require the use of only the lower-order cognitive skills: knowledge, comprehension, and application. Two of the laboratory manuals were disparate in having activities that utilized higher-order cognition. I describe the instructional strategies used within these manuals to foster higher-order cognitive development.

[Intelligent operating room suite : From passive medical devices to the self-thinking cognitive surgical assistant].

PubMed

Kenngott, H G; Wagner, M; Preukschas, A A; Müller-Stich, B P

2016-12-01

Modern operating room (OR) suites are mostly digitally connected but until now the primary focus was on the presentation, transfer and distribution of images. Device information and processes within the operating theaters are barely considered. Cognitive assistance systems have triggered a fundamental rethinking in the automotive industry as well as in logistics. In principle, tasks in the OR, some of which are highly repetitive, also have great potential to be supported by automated cognitive assistance via a self-thinking system. This includes the coordination of the entire workflow in the perioperative process in both the operating theater and the whole hospital. With corresponding data from hospital information systems, medical devices and appropriate models of the surgical process, intelligent systems could optimize the workflow in the operating theater in the near future and support the surgeon. Preliminary results on the use of device information and automatically controlled OR suites are already available. Such systems include, for example the guidance of laparoscopic camera systems. Nevertheless, cognitive assistance systems that make use of knowledge about patients, processes and other pieces of information to improve surgical treatment are not yet available in the clinical routine but are urgently needed in order to automatically assist the surgeon in situation-related activities and thus substantially improve patient care.

The Meaning of an Orienting Response: A Study in the Hierarchical Order of Attending.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Michael; Harwitz, Marcia

The purposes of this study are: (1) to attempt to show the weakness of the theory of a two-stage process of attending, i.e. having both separate and ordered focusing and elaborating aspects; and (2) to offer an alternative approach whereby both focusing and elaborating are under the service of cognitive variables. The discussion covers the issue…

Towards a unified theory of neocortex: laminar cortical circuits for vision and cognition.

PubMed

Grossberg, Stephen

2007-01-01

A key goal of computational neuroscience is to link brain mechanisms to behavioral functions. The present article describes recent progress towards explaining how laminar neocortical circuits give rise to biological intelligence. These circuits embody two new and revolutionary computational paradigms: Complementary Computing and Laminar Computing. Circuit properties include a novel synthesis of feedforward and feedback processing, of digital and analog processing, and of preattentive and attentive processing. This synthesis clarifies the appeal of Bayesian approaches but has a far greater predictive range that naturally extends to self-organizing processes. Examples from vision and cognition are summarized. A LAMINART architecture unifies properties of visual development, learning, perceptual grouping, attention, and 3D vision. A key modeling theme is that the mechanisms which enable development and learning to occur in a stable way imply properties of adult behavior. It is noted how higher-order attentional constraints can influence multiple cortical regions, and how spatial and object attention work together to learn view-invariant object categories. In particular, a form-fitting spatial attentional shroud can allow an emerging view-invariant object category to remain active while multiple view categories are associated with it during sequences of saccadic eye movements. Finally, the chapter summarizes recent work on the LIST PARSE model of cognitive information processing by the laminar circuits of prefrontal cortex. LIST PARSE models the short-term storage of event sequences in working memory, their unitization through learning into sequence, or list, chunks, and their read-out in planned sequential performance that is under volitional control. LIST PARSE provides a laminar embodiment of Item and Order working memories, also called Competitive Queuing models, that have been supported by both psychophysical and neurobiological data. These examples show how variations of a common laminar cortical design can embody properties of visual and cognitive intelligence that seem, at least on the surface, to be mechanistically unrelated.

First steps in designing an all-in-one ICT-based device for persons with cognitive impairment: evaluation of the first mock-up.

PubMed

Boman, Inga-Lill; Persson, Ann-Christine; Bartfai, Aniko

2016-03-07

This project Smart Assisted Living involving Informal careGivers++ (SALIG) intends to develop an ICT-based device for persons with cognitive impairment combined with remote support possibilities for significant others and formal caregivers. This paper presents the identification of the target groups' needs and requirements of such device and the evaluation of the first mock-up, demonstrated in a tablet. The inclusive design method that includes end-users in the design process was chosen. First, a scoping review was conducted in order to examine the target group's need of an ICT-based device, and to gather recommendations regarding its design and functionalities. In order to capture the users' requirements of the design and functionalities of the device three targeted focus groups were conducted. Based on the findings from the publications and the focus groups a user requirement specification was developed. After that a design concept and a first mock-up was developed in an iterative process. The mock-up was evaluated through interviews with persons with cognitive impairment, health care professionals and significant others. Data were analysed using content analysis. Several useful recommendations of the design and functionalities of the SALIG device for persons with cognitive impairment were identified. The main benefit of the mock-up was that it was a single device with a set of functionalities installed on a tablet and designed for persons with cognitive impairment. An additional benefit was that it could be used remotely by significant others and formal caregivers. The SALIG device has the potentials to facilitate everyday life for persons with cognitive impairment, their significant others and the work situation for formal caregivers. The results may provide guidance in the development of different types of technologies for the target population and for people with diverse disabilities. Further work will focus on developing a prototype to be empirically tested by persons with cognitive impairment, their significant others and formal caregivers.

Higher-order awareness, misrepresentation and function

PubMed Central

Rosenthal, David

2012-01-01

Conscious mental states are states we are in some way aware of. I compare higher-order theories of consciousness, which explain consciousness by appeal to such higher-order awareness (HOA), and first-order theories, which do not, and I argue that higher-order theories have substantial explanatory advantages. The higher-order nature of our awareness of our conscious states suggests an analogy with the metacognition that figures in the regulation of psychological processes and behaviour. I argue that, although both consciousness and metacognition involve higher-order psychological states, they have little more in common. One thing they do share is the possibility of misrepresentation; just as metacognitive processing can misrepresent one's cognitive states and abilities, so the HOA in virtue of which one's mental states are conscious can, and sometimes does, misdescribe those states. A striking difference between the two, however, has to do with utility for psychological processing. Metacognition has considerable benefit for psychological processing; in contrast, it is unlikely that there is much, if any, utility to mental states' being conscious over and above the utility those states have when they are not conscious. PMID:22492758

Cognitive Modeling for Agent-Based Simulation of Child Maltreatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Xiaolin; Puddy, Richard

This paper extends previous work to develop cognitive modeling for agent-based simulation of child maltreatment (CM). The developed model is inspired from parental efficacy, parenting stress, and the theory of planned behavior. It provides an explanatory, process-oriented model of CM and incorporates causality relationship and feedback loops from different factors in the social ecology in order for simulating the dynamics of CM. We describe the model and present simulation results to demonstrate the features of this model.

Predictors of expressive writing content and posttraumatic stress following a mass shooting.

PubMed

Reddy, Madhavi K; Seligowski, Antonia V; Rabenhorst, Mandy M; Orcutt, Holly K

2015-05-01

This study examined relations among experiential avoidance, state dissociation during writing, cognitive-emotional processing, and posttraumatic stress in the context of an expressive writing task among 58 undergraduate females who were students at a large midwestern university that had recently experienced a mass shooting. Experiential avoidance significantly predicted reported suppression during the writing task. Additionally, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) at the time of the writing task were significantly associated with state dissociation, suppression, and the use of positive emotion words during the writing. Finally, at the zero-order level, prospective PTSS were associated with state dissociation and suppression during the earlier writing task. However, in a full regression model, only experiential avoidance and PTSS at the time of the writing task significantly predicted prospective PTSS. Supplemental analyses suggest processes may operate differently across levels of exposure. Findings from the present study provide further support for the role of experiential avoidance, state dissociation during writing, and cognitive-emotional processing in predicting PTSS. Additionally, experiential avoidance may play an important role in how individuals use cognitive-emotional processing to narrate a traumatic event. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Serious games for elderly continuous monitoring.

PubMed

Lemus-Zúñiga, Lenin-G; Navarro-Pardo, Esperanza; Moret-Tatay, Carmen; Pocinho, Ricardo

2015-01-01

Information technology (IT) and serious games allow older population to remain independent for longer. Hence, when designing technology for this population, developmental changes, such as attention and/or perception, should be considered. For instance, a crucial developmental change has been related to cognitive speed in terms of reaction time (RT). However, this variable presents a skewed distribution that difficult data analysis. An alternative strategy is to characterize the data to an ex-Gaussian function. Furthermore, this procedure provides different parameters that have been related to underlying cognitive processes in the literature. Another issue to be considered is the optimal data recording, storing and processing. For that purpose mobile devices (smart phones and tablets) are a good option for targeting serious games where valuable information can be stored (time spent in the application, reaction time, frequency of use, and a long etcetera). The data stored inside the smartphones and tablets can be sent to a central computer (cloud storage) in order to store the data collected to not only fill the distribution of reaction times to mathematical functions, but also to estimate parameters which may reflect cognitive processes underlying language, aging, and decisional process.

The role of working memory and declarative memory in trace conditioning

PubMed Central

Connor, David A.; Gould, Thomas J.

2017-01-01

Translational assays of cognition that are similarly implemented in both lower and higher-order species, such as rodents and primates, provide a means to reconcile preclinical modeling of psychiatric neuropathology and clinical research. To this end, Pavlovian conditioning has provided a useful tool for investigating cognitive processes in both lab animal models and humans. This review focuses on trace conditioning, a form of Pavlovian conditioning typified by the insertion of a temporal gap (i.e., trace interval) between presentations of a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US). This review aims to discuss pre-clinical and clinical work investigating the mnemonic processes recruited for trace conditioning. Much work suggests that trace conditioning involves unique neurocognitive mechanisms to facilitate formation of trace memories in contrast to standard Pavlovian conditioning. For example, the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) appear to play critical roles in trace conditioning. Moreover, cognitive mechanistic accounts in human studies suggest that working memory and declarative memory processes are engaged to facilitate formation of trace memories. The aim of this review is to integrate cognitive and neurobiological accounts of trace conditioning from preclinical and clinical studies to examine involvement of working and declarative memory. PMID:27422017

Use of cognitive artifacts in chemistry learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yengin, Ilker

In everyday life, we interact with cognitive artifacts to receive and/or manipulate information so as to alter our thinking processes. CHEM/TEAC 869Q is a distance course that includes extensive explicit instruction in the use of a cognitive artifact. This study investigates issues related to the design of that online artifact. In order to understand design implications and how cognitive artifacts contribute to students' thinking and learning, a qualitative research methodology was engaged that utilized think aloud sessions. Participants' described constrained and structured cognitive models while using the artifact. The study also was informed by interviews and researcher's field notes. A purposeful sampling method led to the selection of participants, four males and two females, who had no prior history of using a course from the 869 series but who had experienced the scientific content covered by the CHEM869Q course. Analysis of the results showed both that a cognitive artifact may lead users' minds in decision making, and that problem solving processes were affected by cognitive artifact's design. When there is no design flaw, users generally thought that the cognitive artifact was helpful by simplifying steps, overcoming other limitations, and reducing errors in a reliable, effective, and easy to use way. Moreover, results showed that successful implementation of cognitive artifacts into teaching --learning practices depended on user willingness to transfer a task to the artifact. While users may like the idea of benefiting from a cognitive artifact, nevertheless, they may tend to limit their usage. They sometimes think that delegating a task to a cognitive artifact makes them dependent, and that they may not learn how to perform the tasks by themselves. They appear more willing to use a cognitive artifact after they have done the task by themselves.

Individual Differences in Reasoning and Visuospatial Attention are Associated with Prefrontal and Parietal White Matter Tracts in Healthy Older Adults

PubMed Central

Monge, Zachary A.; Greenwood, Pamela M.; Parasuraman, Raja; Strenziok, Maren

2016-01-01

Objective Although reasoning and attention are two cognitive processes necessary for ensuring the efficiency of many everyday activities in older adults, the role of white matter integrity in these processes has been little studied. This is an important question due to the role of white matter integrity as a neural substrate of cognitive aging. Here, we sought to examine the white matter tracts subserving reasoning and visuospatial attention in healthy older adults. Method Sixty-one adults aged 60 and older completed a battery of cognitive tests to assess reasoning and visuospatial attention. In addition, diffusion tensor images were collected to assess Fractional Anisotropy (FA) – a measure of white matter integrity. A principle component analysis of the test scores yielded two components: reasoning and visuospatial attention. Whole-brain correlations between FA and the cognitive components were submitted to probabilistic tractography analyses for visualization of cortical targets of tracts. Results For reasoning, bilateral thalamo-anterior prefrontal, anterior corpus callosum, and corpus callosum body tracts interconnecting the superior frontal cortices and right cingulum bundle were found. For visuospatial attention, a right inferior fronto-parietal tract, and bilateral parietal and temporal connections were found. Conclusions We conclude that in older adults, prefrontal cortex white matter tracts and interhemispheric communication are important in higher order cognitive functioning. On the other hand, right-sided fronto-parietal tracts appear to be critical for supporting control of cognitive processes, such as redirecting attention. Researchers may use our results to develop neuroscience-based interventions for older adults targeting brain mechanisms involved in cognitive plasticity. PMID:26986750

Theory of mind and empathy in preclinical and clinical Huntington's disease.

PubMed

Adjeroud, Najia; Besnard, Jérémy; El Massioui, Nicole; Verny, Christophe; Prudean, Adriana; Scherer, Clarisse; Gohier, Bénédicte; Bonneau, Dominique; Allain, Philippe

2016-01-01

We investigated cognitive and affective Theory of Mind (ToM) and empathy in patients with premanifest and manifest Huntington's disease (HD). The relationship between ToM performance and executive skills was also examined. Sixteen preclinical and 23 clinical HD patients, and 39 healthy subjects divided into 2 control groups were given a French adaptation of the Yoni test (Shamay-Tsoory, S.G., Aharon-Peretz, J. (2007). Dissociable prefrontal networks for cognitive and affective theory of mind: a lesion study. Neuropsychologia, 45(3), 3054-67) that examines first- and second-order cognitive and affective ToM processing in separate conditions with a physical control condition. Participants were also given questionnaires of empathy and cognitive tests which mainly assessed executive functions (inhibition and mental flexibility). Clinical HD patients made significantly more errors than their controls in the first- and second-order cognitive and affective ToM conditions of the Yoni task, but exhibited no empathy deficits. However, there was no evidence that ToM impairment was related to cognitive deficits in these patients. Preclinical HD patients were unimpaired in ToM tasks and empathy measures compared with their controls. Our results are consistent with the idea that impaired affective and cognitive mentalizing emerges with the clinical manifestation of HD, but is not necessarily part of the preclinical stage. Furthermore, these impairments appear independent of executive dysfunction and empathy. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Deficits in Domains of Social Cognition in Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis of the Empirical Evidence

PubMed Central

Savla, Gauri N.

2013-01-01

Objective: Social cognition is strongly associated with functional outcome in schizophrenia, making it an important target for treatment. Our goal was to examine the average magnitude of differences between schizophrenia patients (SCs) and normal comparison (NCs) patients across multiple domains of social cognition recognized by the recent NIMH consensus statement: theory of mind (ToM), social perception, social knowledge, attributional bias, emotion perception, and emotion processing. Method: We conducted a meta-analysis of peer-reviewed studies of social cognition in schizophrenia, published between 1980 and November, 2011. Results: 112 studies reporting results from 3908 SCs and 3570 NCs met our inclusion criteria. SCs performed worse than NCs across all domains, with large effects for social perception (g = 1.04), ToM (g = 0.96), emotion perception (g = 0.89), and emotion processing (g = 0.88). Regression analyses showed that statistically significant heterogeneity in effects within domains was not explained by age, education, or gender. Greater deficits in social and emotion perception were associated with inpatient status, and greater deficits in emotion processing were associated with longer illness duration. Conclusions: Despite the limitations of existing studies, including lack of standardization or psychometric validation of measures, the evidence for deficits across multiple social cognitive domains in schizophrenia is clear. Future research should examine the role of neurobiological and psychosocial factors in models linking various aspects of deficit in schizophrenia, including social cognition, in order to identify targets for intervention. PMID:22949733

Emotional metacontrol of attention: Top-down modulation of sensorimotor processes in a robotic visual search task.

PubMed

Belkaid, Marwen; Cuperlier, Nicolas; Gaussier, Philippe

2017-01-01

Emotions play a significant role in internal regulatory processes. In this paper, we advocate four key ideas. First, novelty detection can be grounded in the sensorimotor experience and allow higher order appraisal. Second, cognitive processes, such as those involved in self-assessment, influence emotional states by eliciting affects like boredom and frustration. Third, emotional processes such as those triggered by self-assessment influence attentional processes. Last, close emotion-cognition interactions implement an efficient feedback loop for the purpose of top-down behavior regulation. The latter is what we call 'Emotional Metacontrol'. We introduce a model based on artificial neural networks. This architecture is used to control a robotic system in a visual search task. The emotional metacontrol intervenes to bias the robot visual attention during active object recognition. Through a behavioral and statistical analysis, we show that this mechanism increases the robot performance and fosters the exploratory behavior to avoid deadlocks.

Neural predictors and mechanisms of cognitive behavioral therapy on threat processing in social anxiety disorder.

PubMed

Klumpp, Heide; Fitzgerald, Daniel A; Phan, K Luan

2013-08-01

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is "gold standard" psychotherapy for social anxiety disorder (SAD). Cognitive models posit that preferential processing of threat mediates excessive forms of anxiety, which is supported by exaggerated amygdala, insula, and cortical reactivity to threatening socio-emotional signals in SAD. However, little is known about neural predictors of CBT success or the mechanisms by which CBT exerts its therapeutic effects. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted during responses to social signals of threat (fearful/angry faces) against positive signals (happy faces) in 14 patients with SAD before and after 12 weeks of CBT. For comparison, 14 healthy control (HC) participants also underwent two fMRI scans, 12 weeks apart. Whole-brain voxel-wise analyses showed therapeutic success was predicted by enhanced pre-treatment activation to threatening faces in higher-order visual (superior and middle temporal gyrus), cognitive, and emotion processing areas (dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex). Moreover, a group by time interaction was revealed in prefrontal regions (dorsomedial, medial gyrus) and insula. The interaction was driven by relatively greater activity during threat processing in SAD, which significantly reduced after CBT but did not significantly predict response to CBT. Therefore, pre-treatment cortical hyperactivity to social threat signals may serve as a prognostic indicator of CBT success in SAD. Collectively, CBT-related brain changes involved a reduction in activity in insula, prefrontal, and extrastriate regions. Results are consistent with cognitive models, which associate decreases in threat processing bias with recovery. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transdiagnostic cognitive processes in high trait anger.

PubMed

Owen, John M

2011-03-01

Trait anger is a personality construct that refers to stable individual differences in the propensity to experience anger as an emotional state. The objective of this paper is to review relevant empirical studies in order to determine whether the transdiagnostic cognitive processes that have been identified across the DSM-IV Axis I disorders (specifically, selective attention, memory biases, reasoning biases and recurrent negative thinking) are also an underlying characteristic of high trait anger. On the basis of the review it is concluded that, whilst the research base is limited, there is good evidence that high trait anger is associated with selective attention to hostile social cues, the tendency to interpret the behaviour of others as indicating potential hostility and the tendency to ruminate over past anger-provoking experiences. The range of cognitive processes identified in high trait anger is consistent with those identified in the Axis I disorders. It is concluded that these findings provide support for (i) the broad applicability of the transdiagnostic approach as a theoretical framework for understanding a range of psychological conditions, not limited to the Axis I disorders, and (ii) the validity of conceptualising high trait anger as an aspect of personality functioning that is maintained, at least in part, by cognitive processes. Cognitive and motivational factors (specifically, beliefs and goals) that may underlie the hostile information-processing biases and recurrent negative thinking associated with high trait anger are discussed, and consideration is given to the clinical relevance of the findings of the review. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prefrontal contributions to domain-general executive control processes during temporal context retrieval.

PubMed

Rajah, M Natasha; Ames, Blaine; D'Esposito, Mark

2008-03-07

Neuroimaging studies have reported increased prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity during temporal context retrieval versus recognition memory. However, it remains unclear if these activations reflect PFC contributions to domain-general executive control processes or domain-specific retrieval processes. To gain a better understanding of the functional roles of these various PFC regions during temporal context retrieval we propose it is necessary to examine PFC activity across tasks from different domains, in which parallel manipulations are included targeting specific cognitive processes. In the current fMRI study, we examined domain-general and domain-specific PFC contributions to temporal context retrieval by increasing stimulus (but maintaining response number) and increasing response number (but maintaining stimulus number) across temporal context memory and ordering control tasks, for faces. The control task required subjects to order faces from youngest to oldest. Our behavioral results indicate that the combination of increased stimulus and response numbers significantly increased task difficulty for temporal context retrieval and ordering tasks. Across domains, increasing stimulus number, while maintaining response numbers, caused greater right lateral premotor cortex (BA 6/8) activity; whereas increasing response number, while maintaining stimulus number, caused greater domain-general left DLPFC (BA 9) and VLPFC (BA 44/45) activity. In addition, we found domain-specific right DLPFC (BA 9) activity only during retrieval events. These results highlight the functional heterogeneity of frontal cortex, and suggest its involvement in temporal context retrieval is related to its role in various cognitive control processes.

Cognitive and linguistic biases in morphology learning.

PubMed

Finley, Sara

2018-05-30

Morphology is the study of the relationship between form and meaning. The study of morphology involves understanding the rules and processes that underlie word formation, including the use and productivity of affixes, and the systems that create novel word forms. The present review explores these processes by examining the cognitive components that contribute to typological regularities among morphological systems across the world's language. The review will focus on research in morpheme segmentation, the suffixing preference, acquisition of morphophonology, and acquiring morphological categories and inflectional paradigms. The review will highlight research in a range of areas of linguistics, from child language acquisition, to computational modeling, to adult language learning experiments. In order to best understand the cognitive biases that shape morphological learning, a broad, interdisciplinary approach must be taken. This article is categorized under: Linguistics > Linguistic Theory Linguistics > Language Acquisition Psychology > Language. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Analogy, higher order thinking, and education.

PubMed

Richland, Lindsey Engle; Simms, Nina

2015-01-01

Analogical reasoning, the ability to understand phenomena as systems of structured relationships that can be aligned, compared, and mapped together, plays a fundamental role in the technology rich, increasingly globalized educational climate of the 21st century. Flexible, conceptual thinking is prioritized in this view of education, and schools are emphasizing 'higher order thinking', rather than memorization of a cannon of key topics. The lack of a cognitively grounded definition for higher order thinking, however, has led to a field of research and practice with little coherence across domains or connection to the large body of cognitive science research on thinking. We review literature on analogy and disciplinary higher order thinking to propose that relational reasoning can be productively considered the cognitive underpinning of higher order thinking. We highlight the utility of this framework for developing insights into practice through a review of mathematics, science, and history educational contexts. In these disciplines, analogy is essential to developing expert-like disciplinary knowledge in which concepts are understood to be systems of relationships that can be connected and flexibly manipulated. At the same time, analogies in education require explicit support to ensure that learners notice the relevance of relational thinking, have adequate processing resources available to mentally hold and manipulate relations, and are able to recognize both the similarities and differences when drawing analogies between systems of relationships. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The development of mathematics courseware for learning line and angle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halim, Noor Dayana Abd; Han, Ong Boon; Abdullah, Zaleha; Yusup, Junaidah

2015-05-01

Learning software is a teaching aid which is often used in schools to increase students' motivation, attract students' attention and also improve the quality of teaching and learning process. However, the development of learning software should be followed the phases in Instructional Design (ID) Model, therefore the process can be carried out systematic and orderly. Thus, this concept paper describes the application of ADDIE model in the development of mathematics learning courseware for learning Line and Angle named CBL-Math. ADDIE model consists of five consecutive phases which are Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. Each phase must be properly planned in order to achieve the objectives stated. Other than to describe the processes occurring in each phase, this paper also demonstrating how cognitive theory of multimedia learning principles are integrated in the developed courseware. The principles that applied in the courseware reduce the students' cognitive load while learning the topic of line and angle. With well prepared development process and the integration of appropriate principles, it is expected that the developed software can help students learn effectively and also increase students' achievement in the topic of Line and Angle.

The Effects of Aerobic Exercise and Gaming on Cognitive Performance.

PubMed

Douris, Peter C; Handrakis, John P; Apergis, Demitra; Mangus, Robert B; Patel, Rima; Limtao, Jessica; Platonova, Svetlana; Gregorio, Aladino; Luty, Elliot

2018-03-01

The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects of video gaming, aerobic exercise (biking), and the combination of these two activities on the domains of cognitive performance: selective attention, processing speed, and executive functioning. The study was a randomized clinical trial with 40 subjects (mean age 23.7 ± 1.8 years) randomized to one of four thirty-minute conditions: video gaming, biking, simultaneous gaming and biking, and a control condition. Cognitive performance was measured pre and post condition using the Stroop test and Trails B test. A mixed design was utilized. While video gaming, biking, simultaneous gaming and biking conditions improved selective attention and processing speed (p < 0.05), only the bike condition improved the highest order of cognitive performance, executive function (p < 0.01). There were no changes in cognitive performance for the control condition. Previous studies have shown that if tasks approach the limits of attentional capacity there is an increase in the overall chance for errors, known as the dual-task deficit. Simultaneous biking and gaming may have surpassed attentional capacity limits, ultimately increasing errors during the executive function tests of our cognitive performance battery. The results suggest that the fatiguing effects of a combined physically and mentally challenging task that extends after the exercise cessation may overcome the eventual beneficial cognitive effects derived from the physical exercise.

Effect of Aging on ERP Components of Cognitive Control

PubMed Central

Kropotov, Juri; Ponomarev, Valery; Tereshchenko, Ekaterina P.; Müller, Andreas; Jäncke, Lutz

2016-01-01

As people age, their performance on tasks requiring cognitive control often declines. Such a decline is frequently explained as either a general or specific decline in cognitive functioning with age. In the context of hypotheses suggesting a general decline, it is often proposed that processing speed generally declines with age. A further hypothesis is that an age-related compensation mechanism is associated with a specific cognitive decline. One prominent theory is the compensation hypothesis, which proposes that deteriorated functions are compensated for by higher performing functions. In this study, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) in the context of a GO/NOGO task to examine the age-related changes observed during cognitive control in a large group of healthy subjects aged between 18 and 84 years. The main question we attempted to answer was whether we could find neurophysiological support for either a general decline in processing speed or a compensation strategy. The subjects performed a relatively demanding cued GO/NOGO task with similar omissions and reaction times across the five age groups. The ERP waves of cognitive control, such as N2, P3cue and CNV, were decomposed into latent components by means of a blind source separation method. Based on this decomposition, it was possible to more precisely delineate the different neurophysiological and psychological processes involved in cognitive control. These data support the processing speed hypothesis because the latencies of all cognitive control ERP components increased with age, by 8 ms per decade for the early components (<200 ms) and by 20 ms per decade for the late components. At the same time, the compensatory hypothesis of aging was also supported, as the amplitudes of the components localized in posterior brain areas decreased with age, while those localized in the prefrontal cortical areas increased with age in order to maintain performance on this simple task at a relatively stable level. PMID:27092074

Intelligent cognitive radio jamming - a game-theoretical approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dabcevic, Kresimir; Betancourt, Alejandro; Marcenaro, Lucio; Regazzoni, Carlo S.

2014-12-01

Cognitive radio (CR) promises to be a solution for the spectrum underutilization problems. However, security issues pertaining to cognitive radio technology are still an understudied topic. One of the prevailing such issues are intelligent radio frequency (RF) jamming attacks, where adversaries are able to exploit on-the-fly reconfigurability potentials and learning mechanisms of cognitive radios in order to devise and deploy advanced jamming tactics. In this paper, we use a game-theoretical approach to analyze jamming/anti-jamming behavior between cognitive radio systems. A non-zero-sum game with incomplete information on an opponent's strategy and payoff is modelled as an extension of Markov decision process (MDP). Learning algorithms based on adaptive payoff play and fictitious play are considered. A combination of frequency hopping and power alteration is deployed as an anti-jamming scheme. A real-life software-defined radio (SDR) platform is used in order to perform measurements useful for quantifying the jamming impacts, as well as to infer relevant hardware-related properties. Results of these measurements are then used as parameters for the modelled jamming/anti-jamming game and are compared to the Nash equilibrium of the game. Simulation results indicate, among other, the benefit provided to the jammer when it is employed with the spectrum sensing algorithm in proactive frequency hopping and power alteration schemes.

Social cognition in schizophrenia: cognitive and affective factors.

PubMed

Ziv, Ido; Leiser, David; Levine, Joseph

2011-01-01

Social cognition refers to how people conceive, perceive, and draw inferences about mental and emotional states of others in the social world. Previous studies suggest that the concept of social cognition involves several abilities, including those related to affect and cognition. The present study analyses the deficits of individuals with schizophrenia in two areas of social cognition: Theory of Mind (ToM) and emotion recognition and processing. Examining the impairment of these abilities in patients with schizophrenia has the potential to elucidate the neurophysiological regions involved in social cognition and may also have the potential to aid rehabilitation. Two experiments were conducted. Both included the same five tasks: first- and second-level false-belief ToM tasks, emotion inferencing, understanding of irony, and matrix reasoning (a WAIS-R subtest). The matrix reasoning task was administered to evaluate and control for the association of the other tasks with analytic reasoning skills. Experiment 1 involved factor analysis of the task performance of 75 healthy participants. Experiment 2 compared 30 patients with schizophrenia to an equal number of matched controls. Results. (1) The five tasks were clearly divided into two factors corresponding to the two areas of social cognition, ToM and emotion recognition and processing. (2) Schizophrenics' performance was impaired on all tasks, particularly on those loading heavily on the analytic component (matrix reasoning and second-order ToM). (3) Matrix reasoning, second-level ToM (ToM2), and irony were found to distinguish patients from controls, even when all other tasks that revealed significant impairment in the patients' performance were taken into account. The two areas of social cognition examined are related to distinct factors. The mechanism for answering ToM questions (especially ToM2) depends on analytic reasoning capabilities, but the difficulties they present to individuals with schizophrenia are due to other components as well. The impairment in social cognition in schizophrenia stems from deficiencies in several mechanisms, including the ability to think analytically and to process emotion information and cues.

Impaired cortico-limbic functional connectivity in schizophrenia patients during emotion processing.

PubMed

Comte, Magali; Zendjidjian, Xavier Y; Coull, Jennifer T; Cancel, Aïda; Boutet, Claire; Schneider, Fabien C; Sage, Thierry; Lazerges, Pierre-Emmanuel; Jaafari, Nematollah; Ibrahim, El Chérif; Azorin, Jean-Michel; Blin, Olivier; Fakra, Eric

2017-10-23

Functional dysconnection is increasingly recognized as a core pathological feature in schizophrenia. Aberrant interactions between regions of the cortico-limbic circuit may underpin the abnormal emotional processing associated with this illness. We used a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm designed to dissociate the various components of the cortico-limbic circuit (i.e. a ventral automatic circuit that is intertwined with a dorsal cognitive circuit), in order to explore bottom-up appraisal as well as top-down control during emotion processing. In schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls, bottom-up processes were associated with reduced interaction between the amygdala and both the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Contrariwise, top-down control processes led to stronger connectivity between the ventral affective and the dorsal cognitive circuits, i.e. heightened interactions between the ventral ACC and the DLPFC as well as between dorsal and ventral ACC. These findings offer a comprehensive view of the cortico-limbic dysfunction in schizophrenia. They confirm previous results of impaired propagation of information between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex and suggest a defective functional segregation in the dorsal cognitive part of the cortico-limbic circuit. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

Option generation in decision making: ideation beyond memory retrieval

PubMed Central

Del Missier, Fabio; Visentini, Mimì; Mäntylä, Timo

2015-01-01

According to prescriptive decision theories, the generation of options for choice is a central aspect of decision making. A too narrow representation of the problem may indeed limit the opportunity to evaluate promising options. However, despite the theoretical and applied significance of this topic, the cognitive processes underlying option generation are still unclear. In particular, while a cued recall account of option generation emphasizes the role of memory and executive control, other theoretical proposals stress the importance of ideation processes based on various search and thinking processes. Unfortunately, relevant behavioral evidence on the cognitive processes underlying option generation is scattered and inconclusive. In order to reach a better understanding, we carried out an individual-differences study employing a wide array of cognitive predictors, including measures of episodic memory, semantic memory, cognitive control, and ideation fluency. The criterion tasks consisted of three different poorly-structured decision-making scenarios, and the participants were asked to generate options to solve these problems. The main criterion variable of the study was the number of valid options generated, but also the diversity and the quality of generated options were examined. The results showed that option generation fluency and diversity in the context of ill-structured decision making are supported by ideation ability even after taking into account the effects of individual differences in several other aspects of cognitive functioning. Thus, ideation processes, possibly supported by search and thinking processes, seem to contribute to option generation beyond basic associative memory retrieval. The findings of the study also indicate that generating more options may have multifaceted consequences for choice, increasing the quality of the best option generated but decreasing the mean quality of the options in the generated set. PMID:25657628

Option generation in decision making: ideation beyond memory retrieval.

PubMed

Del Missier, Fabio; Visentini, Mimì; Mäntylä, Timo

2014-01-01

According to prescriptive decision theories, the generation of options for choice is a central aspect of decision making. A too narrow representation of the problem may indeed limit the opportunity to evaluate promising options. However, despite the theoretical and applied significance of this topic, the cognitive processes underlying option generation are still unclear. In particular, while a cued recall account of option generation emphasizes the role of memory and executive control, other theoretical proposals stress the importance of ideation processes based on various search and thinking processes. Unfortunately, relevant behavioral evidence on the cognitive processes underlying option generation is scattered and inconclusive. In order to reach a better understanding, we carried out an individual-differences study employing a wide array of cognitive predictors, including measures of episodic memory, semantic memory, cognitive control, and ideation fluency. The criterion tasks consisted of three different poorly-structured decision-making scenarios, and the participants were asked to generate options to solve these problems. The main criterion variable of the study was the number of valid options generated, but also the diversity and the quality of generated options were examined. The results showed that option generation fluency and diversity in the context of ill-structured decision making are supported by ideation ability even after taking into account the effects of individual differences in several other aspects of cognitive functioning. Thus, ideation processes, possibly supported by search and thinking processes, seem to contribute to option generation beyond basic associative memory retrieval. The findings of the study also indicate that generating more options may have multifaceted consequences for choice, increasing the quality of the best option generated but decreasing the mean quality of the options in the generated set.

Optimal throughput for cognitive radio with energy harvesting in fading wireless channel.

PubMed

Vu-Van, Hiep; Koo, Insoo

2014-01-01

Energy resource management is a crucial problem of a device with a finite capacity battery. In this paper, cognitive radio is considered to be a device with an energy harvester that can harvest energy from a non-RF energy resource while performing other actions of cognitive radio. Harvested energy will be stored in a finite capacity battery. At the start of the time slot of cognitive radio, the radio needs to determine if it should remain silent or carry out spectrum sensing based on the idle probability of the primary user and the remaining energy in order to maximize the throughput of the cognitive radio system. In addition, optimal sensing energy and adaptive transmission power control are also investigated in this paper to effectively utilize the limited energy of cognitive radio. Finding an optimal approach is formulated as a partially observable Markov decision process. The simulation results show that the proposed optimal decision scheme outperforms the myopic scheme in which current throughput is only considered when making a decision.

Approximate entropy: a new evaluation approach of mental workload under multitask conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Lei; Li, Xiaoling; Wang, Wei; Dong, Yuanzhe; Jiang, Ying

2014-04-01

There are numerous instruments and an abundance of complex information in the traditional cockpit display-control system, and pilots require a long time to familiarize themselves with the cockpit interface. This can cause accidents when they cope with emergency events, suggesting that it is necessary to evaluate pilot cognitive workload. In order to establish a simplified method to evaluate cognitive workload under a multitask condition. We designed a series of experiments involving different instrument panels and collected electroencephalograms (EEG) from 10 healthy volunteers. The data were classified and analyzed with an approximate entropy (ApEn) signal processing. ApEn increased with increasing experiment difficulty, suggesting that it can be used to evaluate cognitive workload. Our results demonstrate that ApEn can be used as an evaluation criteria of cognitive workload and has good specificity and sensitivity. Moreover, we determined an empirical formula to assess the cognitive workload interval, which can simplify cognitive workload evaluation under multitask conditions.

Eating behaviour associated with differences in conflict adaptation for food pictures.

PubMed

Husted, Margaret; Banks, Adrian P; Seiss, Ellen

2016-10-01

The goal conflict model of eating (Stroebe, Mensink, Aarts, Schut, & Kruglanski, 2008) proposes differences in eating behaviour result from peoples' experience of holding conflicting goals of eating enjoyment and weight maintenance. However, little is understood about the relationship between eating behaviour and the cognitive processes involved in conflict. This study aims to investigate associations between eating behaviour traits and cognitive conflict processes, specifically the application of cognitive control when processing distracting food pictures. A flanker task using food and non-food pictures was used to examine individual differences in conflict adaptation. Participants responded to target pictures whilst ignoring distracting flanking pictures. Individual differences in eating behaviour traits, attention towards target pictures, and ability to apply cognitive control through adaptation to conflicting picture trials were analysed. Increased levels of external and emotional eating were related to slower responses to food pictures indicating food target avoidance. All participants showed greater distraction by food compared to non-food pictures. Of particular significance, increased levels of emotional eating were associated with greater conflict adaptation for conflicting food pictures only. Emotional eaters demonstrate greater application of cognitive control for conflicting food pictures as part of a food avoidance strategy. This could represent an attempt to inhibit their eating enjoyment goal in order for their weight maintenance goal to dominate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A cognitive model for multidigit number reading: Inferences from individuals with selective impairments.

PubMed

Dotan, Dror; Friedmann, Naama

2018-04-01

We propose a detailed cognitive model of multi-digit number reading. The model postulates separate processes for visual analysis of the digit string and for oral production of the verbal number. Within visual analysis, separate sub-processes encode the digit identities and the digit order, and additional sub-processes encode the number's decimal structure: its length, the positions of 0, and the way it is parsed into triplets (e.g., 314987 → 314,987). Verbal production consists of a process that generates the verbal structure of the number, and another process that retrieves the phonological forms of each number word. The verbal number structure is first encoded in a tree-like structure, similarly to syntactic trees of sentences, and then linearized to a sequence of number-word specifiers. This model is based on an investigation of the number processing abilities of seven individuals with different selective deficits in number reading. We report participants with impairment in specific sub-processes of the visual analysis of digit strings - in encoding the digit order, in encoding the number length, or in parsing the digit string to triplets. Other participants were impaired in verbal production, making errors in the number structure (shifts of digits to another decimal position, e.g., 3,040 → 30,004). Their selective deficits yielded several dissociations: first, we found a double dissociation between visual analysis deficits and verbal production deficits. Second, several dissociations were found within visual analysis: a double dissociation between errors in digit order and errors in the number length; a dissociation between order/length errors and errors in parsing the digit string into triplets; and a dissociation between the processing of different digits - impaired order encoding of the digits 2-9, without errors in the 0 position. Third, within verbal production, a dissociation was found between digit shifts and substitutions of number words. A selective deficit in any of the processes described by the model would cause difficulties in number reading, which we propose to term "dysnumeria". Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrating a Humanistic Approach in Outpatient Sex Offender Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bauman, Sheri; Kopp, T. Gregory

2006-01-01

Cognitive-behavioral and relapse prevention models are currently the treatments of choice among sex offender treatment providers. This article recommends integrating humanistic principles within treatment programs in order to maximize the power of group psychotherapy. Humanistic treatment processes and therapist characteristics that improve…

Designing Effective Supports for Causal Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jonassen, David H.; Ionas, Ioan Gelu

2008-01-01

Causal reasoning represents one of the most basic and important cognitive processes that underpin all higher-order activities, such as conceptual understanding and problem solving. Hume called causality the "cement of the universe" [Hume (1739/2000). Causal reasoning is required for making predictions, drawing implications and…

Understand after like, viewer's delight? A fNIRS study of order-effect in combined hedonic and cognitive appraisal of art.

PubMed

Pelowski, Matthew; Oi, Misato; Liu, Tao; Meng, Shuang; Saito, Godai; Saito, Hirofumi

2016-10-01

We investigate neural and behavioral aspects of the interrelation between 'liking' and 'understanding' when both appraisals are made within one judgment task. Our goal was to explore questions regarding how these appraisals combine, and specifically whether there is an order-effect when both are employed in sequence. To this end, we tested a hypothesis derived from new models in neuroaesthetics, and concerning processing of art, which suggest that perception may involve a natural sequence from first processing for hedonic quality (i.e., liking) followed by processing for understanding. Thus, due to the initial liking assessment's capacity to prime deepened cognitive involvement, a Liking-Understanding order may show key differences in final assessments or brain activation when compared to an Understanding-Liking sequence. Thirty-two participants evaluated a range of paintings, balanced for visual appeal and understandability, in a two-part task in which half evaluated for understanding followed by liking and the other half had question order reversed. Brain activity was recorded via functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). Results showed no assessment interrelation or order effect in artwork evaluations. However, participants who began with evaluation for liking, and who came to incongruent combinations (i.e., "I like, but I don't understand" or "I don't like, but I understand"), showed significantly higher activation in left medial prefrontal cortex. This area is functionally associated with attention and integration of hedonic/informational elements. Findings provide tentative support for a liking-driven order-effect, as well as for physiological connection between appraisals, which may not appear in behavioral evidence, and suggest need for further consideration of this topic in appraisal research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

“Too Many betas do not Spoil the Broth”: The Role of Beta Brain Oscillations in Language Processing

PubMed Central

Weiss, Sabine; Mueller, Horst M.

2012-01-01

Over the past 20 years, brain oscillations have proven to be a gateway to the understanding of cognitive processes. It has been shown that different neurocognitive aspects of language processing are associated with brain oscillations at various frequencies. Frequencies in the beta range (13–30 Hz) turned out to be particularly important with respect to cognitive and linguistic manipulations during language processing. Beta activity has been involved in higher-order linguistic functions such as the discrimination of word categories and the retrieval of action semantics as well as semantic memory, and syntactic binding processes, which support meaning construction during sentence processing. From a neurophysiological point of view, the important role of the beta frequencies for such a complex cognitive task as language processing seems reasonable. Experimental evidence suggests that frequencies in the beta range are ideal for maintaining and preserving the activity of neuronal assemblies over time. In particular, recent computational and experimental evidence suggest that beta frequencies are important for linking past and present input and the detection of novelty of stimuli, which are essential processes for language perception as well as production. In addition, the beta frequency’s role in the formation of cell assemblies underlying short-term memory seems indispensable for language analysis. Probably the most important point is the well-known relation of beta oscillations with motor processes. It can be speculated that beta activities reflect the close relationship between language comprehension and motor functions, which is one of the core claims of current theories on embodied cognition. In this article, the importance of beta oscillations for language processing is reviewed based both on findings in psychophysiological and neurophysiological literature. PMID:22737138

Neural Mechanisms of Cognitive Reappraisal of Negative Self-Beliefs in Social Anxiety Disorder

PubMed Central

Goldin, Philippe R.; Ball, Tali M.; Werner, Kelly; Heimberg, Richard; Gross, James J.

2009-01-01

Background Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by distorted negative self-beliefs (NSBs) which are thought to enhance emotional reactivity, interfere with emotion regulation, and undermine social functioning. Cognitive reappraisal is a type of emotion regulation used to alter NSBs, with the goal of modulating emotional reactivity. Despite its relevance, little is known about the neural bases and temporal features of cognitive reappraisal in patients with SAD. Methods Twenty-seven patients with SAD and 27 healthy controls (HC) were trained to react and to implement cognitive reappraisal in order to down-regulate negative emotional reactivity to NSBs while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging and providing ratings of negative emotion experience. Results Behaviorally, compared with HC, patients with SAD reported greater negative emotion both while reacting to and reappraising NSBs. However, when cued, participants in both groups were able to use cognitive reappraisal to decrease emotion. Neurally, reacting to NSBs resulted in early amygdala response in both groups. Reappraising NSBs resulted in greater early cognitive control, language, and visual processing in HC, but greater late cognitive control, visceral, and visual processing in patients with SAD. Functional connectivity analysis during reappraisal identified more regulatory regions inversely related to left amygdala in HCs than in patients with SAD. Reappraisal-related brain regions that differentiated patients and controls were associated with negative emotion ratings and cognitive reappraisal self-efficacy. Conclusions Findings regarding cognitive reappraisal suggest neural timing, connectivity, and brain-behavioral associations specific to patients with SAD, and elucidate neural mechanisms that might serve as biomarkers of interventions for SAD. PMID:19717138

Does the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale Predict Response to Cognitive Remediation in Schizophrenia?

PubMed

Benoit, Audrey; Harvey, Philippe-Olivier; Bherer, Louis; Lepage, Martin

2016-01-01

Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) has emerged as a viable treatment option for people diagnosed with schizophrenia presenting disabling cognitive deficits. However, it is important to determine which variables can influence response to CRT in order to provide cost-effective treatment. This study's aim was to explore cognitive insight as a potential predictor of cognitive improvement after CRT. Twenty patients with schizophrenia completed a 24-session CRT program involving 18 hours of computer exercises and 6 hours of group discussion to encourage generalization of cognitive training to everyday activities. Pre- and posttest assessments included the CogState Research Battery and the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS). Lower self-certainty on the BCIS at baseline was associated with greater improvement in speed of processing (r s = -0.48; p < 0.05) and visual memory (r s = -0.46; p < 0.05). The results of this study point out potential associations between self-certainty and cognitive improvement after CRT, a variable that can easily be measured in clinical settings to help evaluate which patients may benefit most from the intervention. They also underline the need to keep investigating the predictors of good CRT outcomes, which can vary widely between patients.

The developmental dynamics of gait maturation with a focus on spatiotemporal measures.

PubMed

Kraan, C M; Tan, A H J; Cornish, K M

2017-01-01

Gait analysis is recognised as a powerful clinical tool for studying relationships between motor control and brain function. By drawing on the literature investigating gait in individuals with neurological disorders, this review provides insight into the neural processes that contribute to and regulate specific spatiotemporal sub-components of gait and how they may mature across early to late childhood. This review also discusses the roles of changing anthropomorphic characteristics, and maturing sensory and higher-order cognitive processes in differentiating the developmental trajectories of the sub-components of gait. Importantly, although studies have shown that cognitive-gait interference is larger in children compared to adults, the contributing neurocognitive mechanisms may vary across age groups who have different types of attentional or cognitive vulnerabilities. These findings have implications for current models of gait maturation by highlighting the need for a dynamic model that focuses on the integration of various factors that contribute to gait though experience and practice. This is essential to elucidating why gait and other motor deficits are often contiguous with cognitive neurodevelopmental disorders. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Eye movements reveal the time-course of anticipating behaviour based on complex, conflicting desires.

PubMed

Ferguson, Heather J; Breheny, Richard

2011-05-01

The time-course of representing others' perspectives is inconclusive across the currently available models of ToM processing. We report two visual-world studies investigating how knowledge about a character's basic preferences (e.g. Tom's favourite colour is pink) and higher-order desires (his wish to keep this preference secret) compete to influence online expectations about subsequent behaviour. Participants' eye movements around a visual scene were tracked while they listened to auditory narratives. While clear differences in anticipatory visual biases emerged between conditions in Experiment 1, post-hoc analyses testing the strength of the relevant biases suggested a discrepancy in the time-course of predicting appropriate referents within the different contexts. Specifically, predictions to the target emerged very early when there was no conflict between the character's basic preferences and higher-order desires, but appeared to be relatively delayed when comprehenders were provided with conflicting information about that character's desire to keep a secret. However, a second experiment demonstrated that this apparent 'cognitive cost' in inferring behaviour based on higher-order desires was in fact driven by low-level features between the context sentence and visual scene. Taken together, these results suggest that healthy adults are able to make complex higher-order ToM inferences without the need to call on costly cognitive processes. Results are discussed relative to previous accounts of ToM and language processing. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The impact of working memory and the “process of process modelling” on model quality: Investigating experienced versus inexperienced modellers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martini, Markus; Pinggera, Jakob; Neurauter, Manuel; Sachse, Pierre; Furtner, Marco R.; Weber, Barbara

2016-05-01

A process model (PM) represents the graphical depiction of a business process, for instance, the entire process from online ordering a book until the parcel is delivered to the customer. Knowledge about relevant factors for creating PMs of high quality is lacking. The present study investigated the role of cognitive processes as well as modelling processes in creating a PM in experienced and inexperienced modellers. Specifically, two working memory (WM) functions (holding and processing of information and relational integration) and three process of process modelling phases (comprehension, modelling, and reconciliation) were related to PM quality. Our results show that the WM function of relational integration was positively related to PM quality in both modelling groups. The ratio of comprehension phases was negatively related to PM quality in inexperienced modellers and the ratio of reconciliation phases was positively related to PM quality in experienced modellers. Our research reveals central cognitive mechanisms in process modelling and has potential practical implications for the development of modelling software and teaching the craft of process modelling.

The impact of working memory and the “process of process modelling” on model quality: Investigating experienced versus inexperienced modellers

PubMed Central

Martini, Markus; Pinggera, Jakob; Neurauter, Manuel; Sachse, Pierre; Furtner, Marco R.; Weber, Barbara

2016-01-01

A process model (PM) represents the graphical depiction of a business process, for instance, the entire process from online ordering a book until the parcel is delivered to the customer. Knowledge about relevant factors for creating PMs of high quality is lacking. The present study investigated the role of cognitive processes as well as modelling processes in creating a PM in experienced and inexperienced modellers. Specifically, two working memory (WM) functions (holding and processing of information and relational integration) and three process of process modelling phases (comprehension, modelling, and reconciliation) were related to PM quality. Our results show that the WM function of relational integration was positively related to PM quality in both modelling groups. The ratio of comprehension phases was negatively related to PM quality in inexperienced modellers and the ratio of reconciliation phases was positively related to PM quality in experienced modellers. Our research reveals central cognitive mechanisms in process modelling and has potential practical implications for the development of modelling software and teaching the craft of process modelling. PMID:27157858

The impact of working memory and the "process of process modelling" on model quality: Investigating experienced versus inexperienced modellers.

PubMed

Martini, Markus; Pinggera, Jakob; Neurauter, Manuel; Sachse, Pierre; Furtner, Marco R; Weber, Barbara

2016-05-09

A process model (PM) represents the graphical depiction of a business process, for instance, the entire process from online ordering a book until the parcel is delivered to the customer. Knowledge about relevant factors for creating PMs of high quality is lacking. The present study investigated the role of cognitive processes as well as modelling processes in creating a PM in experienced and inexperienced modellers. Specifically, two working memory (WM) functions (holding and processing of information and relational integration) and three process of process modelling phases (comprehension, modelling, and reconciliation) were related to PM quality. Our results show that the WM function of relational integration was positively related to PM quality in both modelling groups. The ratio of comprehension phases was negatively related to PM quality in inexperienced modellers and the ratio of reconciliation phases was positively related to PM quality in experienced modellers. Our research reveals central cognitive mechanisms in process modelling and has potential practical implications for the development of modelling software and teaching the craft of process modelling.

Plastic modulation of episodic memory networks in the aging brain with cognitive decline.

PubMed

Bai, Feng; Yuan, Yonggui; Yu, Hui; Zhang, Zhijun

2016-07-15

Social-cognitive processing has been posited to underlie general functions such as episodic memory. Episodic memory impairment is a recognized hallmark of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) who is at a high risk for dementia. Three canonical networks, self-referential processing, executive control processing and salience processing, have distinct roles in episodic memory retrieval processing. It remains unclear whether and how these sub-networks of the episodic memory retrieval system would be affected in aMCI. This task-state fMRI study constructed systems-level episodic memory retrieval sub-networks in 28 aMCI and 23 controls using two computational approaches: a multiple region-of-interest based approach and a voxel-level functional connectivity-based approach, respectively. These approaches produced the remarkably similar findings that the self-referential processing network made critical contributions to episodic memory retrieval in aMCI. More conspicuous alterations in self-referential processing of the episodic memory retrieval network were identified in aMCI. In order to complete a given episodic memory retrieval task, increases in cooperation between the self-referential processing network and other sub-networks were mobilized in aMCI. Self-referential processing mediate the cooperation of the episodic memory retrieval sub-networks as it may help to achieve neural plasticity and may contribute to the prevention and treatment of dementia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The puzzle of processing speed, memory, and executive function impairments in schizophrenia: fitting the pieces together.

PubMed

Knowles, Emma E M; Weiser, Mark; David, Anthony S; Glahn, David C; Davidson, Michael; Reichenberg, Abraham

2015-12-01

Substantial impairment in performance on the digit-symbol substitution task in patients with schizophrenia is well established, which has been widely interpreted as denoting a specific impairment in processing speed. However, other higher order cognitive functions might be more critical to performance on this task. To date, this idea has not been rigorously investigated in patients with schizophrenia. Neuropsychological measures of processing speed, memory, and executive functioning were completed by 125 patients with schizophrenia and 272 control subjects. We implemented a series of confirmatory factor and structural regression modeling to build an integrated model of processing speed, memory, and executive function with which to deconstruct the digit-symbol substitution task and characterize discrepancies between patients with schizophrenia and control subjects. The overall structure of the processing speed, memory, and executive function model was the same across groups (χ(2) = 208.86, p > .05), but the contribution of the specific cognitive domains to coding task performance differed significantly. When completing the task, control subjects relied on executive function and, indirectly, on working memory ability, whereas patients with schizophrenia used an alternative set of cognitive operations whereby they relied on the same processes required to complete verbal fluency tasks. Successful coding task performance relies predominantly on executive function, rather than processing speed or memory. Patients with schizophrenia perform poorly on this task because of an apparent lack of appropriate executive function input; they rely instead on an alternative cognitive pathway. Copyright © 2015 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of Ketamine on Context-Processing Performance in Monkeys: A New Animal Model of Cognitive Deficits in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Blackman, Rachael K; MacDonald, Angus W; Chafee, Matthew V

2013-01-01

Cognitive deficits are at the crux of why many schizophrenia patients have poor functional outcomes. One of the cognitive symptoms experienced by schizophrenia patients is a deficit in context processing, the ability to use contextual information stored in working memory to adaptively respond to subsequent stimuli. As such, context processing can be thought of as the intersection between working memory and executive control. Although deficits in context processing have been extensively characterized by neuropsychological testing in schizophrenia patients, they have never been effectively translated to an animal model of the disease. To bridge that gap, we trained monkeys to perform the same dot pattern expectancy (DPX) task, which has been used to measure context-processing deficits in human patients with schizophrenia. In the DPX task, the first stimulus in each trial provides the contextual information that subjects must remember in order to appropriately respond to the second stimulus in the trial. We found that administration of ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, in monkeys caused a dose-dependent failure in context processing, replicating in monkeys the same specific pattern of errors committed by patients with schizophrenia when performing the same task. Therefore, our results provide the first evidence that context-processing dysfunction can be modeled in animals. Replicating a schizophrenia-like behavioral performance pattern in monkeys performing the same task used in humans provides a strong bridge to better understand the biological basis for this psychiatric disease and its cognitive manifestations using animal models. PMID:23660706

Internal Models, Vestibular Cognition, and Mental Imagery: Conceptual Considerations.

PubMed

Mast, Fred W; Ellis, Andrew W

2015-01-01

Vestibular cognition has recently gained attention. Despite numerous experimental and clinical demonstrations, it is not yet clear what vestibular cognition really is. For future research in vestibular cognition, adopting a computational approach will make it easier to explore the underlying mechanisms. Indeed, most modeling approaches in vestibular science include a top-down or a priori component. We review recent Bayesian optimal observer models, and discuss in detail the conceptual value of prior assumptions, likelihood and posterior estimates for research in vestibular cognition. We then consider forward models in vestibular processing, which are required in order to distinguish between sensory input that is induced by active self-motion, and sensory input that is due to passive self-motion. We suggest that forward models are used not only in the service of estimating sensory states but they can also be drawn upon in an offline mode (e.g., spatial perspective transformations), in which interaction with sensory input is not desired. A computational approach to vestibular cognition will help to discover connections across studies, and it will provide a more coherent framework for investigating vestibular cognition.

Automated Visual Cognitive Tasks for Recording Neural Activity Using a Floor Projection Maze

PubMed Central

Kent, Brendon W.; Yang, Fang-Chi; Burwell, Rebecca D.

2014-01-01

Neuropsychological tasks used in primates to investigate mechanisms of learning and memory are typically visually guided cognitive tasks. We have developed visual cognitive tasks for rats using the Floor Projection Maze1,2 that are optimized for visual abilities of rats permitting stronger comparisons of experimental findings with other species. In order to investigate neural correlates of learning and memory, we have integrated electrophysiological recordings into fully automated cognitive tasks on the Floor Projection Maze1,2. Behavioral software interfaced with an animal tracking system allows monitoring of the animal's behavior with precise control of image presentation and reward contingencies for better trained animals. Integration with an in vivo electrophysiological recording system enables examination of behavioral correlates of neural activity at selected epochs of a given cognitive task. We describe protocols for a model system that combines automated visual presentation of information to rodents and intracranial reward with electrophysiological approaches. Our model system offers a sophisticated set of tools as a framework for other cognitive tasks to better isolate and identify specific mechanisms contributing to particular cognitive processes. PMID:24638057

The cognitive cost of sleep lost

PubMed Central

McCoy, John G.; Strecker, Robert E.

2013-01-01

A substantial body of literature supports the intuitive notion that a good night’s sleep can facilitate human cognitive performance the next day. Deficits in attention, learning & memory, emotional reactivity, and higher-order cognitive processes, such as executive function and decision making, have all been documented following sleep disruption in humans. Thus, whilst numerous clinical and experimental studies link human sleep disturbance to cognitive deficits, attempts to develop valid and reliable rodent models of these phenomena are fewer, and relatively more recent. This review focuses primarily on the cognitive impairments produced by sleep disruption in rodent models of several human patterns of sleep loss/sleep disturbance. Though not an exclusive list, this review will focus on four specific types of sleep disturbance: total sleep deprivation, experimental sleep fragmentation, selective REM sleep deprivation, and chronic sleep restriction. The use of rodent models can provide greater opportunities to understand the neurobiological changes underlying sleep loss induced cognitive impairments. Thus, this review concludes with a description of recent neurobiological findings concerning the neuroplastic changes and putative brain mechanisms that may underlie the cognitive deficits produced by sleep disturbances. PMID:21875679

Chicken or the Egg: Longitudinal Analysis of the Causal Dilemma between Goal Orientation, Self-Regulation and Cognitive Processing Strategies in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Clercq, Mikael; Galand, Benoit; Frenay, Mariane

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the direction of the effect between goal orientation, self-regulation and deep processing strategies in order to understand the impact of these three constructs on students' achievement. The participants were 110 freshmen from the engineering faculty at the Universite catholique de Louvain in Belgium, who…

Use of critical thinking in the diagnostic process.

PubMed

Lunney, Margaret

2010-01-01

To demonstrate use of critical thinking in the diagnostic process in order to achieve accuracy of nursing diagnoses. The 7 cognitive skills and 10 habits of mind identified as important for nursing in a Delphi study by Scheffer and Rubenfeld are applied to the diagnostic process using a published case study of a woman with heart failure. Taking into account all data from the case study and using the concepts of critical thinking, two high-accuracy nursing diagnoses were selected to guide nursing interventions. Because the specific types of critical thinking needed for accurate diagnosing are not known, nurses should develop all 17 of the cognitive skills and habits of mind so these thinking abilities are available when needed. The 17 critical thinking concepts should be combined with domain knowledge, e.g., nursing diagnoses, to think about thinking, which will improve critical thinking processes.

Neural correlates of the implicit association test: evidence for semantic and emotional processing.

PubMed

Williams, John K; Themanson, Jason R

2011-09-01

The implicit association test (IAT) has been widely used in social cognitive research over the past decade. Controversies have arisen over what cognitive processes are being tapped into using this task. While most models use behavioral (RT) results to support their claims, little research has examined neurocognitive correlates of these behavioral measures. The present study measured event-related brain potentials (ERPs) of participants while completing a gay-straight IAT in order to further understand the processes involved in a typical group bias IAT. Results indicated significantly smaller N400 amplitudes and significantly larger LPP amplitudes for compatible trials than for incompatible trials, suggesting that both the semantic and emotional congruence of stimuli paired together in an IAT trial contribute to the typical RT differences found, while no differences were present for earlier ERP components including the N2. These findings are discussed with respect to early and late processing in group bias IATs.

Individual differences in reasoning and visuospatial attention are associated with prefrontal and parietal white matter tracts in healthy older adults.

PubMed

Monge, Zachary A; Greenwood, Pamela M; Parasuraman, Raja; Strenziok, Maren

2016-07-01

Although reasoning and attention are 2 cognitive processes necessary for ensuring the efficiency of many everyday activities in older adults, the role of white matter integrity in these processes has been little studied. This is an important question due to the role of white matter integrity as a neural substrate of cognitive aging. Here, we sought to examine the white matter tracts subserving reasoning and visuospatial attention in healthy older adults. Sixty-one adults ages 60 and older completed a battery of cognitive tests to assess reasoning and visuospatial attention. In addition, diffusion tensor images were collected to assess fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of white matter integrity. A principle components analysis of the test scores yielded 2 components: reasoning and visuospatial attention. Whole-brain correlations between FA and the cognitive components were submitted to probabilistic tractography analyses for visualization of cortical targets of tracts. For reasoning, bilateral thalamo-anterior prefrontal, anterior corpus callosum, and corpus callosum body tracts interconnecting the superior frontal cortices and right cingulum bundle were found. For visuospatial attention, a right inferior fronto-parietal tract and bilateral parietal and temporal connections were found. We conclude that in older adults, prefrontal cortex white matter tracts and interhemispheric communication are important in higher order cognitive functioning. On the other hand, right-sided fronto-parietal tracts appear to be critical for supporting control of cognitive processes, such as redirecting attention. Researchers may use our results to develop neuroscience-based interventions for older adults targeting brain mechanisms involved in cognitive plasticity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Towards a heterarchical approach to biology and cognition.

PubMed

Bruni, Luis Emilio; Giorgi, Franco

2015-12-01

In this article we challenge the pervasive notion of hierarchy in biological and cognitive systems and delineate the basis for a complementary heterarchical approach starting from the seminal ideas of Warren McCullock and Gregory Bateson. We intend these considerations as a contribution to the different scientific disciplines working towards a multilevel integrative perspective of biological and cognitive processes, such as systems and integrative biology and neuroscience, social and cultural neuroscience, social signal transduction and psychoneuroimmunology, for instance. We argue that structures and substrates are by necessity organized hierarchically, while communication processes - and their embeddedness - are rather organized heterarchically. Before getting into the implications of the heterarchical approach and its congeniality with the semiotic perspective to biology and cognition, we introduce a set of notions and concepts in order to advance a framework that considers the heterarchical embeddedness of different layers of physiological, behavioral, affective, cognitive, technological and socio-cultural levels implicit in networks of interacting minds, considering the dynamic complementarity of bottom-up and top-down causal links. This should contribute to account for the integration, interpretation and response to complex aggregates of information at different levels of organization in a developmental context. We illustrate the dialectical nature of embedded heterarchical processes by addressing the simultaneity and circularity of cognition and volition, and how such dialectics can be present in primitive instances of proto-cognition and proto-volition, giving rise to our claim that subjectivity and semiotic freedom are scalar properties. We collate the framework with recent empirical systemic approaches to biology and integrative neuroscience, and conclude with a reflection on its implications to the understanding of the emergence of pathological conditions in multi-level semiotic systems. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Self-reflection and set-shifting mediate awareness in cognitively preserved schizophrenia patients.

PubMed

Gilleen, James; David, Anthony; Greenwood, Kathryn

2016-05-01

Poor insight in schizophrenia has been linked to poor cognitive functioning, psychological processes such as denial, or more recently with impaired metacognitive capacity. Few studies, however, have investigated the potential co-dependency of multiple factors in determining level of insight, but such a model is necessary in order to account for patients with good cognitive functioning who have very poor awareness. As evidence suggests that set-shifting and cognitive insight (self-reflection (SR) and self-certainty) are strong predictors of awareness we proposed that these factors are key mediators in the relationship between cognition and awareness. We hypothesised that deficits specifically in SR and set-shifting determine level of awareness in the context of good cognition. Thirty schizophrenia patients were stratified by high and low awareness of illness and executive functioning scores. Cognitive insight, cognition, mood and symptom measures were compared between sub-groups. A low insight/high executive functioning (LI-HE) group, a high insight/high executive functioning (HI-HE) group and a low insight/low executive functioning (LI-LE) group were revealed. As anticipated, the LI-HE patients showed significantly lower capacity for SR and set-shifting than the HI-HE patients. This study indicates that good cognitive functioning is necessary but not sufficient for good awareness; good awareness specifically demands preserved capacity to self-reflect and shift-set. Results support Nelson and Narens' [1990. Metamemory: A theoretical framework and new findings. The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 26, 125-173] model of metacognition by which awareness is founded on control (set-shifting) and monitoring (SR) processes. These specific factors could be targeted to improve insight in patients with otherwise unimpaired cognitive function.

Aging effects on functional auditory and visual processing using fMRI with variable sensory loading.

PubMed

Cliff, Michael; Joyce, Dan W; Lamar, Melissa; Dannhauser, Thomas; Tracy, Derek K; Shergill, Sukhwinder S

2013-05-01

Traditionally, studies investigating the functional implications of age-related structural brain alterations have focused on higher cognitive processes; by increasing stimulus load, these studies assess behavioral and neurophysiological performance. In order to understand age-related changes in these higher cognitive processes, it is crucial to examine changes in visual and auditory processes that are the gateways to higher cognitive functions. This study provides evidence for age-related functional decline in visual and auditory processing, and regional alterations in functional brain processing, using non-invasive neuroimaging. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), younger (n=11; mean age=31) and older (n=10; mean age=68) adults were imaged while observing flashing checkerboard images (passive visual stimuli) and hearing word lists (passive auditory stimuli) across varying stimuli presentation rates. Younger adults showed greater overall levels of temporal and occipital cortical activation than older adults for both auditory and visual stimuli. The relative change in activity as a function of stimulus presentation rate showed differences between young and older participants. In visual cortex, the older group showed a decrease in fMRI blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal magnitude as stimulus frequency increased, whereas the younger group showed a linear increase. In auditory cortex, the younger group showed a relative increase as a function of word presentation rate, while older participants showed a relatively stable magnitude of fMRI BOLD response across all rates. When analyzing participants across all ages, only the auditory cortical activation showed a continuous, monotonically decreasing BOLD signal magnitude as a function of age. Our preliminary findings show an age-related decline in demand-related, passive early sensory processing. As stimulus demand increases, visual and auditory cortex do not show increases in activity in older compared to younger people. This may negatively impact on the fidelity of information available to higher cognitive processing. Such evidence may inform future studies focused on cognitive decline in aging. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Empirical studies of design software: Implications for software engineering environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krasner, Herb

1988-01-01

The empirical studies team of MCC's Design Process Group conducted three studies in 1986-87 in order to gather data on professionals designing software systems in a range of situations. The first study (the Lift Experiment) used thinking aloud protocols in a controlled laboratory setting to study the cognitive processes of individual designers. The second study (the Object Server Project) involved the observation, videotaping, and data collection of a design team of a medium-sized development project over several months in order to study team dynamics. The third study (the Field Study) involved interviews with the personnel from 19 large development projects in the MCC shareholders in order to study how the process of design is affected by organizationl and project behavior. The focus of this report will be on key observations of design process (at several levels) and their implications for the design of environments.

Cybersemiotics: A suggestion for a transdisciplinary framework for description of observing, anticipatory and meaning producing systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brier, Soren

1998-07-01

The ability of systems to be anticipatory seems to be intricate connected with the ability to observe and to cognate by reducing complexity through signification. The semantic capacity of living systems, the cognitive ability to assign meaning to differences perturbating the system's self-organization, seems to be the prerequisite for the phenomenon of communication, language and consciousness. In cybernetics Bateson developed the idea that information is a difference that makes a difference and second order cybernetics developed the concept of organisms as self-organized and self-produced systems (autopoietic) as the prerequisite of life and cognition. The cognitive ability seems to be qualitative different from what so far is computable on any known machine although parts of different aspects of the process can be partly simulated in AI, neutral network and AL. In semiotics the fundamental process of cognition and communication is called semiosis or signification and C. S. Peirce created a special triadic, objective idealistic, pragmatic and evolutionary philosophy to be able to give a fruitful description of the process and its relation to logic and the concept of natural law. Both second order cybernetics and semiotics sees information and meaning as something produced by individual organisms through structural couplings to the environments or other individuals through historical drift and further developed in social communication. Luhmann points out that social communication also only functions through structural couplings which he calls generalized media such as science, art, power, love and money. Peirce talks of the semiotic net as a triadic view of meanings developing through history and in animals through evolution. In accordance with this Wittgenstein points out that signification is created in language games developed in specific life forms. Life forms are the things we do in society such as seducing, commanding and explaining. As animals do not have language in the true sense I have extended his concept into ethology and bio-semiotics by talking of sign games related to specific motivations and innate response mechanisms. Life as such seems to be an anticipatory function generating expectations through evolution through open genetic programs as Konrad Lorenz pointed out. The phenomenon of imprinting in ducks for instance is a standard example of programmed anticipation. Expectations are expectations of meaning and order (information) related to the semiosphere the organism constructs as its individual world view and live in. (The Umwelt of von Uexküll). On this basis events that perpetuates the semiosphere are reduced to meaning, i.e. something related to the survival and procreation of the individual living system, it conatus, to use one of Spinoza's terms. The framework of cybersemiotics, uniting second order cybernetics, semiotics and language game theory, is created to make transdisciplinary concepts and models that can handle the process of cognition, information and communication across the domains of the sciences, the arts and social sciences in a non-reductionistic way. It is seen as an alternative based on biological and semiotic thinking (biosemiotics) to the functionalistic information processing paradigm of cognitive science that is build on the computer as paradigm and based on classical logic and mechanistic physics—and therefore has severe problems of dealing with semantics and signification.

On the relationship between auditory cognition and speech intelligibility in cochlear implant users: An ERP study.

PubMed

Finke, Mareike; Büchner, Andreas; Ruigendijk, Esther; Meyer, Martin; Sandmann, Pascale

2016-07-01

There is a high degree of variability in speech intelligibility outcomes across cochlear-implant (CI) users. To better understand how auditory cognition affects speech intelligibility with the CI, we performed an electroencephalography study in which we examined the relationship between central auditory processing, cognitive abilities, and speech intelligibility. Postlingually deafened CI users (N=13) and matched normal-hearing (NH) listeners (N=13) performed an oddball task with words presented in different background conditions (quiet, stationary noise, modulated noise). Participants had to categorize words as living (targets) or non-living entities (standards). We also assessed participants' working memory (WM) capacity and verbal abilities. For the oddball task, we found lower hit rates and prolonged response times in CI users when compared with NH listeners. Noise-related prolongation of the N1 amplitude was found for all participants. Further, we observed group-specific modulation effects of event-related potentials (ERPs) as a function of background noise. While NH listeners showed stronger noise-related modulation of the N1 latency, CI users revealed enhanced modulation effects of the N2/N4 latency. In general, higher-order processing (N2/N4, P3) was prolonged in CI users in all background conditions when compared with NH listeners. Longer N2/N4 latency in CI users suggests that these individuals have difficulties to map acoustic-phonetic features to lexical representations. These difficulties seem to be increased for speech-in-noise conditions when compared with speech in quiet background. Correlation analyses showed that shorter ERP latencies were related to enhanced speech intelligibility (N1, N2/N4), better lexical fluency (N1), and lower ratings of listening effort (N2/N4) in CI users. In sum, our findings suggest that CI users and NH listeners differ with regards to both the sensory and the higher-order processing of speech in quiet as well as in noisy background conditions. Our results also revealed that verbal abilities are related to speech processing and speech intelligibility in CI users, confirming the view that auditory cognition plays an important role for CI outcome. We conclude that differences in auditory-cognitive processing contribute to the variability in speech performance outcomes observed in CI users. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tangible Landscape: Cognitively Grasping the Flow of Water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harmon, B. A.; Petrasova, A.; Petras, V.; Mitasova, H.; Meentemeyer, R. K.

2016-06-01

Complex spatial forms like topography can be challenging to understand, much less intentionally shape, given the heavy cognitive load of visualizing and manipulating 3D form. Spatiotemporal processes like the flow of water over a landscape are even more challenging to understand and intentionally direct as they are dependent upon their context and require the simulation of forces like gravity and momentum. This cognitive work can be offloaded onto computers through 3D geospatial modeling, analysis, and simulation. Interacting with computers, however, can also be challenging, often requiring training and highly abstract thinking. Tangible computing - an emerging paradigm of human-computer interaction in which data is physically manifested so that users can feel it and directly manipulate it - aims to offload this added cognitive work onto the body. We have designed Tangible Landscape, a tangible interface powered by an open source geographic information system (GRASS GIS), so that users can naturally shape topography and interact with simulated processes with their hands in order to make observations, generate and test hypotheses, and make inferences about scientific phenomena in a rapid, iterative process. Conceptually Tangible Landscape couples a malleable physical model with a digital model of a landscape through a continuous cycle of 3D scanning, geospatial modeling, and projection. We ran a flow modeling experiment to test whether tangible interfaces like this can effectively enhance spatial performance by offloading cognitive processes onto computers and our bodies. We used hydrological simulations and statistics to quantitatively assess spatial performance. We found that Tangible Landscape enhanced 3D spatial performance and helped users understand water flow.

Would Confucius benefit from psychotherapy? The compatibility of cognitive behaviour therapy and Chinese values.

PubMed

Hodges, Julie; Oei, Tian P S

2007-05-01

The purpose of the present paper is to explore the conceptual compatibility between cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and the common values of Chinese Culture. In order to address such a question, the distinctive processes attributed to CBT (e.g., teaching of skills, emphasis on homework, cognitive processes, present/future focus), as summarized in the meta-analysis by Blagys and Hilsenroth [(2002). Distinctive activities of cognitive-behavioral therapy: A review of the comparative psychotherapy process literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 22, 671-706], and the core values of Chinese Culture, determined through an integration of The Hofstede Project, [Hofstede, G.H. (1980). Culture's consequences: International differences in work related values. Beverly Hills: Sage]. The Chinese Value Survey [Chinese Culture Connection (1987). Chinese values and the search for culture-free dimensions of culture. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 18, 143-164]. The Schwartz Value Survey [Schwartz, S.H. (1994). Cultural dimensions of values: Towards an understanding of national differences. In Kim, U., Trandis, H.C., Katiticibasi, C., Choi, S.C., & Yoon, G. (eds.), Individualism and collectivism: Theory, method and application (pp. 85-119). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage] were used. A strong degree of compatibility between the two was found and it is argued that rather than developing new indigenized therapies, with some structural changes to the processes of CBT, this therapy can be effective for Chinese clients. It is further proposed that Chinese clients may benefit from challenging their irrational cognitions that are bound up in their strict adherence to social norms. Future recommendations for increasing the compatibility of CBT to Chinese culture are discussed.

Modularity of mind and the role of incentive motivation in representing novelty.

PubMed

Anselme, Patrick

2012-07-01

Animal and human brains contain a myriad of mental representations that have to be successfully tracked within fractions of a second in a large number of situations. This retrieval process is hard to explain without postulating the massive modularity of cognition. Assuming that the mind is massively modular, it is then necessary to understand how cognitive modules can efficiently represent dynamic environments-in which some modules may have to deal with change-induced novelty and uncertainty. Novelty of a stimulus is a problem for a module when unknown, significant stimuli do not satisfy the module's processing criteria-or domain specificity-and cannot therefore be included in its database. It is suggested that the brain mechanisms of incentive motivation, recruited when faced with novelty and uncertainty, induce transient variations in the domain specificity of cognitive modules in order to allow them to process information they were not prepared to learn. It is hypothesised that the behavioural transitions leading from exploratory activity to habit formation are correlated with (and possibly caused by) the organism's ability to counter novelty-induced uncertainty.

Cerebellum and Integration of Neural Networks in Dual-Task Processing

PubMed Central

Wu, Tao; Liu, Jun; Hallett, Mark; Zheng, Zheng; Chan, Piu

2014-01-01

Performing two tasks simultaneously (dual-task) is common in human daily life. The neural correlates of dual-task processing remain unclear. In the current study, we used a dual motor and counting task with functional MRI (fMRI) to determine whether there are any areas additionally activated for dual-task performance. Moreover, we investigated the functional connectivity of these added activated areas, as well as the training effect on brain activity and connectivity. We found that the right cerebellar vermis, left lobule V of the cerebellar anterior lobe and precuneus are additionally activated for this type of dual-tasking. These cerebellar regions had functional connectivity with extensive motor- and cognitive-related regions. Dual-task training induced less activation in several areas, but increased the functional connectivity between these cerebellar regions and numbers of motor- and cognitive-related areas. Our findings demonstrate that some regions within the cerebellum can be additionally activated with dual-task performance. Their role in dual motor and cognitive task processes is likely to integrate motor and cognitive networks, and may be involved in adjusting these networks to be more efficient in order to perform dual-tasking properly. The connectivity of the precuneus differs from the cerebellar regions. A possible role of the precuneus in dual-task may be monitoring the operation of active brain networks. PMID:23063842

Age-related cognitive decline as a function of daytime testing.

PubMed

Puiu, Andrei Alexandru

2017-05-01

The current study investigates the effects of age, cognitive load, optimal time-of-day testing, and irrelevant background noise suppression on mental processing. One hundred and seventy-eight young (M = 22.97 years) and 114 old adults (M = 56.38 years) were assessed for implicit learning and speed of information processing under irrelevant sound interference early during daytime (7AM-2.30PM) or in the afternoons (3PM-midnight). No direct effect of irrelevant speech effect was found on implicit learning. An optimal time of testing per age group was identified according to the ability to suppress irrelevant auditory information. If no semantic meaning was derived from the sound conditions, irrelevant sound was easily inhibited leaving no room for declined cognitive performance. This suggests an intact phonological inhibition in older adults and a further circumvention of the phonological loop. However, when difficulty was increased, a widened performance gap between young and old people could be observed. Education modulated difficult performance irrespective of age. With increasing age, task demand fulfillment becomes a function of a limited time mechanism. If extraneous time is not adapted to cognitive skills and performance, higher order processing cannot be reached, rendering older adults slower than their younger counterparts.

Neural signature of reward-modulated unconscious inhibitory control.

PubMed

Diao, Liuting; Qi, Senqing; Xu, Mengsi; Li, Zhiai; Ding, Cody; Chen, Antao; Zheng, Yan; Yang, Dong

2016-09-01

Consciously initiated cognitive control is generally determined by motivational incentives (e.g., monetary reward). Recent studies have revealed that human cognitive control processes can nevertheless operate without awareness. However, whether monetary reward can impinge on unconscious cognitive control remains unclear. To clarify this issue, a task consisting of several runs was designed to combine a modified version of the reward-priming paradigm with an unconscious version of the Go/No-Go task. At the beginning of each run, participants were exposed to a high- or low-value coin, followed by the modified Go/No-Go task. Participants could earn the coin only if they responded correctly to each trial of the run. Event-related potential (ERP) results indicated that high-value rewards (vs. low-value rewards) induced a greater centro-parietal P3 component associated with conscious and unconscious inhibitory control. Moreover, the P3 amplitude correlated positively with the magnitude of reaction time slowing reflecting the intensity of activation of unconscious inhibitory control in the brain. These findings suggest that high-value reward may facilitate human higher-order inhibitory processes that are independent of conscious awareness, which provides insights into the brain processes that underpin motivational modulation of cognitive control. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dying, mourning, and spirituality: a psychological perspective.

PubMed

Marrone, R

1999-09-01

Based in an unfortunate tradition that stretches back in time to Watson's behaviorism and Freud's psychoanalysis, psychology has tended to reject and to pathologize matters of the spirit. In the past 30 years, however, with the advent of what has been termed the cognitive revolution, psychology has greatly expanded the scope of its subject matter. Psychologists and thanatologists have begun to unravel the cognitive underpinnings of our assumptive world and the transformation of those underpinnings in times of crisis and stress. This article examines the cognitive basis of the spiritual experience and the use of cognitive assimilation, accommodation strategies during the process of mourning the death of a loved one, as well as during the process of living our own dying. Of special importance to mental health professionals and clergy, new research on dying, mourning, and spirituality suggests that the specific ways in which people rediscover meaning--such as belief in traditional religious doctrine, the afterlife, reincarnation, philanthropy, or a spiritual order to the universe--may be less important than the process itself. In other words, in the midst of dealing with profound loss in our lives, the ability to reascribe meaning to a changed world through spiritual transformation, religious conversion, or existential change may be more significant than the specific content by which that need is filled.

Computer simulations in the high school: students' cognitive stages, science process skills and academic achievement in microbiology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huppert, J.; Michal Lomask, S.; Lazarowitz, R.

2002-08-01

Computer-assisted learning, including simulated experiments, has great potential to address the problem solving process which is a complex activity. It requires a highly structured approach in order to understand the use of simulations as an instructional device. This study is based on a computer simulation program, 'The Growth Curve of Microorganisms', which required tenth grade biology students to use problem solving skills whilst simultaneously manipulating three independent variables in one simulated experiment. The aims were to investigate the computer simulation's impact on students' academic achievement and on their mastery of science process skills in relation to their cognitive stages. The results indicate that the concrete and transition operational students in the experimental group achieved significantly higher academic achievement than their counterparts in the control group. The higher the cognitive operational stage, the higher students' achievement was, except in the control group where students in the concrete and transition operational stages did not differ. Girls achieved equally with the boys in the experimental group. Students' academic achievement may indicate the potential impact a computer simulation program can have, enabling students with low reasoning abilities to cope successfully with learning concepts and principles in science which require high cognitive skills.

Pupillometric evidence for the decoupling of attention from perceptual input during offline thought.

PubMed

Smallwood, Jonathan; Brown, Kevin S; Tipper, Christine; Giesbrecht, Barry; Franklin, Michael S; Mrazek, Michael D; Carlson, Jean M; Schooler, Jonathan W

2011-03-25

Accumulating evidence suggests that the brain can efficiently process both external and internal information. The processing of internal information is a distinct "offline" cognitive mode that requires not only spontaneously generated mental activity; it has also been hypothesized to require a decoupling of attention from perception in order to separate competing streams of internal and external information. This process of decoupling is potentially adaptive because it could prevent unimportant external events from disrupting an internal train of thought. Here, we use measurements of pupil diameter (PD) to provide concrete evidence for the role of decoupling during spontaneous cognitive activity. First, during periods conducive to offline thought but not during periods of task focus, PD exhibited spontaneous activity decoupled from task events. Second, periods requiring external task focus were characterized by large task evoked changes in PD; in contrast, encoding failures were preceded by episodes of high spontaneous baseline PD activity. Finally, high spontaneous PD activity also occurred prior to only the slowest 20% of correct responses, suggesting high baseline PD indexes a distinct mode of cognitive functioning. Together, these data are consistent with the decoupling hypothesis, which suggests that the capacity for spontaneous cognitive activity depends upon minimizing disruptions from the external world.

Neurobiological roots of language in primate audition: common computational properties.

PubMed

Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Ina; Schlesewsky, Matthias; Small, Steven L; Rauschecker, Josef P

2015-03-01

Here, we present a new perspective on an old question: how does the neurobiology of human language relate to brain systems in nonhuman primates? We argue that higher-order language combinatorics, including sentence and discourse processing, can be situated in a unified, cross-species dorsal-ventral streams architecture for higher auditory processing, and that the functions of the dorsal and ventral streams in higher-order language processing can be grounded in their respective computational properties in primate audition. This view challenges an assumption, common in the cognitive sciences, that a nonhuman primate model forms an inherently inadequate basis for modeling higher-level language functions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Algorithms in the historical emergence of word senses.

PubMed

Ramiro, Christian; Srinivasan, Mahesh; Malt, Barbara C; Xu, Yang

2018-03-06

Human language relies on a finite lexicon to express a potentially infinite set of ideas. A key result of this tension is that words acquire novel senses over time. However, the cognitive processes that underlie the historical emergence of new word senses are poorly understood. Here, we present a computational framework that formalizes competing views of how new senses of a word might emerge by attaching to existing senses of the word. We test the ability of the models to predict the temporal order in which the senses of individual words have emerged, using an historical lexicon of English spanning the past millennium. Our findings suggest that word senses emerge in predictable ways, following an historical path that reflects cognitive efficiency, predominantly through a process of nearest-neighbor chaining. Our work contributes a formal account of the generative processes that underlie lexical evolution.

A Connectionist Approach to Embodied Conceptual Metaphor

PubMed Central

Flusberg, Stephen J.; Thibodeau, Paul H.; Sternberg, Daniel A.; Glick, Jeremy J.

2010-01-01

A growing body of data has been gathered in support of the view that the mind is embodied and that cognition is grounded in sensory-motor processes. Some researchers have gone so far as to claim that this paradigm poses a serious challenge to central tenets of cognitive science, including the widely held view that the mind can be analyzed in terms of abstract computational principles. On the other hand, computational approaches to the study of mind have led to the development of specific models that help researchers understand complex cognitive processes at a level of detail that theories of embodied cognition (EC) have sometimes lacked. Here we make the case that connectionist architectures in particular can illuminate many surprising results from the EC literature. These models can learn the statistical structure in their environments, providing an ideal framework for understanding how simple sensory-motor mechanisms could give rise to higher-level cognitive behavior over the course of learning. Crucially, they form overlapping, distributed representations, which have exactly the properties required by many embodied accounts of cognition. We illustrate this idea by extending an existing connectionist model of semantic cognition in order to simulate findings from the embodied conceptual metaphor literature. Specifically, we explore how the abstract domain of time may be structured by concrete experience with space (including experience with culturally specific spatial and linguistic cues). We suggest that both EC researchers and connectionist modelers can benefit from an integrated approach to understanding these models and the empirical findings they seek to explain. PMID:21833256

Categorial Compositionality III: F-(co)algebras and the Systematicity of Recursive Capacities in Human Cognition

PubMed Central

Phillips, Steven; Wilson, William H.

2012-01-01

Human cognitive capacity includes recursively definable concepts, which are prevalent in domains involving lists, numbers, and languages. Cognitive science currently lacks a satisfactory explanation for the systematic nature of such capacities (i.e., why the capacity for some recursive cognitive abilities–e.g., finding the smallest number in a list–implies the capacity for certain others–finding the largest number, given knowledge of number order). The category-theoretic constructs of initial F-algebra, catamorphism, and their duals, final coalgebra and anamorphism provide a formal, systematic treatment of recursion in computer science. Here, we use this formalism to explain the systematicity of recursive cognitive capacities without ad hoc assumptions (i.e., to the same explanatory standard used in our account of systematicity for non-recursive capacities). The presence of an initial algebra/final coalgebra explains systematicity because all recursive cognitive capacities, in the domain of interest, factor through (are composed of) the same component process. Moreover, this factorization is unique, hence no further (ad hoc) assumptions are required to establish the intrinsic connection between members of a group of systematically-related capacities. This formulation also provides a new perspective on the relationship between recursive cognitive capacities. In particular, the link between number and language does not depend on recursion, as such, but on the underlying functor on which the group of recursive capacities is based. Thus, many species (and infants) can employ recursive processes without having a full-blown capacity for number and language. PMID:22514704

Culture and the quest for universal principles in moral reasoning.

PubMed

Sachdeva, Sonya; Singh, Purnima; Medin, Douglas

2011-06-01

The importance of including cultural perspectives in the study of human cognition has become apparent in recent decades, and the domain of moral reasoning is no exception. The present review focuses on moral cognition, beginning with Kohlberg's model of moral development which relies heavily on people's justifications for their judgments and then shifting to more recent theories that rely on rapid, intuitive judgments and see justifications as more or less irrelevant to moral cognition. Despite this dramatic shift, analyses of culture and moral decision-making have largely been framed as a quest for and test of universal principles of moral judgment. In this review, we discuss challenges that remain in trying to understand crosscultural variability in moral values and the processes that underlie moral cognition. We suggest that the universalist framework may lead to an underestimation of the role of culture in moral reasoning. Although the field has made great strides in incorporating more and more cultural perspectives in order to understand moral cognition, theories of moral reasoning still do not allow for substantial variation in how people might conceptualize the domain of the moral. The processes that underlie moral cognition may not be a human universal in any simple sense, because moral systems may play different roles in different cultures. We end our review with a discussion of work that remains to be done to understand cultural variation in the moral domain.

Cognitive control and the anterior cingulate cortex: how conflicting stimuli affect attentional control in the rat

PubMed Central

Newman, Lori A.; Creer, David J.; McGaughy, Jill A.

2014-01-01

Converging evidence supports the hypothesis that the prefrontal cortex is critical for cognitive control. One prefrontal subregion, the anterior cingulate cortex, is hypothesized to be necessary to resolve response conflicts, disregard salient distractors and alter behavior in response to the generation of an error. These situations all involve goal-oriented monitoring of performance in order to effectively adjust cognitive processes. Several neuropsychological disorders, e.g., schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity and obsessive compulsive disorder, are accompanied by morphological changes in the anterior cingulate cortex. These changes are hypothesized to underlie the impairments on tasks that require cognitive control found in these subjects. A novel conflict monitoring task was used to assess the effects on cognitive control of excitotoxic lesions to anterior cingulate cortex in rats. Prior to surgery all subjects showed improved accuracy on the second of two consecutive, incongruent trials. Lesions to the anterior cingulate cortex abolished this. Lesioned animals had difficulty in adjusting cognitive control on a trial-by-trial basis regardless of whether cognitive changes were increased or decreased. These results support a role for the anterior cingulate cortex in adjustments in cognitive control. PMID:25051488

[Cognitive functions, their development and modern diagnostic methods].

PubMed

Klasik, Adam; Janas-Kozik, Małgorzata; Krupka-Matuszczyk, Irena; Augustyniak, Ewa

2006-01-01

Cognitive psychology is an interdisciplinary field whose main aim is to study the thinking mechanisms of humans leading to cognizance. Therefore the concept of human cognitive processes envelopes the knowledge related to the mechanisms which determine the way humans acquire information from the environment and utilize their knowledge and experience. There are three basic processes which need to be distinguished when discussing human perception development: acquiring sensations, perceptiveness and attention. Acquiring sensations means the experience arising from the stimulation of a single sense organ, i.e. detection and differentiation of sensory information. Perceptiveness stands for the interpretation of sensations and may include recognition and identification of sensory information. The attention process relates to the selectivity of perception. Mental processes of the higher order used in cognition, thanks to which humans tend to try to understand the world and adapt to it, doubtlessly include the processes of memory, reasoning, learning and problem solving. There is a great difference in the human cognitive functioning at different stages of one's life (from infancy to adulthood). The difference is both quantitative and qualitative. There are three main approaches to the human cognitive functioning development: Jean Piaget's approach, information processing approach and psychometric approach. Piaget's ideas continue to form the groundwork of child cognitive psychology. Piaget identified four developmental stages of child cognition: 1. Sensorimotor stage (birth - 2 years old); 2. Preoperational stage (ages 2-7); 3. Concrete operations (ages 7-11; 4. Formal operations (11 and more). The supporters of the information processing approach use a computer metaphor to present the human cognitive processes functioning model. The three important mechanisms involved are: coding, automation and strategy designing and they all often co-operate together. This theory has provided a theory. The psychometric approach concentrates on studying the differences in intelligence. The aim of this approach is to test intelligence by means of standardized tests (e.g. WISC-R, WAIS-R) used to show the individual differences among humans. Human cognitive functions determine individuals' adaptation capabilities and disturbances in this area indicate a number of psychopathological changes and are a symptom enabling to differentiate or diagnose one with a disorder. That is why the psychological assessment of cognitive functions is an important part of patients' diagnosis. Contemporary neuropsychological studies are to a great extent based computer tests. The use of computer methods has a number of measurement-related advantages. It allows for standardized testing environment, increasing therefore its reliability and standardizes the patient assessment process. Special attention should be paid to the neuropsychological tests included in the Vienna Test System (Cognitron, SIGNAL, RT, VIGIL, DAUF), which are used to assess the operational memory span, learning processes, reaction time, attention selective function, attention continuity as well as attention interference resistance. It also seems justified to present the CPT id test (Continuous Performance Test) as well as Free Recall. CPT is a diagnostic tool used to assess the attention selective function, attention continuity of attention, attention interference resistance as well as attention alertness. The Free Recall test is used in the memory processes diagnostics to assess patients' operational memory as well as the information organization degree in operational memory. The above mentioned neuropsychological tests are tools used in clinical assessment of cognitive function disorders.

SU33. Load-Sensitive Impairment of Working Memory for Biological Motion in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Lee, Hannah; Kim, Jejoong

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Patients with schizophrenia (SZ) exhibit various deficits that may affect social functioning. The impairments in perceptual processing (eg, motion perception) and in higher cognitive processing such as working memory (WM), as well as deficits in social cognition, need to be closely examined in order to understand dysfunctions in social environments. However, comprehensive research conducted to date that takes these aspects into consideration all together is limited. Biological motion (BM) is a unique motion stimulus containing rich social information. Therefore, BM is optimal for our aim in this study to scrutinize how the dysfunctions in the cognitive processing of aforementioned 3 aspects (motion perception, WM, and social cognition) would be manifested in SZ, in a single experimental design. Methods: In the present study, we used BM in a delayed-response task for measuring WM. Non-BM motion stimulus (pairwise-shuffled motion or PSM) and polygons were also used for comparisons. One of the 3 types of stimuli was presented in each trial. After 12-second delays, 2 probes were shown, and the participants were asked to indicate whether one of them was identical to the memory item or whether both were novel. The number of memory items was either one (low load) or 2 (high load). Results: Overall, SZ performed worse than healthy controls (CO) regardless of the type of stimuli and memory loads, which is consistent with previous WM research. Across the low and high load conditions, CO were more accurate in recognizing BM than PSM, indicating that BM may have a facilitating effect for the encoding process involved in WM. Interestingly, SZ had similar accuracy patterns to that of CO in the low load condition. The BM facilitation effect, however, disappeared in the high load condition, yielding a significant interaction among group, stimulus type, and memory loads. These results suggest that BM, as a socially relevant stimulus, can facilitate encoding and/or maintenance to benefit WM performance in CO and that his effect is also partially valid among SZ. That is, SZ seem to successfully process the meaning of the stimulus when memory load is low. However, the ability is vulnerable to the increase of cognitive load in SZ, implying the presence of inefficiencies in the connections between perceptual and cognitive processes and/or limits in the capacity to process social information. Conclusion: The present study suggests that the intricate interaction among perceptual, cognitive, and social processes needs to be considered to explain cognitive deficits related with social dysfunction in schizophrenia. This study was supported by National Research Foundation of Korea.

Developing Minds: Programs for Teaching Thinking. Revised Edition, Volume 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costa, Arthur L., Ed.

This book contains 29 articles which address topics related to teaching thinking. The articles include: (1) "Balancing Process and Content" (Marilyn Jager Adams); (2) "Structure of Intellect (SOI)" (Mary N. Meeker); (3) "Instrumental Enrichment" (Francis R. Link); (4) "Thinking to Write: Assessing Higher-Order Cognitive Skills and Abilities"…

Cognitive Presence and Effect of Immersion in Virtual Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katernyak, Ihor; Loboda, Viktoriya

2016-01-01

This paper presents the approach to successful application of two knowledge management techniques--community of practice and eLearning, in order to create and manage a competence-developing virtual learning environment. It explains how "4A" model of involving practitioners in eLearning process (through attention, actualization,…

Can False Memories Prime Problem Solutions?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howe, Mark L.; Garner, Sarah R.; Dewhurst, Stephen A.; Ball, Linden J.

2010-01-01

Previous research has suggested that false memories can prime performance on related implicit and explicit memory tasks. The present research examined whether false memories can also be used to prime higher order cognitive processes, namely, insight-based problem solving. Participants were asked to solve a number of compound remote associate task…

Reflective Practice: Creating Capacities for School Improvement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montie, Jo; York-Barr, Jennifer; Kronberg, Robi; Stevenson, Jane; Vallejo, Barb; Lunders, Cheri

This monograph addresses the importance of and strategies for improving education through reflective practice, defined as cognitive processes and an open perspective that involve conscious self-examination in order to gain understandings and improve the lives of students. Chapter 1 provides an overview and explains origins of reflective practice…

Modelling Learners' Cognitive, Affective, and Social Processes through Language and Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dowell, Nia M. M.; Graesser, Arthur C.

2014-01-01

An emerging trend toward computer-mediated collaborative learning environments promotes lively exchanges between learners in order to facilitate learning. Discourse can play an important role in enhancing epistemology, pedagogy, and assessments in these environments. In this paper, we highlight some of our recent work showing the advantages using…

CogSkillnet: An Ontology-Based Representation of Cognitive Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Askar, Petek; Altun, Arif

2009-01-01

A number of studies emphasized the need to capture learners' interaction patterns in order to personalize their learning process as they study through learning objects. In education context, learning materials are designed based on pre-determined expectations and learners are evaluated to what extent they master these expectations. Representation…

Learning Goals and Strategies in the Self-regulation of Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaeta Gonzalez, Martha Leticia

2013-01-01

In order to self-regulate their learning, students need to use different strategies to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning activities (meta-cognitive strategies), as well as to control their motivation and emotion (volitional strategies). Students' effectiveness in their self-regulated learning process also varies depending on the academic…

Self-Regulation Competence in Music Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ludovico, Luca Andrea; Mangione, Giuseppina Rita

2014-01-01

This work starts from a systematic review about music education and self-regulation during learning processes. Then the paper identifies those meta-cognitive strategies that music students should adopt during their instrumental practice. The goal is applying such concepts in order to rethink the structure of a didactic e-book for instrumental…

The cognitive demands of second order manual control: Applications of the event related brain potential

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wickens, C.; Gill, R.; Kramer, A.; Ross, W.; Donchin, E.

1981-01-01

Three experiments are described in which tracking difficulty is varied in the presence of a covert tone discrimination task. Event related brain potentials (ERPs) elicited by the tones are employed as an index of the resource demands of tracking. The ERP measure reflected the control order variation, and this variable was thereby assumed to compete for perceptual/central processing resources. A fine-grained analysis of the results suggested that the primary demands of second order tracking involve the central processing operations of maintaining a more complex internal model of the dynamic system, rather than the perceptual demands of higher derivative perception. Experiment 3 varied tracking bandwidth in random input tracking, and the ERP was unaffected. Bandwidth was then inferred to compete for response-related processing resources that are independent of the ERP.

Paving the COWpath: data-driven design of pediatric order sets

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yiye; Padman, Rema; Levin, James E

2014-01-01

Objective Evidence indicates that users incur significant physical and cognitive costs in the use of order sets, a core feature of computerized provider order entry systems. This paper develops data-driven approaches for automating the construction of order sets that match closely with user preferences and workflow while minimizing physical and cognitive workload. Materials and methods We developed and tested optimization-based models embedded with clustering techniques using physical and cognitive click cost criteria. By judiciously learning from users’ actual actions, our methods identify items for constituting order sets that are relevant according to historical ordering data and grouped on the basis of order similarity and ordering time. We evaluated performance of the methods using 47 099 orders from the year 2011 for asthma, appendectomy and pneumonia management in a pediatric inpatient setting. Results In comparison with existing order sets, those developed using the new approach significantly reduce the physical and cognitive workload associated with usage by 14–52%. This approach is also capable of accommodating variations in clinical conditions that affect order set usage and development. Discussion There is a critical need to investigate the cognitive complexity imposed on users by complex clinical information systems, and to design their features according to ‘human factors’ best practices. Optimizing order set generation using cognitive cost criteria introduces a new approach that can potentially improve ordering efficiency, reduce unintended variations in order placement, and enhance patient safety. Conclusions We demonstrate that data-driven methods offer a promising approach for designing order sets that are generalizable, data-driven, condition-based, and up to date with current best practices. PMID:24674844

The Effect of Dynamic and Interactive Mathematics Learning Environments (DIMLE), Supporting Multiple Representations, on Perceptions of Elementary Mathematics Pre-Service Teachers in Problem Solving Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozdemir, S.; Reis, Z. Ayvaz

2013-01-01

Mathematics is an important discipline, providing crucial tools, such as problem solving, to improve our cognitive abilities. In order to solve a problem, it is better to envision and represent through multiple means. Multiple representations can help a person to redefine a problem with his/her own words in that envisioning process. Dynamic and…

[The functional independence of lexical numeric knowledge and the representation of magnitude: evidence from one case].

PubMed

Salguero-Alcañiz, M P; Lorca-Marín, J A; Alameda-Bailén, J R

The ultimate purpose of cognitive neuropsychology is to find out how normal cognitive processes work. To this end, it studies subjects who have suffered brain damage but who, until their accident, were competent in the skills that are later to become the object of study. It is therefore necessary to study patients who have difficulty in processing numbers and in calculating in order to further our knowledge of these processes in the normal population. Our aim was to analyse the relationships between the different cognitive processes involved in numeric knowledge. We studied the case of a female patient who suffered an ischemic infarct in the perisylvian region, on both a superficial and deep level. She presented predominantly expressive mixed aphasia and predominantly brachial hemiparesis. Numeric processing and calculation were evaluated. The patient still had her lexical numeric knowledge but her quantitative numeric knowledge was impaired. These alterations in the quantitative numeric knowledge are evidenced by the difficulties the patient had in numeric comprehension tasks, as well as the severe impairments displayed in calculation. These findings allow us to conclude that quantitative numeric knowledge is functionally independent of lexical or non-quantitative numeric knowledge. From this functional autonomy, a possible structural independence can be inferred.

An exploratory study on emotion recognition in patients with a clinically isolated syndrome and multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Jehna, Margit; Neuper, Christa; Petrovic, Katja; Wallner-Blazek, Mirja; Schmidt, Reinhold; Fuchs, Siegrid; Fazekas, Franz; Enzinger, Christian

2010-07-01

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic multifocal CNS disorder which can affect higher order cognitive processes. Whereas cognitive disturbances in MS are increasingly better characterised, emotional facial expression (EFE) has rarely been tested, despite its importance for adequate social behaviour. We tested 20 patients with a clinically isolated syndrome suggestive of MS (CIS) or MS and 23 healthy controls (HC) for the ability to differ between emotional facial stimuli, controlling for the influence of depressive mood (ADS-L). We screened for cognitive dysfunction using The Faces Symbol Test (FST). The patients demonstrated significant decreased reaction-times regarding emotion recognition tests compared to HC. However, the results also suggested worse cognitive abilities in the patients. Emotional and cognitive test results were correlated. This exploratory pilot study suggests that emotion recognition deficits might be prevalent in MS. However, future studies will be needed to overcome the limitations of this study. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Breastfeeding: an emotional instinct.

PubMed

Díaz Meneses, Gonzalo

2013-04-01

The proposed objective of this research is twofold: (1) it examines the significance of emotions to the breastfeeding experience in relation to cognition, and (2) it analyzes the extent to which emotions and cognition are connected to breastfeeding. An empirical research work has been carried out based on a questionnaire that was administered in a maternity hospital in the autumn of 2008, in order to gather information regarding cognitive and emotional aspects of breastfeeding behavior. The final sample comprised 311 breastfeeding mothers, and the sampling error was 5.55%. The research shows that breastfeeding is not only more of an emotional reaction than a rational decision, but also demonstrates that the emotional development of breastfeeding is independent from the cognitive process. A new approach in the literature of breastfeeding is put forward in which the predominant cognitive techniques and theories are complemented by highlighting the importance of understanding the target group and implementing suitable and affective actions. Specific practical implications are provided for social marketing campaigns as well as future lines of research.

High frequency oscillations are associated with cognitive processing in human recognition memory.

PubMed

Kucewicz, Michal T; Cimbalnik, Jan; Matsumoto, Joseph Y; Brinkmann, Benjamin H; Bower, Mark R; Vasoli, Vincent; Sulc, Vlastimil; Meyer, Fred; Marsh, W R; Stead, S M; Worrell, Gregory A

2014-08-01

High frequency oscillations are associated with normal brain function, but also increasingly recognized as potential biomarkers of the epileptogenic brain. Their role in human cognition has been predominantly studied in classical gamma frequencies (30-100 Hz), which reflect neuronal network coordination involved in attention, learning and memory. Invasive brain recordings in animals and humans demonstrate that physiological oscillations extend beyond the gamma frequency range, but their function in human cognitive processing has not been fully elucidated. Here we investigate high frequency oscillations spanning the high gamma (50-125 Hz), ripple (125-250 Hz) and fast ripple (250-500 Hz) frequency bands using intracranial recordings from 12 patients (five males and seven females, age 21-63 years) during memory encoding and recall of a series of affectively charged images. Presentation of the images induced high frequency oscillations in all three studied bands within the primary visual, limbic and higher order cortical regions in a sequence consistent with the visual processing stream. These induced oscillations were detected on individual electrodes localized in the amygdala, hippocampus and specific neocortical areas, revealing discrete oscillations of characteristic frequency, duration and latency from image presentation. Memory encoding and recall significantly modulated the number of induced high gamma, ripple and fast ripple detections in the studied structures, which was greater in the primary sensory areas during the encoding (Wilcoxon rank sum test, P = 0.002) and in the higher-order cortical association areas during the recall (Wilcoxon rank sum test, P = 0.001) of memorized images. Furthermore, the induced high gamma, ripple and fast ripple responses discriminated the encoded and the affectively charged images. In summary, our results show that high frequency oscillations, spanning a wide range of frequencies, are associated with memory processing and generated along distributed cortical and limbic brain regions. These findings support an important role for fast network synchronization in human cognition and extend our understanding of normal physiological brain activity during memory processing. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Emotional metacontrol of attention: Top-down modulation of sensorimotor processes in a robotic visual search task

PubMed Central

Cuperlier, Nicolas; Gaussier, Philippe

2017-01-01

Emotions play a significant role in internal regulatory processes. In this paper, we advocate four key ideas. First, novelty detection can be grounded in the sensorimotor experience and allow higher order appraisal. Second, cognitive processes, such as those involved in self-assessment, influence emotional states by eliciting affects like boredom and frustration. Third, emotional processes such as those triggered by self-assessment influence attentional processes. Last, close emotion-cognition interactions implement an efficient feedback loop for the purpose of top-down behavior regulation. The latter is what we call ‘Emotional Metacontrol’. We introduce a model based on artificial neural networks. This architecture is used to control a robotic system in a visual search task. The emotional metacontrol intervenes to bias the robot visual attention during active object recognition. Through a behavioral and statistical analysis, we show that this mechanism increases the robot performance and fosters the exploratory behavior to avoid deadlocks. PMID:28934291

Selection, integration, and conflict monitoring; assessing the nature and generality of prefrontal cognitive control mechanisms.

PubMed

Badre, David; Wagner, Anthony D

2004-02-05

Prefrontal cortex (PFC) supports flexible behavior by mediating cognitive control, though the elemental forms of control supported by PFC remain a central debate. Dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) is thought to guide response selection under conditions of response conflict or, alternatively, may refresh recently active representations within working memory. Lateral frontopolar cortex (FPC) may also adjudicate response conflict, though others propose that FPC supports higher order control processes such as subgoaling and integration. Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is hypothesized to upregulate response selection by detecting response conflict; it remains unclear whether ACC functions generalize beyond monitoring response conflict. The present fMRI experiment directly tested these competing theories regarding the functional roles of DLPFC, FPC, and ACC. Results reveal dissociable control processes in PFC, with mid-DLPFC selectively mediating resolution of response conflict and FPC further mediating subgoaling/integration. ACC demonstrated a broad sensitivity to control demands, suggesting a generalized role in modulating cognitive control.

The influence of emotions on cognitive control: feelings and beliefs—where do they meet?

PubMed Central

Harlé, Katia M.; Shenoy, Pradeep; Paulus, Martin P.

2013-01-01

The influence of emotion on higher-order cognitive functions, such as attention allocation, planning, and decision-making, is a growing area of research with important clinical applications. In this review, we provide a computational framework to conceptualize emotional influences on inhibitory control, an important building block of executive functioning. We first summarize current neuro-cognitive models of inhibitory control and show how Bayesian ideal observer models can help reframe inhibitory control as a dynamic decision-making process. Finally, we propose a Bayesian framework to study emotional influences on inhibitory control, providing several hypotheses that may be useful to conceptualize inhibitory control biases in mental illness such as depression and anxiety. To do so, we consider the neurocognitive literature pertaining to how affective states can bias inhibitory control, with particular attention to how valence and arousal may independently impact inhibitory control by biasing probabilistic representations of information (i.e., beliefs) and valuation processes (e.g., speed-error tradeoffs). PMID:24065901

The impact of cognitive control, incentives, and working memory load on the P3 responses of externalizing prisoners.

PubMed

Baskin-Sommers, Arielle R; Krusemark, Elizabeth A; Curtin, John J; Lee, Christopher; Vujnovich, Aleice; Newman, Joseph P

2014-02-01

The P3 amplitude reduction is one of the most common correlates of externalizing. However, few studies have used experimental manipulations designed to challenge different cognitive functions in order to clarify the processes that impact this reduction. To examine factors moderating P3 amplitude in trait externalizing, we administered an n-back task that manipulated cognitive control demands, working memory load, and incentives to a sample of male offenders. Offenders with high trait externalizing scores did not display a global reduction in P3 amplitude. Rather, the negative association between trait externalizing and P3 amplitude was specific to trials involving inhibition of a dominant response during infrequent stimuli, in the context of low working memory load, and incentives for performance. In addition, we discuss the potential implications of these findings for externalizing-related psychopathologies. The results complement and expand previous work on the process-level dysfunction contributing to externalizing-related deficits in P3. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

What does God know? Supernatural agents' access to socially strategic and non-strategic information.

PubMed

Purzycki, Benjamin G; Finkel, Daniel N; Shaver, John; Wales, Nathan; Cohen, Adam B; Sosis, Richard

2012-07-01

Current evolutionary and cognitive theories of religion posit that supernatural agent concepts emerge from cognitive systems such as theory of mind and social cognition. Some argue that these concepts evolved to maintain social order by minimizing antisocial behavior. If these theories are correct, then people should process information about supernatural agents' socially strategic knowledge more quickly than non-strategic knowledge. Furthermore, agents' knowledge of immoral and uncooperative social behaviors should be especially accessible to people. To examine these hypotheses, we measured response-times to questions about the knowledge attributed to four different agents--God, Santa Claus, a fictional surveillance government, and omniscient but non-interfering aliens--that vary in their omniscience, moral concern, ability to punish, and how supernatural they are. As anticipated, participants respond more quickly to questions about agents' socially strategic knowledge than non-strategic knowledge, but only when agents are able to punish. Copyright © 2012 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Cognitive behavioral approach to understanding irritable bowel syndrome

PubMed Central

Hauser, Goran; Pletikosic, Sanda; Tkalcic, Mladenka

2014-01-01

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is considered a biopsychosocial disorder, whose onset and precipitation are a consequence of interaction among multiple factors which include motility disturbances, abnormalities of gastrointestinal sensation, gut inflammation and infection, altered processing of afferent sensory information, psychological distress, and affective disturbances. Several models have been proposed in order to describe and explain IBS, each of them focusing on specific aspects or mechanisms of the disorder. This review attempts to present and discuss different determinants of IBS and its symptoms, from a cognitive behavioral therapy framework, distinguishing between the developmental predispositions and precipitants of the disorder, and its perpetuating cognitive, behavioral, affective and physiological factors. The main focus in understanding IBS will be placed on the numerous psychosocial factors, such as personality traits, early experiences, affective disturbances, altered attention and cognitions, avoidance behavior, stress, coping and social support. In conclusion, a symptom perpetuation model is proposed. PMID:24944466

A comparative psychophysical approach to visual perception in primates.

PubMed

Matsuno, Toyomi; Fujita, Kazuo

2009-04-01

Studies on the visual processing of primates, which have well developed visual systems, provide essential information about the perceptual bases of their higher-order cognitive abilities. Although the mechanisms underlying visual processing are largely shared between human and nonhuman primates, differences have also been reported. In this article, we review psychophysical investigations comparing the basic visual processing that operates in human and nonhuman species, and discuss the future contributions potentially deriving from such comparative psychophysical approaches to primate minds.

Altered Topology in Information Processing of a Narrated Story in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

PubMed

Yogev-Seligmann, Galit; Oren, Noga; Ash, Elissa L; Hendler, Talma; Giladi, Nir; Lerner, Yulia

2016-05-03

The ability to store, integrate, and manipulate information declines with aging. These changes occur earlier, faster, and to a greater degree as a result of neurodegeneration. One of the most common and early characteristics of cognitive decline is difficulty with comprehension of information. The neural mechanisms underlying this breakdown of information processing are poorly understood. Using functional MRI and natural stimuli (e.g., stories), we mapped the neural mechanisms by which the human brain accumulates and processes information with increasing duration and complexity in participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and healthy older adults. To explore the mechanisms of information processing, we measured the reliability of brain responses elicited by listening to different versions of a narrated story created by segmenting the story into words, sentences, and paragraphs and then scrambling the segments. Comparing healthy older adults and participants with aMCI revealed that in both groups, all types of stimuli similarly recruited primary auditory areas. However, prominent differences between groups were found at the level of processing long and complex stimuli. In healthy older adults, parietal and frontal regions demonstrated highly synchronized responses in both the paragraph and full story conditions, as has been previously reported in young adults. Participants with aMCI, however, exhibited a robust functional shift of long time scale processing to the pre- and post-central sulci. Our results suggest that participants with aMCI experienced a functional shift of higher order auditory information processing, possibly reflecting a functional response to concurrent or impending neuronal or synaptic loss. This observation might assist in understanding mechanisms of cognitive decline in aMCI.

Ability, Breadth, and Parsimony in Computational Models of Higher-Order Cognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cassimatis, Nicholas L.; Bello, Paul; Langley, Pat

2008-01-01

Computational models will play an important role in our understanding of human higher-order cognition. How can a model's contribution to this goal be evaluated? This article argues that three important aspects of a model of higher-order cognition to evaluate are (a) its ability to reason, solve problems, converse, and learn as well as people do;…

Non-verbal numerical cognition: from reals to integers.

PubMed

Gallistel; Gelman

2000-02-01

Data on numerical processing by verbal (human) and non-verbal (animal and human) subjects are integrated by the hypothesis that a non-verbal counting process represents discrete (countable) quantities by means of magnitudes with scalar variability. These appear to be identical to the magnitudes that represent continuous (uncountable) quantities such as duration. The magnitudes representing countable quantity are generated by a discrete incrementing process, which defines next magnitudes and yields a discrete ordering. In the case of continuous quantities, the continuous accumulation process does not define next magnitudes, so the ordering is also continuous ('dense'). The magnitudes representing both countable and uncountable quantity are arithmetically combined in, for example, the computation of the income to be expected from a foraging patch. Thus, on the hypothesis presented here, the primitive machinery for arithmetic processing works with real numbers (magnitudes).

A New Look to a Classic Issue: Reasoning and Academic Achievement at Secondary School

PubMed Central

Gómez-Veiga, Isabel; Vila Chaves, José O.; Duque, Gonzalo; García Madruga, Juan A.

2018-01-01

Higher-order thinking abilities such as abstract reasoning and meaningful school learning occur sequentially. The fulfillment of these tasks demands that people activate and use all of their working memory resources in a controlled and supervised way. The aims of this work were: (a) to study the interplay between two new reasoning measures, one mathematical (Cognitive Reflection Test) and the other verbal (Deductive Reasoning Test), and a third classical visuo-spatial reasoning measure (Raven Progressive Matrices Test); and (b) to investigate the relationship between these measures and academic achievement. Fifty-one 4th grade secondary school students participated in the experiment and completed the three reasoning tests. Academic achievement measures were the final numerical scores in seven basic subjects. The results demonstrated that cognitive reflection, visual, and verbal reasoning are intimately related and predicts academic achievement. This work confirms that abstract reasoning constitutes the most important higher-order cognitive ability that underlies academic achievement. It also reveals the importance of dual processes, verbal deduction and metacognition in ordinary teaching and learning at school. PMID:29643823

A New Look to a Classic Issue: Reasoning and Academic Achievement at Secondary School.

PubMed

Gómez-Veiga, Isabel; Vila Chaves, José O; Duque, Gonzalo; García Madruga, Juan A

2018-01-01

Higher-order thinking abilities such as abstract reasoning and meaningful school learning occur sequentially. The fulfillment of these tasks demands that people activate and use all of their working memory resources in a controlled and supervised way. The aims of this work were: (a) to study the interplay between two new reasoning measures, one mathematical (Cognitive Reflection Test) and the other verbal (Deductive Reasoning Test), and a third classical visuo-spatial reasoning measure (Raven Progressive Matrices Test); and (b) to investigate the relationship between these measures and academic achievement. Fifty-one 4th grade secondary school students participated in the experiment and completed the three reasoning tests. Academic achievement measures were the final numerical scores in seven basic subjects. The results demonstrated that cognitive reflection, visual, and verbal reasoning are intimately related and predicts academic achievement. This work confirms that abstract reasoning constitutes the most important higher-order cognitive ability that underlies academic achievement. It also reveals the importance of dual processes, verbal deduction and metacognition in ordinary teaching and learning at school.

The knowledge instinct, cognitive algorithms, modeling of language and cultural evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perlovsky, Leonid I.

2008-04-01

The talk discusses mechanisms of the mind and their engineering applications. The past attempts at designing "intelligent systems" encountered mathematical difficulties related to algorithmic complexity. The culprit turned out to be logic, which in one way or another was used not only in logic rule systems, but also in statistical, neural, and fuzzy systems. Algorithmic complexity is related to Godel's theory, a most fundamental mathematical result. These difficulties were overcome by replacing logic with a dynamic process "from vague to crisp," dynamic logic. It leads to algorithms overcoming combinatorial complexity, and resulting in orders of magnitude improvement in classical problems of detection, tracking, fusion, and prediction in noise. I present engineering applications to pattern recognition, detection, tracking, fusion, financial predictions, and Internet search engines. Mathematical and engineering efficiency of dynamic logic can also be understood as cognitive algorithm, which describes fundamental property of the mind, the knowledge instinct responsible for all our higher cognitive functions: concepts, perception, cognition, instincts, imaginations, intuitions, emotions, including emotions of the beautiful. I present our latest results in modeling evolution of languages and cultures, their interactions in these processes, and role of music in cultural evolution. Experimental data is presented that support the theory. Future directions are outlined.

Embodied artificial agents for understanding human social cognition.

PubMed

Wykowska, Agnieszka; Chaminade, Thierry; Cheng, Gordon

2016-05-05

In this paper, we propose that experimental protocols involving artificial agents, in particular the embodied humanoid robots, provide insightful information regarding social cognitive mechanisms in the human brain. Using artificial agents allows for manipulation and control of various parameters of behaviour, appearance and expressiveness in one of the interaction partners (the artificial agent), and for examining effect of these parameters on the other interaction partner (the human). At the same time, using artificial agents means introducing the presence of artificial, yet human-like, systems into the human social sphere. This allows for testing in a controlled, but ecologically valid, manner human fundamental mechanisms of social cognition both at the behavioural and at the neural level. This paper will review existing literature that reports studies in which artificial embodied agents have been used to study social cognition and will address the question of whether various mechanisms of social cognition (ranging from lower- to higher-order cognitive processes) are evoked by artificial agents to the same extent as by natural agents, humans in particular. Increasing the understanding of how behavioural and neural mechanisms of social cognition respond to artificial anthropomorphic agents provides empirical answers to the conundrum 'What is a social agent?' © 2016 The Authors.

Cognitive Fatigue Facilitates Procedural Sequence Learning.

PubMed

Borragán, Guillermo; Slama, Hichem; Destrebecqz, Arnaud; Peigneux, Philippe

2016-01-01

Enhanced procedural learning has been evidenced in conditions where cognitive control is diminished, including hypnosis, disruption of prefrontal activity and non-optimal time of the day. Another condition depleting the availability of controlled resources is cognitive fatigue (CF). We tested the hypothesis that CF, eventually leading to diminished cognitive control, facilitates procedural sequence learning. In a two-day experiment, 23 young healthy adults were administered a serial reaction time task (SRTT) following the induction of high or low levels of CF, in a counterbalanced order. CF was induced using the Time load Dual-back (TloadDback) paradigm, a dual working memory task that allows tailoring cognitive load levels to the individual's optimal performance capacity. In line with our hypothesis, reaction times (RT) in the SRTT were faster in the high- than in the low-level fatigue condition, and performance improvement was higher for the sequential than the motor components. Altogether, our results suggest a paradoxical, facilitating impact of CF on procedural motor sequence learning. We propose that facilitated learning in the high-level fatigue condition stems from a reduction in the cognitive resources devoted to cognitive control processes that normally oppose automatic procedural acquisition mechanisms.

Information processing speed mediates the relationship between white matter and general intelligence in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Alloza, Clara; Cox, Simon R; Duff, Barbara; Semple, Scott I; Bastin, Mark E; Whalley, Heather C; Lawrie, Stephen M

2016-08-30

Several authors have proposed that schizophrenia is the result of impaired connectivity between specific brain regions rather than differences in local brain activity. White matter abnormalities have been suggested as the anatomical substrate for this dysconnectivity hypothesis. Information processing speed may act as a key cognitive resource facilitating higher order cognition by allowing multiple cognitive processes to be simultaneously available. However, there is a lack of established associations between these variables in schizophrenia. We hypothesised that the relationship between white matter and general intelligence would be mediated by processing speed. White matter water diffusion parameters were studied using Tract-based Spatial Statistics and computed within 46 regions-of-interest (ROI). Principal component analysis was conducted on these white matter ROI for fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity, and on neurocognitive subtests to extract general factors of white mater structure (gFA, gMD), general intelligence (g) and processing speed (gspeed). There was a positive correlation between g and gFA (r= 0.67, p =0.001) that was partially and significantly mediated by gspeed (56.22% CI: 0.10-0.62). These findings suggest a plausible model of structure-function relations in schizophrenia, whereby white matter structure may provide a neuroanatomical substrate for general intelligence, which is partly supported by speed of information processing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The fear of others: a pilot study of social anxiety processes in paranoia.

PubMed

Newman Taylor, Katherine; Stopa, Luisa

2013-01-01

There is good reason to consider the role of social anxiety processes in paranoia; both the research and clinical literature indicate significant overlap between the two presentations. The aim of this study was to explore cognition and behaviour that are typically associated with social phobia, in people with paranoia, and then to draw out theoretical and clinical implications. We used a cross-sectional between-subjects design to compare participants with persecutory delusions (without social phobia), social phobia, a clinical control group with panic disorder, and a non-clinical control group. Ten to 15 people were recruited to each of four groups, with a final total of 48 participants. Each person completed measures of automatic thoughts, underlying assumptions, core beliefs and behaviour, and took part in a semi-structured interview designed to assess process (self-consciousness and attentional focus) and metacognitive beliefs. Surprisingly, measures of cognition and behaviour yielded no systematic differences between people with persecutory delusions and social phobia. People with persecutory delusions may experience overt and underlying cognition typically associated with social phobia, and behave in similar ways in response to perceived social threat. These initial results indicate: (i) that larger scale research is now warranted in order to draw firm conclusions about social anxiety processes in paranoia; (ii) more specific hypotheses to be tested; and (iii) a clinical model of paranoia, based on the cognitive model of social phobia, which might now usefully be validated.

Are there reasons to challenge a symbolic computationalist approach in explaining deductive reasoning?

PubMed

Faiciuc, Lucia E

2008-06-01

The majority of the existing theories explaining deductive reasoning could be included in a classic computationalist approach of the cognitive processes. In fact, deductive reasoning could be seen to be the pinnacle of the symbolic computationalism, its last fortress to be defended in the face of new, dynamic, and ecological perspectives over cognition. But are there weak points in that position regarding deductive reasoning? What would be the reasons for which new perspectives could gain in credibility? What could be their most important tenets? The answers given to those questions in the paper include two main points. The first one is that the present empirical data could not sustain unambiguously one view over the other, that they are obtained in artificial experimental conditions, and that there are data that are not easily explainable using the traditional computationalist paradigm. The second one is that approaching the deductive reasoning from dynamic and ecological perspectives could have significant advantages. The most obvious one is the possibility to integrate more easily the research regarding the deductive reasoning with the results obtained in other domains of the psychology (especially in what respects the lower cognitive processes), in artificial intelligence or in neurophysiology. The reasons for that would be that such perspectives, as they are sketched in the paper, would imply, essentially, processes of second-order pattern formation and recognition (as it is the case for perception), embodied cognition, and dynamic processes as the brain ones are.

A cognitive task analysis of information management strategies in a computerized provider order entry environment.

PubMed

Weir, Charlene R; Nebeker, Jonathan J R; Hicken, Bret L; Campo, Rebecca; Drews, Frank; Lebar, Beth

2007-01-01

Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) with electronic documentation, and computerized decision support dramatically changes the information environment of the practicing clinician. Prior work patterns based on paper, verbal exchange, and manual methods are replaced with automated, computerized, and potentially less flexible systems. The objective of this study is to explore the information management strategies that clinicians use in the process of adapting to a CPOE system using cognitive task analysis techniques. Observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 88 primary-care clinicians at 10 Veterans Administration Medical Centers. Interviews were taped, transcribed, and extensively analyzed to identify key information management goals, strategies, and tasks. Tasks were aggregated into groups, common components across tasks were clarified, and underlying goals and strategies identified. Nearly half of the identified tasks were not fully supported by the available technology. Six core components of tasks were identified. Four meta-cognitive information management goals emerged: 1) Relevance Screening; 2) Ensuring Accuracy; 3) Minimizing memory load; and 4) Negotiating Responsibility. Strategies used to support these goals are presented. Users develop a wide array of information management strategies that allow them to successfully adapt to new technology. Supporting the ability of users to develop adaptive strategies to support meta-cognitive goals is a key component of a successful system.

Pupillary dynamics reveal computational cost in sentence planning.

PubMed

Sevilla, Yamila; Maldonado, Mora; Shalóm, Diego E

2014-01-01

This study investigated the computational cost associated with grammatical planning in sentence production. We measured people's pupillary responses as they produced spoken descriptions of depicted events. We manipulated the syntactic structure of the target by training subjects to use different types of sentences following a colour cue. The results showed higher increase in pupil size for the production of passive and object dislocated sentences than for active canonical subject-verb-object sentences, indicating that more cognitive effort is associated with more complex noncanonical thematic order. We also manipulated the time at which the cue that triggered structure-building processes was presented. Differential increase in pupil diameter for more complex sentences was shown to rise earlier as the colour cue was presented earlier, suggesting that the observed pupillary changes are due to differential demands in relatively independent structure-building processes during grammatical planning. Task-evoked pupillary responses provide a reliable measure to study the cognitive processes involved in sentence production.

The effect of manipulating context-specific information on perceptual-cognitive processes during a simulated anticipation task.

PubMed

McRobert, Allistair P; Ward, Paul; Eccles, David W; Williams, A Mark

2011-08-01

We manipulated contextual information in order to examine the perceptual-cognitive processes that support anticipation using a simulated cricket-batting task. Skilled (N= 10) and less skilled (N= 10) cricket batters responded to video simulations of opponents bowling a cricket ball under high and low contextual information conditions. Skilled batters were more accurate, demonstrated more effective search behaviours, and provided more detailed verbal reports of thinking. Moreover, when they viewed their opponent multiple times (high context), they reduced their mean fixation time. All batters improved performance and altered thought processes when in the high context, compared to when they responded to their opponent without previously seeing them bowl (low context). Findings illustrate how context influences performance and the search for relevant information when engaging in a dynamic, time-constrained task. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

Development of an inter-professional screening instrument for cancer patients' education process.

PubMed

Vaartio-Rajalin, Heli; Huumonen, Tuula; Iire, Liisa; Jekunen, Antti; Leino-Kilpi, Helena; Minn, Heikki; Paloniemi, Jenni; Zabalegui, Adelaida

2016-02-01

The aim of this paper is to describe the development of an inter-professional screening instrument for cancer patients' cognitive resources, knowledge expectations and inter-professional collaboration within patient education. Four empirical datasets during 2012-2014 were analyzed in order to identify main categories, subcategories and items for inter-professional screening instrument. Our inter-professional screening instrument integrates the critical moments of cancer patient education and the knowledge expectation types obtained from patient datasets to assessment of patients' cognitive resources, knowledge expectations and comprehension; and intra; and inter-professional. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Socio-Cultural Theories of Cognitive Development: Implications for Teaching Theory in the Visual Arts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fielding, Rob

1989-01-01

Explicates the socio-cultural developmental theories of Vygotsky and Feuerstein which advocate teacher mediated learning in order to stimulate and accelerate development. Implications for art education include the need for the teacher to become involved in the enculturation of the child into the thinking processes and conceptual organization of…

The Role of Empirical Evidence in Modeling Speech Segmentation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Lawrence

2015-01-01

Choosing specific implementational details is one of the most important aspects of creating and evaluating a model. In order to properly model cognitive processes, choices for these details must be made based on empirical research. Unfortunately, modelers are often forced to make decisions in the absence of relevant data. My work investigates the…

Problem Solving in Social Studies: Concepts and Critiques.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Sickle, Ronald L.; Hoge, John D.

Recent developments in the field of cognitive psychology, particularly in the area of information processing, have shed light on the way people think in order to make decisions and solve problems. In addition, cooperative learning research has provided evidence of the effectiveness of cooperatively structured group work aimed at problem solving.…

New Approach to Analyzing Physics Problems: A Taxonomy of Introductory Physics Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teodorescu, Raluca E.; Bennhold, Cornelius; Feldman, Gerald; Medsker, Larry

2013-01-01

This paper describes research on a classification of physics problems in the context of introductory physics courses. This classification, called the Taxonomy of Introductory Physics Problems (TIPP), relates physics problems to the cognitive processes required to solve them. TIPP was created in order to design educational objectives, to develop…

Sensation-to-Cognition Cortical Streams in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

PubMed Central

Carmona, Susana; Hoekzema, Elseline; Castellanos, Francisco X.; García-García, David; Lage-Castellanos, Agustín; Dijk, Koene R.A.Van; Navas-Sánchez, Francisco J.; Martínez, Kenia; Desco, Manuel; Sepulcre, Jorge

2015-01-01

We sought to determine whether functional connectivity streams that link sensory, attentional, and higher-order cognitive circuits are atypical in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We applied a graph-theory method to the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 120 children with ADHD and 120 age-matched typically developing children (TDC). Starting in unimodal primary cortex—visual, auditory, and somatosensory—we used stepwise functional connectivity to calculate functional connectivity paths at discrete numbers of relay stations (or link-step distances). First, we characterized the functional connectivity streams that link sensory, attentional, and higher-order cognitive circuits in TDC and found that systems do not reach the level of integration achieved by adults. Second, we searched for stepwise functional connectivity differences between children with ADHD and TDC. We found that, at the initial steps of sensory functional connectivity streams, patients display significant enhancements of connectivity degree within neighboring areas of primary cortex, while connectivity to attention-regulatory areas is reduced. Third, at subsequent link-step distances from primary sensory cortex, children with ADHD show decreased connectivity to executive processing areas and increased degree of connections to default mode regions. Fourth, in examining medication histories in children with ADHD, we found that children medicated with psychostimulants present functional connectivity streams with higher degree of connectivity to regions subserving attentional and executive processes compared to medication-naïve children. We conclude that predominance of local sensory processing and lesser influx of information to attentional and executive regions may reduce the ability to organize and control the balance between external and internal sources of information in ADHD. PMID:25821110

Performance in multiple domains of social cognition in parents of patients with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Lavoie, Marie-Audrey; Plana, India; Jackson, Philip L; Godmaire-Duhaime, Florence; Bédard Lacroix, Jacinthe; Achim, Amélie M

2014-12-15

Social cognition refers to a set of cognitive abilities that allow us to perceive and interpret social stimuli. Social cognition is affected in schizophrenia and impairments have also been documented in unaffected relatives, suggesting that social cognition may be related to a genetic vulnerability to the disease. This study aims to investigate potential impairments in four domains of social cognition (mentalizing, emotion recognition, social knowledge and empathy) in the same group of relatives in order to gather a more complete picture of social cognition difficulties in this population. The Batterie Intégrée de Cognition Sociale (BICS) (mentalizing, emotion recognition, and social knowledge) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) (empathy) were administered to 31 parents of patients with a psychotic disorder and 38 healthy controls. Parents of patients performed significantly worse than controls on the mentalizing test but significantly better on the social knowledge test. No significant between-group differences were observed for emotion recognition and empathy. This study is the first to evaluate four social cognition domains in this population. The results precise which social cognition processes may be impaired or preserved in unaffected relatives of patients and lead us to propose an hypothesis about a mechanism that could underlie the mentalizing difficulties observed in this population. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Short-term memory development: differences in serial position curves between age groups and latent classes.

PubMed

Koppenol-Gonzalez, Gabriela V; Bouwmeester, Samantha; Vermunt, Jeroen K

2014-10-01

In studies on the development of cognitive processes, children are often grouped based on their ages before analyzing the data. After the analysis, the differences between age groups are interpreted as developmental differences. We argue that this approach is problematic because the variance in cognitive performance within an age group is considered to be measurement error. However, if a part of this variance is systematic, it can provide very useful information about the cognitive processes used by some children of a certain age but not others. In the current study, we presented 210 children aged 5 to 12 years with serial order short-term memory tasks. First we analyze our data according to the approach using age groups, and then we apply latent class analysis to form latent classes of children based on their performance instead of their ages. We display the results of the age groups and the latent classes in terms of serial position curves, and we discuss the differences in results. Our findings show that there are considerable differences in performance between the age groups and the latent classes. We interpret our findings as indicating that the latent class analysis yielded a much more meaningful way of grouping children in terms of cognitive processes than the a priori grouping of children based on their ages. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Capturing a Commander's decision making style

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, Eugene; Nguyen, Hien; Russell, Jacob; Kim, Keumjoo; Veenhuis, Luke; Boparai, Ramnjit; Stautland, Thomas Kristoffer

2017-05-01

A Commander's decision making style represents how he weighs his choices and evaluates possible solutions with regards to his goals. Specifically, in the naval warfare domain, it relates the way he processes a large amount of information in dynamic, uncertain environments, allocates resources, and chooses appropriate actions to pursue. In this paper, we describe an approach to capture a Commander's decision style by creating a cognitive model that captures his decisionmaking process and evaluate this model using a set of scenarios using an online naval warfare simulation game. In this model, we use the Commander's past behaviors and generalize Commander's actions across multiple problems and multiple decision making sequences in order to recommend actions to a Commander in a manner that he may have taken. Our approach builds upon the Double Transition Model to represent the Commander's focus and beliefs to estimate his cognitive state. Each cognitive state reflects a stage in a Commander's decision making process, each action reflects the tasks that he has taken to move himself closer to a final decision, and the reward reflects how close he is to achieving his goal. We then use inverse reinforcement learning to compute a reward for each of the Commander's actions. These rewards and cognitive states are used to compare between different styles of decision making. We construct a set of scenarios in the game where rational, intuitive and spontaneous decision making styles will be evaluated.

Deficits in implicit attention to social signals in schizophrenia and high risk groups: behavioural evidence from a new illusion.

PubMed

van 't Wout, Mascha; van Rijn, Sophie; Jellema, Tjeerd; Kahn, René S; Aleman, André

2009-01-01

An increasing body of evidence suggests that the apparent social impairments observed in schizophrenia may arise from deficits in social cognitive processing capacities. The ability to process basic social cues, such as gaze direction and biological motion, effortlessly and implicitly is thought to be a prerequisite for establishing successful social interactions and for construing a sense of "social intuition." However, studies that address the ability to effortlessly process basic social cues in schizophrenia are lacking. Because social cognitive processing deficits may be part of the genetic vulnerability for schizophrenia, we also investigated two groups that have been shown to be at increased risk of developing schizophrenia-spectrum pathology: first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients and men with Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY). We compared 28 patients with schizophrenia, 29 siblings of patients with schizophrenia, and 29 individuals with Klinefelter syndrome with 46 matched healthy control subjects on a new paradigm. This paradigm measures one's susceptibility for a bias in distance estimation between two agents that is induced by the implicit processing of gaze direction and biological motion conveyed by these agents. Compared to control subjects, patients with schizophrenia, as well as siblings of patients and Klinefelter men, showed a lack of influence of social cues on their distance judgments. We suggest that the insensitivity for social cues is a cognitive aspect of schizophrenia that may be seen as an endophenotype as it appears to be present both in relatives who are at increased genetic risk and in a genetic disorder at risk for schizophrenia-spectrum psychopathology. These social cue-processing deficits could contribute, in part, to the difficulties in higher order social cognitive tasks and, hence, to decreased social competence that has been observed in these groups.

Temporal and spectral profiles of stimulus-stimulus and stimulus-response conflict processing.

PubMed

Wang, Kai; Li, Qi; Zheng, Ya; Wang, Hongbin; Liu, Xun

2014-04-01

The ability to detect and resolve conflict is an essential function of cognitive control. Laboratory studies often use stimulus-response-compatibility (SRC) tasks to examine conflict processing in order to elucidate the mechanism and modular organization of cognitive control. Inspired by two influential theories regarding cognitive control, the conflict monitoring theory (Botvinick, Braver, Barch, Carter, & Cohen, 2001) and dimensional overlap taxonomy (Kornblum, Hasbroucq, & Osman, 1990), we explored the temporal and spectral similarities and differences between processing of stimulus-stimulus (S-S) and stimulus-response (S-R) conflicts with event related potential (ERP) and time-frequency measures. We predicted that processing of S-S conflict starts earlier than that of S-R conflict and that the two types of conflict may involve different frequency bands. Participants were asked to perform two parallel SRC tasks, both combining the Stroop task (involving S-S conflict) and Simon task (involving S-R conflict). ERP results showed pronounced SRC effects (incongruent vs. congruent) on N2 and P3 components for both S-S and S-R conflicts. In both tasks, SRC effects of S-S conflict took place earlier than those of S-R conflict. Time-frequency analysis revealed that both types of SRC effects modulated theta and alpha bands, while S-R conflict effects additionally modulated power in the beta band. These results indicated that although S-S and S-R conflict processing shared considerable ERP and time-frequency properties, they differed in temporal and spectral dynamics. We suggest that the modular organization of cognitive control should take both commonality and distinction of S-S and S-R conflict processing into consideration. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

P3 amplitude attenuation secondary to increases in target-to-target interval (TTI) during spatial serial order recall: Implications for EEG models of working memory function.

PubMed

Hochberger, William C; Axelrod, Jenna L; Sarapas, Casey; Shankman, Stewart A; Hill, S Kristian

2018-06-08

Research suggests that increasing delays in stimulus read-out can trigger declines in serial order recall accuracy due to increases in cognitive demand imposed by the delay; however, the exact neural mechanisms associated with this decline are unclear. Changes in neural resource allocation present as the ideal target and can easily be monitored by examining changes in the amplitude of an ERP component known as the P3. Changes in P3 amplitude secondary to exogenous pacing of stimulus read-out via increased target-to-target intervals (TTI) during recall could reflect decreased neural resource allocation due to increased cognitive demand. This shift in resource allocation could result in working memory storage decay and the declines in serial order accuracy described by prior research. In order to examine this potential effect, participants were administered a spatial serial order processing task, with the recall series consisting of a series of correct ("match") or incorrect ("non-match" or "oddball") stimuli. Moreover, the recall series included either a brief (500ms) or extended (2000ms) delay between stimuli. Results were significant for the presence of a P3 response to non-match stimuli for both experimental conditions, and attenuation of P3 amplitude secondary to the increase in target-to-target interval (TTI). These findings suggest that extending the delay between target recognition could increase cognitive demand and trigger a decrease in neural resource allocation that results in a decay of working memory stores.

Brain foods: the effects of nutrients on brain function

PubMed Central

Gómez-Pinilla, Fernando

2009-01-01

It has long been suspected that the relative abundance of specific nutrients can affect cognitive processes and emotions. Newly described influences of dietary factors on neuronal function and synaptic plasticity have revealed some of the vital mechanisms that are responsible for the action of diet on brain health and mental function. Several gut hormones that can enter the brain, or that are produced in the brain itself, influence cognitive ability. In addition, well-established regulators of synaptic plasticity, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, can function as metabolic modulators, responding to peripheral signals such as food intake. Understanding the molecular basis of the effects of food on cognition will help us to determine how best to manipulate diet in order to increase the resistance of neurons to insults and promote mental fitness. PMID:18568016

Cognitive and sociocultural aspects of robotized technology: innovative processes of adaptation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kvesko, S. B.; Kvesko, B. B.; Kornienko, M. A.; Nikitina, Y. A.; Pankova, N. M.

2018-05-01

The paper dwells upon interaction between socio-cultural phenomena and cognitive characteristics of robotized technology. The interdisciplinary approach was employed in order to cast light on the manifold and multilevel identity of scientific advance in terms of robotized technology within the mental realm. Analyzing robotized technology from the viewpoint of its significance for the modern society is one of the upcoming trends in the contemporary scientific realm. The robots under production are capable of interacting with people; this results in a growing necessity for the studies on social status of robotized technological items. Socio-cultural aspect of cognitive robotized technology is reflected in the fact that the nature becomes ‘aware’ of itself via human brain, a human being tends to strives for perfection in their intellectual and moral dimensions.

The social life of cognition.

PubMed

Korman, Joanna; Voiklis, John; Malle, Bertram F

2015-02-01

We begin by illustrating that long before the cognitive revolution, social psychology focused on topics pertaining to what is now known as social cognition: people's subjective interpretations of social situations and the concepts and cognitive processes underlying these interpretations. We then examine two questions: whether social cognition entails characteristic concepts and cognitive processes, and how social processes might themselves shape and constrain cognition. We suggest that social cognition relies heavily on generic cognition but also on unique concepts (e.g., agent, intentionality) and unique processes (e.g., projection, imitation, joint attention). We further suggest that social processes play a prominent role in the development and unfolding of several generic cognitive processes, including learning, attention, and memory. Finally, we comment on the prospects of a recently developing approach to the study of social cognition (social neuroscience) and two potential future directions (computational social cognition and social-cognitive robotics). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Process and representation in graphical displays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gillan, Douglas J.; Lewis, Robert; Rudisill, Marianne

1990-01-01

How people comprehend graphics is examined. Graphical comprehension involves the cognitive representation of information from a graphic display and the processing strategies that people apply to answer questions about graphics. Research on representation has examined both the features present in a graphic display and the cognitive representation of the graphic. The key features include the physical components of a graph, the relation between the figure and its axes, and the information in the graph. Tests of people's memory for graphs indicate that both the physical and informational aspect of a graph are important in the cognitive representation of a graph. However, the physical (or perceptual) features overshadow the information to a large degree. Processing strategies also involve a perception-information distinction. In order to answer simple questions (e.g., determining the value of a variable, comparing several variables, and determining the mean of a set of variables), people switch between two information processing strategies: (1) an arithmetic, look-up strategy in which they use a graph much like a table, looking up values and performing arithmetic calculations; and (2) a perceptual strategy in which they use the spatial characteristics of the graph to make comparisons and estimations. The user's choice of strategies depends on the task and the characteristics of the graph. A theory of graphic comprehension is presented.

Self-reported tolerance influences prefrontal cortex hemodynamics and affective responses.

PubMed

Tempest, Gavin; Parfitt, Gaynor

2016-02-01

The relationship between cognitive and sensory processes in the brain contributes to the regulation of affective responses (pleasure-displeasure). Exercise can be used to manipulate sensory processes (by increasing physiological demand) in order to examine the role of dispositional traits that may influence an individual's ability to cognitively regulate these responses. With the use of near infrared spectroscopy, in this study we examined the influence of self-reported tolerance upon prefrontal cortex (PFC) hemodynamics and affective responses. The hemodynamic response was measured in individuals with high or low tolerance during an incremental exercise test. Sensory manipulation was standardized against metabolic processes (ventilatory threshold [VT] and respiratory compensation point [RCP]), and affective responses were recorded. The results showed that the high-tolerance group displayed a larger hemodynamic response within the right PFC above VT (which increased above RCP). The low-tolerance group showed a larger hemodynamic response within the left PFC above VT. The high-tolerance group reported a more positive/less negative affective response above VT. These findings provide direct neurophysiological evidence of differential hemodynamic responses within the PFC that are associated with tolerance in the presence of increased physiological demands. This study supports the role of dispositional traits and previous theorizing into the underlying mechanisms (cognitive vs. sensory processes) of affective responses.

A framework for analyzing the cognitive complexity of computer-assisted clinical ordering.

PubMed

Horsky, Jan; Kaufman, David R; Oppenheim, Michael I; Patel, Vimla L

2003-01-01

Computer-assisted provider order entry is a technology that is designed to expedite medical ordering and to reduce the frequency of preventable errors. This paper presents a multifaceted cognitive methodology for the characterization of cognitive demands of a medical information system. Our investigation was informed by the distributed resources (DR) model, a novel approach designed to describe the dimensions of user interfaces that introduce unnecessary cognitive complexity. This method evaluates the relative distribution of external (system) and internal (user) representations embodied in system interaction. We conducted an expert walkthrough evaluation of a commercial order entry system, followed by a simulated clinical ordering task performed by seven clinicians. The DR model was employed to explain variation in user performance and to characterize the relationship of resource distribution and ordering errors. The analysis revealed that the configuration of resources in this ordering application placed unnecessarily heavy cognitive demands on the user, especially on those who lacked a robust conceptual model of the system. The resources model also provided some insight into clinicians' interactive strategies and patterns of associated errors. Implications for user training and interface design based on the principles of human-computer interaction in the medical domain are discussed.

Investigation of Laser Welding of Ti Alloys for Cognitive Process Parameters Selection.

PubMed

Caiazzo, Fabrizia; Caggiano, Alessandra

2018-04-20

Laser welding of titanium alloys is attracting increasing interest as an alternative to traditional joining techniques for industrial applications, with particular reference to the aerospace sector, where welded assemblies allow for the reduction of the buy-to-fly ratio, compared to other traditional mechanical joining techniques. In this research work, an investigation on laser welding of Ti⁻6Al⁻4V alloy plates is carried out through an experimental testing campaign, under different process conditions, in order to perform a characterization of the produced weld bead geometry, with the final aim of developing a cognitive methodology able to support decision-making about the selection of the suitable laser welding process parameters. The methodology is based on the employment of artificial neural networks able to identify correlations between the laser welding process parameters, with particular reference to the laser power, welding speed and defocusing distance, and the weld bead geometric features, on the basis of the collected experimental data.

Investigation of Laser Welding of Ti Alloys for Cognitive Process Parameters Selection

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Laser welding of titanium alloys is attracting increasing interest as an alternative to traditional joining techniques for industrial applications, with particular reference to the aerospace sector, where welded assemblies allow for the reduction of the buy-to-fly ratio, compared to other traditional mechanical joining techniques. In this research work, an investigation on laser welding of Ti–6Al–4V alloy plates is carried out through an experimental testing campaign, under different process conditions, in order to perform a characterization of the produced weld bead geometry, with the final aim of developing a cognitive methodology able to support decision-making about the selection of the suitable laser welding process parameters. The methodology is based on the employment of artificial neural networks able to identify correlations between the laser welding process parameters, with particular reference to the laser power, welding speed and defocusing distance, and the weld bead geometric features, on the basis of the collected experimental data. PMID:29677114

The role of the supplementary motor area for speech and language processing.

PubMed

Hertrich, Ingo; Dietrich, Susanne; Ackermann, Hermann

2016-09-01

Apart from its function in speech motor control, the supplementary motor area (SMA) has largely been neglected in models of speech and language processing in the brain. The aim of this review paper is to summarize more recent work, suggesting that the SMA has various superordinate control functions during speech communication and language reception, which is particularly relevant in case of increased task demands. The SMA is subdivided into a posterior region serving predominantly motor-related functions (SMA proper) whereas the anterior part (pre-SMA) is involved in higher-order cognitive control mechanisms. In analogy to motor triggering functions of the SMA proper, the pre-SMA seems to manage procedural aspects of cognitive processing. These latter functions, among others, comprise attentional switching, ambiguity resolution, context integration, and coordination between procedural and declarative memory structures. Regarding language processing, this refers, for example, to the use of inner speech mechanisms during language encoding, but also to lexical disambiguation, syntax and prosody integration, and context-tracking. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is Primary-Process Cognition a Feature of Hypnosis?

PubMed

Finn, Michael T; Goldman, Jared I; Lyon, Gyrid B; Nash, Michael R

2017-01-01

The division of cognition into primary and secondary processes is an important part of contemporary psychoanalytic metapsychology. Whereas primary processes are most characteristic of unconscious thought and loose associations, secondary processes generally govern conscious thought and logical reasoning. It has been theorized that an induction into hypnosis is accompanied by a predomination of primary-process cognition over secondary-process cognition. The authors hypothesized that highly hypnotizable individuals would demonstrate more primary-process cognition as measured by a recently developed cognitive-perceptual task. This hypothesis was not supported. In fact, low hypnotizable participants demonstrated higher levels of primary-process cognition. Exploratory analyses suggested a more specific effect: felt connectedness to the hypnotist seemed to promote secondary-process cognition among low hypnotizable participants.

Cerebellar contribution to higher and lower order rule learning and cognitive flexibility in mice.

PubMed

Dickson, P E; Cairns, J; Goldowitz, D; Mittleman, G

2017-03-14

Cognitive flexibility has traditionally been considered a frontal lobe function. However, converging evidence suggests involvement of a larger brain circuit which includes the cerebellum. Reciprocal pathways connecting the cerebellum to the prefrontal cortex provide a biological substrate through which the cerebellum may modulate higher cognitive functions, and it has been observed that cognitive inflexibility and cerebellar pathology co-occur in psychiatric disorders (e.g., autism, schizophrenia, addiction). However, the degree to which the cerebellum contributes to distinct forms of cognitive flexibility and rule learning is unknown. We tested lurcher↔wildtype aggregation chimeras which lose 0-100% of cerebellar Purkinje cells during development on a touchscreen-mediated attentional set-shifting task to assess the contribution of the cerebellum to higher and lower order rule learning and cognitive flexibility. Purkinje cells, the sole output of the cerebellar cortex, ranged from 0 to 108,390 in tested mice. Reversal learning and extradimensional set-shifting were impaired in mice with⩾95% Purkinje cell loss. Cognitive deficits were unrelated to motor deficits in ataxic mice. Acquisition of a simple visual discrimination and an attentional-set were unrelated to Purkinje cells. A positive relationship was observed between Purkinje cells and errors when exemplars from a novel, non-relevant dimension were introduced. Collectively, these data suggest that the cerebellum contributes to higher order cognitive flexibility, lower order cognitive flexibility, and attention to novel stimuli, but not the acquisition of higher and lower order rules. These data indicate that the cerebellar pathology observed in psychiatric disorders may underlie deficits involving cognitive flexibility and attention to novel stimuli. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Thought-shape fusion in young healthy females appears after vivid imagination of thin ideals.

PubMed

Wyssen, Andrea; Coelho, Jennifer S; Wilhelm, Peter; Zimmermann, Grégoire; Munsch, Simone

2016-09-01

It has been shown that exposure to female thin ideals in media has minimal to moderate direct effects on body image satisfaction (BIS), mood and dysfunctional eating in healthy young women. Evidence has been found for several intervening variables such as social comparison processes. Accordingly it is assumed, that cognitive processing (rather than mere media exposure) is crucial. Consequently, vivid imagination of thin ideals after exposure to a fashion magazine was induced in order to trigger cognitive processes. Changes in mood, BIS and resulting bodyrelated cognitive distortions (Thought-Shape Fusion Body, TSF-B) were assessed. A total of 91 healthy women (mean age 21.9 years, SD = 2.0) were exposed to either a fashion magazine (thin-ideal group) or a nature magazine (control group) in a waiting room design. Afterwards they were instructed to vividly imagine either the thin ideals or landscapes. When exposed to thin ideals, a significant decrease in mood and BIS emerged after vivid imagination, but not after mere magazine exposure. Imagining thin ideals triggered body-related cognitive distortions (TSF-B). A higher degree of eating disorder (ED) symptomatology amplified this effect. These findings apply to young healthy females and cannot be generalized to samples with obesity, EDs or males. Internal validity is limited since the intensity of the exposure has not been systematically controlled. Vivid imagination of thin ideals promoted by magazines results in impaired mood and BIS and moreover in body-related cognitive distortions (TSF-B) in healthy women, especially, for those with stronger ED symptomatology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Decision Making and Ratio Processing in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

PubMed

Pertl, Marie-Theres; Benke, Thomas; Zamarian, Laura; Delazer, Margarete

2015-01-01

Making advantageous decisions is important in everyday life. This study aimed at assessing how patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) make decisions under risk. Additionally, it investigated the relationship between decision making, ratio processing, basic numerical abilities, and executive functions. Patients with MCI (n = 22) were compared with healthy controls (n = 29) on a complex task of decision making under risk (Game of Dice Task-Double, GDT-D), on two tasks evaluating basic decision making under risk, on a task of ratio processing, and on several neuropsychological background tests. Patients performed significantly lower than controls on the GDT-D and on ratio processing, whereas groups performed comparably on basic decision tasks. Specifically, in the GDT-D, patients obtained lower net scores and lower mean expected values, which indicate a less advantageous performance relative to that of controls. Performance on the GDT-D correlated significantly with performance in basic decision tasks, ratio processing, and executive-function measures when the analysis was performed on the whole sample. Patients with MCI make sub-optimal decisions in complex risk situations, whereas they perform at the same level as healthy adults in simple decision situations. Ratio processing and executive functions have an impact on the decision-making performance of both patients and healthy older adults. In order to facilitate advantageous decisions in complex everyday situations, information should be presented in an easily comprehensible form and cognitive training programs for patients with MCI should focus--among other abilities--on executive functions and ratio processing.

Neural bases of orthographic long-term memory and working memory in dysgraphia

PubMed Central

Purcell, Jeremy; Hillis, Argye E.; Capasso, Rita; Miceli, Gabriele

2016-01-01

Spelling a word involves the retrieval of information about the word’s letters and their order from long-term memory as well as the maintenance and processing of this information by working memory in preparation for serial production by the motor system. While it is known that brain lesions may selectively affect orthographic long-term memory and working memory processes, relatively little is known about the neurotopographic distribution of the substrates that support these cognitive processes, or the lesions that give rise to the distinct forms of dysgraphia that affect these cognitive processes. To examine these issues, this study uses a voxel-based mapping approach to analyse the lesion distribution of 27 individuals with dysgraphia subsequent to stroke, who were identified on the basis of their behavioural profiles alone, as suffering from deficits only affecting either orthographic long-term or working memory, as well as six other individuals with deficits affecting both sets of processes. The findings provide, for the first time, clear evidence of substrates that selectively support orthographic long-term and working memory processes, with orthographic long-term memory deficits centred in either the left posterior inferior frontal region or left ventral temporal cortex, and orthographic working memory deficits primarily arising from lesions of the left parietal cortex centred on the intraparietal sulcus. These findings also contribute to our understanding of the relationship between the neural instantiation of written language processes and spoken language, working memory and other cognitive skills. PMID:26685156

Development of thalamocortical connectivity during infancy and its cognitive correlations.

PubMed

Alcauter, Sarael; Lin, Weili; Smith, J Keith; Short, Sarah J; Goldman, Barbara D; Reznick, J Steven; Gilmore, John H; Gao, Wei

2014-07-02

Although commonly viewed as a sensory information relay center, the thalamus has been increasingly recognized as an essential node in various higher-order cognitive circuits, and the underlying thalamocortical interaction mechanism has attracted increasing scientific interest. However, the development of thalamocortical connections and how such development relates to cognitive processes during the earliest stages of life remain largely unknown. Leveraging a large human pediatric sample (N = 143) with longitudinal resting-state fMRI scans and cognitive data collected during the first 2 years of life, we aimed to characterize the age-dependent development of thalamocortical connectivity patterns by examining the functional relationship between the thalamus and nine cortical functional networks and determine the correlation between thalamocortical connectivity and cognitive performance at ages 1 and 2 years. Our results revealed that the thalamus-sensorimotor and thalamus-salience connectivity networks were already present in neonates, whereas the thalamus-medial visual and thalamus-default mode network connectivity emerged later, at 1 year of age. More importantly, brain-behavior analyses based on the Mullen Early Learning Composite Score and visual-spatial working memory performance measured at 1 and 2 years of age highlighted significant correlations with the thalamus-salience network connectivity. These results provide new insights into the understudied early functional brain development process and shed light on the behavioral importance of the emerging thalamocortical connectivity during infancy. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/349067-09$15.00/0.

An information theory analysis of spatial decisions in cognitive development

PubMed Central

Scott, Nicole M.; Sera, Maria D.; Georgopoulos, Apostolos P.

2015-01-01

Performance in a cognitive task can be considered as the outcome of a decision-making process operating across various knowledge domains or aspects of a single domain. Therefore, an analysis of these decisions in various tasks can shed light on the interplay and integration of these domains (or elements within a single domain) as they are associated with specific task characteristics. In this study, we applied an information theoretic approach to assess quantitatively the gain of knowledge across various elements of the cognitive domain of spatial, relational knowledge, as a function of development. Specifically, we examined changing spatial relational knowledge from ages 5 to 10 years. Our analyses consisted of a two-step process. First, we performed a hierarchical clustering analysis on the decisions made in 16 different tasks of spatial relational knowledge to determine which tasks were performed similarly at each age group as well as to discover how the tasks clustered together. We next used two measures of entropy to capture the gradual emergence of order in the development of relational knowledge. These measures of “cognitive entropy” were defined based on two independent aspects of chunking, namely (1) the number of clusters formed at each age group, and (2) the distribution of tasks across the clusters. We found that both measures of entropy decreased with age in a quadratic fashion and were positively and linearly correlated. The decrease in entropy and, therefore, gain of information during development was accompanied by improved performance. These results document, for the first time, the orderly and progressively structured “chunking” of decisions across the development of spatial relational reasoning and quantify this gain within a formal information-theoretic framework. PMID:25698915

Patterns of linguistic and numerical performance in aphasia.

PubMed

Rath, Dajana; Domahs, Frank; Dressel, Katharina; Claros-Salinas, Dolores; Klein, Elise; Willmes, Klaus; Krinzinger, Helga

2015-02-04

Empirical research on the relationship between linguistic and numerical processing revealed inconsistent results for different levels of cognitive processing (e.g., lexical, semantic) as well as different stimulus materials (e.g., Arabic digits, number words, letters, non-number words). Information of dissociation patterns in aphasic patients was used in order to investigate the dissociability of linguistic and numerical processes. The aim of the present prospective study was a comprehensive, specific, and systematic investigation of relationships between linguistic and numerical processing, considering the impact of asemantic vs. semantic processing and the type of material employed (numbers compared to letters vs. words). A sample of aphasic patients (n = 60) was assessed with a battery of linguistic and numerical tasks directly comparable for their cognitive processing levels (e.g., perceptual, morpho-lexical, semantic). Mean performance differences and frequencies of (complementary) dissociations in individual patients revealed the most prominent numerical advantage for asemantic tasks when comparing the processing of numbers vs. letters, whereas the least numerical advantage was found for semantic tasks when comparing the processing of numbers vs. words. Different patient subgroups showing differential dissociation patterns were further analysed and discussed. A comprehensive model of linguistic and numerical processing should take these findings into account.

Latent Partially Ordered Classification Models and Normal Mixtures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tatsuoka, Curtis; Varadi, Ferenc; Jaeger, Judith

2013-01-01

Latent partially ordered sets (posets) can be employed in modeling cognitive functioning, such as in the analysis of neuropsychological (NP) and educational test data. Posets are cognitively diagnostic in the sense that classification states in these models are associated with detailed profiles of cognitive functioning. These profiles allow for…

Temporal Dynamics of Hypothesis Generation: The Influences of Data Serial Order, Data Consistency, and Elicitation Timing

PubMed Central

Lange, Nicholas D.; Thomas, Rick P.; Davelaar, Eddy J.

2012-01-01

The pre-decisional process of hypothesis generation is a ubiquitous cognitive faculty that we continually employ in an effort to understand our environment and thereby support appropriate judgments and decisions. Although we are beginning to understand the fundamental processes underlying hypothesis generation, little is known about how various temporal dynamics, inherent in real world generation tasks, influence the retrieval of hypotheses from long-term memory. This paper presents two experiments investigating three data acquisition dynamics in a simulated medical diagnosis task. The results indicate that the mere serial order of data, data consistency (with previously generated hypotheses), and mode of responding influence the hypothesis generation process. An extension of the HyGene computational model endowed with dynamic data acquisition processes is forwarded and explored to provide an account of the present data. PMID:22754547

Processing ordinality and quantity: the case of developmental dyscalculia.

PubMed

Rubinsten, Orly; Sury, Dana

2011-01-01

In contrast to quantity processing, up to date, the nature of ordinality has received little attention from researchers despite the fact that both quantity and ordinality are embodied in numerical information. Here we ask if there are two separate core systems that lie at the foundations of numerical cognition: (1) the traditionally and well accepted numerical magnitude system but also (2) core system for representing ordinal information. We report two novel experiments of ordinal processing that explored the relation between ordinal and numerical information processing in typically developing adults and adults with developmental dyscalculia (DD). Participants made "ordered" or "non-ordered" judgments about 3 groups of dots (non-symbolic numerical stimuli; in Experiment 1) and 3 numbers (symbolic task: Experiment 2). In contrast to previous findings and arguments about quantity deficit in DD participants, when quantity and ordinality are dissociated (as in the current tasks), DD participants exhibited a normal ratio effect in the non-symbolic ordinal task. They did not show, however, the ordinality effect. Ordinality effect in DD appeared only when area and density were randomized, but only in the descending direction. In the symbolic task, the ordinality effect was modulated by ratio and direction in both groups. These findings suggest that there might be two separate cognitive representations of ordinal and quantity information and that linguistic knowledge may facilitate estimation of ordinal information.

Brain volume change and cognitive trajectories in aging.

PubMed

Fletcher, Evan; Gavett, Brandon; Harvey, Danielle; Farias, Sarah Tomaszewski; Olichney, John; Beckett, Laurel; DeCarli, Charles; Mungas, Dan

2018-05-01

Examine how longitudinal cognitive trajectories relate to brain baseline measures and change in lobar volumes in a racially/ethnically and cognitively diverse sample of older adults. Participants were 460 older adults enrolled in a longitudinal aging study. Cognitive outcomes were measures of episodic memory, semantic memory, executive function, and spatial ability derived from the Spanish and English Neuropsychological Assessment Scales (SENAS). Latent variable multilevel modeling of the four cognitive outcomes as parallel longitudinal processes identified intercepts for each outcome and a second order global change factor explaining covariance among the highly correlated slopes. We examined how baseline brain volumes (lobar gray matter, hippocampus, and white matter hyperintensity) and change in brain volumes (lobar gray matter) were associated with cognitive intercepts and global cognitive change. Lobar volumes were dissociated into global and specific components using latent variable methods. Cognitive change was most strongly associated with brain gray matter volume change, with strong independent effects of global gray matter change and specific temporal lobe gray matter change. Baseline white matter hyperintensity and hippocampal volumes had significant incremental effects on cognitive decline beyond gray matter change. Baseline lobar gray matter was related to cognitive decline, but did not contribute beyond gray matter change. Cognitive decline was strongly influenced by gray matter volume change and, especially, temporal lobe change. The strong influence of temporal lobe gray matter change on cognitive decline may reflect involvement of temporal lobe structures that are critical for late life cognitive health but also are vulnerable to diseases of aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Effect of Cognitive Style on Learning and Retrieval of Navigational Environments.

PubMed

Boccia, Maddalena; Vecchione, Francesca; Piccardi, Laura; Guariglia, Cecilia

2017-01-01

Field independence (FI) has been found to correlate with a wide range of cognitive processes requiring cognitive restructuring. Cognitive restructuring, that is going beyond the information given by the setting, is pivotal in creating stable mental representations of the environment, the so-called "cognitive maps," and it affects visuo-spatial abilities underpinning environmental navigation. Here we evaluated whether FI, by fostering cognitive restructuring of environmental cues on the basis of an internal frame of reference, affects the learning and retrieval of a novel environment. Fifty-four participants were submitted to the Embedded Figure Test (EFT) for assessing their Cognitive Style (CS) and to the Perspective Taking/Spatial Orientation Test (PTSOT) and the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Scale (SBSOD) for assessing their spatial perspective taking and orientation skills. They were also required to learn a path in a novel, real environment (route learning, RL), to recognize landmarks of this path among distracters (landmark recognition, LR), to order them (landmark ordering, LO) and to draw the learned path on a map (map drawing, MD). Retrieval tasks were performed both immediately after learning (immediate-retrieval) and the day after (24 h-retrieval). Performances on EFT significantly correlated with the time needed to learn the path, with MD (both in the immediate- and in the 24 h- retrievals), results on LR (in 24-retrieval) and performances on PTSOT. Interestingly, we found that gender interacted with CS on RL (time of learning) and MD. Females performed significantly worse than males only if they were classified as FD, but did not differ from males if they were classified as FI. These results suggest that CS affects learning and retrieval of navigational environment, especially when a map-like representation is required. We propose that CS may be pivotal in forming the cognitive map of the environment, likely due to the higher ability of FI individuals in restructuring environmental cues in a global and flexible long-term representation of the environment.

Variation in Working Memory Capacity and Temporal-Contextual Retrieval from Episodic Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spillers, Gregory J.; Unsworth, Nash

2011-01-01

Unsworth and Engle (2007) recently proposed a model of working memory capacity characterized by, among other things, the ability to conduct a strategic, cue-dependent search of long-term memory. Although this ability has been found to mediate individual variation in a number of higher order cognitive tasks, the component processes involved remain…

Development of Planning Behaviour and Decision Making Ability of Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahapatra, Shamita

2016-01-01

Decision making, a complex mental activity underlying the act of choosing from among the alternatives in attaining a goal constitutes the core component of planning, a higher order cognitive process as per the PASS theory of intelligence. An attempt, therefore, has been made in the present study to examine the development of planning behaviour in…

Electrophysiological Markers of Newly Acquired Symbolic Numerical Representations: The Role of Magnitude and Ordinal Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merkley, Rebecca; Shimi, Andria; Scerif, Gaia

2016-01-01

It is not yet understood how children acquire the meaning of numerical symbols and most existing research has focused on the role of approximate non-symbolic representations of number in this process (see Piazza, ("Trends in Cognitive" 14(12):542-551, 2010). However, numerical symbols necessitate an understanding of both order and…

Roles of Attention Shifting and Inhibitory Control in Fourth-Grade Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kieffer, Michael J.; Vukovic, Rose K.; Berry, Daniel

2013-01-01

Executive functioning (EF) refers to a set of higher order, core cognitive processes that facilitate planning, problem solving, and the initiation and maintenance of goal-directed behavior. Although recent research has established the importance of EF for word reading development in early childhood, few studies have investigated the role of EF in…

From Widening Horizons to Widening Participation: Transmitting the Experience of Global Citizenship to the School Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hampton, Cathy; Demeure-Ahearne, Ariane

2016-01-01

This paper gives account of a project involving Year Abroad students of French at Warwick University challenged to select "realia" from their host countries in order to stimulate enthusiasm for language learning in local schools. It considers the cognitive and affective processes informing the "culture gathering" that took…

Curricular Framework Documents from Slovenia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vendramin, Valerija

2004-01-01

Slovenia is currently undergoing a process of school reform in order to extend compulsory education from eight to nine years and to lower the school entering age from 7 to 6. According to the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, the new elementary schools will focus less on the content and more on developing cognitive and social skills. At…

Diagnostic reframing of intractable environmental problems: Case of a contested multiparty public land-use conflict

Treesearch

Stanley T. Asah; David N. Bengston; Keith Wendt; Kristen C. Nelson

2012-01-01

Intractable conflicts are omnipresent in environmental management. These conflicts do not necessarily resist resolution but need to be fundamentally transformed in order to reach agreement. Reframing, a process that allows disputants to create new alternative understandings of the problem, is one way of transforming these conflicts. Cognitive and interactional...

Demonization of Divorce: Prevalence Rates and Links to Postdivorce Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krumrei, Elizabeth J.; Mahoney, Annette; Pargament, Kenneth I.

2011-01-01

The meaning-making process can be crucial to individuals as they adjust to their divorce. Demonization is a negative coping response (also known as spiritual struggle) that involves appraising someone or something as related to demonic forces. Individuals may cognitively frame a divorce as the work of Satan in order to understand suffering while…

Intact Inner Speech Use in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from a Short-Term Memory Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, David; Happe, Francesca; Jarrold, Christopher

2008-01-01

Background: Inner speech has been linked to higher-order cognitive processes including "theory of mind", self-awareness and executive functioning, all of which are impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals with ASD, themselves, report a propensity for visual rather than verbal modes of thinking. This study explored the extent to…

Temporal Analysis of English and Spanish Narratives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Johnson, Teresa H.; O'Connell, Daniel C.

In order to ascertain the effect of different demands on cognitive processes as reflected in speech rate, pause and hesitation phenomena, 90 young men, 45 native speakers of English (U.S.A.) and 45 native speakers of Spanish (Mexico), were asked to retell a story presented in one of three ways: (1) film plus narration; (2) film only; (3) narration…

Effects of Extreme Sleep Deprivation on Human Performance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tuan Tran; Kimberly R. Raddatz; Elizabeth T. Cady

Sleep is a fundamental recuperative process for the nervous system. Disruption of this homeostatic drive can lead to severe impairments of the operator’s ability to perceive, recognize, and respond to emergencies and/or unanticipated events, putting the operator at risk. Therefore, establishing a comprehensive understanding of how sleep deprivation influences human performance is essential in order to counter fatigue or to develop mitigation strategies. The goal of the present study was to examine the psychological effects of prolonged sleep deprivation (approx. 75 hrs) over a four-day span on a general aviation pilot flying a fixed-based flight simulator. During the study, amore » series of tasks were employed every four hours in order to examine the pilot’s perceptual and higher level cognitive abilities. Overall, results suggest that the majority of cognitive and perceptual degradation occurs between 30-40 hours into the flight. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.« less

Effects of physical exercise programs on cognitive function in Parkinson’s disease patients: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials of the last 10 years

PubMed Central

Iop, Rodrigo da Rosa; de Oliveira, Laiana Cândido; Boll, Alice Mathea; de Alvarenga, José Gustavo Souza; Gutierres Filho, Paulo José Barbosa; de Melo, Lídia Mara Aguiar Bezerra; Xavier, André Junqueira; da Silva, Rudney

2018-01-01

Background Given the relative importance of cognitive impairment, there was considerable interest in identifying the cognitive profile of PD patients, in order to ensure specific and appropriate therapeutic interventions. Purpose To determine the effects of physical exercise programs on cognitive function in PD patients, compared with the control group. Data sources Medline, Cochrane, Scopus, PEDro and Web of Science (last searched in September 2016). Study selection Randomized clinical trials examining the effects of physical exercise programs and cognitive function in PD patients. Nine studies fulfilled the selection criteria and were included in this review. Data extraction Characteristics of the publication, characteristics of the participants, test used for cognitive screening, cognitive domain assessed, tools used to assess cognitive function, characteristics of the experimental intervention, characteristics of the control group, mean results and standard deviation of function cognitive. The PEDro score was used to evaluate methodological quality. Data synthesis Most eligible studies showed good methodological quality based on the PEDro scale. Studies have shown that adapted tango for PD patients, cognitive training combined with motor training, and treadmill training promote the preservation or improvement of cognitive function in PD patients. Limitations The diversity of cognitive tests used to assess cognitive function and the high heterogeneity identified between the physical exercise programs. Conclusions Physical exercise programs promote positive and significant effects on global cognitive function, processing speed, sustained attention and mental flexibility in PD patients, at a mild to moderate stage for patients with a 6-year clinical diagnosis of PD. However, treadmill training performed 3 times a week for about 60 minutes and for a period of 24 weeks produced larger improvements in cognition. PMID:29486000

Effects of physical exercise programs on cognitive function in Parkinson's disease patients: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials of the last 10 years.

PubMed

da Silva, Franciele Cascaes; Iop, Rodrigo da Rosa; de Oliveira, Laiana Cândido; Boll, Alice Mathea; de Alvarenga, José Gustavo Souza; Gutierres Filho, Paulo José Barbosa; de Melo, Lídia Mara Aguiar Bezerra; Xavier, André Junqueira; da Silva, Rudney

2018-01-01

Given the relative importance of cognitive impairment, there was considerable interest in identifying the cognitive profile of PD patients, in order to ensure specific and appropriate therapeutic interventions. To determine the effects of physical exercise programs on cognitive function in PD patients, compared with the control group. Medline, Cochrane, Scopus, PEDro and Web of Science (last searched in September 2016). Randomized clinical trials examining the effects of physical exercise programs and cognitive function in PD patients. Nine studies fulfilled the selection criteria and were included in this review. Characteristics of the publication, characteristics of the participants, test used for cognitive screening, cognitive domain assessed, tools used to assess cognitive function, characteristics of the experimental intervention, characteristics of the control group, mean results and standard deviation of function cognitive. The PEDro score was used to evaluate methodological quality. Most eligible studies showed good methodological quality based on the PEDro scale. Studies have shown that adapted tango for PD patients, cognitive training combined with motor training, and treadmill training promote the preservation or improvement of cognitive function in PD patients. The diversity of cognitive tests used to assess cognitive function and the high heterogeneity identified between the physical exercise programs. Physical exercise programs promote positive and significant effects on global cognitive function, processing speed, sustained attention and mental flexibility in PD patients, at a mild to moderate stage for patients with a 6-year clinical diagnosis of PD. However, treadmill training performed 3 times a week for about 60 minutes and for a period of 24 weeks produced larger improvements in cognition.

Hemispatial neglect and serial order in verbal working memory.

PubMed

Antoine, Sophie; Ranzini, Mariagrazia; van Dijck, Jean-Philippe; Slama, Hichem; Bonato, Mario; Tousch, Ann; Dewulf, Myrtille; Bier, Jean-Christophe; Gevers, Wim

2018-01-09

Working memory refers to our ability to actively maintain and process a limited amount of information during a brief period of time. Often, not only the information itself but also its serial order is crucial for good task performance. It was recently proposed that serial order is grounded in spatial cognition. Here, we compared performance of a group of right hemisphere-damaged patients with hemispatial neglect to healthy controls in verbal working memory tasks. Participants memorized sequences of consonants at span level and had to judge whether a target consonant belonged to the memorized sequence (item task) or whether a pair of consonants were presented in the same order as in the memorized sequence (order task). In line with this idea that serial order is grounded in spatial cognition, we found that neglect patients made significantly more errors in the order task than in the item task compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, this deficit seemed functionally related to neglect severity and was more frequently observed following right posterior brain damage. Interestingly, this specific impairment for serial order in verbal working memory was not lateralized. We advance the hypotheses of a potential contribution to the deficit of serial order in neglect patients of either or both (1) reduced spatial working memory capacity that enables to keep track of the spatial codes that provide memorized items with a positional context, (2) a spatial compression of these codes in the intact representational space. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Implicit cognitive aggression among young male prisoners: Association with dispositional and current aggression.

PubMed

Ireland, Jane L; Adams, Christine

2015-01-01

The current study explores associations between implicit and explicit aggression in young adult male prisoners, seeking to apply the Reflection-Impulsive Model and indicate parity with elements of the General Aggression Model and social cognition. Implicit cognitive aggressive processing is not an area that has been examined among prisoners. Two hundred and sixty two prisoners completed an implicit cognitive aggression measure (Puzzle Test) and explicit aggression measures, covering current behaviour (DIPC-R) and aggression disposition (AQ). It was predicted that dispositional aggression would be predicted by implicit cognitive aggression, and that implicit cognitive aggression would predict current engagement in aggressive behaviour. It was also predicted that more impulsive implicit cognitive processing would associate with aggressive behaviour whereas cognitively effortful implicit cognitive processing would not. Implicit aggressive cognitive processing was associated with increased dispositional aggression but not current reports of aggressive behaviour. Impulsive implicit cognitive processing of an aggressive nature predicted increased dispositional aggression whereas more cognitively effortful implicit cognitive aggression did not. The article concludes by outlining the importance of accounting for implicit cognitive processing among prisoners and the need to separate such processing into facets (i.e. impulsive vs. cognitively effortful). Implications for future research and practice in this novel area of study are indicated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behavioral, Perceptual, and Neural Alterations in Sensory and Multisensory Function in Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Baum, Sarah H.; Stevenson, Ryan A.; Wallace, Mark T.

2015-01-01

Although sensory processing challenges have been noted since the first clinical descriptions of autism, it has taken until the release of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in 2013 for sensory problems to be included as part of the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the diagnostic profile. Because sensory information forms the building blocks for higher-order social and cognitive functions, we argue that sensory processing is not only an additional piece of the puzzle, but rather a critical cornerstone for characterizing and understanding ASD. In this review we discuss what is currently known about sensory processing in ASD, how sensory function fits within contemporary models of ASD, and what is understood about the differences in the underlying neural processing of sensory and social communication observed between individuals with and without ASD. In addition to highlighting the sensory features associated with ASD, we also emphasize the importance of multisensory processing in building perceptual and cognitive representations, and how deficits in multisensory integration may also be a core characteristic of ASD. PMID:26455789

EpiBrainRad: an epidemiologic study of the neurotoxicity induced by radiotherapy in high grade glioma patients.

PubMed

Durand, Thomas; Jacob, Sophie; Lebouil, Laura; Douzane, Hassen; Lestaevel, Philippe; Rahimian, Amithys; Psimaras, Dimitri; Feuvret, Loïc; Leclercq, Delphine; Brochet, Bruno; Tamarat, Radia; Milliat, Fabien; Benderitter, Marc; Vayatis, Nicolas; Noël, Georges; Hoang-Xuan, Khê; Delattre, Jean-Yves; Ricard, Damien; Bernier, Marie-Odile

2015-12-18

Radiotherapy is one of the most important treatments of primary and metastatic brain tumors. Unfortunately, it can involve moderate to severe complications among which leukoencephalopathy is very frequent and implies cognitive deficits such as memory, attention and executive dysfunctions. However, the incidence of this complication is not well established and the risk factors and process are poorly understood. The main objective of the study is to improve knowledge on radio-induced leukoencephalopathy based on pluridisciplinar approaches combining cognitive, biologic, imagery and dosimetric investigations. The EpiBrainRad study is a prospective cohort study including newly diagnosed high grade gliomas patients treated by radiotherapy and concomitant-adjuvant temozolomide chemotherapy. Patients are included between their surgery and first day of radio-chemotherapy, and the follow-up lasts for 3 years after treatment. Cognitive functioning assessments, specific blood biomarkers measures and magnetic resonance imagery are performed at different moment during the follow-up, and a specific dosimetric assessment of organs involved in the beam fields is performed. Firstly, leukoencephalopathy incidence rate will be estimated in this population. Secondly, correlations between cognitive impairments and dosimetry, biomarkers ranges and anomalies on imagery will be analyzed in order to better understand the onset and evolution of cognitive decrement associated with radiotherapy. Furthermore, a new cognitive test, quickly and easily performed, will be studied to determine its sensibility to detect leukoencephalopathy decrement. With an original multidisciplinary approach, the EpiBrainRad study aims to improve knowledge on radio-induced leukoencephalopathy in order to improve its early diagnosis and prevention. The main challenge is to preserve quality-of-life after cancer treatments which imply to study the incidence of radiation-induced complications and their associated risk factors. NCT02544178.

The Dynamic Relationship Between Physical Function and Cognition in Longitudinal Aging Cohorts

PubMed Central

Clouston, Sean A. P.; Brewster, Paul; Kuh, Diana; Richards, Marcus; Cooper, Rachel; Hardy, Rebecca; Rubin, Marcie S.; Hofer, Scott M.

2013-01-01

On average, older people remember less and walk more slowly than do younger persons. Some researchers argue that this is due in part to a common biologic process underlying age-related declines in both physical and cognitive functioning. Only recently have longitudinal data become available for analyzing this claim. We conducted a systematic review of English-language research published between 2000 and 2011 to evaluate the relations between rates of change in physical and cognitive functioning in older cohorts. Physical functioning was assessed using objective measures: walking speed, grip strength, chair rise time, flamingo stand time, and summary measures of physical functioning. Cognition was measured using mental state examinations, fluid cognition, and diagnosis of impairment. Results depended on measurement type: Change in grip strength was more strongly correlated with mental state, while change in walking speed was more strongly correlated with change in fluid cognition. Examining physical and cognitive functioning can help clinicians and researchers to better identify individuals and groups that are aging differently and at different rates. In future research, investigators should consider the importance of identifying different patterns and rates of decline, examine relations between more diverse types of measures, and analyze the order in which age-related declines occur. PMID:23349427

Cognitive impairment related changes in the elemental concentration in the brain of old rat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serpa, R. F. B.; de Jesus, E. F. O.; Anjos, M. J.; Lopes, R. T.; do Carmo, M. G. T.; Rocha, M. S.; Rodrigues, L. C.; Moreira, S.; Martinez, A. M. B.

2006-11-01

In order to evaluate the elemental concentration as a function of learning and memory deficiency, six different structures of the brain were analyzed by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry with synchrotron radiation (SR-TXRF). To evaluate the cognitive processes, the animals were tested in an adaptation of the Morris water maze. After the test, the animals were divided into two groups: cognitively healthy (control group) and cognitively impaired. The measurements were carried out at XRF beam line at Light Synchrotron Brazilian laboratory, Campinas, Brazil. The following elements were identified: Al, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Cu, Zn, Br and Rb. K concentration was higher in all regions of the brain studied for control group than the cognitively impaired group. Moreover, the control group presented higher levels for P and Fe in the entorhinal cortex, in the temporal cortex (only P), in the hypothalamus and in the thalamus, than the cognitively impaired group. Br concentration in the animals which presented cognitive impairment was three times larger in the hypothalamus and thalamus, twice larger in temporal cortex and higher in visual cortex than the cognitively healthy group. Cu was more remarkable in the hippocampus and hypothalamus from the animals with cognitive impairment than the control group. We observed that the cognitively impaired group presented highest concentrations of Br and Cu in certain areas than the control group, on the other hand, this group presented highest levels of K for all brain areas studied.

Aging and selective engagement: the moderating impact of motivation on older adults' resource utilization.

PubMed

Hess, Thomas M; Germain, Cassandra M; Swaim, Elizabeth L; Osowski, Nicole L

2009-06-01

Two studies were conducted to examine age differences in the impact of motivation in a social cognitive task. We tested the hypothesis that aging is associated with an increase in the selective engagement of cognitive resources in support of performance. Different-aged adults read descriptions of 2 people in order to determine which was better suited for a particular job. These descriptions contained behaviors that were either consistent or inconsistent with the job, and participants performed the task under conditions of high versus low accountability. Examination of memory for behavioral information revealed that accountability disproportionately affected older adults' performance, with the locus of this effect being in conscious recollection processes. This supports the aforementioned selective engagement hypothesis by demonstrating that the differential impact of the motivational manipulation was based in deliberative memory processes.

Evaluating the relationship between white matter integrity, cognition, and varieties of video game learning.

PubMed

Ray, Nicholas R; O'Connell, Margaret A; Nashiro, Kaoru; Smith, Evan T; Qin, Shuo; Basak, Chandramallika

2017-01-01

Many studies are currently researching the effects of video games, particularly in the domain of cognitive training. Great variability exists among video games however, and few studies have attempted to compare different types of video games. Little is known, for instance, about the cognitive processes or brain structures that underlie learning of different genres of video games. To examine the cognitive and neural underpinnings of two different types of game learning in order to evaluate their common and separate correlates, with the hopes of informing future intervention research. Participants (31 younger adults and 31 older adults) completed an extensive cognitive battery and played two different genres of video games, one action game and one strategy game, for 1.5 hours each. DTI scans were acquired for each participant, and regional fractional anisotropy (FA) values were extracted using the JHU atlas. Behavioral results indicated that better performance on tasks of working memory and perceptual discrimination was related to enhanced learning in both games, even after controlling for age, whereas better performance on a perceptual speed task was uniquely related with enhanced learning of the strategy game. DTI results indicated that white matter FA in the right fornix/stria terminalis was correlated with action game learning, whereas white matter FA in the left cingulum/hippocampus was correlated with strategy game learning, even after controlling for age. Although cognition, to a large extent, was a common predictor of both types of game learning, regional white matter FA could separately predict action and strategy game learning. Given the neural and cognitive correlates of strategy game learning, strategy games may provide a more beneficial training tool for adults suffering from memory-related disorders or declines in processing speed, particularly older adults.

Impact of sex steroids and reproductive stage on sleep-dependent memory consolidation in women.

PubMed

Baker, Fiona C; Sattari, Negin; de Zambotti, Massimiliano; Goldstone, Aimee; Alaynick, William A; Mednick, Sara C

2018-03-21

Age and sex are two of the three major risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (ApoE-e4 allele is the third), with women having a twofold greater risk for Alzheimer's disease after the age of 75 years. Sex differences have been shown across a wide range of cognitive skills in young and older adults, and evidence supports a role for sex steroids, especially estradiol, in protecting against the development of cognitive decline in women. Sleep may also be a protective factor against age-related cognitive decline, since specific electrophysiological sleep events (e.g. sleep spindle/slow oscillation coupling) are critical for offline memory consolidation. Furthermore, studies in young women have shown fluctuations in sleep events and sleep-dependent memory consolidation during different phases of the menstrual cycle that are associated with the levels of sex steroids. An under-appreciated possibility is that there may be an important interaction between these two protective factors (sex steroids and sleep) that may play a role in daily fluctuations in cognitive processing, in particular memory, across a woman's lifespan. Here, we summarize the current knowledge of sex steroid-dependent influences on sleep and cognition across the lifespan in women, with special emphasis on sleep-dependent memory processing. We further indicate gaps in knowledge that require further experimental examination in order to fully appreciate the complex and changing landscape of sex steroids and cognition. Lastly, we propose a series of testable predictions for how sex steroids impact sleep events and sleep-dependent cognition across the three major reproductive stages in women (reproductive years, menopause transition, and post-menopause). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Toward an understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying dual-task performance: Contribution of comparative approaches using animal models.

PubMed

Watanabe, Kei; Funahashi, Shintaro

2018-01-01

The study of dual-task performance in human subjects has received considerable interest in cognitive neuroscience because it can provide detailed insights into the neural mechanisms underlying higher-order cognitive control. Despite many decades of research, our understanding of the neurobiological basis of dual-task performance is still limited, and some critical questions are still under debate. Recently, behavioral and neurophysiological studies of dual-task performance in animals have begun to provide intriguing evidence regarding how dual-task information is processed in the brain. In this review, we first summarize key evidence in neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies in humans and discuss possible reasons for discrepancies across studies. We then provide a comprehensive review of the literature on dual-task studies in animals and provide a novel working hypothesis that may reconcile the divergent results in human studies toward a unified view of the mechanisms underlying dual-task processing. Finally, we propose possible directions for future dual-task experiments in the framework of comparative cognitive neuroscience. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Multivariate analysis of correlation between electrophysiological and hemodynamic responses during cognitive processing

PubMed Central

Kujala, Jan; Sudre, Gustavo; Vartiainen, Johanna; Liljeström, Mia; Mitchell, Tom; Salmelin, Riitta

2014-01-01

Animal and human studies have frequently shown that in primary sensory and motor regions the BOLD signal correlates positively with high-frequency and negatively with low-frequency neuronal activity. However, recent evidence suggests that this relationship may also vary across cortical areas. Detailed knowledge of the possible spectral diversity between electrophysiological and hemodynamic responses across the human cortex would be essential for neural-level interpretation of fMRI data and for informative multimodal combination of electromagnetic and hemodynamic imaging data, especially in cognitive tasks. We applied multivariate partial least squares correlation analysis to MEG–fMRI data recorded in a reading paradigm to determine the correlation patterns between the data types, at once, across the cortex. Our results revealed heterogeneous patterns of high-frequency correlation between MEG and fMRI responses, with marked dissociation between lower and higher order cortical regions. The low-frequency range showed substantial variance, with negative and positive correlations manifesting at different frequencies across cortical regions. These findings demonstrate the complexity of the neurophysiological counterparts of hemodynamic fluctuations in cognitive processing. PMID:24518260

fMRI activation patterns in an analytic reasoning task: consistency with EEG source localization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Bian; Vasanta, Kalyana C.; O'Boyle, Michael; Baker, Mary C.; Nutter, Brian; Mitra, Sunanda

2010-03-01

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used to model brain activation patterns associated with various perceptual and cognitive processes as reflected by the hemodynamic (BOLD) response. While many sensory and motor tasks are associated with relatively simple activation patterns in localized regions, higher-order cognitive tasks may produce activity in many different brain areas involving complex neural circuitry. We applied a recently proposed probabilistic independent component analysis technique (PICA) to determine the true dimensionality of the fMRI data and used EEG localization to identify the common activated patterns (mapped as Brodmann areas) associated with a complex cognitive task like analytic reasoning. Our preliminary study suggests that a hybrid GLM/PICA analysis may reveal additional regions of activation (beyond simple GLM) that are consistent with electroencephalography (EEG) source localization patterns.

Significances of Multimedia Technologies Training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Fulei

The use of multimedia technologies in education has enabled teachers to simulate final outcomes and assist s-tudents in applying knowledge learned from textbooks, thereby compensating for the deficiency of traditional teach- ing methods. It is important to examine how effective these technologies are in practical use. This study developed online learning-teaching resource platforms using Flash multimedia, providing interactive and integrated features in an easy-to-use user interface, in order to discuss Computer-Aided Drawing (CAD). The study utilized a teaching experiment with a non-equivalent pretest-posttest control group design to test and discuss students' professional cognition, operating skill cognition, and level of learning satisfaction during the learning process. No significant differences emerged between the groups in regards to professional cognition or operation skills cognition. However, a significant difference in learning satisfaction was noted, indicating that the coursework with multimedia Flash produced greater satisfaction than with traditional learning methods. Results are explained in detail and recommendations for further research provided.

History of concussion impacts electrophysiological correlates of working memory.

PubMed

Hudac, Caitlin M; Cortesa, Cathryn S; Ledwidge, Patrick S; Molfese, Dennis L

2017-10-10

Sports-related concussions occur in approximately 21% of college athletes with implications for long-term cognitive impairments in working memory. Working memory involves the capacity to maintain short-term information and integrate with higher-order cognitive processing for planning and behavior execution, critical skills for optimal cognitive and athletic performance. This study quantified working memory impairments in 36 American football college athletes (18-23years old) using event-related potentials (ERPs). Despite performing similarly in a standard 2-back working memory task, athletes with history of concussion exhibited larger P1 and P3 amplitudes compared to Controls. Concussion History group latencies were slower for the P1 and faster for the N2. Source estimation analyses indicated that previously concussed athletes engaged different brain regions compared to athletes with no concussion history. These findings suggest that ERPs may be a sensitive and objective measure to detect long-term cognitive consequences of concussion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Discrepancy between WISC-III and WISC-IV Cognitive Profile in Autism Spectrum: What Does It Reveal about Autistic Cognition?

PubMed

Nader, Anne-Marie; Jelenic, Patricia; Soulières, Isabelle

2015-01-01

The cognitive profile and measured intellectual level vary according to assessment tools in children on the autism spectrum, much more so than in typically developing children. The recent inclusion of intellectual functioning in the diagnostic process for autism spectrum disorders leads to the crucial question on how to assess intelligence in autism, especially as some tests and subtests seem more sensitive to certain neurodevelopmental conditions. Our first aim was to examine the cognitive profile on the current version of the most widely used test, the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC-IV), for a homogenous subgroup of children on the autism spectrum, i.e. corresponding to DSM-IV diagnosis of "autism". The second aim was to compare cognitive profiles obtained on the third edition versus 4th edition of WISC, in order to verify whether the WISC-IV yields a more distinctive cognitive profile in autistic children. The third aim was to examine the impact of the WISC-IV on the cognitive profile of another subgroup, children with Asperger's Syndrome. 51 autistic, 15 Asperger and 42 typically developing children completed the WISC-IV and were individually matched to children who completed the WISC-III. Divergent WISC-IV profiles were observed despite no significant intelligence quotient difference between groups. Autistic children scored significantly higher on the Perceptual Reasoning Index than on the Verbal Comprehension Index, a discrepancy that nearly tripled in comparison to WISC-III results. Asperger children scored higher on the VCI than on other indexes, with the lowest score found on the Processing Speed Index. WISC-IV cognitive profiles were consistent with, but more pronounced than WISC-III profiles. Cognitive profiles are a valuable diagnostic tool for differential diagnosis, keeping in mind that children on the autism spectrum might be more sensitive to the choice of subtests used to assess intelligence.

Discrepancy between WISC-III and WISC-IV Cognitive Profile in Autism Spectrum: What Does It Reveal about Autistic Cognition?

PubMed Central

Nader, Anne-Marie; Jelenic, Patricia; Soulières, Isabelle

2015-01-01

The cognitive profile and measured intellectual level vary according to assessment tools in children on the autism spectrum, much more so than in typically developing children. The recent inclusion of intellectual functioning in the diagnostic process for autism spectrum disorders leads to the crucial question on how to assess intelligence in autism, especially as some tests and subtests seem more sensitive to certain neurodevelopmental conditions. Our first aim was to examine the cognitive profile on the current version of the most widely used test, the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC-IV), for a homogenous subgroup of children on the autism spectrum, i.e. corresponding to DSM-IV diagnosis of “autism”. The second aim was to compare cognitive profiles obtained on the third edition versus 4th edition of WISC, in order to verify whether the WISC-IV yields a more distinctive cognitive profile in autistic children. The third aim was to examine the impact of the WISC-IV on the cognitive profile of another subgroup, children with Asperger’s Syndrome. 51 autistic, 15 Asperger and 42 typically developing children completed the WISC-IV and were individually matched to children who completed the WISC-III. Divergent WISC-IV profiles were observed despite no significant intelligence quotient difference between groups. Autistic children scored significantly higher on the Perceptual Reasoning Index than on the Verbal Comprehension Index, a discrepancy that nearly tripled in comparison to WISC-III results. Asperger children scored higher on the VCI than on other indexes, with the lowest score found on the Processing Speed Index. WISC-IV cognitive profiles were consistent with, but more pronounced than WISC-III profiles. Cognitive profiles are a valuable diagnostic tool for differential diagnosis, keeping in mind that children on the autism spectrum might be more sensitive to the choice of subtests used to assess intelligence. PMID:26673881

Sensation-to-cognition cortical streams in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Carmona, Susana; Hoekzema, Elseline; Castellanos, Francisco X; García-García, David; Lage-Castellanos, Agustín; Van Dijk, Koene R A; Navas-Sánchez, Francisco J; Martínez, Kenia; Desco, Manuel; Sepulcre, Jorge

2015-07-01

We sought to determine whether functional connectivity streams that link sensory, attentional, and higher-order cognitive circuits are atypical in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We applied a graph-theory method to the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 120 children with ADHD and 120 age-matched typically developing children (TDC). Starting in unimodal primary cortex-visual, auditory, and somatosensory-we used stepwise functional connectivity to calculate functional connectivity paths at discrete numbers of relay stations (or link-step distances). First, we characterized the functional connectivity streams that link sensory, attentional, and higher-order cognitive circuits in TDC and found that systems do not reach the level of integration achieved by adults. Second, we searched for stepwise functional connectivity differences between children with ADHD and TDC. We found that, at the initial steps of sensory functional connectivity streams, patients display significant enhancements of connectivity degree within neighboring areas of primary cortex, while connectivity to attention-regulatory areas is reduced. Third, at subsequent link-step distances from primary sensory cortex, children with ADHD show decreased connectivity to executive processing areas and increased degree of connections to default mode regions. Fourth, in examining medication histories in children with ADHD, we found that children medicated with psychostimulants present functional connectivity streams with higher degree of connectivity to regions subserving attentional and executive processes compared to medication-naïve children. We conclude that predominance of local sensory processing and lesser influx of information to attentional and executive regions may reduce the ability to organize and control the balance between external and internal sources of information in ADHD. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cognitive Predictors of Verbal Memory in a Mixed Clinical Pediatric Sample

PubMed Central

Jordan, Lizabeth L.; Tyner, Callie E.; Heaton, Shelley C.

2013-01-01

Verbal memory problems, along with other cognitive difficulties, are common in children diagnosed with neurological and/or psychological disorders. Historically, these “memory problems” have been poorly characterized and often present with a heterogeneous pattern of performance across memory processes, even within a specific diagnostic group. The current study examined archival neuropsychological data from a large mixed clinical pediatric sample in order to understand whether functioning in other cognitive areas (i.e., verbal knowledge, attention, working memory, executive functioning) may explain some of the performance variability seen across verbal memory tasks of the Children’s Memory Scale (CMS). Multivariate analyses revealed that among the cognitive functions examined, only verbal knowledge explained a significant amount of variance in overall verbal memory performance. Further univariate analyses examining the component processes of verbal memory indicated that verbal knowledge is specifically related to encoding, but not the retention or retrieval stages. Future research is needed to replicate these findings in other clinical samples, to examine whether verbal knowledge predicts performance on other verbal memory tasks and to explore whether these findings also hold true for visual memory tasks. Successful replication of the current study findings would indicate that interventions targeting verbal encoding deficits should include efforts to improve verbal knowledge. PMID:25379253

Maintenance of Social Anxiety in Stuttering: A Cognitive-Behavioral Model.

PubMed

Iverach, Lisa; Rapee, Ronald M; Wong, Quincy J J; Lowe, Robyn

2017-05-17

Stuttering is a speech disorder frequently accompanied by anxiety in social-evaluative situations. A growing body of research has confirmed a significant rate of social anxiety disorder among adults who stutter. Social anxiety disorder is a chronic and disabling anxiety disorder associated with substantial life impairment. Several influential models have described cognitive-behavioral factors that contribute to the maintenance of social anxiety in nonstuttering populations. The purpose of the present article is to apply these leading models to the experience of social anxiety for people who stutter. Components from existing models were applied to stuttering in order to determine cognitive-behavioral processes that occur before, during, and after social-evaluative situations, which may increase the likelihood of stuttering-related social fears persisting. Maintenance of social anxiety in stuttering may be influenced by a host of interrelated factors, including fear of negative evaluation, negative social-evaluative cognitions, attentional biases, self-focused attention, safety behaviors, and anticipatory and postevent processing. Given the chronic nature of social anxiety disorder, identifying factors that contribute to the persistence of stuttering-related social fears has the potential to inform clinical practice and the development of psychological treatment programs to address the speech and psychological needs of people who stutter with social anxiety.

A Cognitive Task Analysis of Information Management Strategies in a Computerized Provider Order Entry Environment

PubMed Central

Weir, Charlene R.; Nebeker, Jonathan J.R.; Hicken, Bret L.; Campo, Rebecca; Drews, Frank; LeBar, Beth

2007-01-01

Objective Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) with electronic documentation, and computerized decision support dramatically changes the information environment of the practicing clinician. Prior work patterns based on paper, verbal exchange, and manual methods are replaced with automated, computerized, and potentially less flexible systems. The objective of this study is to explore the information management strategies that clinicians use in the process of adapting to a CPOE system using cognitive task analysis techniques. Design Observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 88 primary-care clinicians at 10 Veterans Administration Medical Centers. Measurements Interviews were taped, transcribed, and extensively analyzed to identify key information management goals, strategies, and tasks. Tasks were aggregated into groups, common components across tasks were clarified, and underlying goals and strategies identified. Results Nearly half of the identified tasks were not fully supported by the available technology. Six core components of tasks were identified. Four meta-cognitive information management goals emerged: 1) Relevance Screening; 2) Ensuring Accuracy; 3) Minimizing memory load; and 4) Negotiating Responsibility. Strategies used to support these goals are presented. Conclusion Users develop a wide array of information management strategies that allow them to successfully adapt to new technology. Supporting the ability of users to develop adaptive strategies to support meta-cognitive goals is a key component of a successful system. PMID:17068345

The utility of event-related potentials (ERPs) in understanding food-related cognition: A systematic review and recommendations.

PubMed

Carbine, Kaylie A; Rodeback, Rebekah; Modersitzki, Erin; Miner, Marshall; LeCheminant, James D; Larson, Michael J

2018-05-19

Daily dietary decisions have the potential to impact our physical, mental, and emotional health. Event-related potentials (ERPs) can provide insight into cognitive processes, such as attention, working memory, and inhibitory control, that may influence the food-related decisions we make on a daily basis. We conducted a systematic review of the food-related cognition and ERP research in order to summarize the extant literature, identify future research questions, synthesize how food-related ERP components relate to eating habits and appetite, and demonstrate the utility of ERPs in examining food-related cognition. Forty-three articles were systematically extracted. In general, results indicated food cues compared to less palatable foods or neutral cues elicited greater ERP amplitudes reflecting early or late attention allocation (e.g., increased P2, P3, late positive potential amplitudes). Food cues were associated with increased frontocentral P3 and N2 ERP amplitudes compared to neutral or less palatable food cues, suggesting increased recruitment of inhibitory control and conflict monitoring resources. However, there was significant heterogeneity in the literature, as experimental tasks, stimuli, and examined ERP components varied widely across studies, and therefore replication studies are needed. In-depth research is also needed to establish how food-related ERPs differ by BMI groups and relate to real-world eating habits and appetite, in order to establish the ecological validity. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Implicit cognitive processes in psychopathology: an introduction.

PubMed

Wiers, Reinout W; Teachman, Bethany A; De Houwer, Jan

2007-06-01

Implicit or automatic processes are important in understanding the etiology and maintenance of psychopathological problems. In order to study implicit processes in psychopathology, measures are needed that are valid and reliable when applied to clinical problems. One of the main topics in this special issue concerns the development and validation of new or modified implicit tests in different domains of psychopathology. The other main topic concerns the prediction of clinical outcomes and new ways to directly influence implicit processes in psychopathology. We summarize the contributions to this special issue and discuss how they further our knowledge of implicit processes in psychopathology and how to measure them.

Systematicity and a Categorical Theory of Cognitive Architecture: Universal Construction in Context

PubMed Central

Phillips, Steven; Wilson, William H.

2016-01-01

Why does the capacity to think certain thoughts imply the capacity to think certain other, structurally related, thoughts? Despite decades of intensive debate, cognitive scientists have yet to reach a consensus on an explanation for this property of cognitive architecture—the basic processes and modes of composition that together afford cognitive capacity—called systematicity. Systematicity is generally considered to involve a capacity to represent/process common structural relations among the equivalently cognizable entities. However, the predominant theoretical approaches to the systematicity problem, i.e., classical (symbolic) and connectionist (subsymbolic), require arbitrary (ad hoc) assumptions to derive systematicity. That is, their core principles and assumptions do not provide the necessary and sufficient conditions from which systematicity follows, as required of a causal theory. Hence, these approaches fail to fully explain why systematicity is a (near) universal property of human cognition, albeit in restricted contexts. We review an alternative, category theory approach to the systematicity problem. As a mathematical theory of structure, category theory provides necessary and sufficient conditions for systematicity in the form of universal construction: each systematically related cognitive capacity is composed of a common component and a unique component. Moreover, every universal construction can be viewed as the optimal construction in the given context (category). From this view, universal constructions are derived from learning, as an optimization. The ultimate challenge, then, is to explain the determination of context. If context is a category, then a natural extension toward addressing this question is higher-order category theory, where categories themselves are the objects of construction. PMID:27524975

Systematicity and a Categorical Theory of Cognitive Architecture: Universal Construction in Context.

PubMed

Phillips, Steven; Wilson, William H

2016-01-01

Why does the capacity to think certain thoughts imply the capacity to think certain other, structurally related, thoughts? Despite decades of intensive debate, cognitive scientists have yet to reach a consensus on an explanation for this property of cognitive architecture-the basic processes and modes of composition that together afford cognitive capacity-called systematicity. Systematicity is generally considered to involve a capacity to represent/process common structural relations among the equivalently cognizable entities. However, the predominant theoretical approaches to the systematicity problem, i.e., classical (symbolic) and connectionist (subsymbolic), require arbitrary (ad hoc) assumptions to derive systematicity. That is, their core principles and assumptions do not provide the necessary and sufficient conditions from which systematicity follows, as required of a causal theory. Hence, these approaches fail to fully explain why systematicity is a (near) universal property of human cognition, albeit in restricted contexts. We review an alternative, category theory approach to the systematicity problem. As a mathematical theory of structure, category theory provides necessary and sufficient conditions for systematicity in the form of universal construction: each systematically related cognitive capacity is composed of a common component and a unique component. Moreover, every universal construction can be viewed as the optimal construction in the given context (category). From this view, universal constructions are derived from learning, as an optimization. The ultimate challenge, then, is to explain the determination of context. If context is a category, then a natural extension toward addressing this question is higher-order category theory, where categories themselves are the objects of construction.

The Use of Lego Technologies in Elementary Teacher Preparation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadjiachilleos, Stella; Avraamidou, Lucy; Papastavrou, Stavros

2013-10-01

The need to reform science teacher preparation programs has been pointed out in research (Bryan and Abell in J Res Sci Teach 36:121-140, 1999; Bryan and Atwater in Sci Educ 8(6):821-839, 2002; Harrington and Hathaway in J Teach Educ 46(4):275-284, 1995). Science teachers are charged with the responsibility of incorporating both cognitive and non-cognitive parameters in their everyday teaching practices. This often results in their reluctance to teach science because they often lack disciplinary and/or pedagogical expertise required to promote science learning. The purpose of this study is to propose an alternative instructional approach in which Lego vehicles were used as a tool to promote pre-service elementary teachers' development and to examine whether there are non-cognitive parameters that promote or obstruct them from using Lego Technologies as a teaching tool. The context of the study was defined by a teacher preparation program of a private university in a small Mediterranean country. A sample of 28 pre-service elementary teachers, working in five 5-6-member groups were involved in scientific inquiries, during which they had to use vehicles in order to solve scientific problems related to concepts such as gear functioning, force, and motion. The nature of their cognitive engagement in the scientific inquiry process, non-cognitive parameters contributing to their cognitive engagement, and the impact of their involvement in the process on their development were examined through qualitative analysis of pre- and post-inquiry interviews, presentations of their solutions to the scientific problems and of their personal reflective journals.

Moving toward Cognitive Alignment: Effective Data Provides Feedback Teachers Can Use to Make Adjustments in Learning Activities that Result in Standards Alignment with Content and Cognitive Rigor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manthey, George

2005-01-01

The most effective teaching strategies require higher order thinking, but the most used strategies seem to involve lower order thinking. If a comparison could be made between the cognitive rigor of the content standards that students are to be learning and the cognitive rigor of the actual work students are doing, then these kind of data are…

Temporal information processing in short- and long-term memory of patients with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Landgraf, Steffen; Steingen, Joerg; Eppert, Yvonne; Niedermeyer, Ulrich; van der Meer, Elke; Krueger, Frank

2011-01-01

Cognitive deficits of patients with schizophrenia have been largely recognized as core symptoms of the disorder. One neglected factor that contributes to these deficits is the comprehension of time. In the present study, we assessed temporal information processing and manipulation from short- and long-term memory in 34 patients with chronic schizophrenia and 34 matched healthy controls. On the short-term memory temporal-order reconstruction task, an incidental or intentional learning strategy was deployed. Patients showed worse overall performance than healthy controls. The intentional learning strategy led to dissociable performance improvement in both groups. Whereas healthy controls improved on a performance measure (serial organization), patients improved on an error measure (inappropriate semantic clustering) when using the intentional instead of the incidental learning strategy. On the long-term memory script-generation task, routine and non-routine events of everyday activities (e.g., buying groceries) had to be generated in either chronological or inverted temporal order. Patients were slower than controls at generating events in the chronological routine condition only. They also committed more sequencing and boundary errors in the inverted conditions. The number of irrelevant events was higher in patients in the chronological, non-routine condition. These results suggest that patients with schizophrenia imprecisely access temporal information from short- and long-term memory. In short-term memory, processing of temporal information led to a reduction in errors rather than, as was the case in healthy controls, to an improvement in temporal-order recall. When accessing temporal information from long-term memory, patients were slower and committed more sequencing, boundary, and intrusion errors. Together, these results suggest that time information can be accessed and processed only imprecisely by patients who provide evidence for impaired time comprehension. This could contribute to symptomatic cognitive deficits and strategic inefficiency in schizophrenia.

Balancing Automatic-Controlled Behaviors and Emotional-Salience States: A Dynamic Executive Functioning Hypothesis.

PubMed

Kluwe-Schiavon, Bruno; Viola, Thiago W; Sanvicente-Vieira, Breno; Malloy-Diniz, Leandro F; Grassi-Oliveira, Rodrigo

2016-01-01

Recently, there has been growing interest in understanding how executive functions are conceptualized in psychopathology. Since several models have been proposed, the major issue lies within the definition of executive functioning itself. Theoretical discussions have emerged, narrowing the boundaries between "hot" and "cold" executive functions or between self-regulation and cognitive control. Nevertheless, the definition of executive functions is far from a consensual proposition and it has been suggested that these models might be outdated. Current efforts indicate that human behavior and cognition are by-products of many brain systems operating and interacting at different levels, and therefore, it is very simplistic to assume a dualistic perspective of information processing. Based upon an adaptive perspective, we discuss how executive functions could emerge from the ability to solve immediate problems and to generalize successful strategies, as well as from the ability to synthesize and to classify environmental information in order to predict context and future. We present an executive functioning perspective that emerges from the dynamic balance between automatic-controlled behaviors and an emotional-salience state. According to our perspective, the adaptive role of executive functioning is to automatize efficient solutions simultaneously with cognitive demand, enabling individuals to engage such processes with increasingly complex problems. Understanding executive functioning as a mediator of stress and cognitive engagement not only fosters discussions concerning individual differences, but also offers an important paradigm to understand executive functioning as a continuum process rather than a categorical and multicomponent structure.

Balancing Automatic-Controlled Behaviors and Emotional-Salience States: A Dynamic Executive Functioning Hypothesis

PubMed Central

Kluwe-Schiavon, Bruno; Viola, Thiago W.; Sanvicente-Vieira, Breno; Malloy-Diniz, Leandro F.; Grassi-Oliveira, Rodrigo

2017-01-01

Recently, there has been growing interest in understanding how executive functions are conceptualized in psychopathology. Since several models have been proposed, the major issue lies within the definition of executive functioning itself. Theoretical discussions have emerged, narrowing the boundaries between “hot” and “cold” executive functions or between self-regulation and cognitive control. Nevertheless, the definition of executive functions is far from a consensual proposition and it has been suggested that these models might be outdated. Current efforts indicate that human behavior and cognition are by-products of many brain systems operating and interacting at different levels, and therefore, it is very simplistic to assume a dualistic perspective of information processing. Based upon an adaptive perspective, we discuss how executive functions could emerge from the ability to solve immediate problems and to generalize successful strategies, as well as from the ability to synthesize and to classify environmental information in order to predict context and future. We present an executive functioning perspective that emerges from the dynamic balance between automatic-controlled behaviors and an emotional-salience state. According to our perspective, the adaptive role of executive functioning is to automatize efficient solutions simultaneously with cognitive demand, enabling individuals to engage such processes with increasingly complex problems. Understanding executive functioning as a mediator of stress and cognitive engagement not only fosters discussions concerning individual differences, but also offers an important paradigm to understand executive functioning as a continuum process rather than a categorical and multicomponent structure. PMID:28154541

Acetylcholine, GABA and neuronal networks: a working hypothesis for compensations in the dystrophic brain.

PubMed

Cohen, Erez James; Quarta, Eros; Fulgenzi, Gianluca; Minciacchi, Diego

2015-01-01

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a genetic disease arising from a mutation in the dystrophin gene, is characterized by muscle failure and is often associated with cognitive deficits. Studies of the dystrophic brain on the murine mdx model of DMD provide evidence of morphological and functional alterations in the central nervous system (CNS) possibly compatible with the cognitive impairment seen in DMD. However, while some of the alterations reported are a direct consequence of the absence of dystrophin, others seem to be associated only indirectly. In this review we reevaluate the literature in order to formulate a possible explanation for the cognitive impairments associated with DMD. We present a working hypothesis, demonstrated as an integrated neuronal network model, according to which within the cascade of events leading to cognitive impairments there are compensatory mechanisms aimed to maintain functional stability via perpetual adjustments of excitatory and inhibitory components. Such ongoing compensatory response creates continuous perturbations that disrupt neuronal functionality in terms of network efficiency. We have theorized that in this process acetylcholine and network oscillations play a central role. A better understating of these mechanisms could provide a useful diagnostic index of the disease's progression and, perhaps, the correct counterbalance of this process might help to prevent deterioration of the CNS in DMD. Furthermore, the involvement of compensatory mechanisms in the CNS could be extended beyond DMD and possibly help to clarify other physio-pathological processes of the CNS. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Questions for Assessing Higher-Order Cognitive Skills: It's Not Just Bloom’s

PubMed Central

Lemons, Paula P.; Lemons, J. Derrick

2013-01-01

We present an exploratory study of biologists’ ideas about higher-order cognition questions. We documented the conversations of biologists who were writing and reviewing a set of higher-order cognition questions. Using a qualitative approach, we identified the themes of these conversations. Biologists in our study used Bloom's Taxonomy to logically analyze questions. However, biologists were also concerned with question difficulty, the length of time required for students to address questions, and students’ experience with questions. Finally, some biologists demonstrated an assumption that questions should have one correct answer, not multiple reasonable solutions; this assumption undermined their comfort with some higher-order cognition questions. We generated a framework for further research that provides an interpretation of participants’ ideas about higher-order questions and a model of the relationships among these ideas. Two hypotheses emerge from this framework. First, we propose that biologists look for ways to measure difficulty when writing higher-order questions. Second, we propose that biologists’ assumptions about the role of questions in student learning strongly influence the types of higher-order questions they write. PMID:23463228

Reciprocal Relations Between Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Models: Opposites Attract?

PubMed Central

Forstmann, Birte U.; Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan; Eichele, Tom; Brown, Scott; Serences, John T.

2012-01-01

Cognitive neuroscientists study how the brain implements particular cognitive processes such as perception, learning, and decision-making. Traditional approaches in which experiments are designed to target a specific cognitive process have been supplemented by two recent innovations. First, formal models of cognition can decompose observed behavioral data into multiple latent cognitive processes, allowing brain measurements to be associated with a particular cognitive process more precisely and more confidently. Second, cognitive neuroscience can provide additional data to inform the development of cognitive models, providing greater constraint than behavioral data alone. We argue that these fields are mutually dependent: not only can models guide neuroscientific endeavors, but understanding neural mechanisms can provide critical insights into formal models of cognition. PMID:21612972

Towards a Universal Model of Reading

PubMed Central

Frost, Ram

2013-01-01

In the last decade, reading research has seen a paradigmatic shift. A new wave of computational models of orthographic processing that offer various forms of noisy position or context-sensitive coding, have revolutionized the field of visual word recognition. The influx of such models stems mainly from consistent findings, coming mostly from European languages, regarding an apparent insensitivity of skilled readers to letter-order. Underlying the current revolution is the theoretical assumption that the insensitivity of readers to letter order reflects the special way in which the human brain encodes the position of letters in printed words. The present paper discusses the theoretical shortcomings and misconceptions of this approach to visual word recognition. A systematic review of data obtained from a variety of languages demonstrates that letter-order insensitivity is not a general property of the cognitive system, neither it is a property of the brain in encoding letters. Rather, it is a variant and idiosyncratic characteristic of some languages, mostly European, reflecting a strategy of optimizing encoding resources, given the specific structure of words. Since the main goal of reading research is to develop theories that describe the fundamental and invariant phenomena of reading across orthographies, an alternative approach to model visual word recognition is offered. The dimensions of a possible universal model of reading, which outlines the common cognitive operations involved in orthographic processing in all writing systems, are discussed. PMID:22929057

Towards a universal model of reading.

PubMed

Frost, Ram

2012-10-01

In the last decade, reading research has seen a paradigmatic shift. A new wave of computational models of orthographic processing that offer various forms of noisy position or context-sensitive coding have revolutionized the field of visual word recognition. The influx of such models stems mainly from consistent findings, coming mostly from European languages, regarding an apparent insensitivity of skilled readers to letter order. Underlying the current revolution is the theoretical assumption that the insensitivity of readers to letter order reflects the special way in which the human brain encodes the position of letters in printed words. The present article discusses the theoretical shortcomings and misconceptions of this approach to visual word recognition. A systematic review of data obtained from a variety of languages demonstrates that letter-order insensitivity is neither a general property of the cognitive system nor a property of the brain in encoding letters. Rather, it is a variant and idiosyncratic characteristic of some languages, mostly European, reflecting a strategy of optimizing encoding resources, given the specific structure of words. Since the main goal of reading research is to develop theories that describe the fundamental and invariant phenomena of reading across orthographies, an alternative approach to model visual word recognition is offered. The dimensions of a possible universal model of reading, which outlines the common cognitive operations involved in orthographic processing in all writing systems, are discussed.

Effects of L-histidine depletion and L-tyrosine/L-phenylalanine depletion on sensory and motor processes in healthy volunteers

PubMed Central

van Ruitenbeek, P; Sambeth, A; Vermeeren, A; Young, SN; Riedel, WJ

2009-01-01

Background and purpose: Animal studies show that histamine plays a role in cognitive functioning and that histamine H3-receptor antagonists, which increase histaminergic function through presynaptic receptors, improve cognitive performance in models of clinical cognitive deficits. In order to test such new drugs in humans, a model for cognitive impairments induced by low histaminergic functions would be useful. Studies with histamine H1-receptor antagonists have shown limitations as a model. Here we evaluated whether depletion of L-histidine, the precursor of histamine, was effective in altering measures associated with histamine in humans and the behavioural and electrophysiological (event-related-potentials) effects. Experimental approach: Seventeen healthy volunteers completed a three-way, double-blind, crossover study with L-histidine depletion, L-tyrosine/L-phenylalanine depletion (active control) and placebo as treatments. Interactions with task manipulations in a choice reaction time task were studied. Task demands were increased using visual stimulus degradation and increased response complexity. In addition, subjective and objective measures of sedation and critical tracking task performance were assessed. Key results: Measures of sedation and critical tracking task performance were not affected by treatment. L-histidine depletion was effective and enlarged the effect of response complexity as measured with the response-locked lateralized readiness potential onset latency. Conclusions and implications: L-histidine depletion affected response- but not stimulus-related processes, in contrast to the effects of H1-receptor antagonists which were previously found to affect primarily stimulus-related processes. L-histidine depletion is promising as a model for histamine-based cognitive impairment. However, these effects need to be confirmed by further studies. PMID:19413574

The Effects of Acute Dopamine Precursor Depletion on the Cognitive Control Functions of Performance Monitoring and Conflict Processing: An Event-Related Potential (ERP) Study.

PubMed

Larson, Michael J; Clayson, Peter E; Primosch, Mark; Leyton, Marco; Steffensen, Scott C

2015-01-01

Studies using medications and psychiatric populations implicate dopamine in cognitive control and performance monitoring processes. However, side effects associated with medication or studying psychiatric groups may confound the relationship between dopamine and cognitive control. To circumvent such possibilities, we utilized a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects design wherein participants were administered a nutritionally-balanced amino acid mixture (BAL) and an amino acid mixture deficient in the dopamine precursors tyrosine (TYR) and phenylalanine (PHE) on two separate occasions. Order of sessions was randomly assigned. Cognitive control and performance monitoring were assessed using response times (RT), error rates, the N450, an event-related potential (ERP) index of conflict monitoring, the conflict slow potential (conflict SP), an ERP index of conflict resolution, and the error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe), ERPs associated with performance monitoring. Participants were twelve males who completed a Stroop color-word task while ERPs were collected four hours following acute PHE and TYR depletion (APTD) or balanced (BAL) mixture ingestion in two separate sessions. N450 and conflict SP ERP amplitudes significantly differentiated congruent from incongruent trials, but did not differ as a function of APTD or BAL mixture ingestion. Similarly, ERN and Pe amplitudes showed significant differences between error and correct trials that were not different between APTD and BAL conditions. Findings indicate that acute dopamine precursor depletion does not significantly alter cognitive control and performance monitoring ERPs. Current results do not preclude the role of dopamine in these processes, but suggest that multiple methods for dopamine-related hypothesis testing are needed.

Feasibility, reliability, and validity of a smartphone based application for the assessment of cognitive function in the elderly.

PubMed

Brouillette, Robert M; Foil, Heather; Fontenot, Stephanie; Correro, Anthony; Allen, Ray; Martin, Corby K; Bruce-Keller, Annadora J; Keller, Jeffrey N

2013-01-01

While considerable knowledge has been gained through the use of established cognitive and motor assessment tools, there is a considerable interest and need for the development of a battery of reliable and validated assessment tools that provide real-time and remote analysis of cognitive and motor function in the elderly. Smartphones appear to be an obvious choice for the development of these "next-generation" assessment tools for geriatric research, although to date no studies have reported on the use of smartphone-based applications for the study of cognition in the elderly. The primary focus of the current study was to assess the feasibility, reliability, and validity of a smartphone-based application for the assessment of cognitive function in the elderly. A total of 57 non-demented elderly individuals were administered a newly developed smartphone application-based Color-Shape Test (CST) in order to determine its utility in measuring cognitive processing speed in the elderly. Validity of this novel cognitive task was assessed by correlating performance on the CST with scores on widely accepted assessments of cognitive function. Scores on the CST were significantly correlated with global cognition (Mini-Mental State Exam: r = 0.515, p<0.0001) and multiple measures of processing speed and attention (Digit Span: r = 0.427, p<0.0001; Trail Making Test: r = -0.651, p<0.00001; Digit Symbol Test: r = 0.508, p<0.0001). The CST was not correlated with naming and verbal fluency tasks (Boston Naming Test, Vegetable/Animal Naming) or memory tasks (Logical Memory Test). Test re-test reliability was observed to be significant (r = 0.726; p = 0.02). Together, these data are the first to demonstrate the feasibility, reliability, and validity of using a smartphone-based application for the purpose of assessing cognitive function in the elderly. The importance of these findings for the establishment of smartphone-based assessment batteries of cognitive and motor function in the elderly is discussed.

Vibration Sensor Monitoring of Nickel-Titanium Alloy Turning for Machinability Evaluation.

PubMed

Segreto, Tiziana; Caggiano, Alessandra; Karam, Sara; Teti, Roberto

2017-12-12

Nickel-Titanium (Ni-Ti) alloys are very difficult-to-machine materials causing notable manufacturing problems due to their unique mechanical properties, including superelasticity, high ductility, and severe strain-hardening. In this framework, the aim of this paper is to assess the machinability of Ni-Ti alloys with reference to turning processes in order to realize a reliable and robust in-process identification of machinability conditions. An on-line sensor monitoring procedure based on the acquisition of vibration signals was implemented during the experimental turning tests. The detected vibration sensorial data were processed through an advanced signal processing method in time-frequency domain based on wavelet packet transform (WPT). The extracted sensorial features were used to construct WPT pattern feature vectors to send as input to suitably configured neural networks (NNs) for cognitive pattern recognition in order to evaluate the correlation between input sensorial information and output machinability conditions.

Vibration Sensor Monitoring of Nickel-Titanium Alloy Turning for Machinability Evaluation

PubMed Central

Segreto, Tiziana; Karam, Sara; Teti, Roberto

2017-01-01

Nickel-Titanium (Ni-Ti) alloys are very difficult-to-machine materials causing notable manufacturing problems due to their unique mechanical properties, including superelasticity, high ductility, and severe strain-hardening. In this framework, the aim of this paper is to assess the machinability of Ni-Ti alloys with reference to turning processes in order to realize a reliable and robust in-process identification of machinability conditions. An on-line sensor monitoring procedure based on the acquisition of vibration signals was implemented during the experimental turning tests. The detected vibration sensorial data were processed through an advanced signal processing method in time-frequency domain based on wavelet packet transform (WPT). The extracted sensorial features were used to construct WPT pattern feature vectors to send as input to suitably configured neural networks (NNs) for cognitive pattern recognition in order to evaluate the correlation between input sensorial information and output machinability conditions. PMID:29231864

The Writing Life: Narrative, Metaphor, and Emotion in the Spiritual Autobiographies of Teresa of Avila and Sarah Edwards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friend, Elizabeth Ford

2012-01-01

In this dissertation, I analyze the spiritual autobiographies of Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) and Sarah Edwards (1710-1758) through the methodological lenses of autobiography studies and cognitive linguistics in order to identify key narratives and metaphors for the spiritual life and explore the significance of the interpretation process for lived…

The Contributions of "Hot" and "Cool" Executive Function to Children's Academic Achievement, Learning-Related Behaviors, and Engagement in Kindergarten

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brock, Laura L.; Rimm-Kaufman, Sara E.; Nathanson, Lori; Grimm, Kevin J.

2009-01-01

Executive functioning (EF) refers to higher order thought processes considered foundational for problem-solving. EF has both "cool" cognitive and "hot" emotional components. This study asks: (a) what are the relative contributions of "hot" and "cool" EF to children's academic achievement? (b) What are the relative contributions of "hot" and "cool"…

Seeing Meaning in Action: A Bidirectional Link between Visual Perspective and Action Identification Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Libby, Lisa K.; Shaeffer, Eric M.; Eibach, Richard P.

2009-01-01

Actions do not have inherent meaning but rather can be interpreted in many ways. The interpretation a person adopts has important effects on a range of higher order cognitive processes. One dimension on which interpretations can vary is the extent to which actions are identified abstractly--in relation to broader goals, personal characteristics,…

A Comparison of Reinforcement Learning Models for the Iowa Gambling Task Using Parameter Space Partitioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steingroever, Helen; Wetzels, Ruud; Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan

2013-01-01

The Iowa gambling task (IGT) is one of the most popular tasks used to study decision-making deficits in clinical populations. In order to decompose performance on the IGT in its constituent psychological processes, several cognitive models have been proposed (e.g., the Expectancy Valence (EV) and Prospect Valence Learning (PVL) models). Here we…

Factor Structure and Validity of Paper-and-Pencil Measures of Mental Speed: Evidence for a Higher-Order Model?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danthiir, Vanessa; Wilhelm, Oliver; Schulze, Ralf; Roberts, Richard D.

2005-01-01

This study explored the structure of elementary cognitive tasks (ECTs) and relations between the corresponding construct(s) with processing speed (Gs) and fluid intelligence (Gf). Participants (N=321) completed 14 ECTs, 3 Gs, and 6 Gf marker tests, all administered in paper-and-pencil format to reduce potential confounds evident when tasks are…

Research on Self-Directed Learning to Meet Job Performance Requirements. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munro, Allen; Towne, Douglas M.

Over a two-year period, research was conducted primarily in two areas of cognitive strategies for on-the-job training (OJT). The first area was the development and testing of a computer-based training system to improve selectivity in text processing in order to improve performance during OJT. The second area was the exploration of text-type…

Attention Switching and Multimedia Learning: The Impact of Executive Resources on the Integrative Comprehension of Texts and Pictures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baadte, Christiane; Rasch, Thorsten; Honstein, Helena

2015-01-01

The ability to flexibly allocate attention to goal-relevant information is pivotal for the completion of high-level cognitive processes. For instance, in comprehending illustrated texts, the reader permanently has to switch the attentional focus between the text and the corresponding picture in order to extract relevant information from both…

A computational model of conditioning inspired by Drosophila olfactory system.

PubMed

Faghihi, Faramarz; Moustafa, Ahmed A; Heinrich, Ralf; Wörgötter, Florentin

2017-03-01

Recent studies have demonstrated that Drosophila melanogaster (briefly Drosophila) can successfully perform higher cognitive processes including second order olfactory conditioning. Understanding the neural mechanism of this behavior can help neuroscientists to unravel the principles of information processing in complex neural systems (e.g. the human brain) and to create efficient and robust robotic systems. In this work, we have developed a biologically-inspired spiking neural network which is able to execute both first and second order conditioning. Experimental studies demonstrated that volume signaling (e.g. by the gaseous transmitter nitric oxide) contributes to memory formation in vertebrates and invertebrates including insects. Based on the existing knowledge of odor encoding in Drosophila, the role of retrograde signaling in memory function, and the integration of synaptic and non-synaptic neural signaling, a neural system is implemented as Simulated fly. Simulated fly navigates in a two-dimensional environment in which it receives odors and electric shocks as sensory stimuli. The model suggests some experimental research on retrograde signaling to investigate neural mechanisms of conditioning in insects and other animals. Moreover, it illustrates a simple strategy to implement higher cognitive capabilities in machines including robots. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association of visual sensory function and higher order visual processing skills with incident driving cessation

PubMed Central

Huisingh, Carrie; McGwin, Gerald; Owsley, Cynthia

2017-01-01

Background Many studies on vision and driving cessation have relied on measures of sensory function, which are insensitive to the higher order cognitive aspects of visual processing. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between traditional measures of visual sensory function and higher order visual processing skills with incident driving cessation in a population-based sample of older drivers. Methods Two thousand licensed drivers aged ≥70 were enrolled and followed-up for three years. Tests for central vision and visual processing were administered at baseline and included visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, sensitivity in the driving visual field, visual processing speed (Useful Field of View (UFOV) Subtest 2 and Trails B), and spatial ability measured by the Visual Closure Subtest of the Motor-free Visual Perception Test. Participants self-reported the month and year of driving cessation and provided a reason for cessation. Cox proportional hazards models were used to generate crude and adjusted hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals between visual functioning characteristics and risk of driving cessation over a three-year period. Results During the study period, 164 participants stopped driving which corresponds to a cumulative incidence of 8.5%. Impaired contrast sensitivity, visual fields, visual processing speed (UFOVand Trails B), and spatial ability were significant risk factors for subsequent driving cessation after adjusting for age, gender, marital status, number of medical conditions, and miles driven. Visual acuity impairment was not associated with driving cessation. Medical problems (63%), specifically musculoskeletal and neurological problems, as well as vision problems (17%) were cited most frequently as the reason for driving cessation. Conclusion Assessment of cognitive and visual functioning can provide useful information about subsequent risk of driving cessation among older drivers. In addition, a variety of factors, not just vision, influenced the decision to stop driving and may be amenable to intervention. PMID:27353969

A dissociation between selective attention and conscious awareness in the representation of temporal order information.

PubMed

Eimer, Martin; Grubert, Anna

2015-09-01

Previous electrophysiological studies have shown that attentional selection processes are highly sensitive to the temporal order of task-relevant visual events. When two successively presented colour-defined target stimuli are separated by a stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of only 10 ms, the onset latencies of N2pc components to these stimuli (which reflect their attentional selection) precisely match their objective temporal separation. We tested whether such small onset differences are accessible to conscious awareness by instructing participants to report the category (letter or digit) of the first of two target-colour items that were separated by an SOA of 10, 20, or 30 ms. Performance was at chance level for the 10 ms SOA, demonstrating that temporal order information which is available to attentional control processes cannot be utilized for conscious temporal order judgments. These results provide new evidence that selective attention and conscious awareness are functionally separable, and support the hypothesis that attention and awareness operate at different stages of cognitive processing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Systematic Translation and Cultural Adaptation Process for Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21).

PubMed

Rosnah, I; Noor Hassim, I; Shafizah, A S

2013-10-01

The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire was first constructed to measure eating behavior in an English population in the United States. It has been validated and translated for various populations in different languages. The aim of this article is to describe a systematic process for translating the questionnaire from English to Malay language. The report of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcome Research (ISPOR) Task Force was used as the basis for the systematic translation process. The process began with preparation; followed by forward translation (2 independent translators), reconciliation, back translation (2 independent translators), back translation review, harmonization, cognitive debriefing, review of cognitive debriefing results and finalization, proofreading; and ended with the final report. Four independent Malay translators who fluent in English and reside in Malaysia were involved in the process. A team of health care researchers had assisted the review of the new translated questionnaires. Majority of the TFEQ-R21 items were experiencing, conceptually and semantically equivalence between original English and translated English. However, certain phrase such as "feels like bottomless pit" was difficult to translate by forward translators. Cognitive debriefing was a very helpful process to ensure the TFEQ-R21 Malay version was appropriate in term of wording and culturally accepted. A total of four redundant comments in regards to response scale wording, word confusion and wording arrangement. The systematic translation process is a way to reduce the linguistic discrepancies between the English and Malay language in order to promote equivalence and culturally adapted TFEQ-R21 questionnaire.

Assessment of Higher Order Thinking Skills. Current Perspectives on Cognition, Learning and Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schraw, Gregory, Ed.; Robinson, Daniel H., Ed.

2011-01-01

This volume examines the assessment of higher order thinking skills from the perspectives of applied cognitive psychology and measurement theory. The volume considers a variety of higher order thinking skills, including problem solving, critical thinking, argumentation, decision making, creativity, metacognition, and self-regulation. Fourteen…

Spontaneous attentional fluctuations in impaired states and pathological conditions: a neurobiological hypothesis.

PubMed

Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J S; Castellanos, F Xavier

2007-01-01

In traditional accounts, fluctuations in sustained and focused attention and associated attentional lapses during task performance are regarded as the result of failures of top-down and effortful higher order processes. The current paper reviews an alternative hypothesis: that spontaneous patterns of very low frequency (<0.1 Hz) coherence within a specific brain network ('default-mode network') thought to support a pattern of generalized task-non-specific cognition during rest, can persist or intrude into periods of active task-specific processing, producing periodic fluctuations in attention that compete with goal-directed activity. We review recent studies supporting the existence of the resting state default network, examine the mechanism underpinning it, describe the consequent temporally distinctive effects on cognition and behaviour of default-mode interference into active processing periods, and suggest some factors that might predispose to it. Finally, we explore the putative role of default-mode interference as a cause of performance variability in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Recognizing speech under a processing load: dissociating energetic from informational factors.

PubMed

Mattys, Sven L; Brooks, Joanna; Cooke, Martin

2009-11-01

Effects of perceptual and cognitive loads on spoken-word recognition have so far largely escaped investigation. This study lays the foundations of a psycholinguistic approach to speech recognition in adverse conditions that draws upon the distinction between energetic masking, i.e., listening environments leading to signal degradation, and informational masking, i.e., listening environments leading to depletion of higher-order, domain-general processing resources, independent of signal degradation. We show that severe energetic masking, such as that produced by background speech or noise, curtails reliance on lexical-semantic knowledge and increases relative reliance on salient acoustic detail. In contrast, informational masking, induced by a resource-depleting competing task (divided attention or a memory load), results in the opposite pattern. Based on this clear dissociation, we propose a model of speech recognition that addresses not only the mapping between sensory input and lexical representations, as traditionally advocated, but also the way in which this mapping interfaces with general cognition and non-linguistic processes.

Identity processing styles and the need for self-esteem in middle-aged and older adults.

PubMed

Sneed, J R; Whitbourne, S K

2001-01-01

This study was a test of the relationship between self-esteem and the identity processing styles of identity assimilation (i.e., maintaining consistent views of the self), accommodation (i.e., changing the self ), and a balance between consistency seeking and identity change. A community sample of 242 older adults ranging in age from forty to ninety-five (M = 63.31) completed measures of identity processing and self-esteem. Previous research has demonstrated that identity assimilation increases with age in order to maintain self-esteem in the domain of physical and cognitive functioning; this is referred to as the identity assimilation effect (IAE). Based on this research, a similar result was expected in the domain of personality. Although identity assimilation and balance predicted increases in self-esteem, and identity accommodation predicted decreases in self-esteem, as predicted, no interaction effects were observed. The results of this study suggest the IAE may be domain specific to physical and cognitive functioning.

Battery powered thought: enhancement of attention, learning, and memory in healthy adults using transcranial direct current stimulation.

PubMed

Coffman, Brian A; Clark, Vincent P; Parasuraman, Raja

2014-01-15

This article reviews studies demonstrating enhancement with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of attention, learning, and memory processes in healthy adults. Given that these are fundamental cognitive functions, they may also mediate stimulation effects on other higher-order processes such as decision-making and problem solving. Although tDCS research is still young, there have been a variety of methods used and cognitive processes tested. While these different methods have resulted in seemingly contradictory results among studies, many consistent and noteworthy effects of tDCS on attention, learning, and memory have been reported. The literature suggests that although tDCS as typically applied may not be as useful for localization of function in the brain as some other methods of brain stimulation, tDCS may be particularly well-suited for practical applications involving the enhancement of attention, learning, and memory, in both healthy subjects and in clinical populations. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 inhibitors reverse deficits in long-term potentiation and cognition in Fragile X mice

PubMed Central

Franklin, Aimee V.; King, Margaret K.; Palomo, Valle; Martinez, Ana; McMahon, Lori L.; Jope, Richard S.

2013-01-01

Background Identifying feasible therapeutic interventions is crucial for ameliorating the intellectual disability and other afflictions of Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability and autism. Hippocampal glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) is hyperactive in the mouse model of FXS (FX mice), and hyperactive GSK3 promotes locomotor hyperactivity and audiogenic seizure susceptibility in FX mice, raising the possibility that specific GSK3 inhibitors may improve cognitive processes. Methods We tested if specific GSK3 inhibitors improve deficits in N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-dependent long term potentiation (LTP) at medial perforant path synapses onto dentate granule cells (MPP-DGC) and dentate gyrus-dependent cognitive behavioral tasks. Results GSK3 inhibitors completely rescued deficits in LTP at MPP-DGC synapses in FX mice. Furthermore, synaptosomes from the dentate gyrus of FX mice displayed decreased inhibitory serine-phosphorylation of GSK3β compared with wild-type littermates. The potential therapeutic utility of GSK3 inhibitors was further tested on dentate gyrus-dependent congnitive behaviors. In vivo administration of GSK3 inhibitors completely reversed impairments in several cognitive tasks in FX mice, including novel object detection, coordinate and categorical spatial processing, and temporal ordering for visual objects. Conclusions These findings establish that synaptic plasticity and cognitive deficits in FX mice can be improved by intervention with inhibitors of GSK3, which may prove therapeutically beneficial in FXS. PMID:24041505

Distant from input: Evidence of regions within the default mode network supporting perceptually-decoupled and conceptually-guided cognition.

PubMed

Murphy, Charlotte; Jefferies, Elizabeth; Rueschemeyer, Shirley-Ann; Sormaz, Mladen; Wang, Hao-Ting; Margulies, Daniel S; Smallwood, Jonathan

2018-05-01

The default mode network supports a variety of mental operations such as semantic processing, episodic memory retrieval, mental time travel and mind-wandering, yet the commonalities between these functions remains unclear. One possibility is that this system supports cognition that is independent of the immediate environment; alternatively or additionally, it might support higher-order conceptual representations that draw together multiple features. We tested these accounts using a novel paradigm that separately manipulated the availability of perceptual information to guide decision-making and the representational complexity of this information. Using task based imaging we established regions that respond when cognition combines both stimulus independence with multi-modal information. These included left and right angular gyri and the left middle temporal gyrus. Although these sites were within the default mode network, they showed a stronger response to demanding memory judgements than to an easier perceptual task, contrary to the view that they support automatic aspects of cognition. In a subsequent analysis, we showed that these regions were located at the extreme end of a macroscale gradient, which describes gradual transitions from sensorimotor to transmodal cortex. This shift in the focus of neural activity towards transmodal, default mode, regions might reflect a process of where the functional distance from specific sensory enables conceptually rich and detailed cognitive states to be generated in the absence of input. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reciprocal relations between cognitive neuroscience and formal cognitive models: opposites attract?

PubMed

Forstmann, Birte U; Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan; Eichele, Tom; Brown, Scott; Serences, John T

2011-06-01

Cognitive neuroscientists study how the brain implements particular cognitive processes such as perception, learning, and decision-making. Traditional approaches in which experiments are designed to target a specific cognitive process have been supplemented by two recent innovations. First, formal cognitive models can decompose observed behavioral data into multiple latent cognitive processes, allowing brain measurements to be associated with a particular cognitive process more precisely and more confidently. Second, cognitive neuroscience can provide additional data to inform the development of formal cognitive models, providing greater constraint than behavioral data alone. We argue that these fields are mutually dependent; not only can models guide neuroscientific endeavors, but understanding neural mechanisms can provide key insights into formal models of cognition. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extending the ‘cross-disorder’ relevance of executive functions to dimensional neuropsychiatric traits in youth

PubMed Central

McGrath, Lauren M.; Braaten, Ellen B.; Doty, Nathan D.; Willoughby, Brian L.; Wilson, H. Kent; O’Donnell, Ellen H.; Colvin, Mary K.; Ditmars, Hillary L.; Blais, Jessica E.; Hill, Erin N.; Metzger, Aaron; Perlis, Roy H.; Willcutt, Erik G.; Smoller, Jordan W.; Waldman, Irwin D.; Faraone, Stephen V.; Seidman, Larry J.; Doyle, Alysa E.

2016-01-01

Background Evidence that different neuropsychiatric conditions share genetic liability has increased interest in phenotypes with ‘cross-disorder’ relevance, as they may contribute to revised models of psychopathology. Cognition is a promising construct for study; yet, evidence that the same cognitive functions are impaired across different forms of psychopathology comes primarily from separate studies of individual categorical diagnoses versus controls. Given growing support for dimensional models that cut across traditional diagnostic boundaries, we aimed to determine, within a single cohort, whether performance on measures of executive functions (EFs) predicted dimensions of different psychopathological conditions known to share genetic liability. Methods Data are from 393 participants, ages 8 to 17, consecutively enrolled in the Longitudinal Study of Genetic Influences on Cognition (LOGIC). This project is conducting deep phenotyping and genomic analyses in youth referred for neuropsychiatric evaluation. Using structural equation modeling, we examined whether EFs predicted variation in core dimensions of autism spectrum disorder, bipolar illness and schizophrenia, including social responsiveness, mania/emotion regulation, and positive symptoms of psychosis, respectively. Results We modeled three cognitive factors (working memory, shifting, and executive processing speed) that loaded on a second-order EF factor. The EF factor predicted variation in our three target traits but not in a negative control (somatization). Moreover, this EF factor was primarily associated with the overlapping (rather than unique) variance across the three outcome measures, suggesting it related to a general increase in psychopathology symptoms across those dimensions. Conclusions Findings extend support for the relevance of cognition to neuropsychiatric conditions that share underlying genetic risk. They suggest that higher-order cognition, including EFs, relate to the dimensional spectrum of each of these disorders and not just the clinical diagnoses. Moreover, results have implications for bottom-up models linking genes, cognition, and a general psychopathology liability. PMID:26411927

Assessment of higher order cognitive skills in undergraduate education: modified essay or multiple choice questions? Research paper

PubMed Central

Palmer, Edward J; Devitt, Peter G

2007-01-01

Background Reliable and valid written tests of higher cognitive function are difficult to produce, particularly for the assessment of clinical problem solving. Modified Essay Questions (MEQs) are often used to assess these higher order abilities in preference to other forms of assessment, including multiple-choice questions (MCQs). MEQs often form a vital component of end-of-course assessments in higher education. It is not clear how effectively these questions assess higher order cognitive skills. This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of the MEQ to measure higher-order cognitive skills in an undergraduate institution. Methods An analysis of multiple-choice questions and modified essay questions (MEQs) used for summative assessment in a clinical undergraduate curriculum was undertaken. A total of 50 MCQs and 139 stages of MEQs were examined, which came from three exams run over two years. The effectiveness of the questions was determined by two assessors and was defined by the questions ability to measure higher cognitive skills, as determined by a modification of Bloom's taxonomy, and its quality as determined by the presence of item writing flaws. Results Over 50% of all of the MEQs tested factual recall. This was similar to the percentage of MCQs testing factual recall. The modified essay question failed in its role of consistently assessing higher cognitive skills whereas the MCQ frequently tested more than mere recall of knowledge. Conclusion Construction of MEQs, which will assess higher order cognitive skills cannot be assumed to be a simple task. Well-constructed MCQs should be considered a satisfactory replacement for MEQs if the MEQs cannot be designed to adequately test higher order skills. Such MCQs are capable of withstanding the intellectual and statistical scrutiny imposed by a high stakes exit examination. PMID:18045500

Mapping Common Aphasia Assessments to Underlying Cognitive Processes and Their Neural Substrates.

PubMed

Lacey, Elizabeth H; Skipper-Kallal, Laura M; Xing, Shihui; Fama, Mackenzie E; Turkeltaub, Peter E

2017-05-01

Understanding the relationships between clinical tests, the processes they measure, and the brain networks underlying them, is critical in order for clinicians to move beyond aphasia syndrome classification toward specification of individual language process impairments. To understand the cognitive, language, and neuroanatomical factors underlying scores of commonly used aphasia tests. Twenty-five behavioral tests were administered to a group of 38 chronic left hemisphere stroke survivors and a high-resolution magnetic resonance image was obtained. Test scores were entered into a principal components analysis to extract the latent variables (factors) measured by the tests. Multivariate lesion-symptom mapping was used to localize lesions associated with the factor scores. The principal components analysis yielded 4 dissociable factors, which we labeled Word Finding/Fluency, Comprehension, Phonology/Working Memory Capacity, and Executive Function. While many tests loaded onto the factors in predictable ways, some relied heavily on factors not commonly associated with the tests. Lesion symptom mapping demonstrated discrete brain structures associated with each factor, including frontal, temporal, and parietal areas extending beyond the classical language network. Specific functions mapped onto brain anatomy largely in correspondence with modern neural models of language processing. An extensive clinical aphasia assessment identifies 4 independent language functions, relying on discrete parts of the left middle cerebral artery territory. A better understanding of the processes underlying cognitive tests and the link between lesion and behavior may lead to improved aphasia diagnosis, and may yield treatments better targeted to an individual's specific pattern of deficits and preserved abilities.

Creativity and Cognition: Producing Effective Novelty.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cropley, Arthur J.

1999-01-01

Reviews cognitive processes, control mechanisms, and structures in creative thinking, and examines the way these aspects of cognition develop from childhood to adulthood. The cognitive definition of creativity, cognitive approaches to novelty production, creativity and cognitive development, and mechanisms guiding cognitive processes are explored.…

Cognitive workload reduction in hospital information systems : Decision support for order set optimization.

PubMed

Gartner, Daniel; Zhang, Yiye; Padman, Rema

2018-06-01

Order sets are a critical component in hospital information systems that are expected to substantially reduce physicians' physical and cognitive workload and improve patient safety. Order sets represent time interval-clustered order items, such as medications prescribed at hospital admission, that are administered to patients during their hospital stay. In this paper, we develop a mathematical programming model and an exact and a heuristic solution procedure with the objective of minimizing physicians' cognitive workload associated with prescribing order sets. Furthermore, we provide structural insights into the problem which lead us to a valid lower bound on the order set size. In a case study using order data on Asthma patients with moderate complexity from a major pediatric hospital, we compare the hospital's current solution with the exact and heuristic solutions on a variety of performance metrics. Our computational results confirm our lower bound and reveal that using a time interval decomposition approach substantially reduces computation times for the mathematical program, as does a K -means clustering based decomposition approach which, however, does not guarantee optimality because it violates the lower bound. The results of comparing the mathematical program with the current order set configuration in the hospital indicates that cognitive workload can be reduced by about 20.2% by allowing 1 to 5 order sets, respectively. The comparison of the K -means based decomposition with the hospital's current configuration reveals a cognitive workload reduction of about 19.5%, also by allowing 1 to 5 order sets, respectively. We finally provide a decision support system to help practitioners analyze the current order set configuration, the results of the mathematical program and the heuristic approach.

Cognitive load effects on early visual perceptual processing.

PubMed

Liu, Ping; Forte, Jason; Sewell, David; Carter, Olivia

2018-05-01

Contrast-based early visual processing has largely been considered to involve autonomous processes that do not need the support of cognitive resources. However, as spatial attention is known to modulate early visual perceptual processing, we explored whether cognitive load could similarly impact contrast-based perception. We used a dual-task paradigm to assess the impact of a concurrent working memory task on the performance of three different early visual tasks. The results from Experiment 1 suggest that cognitive load can modulate early visual processing. No effects of cognitive load were seen in Experiments 2 or 3. Together, the findings provide evidence that under some circumstances cognitive load effects can penetrate the early stages of visual processing and that higher cognitive function and early perceptual processing may not be as independent as was once thought.

How can knowledge discovery methods uncover spatio-temporal patterns in environmental data?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wachowicz, Monica

2000-04-01

This paper proposes the integration of KDD, GVis and STDB as a long-term strategy, which will allow users to apply knowledge discovery methods for uncovering spatio-temporal patterns in environmental data. The main goal is to combine innovative techniques and associated tools for exploring very large environmental data sets in order to arrive at valid, novel, potentially useful, and ultimately understandable spatio-temporal patterns. The GeoInsight approach is described using the principles and key developments in the research domains of KDD, GVis, and STDB. The GeoInsight approach aims at the integration of these research domains in order to provide tools for performing information retrieval, exploration, analysis, and visualization. The result is a knowledge-based design, which involves visual thinking (perceptual-cognitive process) and automated information processing (computer-analytical process).

[Electrophysiological bases of semantic processing of objects].

PubMed

Kahlaoui, Karima; Baccino, Thierry; Joanette, Yves; Magnié, Marie-Noële

2007-02-01

How pictures and words are stored and processed in the human brain constitute a long-standing question in cognitive psychology. Behavioral studies have yielded a large amount of data addressing this issue. Generally speaking, these data show that there are some interactions between the semantic processing of pictures and words. However, behavioral methods can provide only limited insight into certain findings. Fortunately, Event-Related Potential (ERP) provides on-line cues about the temporal nature of cognitive processes and contributes to the exploration of their neural substrates. ERPs have been used in order to better understand semantic processing of words and pictures. The main objective of this article is to offer an overview of the electrophysiologic bases of semantic processing of words and pictures. Studies presented in this article showed that the processing of words is associated with an N 400 component, whereas pictures elicited both N 300 and N 400 components. Topographical analysis of the N 400 distribution over the scalp is compatible with the idea that both image-mediated concrete words and pictures access an amodal semantic system. However, given the distinctive N 300 patterns, observed only during picture processing, it appears that picture and word processing rely upon distinct neuronal networks, even if they end up activating more or less similar semantic representations.

The Role of Cognitive Content and Cognitive Processes in Chronic Pain: An Important Distinction?

PubMed

Jensen, Mark P; Thorn, Beverly E; Carmody, James; Keefe, Francis J; Burns, John W

2018-05-01

Pain-related cognitive content (what people think about pain) and cognitive processes (how people think about pain; what they do with their pain-related thoughts) and their interaction are hypothesized to play distinct roles in patient function. However, questions have been raised regarding whether it is possible or practical to assess cognitive content and cognitive process as distinct domains. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which measures that seem to assess mostly pain-related cognitive content, cognitive processes, and content and process, are relatively independent from each other and contribute unique variance to the prediction of patient function. Individuals with chronic low back pain (N=165) participating in an ongoing RCT were administered measures of cognitions, pain, and function (depressive symptoms and pain interference) pretreatment. Analyses provided support for the hypothesis that cognitive content and cognitive process, while related, can be assessed as distinct components. However, the measure assessing a cognitive process-mindfulness-evidenced relatively weak associations with function, especially compared with the stronger and more consistent findings for the measures of content (catastrophizing and self-efficacy). The results provide preliminary evidence for the possibility that mindfulness could have both benefits and costs. Research to evaluate this possibility is warranted.

The Putative Chemosignal Androstadienone Makes Women More Generous.

PubMed

Perrotta, Valentina; Graffeo, Michele; Bonini, Nicolao; Gottfried, Jay A

2016-06-01

Putative human chemosignals have been shown to influence mood states and emotional processing, but the connection between these effects and higher-order cognitive processing is not well established. This study utilized an economic game (Dictator Game) to test whether androstadienone (AND), an odorous compound derived from testosterone, impacts on altruistic behavior. We predicted that the female participants would act more generously in the AND condition, exhibiting a significant interaction effect between gender and AND on Dictator Game contributions. We also expected that the presence of AND should increase the positive mood of the female participants, compared to a control odor condition and also compared to the mood of the male participants. The results confirm our hypotheses: for women the subliminal perception of AND led to larger monetary donations, compared to a control odor, and also increased positive mood. These effects were absent or significantly weaker in men. Our findings highlight the capacity of human putative chemosignals to influence emotions and higher cognitive processes - in particular the processes used in the context of economic decisions - in a gender-specific way.

Affective decision-making moderates the effects of automatic associations on alcohol use among drug offenders.

PubMed

Cappelli, Christopher; Ames, Susan; Shono, Yusuke; Dust, Mark; Stacy, Alan

2017-09-01

This study used a dual-process model of cognition in order to investigate the possible influence of automatic and deliberative processes on lifetime alcohol use in a sample of drug offenders. The objective was to determine if automatic/implicit associations in memory can exert an influence over an individual's alcohol use and if decision-making ability could potentially modify the influence of these associations. 168 participants completed a battery of cognitive tests measuring implicit alcohol associations in memory (verb generation) as well as their affective decision-making ability (Iowa Gambling Task). Structural equation modeling procedures were used to test the relationship between implicit associations, decision-making, and lifetime alcohol use. Results revealed that among participants with lower levels of decision-making, implicit alcohol associations more strongly predicted higher lifetime alcohol use. These findings provide further support for the interaction between a specific decision function and its influence over automatic processes in regulating alcohol use behavior in a risky population. Understanding the interaction between automatic associations and decision processes may aid in developing more effective intervention components.

Effects of language dominance on item and order memory in free recall, serial recall and order reconstruction.

PubMed

Francis, Wendy S; Baca, Yuzeth

2014-01-01

Spanish-English bilinguals (N = 144) performed free recall, serial recall and order reconstruction tasks in both English and Spanish. Long-term memory for both item and order information was worse in the less fluent language (L2) than in the more fluent language (L1). Item scores exhibited a stronger disadvantage for the L2 in serial recall than in free recall. Relative order scores were lower in the L2 for all three tasks, but adjusted scores for free and serial recall were equivalent across languages. Performance of English-speaking monolinguals (N = 72) was comparable to bilingual performance in the L1, except that monolinguals had higher adjusted order scores in free recall. Bilingual performance patterns in the L2 were consistent with the established effects of concurrent task performance on these memory tests, suggesting that the cognitive resources required for processing words in the L2 encroach on resources needed to commit item and order information to memory. These findings are also consistent with a model in which item memory is connected to the language system, order information is processed by separate mechanisms and attention can be allocated differentially to these two systems.

Validation of a Smartphone-Based Approach to In Situ Cognitive Fatigue Assessment

PubMed Central

Linden, Mark

2017-01-01

Background Acquired Brain Injuries (ABIs) can result in multiple detrimental cognitive effects, such as reduced memory capability, concentration, and planning. These effects can lead to cognitive fatigue, which can exacerbate the symptoms of ABIs and hinder management and recovery. Assessing cognitive fatigue is difficult due to the largely subjective nature of the condition and existing assessment approaches. Traditional methods of assessment use self-assessment questionnaires delivered in a medical setting, but recent work has attempted to employ more objective cognitive tests as a way of evaluating cognitive fatigue. However, these tests are still predominantly delivered within a medical environment, limiting their utility and efficacy. Objective The aim of this research was to investigate how cognitive fatigue can be accurately assessed in situ, during the quotidian activities of life. It was hypothesized that this assessment could be achieved through the use of mobile assistive technology to assess working memory, sustained attention, information processing speed, reaction time, and cognitive throughput. Methods The study used a bespoke smartphone app to track daily cognitive performance, in order to assess potential levels of cognitive fatigue. Twenty-one participants with no prior reported brain injuries took place in a two-week study, resulting in 81 individual testing instances being collected. The smartphone app delivered three cognitive tests on a daily basis: (1) Spatial Span to measure visuospatial working memory; (2) Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) to measure sustained attention, information processing speed, and reaction time; and (3) a Mental Arithmetic Test to measure cognitive throughput. A smartphone-optimized version of the Mental Fatigue Scale (MFS) self-assessment questionnaire was used as a baseline to assess the validity of the three cognitive tests, as the questionnaire has already been validated in multiple peer-reviewed studies. Results The most highly correlated results were from the PVT, which showed a positive correlation with those from the prevalidated MFS, measuring 0.342 (P<.008). Scores from the cognitive tests were entered into a regression model and showed that only reaction time in the PVT was a significant predictor of fatigue (P=.016, F=2.682, 95% CI 9.0-84.2). Higher scores on the MFS were related to increases in reaction time during our mobile variant of the PVT. Conclusions The results show that the PVT mobile cognitive test developed for this study could be used as a valid and reliable method for measuring cognitive fatigue in situ. This test would remove the subjectivity associated with established self-assessment approaches and the need for assessments to be performed in a medical setting. Based on our findings, future work could explore delivering a small set of tests with increased duration to further improve measurement reliability. Moreover, as the smartphone assessment tool can be used as part of everyday life, additional sources of data relating to physiological, psychological, and environmental context could be included within the analysis to improve the nature and precision of the assessment process. PMID:28818818

Spatial Cognitive Performance During Adaptation to Conflicting Tilt-Translation Stimuli as a Sensorimotor Spaceflight Analog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kayanickupuram, A. J.; Ramos, K. A.; Cordova, M. L.; Wood, S. J.

2009-01-01

The need to resolve new patterns of sensory feedback in altered gravitoinertial environments requires cognitive processes to develop appropriate reference frames for spatial orientation awareness. The purpose of this study was to examine deficits in spatial cognitive performance during adaptation to conflicting tilt-translation stimuli. Fourteen subjects were tilted within a lighted enclosure that simultaneously translated at one of 3 frequencies. Tilt and translation motion was synchronized to maintain the resultant gravitoinertial force aligned with the longitudinal body axis, resulting in a mismatch analogous to spaceflight in which the canals and vision signal tilt while the otoliths do not. Changes in performance on different spatial cognitive tasks were compared 1) without motion, 2) with tilt motion alone (pitch at 0.15, 0.3 and 0.6 Hz or roll at 0.3 Hz), and 3) with conflicting tilt-translation motion. The adaptation paradigm was continued for up to 30 min or until the onset of nausea. The order of the adaptation conditions were counter-balanced across 4 different test sessions. There was a significant effect of stimulus frequency on both motion sickness and spatial cognitive performance. Only 3 of 14 were able to complete the full 30 min protocol at 0.15 Hz, while 7 of 14 completed 0.3 Hz and 13 of 14 completed 0.6 Hz. There were no changes in simple visual-spatial cognitive tests, e.g., mental rotation or match-to-sample. There were significant deficits during 0.15 Hz adaptation in both accuracy and reaction time during a spatial reference task in which subjects are asked to identify a match of a 3D reoriented cube assemblage. Our results are consistent with antidotal reports of cognitive impairment that are common during sensorimotor adaptation with G-transitions. We conclude that these cognitive deficits stem from the ambiguity of spatial reference frames for central processing of inertial motion cues.

Towards a cognitive-learning formulation of youth anxiety: A narrative review of theory and evidence and implications for treatment.

PubMed

Waters, Allison M; Craske, Michelle G

2016-12-01

The tendency to disproportionately allocate attention to threat stimuli, to evaluate ambiguous or benign situations as overly threatening, and to exhibit overgeneralised and indiscriminate conditioned fear responses to threat and safe stimuli are hallmark clinical correlates of pathological anxiety. Investigation of these processes in children and adolescents suggests that anxiety-related differences increase with age, and that the specific conditions under which anxious children differ from non-anxious peers are poorly understood. Furthermore, research on cognitive biases and fear conditioning in anxious children and adolescents has progressed as quite distinct lines of investigation. Greater integration of key tenets from each perspective could advance knowledge and provide new directions for improving treatments. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we provide a qualitative review of the key principles from cognitive and conditioning theories of anxiety and the associated empirical research, including the underlying neurophysiological basis of these processes in anxious children and adolescents, in order to delineate the conditions under which anxiety-specific differences in threat-related cognitive biases and overgeneralised conditioned fear manifest in children and adolescents. Second, we synthesize these theoretical and empirical insights to propose a cognitive-learning formulation of anxiety in children and adolescents. We propose that conditioning and cognitive factors linked to differences in engagement of underlying neural circuits across development contribute to an internal representation of a wide range of stimuli as threatening, to which anxious children and adolescents adopt maladaptive attention regulation patterns of predominantly threat monitoring or threat avoidance. These maladaptive attention regulation patterns differentiate anxious children and adolescents in terms of predominantly high cognitive distress (e.g., worry and rumination) and high behavioural avoidance respectively. Third, we consider the clinical implications of the cognitive-learning formulation for understanding outcomes from current treatments and provide suggestions for improving treatment outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Spanish Version of the Self-Statements during Public Speaking Scale: Validation in Adolescents

PubMed Central

Rivero, Raul; Garcia-Lopez, LuisJoaquin; Hofmann, Stefan G.

2009-01-01

Contemporary theories of social anxiety emphasize the role of cognitive processes. Although social anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental health problems in adolescents, there are very few self-report instruments available to measure cognitive processes related to social anxiety in adolescents, let alone non-English instruments. The Self-Statements during Public Speaking Scale (SSPS; Hofmann & DiBartolo, 2000) is a brief self-report measure designed to assess self-statements related to public speaking, the most commonly feared social performance situation. In order to fill this gap in the literature, we translated the SSPS into Spanish and administered it to 1,694 adolescents from a community sample, a clinical sample composed of 71 subjects with a principal diagnosis of social anxiety disorder; and a clinical control group consisting of 154 patients. The scale showed good psychometric properties, supporting the use of the Spanish version of the SSPS in adolescents. PMID:20490370

The Spanish Version of the Self-Statements during Public Speaking Scale: Validation in Adolescents.

PubMed

Rivero, Raul; Garcia-Lopez, Luisjoaquin; Hofmann, Stefan G

2010-01-01

Contemporary theories of social anxiety emphasize the role of cognitive processes. Although social anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental health problems in adolescents, there are very few self-report instruments available to measure cognitive processes related to social anxiety in adolescents, let alone non-English instruments. The Self-Statements during Public Speaking Scale (SSPS; Hofmann & DiBartolo, 2000) is a brief self-report measure designed to assess self-statements related to public speaking, the most commonly feared social performance situation. In order to fill this gap in the literature, we translated the SSPS into Spanish and administered it to 1,694 adolescents from a community sample, a clinical sample composed of 71 subjects with a principal diagnosis of social anxiety disorder; and a clinical control group consisting of 154 patients. The scale showed good psychometric properties, supporting the use of the Spanish version of the SSPS in adolescents.

Stepwise Connectivity of the Modal Cortex Reveals the Multimodal Organization of the Human Brain

PubMed Central

Sepulcre, Jorge; Sabuncu, Mert R.; Yeo, Thomas B.; Liu, Hesheng; Johnson, Keith A.

2012-01-01

How human beings integrate information from external sources and internal cognition to produce a coherent experience is still not well understood. During the past decades, anatomical, neurophysiological and neuroimaging research in multimodal integration have stood out in the effort to understand the perceptual binding properties of the brain. Areas in the human lateral occipito-temporal, prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices have been associated with sensory multimodal processing. Even though this, rather patchy, organization of brain regions gives us a glimpse of the perceptual convergence, the articulation of the flow of information from modality-related to the more parallel cognitive processing systems remains elusive. Using a method called Stepwise Functional Connectivity analysis, the present study analyzes the functional connectome and transitions from primary sensory cortices to higher-order brain systems. We identify the large-scale multimodal integration network and essential connectivity axes for perceptual integration in the human brain. PMID:22855814

ERP Energy and Cognitive Activity Correlates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schillaci, Michael Jay; Vendemia, Jennifer M. C.

2014-03-01

We propose a novel analysis approach for high-density event related scalp potential (ERP) data where the integrated channel-power is used to attain an energy density functional state for channel-clusters of neurophysiological significance. The method is applied to data recorded during a two-stimulus, directed lie paradigm and shows that deceptive responses emit between 8% and 10% less power. A time course analysis of these cognitive activity measures over posterior and anterior regions of the cortex suggests that neocortical interactions, reflecting the differing workload demands during executive and semantic processes, take about 50% longer for the case of deception. These results suggest that the proposed method may provide a useful tool for the analysis of ERP correlates of high-order cognitive functioning. We also report on a possible equivalence between the energy functional distribution and near-infrared signatures that have been measured with other modalities.

Divided attention in computer game play: analysis utilizing unobtrusive health monitoring.

PubMed

McKanna, James A; Jimison, Holly; Pavel, Misha

2009-01-01

Divided attention is a vital cognitive ability used in important daily activities (e.g., driving), which tends to deteriorate with age. As with Alzheimer's and other neural degenerative conditions, treatment for divided attention problems is likely to be more effective the earlier it is detected. Thus, it is important that a method be found to detect changes in divided attention early on in the process, for both safety and health care reasons. We present here a new method for detecting divided attention unobtrusively, using performance on a computer game designed to force players to attend to different dimensions simultaneously in order to succeed. Should this model prove to predict scores on a standard test for divided attention, it could help to detect cognitive decline earlier in our increasingly computer-involved aging population, providing treatment efficacy benefits to those who will experience cognitive decline.

Override the controversy: Analytic thinking predicts endorsement of evolution.

PubMed

Gervais, Will M

2015-09-01

Despite overwhelming scientific consensus, popular opinions regarding evolution are starkly divided. In the USA, for example, nearly one in three adults espouse a literal and recent divine creation account of human origins. Plausibly, resistance to scientific conclusions regarding the origins of species-like much resistance to other scientific conclusions (Bloom & Weisberg, 2007)-gains support from reliably developing intuitions. Intuitions about essentialism, teleology, agency, and order may combine to make creationism potentially more cognitively attractive than evolutionary concepts. However, dual process approaches to cognition recognize that people can often analytically override their intuitions. Two large studies (total N=1324) found consistent evidence that a tendency to engage analytic thinking predicted endorsement of evolution, even controlling for relevant demographic, attitudinal, and religious variables. Meanwhile, exposure to religion predicted reduced endorsement of evolution. Cognitive style is one factor among many affecting opinions on the origin of species. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lithium treatment alleviates impaired cognition in a mouse model of Fragile X Syndrome

PubMed Central

King, Margaret K.; Jope, Richard S.

2013-01-01

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is caused by suppressed expression of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), which results in intellectual disability accompanied by many variably manifested characteristics, such as hyperactivity, seizures, and autistic-like behaviors. Treatment of mice that lack FMRP, Fmr1 knockout (KO) mice, with lithium has been reported to ameliorate locomotor hyperactivity, prevent hypersensitivity to audiogenic seizures, improve passive avoidance behavior, and attenuate sociability deficits. To focus on the defining characteristic of FXS, which is cognitive impairment, we tested if lithium treatment ameliorated impairments in four cognitive tasks in Fmr1 KO mice, tested if the response to lithium differed in adolescent and adult mice, and tested if therapeutic effects persisted after discontinuation of lithium administration. Fmr1 KO mice displayed impaired cognition in the novel object detection task, temporal ordering for objects task, and coordinate and categorical spatial processing tasks. Chronic lithium treatment of adolescent (from 4–8 weeks of age) and adult (from 8–12 weeks of age) mice abolished cognitive impairments in all four cognitive tasks. Cognitive deficits returned after lithium treatment was discontinued for 4 weeks. These results demonstrate that Fmr1 KO mice exhibit severe impairments in these cognitive tasks, that lithium is equally effective in normalizing cognition in these tasks whether it is administered to young or adult mice, and that lithium administration must be continued for the cognitive improvements to be sustained. These findings provide further evidence that lithium administration may be beneficial for individuals with FXS. PMID:23941202

Differing effects of education on cognitive decline in diverse elders with low versus high educational attainment.

PubMed

Zahodne, Laura B; Stern, Yaakov; Manly, Jennifer J

2015-07-01

In light of growing debate over whether and how early life educational experiences alter late-life cognitive trajectories, this study sought to more thoroughly investigate the relationship between educational attainment and rates of late-life cognitive decline in a racially, ethnically, and educationally diverse population. Older adults (N = 3,435) in the community-based Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project were administered neuropsychological tests of memory, language, visuospatial function, and processing speed at approximate 24-month intervals for up to 18 years. Second-order latent growth curves estimated direct and indirect (through income) effects of educational attainment on rates of global cognitive decline separately in individuals with low (0-8 years) and high (9-20 years) educational attainment. More years of education were associated with higher cognitive level and slower cognitive decline in individuals with low or high educational attainment. The association between having more than 9 years of education and exhibiting slower cognitive decline was fully mediated by income. Although having additional years of education up to 8 years was also associated with higher income, this did not explain associations between education and cognitive change in the low-education group. Early education (i.e., up to 8 years) may promote aspects of development during a sensitive period of childhood that protect against late-life cognitive decline independent of income. In contrast, later education (i.e., 9 years and beyond) is associated with higher income, which may influence late-life cognitive health through multiple, nonmutually exclusive pathways. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Differing effects of education on cognitive decline in diverse elders with low versus high educational attainment

PubMed Central

Zahodne, Laura B.; Stern, Yaakov; Manly, Jennifer J.

2014-01-01

Objective In light of growing debate over whether and how early-life educational experiences alter late-life cognitive trajectories, this study sought to more thoroughly investigate the relationship between educational attainment and rates of late-life cognitive decline in a racially, ethnically, and educationally diverse population. Method 3,435 older adults in the community-based Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project were administered neuropsychological tests of memory, language, visuospatial function, and processing speed at approximate 24-month intervals for up to 18 years. Second-order latent growth curves estimated direct and indirect (through income) effects of educational attainment on rates of global cognitive decline separately in individuals with low (0-8 years) and high (9-20 years) educational attainment. Results More years of education was associated with higher cognitive level and slower cognitive decline in individuals with low or high educational attainment. The association between having more than 9 years of education and exhibiting slower cognitive decline was fully mediated by income. While additional years of education up to 8 years was also associated with higher income, this did not explain associations between education and cognitive change in the low-education group. Conclusions Early education (i.e., up to 8 years) may promote aspects of development during a sensitive period of childhood that protect against late-life cognitive decline independent of income. In contrast, later education (i.e., beyond 9 years) is associated with higher income, which may influence late-life cognitive health through multiple, non-mutually exclusive pathways. PMID:25222199

Distinct Patterns of Cognitive Conflict Dynamics in Promise Keepers and Promise Breakers.

PubMed

Calluso, Cinzia; Saulin, Anne; Baumgartner, Thomas; Knoch, Daria

2018-01-01

On a daily basis, we see how different people can be in keeping or breaking a given promise. However, we know very little about the cognitive conflict dynamics that underlie the decision to keep or break a promise and whether this is shaped by inter-individual variability. In order to fill this gap, we applied an ecologically valid promise decision task with real monetary consequences for all involved interaction partners and used mouse tracking to identify the dynamic, on-line cognitive processes that underlie the decision to keep or break a promise. Our findings revealed that on average, the process of breaking a promise is associated with largely curved mouse trajectories, while the process of keeping a promise was not, indicating that breaking a promise is associated with a larger conflict. Interestingly, however, this conflict pattern was strongly shaped by individual differences. Individuals who always kept their promises did not show any signs of conflict (i.e., straight mouse trajectories), indicating that they were not tempted by the monetary benefits associated with breaking the promise. In contrast, individuals who did not always keep their promise exhibited a large conflict (i.e., curved mouse trajectories), irrespective of whether they broke or kept their promise. A possible interpretation of these findings is that these individuals were always tempted by the unchosen decision option - the desire to act in a fair manner when breaking the promise and the monetary benefits when keeping the promise. This study provides the first piece of evidence that there are substantial inter-individual differences in cognitive conflict dynamics that underlie the decision to keep or break promises and that mouse tracking is able to illuminate important insights into individual differences in complex human's decision processes.

The nature of social cognitive deficits in children and adults with Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY).

PubMed

van Rijn, S; de Sonneville, L; Swaab, H

2018-02-06

About 1 in 650 boys are born with an extra X chromosome (47,XXY or Klinefelter syndrome). 47,XXY is associated with vulnerabilities in socio-emotional development. This study was designed to assess types of cognitive deficits in individuals with 47,XXY that may contribute to social-emotional dysfunction, and to evaluate the nature of such deficits at various levels: ranging from basic visuospatial processing deficits, impairments in face recognition (FR), to emotion expression impairments. A total of 70 boys and men with 47,XXY, aged 8 to 60 years old, participated in the study. The subtests feature identification, FR and identification of facial emotions of the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks were used. Level of intellectual functioning was assessed with the child and adult versions of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales. Reaction time data showed that in the 47,XXY group, 17% had difficulties in visuospatial processing (no social load), 26% had difficulties with FR (medium social load) and an even higher number of 33% had difficulties with facial expressions of emotions (high-social load). Information processing impairments increased as a function of "social load" of the stimuli, independent of intellectual functioning. Taken together, our data suggest that on average individuals with XXY may have more difficulties in information processing when "social load" increases, suggesting a specific difficulty in the higher-order labeling and interpretation of social cues, which cannot be explained by more basic visuospatial perceptual skills. Considering the increased risk for social cognitive impairments, routine assessment of social cognitive functioning as part of neuropsychological screening is warranted. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society.

Poverty, Stress, and Brain Development: New Directions for Prevention and Intervention.

PubMed

Blair, Clancy; Raver, C Cybele

2016-04-01

We review some of the growing evidence of the costs of poverty to children's neuroendocrine function, early brain development, and cognitive ability. We underscore the importance of addressing the negative consequences of poverty-related adversity early in children's lives, given evidence supporting the plasticity of executive functions and associated physiologic processes in response to early intervention and the importance of higher order cognitive functions for success in school and in life. Finally, we highlight some new directions for prevention and intervention that are rapidly emerging at the intersection of developmental science, pediatrics, child psychology and psychiatry, and public policy. Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Speech perception as an active cognitive process

PubMed Central

Heald, Shannon L. M.; Nusbaum, Howard C.

2014-01-01

One view of speech perception is that acoustic signals are transformed into representations for pattern matching to determine linguistic structure. This process can be taken as a statistical pattern-matching problem, assuming realtively stable linguistic categories are characterized by neural representations related to auditory properties of speech that can be compared to speech input. This kind of pattern matching can be termed a passive process which implies rigidity of processing with few demands on cognitive processing. An alternative view is that speech recognition, even in early stages, is an active process in which speech analysis is attentionally guided. Note that this does not mean consciously guided but that information-contingent changes in early auditory encoding can occur as a function of context and experience. Active processing assumes that attention, plasticity, and listening goals are important in considering how listeners cope with adverse circumstances that impair hearing by masking noise in the environment or hearing loss. Although theories of speech perception have begun to incorporate some active processing, they seldom treat early speech encoding as plastic and attentionally guided. Recent research has suggested that speech perception is the product of both feedforward and feedback interactions between a number of brain regions that include descending projections perhaps as far downstream as the cochlea. It is important to understand how the ambiguity of the speech signal and constraints of context dynamically determine cognitive resources recruited during perception including focused attention, learning, and working memory. Theories of speech perception need to go beyond the current corticocentric approach in order to account for the intrinsic dynamics of the auditory encoding of speech. In doing so, this may provide new insights into ways in which hearing disorders and loss may be treated either through augementation or therapy. PMID:24672438

The Influence of Exercise on Cognitive Abilities

PubMed Central

Gomez-Pinilla, Fernando; Hillman, Charles

2013-01-01

Scientific evidence based on neuroimaging approaches over the last decade has demonstrated the efficacy of physical activity improving cognitive health across the human lifespan. Aerobic fitness spares age-related loss of brain tissue during aging, and enhances functional aspects of higher order regions involved in the control of cognition. More active or higher fit individuals are capable of allocating greater attentional resources toward the environment and are able to process information more quickly. These data are suggestive that aerobic fitness enhances cognitive strategies enabling to respond effectively to an imposed challenge with a better yield in task performance. In turn, animal studies have shown that exercise has a benevolent action on health and plasticity of the nervous system. New evidence indicates that exercise exerts its effects on cognition by affecting molecular events related to the management of energy metabolism and synaptic plasticity. An important instigator in the molecular machinery stimulated by exercise is brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which acts at the interface of metabolism and plasticity. Recent studies show that exercise collaborates with other aspects of lifestyle to influence the molecular substrates of cognition. In particular, select dietary factors share similar mechanisms with exercise, and in some cases they can complement the action of exercise. Therefore, exercise and dietary management appear as a noninvasive and effective strategy to counteract neurological and cognitive disorders. PMID:23720292

Cognitive and Neural Correlates of Mathematical Giftedness in Adults and Children: A Review

PubMed Central

Myers, Timothy; Carey, Emma; Szűcs, Dénes

2017-01-01

Most mathematical cognition research has focused on understanding normal adult function and child development as well as mildly and moderately impaired mathematical skill, often labeled developmental dyscalculia and/or mathematical learning disability. In contrast, much less research is available on cognitive and neural correlates of gifted/excellent mathematical knowledge in adults and children. In order to facilitate further inquiry into this area, here we review 40 available studies, which examine the cognitive and neural basis of gifted mathematics. Studies associated a large number of cognitive factors with gifted mathematics, with spatial processing and working memory being the most frequently identified contributors. However, the current literature suffers from low statistical power, which most probably contributes to variability across findings. Other major shortcomings include failing to establish domain and stimulus specificity of findings, suggesting causation without sufficient evidence and the frequent use of invalid backward inference in neuro-imaging studies. Future studies must increase statistical power and neuro-imaging studies must rely on supporting behavioral data when interpreting findings. Studies should investigate the factors shown to correlate with math giftedness in a more specific manner and determine exactly how individual factors may contribute to gifted math ability. PMID:29118725

When Age and Culture Interact in an Easy and Yet Cognitively Demanding Task: Older Adults, But Not Younger Adults, Showed the Expected Cultural Differences

PubMed Central

Na, Jinkyung; Huang, Chih-Mao; Park, Denise C.

2017-01-01

The interaction between age and culture can have various implications for cognition as age represents the effect of biological processes whereas culture represents the effect of sustaining experiences. Nevertheless, their interaction has rarely been examined. Thus, based on the fact that Asians are more intuitive in reasoning than Americans, we examined how this cultural difference might interact with age. Young and old participants from the US and Singapore performed a categorization task (living vs. non-living). To measure their reliance on intuition, we manipulated the typicality of targets (animate vs. inanimate). We showed that (1) RTs for inanimate organisms were slower than RTs for animate organisms (atypicality cost), (2) the cost was particularly large for older adults and (3) an age × culture interaction was observed such that cultural differences in the cost (Singaporeans > Americans) was found only among older participants. Further, we demonstrated that the age effect was associated with cognitive function and the culture effect among older adults was associated with cultural values. Finally, a moderated mediation analysis suggests that cognitive function and cultural values interact with each other in order to jointly influence one’s cognition. PMID:28396649

Learning how the electron transport chain works: independent and interactive effects of instructional strategies and learners' characteristics.

PubMed

Darabi, Aubteen; Arrastia-Lloyd, Meagan C; Nelson, David W; Liang, Xinya; Farrell, Jennifer

2015-12-01

In order to develop an expert-like mental model of complex systems, causal reasoning is essential. This study examines the differences between forward and backward instructional strategies' in terms of efficiency, students' learning and progression of their mental models of the electronic transport chain in an undergraduate metabolism course (n = 151). Additionally, the participants' cognitive flexibility, prior knowledge, and mental effort in the learning process are also investigated. The data were analyzed using a series of general linear models to compare the strategies. Although the two strategies did not differ significantly in terms of mental model progression and learning outcomes, both groups' mental models progressed significantly. Mental effort and prior knowledge were identified as significant predictors of mental model progression. An interaction between instructional strategy and cognitive flexibility revealed that the backward instruction was more efficient than the conventional (forward) strategy for students with lower cognitive flexibility, whereas the conventional instruction was more efficient for students with higher cognitive flexibility. The results are discussed and suggestions for future research on the possible moderating role of cognitive flexibility in the area of health education are presented.

When Age and Culture Interact in an Easy and Yet Cognitively Demanding Task: Older Adults, But Not Younger Adults, Showed the Expected Cultural Differences.

PubMed

Na, Jinkyung; Huang, Chih-Mao; Park, Denise C

2017-01-01

The interaction between age and culture can have various implications for cognition as age represents the effect of biological processes whereas culture represents the effect of sustaining experiences. Nevertheless, their interaction has rarely been examined. Thus, based on the fact that Asians are more intuitive in reasoning than Americans, we examined how this cultural difference might interact with age. Young and old participants from the US and Singapore performed a categorization task (living vs. non-living). To measure their reliance on intuition, we manipulated the typicality of targets (animate vs. inanimate). We showed that (1) RTs for inanimate organisms were slower than RTs for animate organisms (atypicality cost), (2) the cost was particularly large for older adults and (3) an age × culture interaction was observed such that cultural differences in the cost (Singaporeans > Americans) was found only among older participants. Further, we demonstrated that the age effect was associated with cognitive function and the culture effect among older adults was associated with cultural values. Finally, a moderated mediation analysis suggests that cognitive function and cultural values interact with each other in order to jointly influence one's cognition.

A Self-Report Measure of Cognitive Processes Associated with Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Angie L.

2014-01-01

This study sought to explore creative cognitive processes and the similarities and differences in how descriptions of these processes group together in various self-report subscales. Based on empirical evidence from numerous studies involving the cognitive components of creativity training, the Cognitive Processes Associated with Creativity (CPAC)…

Cognitive compensatory processes of older, clinically fit patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing chemotherapy: A longitudinal cohort study.

PubMed

Libert, Yves; Borghgraef, Cindy; Beguin, Yves; Delvaux, Nicole; Devos, Martine; Doyen, Chantal; Dubruille, Stéphanie; Etienne, Anne-Marie; Liénard, Aurore; Merckaert, Isabelle; Reynaert, Christine; Slachmuylder, Jean-Louis; Straetmans, Nicole; Van Den Neste, Eric; Bron, Dominique; Razavi, Darius

2017-12-01

Despite the well-known negative impacts of cancer and anticancer therapies on cognitive performance, little is known about the cognitive compensatory processes of older patients with cancer. This study was designed to investigate the cognitive compensatory processes of older, clinically fit patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing chemotherapy. We assessed 89 consecutive patients (age ≥ 65 y) without severe cognitive impairment and 89 age-, sex-, and education level-matched healthy controls. Cognitive compensatory processes were investigated by (1) comparing cognitive performance of patients and healthy controls in novel (first exposure to cognitive tasks) and non-novel (second exposure to the same cognitive tasks) contexts, and (2) assessing psychological factors that may facilitate or inhibit cognitive performance, such as motivation, psychological distress, and perceived cognitive performance. We assessed cognitive performance with the Trail-Making, Digit Span and FCSR-IR tests, psychological distress with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and perceived cognitive performance with the FACT-Cog questionnaire. In novel and non-novel contexts, average cognitive performances of healthy controls were higher than those of patients and were associated with motivation. Cognitive performance of patients was not associated with investigated psychological factors in the novel context but was associated with motivation and psychological distress in the non-novel context. Older, clinically fit patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing chemotherapy demonstrated lower cognitive compensatory processes compared to healthy controls. Reducing distress and increasing motivation may improve cognitive compensatory processes of patients in non-novel contexts. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Cognitive Spiral: Creative Thinking and Cognitive Processing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebert, Edward S., II

1994-01-01

The lack of a common understanding of the construct of creative thinking is noted, and the cognitive spiral model is presented, which conceptualizes creative thinking as an integral component of all cognitive processing. This article details the synthesis of a definition and the structure of a model of cognitive processing. (Author/DB)

A Comparison of the Influences of Verbal-Successive and Spatial-Simultaneous Factors on Achieving Readers in Fourth and Fifth Grade: A Multivariate Correlational Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solan, Harold A.

1987-01-01

This study involving 38 normally achieving fourth and fifth grade children confirmed previous studies indicating that both spatial-simultaneous (in which perceived stimuli are totally available at one point in time) and verbal-successive (information is presented in serial order) cognitive processing are important in normal learning. (DB)

The role of processing difficulty in the predictive utility of working memory span.

PubMed

Bunting, Michael

2006-12-01

Storage-plus-processing working memory span tasks (e.g., operation span [OSPAN]) are strong predictors of higher order cognition, including general fluid intelligence. This is due, in part, to the difficulty of the processing component. When the processing component prevents only articulatory rehearsal, but not executive attentional control, the predictive utility is attenuated. Participants in one experiment (N = 59) completed Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM) and multiple versions of OSPAN and probed recall (PR). A distractor task (high or low difficulty) was added to PR, and OSPAN's processing component was manipulated for difficulty. OSPAN and PR correlated with RAPM when the processing component took executive attentional control. These results are suggestive of resource sharing between processing and storage.

Making working memory work: The effects of extended practice on focus capacity and the processes of updating, forward access, and random access

PubMed Central

Price, John M.; Colflesh, Gregory J. H.; Cerella, John; Verhaeghen, Paul

2014-01-01

We investigated the effects of 10 hours of practice on variations of the N-Back task to investigate the processes underlying possible expansion of the focus of attention within working memory. Using subtractive logic, we showed that random access (i.e., Sternberg-like search) yielded a modest effect (a 50% increase in speed) whereas the processes of forward access (i.e., retrieval in order, as in a standard N-Back task) and updating (i.e., changing the contents of working memory) were executed about 5 times faster after extended practice. We additionally found that extended practice increased working memory capacity as measured by the size of the focus of attention for the forward-access task, but not for variations where probing was in random order. This suggests that working memory capacity may depend on the type of search process engaged, and that certain working-memory-related cognitive processes are more amenable to practice than others. PMID:24486803

Levels of integration in cognitive control and sequence processing in the prefrontal cortex.

PubMed

Bahlmann, Jörg; Korb, Franziska M; Gratton, Caterina; Friederici, Angela D

2012-01-01

Cognitive control is necessary to flexibly act in changing environments. Sequence processing is needed in language comprehension to build the syntactic structure in sentences. Functional imaging studies suggest that sequence processing engages the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC). In contrast, cognitive control processes additionally recruit bilateral rostral lateral PFC regions. The present study aimed to investigate these two types of processes in one experimental paradigm. Sequence processing was manipulated using two different sequencing rules varying in complexity. Cognitive control was varied with different cue-sets that determined the choice of a sequencing rule. Univariate analyses revealed distinct PFC regions for the two types of processing (i.e. sequence processing: left ventrolateral PFC and cognitive control processing: bilateral dorsolateral and rostral PFC). Moreover, in a common brain network (including left lateral PFC and intraparietal sulcus) no interaction between sequence and cognitive control processing was observed. In contrast, a multivariate pattern analysis revealed an interaction of sequence and cognitive control processing, such that voxels in left lateral PFC and parietal cortex showed different tuning functions for tasks involving different sequencing and cognitive control demands. These results suggest that the difference between the process of rule selection (i.e. cognitive control) and the process of rule-based sequencing (i.e. sequence processing) find their neuronal underpinnings in distinct activation patterns in lateral PFC. Moreover, the combination of rule selection and rule sequencing can shape the response of neurons in lateral PFC and parietal cortex.

Levels of Integration in Cognitive Control and Sequence Processing in the Prefrontal Cortex

PubMed Central

Bahlmann, Jörg; Korb, Franziska M.; Gratton, Caterina; Friederici, Angela D.

2012-01-01

Cognitive control is necessary to flexibly act in changing environments. Sequence processing is needed in language comprehension to build the syntactic structure in sentences. Functional imaging studies suggest that sequence processing engages the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC). In contrast, cognitive control processes additionally recruit bilateral rostral lateral PFC regions. The present study aimed to investigate these two types of processes in one experimental paradigm. Sequence processing was manipulated using two different sequencing rules varying in complexity. Cognitive control was varied with different cue-sets that determined the choice of a sequencing rule. Univariate analyses revealed distinct PFC regions for the two types of processing (i.e. sequence processing: left ventrolateral PFC and cognitive control processing: bilateral dorsolateral and rostral PFC). Moreover, in a common brain network (including left lateral PFC and intraparietal sulcus) no interaction between sequence and cognitive control processing was observed. In contrast, a multivariate pattern analysis revealed an interaction of sequence and cognitive control processing, such that voxels in left lateral PFC and parietal cortex showed different tuning functions for tasks involving different sequencing and cognitive control demands. These results suggest that the difference between the process of rule selection (i.e. cognitive control) and the process of rule-based sequencing (i.e. sequence processing) find their neuronal underpinnings in distinct activation patterns in lateral PFC. Moreover, the combination of rule selection and rule sequencing can shape the response of neurons in lateral PFC and parietal cortex. PMID:22952762

Enhancement of cognitive and neural functions through complex reasoning training: evidence from normal and clinical populations

PubMed Central

Chapman, Sandra B.; Mudar, Raksha A.

2014-01-01

Public awareness of cognitive health is fairly recent compared to physical health. Growing evidence suggests that cognitive training offers promise in augmenting cognitive brain performance in normal and clinical populations. Targeting higher-order cognitive functions, such as reasoning in particular, may promote generalized cognitive changes necessary for supporting the complexities of daily life. This data-driven perspective highlights cognitive and brain changes measured in randomized clinical trials that trained gist reasoning strategies in populations ranging from teenagers to healthy older adults, individuals with brain injury to those at-risk for Alzheimer's disease. The evidence presented across studies support the potential for Gist reasoning training to strengthen cognitive performance in trained and untrained domains and to engage more efficient communication across widespread neural networks that support higher-order cognition. The meaningful benefits of Gist training provide compelling motivation to examine optimal dose for sustained benefits as well as to explore additive benefits of meditation, physical exercise, and/or improved sleep in future studies. PMID:24808834

Neural correlates of reappraisal considering working memory capacity and cognitive flexibility.

PubMed

Zaehringer, Jenny; Falquez, Rosalux; Schubert, Anna-Lena; Nees, Frauke; Barnow, Sven

2018-01-09

Cognitive reappraisal of emotion is strongly related to long-term mental health. Therefore, the exploration of underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms has become an essential focus of research. Considering that reappraisal and executive functions rely on a similar brain network, the question arises whether behavioral differences in executive functions modulate neural activity during reappraisal. Using functional neuroimaging, the present study aimed to analyze the role of working memory capacity (WMC) and cognitive flexibility in brain activity during down-regulation of negative emotions by reappraisal in N = 20 healthy participants. Results suggests that WMC and cognitive flexibility were negatively correlated with prefrontal activity during reappraisal condition. Here, results also revealed a negative correlation between cognitive flexibility and amygdala activation. These findings provide first hints that (1) individuals with lower WMC and lower cognitive flexibility might need more higher-order cognitive neural resources in order to down-regulate negative emotions and (2) cognitive flexibility relates to emotional reactivity during reappraisal.

Birth Order and Child Cognitive Outcomes: An Exploration of the Parental Time Mechanism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monfardini, Chiara; See, Sarah Grace

2016-01-01

Higher birth order positions are associated with poorer outcomes due to smaller shares of resources received within the household. Using a sample of Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement children, we investigate if the negative birth order effect we find in cognitive outcomes is due to unequal allocation of mother and father…

Should essays and other "open-ended"-type questions retain a place in written summative assessment in clinical medicine?

PubMed

Hift, Richard J

2014-11-28

Written assessments fall into two classes: constructed-response or open-ended questions, such as the essay and a number of variants of the short-answer question, and selected-response or closed-ended questions; typically in the form of multiple-choice. It is widely believed that constructed response written questions test higher order cognitive processes in a manner that multiple-choice questions cannot, and consequently have higher validity. An extensive review of the literature suggests that in summative assessment neither premise is evidence-based. Well-structured open-ended and multiple-choice questions appear equivalent in their ability to assess higher cognitive functions, and performance in multiple-choice assessments may correlate more highly than the open-ended format with competence demonstrated in clinical practice following graduation. Studies of construct validity suggest that both formats measure essentially the same dimension, at least in mathematics, the physical sciences, biology and medicine. The persistence of the open-ended format in summative assessment may be due to the intuitive appeal of the belief that synthesising an answer to an open-ended question must be both more cognitively taxing and similar to actual experience than is selecting a correct response. I suggest that cognitive-constructivist learning theory would predict that a well-constructed context-rich multiple-choice item represents a complex problem-solving exercise which activates a sequence of cognitive processes which closely parallel those required in clinical practice, hence explaining the high validity of the multiple-choice format. The evidence does not support the proposition that the open-ended assessment format is superior to the multiple-choice format, at least in exit-level summative assessment, in terms of either its ability to test higher-order cognitive functioning or its validity. This is explicable using a theory of mental models, which might predict that the multiple-choice format will have higher validity, a statement for which some empiric support exists. Given the superior reliability and cost-effectiveness of the multiple-choice format consideration should be given to phasing out open-ended format questions in summative assessment. Whether the same applies to non-exit-level assessment and formative assessment is a question which remains to be answered; particularly in terms of the educational effect of testing, an area which deserves intensive study.

Decision-Making Process Related to Participation in Phase I Clinical Trials: A Nonsystematic Review of the Existing Evidence.

PubMed

Gorini, Alessandra; Mazzocco, Ketti; Pravettoni, Gabriella

2015-01-01

Due to the lack of other treatment options, patient candidates for participation in phase I clinical trials are considered the most vulnerable, and many ethical concerns have emerged regarding the informed consent process used in the experimental design of such trials. Starting with these considerations, this nonsystematic review is aimed at analyzing the decision-making processes underlying patients' decision about whether to participate (or not) in phase I trials in order to clarify the cognitive and emotional aspects most strongly implicated in this decision. Considering that there is no uniform decision calculus and that many different variables other than the patient-physician relationship (including demographic, clinical, and personal characteristics) may influence patients' preferences for and processing of information, we conclude that patients' informed decision-making can be facilitated by creating a rigorously developed, calibrated, and validated computer tool modeled on each single patient's knowledge, values, and emotional and cognitive decisional skills. Such a tool will also help oncologists to provide tailored medical information that is useful to improve the shared decision-making process, thereby possibly increasing patient participation in clinical trials. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Separating stages of arithmetic verification: An ERP study with a novel paradigm.

PubMed

Avancini, Chiara; Soltész, Fruzsina; Szűcs, Dénes

2015-08-01

In studies of arithmetic verification, participants typically encounter two operands and they carry out an operation on these (e.g. adding them). Operands are followed by a proposed answer and participants decide whether this answer is correct or incorrect. However, interpretation of results is difficult because multiple parallel, temporally overlapping numerical and non-numerical processes of the human brain may contribute to task execution. In order to overcome this problem here we used a novel paradigm specifically designed to tease apart the overlapping cognitive processes active during arithmetic verification. Specifically, we aimed to separate effects related to detection of arithmetic correctness, detection of the violation of strategic expectations, detection of physical stimulus properties mismatch and numerical magnitude comparison (numerical distance effects). Arithmetic correctness, physical stimulus properties and magnitude information were not task-relevant properties of the stimuli. We distinguished between a series of temporally highly overlapping cognitive processes which in turn elicited overlapping ERP effects with distinct scalp topographies. We suggest that arithmetic verification relies on two major temporal phases which include parallel running processes. Our paradigm offers a new method for investigating specific arithmetic verification processes in detail. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Posttraumatic growth after cancer: The role of perceived threat and cognitive processing.

PubMed

Caspari, Jennifer M; Raque-Bogdan, Trisha L; McRae, Cynthia; Simoneau, Teresa L; Ash-Lee, Susan; Hultgren, Kristin

2017-01-01

This study examines the relation between perceived cognitive and physical threat after a cancer diagnosis and posttraumatic growth (PTG). In total, 169 breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer survivors completed questionnaires. Hierarchical regression models found after controlling for demographic and medical variables, depression, anxiety, and perceived threat account for 41.8% of the variance of positive cognitive processing, and these variables along with positive cognitive processing accounted for 42.7% of the variance of PTG. Positive cognitive processing mediated the pathways between perceived physical threat and PTG. Cognitive processing appears to play a key role in the emergence of PTG following cancer. By exploring survivors' cognitions and perceived threat, psychosocial providers may help cancer survivors cultivate PTG.

Infant Joint Attention, Neural Networks and Social Cognition

PubMed Central

Mundy, Peter; Jarrold, William

2010-01-01

Neural network models of attention can provide a unifying approach to the study of human cognitive and emotional development (Posner & Rothbart, 2007). This paper we argue that a neural networks approach to the infant development of joint attention can inform our understanding of the nature of human social learning, symbolic thought process and social cognition. At its most basic, joint attention involves the capacity to coordinate one’s own visual attention with that of another person. We propose that joint attention development involves increments in the capacity to engage in simultaneous or parallel processing of information about one’s own attention and the attention of other people. Infant practice with joint attention is both a consequence and organizer of the development of a distributed and integrated brain network involving frontal and parietal cortical systems. This executive distributed network first serves to regulate the capacity of infants to respond to and direct the overt behavior of other people in order to share experience with others through the social coordination of visual attention. In this paper we describe this parallel and distributed neural network model of joint attention development and discuss two hypotheses that stem from this model. One is that activation of this distributed network during coordinated attention enhances to depth of information processing and encoding beginning in the first year of life. We also propose that with development joint attention becomes internalized as the capacity to socially coordinate mental attention to internal representations. As this occurs the executive joint attention network makes vital contributions to the development of human symbolic thinking and social cognition. PMID:20884172

Global-local processing relates to spatial and verbal processing: implications for sex differences in cognition.

PubMed

Pletzer, Belinda; Scheuringer, Andrea; Scherndl, Thomas

2017-09-05

Sex differences have been reported for a variety of cognitive tasks and related to the use of different cognitive processing styles in men and women. It was recently argued that these processing styles share some characteristics across tasks, i.e. male approaches are oriented towards holistic stimulus aspects and female approaches are oriented towards stimulus details. In that respect, sex-dependent cognitive processing styles share similarities with attentional global-local processing. A direct relationship between cognitive processing and global-local processing has however not been previously established. In the present study, 49 men and 44 women completed a Navon paradigm and a Kimchi Palmer task as well as a navigation task and a verbal fluency task with the goal to relate the global advantage (GA) effect as a measure of global processing to holistic processing styles in both tasks. Indeed participants with larger GA effects displayed more holistic processing during spatial navigation and phonemic fluency. However, the relationship to cognitive processing styles was modulated by the specific condition of the Navon paradigm, as well as the sex of participants. Thus, different types of global-local processing play different roles for cognitive processing in men and women.

The impact of project-based learning on improving student learning outcomes of sustainability concepts in transportation engineering courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fini, Elham H.; Awadallah, Faisal; Parast, Mahour M.; Abu-Lebdeh, Taher

2018-05-01

This paper describes an intervention to enhance students' learning by involving students in brainstorming activities about sustainability concepts and their implications in transportation engineering. The paper discusses the process of incorporating the intervention into a transportation course, as well as the impact of this intervention on students' learning outcomes. To evaluate and compare students' learning as a result of the intervention, the Laboratory for Innovative Technology and Engineering Education survey instrument was used. The survey instrument includes five constructs: higher-order cognitive skills, self-efficacy, ease of learning subject matter, teamwork, and communication skills. Pre- and post-intervention surveys of student learning outcomes were conducted to determine the effectiveness of the intervention on enhancing students' learning outcomes. The results show that the implementation of the intervention significantly improved higher-order cognitive skills, self-efficacy, teamwork, and communication skills. Involving students in brainstorming activities related to sustainability concepts and their implications in transportation proved to be an effective teaching and learning strategy.

Brain Functional Connectivity in Small Cell Lung Cancer Population after Chemotherapy Treatment: an ICA fMRI Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bromis, K.; Kakkos, I.; Gkiatis, K.; Karanasiou, I. S.; Matsopoulos, G. K.

2017-11-01

Previous neurocognitive assessments in Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) population, highlight the presence of neurocognitive impairments (mainly in attention processing and executive functioning) in this type of cancer. The majority of these studies, associate these deficits with the Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation (PCI) that patients undergo in order to avoid brain metastasis. However, there is not much evidence exploring cognitive impairments induced by chemotherapy in SCLC patients. For this reason, we aimed to investigate the underlying processes that may potentially affect cognition by examining brain functional connectivity in nineteen SCLC patients after chemotherapy treatment, while additionally including fourteen healthy participants as control group. Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is a functional connectivity measure aiming to unravel the temporal correlation between brain regions, which are called brain networks. We focused on two brain networks related to the aforementioned cognitive functions, the Default Mode Network (DMN) and the Task-Positive Network (TPN). Permutation tests were performed between the two groups to assess the differences and control for familywise errors in the statistical parametric maps. ICA analysis showed functional connectivity disruptions within both of the investigated networks. These results, propose a detrimental effect of chemotherapy on brain functioning in the SCLC population.