Mechanisms underlying flexible adaptation of cognitive control: behavioral and neuroimaging evidence in a flanker task.

PubMed

Zurawska Vel Grajewska, Blandyna; Sim, Eun-Jin; Hoenig, Klaus; Herrnberger, Bärbel; Kiefer, Markus

2011-11-03

Cognitive control can be adapted flexibly according to the conflict level in a given situation. In the Eriksen flanker task, interference evoked by flankers is larger in conditions with a higher, rather than a lower proportion of compatible trials. Such compatibility ratio effects also occur for stimuli presented at two spatial locations suggesting that different cognitive control settings can be simultaneously maintained. However, the conditions and the neural correlates of this flexible adaptation of cognitive control are only poorly understood. In the present study, we further elucidated the mechanisms underlying the simultaneous maintenance of two cognitive control settings. In behavioral experiments, stimuli were presented centrally above and below fixation and hence processed by both hemispheres or lateralized to stimulate hemispheres differentially. The different compatibility ratio at two stimulus locations had a differential influence on the flanker effect in both experiments. In an fMRI experiment, blocks with an identical compatibility ratio at two central spatial locations elicited stronger activity in a network of prefrontal and parietal brain areas, which are known to be involved in conflict resolution and cognitive control, as compared with blocks with a different compatibility ratio at the same spatial locations. This demonstrates that the simultaneous maintenance of two conflicting control settings vs. one single setting does not recruit additional neural circuits suggesting the involvement of one single cognitive control system. Instead a crosstalk between multiple control settings renders adaptation of cognitive control more efficient when only one uniform rather than two different control settings has to be simultaneously maintained. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

To speak or not to speak - A multiple resource perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsang, P. S.; Hartzell, E. J.; Rothschild, R. A.

1985-01-01

The desirability of employing speech response in a dynamic dual task situation was discussed from a multiple resource perspective. A secondary task technique was employed to examine the time-sharing performance of five dual tasks with various degrees of resource overlap according to the structure-specific resource model of Wickens (1980). The primary task was a visual/manual tracking task which required spatial processing. The secondary task was either another tracking task or a spatial transformation task with one of four input (visual or auditory) and output (manual or speech) configurations. The results show that the dual task performance was best when the primary tracking task was paired with the visual/speech transformation task. This finding was explained by an interaction of the stimulus-central processing-response compatibility of the transformation task and the degree of resource competition between the time-shared tasks. Implications on the utility of speech response were discussed.

Irrelevant Singletons in Pop-Out Search: Attentional Capture or Filtering Costs?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, Stefanie I.

2007-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether costs invoked by the presence of an irrelevant singleton distractor in a visual search task are due to attentional capture by the irrelevant singleton or spatially unrelated filtering costs. Measures of spatial effects were based on distance effects, compatibility effects, and differences…

Listening to music primes space: pianists, but not novices, simulate heard actions.

PubMed

Taylor, J Eric T; Witt, Jessica K

2015-03-01

Musicians sometimes report twitching in their fingers or hands while listening to music. This anecdote could be indicative of a tendency for auditory-motor co-representation in musicians. Here, we describe two studies showing that pianists (Experiment 1), but not novices (Experiment 2) automatically generate spatial representations that correspond to learned musical actions while listening to music. Participants made one-handed movements to the left or right from a central location in response to visual stimuli while listening to task-irrelevant auditory stimuli, which were scales played on a piano. These task-irrelevant scales were either ascending (compatible with rightward movements) or descending (compatible with leftward movements). Pianists were faster to respond when the scale direction was compatible with the direction of response movement, whereas novices' movements were unaffected by the scale. These results are in agreement with existing research on action-effect coupling in musicians, which draw heavily on common coding theory. In addition, these results show how intricate auditory stimuli (ascending or descending scales) evoke coarse, domain-general spatial representations.

N2pc is modulated by stimulus-stimulus, but not by stimulus-response incompatibilities.

PubMed

Cespón, J; Galdo-Álvarez, S; Díaz, F

2013-04-01

Studies of the N2pc in Simon-type tasks have revealed inconsistent results. That is, N2pc was only modulated when a stimulus-stimulus (S-S) overlap covaries with the stimulus-response (S-R) overlap. The present study aimed to establish whether N2pc is modulated by the S-R or by the S-S overlap. Therefore, we designed a Simon task requiring response to a colour stimulus (an arrow) with two irrelevant dimensions (position and direction). The following conditions were thus generated: compatible direction-compatible position (CDCP); incompatible direction-compatible position (IDCP); compatible direction-incompatible position (CDIP); and incompatible direction-incompatible position (IDIP). In IDCP and CDIP, both irrelevant dimensions conveyed contradictory spatial information (S-S incompatibility), while compatibility between both irrelevant dimensions occurred in CDCP and IDIP (the direction indicated was compatible with stimulus position). The N2pc amplitude was smaller in IDCP and CDIP than in CDCP and IDIP, what suggests that N2pc was modulated by S-S incompatibility and not by S-R incompatibilities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anticipatory Regulation of Action Control in a Simon Task: Behavioral, Electrophysiological, and fMRI Correlates

PubMed Central

Strack, Gamze; Kaufmann, Christian; Kehrer, Stefanie; Brandt, Stephan; Stürmer, Birgit

2013-01-01

With the present study we investigated cue-induced preparation in a Simon task and measured electroencephalogram and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data in two within-subjects sessions. Cues informed either about the upcoming (1) spatial stimulus-response compatibility (rule cues), or (2) the stimulus location (position cues), or (3) were non-informative. Only rule cues allowed anticipating the upcoming compatibility condition. Position cues allowed anticipation of the upcoming location of the Simon stimulus but not its compatibility condition. Rule cues elicited fastest and most accurate performance for both compatible and incompatible trials. The contingent negative variation (CNV) in the event-related potential (ERP) of the cue-target interval is an index of anticipatory preparation and was magnified after rule cues. The N2 in the post-target ERP as a measure of online action control was reduced in Simon trials after rule cues. Although compatible trials were faster than incompatible trials in all cue conditions only non-informative cues revealed a compatibility effect in additional indicators of Simon task conflict like accuracy and the N2. We thus conclude that rule cues induced anticipatory re-coding of the Simon task that did not involve cognitive conflict anymore. fMRI revealed that rule cues yielded more activation of the left rostral, dorsal, and ventral prefrontal cortex as well as the pre-SMA as compared to POS and NON-cues. Pre-SMA and ventrolateral prefrontal activation after rule cues correlated with the effective use of rule cues in behavioral performance. Position cues induced a smaller CNV effect and exhibited less prefrontal and pre-SMA contributions in fMRI. Our data point to the importance to disentangle different anticipatory adjustments that might also include the prevention of upcoming conflict via task re-coding. PMID:23408377

Observational learning without a model is influenced by the observer's possibility to act: evidence from the Simon task.

PubMed

Iani, Cristina; Rubichi, Sandro; Ferraro, Luca; Nicoletti, Roberto; Gallese, Vittorio

2013-07-01

We assessed whether observational learning in perceptual-motor tasks is affected by the visibility of an action producing perceived environmental effects and by the observer's possibility to act during observation. To this end, we conducted three experiments in which participants were required to observe a spatial compatibility task in which only the effects of computer-generated responses were visible before executing a Simon task. In Experiment 1, we compared the effects of a passively observed practice with either a spatially compatible or incompatible stimulus-response (S-R) association. In Experiment 2, during the observed spatially incompatible practice participants were prevented from potentially acting, either because a plexiglas barrier separated the participant from the response device rendering it out of reach; or because the participant's hands were tied; or the device affording a response was absent. In Experiment 3, the plexiglas presented an opening that could allow the participant to potentially reach and interact with it. As when the practice is physically performed, we found an elimination of the Simon effect following a spatially incompatible observed practice, suggesting that participants learned an incompatible S-R association by observing and transferred this knowledge to the subsequent Simon task. No evidence of transfer of learning was found when, during passive observation, the participant's hands were tied, or a barrier prevented him/her from potentially interacting with the device, or no response device was present. Differently, a transfer-of-learning effect was observed when the barrier presented an opening. These results suggest that learning can derive from the mere observation of action effects, even when an action is not visible, as long as the observer has the potential to act. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Age-Related Interference between the Selection of Input-Output Modality Mappings and Postural Control—a Pilot Study

PubMed Central

Stelzel, Christine; Schauenburg, Gesche; Rapp, Michael A.; Heinzel, Stephan; Granacher, Urs

2017-01-01

Age-related decline in executive functions and postural control due to degenerative processes in the central nervous system have been related to increased fall-risk in old age. Many studies have shown cognitive-postural dual-task interference in old adults, but research on the role of specific executive functions in this context has just begun. In this study, we addressed the question whether postural control is impaired depending on the coordination of concurrent response-selection processes related to the compatibility of input and output modality mappings as compared to impairments related to working-memory load in the comparison of cognitive dual and single tasks. Specifically, we measured total center of pressure (CoP) displacements in healthy female participants aged 19–30 and 66–84 years while they performed different versions of a spatial one-back working memory task during semi-tandem stance on an unstable surface (i.e., balance pad) while standing on a force plate. The specific working-memory tasks comprised: (i) modality compatible single tasks (i.e., visual-manual or auditory-vocal tasks), (ii) modality compatible dual tasks (i.e., visual-manual and auditory-vocal tasks), (iii) modality incompatible single tasks (i.e., visual-vocal or auditory-manual tasks), and (iv) modality incompatible dual tasks (i.e., visual-vocal and auditory-manual tasks). In addition, participants performed the same tasks while sitting. As expected from previous research, old adults showed generally impaired performance under high working-memory load (i.e., dual vs. single one-back task). In addition, modality compatibility affected one-back performance in dual-task but not in single-task conditions with strikingly pronounced impairments in old adults. Notably, the modality incompatible dual task also resulted in a selective increase in total CoP displacements compared to the modality compatible dual task in the old but not in the young participants. These results suggest that in addition to effects of working-memory load, processes related to simultaneously overcoming special linkages between input- and output modalities interfere with postural control in old but not in young female adults. Our preliminary data provide further evidence for the involvement of cognitive control processes in postural tasks. PMID:28484411

Use of nontraditional flight displays for the reduction of central visual overload in the cockpit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weinstein, Lisa F.; Wickens, Christopher D.

1992-01-01

The use of nontraditional flight displays to reduce visual overload in the cockpit was investigated in a dual-task paradigm. Three flight displays (central, peripheral, and ecological) were used between subjects for the primary tasks, and the type of secondary task (object identification or motion judgment) and the presentation of the location of the task in the visual field (central or peripheral) were manipulated with groups. The two visual-spatial tasks were time-shared to study the possibility of a compatibility mapping between task type and task location. The ecological display was found to allow for the most efficient time-sharing.

Conflict Tasks of Different Types Divergently Affect the Attentional Processing of Gaze and Arrow.

PubMed

Fan, Lingxia; Yu, Huan; Zhang, Xuemin; Feng, Qing; Sun, Mengdan; Xu, Mengsi

2018-01-01

The present study explored the attentional processing mechanisms of gaze and arrow cues in two different types of conflict tasks. In Experiment 1, participants performed a flanker task in which gaze and arrow cues were presented as central targets or bilateral distractors. The congruency between the direction of the target and the distractors was manipulated. Results showed that arrow distractors greatly interfered with the attentional processing of gaze, while the processing of arrow direction was immune to conflict from gaze distractors. Using a spatial compatibility task, Experiment 2 explored the conflict effects exerted on gaze and arrow processing by their relative spatial locations. When the direction of the arrow was in conflict with its spatial layout on screen, response times were slowed; however, the encoding of gaze was unaffected by spatial location. In general, processing to an arrow cue is less influenced by bilateral gaze cues but is affected by irrelevant spatial information, while processing to a gaze cue is greatly disturbed by bilateral arrows but is unaffected by irrelevant spatial information. Different effects on gaze and arrow cues by different types of conflicts may reflect two relatively distinct specific modes of the attentional process.

Comparative research on response stereotypes for daily operation tasks of Chinese and American engineering students.

PubMed

Yu, Rui-Feng; Chan, Alan H S

2004-02-01

A group of Mainland Chinese engineering students were asked to respond to 12 questions by indicating their design conventions and expectations about operations, directions-of-motion, and descriptions of movement for items such as doors, keys, taps, and knobs. Chi-square tests demonstrated strong response stereotypes for tasks of all 12 questions. A comparison of the stereotype strengths found here with that of Hong Kong Chinese and American engineering students reported earlier indicated that stereotype strengths of engineering students from the three regions were generally different. For some cases stereotype characteristics of two regions were more alike than the other, and also for some subjects in the three regions performed similarly. The Mainland and Hong Kong Chinese were more alike in making their choices on questions of conceptual compatibility, while more consistent preferences on movement compatibility and spatial compatibility were noted between the Mainland Chinese and American students than Hong Kong Chinese.

Influence of auditory and audiovisual stimuli on the right-left prevalence effect.

PubMed

Vu, Kim-Phuong L; Minakata, Katsumi; Ngo, Mary Kim

2014-01-01

When auditory stimuli are used in two-dimensional spatial compatibility tasks, where the stimulus and response configurations vary along the horizontal and vertical dimensions simultaneously, a right-left prevalence effect occurs in which horizontal compatibility dominates over vertical compatibility. The right-left prevalence effects obtained with auditory stimuli are typically larger than that obtained with visual stimuli even though less attention should be demanded from the horizontal dimension in auditory processing. In the present study, we examined whether auditory or visual dominance occurs when the two-dimensional stimuli are audiovisual, as well as whether there will be cross-modal facilitation of response selection for the horizontal and vertical dimensions. We also examined whether there is an additional benefit of adding a pitch dimension to the auditory stimulus to facilitate vertical coding through use of the spatial-musical association of response codes (SMARC) effect, where pitch is coded in terms of height in space. In Experiment 1, we found a larger right-left prevalence effect for unimodal auditory than visual stimuli. Neutral, non-pitch coded, audiovisual stimuli did not result in cross-modal facilitation, but did show evidence of visual dominance. The right-left prevalence effect was eliminated in the presence of SMARC audiovisual stimuli, but the effect influenced horizontal rather than vertical coding. Experiment 2 showed that the influence of the pitch dimension was not in terms of influencing response selection on a trial-to-trial basis, but in terms of altering the salience of the task environment. Taken together, these findings indicate that in the absence of salient vertical cues, auditory and audiovisual stimuli tend to be coded along the horizontal dimension and vision tends to dominate audition in this two-dimensional spatial stimulus-response task.

Manual Asymmetries in Bimanual Reaching: The Influence of Spatial Compatibility and Visuospatial Attention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neely, K.; Binsted, G.; Heath, M.

2005-01-01

The goal of the present investigation was to explore the possible expression of hemispheric-specific processing during the planning and execution of a bimanual reaching task. Participants (N=9) completed 80 bimanual reaching movements (requiring simultaneous, bilateral production of arm movements) to peripherally presented targets while…

On the Inclusion of Externally Controlled Actions in Action Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Jessica Chia-Chin; Knoblich, Gunther; Sebanz, Natalie

2011-01-01

According to ideomotor theories, perceiving action effects produced by others triggers corresponding action representations in the observer. We tested whether this principle extends to actions performed by externally controlled limbs and tools. Participants performed a go-no-go version of a spatial compatibility task in which their own actions…

Emotion, working memory task demands and individual differences predict behavior, cognitive effort and negative affect.

PubMed

Storbeck, Justin; Davidson, Nicole A; Dahl, Chelsea F; Blass, Sara; Yung, Edwin

2015-01-01

We examined whether positive and negative affect motivates verbal and spatial working memory processes, respectively, which have implications for the expenditure of mental effort. We argue that when emotion promotes cognitive tendencies that are goal incompatible with task demands, greater cognitive effort is required to perform well. We sought to investigate whether this increase in cognitive effort impairs behavioural control over a broad domain of self-control tasks. Moreover, we predicted that individuals with higher behavioural inhibition system (BIS) sensitivities would report more negative affect within the goal incompatible conditions because such individuals report higher negative affect during cognitive challenge. Positive or negative affective states were induced followed by completing a verbal or spatial 2-back working memory task. All participants then completed one of three self-control tasks. Overall, we observed that conditions of emotion and working memory incompatibility (positive/spatial and negative/verbal) performed worse on the self-control tasks, and within the incompatible conditions individuals with higher BIS sensitivities reported more negative affect at the end of the study. The combination of findings suggests that emotion and working memory compatibility reduces cognitive effort and impairs behavioural control.

An investigation of spatial representation of pitch in individuals with congenital amusia.

PubMed

Lu, Xuejing; Sun, Yanan; Thompson, William Forde

2017-09-01

Spatial representation of pitch plays a central role in auditory processing. However, it is unknown whether impaired auditory processing is associated with impaired pitch-space mapping. Experiment 1 examined spatial representation of pitch in individuals with congenital amusia using a stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) task. For amusic and non-amusic participants, pitch classification was faster and more accurate when correct responses involved a physical action that was spatially congruent with the pitch height of the stimulus than when it was incongruent. However, this spatial representation of pitch was not as stable in amusic individuals, revealed by slower response times when compared with control individuals. One explanation is that the SRC effect in amusics reflects a linguistic association, requiring additional time to link pitch height and spatial location. To test this possibility, Experiment 2 employed a colour-classification task. Participants judged colour while ignoring a concurrent pitch by pressing one of two response keys positioned vertically to be congruent or incongruent with the pitch. The association between pitch and space was found in both groups, with comparable response times in the two groups, suggesting that amusic individuals are only slower to respond to tasks involving explicit judgments of pitch.

Effects of redundancy in the comparison of speech and pictorial displays in the cockpit environment.

PubMed

Byblow, W D

1990-06-01

Synthesised speech and pictorial displays were compared in a spatially compatible simulated cockpit environment. Messages of high or low levels of redundancy were presented to subjects in both modality conditions. Subjects responded to warnings presented in a warning-only condition and in a dual-task condition, in which a simulated flight task was performed with visual and manual input/output modalities. Because the amount of information presented in most real-world applications and experimental paradigms is quantifiably large with respect to present guidelines for the use of synthesised speech warnings, the low-redundancy condition was hypothesised to allow for better performance. Results showed that subjects respond quicker to messages of low redundancy in both modalities. It is suggested that speech messages with low-redundancy levels were effective in minimising message length and ensuring that messages did not overload the short-term memory required to process and maintain speech in memory. Manipulation of phrase structure was used to optimise message redundancy and enhance the conceptual compatibility of the message without increasing message length or imposing a perceptual cost or memory overload. The results also suggest that system response times were quicker when synthesised speech warnings were used. This result is consistent with predictions from multiple resource theory which states that the resources required for the perception of verbal warnings are different from those for the flight task. It is also suggested that the perception of a pictorial display requires the same resources used for the perception of the primary flight task. An alternative explanation is that pictorial displays impose a visual scanning cost which is responsible for decreased performance. Based on the findings reported here, it is suggested that speech displays be incorporated in a spatially compatible cockpit environment because they allow equal or better performance when compared with pictorial displays. More importantly, the amount of time that the operator must direct his vision away from information vital to the flight task is decreased.

Embodiment of abstract categories in space… grounding or mere compatibility effects? The case of politics.

PubMed

Farias, Ana Rita; Garrido, Margarida V; Semin, Gün R

2016-05-01

In two experiments, the role played by stimulus response compatibility in driving the spatial grounding of abstract concepts is examined. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to classify politics-related words appearing to the left or the right side of a computer monitor as socialist or conservative. Responses were given by pressing vertically aligned keys and thus orthogonal to the spatial information that may have been implied by the words. Responses given by left or right index finger were counterbalanced. In Experiment 2, a lexical decision task, participants categorized political words or non-words presented to the left or the right auditory channels, by pressing the top/bottom button of a response box. The response category labels (word or non-word) were also orthogonal to the spatial information that may have been implied by the stimulus words. In both experiments, responses were faster when socialism-related words were presented on the left and conservatism-related words were presented on the right, irrespective of the reference of the response keys or labels. Overall, our findings suggest that the spatial grounding of abstract concepts (or at least politics-related ones) is independent of experimentally driven stimulus-response compatibility effects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial attention and reading ability: ERP correlates of flanker and cue-size effects in good and poor adult phonological decoders.

PubMed

Matthews, Allison Jane; Martin, Frances Heritage

2015-12-01

To investigate facilitatory and inhibitory processes during selective attention among adults with good (n=17) and poor (n=14) phonological decoding skills, a go/nogo flanker task was completed while EEG was recorded. Participants responded to a middle target letter flanked by compatible or incompatible flankers. The target was surrounded by a small or large circular cue which was presented simultaneously or 500ms prior. Poor decoders showed a greater RT cost for incompatible stimuli preceded by large cues and less RT benefit for compatible stimuli. Poor decoders also showed reduced modulation of ERPs by cue-size at left hemisphere posterior sites (N1) and by flanker compatibility at right hemisphere posterior sites (N1) and frontal sites (N2), consistent with processing differences in fronto-parietal attention networks. These findings have potential implications for understanding the relationship between spatial attention and phonological decoding in dyslexia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Attention, spatial integration, and the tail of response time distributions in Stroop task performance.

PubMed

Roelofs, Ardi

2012-01-01

A few studies have examined selective attention in Stroop task performance through ex-Gaussian analyses of response time (RT) distributions. It has remained unclear whether the tail of the RT distribution in vocal responding reflects spatial integration of relevant and irrelevant attributes, as suggested by Spieler, Balota, and Faust (2000). Here, two colour-word Stroop experiments with vocal responding are reported in which the spatial relation between colour and word was manipulated. Participants named colours (e.g., green; say "green") while trying to ignore distractors that were incongruent or congruent words (e.g., red or green), or neutral series of Xs. The vocal RT was measured. Colour words in colour, white words superimposed onto colour rectangles (Experiment 1), and colour rectangles combined with auditory words (Experiment 2) yielded Stroop effects in both the leading edge and the tail of the RT distributions. These results indicate that spatial integration is not necessary for effects in the tail to occur in vocal responding. It is argued that the findings are compatible with an association of the tail effects with task conflict.

Common mechanisms of spatial attention in memory and perception: a tactile dual-task study.

PubMed

Katus, Tobias; Andersen, Søren K; Müller, Matthias M

2014-03-01

Orienting attention to locations in mnemonic representations engages processes that functionally and anatomically overlap the neural circuitry guiding prospective shifts of spatial attention. The attention-based rehearsal account predicts that the requirement to withdraw attention from a memorized location impairs memory accuracy. In a dual-task study, we simultaneously presented retro-cues and pre-cues to guide spatial attention in short-term memory (STM) and perception, respectively. The spatial direction of each cue was independent of the other. The locations indicated by the combined cues could be compatible (same hand) or incompatible (opposite hands). Incompatible directional cues decreased lateralized activity in brain potentials evoked by visual cues, indicating interference in the generation of prospective attention shifts. The detection of external stimuli at the prospectively cued location was impaired when the memorized location was part of the perceptually ignored hand. The disruption of attention-based rehearsal by means of incompatible pre-cues reduced memory accuracy and affected encoding of tactile test stimuli at the retrospectively cued hand. These findings highlight the functional significance of spatial attention for spatial STM. The bidirectional interactions between both tasks demonstrate that spatial attention is a shared neural resource of a capacity-limited system that regulates information processing in internal and external stimulus representations.

Dual-task performance with ideomotor-compatible tasks: is the central processing bottleneck intact, bypassed, or shifted in locus?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lien, Mei-Ching; McCann, Robert S.; Ruthruff, Eric; Proctor, Robert W.

2005-01-01

The present study examined whether the central bottleneck, assumed to be primarily responsible for the psychological refractory period (PRP) effect, is intact, bypassed, or shifted in locus with ideomotor (IM)-compatible tasks. In 4 experiments, factorial combinations of IM- and non-IM-compatible tasks were used for Task 1 and Task 2. All experiments showed substantial PRP effects, with a strong dependency between Task 1 and Task 2 response times. These findings, along with model-based simulations, indicate that the processing bottleneck was not bypassed, even with two IM-compatible tasks. Nevertheless, systematic changes in the PRP and correspondence effects across experiments suggest that IM compatibility shifted the locus of the bottleneck. The findings favor an engage-bottleneck-later hypothesis, whereby parallelism between tasks occurs deeper into the processing stream for IM- than for non-IM-compatible tasks, without the bottleneck being actually eliminated.

Sequential Effects on Speeded Information Processing: A Developmental Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smulders, S.F.A.; Notebaert, W.; Meijer, M.; Crone, E.A.; van der Molen, M.W.; Soetens, E.

2005-01-01

Two experiments were performed to assess age-related changes in sequential effects on choice reaction time (RT). Sequential effects portray the influence of previous trials on the RT to the current stimulus. In Experiment 1, three age groups (7-9, 10-12, and 18-25 years) performed a spatially compatible choice task, with response-to-stimulus…

Perceived Ownership of Avatars Influences Visual Perspective Taking

PubMed Central

Böffel, Christian; Müsseler, Jochen

2018-01-01

Modern computer-based applications often require the user to interact with avatars. Depending on the task at hand, spatial dissociation between the orientations of the user and the avatars might arise. As a consequence, the user has to adopt the avatar’s perspective and identify herself/himself with the avatar, possibly changing the user’s self-representation in the process. The present study aims to identify the conditions that benefit this change of perspective with objective performance measures and subjective self-estimations by integrating the idea of avatar-ownership into the cognitive phenomenon of spatial compatibility. Two different instructions were used to manipulate a user’s perceived ownership of an avatar in otherwise identical situations. Users with the high-ownership instruction reported higher levels of perceived ownership of the avatar and showed larger spatial compatibility effects from the avatar’s point of view in comparison to the low ownership instruction. This supports the hypothesis that perceived ownership benefits perspective taking. PMID:29887816

Contextual determinants of the social-transfer-of-learning effect.

PubMed

Milanese, Nadia; Iani, Cristina; Sebanz, Natalie; Rubichi, Sandro

2011-06-01

A recent study (Milanese et al. in Cogn 116(1):15-22, 2010) showed that performing a spatial compatibility task with incompatible S-R links (i.e., the practice task) alongside a co-actor eliminates the Simon effect in a subsequent joint Simon task (i.e., the transfer task). In the present study, we conducted three experiments to individuate which elements of the practice task need to remain constant for this social-transfer-of-learning to occur. In Experiment 1, participants performed the practice task alongside a co-actor and the Simon task with a different co-actor; in Experiment 2, they performed the practice task alongside a co-actor and the Simon task with the same co-actor after exchanging their seats. Results showed a modulation of the joint Simon effect in Experiment 1 only. In Experiment 2, we found a regular joint Simon effect. These results indicate that, while co-actor identity is not crucial, other elements of the context, such as keeping the same position across tasks, are necessary for the social-transfer-of-learning to occur. On the whole, our data suggest that the social-transfer-of-learning effect is not tuned to a specific co-actor and depends on spatial parameters of the practice and transfer tasks.

Developmental Trends in Simple and Selective Inhibition of Compatible and Incompatible Responses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van den Wildenberg, Wery P. M.; van der Molen, Maurits W.

2004-01-01

This study examined age-related change in the ability to inhibit responses using two varieties of the stop signal paradigm. Three age groups (29 7-year-olds, 24 10-year-olds, and 28 young adults) performed first on a visual choice reaction task in which the spatial mapping between the go signal and response was varied between blocks. The choice…

Central Cross-Talk in Task Switching : Evidence from Manipulating Input-Output Modality Compatibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephan, Denise Nadine; Koch, Iring

2010-01-01

Two experiments examined the role of compatibility of input and output (I-O) modality mappings in task switching. We define I-O modality compatibility in terms of similarity of stimulus modality and modality of response-related sensory consequences. Experiment 1 included switching between 2 compatible tasks (auditory-vocal vs. visual-manual) and…

Influence of short incompatible practice on the Simon effect: transfer along the vertical dimension and across vertical and horizontal dimensions.

PubMed

Conde, Erick F Q; Fraga-Filho, Roberto Sena; Lameira, Allan Pablo; Mograbi, Daniel C; Riggio, Lucia; Gawryszewski, Luiz G

2015-11-01

In spatial compatibility and Simon tasks, the response is faster when stimulus and response locations are on the same side than when they are on opposite sides. It has been shown that a spatial incompatible practice leads to a subsequent modulation of the Simon effect along the horizontal dimension. It has also been reported that this modulation occurs both along and across vertical and horizontal dimensions, but only after intensive incompatible training (600 trials). In this work, we show that this modulatory effect can be obtained with a smaller number of incompatible trials, changing the spatial arrangement of the vertical response keys to obtain a stronger dimensional overlap between the spatial codes of stimuli and response keys. The results of Experiment 1 showed that 80 incompatible vertical trials abolished the Simon effect in the same dimension. Experiment 2 showed that a modulation of the vertical Simon effect could be obtained after 80 horizontal incompatible trials. Experiment 3 explored whether the transfer effect can also occur in a horizontal Simon task after a brief vertical spatial incompatibility task, and results were similar to the previous experiments. In conclusion, we suggest that the spatial arrangement between response key and stimulus locations may be critical to establish the short-term memory links that enable the transfer of learning between brief incompatible practices and the Simon effects, both along the vertical dimension and across vertical and horizontal dimensions.

Network analysis of exploratory behaviors of mice in a spatial learning and memory task

PubMed Central

Suzuki, Yusuke

2017-01-01

The Barnes maze is one of the main behavioral tasks used to study spatial learning and memory. The Barnes maze is a task conducted on “dry land” in which animals try to escape from a brightly lit exposed circular open arena to a small dark escape box located under one of several holes at the periphery of the arena. In comparison with another classical spatial learning and memory task, the Morris water maze, the negative reinforcements that motivate animals in the Barnes maze are less severe and less stressful. Furthermore, the Barnes maze is more compatible with recently developed cutting-edge techniques in neural circuit research, such as the miniature brain endoscope or optogenetics. For this study, we developed a lift-type task start system and equipped the Barnes maze with it. The subject mouse is raised up by the lift and released into the maze automatically so that it can start navigating the maze smoothly from exactly the same start position across repeated trials. We believe that a Barnes maze test with a lift-type task start system may be useful for behavioral experiments when combined with head-mounted or wire-connected devices for online imaging and intervention in neural circuits. Furthermore, we introduced a network analysis method for the analysis of the Barnes maze data. Each animal’s exploratory behavior in the maze was visualized as a network of nodes and their links, and spatial learning in the maze is described by systematic changes in network structures of search behavior. Network analysis was capable of visualizing and quantitatively analyzing subtle but significant differences in an animal’s exploratory behavior in the maze. PMID:28700627

The personification of animals: coding of human and nonhuman body parts based on posture and function.

PubMed

Welsh, Timothy N; McDougall, Laura; Paulson, Stephanie

2014-09-01

The purpose of the present research was to determine how humans represent the bodies and limbs of nonhuman mammals based on anatomical and functional properties. To this end, participants completed a series of body-part compatibility tasks in which they responded with a thumb or foot response to the color of a stimulus (red or blue, respectively) presented on different limbs of several animals. Across the studies, this compatibility task was conducted with images of human and nonhuman animals (bears, cows, and monkeys) in bipedal or quadrupedal postures. The results revealed that the coding of the limbs of nonhuman animals is strongly influenced by the posture of the body, but not the functional capacity of the limb. Specifically, body-part compatibility effects were present for both human and nonhuman animals when the figures were in a bipedal posture, but were not present when the animals were in a quadrupedal stance (Experiments 1a-c). Experiments 2a and 2b revealed that the posture-based body-part compatibility effects were not simply a vertical spatial compatibility effect or due to a mismatch between the posture of the body in the image and the participant. These data indicate that nonhuman animals in a bipedal posture are coded with respect to the "human" body representation, whereas nonhuman animals in a quadrupedal posture are not mapped to the human body representation. Overall, these studies provide new insight into the processes through which humans understand, mimic, and learn from the actions of nonhuman animals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of radiofrequency radiation emitted by cellular telephones on the cognitive functions of humans.

PubMed

Eliyahu, Ilan; Luria, Roy; Hareuveny, Ronen; Margaliot, Menachem; Meiran, Nachshon; Shani, Gad

2006-02-01

The present study examined the effects of exposure to Electromagnetic Radiation emitted by a standard GSM phone at 890 MHz on human cognitive functions. This study attempted to establish a connection between the exposure of a specific area of the brain and the cognitive functions associated with that area. A total of 36 healthy right-handed male subjects performed four distinct cognitive tasks: spatial item recognition, verbal item recognition, and two spatial compatibility tasks. Tasks were chosen according to the brain side they are assumed to activate. All subjects performed the tasks under three exposure conditions: right side, left side, and sham exposure. The phones were controlled by a base station simulator and operated at their full power. We have recorded the reaction times (RTs) and accuracy of the responses. The experiments consisted of two sections, of 1 h each, with a 5 min break in between. The tasks and the exposure regimes were counterbalanced. The results indicated that the exposure of the left side of the brain slows down the left-hand response time, in the second-later-part of the experiment. This effect was apparent in three of the four tasks, and was highly significant in only one of the tests. The exposure intensity and its duration exceeded the common exposure of cellular phone users.

Effects of visual cue and response assignment on spatial stimulus coding in stimulus-response compatibility.

PubMed

Nishimura, Akio; Yokosawa, Kazuhiko

2012-01-01

Tlauka and McKenna ( 2000 ) reported a reversal of the traditional stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) effect (faster responding to a stimulus presented on the same side than to one on the opposite side) when the stimulus appearing on one side of a display is a member of a superordinate unit that is largely on the opposite side. We investigated the effects of a visual cue that explicitly shows a superordinate unit, and of assignment of multiple stimuli within each superordinate unit to one response, on the SRC effect based on superordinate unit position. Three experiments revealed that stimulus-response assignment is critical, while the visual cue plays a minor role, in eliciting the SRC effect based on the superordinate unit position. Findings suggest bidirectional interaction between perception and action and simultaneous spatial stimulus coding according to multiple frames of reference, with contribution of each coding to the SRC effect flexibly varying with task situations.

Investigating Perfect Timesharing: The Relationship between IM-Compatible Tasks and Dual-Task Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halvorson, Kimberly M.; Ebner, Herschel; Hazeltine, Eliot

2013-01-01

Why are dual-task costs reduced with ideomotor (IM) compatible tasks (Greenwald & Shulman, 1973; Lien, Proctor & Allen, 2002)? In the present experiments, we first examine three different measures of single-task performance (pure single-task blocks, mixed blocks, and long stimulus onset asynchrony [SOA] trials in dual-task blocks) and two…

Intact Automatic Imitation and Typical Spatial Compatibility in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Challenging the Broken Mirror Theory.

PubMed

Sowden, Sophie; Koehne, Svenja; Catmur, Caroline; Dziobek, Isabel; Bird, Geoffrey

2016-02-01

A lack of imitative behavior is frequently described as a core feature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and is consistent with claims of mirror neuron system dysfunction in these individuals. Previous research has questioned this characterization of ASD however, arguing that when tests of automatic imitation are used--which do not require higher-level cognitive processing--imitative behavior is intact or even enhanced in individuals with ASD. In Experiment 1, 60 adult individuals with ASD and a matched Control group completed an automatic imitation task in which they were required to perform an index or a middle finger lift while observing a hand making either the same, or the alternate, finger movement. Both groups demonstrated a significant imitation effect whereby actions were executed faster when preceded by observation of the same action, than when preceded by the alternate action. The magnitude of this "imitation effect" was statistically indistinguishable in the ASD and Control groups. Experiment 2 utilized an improved automatic imitation paradigm to demonstrate that, when automatic imitation effects are isolated from those due to spatial compatibility, increasing autism symptom severity is associated with an increased tendency to imitate. Notably, there was no association between autism symptom severity and spatial compatibility, demonstrating the specificity of the link between ASD symptoms and increased imitation. These results provide evidence against claims of a lack of imitative behavior in ASD, and challenge the "Broken Mirror Theory of Autism." © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Operation Compatibility: A Neglected Contribution to Dual-Task Costs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pannebakker, Merel M.; Band, Guido P. H.; Ridderinkhof, K. Richard

2009-01-01

Traditionally, dual-task interference has been attributed to the consequences of task load exceeding capacity limitations. However, the current study demonstrates that in addition to task load, the mutual compatibility of the concurrent processes modulates whether 2 tasks can be performed in parallel. In 2 psychological refractory period…

The flanker compatibility effect as a function of visual angle, attentional focus, visual transients, and perceptual load: a search for boundary conditions.

PubMed

Miller, J

1991-03-01

When subjects must respond to a relevant center letter and ignore irrelevant flanking letters, the identities of the flankers produce a response compatibility effect, indicating that they are processed semantically at least to some extent. Because this effect decreases as the separation between target and flankers increases, the effect appears to result from imperfect early selection (attenuation). In the present experiments, several features of the focused attention paradigm were examined, in order to determine whether they might produce the flanker compatibility effect by interfering with the operation of an early selective mechanism. Specifically, the effect might be produced because the paradigm requires subjects to (1) attend exclusively to stimuli within a very small visual angle, (2) maintain a long-term attentional focus on a constant display location, (3) focus attention on an empty display location, (4) exclude onset-transient flankers from semantic processing, or (5) ignore some of the few stimuli in an impoverished visual field. The results indicate that none of these task features is required for semantic processing of unattended stimuli to occur. In fact, visual angle is the only one of the task features that clearly has a strong influence on the size of the flanker compatibility effect. The invariance of the flanker compatibility effect across these conditions suggests that the mechanism for early selection rarely, if ever, completely excludes unattended stimuli from semantic analysis. In addition, it shows that selective mechanisms are relatively insensitive to several factors that might be expected to influence them, thereby supporting the view that spatial separation has a special status for visual selective attention.

Anatomical and spatial matching in imitation: Evidence from left and right brain-damaged patients.

PubMed

Mengotti, Paola; Ripamonti, Enrico; Pesavento, Valentina; Rumiati, Raffaella Ida

2015-12-01

Imitation is a sensorimotor process whereby the visual information present in the model's movement has to be coupled with the activation of the motor system in the observer. This also implies that greater the similarity between the seen and the produced movement, the easier it will be to execute the movement, a process also known as ideomotor compatibility. Two components can influence the degree of similarity between two movements: the anatomical and the spatial component. The anatomical component is present when the model and imitator move the same body part (e.g., the right hand) while the spatial component is present when the movement of the model and that of the imitator occur at the same spatial position. Imitation can be achieved by relying on both components, but typically the model's and imitator's movements are matched either anatomically or spatially. The aim of this study was to ascertain the contribution of the left and right hemisphere to the imitation accomplished either with anatomical or spatial matching (or with both). Patients with unilateral left and right brain damage performed an ideomotor task and a gesture imitation task. Lesions in the left and right hemispheres gave rise to different performance deficits. Patients with lesions in the left hemisphere showed impaired imitation when anatomical matching was required, and patients with lesions in the right hemisphere showed impaired imitation when spatial matching was required. Lesion analysis further revealed a differential involvement of left and right hemispheric regions, such as the parietal opercula, in supporting imitation in the ideomotor task. Similarly, gesture imitation seemed to rely on different regions in the left and right hemisphere, such as parietal regions in the left hemisphere and premotor, somatosensory and subcortical regions in the right hemisphere. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Are Automatic Imitation and Spatial Compatibility Mediated by Different Processes?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Richard P.; Catmur, Caroline; Heyes, Cecilia

2013-01-01

Automatic imitation or "imitative compatibility" is thought to be mediated by the mirror neuron system and to be a laboratory model of the motor mimicry that occurs spontaneously in naturalistic social interaction. Imitative compatibility and spatial compatibility effects are known to depend on different stimulus dimensions--body…

Effects of a no-go Task 2 on Task 1 performance in dual - tasking: From benefits to costs.

PubMed

Janczyk, Markus; Huestegge, Lynn

2017-04-01

When two tasks are combined in a dual-task experiment, characteristics of Task 2 can influence Task 1 performance, a phenomenon termed the backward crosstalk effect (BCE). Besides instances depending on the (spatial) compatibility of both responses, a particularly interesting example was introduced by Miller (2006): If Task 2 was a no-go task (i.e., one not requiring any action at all), responses were slowed in Task 1. Subsequent work, however, also reported the opposite result-that is, faster Task 1 responses in cases of no-go Task 2 trials. We report three experiments aiming to more precisely identify the conditions under which a no-go Task 2 facilitates or impedes Task 1 performance. The results suggest that an adverse no-go BCE is only observed when the Task 2 response(s) are sufficiently prepared in advance, yielding strong inhibitory control demands for Task 2 that eventually hamper Task 1 processing as well (i.e., inhibitory costs). If this is not the case, encountering a no-go Task 2 trial facilitates Task 1 performance, suggesting that the underlying task representation is reduced to a single - task. These results are discussed in the context of other recent work on BCEs and of recently suggested accounts of the no-go BCE.

Nonstrategic Contributions to Putatively Strategic Effects in Selective Attention Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Risko, Evan F.; Blais, Chris; Stolz, Jennifer A.; Besner, Derek

2008-01-01

Proportion compatible manipulations are often used to index strategic processes in selective attention tasks. Here, a subtle confound in proportion compatible manipulations is considered. Specifically, as the proportion of compatible trials increases, the ratio of complete repetitions and complete alternations to partial repetitions increases on…

Is there "neural efficiency" during the processing of visuo-spatial information in male humans? An EEG study.

PubMed

Capotosto, Paolo; Perrucci, M Gianni; Brunetti, Marcella; Del Gratta, Cosimo; Doppelmayr, Michael; Grabner, Roland H; Klimesch, Wolfgang; Neubauer, Aljoscha; Neuper, Christa; Pfurtscheller, Gert; Romani, Gian Luca; Babiloni, Claudio

2009-12-28

More intelligent persons (high IQ) typically present a higher cortical activity during tasks requiring the encoding of visuo-spatial information, namely higher alpha (about 10 Hz) event-related desynchronization (ERD; Doppelmayr et al., 2005). The opposite is true ("neural efficiency") during the retrieval of the encoded information, as revealed by both lower alpha ERD and/or lower theta (about 5 Hz) event-related synchronization (ERS; Grabner et al., 2004). To reconcile these contrasting results, here we evaluated the working hypothesis that more intelligent male subjects are characterized by a high cortical activity during the encoding phase. This deep encoding would explain the relatively low cortical activity for the retrieval of the encoded information. To test this hypothesis, electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded in 22 healthy young male volunteers during visuo-spatial information processing (encoding) and short-term retrieval of the encoded information. Cortical activity was indexed by theta ERS and alpha ERD. It was found that the higher the subjects' total IQ, the stronger the frontal theta ERS during the encoding task. Furthermore, the higher the subjects' total IQ, the lower the frontal high-frequency alpha ERD (about 10-12 Hz) during the retrieval task. This was not true for parietal counterpart of these EEG rhythms. These results reconcile previous contrasting evidence confirming that more intelligent persons do not ever show event-related cortical responses compatible with "neural efficiency" hypothesis. Rather, their cortical activity would depend on flexible and task-adapting features of frontal activation.

Skills-demands compatibility as a determinant of flow experience in an inductive reasoning task.

PubMed

Schiefele, Ulrich; Raabe, Andreas

2011-10-01

The skills-demands fit hypothesis of flow theory was examined. Based on the earlier finding that high demands in a game situation do not reduce the experience of flow, a cognitive task paradigm was used. The effect of skills-demands compatibility on the experience of flow but not of other, similar psychological states (i.e., concentration, negative and positive activation) was also investigated. Participants were 89 undergraduate students who worked on a number of inductive reasoning tasks in four successive trials with or without skills-demands compatibility. The results clearly supported the skills-demands fit hypothesis; concentration and activation were affected only by the tasks' difficulty. Inductive reasoning tasks are a useful tool for the experimental analysis of flow, and skills-demands compatibility is a significant and powerful condition of flow, but not of other, similar psychological states.

Spatial compatibility and affordance compatibility in patients with chronic schizophrenia.

PubMed

Kume, Yu; Sato, Fumiyasu; Hiraoka, Yuya; Suzuki, Shingo; Niyama, Yoshitsugu

2016-12-01

A deterioration in information-processing performance is commonly recognized in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Although the enhancement of cognitive skills in patients with schizophrenia is important, the types of external stimuli that influence performance have not received much attention. The aim of present study was to clarify the effects of spatial and affordance compatibility in patients with schizophrenia, compared with those in healthy people. The subjects (25 patients with schizophrenia and 25 healthy controls) participated in two experiment examining the effects of the spatial location of stimuli and the action-relevance of objects. The results showed that the effect of spatial compatibility was similar in both the patients and the controls, whereas the influence of action-relevant objects was not highlighted in either patients with chronic schizophrenia or healthy controls. These findings provide important evidence of a normal spatial compatibility effect in patients with chronic schizophrenia. However, further research examining the affordance compatibility effect is needed, taking into consideration the symptomatology and the severity of the social functioning level in patients with schizophrenia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interaction dynamics between grouping principles in touch: phenomenological and psychophysical evidence.

PubMed

Prieto, Antonio; Mayas, Julia; Ballesteros, Soledad

2018-05-24

In two experiments, we investigated the interactions between the grouping principles of spatial proximity and texture similarity in touch. For that purpose, we adapted to touch two paradigms widely employed in vision. In Experiment 1, we used an experimental phenomenological task consisting of rating the strength of grouping in both acting alone and conjoined cooperative and competitive conditions. In Experiment 2, participants performed a psychophysical task in which an objective (in)correct response was defined by selectively attending to one grouping cue in different blocks of trials. The results showed that spatial proximity dominated over texture similarity when the two principles were conjoined in competition. In addition, the present results are compatible with an additive model of grouping effects as indicated by the greater grouping effect in the cooperative condition and the smaller grouping effect in the competitive condition relative to a.0cting alone grouping principles. The similarities and differences between vision and touch are discussed.

Syngeneic Schwann cell transplantation preserves vision in RCS rat without immunosuppression.

PubMed

McGill, Trevor J; Lund, Raymond D; Douglas, Robert M; Wang, Shaomei; Lu, Bin; Silver, Byron D; Secretan, Matt R; Arthur, Jennifer N; Prusky, Glen T

2007-04-01

To evaluate the efficacy of immunologically compatible Schwann cells transplanted without immunosuppression in the RCS rat retina to preserve vision. Syngeneic (dystrophic RCS) Schwann cells harvested from sciatic nerves were cultured and transplanted into one eye of dystrophic RCS rats at an early stage of retinal degeneration. Allogeneic (Long-Evans) Schwann cells and unoperated eyes served as controls. Vision through transplanted and unoperated eyes was then quantified using two visual behavior tasks, one measuring the spatial frequency and contrast sensitivity thresholds of the optokinetic response (OKR) and the other measuring grating acuity in a perception task. Spatial frequency thresholds measured through syngeneically transplanted eyes maintained near normal spatial frequency sensitivity for approximately 30 weeks, whereas thresholds through control eyes deteriorated to less than 20% of normal over the same period. Contrast sensitivity was preserved through syngeneically transplanted eyes better than through allogeneic and unoperated eyes, at all spatial frequencies. Grating acuity measured through syngeneically transplanted eyes was maintained at approximately 60% of normal, whereas acuity of allogeneically transplanted eyes was significantly lower at approximately 40% of normal. The ability of immunoprivileged Schwann cell transplants to preserve vision in RCS rats indicates that transplantation of syngeneic Schwann cells holds promise as a preventive treatment for retinal degenerative disease.

Facial and semantic emotional interference: A pilot study on the behavioral and cortical responses to the dual valence association task

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Integration of compatible or incompatible emotional valence and semantic information is an essential aspect of complex social interactions. A modified version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) called Dual Valence Association Task (DVAT) was designed in order to measure conflict resolution processing from compatibility/incompatibly of semantic and facial valence. The DVAT involves two emotional valence evaluative tasks which elicits two forms of emotional compatible/incompatible associations (facial and semantic). Methods Behavioural measures and Event Related Potentials were recorded while participants performed the DVAT. Results Behavioural data showed a robust effect that distinguished compatible/incompatible tasks. The effects of valence and contextual association (between facial and semantic stimuli) showed early discrimination in N170 of faces. The LPP component was modulated by the compatibility of the DVAT. Conclusions Results suggest that DVAT is a robust paradigm for studying the emotional interference effect in the processing of simultaneous information from semantic and facial stimuli. PMID:21489277

Advance Preparation in Task-Switching: Converging Evidence from Behavioral, Brain Activation, and Model-Based Approaches

PubMed Central

Karayanidis, Frini; Jamadar, Sharna; Ruge, Hannes; Phillips, Natalie; Heathcote, Andrew; Forstmann, Birte U.

2010-01-01

Recent research has taken advantage of the temporal and spatial resolution of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify the time course and neural circuitry of preparatory processes required to switch between different tasks. Here we overview some key findings contributing to understanding strategic processes in advance preparation. Findings from these methodologies are compatible with advance preparation conceptualized as a set of processes activated for both switch and repeat trials, but with substantial variability as a function of individual differences and task requirements. We then highlight new approaches that attempt to capitalize on this variability to link behavior and brain activation patterns. One approach examines correlations among behavioral, ERP and fMRI measures. A second “model-based” approach accounts for differences in preparatory processes by estimating quantitative model parameters that reflect latent psychological processes. We argue that integration of behavioral and neuroscientific methodologies is key to understanding the complex nature of advance preparation in task-switching. PMID:21833196

A unifying model of concurrent spatial and temporal modularity in muscle activity.

PubMed

Delis, Ioannis; Panzeri, Stefano; Pozzo, Thierry; Berret, Bastien

2014-02-01

Modularity in the central nervous system (CNS), i.e., the brain capability to generate a wide repertoire of movements by combining a small number of building blocks ("modules"), is thought to underlie the control of movement. Numerous studies reported evidence for such a modular organization by identifying invariant muscle activation patterns across various tasks. However, previous studies relied on decompositions differing in both the nature and dimensionality of the identified modules. Here, we derive a single framework that encompasses all influential models of muscle activation modularity. We introduce a new model (named space-by-time decomposition) that factorizes muscle activations into concurrent spatial and temporal modules. To infer these modules, we develop an algorithm, referred to as sample-based nonnegative matrix trifactorization (sNM3F). We test the space-by-time decomposition on a comprehensive electromyographic dataset recorded during execution of arm pointing movements and show that it provides a low-dimensional yet accurate, highly flexible and task-relevant representation of muscle patterns. The extracted modules have a well characterized functional meaning and implement an efficient trade-off between replication of the original muscle patterns and task discriminability. Furthermore, they are compatible with the modules extracted from existing models, such as synchronous synergies and temporal primitives, and generalize time-varying synergies. Our results indicate the effectiveness of a simultaneous but separate condensation of spatial and temporal dimensions of muscle patterns. The space-by-time decomposition accommodates a unified view of the hierarchical mapping from task parameters to coordinated muscle activations, which could be employed as a reference framework for studying compositional motor control.

Thinking of God moves attention.

PubMed

Chasteen, Alison L; Burdzy, Donna C; Pratt, Jay

2010-01-01

The concepts of God and Devil are well known across many cultures and religions, and often involve spatial metaphors, but it is not well known if our mental representations of these concepts affect visual cognition. To examine if exposure to divine concepts produces shifts of attention, participants completed a target detection task in which they were first presented with God- and Devil-related words. We found faster RTs when targets appeared at compatible locations with the concepts of God (up/right locations) or Devil (down/left locations), and also found that these results do not vary by participants' religiosity. These results indicate that metaphors associated with the divine have strong spatial components that can produce shifts of attention, and add to the growing evidence for an extremely robust connection between internal spatial representations and where attention is allocated in the external environment. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

When do humans spontaneously adopt another's visuospatial perspective?

PubMed

Freundlieb, Martin; Kovács, Ágnes M; Sebanz, Natalie

2016-03-01

Perspective-taking is a key component of social interactions. However, there is an ongoing controversy about whether, when and how instances of spontaneous visuospatial perspective-taking occur. The aim of this study was to investigate the underlying factors as well as boundary conditions that characterize the spontaneous adoption of another person's visuospatial perspective (VSP) during social interactions. We used a novel paradigm, in which a participant and a confederate performed a simple stimulus-response (SR) compatibility task sitting at a 90° angle to each other. In this set-up, participants would show a spatial compatibility effect only if they adopted the confederate's VSP. In a series of 5 experiments we found that participants reliably adopted the VSP of the confederate, as long as he was perceived as an intentionally acting agent. Our results therefore show that humans are able to spontaneously adopt the differing VSP of another agent and that there is a tight link between perspective-taking and performing actions together. The results suggest that spontaneous VSP-taking can effectively facilitate and speed up spatial alignment processes accruing from dynamic interactions in multiagent environments. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Stimulus-response incompatibility activates cortex proximate to three eye fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merriam, E. P.; Colby, C. L.; Thulborn, K. R.; Luna, B.; Olson, C. R.; Sweeney, J. A.

2001-01-01

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate cortical activation during the performance of three oculomotor tasks that impose increasing levels of cognitive demand. (1) In a visually guided saccade (VGS) task, subjects made saccades to flashed targets. (2) In a compatible task, subjects made leftward and rightward saccades in response to foveal presentation of the uppercase words "LEFT" or "RIGHT." (3) In a mixed task, subjects made rightward saccades in response to the lowercase word "left" and leftward saccades in response to the lowercase word "right" on incompatible trials (60%). The remaining 40% of trials required compatible responses to uppercase words. The VGS and compatible tasks, when compared to fixation, activated the three cortical eye fields: the supplementary eye field (SEF), the frontal eye field (FEF), and the parietal eye field (PEF). The mixed task, when compared to the compatible task, activated three additional cortical regions proximate to the three eye fields: (1) rostral to the SEF in medial frontal cortex; (2) rostral to the FEF in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC); (3) rostral and lateral to the PEF in posterior parietal cortex. These areas may contribute to the suppression of prepotent responses and in holding novel visuomotor associations in working memory. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Age-related slowing of response selection and production in a visual choice reaction time task

PubMed Central

Woods, David L.; Wyma, John M.; Yund, E. William; Herron, Timothy J.; Reed, Bruce

2015-01-01

Aging is associated with delayed processing in choice reaction time (CRT) tasks, but the processing stages most impacted by aging have not been clearly identified. Here, we analyzed CRT latencies in a computerized serial visual feature-conjunction task. Participants responded to a target letter (probability 40%) by pressing one mouse button, and responded to distractor letters differing either in color, shape, or both features from the target (probabilities 20% each) by pressing the other mouse button. Stimuli were presented randomly to the left and right visual fields and stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) were adaptively reduced following correct responses using a staircase procedure. In Experiment 1, we tested 1466 participants who ranged in age from 18 to 65 years. CRT latencies increased significantly with age (r = 0.47, 2.80 ms/year). Central processing time (CPT), isolated by subtracting simple reaction times (SRT) (obtained in a companion experiment performed on the same day) from CRT latencies, accounted for more than 80% of age-related CRT slowing, with most of the remaining increase in latency due to slowed motor responses. Participants were faster and more accurate when the stimulus location was spatially compatible with the mouse button used for responding, and this effect increased slightly with age. Participants took longer to respond to distractors with target color or shape than to distractors with no target features. However, the additional time needed to discriminate the more target-like distractors did not increase with age. In Experiment 2, we replicated the findings of Experiment 1 in a second population of 178 participants (ages 18–82 years). CRT latencies did not differ significantly in the two experiments, and similar effects of age, distractor similarity, and stimulus-response spatial compatibility were found. The results suggest that the age-related slowing in visual CRT latencies is largely due to delays in response selection and production. PMID:25954175

A novel tablet computer platform for advanced language mapping during awake craniotomy procedures.

PubMed

Morrison, Melanie A; Tam, Fred; Garavaglia, Marco M; Golestanirad, Laleh; Hare, Gregory M T; Cusimano, Michael D; Schweizer, Tom A; Das, Sunit; Graham, Simon J

2016-04-01

A computerized platform has been developed to enhance behavioral testing during intraoperative language mapping in awake craniotomy procedures. The system is uniquely compatible with the environmental demands of both the operating room and preoperative functional MRI (fMRI), thus providing standardized testing toward improving spatial agreement between the 2 brain mapping techniques. Details of the platform architecture, its advantages over traditional testing methods, and its use for language mapping are described. Four illustrative cases demonstrate the efficacy of using the testing platform to administer sophisticated language paradigms, and the spatial agreement between intraoperative mapping and preoperative fMRI results. The testing platform substantially improved the ability of the surgeon to detect and characterize language deficits. Use of a written word generation task to assess language production helped confirm areas of speech apraxia and speech arrest that were inadequately characterized or missed with the use of traditional paradigms, respectively. Preoperative fMRI of the analogous writing task was also assistive, displaying excellent spatial agreement with intraoperative mapping in all 4 cases. Sole use of traditional testing paradigms can be limiting during awake craniotomy procedures. Comprehensive assessment of language function will require additional use of more sophisticated and ecologically valid testing paradigms. The platform presented here provides a means to do so.

On doing two things at once: III. Confirmation of perfect timesharing when simultaneous tasks are ideomotor compatible.

PubMed

Greenwald, Anthony G

2003-10-01

A. G. Greenwald and H. G. Shulman (see record 1974-10326-001) found that 2 tasks characterized by ideomotor (IM) compatibility could be perfectly timeshared (i.e., performed simultaneously without mutual interference). The 2 tasks were pronouncing "A" or "B" in response to hearing those letter names, and making a manual left or right response to seeing a left- or right-positioned arrow. M.-C. Lien, R. W. Proctor, and P. A. Allen (2002) did not replicate Greenwald and Shulman's result, and concluded that their finding of perfect timesharing of 2 IM-compatible tasks might not be replicable. In the present research, Experiment 1 replicated Greenwald and Shulman's 1973 finding while also supporting the conclusion that Lien et al's nonreplication was due to their not instructing subjects to make 2 responses simultaneously in their timeshared task. Experiment 2 again replicated the perfect timesharing finding, using an alternative control procedure that mixed manual and vocal tasks in the same block. ((c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)

Stroop tasks reveal abnormal selective attention among psychopathic offenders.

PubMed

Hiatt, Kristina D; Schmitt, William A; Newman, Joseph P

2004-01-01

Selective attention among offenders with psychopathy was investigated using 3 Stroop paradigms: a standard color-word (CW) Stroop, a picture-word (PW) Stroop, and a color-word Stroop in which the word and color were spatially separated (separated CW). Consistent with "overselective" attention, offenders with psychopathy displayed reduced Stroop interference on the separated CW and PW tasks relative to offenders who were not psychopathic. However, offenders with psychopathy displayed normal Stroop interference on the standard CW Stroop. Further, the reduced interference of offenders with psychopathy on the separated CW Stroop was accompanied by normal facilitation. These findings suggest a circumscribed attentional deficit in psychopathy that hinders the use of unattended information that is (a) not integrated with deliberately attended information and (b) not compatible with current goal-directed behavior. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

Effect of coordinate frame compatibility on the transfer of implicit and explicit learning across limbs

PubMed Central

Carroll, Timothy J.

2016-01-01

Insights into the neural representation of motor learning can be obtained by investigating how learning transfers to novel task conditions. We recently demonstrated that visuomotor rotation learning transferred strongly between left and right limbs when the task was performed in a sagittal workspace, which afforded a consistent remapping for the two limbs in both extrinsic and joint-based coordinates. In contrast, transfer was absent when performed in horizontal workspace, where the extrinsically defined perturbation required conflicting joint-based remapping for the left and right limbs. Because visuomotor learning is thought to be supported by both implicit and explicit forms of learning, however, it is unclear to what extent these distinct forms of learning contribute to interlimb transfer. In this study, we assessed the degree to which interlimb transfer, following visuomotor rotation training, reflects explicit vs. implicit learning by obtaining verbal reports of participants' aiming direction before each movement. We also determined the extent to which these distinct components of learning are constrained by the compatibility of coordinate systems by comparing transfer between groups of participants who reached to targets arranged in the horizontal and sagittal planes. Both sagittal and horizontal conditions displayed complete transfer of explicit learning to the untrained limb. In contrast, transfer of implicit learning was incomplete, but the sagittal condition showed greater transfer than the horizontal condition. These findings suggest that explicit strategies developed with one limb can be fully implemented in the opposite limb, whereas implicit transfer depends on the degree to which new sensorimotor maps are spatially compatible for the two limbs. PMID:27334955

Effect of coordinate frame compatibility on the transfer of implicit and explicit learning across limbs.

PubMed

Poh, Eugene; Carroll, Timothy J; Taylor, Jordan A

2016-09-01

Insights into the neural representation of motor learning can be obtained by investigating how learning transfers to novel task conditions. We recently demonstrated that visuomotor rotation learning transferred strongly between left and right limbs when the task was performed in a sagittal workspace, which afforded a consistent remapping for the two limbs in both extrinsic and joint-based coordinates. In contrast, transfer was absent when performed in horizontal workspace, where the extrinsically defined perturbation required conflicting joint-based remapping for the left and right limbs. Because visuomotor learning is thought to be supported by both implicit and explicit forms of learning, however, it is unclear to what extent these distinct forms of learning contribute to interlimb transfer. In this study, we assessed the degree to which interlimb transfer, following visuomotor rotation training, reflects explicit vs. implicit learning by obtaining verbal reports of participants' aiming direction before each movement. We also determined the extent to which these distinct components of learning are constrained by the compatibility of coordinate systems by comparing transfer between groups of participants who reached to targets arranged in the horizontal and sagittal planes. Both sagittal and horizontal conditions displayed complete transfer of explicit learning to the untrained limb. In contrast, transfer of implicit learning was incomplete, but the sagittal condition showed greater transfer than the horizontal condition. These findings suggest that explicit strategies developed with one limb can be fully implemented in the opposite limb, whereas implicit transfer depends on the degree to which new sensorimotor maps are spatially compatible for the two limbs. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Automatic imitation: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Cracco, Emiel; Bardi, Lara; Desmet, Charlotte; Genschow, Oliver; Rigoni, Davide; De Coster, Lize; Radkova, Ina; Deschrijver, Eliane; Brass, Marcel

2018-05-01

Automatic imitation is the finding that movement execution is facilitated by compatible and impeded by incompatible observed movements. In the past 15 years, automatic imitation has been studied to understand the relation between perception and action in social interaction. Although research on this topic started in cognitive science, interest quickly spread to related disciplines such as social psychology, clinical psychology, and neuroscience. However, important theoretical questions have remained unanswered. Therefore, in the present meta-analysis, we evaluated seven key questions on automatic imitation. The results, based on 161 studies containing 226 experiments, revealed an overall effect size of g z = 0.95, 95% CI [0.88, 1.02]. Moderator analyses identified automatic imitation as a flexible, largely automatic process that is driven by movement and effector compatibility, but is also influenced by spatial compatibility. Automatic imitation was found to be stronger for forced choice tasks than for simple response tasks, for human agents than for nonhuman agents, and for goalless actions than for goal-directed actions. However, it was not modulated by more subtle factors such as animacy beliefs, motion profiles, or visual perspective. Finally, there was no evidence for a relation between automatic imitation and either empathy or autism. Among other things, these findings point toward actor-imitator similarity as a crucial modulator of automatic imitation and challenge the view that imitative tendencies are an indicator of social functioning. The current meta-analysis has important theoretical implications and sheds light on longstanding controversies in the literature on automatic imitation and related domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Working memory operates over the same representations as attention

PubMed Central

Xie, Jiushu; Xia, Tiansheng; Mo, Lei

2017-01-01

A recent study observed a working memory (WM) Stroop effect with a magnitude equivalent to that of the classic Stroop effect, indicating that WM operates over the same representations as attention. However, more research is needed to examine this proposal. One unanswered question is whether the WM Stroop effect occurs when the WM item and the perceptual task do not have an overlapping response set. We addressed this question in Experiment 1 by conducting an attentional word-color task and a WM word-color task. The results showed that a WM Stroop effect also occurred in that condition, as a word that only indirectly evoked a color representation could interfere with the color judgement in both the attentional task and WM task. In Experiment 2, we used a classic Simon task and a WM Simon task to examine whether holding visuo-spatial information rather than verbal information in WM could interfere with perceptual judgment as well. We observed a WM Simon effect of equivalent magnitude to that of the classic Simon effect. The well-known stimulus-response compatibility effect also existed in the WM domain. The two experiments together demonstrated that WM operates over the same representations as attention, which sheds new light on the hypothesis that working memory is internally directed attention. PMID:28604840

Working memory operates over the same representations as attention.

PubMed

Chen, Ke; Ye, Yanyan; Xie, Jiushu; Xia, Tiansheng; Mo, Lei

2017-01-01

A recent study observed a working memory (WM) Stroop effect with a magnitude equivalent to that of the classic Stroop effect, indicating that WM operates over the same representations as attention. However, more research is needed to examine this proposal. One unanswered question is whether the WM Stroop effect occurs when the WM item and the perceptual task do not have an overlapping response set. We addressed this question in Experiment 1 by conducting an attentional word-color task and a WM word-color task. The results showed that a WM Stroop effect also occurred in that condition, as a word that only indirectly evoked a color representation could interfere with the color judgement in both the attentional task and WM task. In Experiment 2, we used a classic Simon task and a WM Simon task to examine whether holding visuo-spatial information rather than verbal information in WM could interfere with perceptual judgment as well. We observed a WM Simon effect of equivalent magnitude to that of the classic Simon effect. The well-known stimulus-response compatibility effect also existed in the WM domain. The two experiments together demonstrated that WM operates over the same representations as attention, which sheds new light on the hypothesis that working memory is internally directed attention.

Targeted brain activation using an MR-compatible wrist torque measurement device and isometric motor tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Vlaar, Martijn P; Mugge, Winfred; Groot, Paul F C; Sharifi, Sarvi; Bour, Lo J; van der Helm, Frans C T; van Rootselaar, Anne-Fleur; Schouten, Alfred C

2016-07-01

Dedicated pairs of isometric wrist flexion tasks, with and without visual feedback of the exerted torque, were designed to target activation of the CBL and BG in healthy subjects during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Selective activation of the cerebellum (CBL) and basal ganglia (BG), often implicated in movement disorders such as tremor and dystonia, may help identify pathological changes and expedite diagnosis. A prototyped MR-compatible wrist torque measurement device, free of magnetic and conductive materials, allowed safe execution of tasks during fMRI without causing artifacts. A significant increase of activity in CBL and BG was found in healthy volunteers during a constant torque task with visual feedback compared to a constant torque task without visual feedback. This study shows that specific pairs of motor tasks using MR-compatible equipment at the wrist allow for targeted activation of CBL and BG, paving a new way for research into the pathophysiology of movement disorders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The perceived compatibility of safety and production expectations in hazardous occupations.

PubMed

McLain, David L; Jarrell, Kimberly A

2007-01-01

Safety hazards are unavoidable in many work environments. Employees must be both productive and safe, however, conflicting safety and production demands can negatively affect safety, production, or both. The employee's perception of the compatibility of management's safety and production expectations is a possible predictor of such consequences. This paper defines "safety-production compatibility" and describes how measures of safety-production compatibility, as well as safety pressure and production pressure, were developed. We used LISREL structural equation modeling to test the influences of safety-production compatibility, safety pressure, and production pressure on safe work behavior and interference with performing other work tasks. The 239 study participants were workers employed in diverse but hazardous occupations. Pressure to work safely was positively associated with safe work behavior. The perceived compatibility of safety and production demands positively influenced safe work behavior and reduced the interference of safety hazards performing other tasks. Safety-production compatibility was also found to mediate the relationship between trust in management and safe work behavior. The results of this field study suggest increased compatibility, and thus less conflict, between safety and production demands influences safe work behavior and the interference of safety hazards with performing other work tasks. More broadly, the worker's reaction to multiple work demands is a safety and performance influence. Safety management efforts that focus only on the hazards fail to eliminate many accidents because accidents arise from many factors including technology, safety climate, social influences, production, and safety demands. This study suggests that workers differ in their perception of the compatibility of safety and production demands. These differences will show up in safe work behavior, influencing the effectiveness of safety management efforts and the trust workers have in management's concern for safety.

Objects and events as determinants of parallel processing in dual tasks: evidence from the backward compatibility effect.

PubMed

Ellenbogen, Ravid; Meiran, Nachshon

2011-02-01

The backward-compatibility effect (BCE) is a major index of parallel processing in dual tasks and is related to the dependency of Task 1 performance on Task 2 response codes (Hommel, 1998). The results of four dual-task experiments showed that a BCE occurs when the stimuli of both tasks are included in the same visual object (Experiments 1 and 2) or belong to the same perceptual event (Experiments 3 and 4). Thus, the BCE may be modulated by factors that influence whether both task stimuli are included in the same perceptual event (objects, as studied in cognitive experiments, being special cases of events). As with objects, drawing attention to a (selected) event results in the processing of its irrelevant features and may interfere with task execution. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

The effects of display-control I/O, compatibility, and integrality on dual-task performance and subjective workload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsang, Pamela S.; Hart, Sandra G.; Vidulich, Michael A.

1987-01-01

The utility of speech technology was evaluated in terms of three dual task principles: resource competition between the time shared tasks, stimulus central processing response compatibility, and task integrality. Empirical support for these principles was reviewed. Two studies investigating the interactive effects of the three principles were described. Objective performance and subjective workload ratings for both single and dual tasks were examined. It was found that the single task measures were not necessarily good predictors for the dual task measures. It was shown that all three principles played an important role in determining an optimal task configuration. This was reflected in both the performance measures and the subjective measures. Therefore, consideration of all three principles is required to insure proper use of speech technology in a complex environment.

Two Simon tasks with different sources of conflict: an ERP study of motion- and location-based compatibility effects.

PubMed

Galashan, Daniela; Wittfoth, Matthias; Fehr, Thorsten; Herrmann, Manfred

2008-07-01

Behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of two Simon tasks were examined using comparable stimuli but different task-irrelevant and conflict-inducing stimulus features. Whereas target shape was always the task-relevant stimulus attribute, either target location (location-based task) or motion direction within the target stimuli (motion-based task) was used as a source of conflict. Data from ten healthy participants who performed both tasks are presented. In the motion-based task the incompatible condition showed smaller P300 amplitudes at Pz than the compatible condition and the location-based task yielded a trend towards a reduced P300 amplitude in the incompatible condition. For both tasks, no P300 latency differences between the conditions were found at Pz. The results suggest that the motion-based task elicits behavioral and electrophysiological effects comparable with regular Simon tasks. As all stimuli in the motion-based Simon task were presented centrally the present data strongly argue against the attention-shifting account as an explanatory approach.

Normal aging increases postural preparation errors: Evidence from a two-choice response task with balance constraints.

PubMed

Verrel, Julius; Lisofsky, Nina; Kühn, Simone; Lindenberger, Ulman

2016-02-01

Correlational studies indicate an association between age-related decline in balance and cognitive control, but these functions are rarely addressed within a single task. In this study, we investigate adult age differences in a two-choice response task with balance constraints under three levels of response conflict. Sixteen healthy young (20-30 years) and 16 healthy older adult participants (59-74 years) were cued symbolically (letter L vs. R) to lift either the left or the right foot from the floor in a standing position. Response conflict was manipulated by task-irrelevant visual stimuli showing congruent, incongruent, or no foot lift movement. Preparatory weight shifts (PWS) and foot lift movements were recorded using force plates and optical motion capture. Older adults showed longer response times (foot lift) and more PWS errors than younger adults. Incongruent distractors interfered with performance (greater response time and PWS errors), but this compatibility effect did not reliably differ between age groups. Response time effects of age and compatibility were strongly reduced or absent in trials without PWS errors, and for the onset of the first (erroneous) PWS in trials with preparation error. In addition, in older adults only, compatibility effects in the foot lift task correlated significantly with compatibility effects in the Flanker task. The present results strongly suggest that adult age differences in response latencies in a task with balance constraints are related to age-associated increases in postural preparation errors rather than being an epiphenomenon of general slowing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Compatibility of motion facilitates visuomotor synchronization.

PubMed

Hove, Michael J; Spivey, Michael J; Krumhansl, Carol L

2010-12-01

Prior research indicates that synchronized tapping performance is very poor with flashing visual stimuli compared with auditory stimuli. Three finger-tapping experiments compared flashing visual metronomes with visual metronomes containing a spatial component, either compatible, incompatible, or orthogonal to the tapping action. In Experiment 1, synchronization success rates increased dramatically for spatiotemporal sequences of both geometric and biological forms over flashing sequences. In Experiment 2, synchronization performance was best when target sequences and movements were directionally compatible (i.e., simultaneously down), followed by orthogonal stimuli, and was poorest for incompatible moving stimuli and flashing stimuli. In Experiment 3, synchronization performance was best with auditory sequences, followed by compatible moving stimuli, and was worst for flashing and fading stimuli. Results indicate that visuomotor synchronization improves dramatically with compatible spatial information. However, an auditory advantage in sensorimotor synchronization persists.

Social Beliefs and Visual Attention: How the Social Relevance of a Cue Influences Spatial Orienting.

PubMed

Gobel, Matthias S; Tufft, Miles R A; Richardson, Daniel C

2018-05-01

We are highly tuned to each other's visual attention. Perceiving the eye or hand movements of another person can influence the timing of a saccade or the reach of our own. However, the explanation for such spatial orienting in interpersonal contexts remains disputed. Is it due to the social appearance of the cue-a hand or an eye-or due to its social relevance-a cue that is connected to another person with attentional and intentional states? We developed an interpersonal version of the Posner spatial cueing paradigm. Participants saw a cue and detected a target at the same or a different location, while interacting with an unseen partner. Participants were led to believe that the cue was either connected to the gaze location of their partner or was generated randomly by a computer (Experiment 1), and that their partner had higher or lower social rank while engaged in the same or a different task (Experiment 2). We found that spatial cue-target compatibility effects were greater when the cue related to a partner's gaze. This effect was amplified by the partner's social rank, but only when participants believed their partner was engaged in the same task. Taken together, this is strong evidence in support of the idea that spatial orienting is interpersonally attuned to the social relevance of the cue-whether the cue is connected to another person, who this person is, and what this person is doing-and does not exclusively rely on the social appearance of the cue. Visual attention is not only guided by the physical salience of one's environment but also by the mental representation of its social relevance. © 2017 The Authors. Cognitive Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Cognitive Science Society.

Ideomotor compatibility in the psychological refractory period effect: 29 years of oversimplification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lien, Mei-Ching; Proctor, Robert W.; Allen, Philip A.

2002-01-01

Four experiments examined whether the psychological refractory period (PRP) effect can be eliminated with ideomotor compatible (IM) but not stimulus-response compatible (SR) tasks, as reported by A. G. Greenwald and H. G. Shulman (1973). Their tasks were used: a left or right movement to a left- or right-pointing arrow (IM) or to the word left or right (SR) for Task 1; saying "A" or "B" (IM) or "1" or "2" (SR) to an auditory A or B for Task 2. The stimulus onset asynchronies were 0, 100, 200, 300, 500, and 1,000 ms in Experiment 1, and only 0, 100, 200, and 1,000 ms in Experiments 2-4. The arrow was in the center of the screen in Experiments 1-3 and to the left or right in Experiment 4. As in Greenwald and Shulman's Experiment 2, the instructions stated that most often the 2 stimuli would be presented simultaneously. A PRP effect was obtained in all conditions, most likely because response-selection decisions are required even for IM tasks.

Ideomotor compatibility in the psychological refractory period effect: 29 years of oversimplification.

PubMed

Lien, Mei-Ching; Proctor, Robert W; Allen, Philip A

2002-04-01

Four experiments examined whether the psychological refractory period (PRP) effect can be eliminated with ideomotor compatible (IM) but not stimulus-response compatible (SR) tasks, as reported by A. G. Greenwald and H. G. Shulman (1973). Their tasks were used: a left or right movement to a left- or right-pointing arrow (IM) or to the word left or right (SR) for Task 1; saying "A" or "B" (IM) or "1" or "2" (SR) to an auditory A or B for Task 2. The stimulus onset asynchronies were 0, 100, 200, 300, 500, and 1,000 ms in Experiment 1, and only 0, 100, 200, and 1,000 ms in Experiments 2-4. The arrow was in the center of the screen in Experiments 1-3 and to the left or right in Experiment 4. As in Greenwald and Shulman's Experiment 2, the instructions stated that most often the 2 stimuli would be presented simultaneously. A PRP effect was obtained in all conditions, most likely because response-selection decisions are required even for IM tasks.

Advanced Alarm Systems: Revision of Guidance and Its Technical Basis

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-11-01

was required to generalize from the unique aspects of individual experiments and studies to actual applications in the workplace . This is because...types of equipment used). For example , laboratory experiments often do not involve tasks of the complexity of NPP operations, and most experiments do...Cognitive Compatibility, Situation Awareness, Task Compatibility, and Timeliness. Figure 3.3 Example of an alarm system design review guideline Each

Dual-task interference with equal task emphasis: graded capacity sharing or central postponement?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruthruff, Eric; Pashler, Harold E.; Hazeltine, Eliot

2003-01-01

Most studies using the psychological refractory period (PRP) design suggest that dual-task performance is limited by a central bottleneck. Because subjects are usually told to emphasize Task 1, however, the bottleneck might reflect a strategic choice rather than a structural limitation. To evaluate the possibility that central operations can proceed in parallel, albeit with capacity limitations, we conducted two dual-task experiments with equal task emphasis. In both experiments, subjects tended to either group responses together or respond to one task well before the other. In addition, stimulus-response compatibility effects were roughly constant across stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). At the short SOA, compatibility effects also carried over onto response times for the other task. This pattern of results is difficult to reconcile with the possibility that subjects share capacity roughly equally between simultaneous central operations. However, this pattern is consistent with the existence of a structural central bottleneck.

Alcohol approach tendencies in heavy drinkers: comparison of effects in a Relevant Stimulus-Response Compatibility task and an approach/avoidance Simon task.

PubMed

Field, Matt; Caren, Rhiane; Fernie, Gordon; De Houwer, Jan

2011-12-01

Several recent studies suggest that alcohol-related cues elicit automatic approach tendencies in heavy drinkers. A variety of tasks have been used to demonstrate these effects, including Relevant Stimulus-Response Compatibility (R-SRC) tasks and variants of Simon tasks. Previous work with normative stimuli suggests that the R-SRC task may be more sensitive than Simon tasks because the activation of approach tendencies may depend on encoding of the stimuli as alcohol-related, which occurs in the R-SRC task but not in Simon tasks. Our aim was to directly compare these tasks for the first time in the context of alcohol use. We administered alcohol versions of an R-SRC task and a Simon task to 62 social drinkers, who were designated as heavy or light drinkers based on a median split of their weekly alcohol consumption. Results indicated that, compared to light drinkers, heavy drinkers were faster to approach, rather than avoid, alcohol-related pictures in the R-SRC task but not in the Simon task. Theoretical implications and methodological issues are discussed.

Space Station Freedom coupling tasks: An evaluation of their space operational compatibility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sampaio, Carlos E.; Bierschwale, John M.; Fleming, Terence F.; Stuart, Mark A.

1991-01-01

The development of the Space Station Freedom tasks that are compatible with both telerobotic as well as extravehicular activity is a necessary redundancy in order to insure successful day to day operation. One task to be routinely performed aboard Freedom will be the changeout of various quick disconnect fluid connectors. In an attempt to resolve these potentially contradictory issues of compatibility, mock-ups of couplings suitable to both extravehicular as well as telerobotic activity were designed and built. An evaluation performed at the Remote Operator Interaction Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center is discussed, which assessed the prototype couplings as well as three standard coupling designs. Data collected during manual and telerobotic manipulation of the couplings indicated that the custom coupling was in fact shown to be faster to operate and generally preferred over the standard coupling designs.

Composite body movements modulate numerical cognition: evidence from the motion-numerical compatibility effect

PubMed Central

Cheng, Xiaorong; Ge, Hui; Andoni, Deljfina; Ding, Xianfeng; Fan, Zhao

2015-01-01

A recent hierarchical model of numerical processing, initiated by Fischer and Brugger (2011) and Fischer (2012), suggested that situated factors, such as different body postures and body movements, can influence the magnitude representation and bias numerical processing. Indeed, Loetscher et al. (2008) found that participants’ behavior in a random number generation task was biased by head rotations. More small numbers were reported after leftward than rightward head turns, i.e., a motion-numerical compatibility effect. Here, by carrying out two experiments, we explored whether similar motion-numerical compatibility effects exist for movements of other important body components, e.g., arms, and for composite body movements as well, which are basis for complex human activities in many ecologically meaningful situations. In Experiment 1, a motion-numerical compatibility effect was observed for lateral rotations of two body components, i.e., the head and arms. Relatively large numbers were reported after making rightward compared to leftward movements for both lateral head and arm turns. The motion-numerical compatibility effect was observed again in Experiment 2 when participants were asked to perform composite body movements of congruent movement directions, e.g., simultaneous head left turns and arm left turns. However, it disappeared when the movement directions were incongruent, e.g., simultaneous head left turns and arm right turns. Taken together, our results extended Loetscher et al.’s (2008) finding by demonstrating that their effect is effector-general and exists for arm movements. Moreover, our study reveals for the first time that the impact of spatial information on numerical processing induced by each of the two sensorimotor-based situated factors, e.g., a lateral head turn and a lateral arm turn, can cancel each other out. PMID:26594188

Hemisphere division and its effect on selective attention: a generality examination of Lavie's load theory.

PubMed

Nishimura, Ritsuko; Yoshizaki, Kazuhito; Kato, Kimiko; Hatta, Takeshi

2009-01-01

The present study examined the role of visual presentation mode (unilateral vs. bilateral visual fields) on attentional modulation. We examined whether or not the presentation mode affects the compatibility effect, using a paradigm involving two task-relevant letter arrays. Sixteen participants identified a target letter among task-relevant letters while ignoring either a compatible or incompatible distracter letter that was presented to both hemispheres. Two letters arrays were presented to visual fields, either unilaterally or bilaterally. Results indicated that the compatibility effect was greater in bilateral than in unilateral visual field conditions. Findings support the assumption that the two hemispheres have separate attentional resources.

Intact mirror mechanisms for automatic facial emotions in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Schulte-Rüther, Martin; Otte, Ellen; Adigüzel, Kübra; Firk, Christine; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate; Koch, Iring; Konrad, Kerstin

2017-02-01

It has been suggested that an early deficit in the human mirror neuron system (MNS) is an important feature of autism. Recent findings related to simple hand and finger movements do not support a general dysfunction of the MNS in autism. Studies investigating facial actions (e.g., emotional expressions) have been more consistent, however, mostly relied on passive observation tasks. We used a new variant of a compatibility task for the assessment of automatic facial mimicry responses that allowed for simultaneous control of attention to facial stimuli. We used facial electromyography in 18 children and adolescents with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 18 typically developing controls (TDCs). We observed a robust compatibility effect in ASD, that is, the execution of a facial expression was facilitated if a congruent facial expression was observed. Time course analysis of RT distributions and comparison to a classic compatibility task (symbolic Simon task) revealed that the facial compatibility effect appeared early and increased with time, suggesting fast and sustained activation of motor codes during observation of facial expressions. We observed a negative correlation of the compatibility effect with age across participants and in ASD, and a positive correlation between self-rated empathy and congruency for smiling faces in TDC but not in ASD. This pattern of results suggests that basic motor mimicry is intact in ASD, but is not associated with complex social cognitive abilities such as emotion understanding and empathy. Autism Res 2017, 10: 298-310. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Neural antecedents of social decision-making in a partner choice task.

PubMed

Cartmell, Samuel C D; Chun, Marvin M; Vickery, Timothy J

2014-11-01

Experiments in financial decision-making point to two complementary processes that encode prospective gain and loss preceding the choice to purchase consumer goods. These processes involve the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and the right anterior insula, respectively. The current experiment used functional MRI to investigate whether these regions served a similar function during an analogous social decision-making task without the influence of monetary outcomes. In this task, subjects chose partners based on face stimuli of varying attractiveness (operationalizing value) and ratings of compatibility with the participant (operationalizing likelihood of rejection). The NAcc responded to anticipated gain; the right anterior insula responded to compatibility, but not in a manner that suggests an analogy to anticipated cost. Logistic regression modeling demonstrated that both regions predicted subsequent choice above and beyond the influence of group attractiveness ratings or compatibility alone. Although the function of the insula may differ between tasks, these results suggest that financial and social decision-making recruit a similar network of brain regions. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Stimulus-response compatibility and psychological refractory period effects: implications for response selection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lien, Mei-Ching; Proctor, Robert W.

2002-01-01

The purpose of this paper was to provide insight into the nature of response selection by reviewing the literature on stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) effects and the psychological refractory period (PRP) effect individually and jointly. The empirical findings and theoretical explanations of SRC effects that have been studied within a single-task context suggest that there are two response-selection routes-automatic activation and intentional translation. In contrast, all major PRP models reviewed in this paper have treated response selection as a single processing stage. In particular, the response-selection bottleneck (RSB) model assumes that the processing of Task 1 and Task 2 comprises two separate streams and that the PRP effect is due to a bottleneck located at response selection. Yet, considerable evidence from studies of SRC in the PRP paradigm shows that the processing of the two tasks is more interactive than is suggested by the RSB model and by most other models of the PRP effect. The major implication drawn from the studies of SRC effects in the PRP context is that response activation is a distinct process from final response selection. Response activation is based on both long-term and short-term task-defined S-R associations and occurs automatically and in parallel for the two tasks. The final response selection is an intentional act required even for highly compatible and practiced tasks and is restricted to processing one task at a time. Investigations of SRC effects and response-selection variables in dual-task contexts should be conducted more systematically because they provide significant insight into the nature of response-selection mechanisms.

Effector identity and orthogonal stimulus-response compatibility in blindness to response-compatible stimuli.

PubMed

Nishimura, Akio; Yokosawa, Kazuhiko

2010-03-01

Perceiving a visual stimulus is hampered when the stimulus is compatible with simultaneously prepared or executed action (blindness effect). We explored the roles of the effector identity of the responding hand and of orthogonal compatibility (above-right/below-left correspondence) in the blindness effect. In Experiment 1, participants conducted bimanual key presses with vertically arranged responses while perceiving a brief presentation of rightward or leftward arrowheads. A blindness effect based on the effector identity did emerge, but only with the above-right/below-left key-hand arrangement. An orthogonal blindness effect was not found in Experiment 2 with a horizontal key-press action task and a vertical arrowhead perception task. We concluded that the anatomical identity of the responding hand was not integrated into the action plan with an orthogonally incompatible key-hand arrangement. The findings are discussed in terms of the generality and limits of the blindness effect, and hierarchical response coding.

Spatial information is processed even when it is task-irrelevant: implications for neuroimaging task design.

PubMed

Meegan, Daniel V; Honsberger, Michael J M

2005-05-01

Many neuroimaging studies have been designed to differentiate domain-specific processes in the brain. A common design constraint is to use identical stimuli for different domain-specific tasks. For example, an experiment investigating spatial versus identity processing would present compound spatial-identity stimuli in both spatial and identity tasks, and participants would be instructed to attend to, encode, maintain, or retrieve spatial information in the spatial task, and identity information in the identity task. An assumption in such studies is that spatial information will not be processed in the identity task, as it is irrelevant for that task. We report three experiments demonstrating violations of this assumption. Our results suggest that comparisons of spatial and identity tasks in existing neuroimaging studies have underestimated the amount of brain activation that is spatial-specific. For future neuroimaging studies, we recommend unique stimulus displays for each domain-specific task, and event-related measurement of post-stimulus processing.

Visuospatial anatomy comprehension: the role of spatial visualization ability and problem-solving strategies.

PubMed

Nguyen, Ngan; Mulla, Ali; Nelson, Andrew J; Wilson, Timothy D

2014-01-01

The present study explored the problem-solving strategies of high- and low-spatial visualization ability learners on a novel spatial anatomy task to determine whether differences in strategies contribute to differences in task performance. The results of this study provide further insights into the processing commonalities and differences among learners beyond the classification of spatial visualization ability alone, and help elucidate what, if anything, high- and low-spatial visualization ability learners do differently while solving spatial anatomy task problems. Forty-two students completed a standardized measure of spatial visualization ability, a novel spatial anatomy task, and a questionnaire involving personal self-analysis of the processes and strategies used while performing the spatial anatomy task. Strategy reports revealed that there were different ways students approached answering the spatial anatomy task problems. However, chi-square test analyses established that differences in problem-solving strategies did not contribute to differences in task performance. Therefore, underlying spatial visualization ability is the main source of variation in spatial anatomy task performance, irrespective of strategy. In addition to scoring higher and spending less time on the anatomy task, participants with high spatial visualization ability were also more accurate when solving the task problems. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.

The motor locus of no-go backward crosstalk.

PubMed

Durst, Moritz; Janczyk, Markus

2018-04-23

A frequent observation in dual-task studies is the backward crosstalk effect (BCE), meaning that aspects of a secondary Task 2 influence Task 1 performance. Up to this point, 2 major types of the BCE were investigated: a BCE based on dimensional overlap between both stimuli and/or responses (the compatibility-based BCE), and a BCE based on whether Task 2 is a go or no-go task (the no-go BCE). Recent evidence suggests that the compatibility-based BCE has its locus inside the response selection stage. The available evidence for the locus of the no-go BCE is still mixed, however. To this end, the 3 experiments reported in the present study used an extended psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm with 3 subsequent tasks. Applying the locus of slack logic in Experiment 1, the no-go BCE was not absorbed into the cognitive slack and, thus, a locus before response selection could be ruled out. Subsequently applying the effect propagation logic in Experiment 2 and 3, the no-go BCE arising in Task 1 was even inverted in Task 3. Because no propagation of the no-go BCE was observed, a locus before or in response selection could be ruled out. Thus, we conclude that the no-go BCE has its locus during motor execution. Because the no-go BCE and the compatibility-based BCE are located in different stages, we suggest that both types of the BCE do not share a common underlying mechanism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Pitting intuitive and analytical thinking against each other: the case of transitivity.

PubMed

Rusou, Zohar; Zakay, Dan; Usher, Marius

2013-06-01

Identifying which thinking mode, intuitive or analytical, yields better decisions has been a major subject of inquiry by decision-making researchers. Yet studies show contradictory results. One possibility is that the ambiguity is due to the variability in experimental conditions across studies. Our hypothesis is that decision quality depends critically on the level of compatibility between the thinking mode employed in the decision and the nature of the decision-making task. In two experiments, we pitted intuition and analytical thinking against each other on tasks that were either mainly intuitive or mainly analytical. Thinking modes, as well as task characteristics, were manipulated in a factorial design, with choice transitivity as the dependent measure. Results showed higher choice consistency (transitivity) when thinking mode and the characteristics of the decision task were compatible.

Sex Differences in Spatial Memory in Brown-Headed Cowbirds: Males Outperform Females on a Touchscreen Task

PubMed Central

Guigueno, Mélanie F.; MacDougall-Shackleton, Scott A.; Sherry, David F.

2015-01-01

Spatial cognition in females and males can differ in species in which there are sex-specific patterns in the use of space. Brown-headed cowbirds are brood parasites that show a reversal of sex-typical space use often seen in mammals. Female cowbirds, search for, revisit and parasitize hosts nests, have a larger hippocampus than males and have better memory than males for a rewarded location in an open spatial environment. In the current study, we tested female and male cowbirds in breeding and non-breeding conditions on a touchscreen delayed-match-to-sample task using both spatial and colour stimuli. Our goal was to determine whether sex differences in spatial memory in cowbirds generalizes to all spatial tasks or is task-dependant. Both sexes performed better on the spatial than on the colour touchscreen task. On the spatial task, breeding males outperformed breeding females. On the colour task, females and males did not differ, but females performed better in breeding condition than in non-breeding condition. Although female cowbirds were observed to outperform males on a previous larger-scale spatial task, males performed better than females on a task testing spatial memory in the cowbirds’ immediate visual field. Spatial abilities in cowbirds can favour males or females depending on the type of spatial task, as has been observed in mammals, including humans. PMID:26083573

Visual scanning with or without spatial uncertainty and time-sharing performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Yili; Wickens, Christopher D.

1989-01-01

An experiment is reported that examines the pattern of task interference between visual scanning as a sequential and selective attention process and other concurrent spatial or verbal processing tasks. A distinction is proposed between visual scanning with or without spatial uncertainty regarding the possible differential effects of these two types of scanning on interference with other concurrent processes. The experiment required the subject to perform a simulated primary tracking task, which was time-shared with a secondary spatial or verbal decision task. The relevant information that was needed to perform the decision tasks were displayed with or without spatial uncertainty. The experiment employed a 2 x 2 x 2 design with types of scanning (with or without spatial uncertainty), expected scanning distance (low/high), and codes of concurrent processing (spatial/verbal) as the three experimental factors. The results provide strong evidence that visual scanning as a spatial exploratory activity produces greater task interference with concurrent spatial tasks than with concurrent verbal tasks. Furthermore, spatial uncertainty in visual scanning is identified to be the crucial factor in producing this differential effect.

Conflict Adaptation and Cue Competition during Learning in an Eriksen Flanker Task

PubMed Central

Ghinescu, Rodica; Ramsey, Ashley K.; Gratton, Gabriele; Fabiani, Monica

2016-01-01

Two experiments investigated competition between cues that predicted the correct target response to a target stimulus in a response conflict procedure using a flanker task. Subjects received trials with five-character arrays with a central target character and distractor flanker characters that matched (compatible) or did not match (incompatible) the central target. Subjects’ expectancies for compatible and incompatible trials were manipulated by presenting pre-trial cues that signaled the occurrence of compatible or incompatible trials. On some trials, a single cue predicted the target stimulus and the required target response. On other trials, a second redundant, predictive cue was also present on such trials. The results showed an effect of competition between cues for control over strategic responding to the target stimuli, a finding that is predicted by associative learning theories. The finding of competition between pre-trial cues that predict incompatible trials, but not cues that predict compatible trials, suggests that different strategic processes may occur during adaptation to conflict when different kinds of trials are expected. PMID:27941977

Age-related differences in BOLD modulation to cognitive control costs in a multitasking paradigm: Global switch, local switch, and compatibility-switch costs.

PubMed

Nashiro, Kaoru; Qin, Shuo; O'Connell, Margaret A; Basak, Chandramallika

2018-05-15

It is well documented that older adults recruit additional brain regions compared to those recruited by younger adults while performing a wide variety of cognitive tasks. However, it is unclear how such age-related over-recruitment interacts with different types of cognitive control, and whether this over-recruitment is compensatory. To test this, we used a multitasking paradigm, which allowed us to examine age-related over-activation associated with three types of cognitive costs (i.e., global switch, local switch, compatibility-switch costs). We found age-related impairments in global switch cost (GSC), evidenced by slower response times for maintaining and coordinating two tasks vs. performing only one task. However, no age-related declines were observed in either local switch cost (LSC), a cognitive cost associated with switching between the two tasks while maintaining two task loads, or compatibility-switch cost (CSC), a cognitive cost associated with incompatible vs. compatible stimulus-response mappings across the two tasks. The fMRI analyses allowed for identification of distinct cognitive cost-sensitive brain regions associated with GSC and LSC. In fronto-parietal GSC and LSC regions, older adults' increased activations were associated with poorer performance (greater costs), whereas a reverse relationship was observed in younger adults. Older adults also recruited additional fronto-parietal brain regions outside the cognitive cost-sensitive areas, which was associated with poorer performance or no behavioral benefits. Our results suggest that older adults exhibit a combination of inefficient activation within cognitive cost-sensitive regions, specifically the GSC and LSC regions, and non-compensatory over-recruitment in age-sensitive regions. Age-related declines in global switching, compared to local switching, was observed earlier in old age at both neural and behavioral levels. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High and low schizotypal female subjects do not differ in spatial memory abilities in a virtual reality task.

PubMed

García-Montes, José Manuel; Noguera, Carmen; Alvarez, Dolores; Ruiz, Marina; Cimadevilla Redondo, José Manuel

2014-01-01

Schizotypy is a psychological construct related to schizophrenia. The exact relationship between both entities is not clear. In recent years, schizophrenia has been associated with hippocampal abnormalities and spatial memory problems. The aim of this study was to determine possible links between high schizotypy (HS) and low schizotypy (LS) and spatial abilities, using virtual reality tasks. We hypothesised that the HS group would exhibit a lower performance in spatial memory tasks than the LS group. Two groups of female students were formed according to their score on the ESQUIZO-Q-A questionnaire. HS and LS subjects were tested on two different tasks: the Boxes Room task, a spatial memory task sensitive to hippocampal alterations and a spatial recognition task. Data showed that both groups mastered both tasks. Groups differed in personality features but not in spatial performance. These results provide valuable information about the schizotypy-schizophrenia connections. Schizotypal subjects are not impaired on spatial cognition and, accordingly, the schizotypy-schizophrenia relationship is not straightforward.

Development of cognitive control and executive functions from 4 to 13 years: Evidence from manipulations of memory, inhibition, and task switching

PubMed Central

Davidson, Matthew C.; Amso, Dima; Anderson, Loren Cruess; Diamond, Adele

2006-01-01

Predictions concerning development, interrelations, and possible independence of working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility were tested in 325 participants (roughly 30 per age from 4 to 13 years and young adults; 50% female). All were tested on the same computerized battery, designed to manipulate memory and inhibition independently and together, in steady state (single-task blocks) and during task-switching, and to be appropriate over the lifespan and for neuroimaging (fMRI). This is one of the first studies, in children or adults, to explore: (a) how memory requirements interact with spatial compatibility and (b) spatial incompatibility effects both with stimulus-specific rules (Simon task) and with higher-level, conceptual rules. Even the youngest children could hold information in mind, inhibit a dominant response, and combine those as long as the inhibition required was steady-state and the rules remained constant. Cognitive flexibility (switching between rules), even with memory demands minimized, showed a longer developmental progression, with 13-year-olds still not at adult levels. Effects elicited only in Mixed blocks with adults were found in young children even in single-task blocks; while young children could exercise inhibition in steady state it exacted a cost not seen in adults, who (unlike young children) seemed to re-set their default response when inhibition of the same tendency was required throughout a block. The costs associated with manipulations of inhibition were greater in young children while the costs associated with increasing memory demands were greater in adults. Effects seen only in RT in adults were seen primarily in accuracy in young children. Adults slowed down on difficult trials to preserve accuracy; but the youngest children were impulsive; their RT remained more constant but at an accuracy cost on difficult trials. Contrary to our predictions of independence between memory and inhibition, when matched for difficulty RT correlations between these were as high as 0.8, although accuracy correlations were less than half that. Spatial incompatibility effects and global and local switch costs were evident in children and adults, differing only in size. Other effects (e.g., asymmetric switch costs and the interaction of switching rules and switching response-sites) differed fundamentally over age. PMID:16580701

Dynamics of attentional selection under conflict: toward a rational Bayesian account.

PubMed

Yu, Angela J; Dayan, Peter; Cohen, Jonathan D

2009-06-01

The brain exhibits remarkable facility in exerting attentional control in most circumstances, but it also suffers apparent limitations in others. The authors' goal is to construct a rational account for why attentional control appears suboptimal under conditions of conflict and what this implies about the underlying computational principles. The formal framework used is based on Bayesian probability theory, which provides a convenient language for delineating the rationale and dynamics of attentional selection. The authors illustrate these issues with the Eriksen flanker task, a classical paradigm that explores the effects of competing sensory inputs on response tendencies. The authors show how 2 distinctly formulated models, based on compatibility bias and spatial uncertainty principles, can account for the behavioral data. They also suggest novel experiments that may differentiate these models. In addition, they elaborate a simplified model that approximates optimal computation and may map more directly onto the underlying neural machinery. This approximate model uses conflict monitoring, putatively mediated by the anterior cingulate cortex, as a proxy for compatibility representation. The authors also consider how this conflict information might be disseminated and used to control processing. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Non-visual spatial tasks reveal increased interactions with stance postural control.

PubMed

Woollacott, Marjorie; Vander Velde, Timothy

2008-05-07

The current investigation aimed to contrast the level and quality of dual-task interactions resulting from the combined performance of a challenging primary postural task and three specific, yet categorically dissociated, secondary central executive tasks. Experiments determined the extent to which modality (visual vs. auditory) and code (non-spatial vs. spatial) specific cognitive resources contributed to postural interference in young adults (n=9) in a dual-task setting. We hypothesized that the different forms of executive n-back task processing employed (visual-object, auditory-object and auditory-spatial) would display contrasting levels of interactions with tandem Romberg stance postural control, and that interactions within the spatial domain would be revealed as most vulnerable to dual-task interactions. Across all cognitive tasks employed, including auditory-object (aOBJ), auditory-spatial (aSPA), and visual-object (vOBJ) tasks, increasing n-back task complexity produced correlated increases in verbal reaction time measures. Increasing cognitive task complexity also resulted in consistent decreases in judgment accuracy. Postural performance was significantly influenced by the type of cognitive loading delivered. At comparable levels of cognitive task difficulty (n-back demands and accuracy judgments) the performance of challenging auditory-spatial tasks produced significantly greater levels of postural sway than either the auditory-object or visual-object based tasks. These results suggest that it is the employment of limited non-visual spatially based coding resources that may underlie previously observed visual dual-task interference effects with stance postural control in healthy young adults.

Processing of Visual--Action Codes by Deaf and Hearing Children: Coding Orientation or "M"-Capacity?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Todman, John; Cowdy, Natascha

1993-01-01

Results from a study in which 25 deaf children and 25 hearing children completed a vocabulary test and a compound stimulus visual information task support the hypothesis that performance on cognitive tasks is dependent on compatibility of task demands with a coding orientation. (SLD)

Transfer effects of manipulating temporal constraints on learning a two-choice reaction time task with low stimulus-response compatibility.

PubMed

Chen, David D; Pei, Laura; Chan, John S Y; Yan, Jin H

2012-10-01

Recent research using deliberate amplification of spatial errors to increase motor learning leads to the question of whether amplifying temporal errors may also facilitate learning. We investigated transfer effects caused by manipulating temporal constraints on learning a two-choice reaction time (CRT) task with varying degrees of stimulus-response compatibility. Thirty-four participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups and completed 120 trials during acquisition. For every fourth trial, one group was instructed to decrease CRT by 50 msec. relative to the previous trial and a second group was instructed to increase CRT by 50 msec. The third group (the control) was told not to change their responses. After a 5-min. break, participants completed a 40-trial no-feedback transfer test. A 40-trial delayed transfer test was administered 24 hours later. During acquisition, the Decreased Reaction Time group responded faster than the two other groups, but this group also made more errors than the other two groups. In the 5-min. delayed test (immediate transfer), the Decreased Reaction Time group had faster reaction times than the other two groups, while for the 24-hr. delayed test (delayed transfer), both the Decreased Reaction Time group and Increased Reaction Time group had significantly faster reaction times than the control. For delayed transfer, both Decreased and Increased Reaction Time groups reacted significantly faster than the control group. Analyses of error scores in the transfer tests indicated revealed no significant group differences. Results were discussed with regard to the notion of practice variability and goal-setting benefits.

The influence of dimensional overlap on location-related priming in the Simon task.

PubMed

Lehle, Carola; Stürmer, Birgit; Sommer, Werner

2013-01-01

Choice reaction times are shorter when stimulus and response locations are compatible than when they are incompatible as in the Simon effect. Recent studies revealed that Simon effects are strongly attenuated when there is temporal overlap with a different high-priority task, accompanied by a decrease of early location-related response priming as reflected in the lateralized readiness potential (LRP). The latter result was obtained in a study excluding overlap of stimulus location with any other dimension in the tasks. Independent evidence suggests that location-related priming might be present in conditions with dimensional overlap. Here we tested this prediction in a dual-task experiment supplemented with recording LRPs. The secondary task was either a standard Simon task where irrelevant stimulus location overlapped with dimensions of the primary task or a Stroop-like Simon task including additional overlap of irrelevant and relevant stimulus attributes. At high temporal overlap, there was no Simon effect nor was there stimulus-related response priming in either condition. Therefore stimulus-triggered response priming seems to be abolished in conditions of limited capacity even if the likelihood of an S-R compatibility effect is maximized.

A Correlational Study of Seven Projective Spatial Structures with Regard to the Phases of the MOON^

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wellner, Karen Linette

1995-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between projective spatial structures and the ability to construct a scientific model. In addition, gender-related performance and the influence of prior astronomy experience on task success were evaluated. Sixty-one college science undergraduates were individually administered Piagetian tasks to assess for projective spatial structures and the ability to set up a phases of the moon model. The spatial tasks included: (a) Mountains task (coordination of perspectives); (b) Railroad task (size and intervals of objects with increasing distance); (c) Telephone Poles task (masking and ordering objects); and (d) Shadows task (spatial relationships between an object and its shadow, dependent upon the object's orientation). Cramer coefficient analyses indicated that significant relationships existed between Moon task and spatial task success. In particular, the Shadows task, requiring subjects to draw shadows of objects in different orientations, proved most difficult and was most strongly associated with with a subject's understanding of lunar phases. Chi-square tests for two independent samples were used to analyze gender performance differences on each of the Ave tasks. Males performed significantly better at a.05 significance level in regard to the Shadows task and the Moon task. Chi-square tests for two independent samples showed no significant difference in Moon task performance between subjects with astronomy or Earth science coursework, and those without such science classroom experience. Overall, only six subjects passed all seven projective spatial structure tasks. Piaget (1967) contends that concrete -operational spatial structures must be established before an individual is able to develop formal-operational patterns of thinking. The results of this study indicate that 90% of the interviewed science majors are still operating at the concrete-operational level. Several educational implications were drawn from this study: (1) The teaching of spatially dependent content to students without prerequisite spatial structures results in understanding no further beyond that which can be memorized; (2) assessment for projective spatial structures should precede science lessons dealing with time-space relationships, and (3) a student's level of spatial ability may directly impact upon interpretation of three-dimensional models.

An fMRI study of sex differences in regional activation to a verbal and a spatial task.

PubMed

Gur, R C; Alsop, D; Glahn, D; Petty, R; Swanson, C L; Maldjian, J A; Turetsky, B I; Detre, J A; Gee, J; Gur, R E

2000-09-01

Sex differences in cognitive performance have been documented, women performing better on some phonological tasks and men on spatial tasks. An earlier fMRI study suggested sex differences in distributed brain activation during phonological processing, with bilateral activation seen in women while men showed primarily left-lateralized activation. This blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI study examined sex differences (14 men, 13 women) in activation for a spatial task (judgment of line orientation) compared to a verbal-reasoning task (analogies) that does not typically show sex differences. Task difficulty was manipulated. Hypothesized ROI-based analysis documented the expected left-lateralized changes for the verbal task in the inferior parietal and planum temporal regions in both men and women, but only men showed right-lateralized increase for the spatial task in these regions. Image-based analysis revealed a distributed network of cortical regions activated by the tasks, which consisted of the lateral frontal, medial frontal, mid-temporal, occipitoparietal, and occipital regions. The activation was more left lateralized for the verbal and more right for the spatial tasks, but men also showed some left activation for the spatial task, which was not seen in women. Increased task difficulty produced more distributed activation for the verbal and more circumscribed activation for the spatial task. The results suggest that failure to activate the appropriate hemisphere in regions directly involved in task performance may explain certain sex differences in performance. They also extend, for a spatial task, the principle that bilateral activation in a distributed cognitive system underlies sex differences in performance. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Spatial-sequential and spatial-simultaneous working memory in individuals with Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Lanfranchi, Silvia; De Mori, Letizia; Mammarella, Irene C; Carretti, Barbara; Vianello, Renzo

2015-05-01

The aim of the present study was to compare visuospatial working memory performance in 18 individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) and 18 typically developing (TD) children matched for nonverbal mental age. Two aspects were considered: task presentation format (i.e., spatial-sequential or spatial-simultaneous), and level of attentional control (i.e., passive or active tasks). Our results showed that individuals with WS performed less well than TD children in passive spatial-simultaneous tasks, but not in passive spatial-sequential tasks. The former's performance was also worse in both active tasks. These findings suggest an impairment in the spatial-simultaneous working memory of individuals with WS, together with a more generalized difficulty in tasks requiring information storage and concurrent processing, as seen in other etiologies of intellectual disability.

Horizontal and Vertical Pseudoneglect in Peri- and Extrapersonal Space

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heber, Ines Ann; Siebertz, Sarah; Wolter, Marc; Kuhlen, Torsten; Fimm, Bruno

2010-01-01

The present study investigates the influence of depth on pseudoneglect in healthy young participants (n = 18) within three-dimensional virtual space, by presenting a variation of the greyscales task and a landmark task, which were specifically matched for stimulus-response compatibility, as well as perceptual factors within and across the tasks.…

PROS: An IRAF based system for analysis of x ray data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Conroy, M. A.; Deponte, J.; Moran, J. F.; Orszak, J. S.; Roberts, W. P.; Schmidt, D.

1992-01-01

PROS is an IRAF based software package for the reduction and analysis of x-ray data. The use of a standard, portable, integrated environment provides for both multi-frequency and multi-mission analysis. The analysis of x-ray data differs from optical analysis due to the nature of the x-ray data and its acquisition during constantly varying conditions. The scarcity of data, the low signal-to-noise ratio and the large gaps in exposure time make data screening and masking an important part of the analysis. PROS was developed to support the analysis of data from the ROSAT and Einstein missions but many of the tasks have been used on data from other missions. IRAF/PROS provides a complete end-to-end system for x-ray data analysis: (1) a set of tools for importing and exporting data via FITS format -- in particular, IRAF provides a specialized event-list format, QPOE, that is compatible with its IMAGE (2-D array) format; (2) a powerful set of IRAF system capabilities for both temporal and spatial event filtering; (3) full set of imaging and graphics tasks; (4) specialized packages for scientific analysis such as spatial, spectral and timing analysis -- these consist of both general and mission specific tasks; and (5) complete system support including ftp and magnetic tape releases, electronic and conventional mail hotline support, electronic mail distribution of solutions to frequently asked questions and current known bugs. We will discuss the philosophy, architecture and development environment used by PROS to generate a portable, multimission software environment. PROS is available on all platforms that support IRAF, including Sun/Unix, VAX/VMS, HP, and Decstations. It is available on request at no charge.

[Effect of spatial location on the generality of block-wise conflict adaptation between different types of scripts].

PubMed

Watanabe, Yurina; Yoshizaki, Kazuhito

2014-10-01

This study aimed to investigate the generality of conflict adaptation associated with block-wise conflict frequency between two types of stimulus scripts (Kanji and Hiragana). To this end, we examined whether the modulation of the compatibility effect with one type of script depending on block-wise conflict frequency (75% versus 25% generalized to the other type of script whose block-wise conflict frequency was kept constant (50%), using the Spatial Stroop task. In Experiment 1, 16 participants were required to identify the target orientation (up or down) presented in the upper or lower visual-field. The results showed that block-wise conflict adaptation with one type of stimulus script generalized to the other. The procedure in Experiment 2 was the same as that in Experiment 1, except that the presentation location differed between the two types of stimulus scripts. We did not find a generalization from one script to the other. These results suggest that presentation location is a critical factor contributing to the generality of block-wise conflict adaptation.

Modulations of eye movement patterns by spatial filtering during the learning and testing phases of an old/new face recognition task.

PubMed

Lemieux, Chantal L; Collin, Charles A; Nelson, Elizabeth A

2015-02-01

In two experiments, we examined the effects of varying the spatial frequency (SF) content of face images on eye movements during the learning and testing phases of an old/new recognition task. At both learning and testing, participants were presented with face stimuli band-pass filtered to 11 different SF bands, as well as an unfiltered baseline condition. We found that eye movements varied significantly as a function of SF. Specifically, the frequency of transitions between facial features showed a band-pass pattern, with more transitions for middle-band faces (≈5-20 cycles/face) than for low-band (≈<5 cpf) or high-band (≈>20 cpf) ones. These findings were similar for the learning and testing phases. The distributions of transitions across facial features were similar for the middle-band, high-band, and unfiltered faces, showing a concentration on the eyes and mouth; conversely, low-band faces elicited mostly transitions involving the nose and nasion. The eye movement patterns elicited by low, middle, and high bands are similar to those previous researchers have suggested reflect holistic, configural, and featural processing, respectively. More generally, our results are compatible with the hypotheses that eye movements are functional, and that the visual system makes flexible use of visuospatial information in face processing. Finally, our finding that only middle spatial frequencies yielded the same number and distribution of fixations as unfiltered faces adds more evidence to the idea that these frequencies are especially important for face recognition, and reveals a possible mediator for the superior performance that they elicit.

Compatibility of Motion Facilitates Visuomotor Synchronization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hove, Michael J.; Spivey, Michael J.; Krumhansl, Carol L.

2010-01-01

Prior research indicates that synchronized tapping performance is very poor with flashing visual stimuli compared with auditory stimuli. Three finger-tapping experiments compared flashing visual metronomes with visual metronomes containing a spatial component, either compatible, incompatible, or orthogonal to the tapping action. In Experiment 1,…

Experimental Test of Compatibility-Loophole-Free Contextuality with Spatially Separated Entangled Qutrits.

PubMed

Hu, Xiao-Min; Chen, Jiang-Shan; Liu, Bi-Heng; Guo, Yu; Huang, Yun-Feng; Zhou, Zong-Quan; Han, Yong-Jian; Li, Chuan-Feng; Guo, Guang-Can

2016-10-21

The physical impact and the testability of the Kochen-Specker (KS) theorem is debated because of the fact that perfect compatibility in a single quantum system cannot be achieved in practical experiments with finite precision. Here, we follow the proposal of A. Cabello and M. T. Cunha [Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 190401 (2011)], and present a compatibility-loophole-free experimental violation of an inequality of noncontextual theories by two spatially separated entangled qutrits. A maximally entangled qutrit-qutrit state with a fidelity as high as 0.975±0.001 is prepared and distributed to separated spaces, and these two photons are then measured locally, providing the compatibility requirement. The results show that the inequality for noncontextual theory is violated by 31 standard deviations. Our experiments pave the way to close the debate about the testability of the KS theorem. In addition, the method to generate high-fidelity and high-dimension entangled states will provide significant advantages in high-dimension quantum encoding and quantum communication.

Obama cares about visuo-spatial attention: perception of political figures moves attention and determines gaze direction.

PubMed

Mills, Mark; Smith, Kevin B; Hibbing, John R; Dodd, Michael D

2015-02-01

Processing an abstract concept such as political ideology by itself is difficult but becomes easier when a background situation contextualizes it. Political ideology within American politics, for example, is commonly processed using space metaphorically, i.e., the political "left" and "right" (referring to Democrat and Republican views, respectively), presumably to provide a common metric to which abstract features of ideology can be grounded and understood. Commonplace use of space as metaphor raises the question of whether an inherently non-spatial stimulus (e.g., picture of the political "left" leader, Barack Obama) can trigger a spatially-specific response (e.g., attentional bias toward "left" regions of the visual field). Accordingly, pictures of well-known Democrats and Republicans were presented as central cues in peripheral target detection (Experiment 1) and saccadic free-choice (Experiment 2) tasks to determine whether perception of stimuli lacking a direct association with physical space nonetheless induce attentional and oculomotor biases in the direction compatible with the ideological category of the cue (i.e., Democrat/left and Republican/right). In Experiment 1, target detection following presentation of a Democrat (Republican) was facilitated for targets appearing to the left (right). In Experiment 2, participants were more likely to look left (right) following presentation of a Democrat (Republican). Thus, activating an internal representation of political ideology induced a shift of attention and biased choice of gaze direction in a spatially-specific manner. These findings demonstrate that the link between conceptual processing and spatial attention can be totally arbitrary, with no reference to physical or symbolic spatial information. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Compatibility and Complementarity of Classroom Ecology and Didactique Research Perspectives in Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leriche, Jérôme; Desbiens, Jean-François; Amade-Escot, Chantal; Tinning, Richard

2016-01-01

A large diversity of theoretical frameworks exists in the physical education literature. This article focuses on two of those frameworks to examine their compatibility and their complementarity. The classroom ecology paradigm concentrates on the balance between three task systems, two vectors, and programs of actions proposed by the physical…

Response-specifying cue for action interferes with perception of feature-sharing stimuli.

PubMed

Nishimura, Akio; Yokosawa, Kazuhiko

2010-06-01

Perceiving a visual stimulus is more difficult when a to-be-executed action is compatible with that stimulus, which is known as blindness to response-compatible stimuli. The present study explored how the factors constituting the action event (i.e., response-specifying cue, response intention, and response feature) affect the occurrence of this blindness effect. The response-specifying cue varied along the horizontal and vertical dimensions, while the response buttons were arranged diagonally. Participants responded based on one dimension randomly determined in a trial-by-trial manner. The response intention varied along a single dimension, whereas the response location and the response-specifying cue varied within both vertical and horizontal dimensions simultaneously. Moreover, the compatibility between the visual stimulus and the response location and the compatibility between that stimulus and the response-specifying cue was separately determined. The blindness effect emerged exclusively based on the feature correspondence between the response-specifying cue of the action task and the visual target of the perceptual task. The size of this stimulus-stimulus (S-S) blindness effect did not differ significantly across conditions, showing no effect of response intention and response location. This finding emphasizes the effect of stimulus factors, rather than response factors, of the action event as a source of the blindness to response-compatible stimuli.

A Magnetic Resonance Compatible Soft Wearable Robotic Glove for Hand Rehabilitation and Brain Imaging.

PubMed

Hong Kai Yap; Kamaldin, Nazir; Jeong Hoon Lim; Nasrallah, Fatima A; Goh, James Cho Hong; Chen-Hua Yeow

2017-06-01

In this paper, we present the design, fabrication and evaluation of a soft wearable robotic glove, which can be used with functional Magnetic Resonance imaging (fMRI) during the hand rehabilitation and task specific training. The soft wearable robotic glove, called MR-Glove, consists of two major components: a) a set of soft pneumatic actuators and b) a glove. The soft pneumatic actuators, which are made of silicone elastomers, generate bending motion and actuate finger joints upon pressurization. The device is MR-compatible as it contains no ferromagnetic materials and operates pneumatically. Our results show that the device did not cause artifacts to fMRI images during hand rehabilitation and task-specific exercises. This study demonstrated the possibility of using fMRI and MR-compatible soft wearable robotic device to study brain activities and motor performances during hand rehabilitation, and to unravel the functional effects of rehabilitation robotics on brain stimulation.

Time Course Analyses Confirm Independence of Imitative and Spatial Compatibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catmur, Caroline; Heyes, Cecilia

2011-01-01

Imitative compatibility, or automatic imitation, has been used as a measure of imitative performance and as a behavioral index of the functioning of the human mirror system (e.g., Brass, Bekkering, Wohlschlager, & Prinz, 2000; Heyes, Bird, Johnson, & Haggard, 2005; Kilner, Paulignan, & Blakemore, 2003). However, the use of imitative…

Audition and vision share spatial attentional resources, yet attentional load does not disrupt audiovisual integration.

PubMed

Wahn, Basil; König, Peter

2015-01-01

Humans continuously receive and integrate information from several sensory modalities. However, attentional resources limit the amount of information that can be processed. It is not yet clear how attentional resources and multisensory processing are interrelated. Specifically, the following questions arise: (1) Are there distinct spatial attentional resources for each sensory modality? and (2) Does attentional load affect multisensory integration? We investigated these questions using a dual task paradigm: participants performed two spatial tasks (a multiple object tracking task and a localization task), either separately (single task condition) or simultaneously (dual task condition). In the multiple object tracking task, participants visually tracked a small subset of several randomly moving objects. In the localization task, participants received either visual, auditory, or redundant visual and auditory location cues. In the dual task condition, we found a substantial decrease in participants' performance relative to the results of the single task condition. Importantly, participants performed equally well in the dual task condition regardless of the location cues' modality. This result suggests that having spatial information coming from different modalities does not facilitate performance, thereby indicating shared spatial attentional resources for the auditory and visual modality. Furthermore, we found that participants integrated redundant multisensory information similarly even when they experienced additional attentional load in the dual task condition. Overall, findings suggest that (1) visual and auditory spatial attentional resources are shared and that (2) audiovisual integration of spatial information occurs in an pre-attentive processing stage.

Age-related cognitive task effects on gait characteristics: do different working memory components make a difference?

PubMed

Qu, Xingda

2014-10-27

Though it is well recognized that gait characteristics are affected by concurrent cognitive tasks, how different working memory components contribute to dual task effects on gait is still unknown. The objective of the present study was to investigate dual-task effects on gait characteristics, specifically the application of cognitive tasks involving different working memory components. In addition, we also examined age-related differences in such dual-task effects. Three cognitive tasks (i.e. 'Random Digit Generation', 'Brooks' Spatial Memory', and 'Counting Backward') involving different working memory components were examined. Twelve young (6 males and 6 females, 20 ~ 25 years old) and 12 older participants (6 males and 6 females, 60 ~ 72 years old) took part in two phases of experiments. In the first phase, each cognitive task was defined at three difficulty levels, and perceived difficulty was compared across tasks. The cognitive tasks perceived to be equally difficult were selected for the second phase. In the second phase, four testing conditions were defined, corresponding to a baseline and the three equally difficult cognitive tasks. Participants walked on a treadmill at their self-selected comfortable speed in each testing condition. Body kinematics were collected during treadmill walking, and gait characteristics were assessed using spatial-temporal gait parameters. Application of the concurrent Brooks' Spatial Memory task led to longer step times compared to the baseline condition. Larger step width variability was observed in both the Brooks' Spatial Memory and Counting Backward dual-task conditions than in the baseline condition. In addition, cognitive task effects on step width variability differed between two age groups. In particular, the Brooks' Spatial Memory task led to significantly larger step width variability only among older adults. These findings revealed that cognitive tasks involving the visuo-spatial sketchpad interfered with gait more severely in older versus young adults. Thus, dual-task training, in which a cognitive task involving the visuo-spatial sketchpad (e.g. the Brooks' Spatial Memory task) is concurrently performed with walking, could be beneficial to mitigate impairments in gait among older adults.

Almeria spatial memory recognition test (ASMRT): Gender differences emerged in a new passive spatial task.

PubMed

Tascón, Laura; García-Moreno, Luis Miguel; Cimadevilla, Jose Manuel

2017-06-09

Many different human spatial memory tasks were developed in the last two decades. Virtual reality based tasks make possible developing different scenarios and situations to assess spatial orientation but sometimes these tasks are complex for specific populations like children and older-adults. A new spatial task with a very limited technological requirement was developed in this study. It demanded the use of spatial memory for an accurate solution. It also proved to be sensitive to gender differences, with men outperforming women under high specific difficulty levels. Thanks to its simplicity it could be applied as a screening test and is easy to combine with EEG and fMRI studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Response control networks are selectively modulated by attention to rare events and memory load regardless of the need for inhibition.

PubMed

Wijeakumar, Sobanawartiny; Magnotta, Vincent A; Buss, Aaron T; Ambrose, Joseph P; Wifall, Timothy A; Hazeltine, Eliot; Spencer, John P

2015-10-15

Recent evidence has sparked debate about the neural bases of response selection and inhibition. In the current study, we employed two reactive inhibition tasks, the Go/Nogo (GnG) and Simon tasks, to examine questions central to these debates. First, we investigated whether a fronto-cortical-striatal system was sensitive to the need for inhibition per se or the presentation of infrequent stimuli, by manipulating the proportion of trials that do not require inhibition (Go/Compatible trials) relative to trials that require inhibition (Nogo/Incompatible trials). A cortico-subcortical network composed of insula, putamen, and thalamus showed greater activation on salient and infrequent events, regardless of the need for inhibition. Thus, consistent with recent findings, key parts of the fronto-cortical-striatal system are engaged by salient events and do not appear to play a selective role in response inhibition. Second, we examined how the fronto-cortical-striatal system is modulated by working memory demands by varying the number of stimulus-response (SR) mappings. Right inferior parietal lobule showed decreasing activation as the number of SR mappings increased, suggesting that a form of associative memory - rather than working memory - might underlie performance in these tasks. A broad motor planning and control network showed similar trends that were also modulated by the number of motor responses required in each task. Finally, bilateral lingual gyri were more robustly engaged in the Simon task, consistent with the role of this area in shifts of visuo-spatial attention. The current study sheds light on how the fronto-cortical-striatal network is selectively engaged in reactive control tasks and how control is modulated by manipulations of attention and memory load. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of action-effect associations acquired by ideomotor learning on imitation.

PubMed

Bunlon, Frédérique; Marshall, Peter J; Quandt, Lorna C; Bouquet, Cedric A

2015-01-01

According to the ideomotor theory, actions are represented in terms of their perceptual effects, offering a solution for the correspondence problem of imitation (how to translate the observed action into a corresponding motor output). This effect-based coding of action is assumed to be acquired through action-effect learning. Accordingly, performing an action leads to the integration of the perceptual codes of the action effects with the motor commands that brought them about. While ideomotor theory is invoked to account for imitation, the influence of action-effect learning on imitative behavior remains unexplored. In two experiments, imitative performance was measured in a reaction time task following a phase of action-effect acquisition. During action-effect acquisition, participants freely executed a finger movement (index or little finger lifting), and then observed a similar (compatible learning) or a different (incompatible learning) movement. In Experiment 1, finger movements of left and right hands were presented as action-effects during acquisition. In Experiment 2, only right-hand finger movements were presented during action-effect acquisition and in the imitation task the observed hands were oriented orthogonally to participants' hands in order to avoid spatial congruency effects. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that imitative performance was improved after compatible learning, compared to incompatible learning. In Experiment 2, although action-effect learning involved perception of finger movements of right hand only, imitative capabilities of right- and left-hand finger movements were equally affected. These results indicate that an observed movement stimulus processed as the effect of an action can later prime execution of that action, confirming the ideomotor approach to imitation. We further discuss these findings in relation to previous studies of action-effect learning and in the framework of current ideomotor approaches to imitation.

Influence of Action-Effect Associations Acquired by Ideomotor Learning on Imitation

PubMed Central

Bunlon, Frédérique; Marshall, Peter J.; Quandt, Lorna C.; Bouquet, Cedric A.

2015-01-01

According to the ideomotor theory, actions are represented in terms of their perceptual effects, offering a solution for the correspondence problem of imitation (how to translate the observed action into a corresponding motor output). This effect-based coding of action is assumed to be acquired through action-effect learning. Accordingly, performing an action leads to the integration of the perceptual codes of the action effects with the motor commands that brought them about. While ideomotor theory is invoked to account for imitation, the influence of action-effect learning on imitative behavior remains unexplored. In two experiments, imitative performance was measured in a reaction time task following a phase of action-effect acquisition. During action-effect acquisition, participants freely executed a finger movement (index or little finger lifting), and then observed a similar (compatible learning) or a different (incompatible learning) movement. In Experiment 1, finger movements of left and right hands were presented as action-effects during acquisition. In Experiment 2, only right-hand finger movements were presented during action-effect acquisition and in the imitation task the observed hands were oriented orthogonally to participants’ hands in order to avoid spatial congruency effects. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that imitative performance was improved after compatible learning, compared to incompatible learning. In Experiment 2, although action-effect learning involved perception of finger movements of right hand only, imitative capabilities of right- and left-hand finger movements were equally affected. These results indicate that an observed movement stimulus processed as the effect of an action can later prime execution of that action, confirming the ideomotor approach to imitation. We further discuss these findings in relation to previous studies of action-effect learning and in the framework of current ideomotor approaches to imitation. PMID:25793755

Intact Rapid Facial Mimicry as well as Generally Reduced Mimic Responses in Stable Schizophrenia Patients

PubMed Central

Chechko, Natalya; Pagel, Alena; Otte, Ellen; Koch, Iring; Habel, Ute

2016-01-01

Spontaneous emotional expressions (rapid facial mimicry) perform both emotional and social functions. In the current study, we sought to test whether there were deficits in automatic mimic responses to emotional facial expressions in patients (15 of them) with stable schizophrenia compared to 15 controls. In a perception-action interference paradigm (the Simon task; first experiment), and in the context of a dual-task paradigm (second experiment), the task-relevant stimulus feature was the gender of a face, which, however, displayed a smiling or frowning expression (task-irrelevant stimulus feature). We measured the electromyographical activity in the corrugator supercilii and zygomaticus major muscle regions in response to either compatible or incompatible stimuli (i.e., when the required response did or did not correspond to the depicted facial expression). The compatibility effect based on interactions between the implicit processing of a task-irrelevant emotional facial expression and the conscious production of an emotional facial expression did not differ between the groups. In stable patients (in spite of a reduced mimic reaction), we observed an intact capacity to respond spontaneously to facial emotional stimuli. PMID:27303335

Spatial effects, sampling errors, and task specialization in the honey bee.

PubMed

Johnson, B R

2010-05-01

Task allocation patterns should depend on the spatial distribution of work within the nest, variation in task demand, and the movement patterns of workers, however, relatively little research has focused on these topics. This study uses a spatially explicit agent based model to determine whether such factors alone can generate biases in task performance at the individual level in the honey bees, Apis mellifera. Specialization (bias in task performance) is shown to result from strong sampling error due to localized task demand, relatively slow moving workers relative to nest size, and strong spatial variation in task demand. To date, specialization has been primarily interpreted with the response threshold concept, which is focused on intrinsic (typically genotypic) differences between workers. Response threshold variation and sampling error due to spatial effects are not mutually exclusive, however, and this study suggests that both contribute to patterns of task bias at the individual level. While spatial effects are strong enough to explain some documented cases of specialization; they are relatively short term and not explanatory for long term cases of specialization. In general, this study suggests that the spatial layout of tasks and fluctuations in their demand must be explicitly controlled for in studies focused on identifying genotypic specialists.

A task-irrelevant stimulus attribute affects perception and short-term memory

PubMed Central

Huang, Jie; Kahana, Michael J.; Sekuler, Robert

2010-01-01

Selective attention protects cognition against intrusions of task-irrelevant stimulus attributes. This protective function was tested in coordinated psychophysical and memory experiments. Stimuli were superimposed, horizontally and vertically oriented gratings of varying spatial frequency; only one orientation was task relevant. Experiment 1 demonstrated that a task-irrelevant spatial frequency interfered with visual discrimination of the task-relevant spatial frequency. Experiment 2 adopted a two-item Sternberg task, using stimuli that had been scaled to neutralize interference at the level of vision. Despite being visually neutralized, the task-irrelevant attribute strongly influenced recognition accuracy and associated reaction times (RTs). This effect was sharply tuned, with the task-irrelevant spatial frequency having an impact only when the task-relevant spatial frequencies of the probe and study items were highly similar to one another. Model-based analyses of judgment accuracy and RT distributional properties converged on the point that the irrelevant orientation operates at an early stage in memory processing, not at a later one that supports decision making. PMID:19933454

Age-Related Effects of Study Time Allocation on Memory Performance in a Verbal and a Spatial Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krueger, Lacy E.

2012-01-01

Past studies have suggested that study time allocation partially mediates age relations on memory performance in a verbal task. To identify whether this applied to a different material modality, participants ages 20-87 completed a spatial task in addition to a traditional verbal task. In both the verbal and the spatial task, increased age was…

Age-Related Differences in Multiple Task Monitoring

PubMed Central

Todorov, Ivo; Del Missier, Fabio; Mäntylä, Timo

2014-01-01

Coordinating multiple tasks with narrow deadlines is particularly challenging for older adults because of age related decline in cognitive control functions. We tested the hypothesis that multiple task performance reflects age- and gender-related differences in executive functioning and spatial ability. Young and older adults completed a multitasking session with four monitoring tasks as well as separate tasks measuring executive functioning and spatial ability. For both age groups, men exceeded women in multitasking, measured as monitoring accuracy. Individual differences in executive functioning and spatial ability were independent predictors of young adults' monitoring accuracy, but only spatial ability was related to sex differences. For older adults, age and executive functioning, but not spatial ability, predicted multitasking performance. These results suggest that executive functions contribute to multiple task performance across the adult life span and that reliance on spatial skills for coordinating deadlines is modulated by age. PMID:25215609

Age-related differences in multiple task monitoring.

PubMed

Todorov, Ivo; Del Missier, Fabio; Mäntylä, Timo

2014-01-01

Coordinating multiple tasks with narrow deadlines is particularly challenging for older adults because of age related decline in cognitive control functions. We tested the hypothesis that multiple task performance reflects age- and gender-related differences in executive functioning and spatial ability. Young and older adults completed a multitasking session with four monitoring tasks as well as separate tasks measuring executive functioning and spatial ability. For both age groups, men exceeded women in multitasking, measured as monitoring accuracy. Individual differences in executive functioning and spatial ability were independent predictors of young adults' monitoring accuracy, but only spatial ability was related to sex differences. For older adults, age and executive functioning, but not spatial ability, predicted multitasking performance. These results suggest that executive functions contribute to multiple task performance across the adult life span and that reliance on spatial skills for coordinating deadlines is modulated by age.

Central executive involvement in children's spatial memory.

PubMed

Ang, Su Yin; Lee, Kerry

2008-11-01

Previous research with adults found that spatial short-term and working memory tasks impose similar demands on executive resources. We administered spatial short-term and working memory tasks to 8- and 11-year-olds in three separate experiments. In Experiments 1 and 2 an executive suppression task (random number generation) was found to impair performances on a short-term memory task (Corsi blocks), a working memory task (letter rotation), and a spatial visualisation task (paper folding). In Experiment 3 an articulatory suppression task only impaired performance on the working memory task. These results suggest that short-term and working memory performances are dependent on executive resources. The degree to which the short-term memory task was dependent on executive resources was expected to be related to the amount of experience children have had with such tasks. Yet we found no significant age-related suppression effects. This was attributed to differences in employment of cognitive strategies by the older children.

Conflict resolved: On the role of spatial attention in reading and color naming tasks.

PubMed

Robidoux, Serje; Besner, Derek

2015-12-01

The debate about whether or not visual word recognition requires spatial attention has been marked by a conflict: the results from different tasks yield different conclusions. Experiments in which the primary task is reading based show no evidence that unattended words are processed, whereas when the primary task is color identification, supposedly unattended words do affect processing. However, the color stimuli used to date does not appear to demand as much spatial attention as explicit word reading tasks. We first identify a color stimulus that requires as much spatial attention to identify as does a word. We then demonstrate that when spatial attention is appropriately captured, distractor words in unattended locations do not affect color identification. We conclude that there is no word identification without spatial attention.

Performance on a virtual reality angled laparoscope task correlates with spatial ability of trainees.

PubMed

Rosenthal, Rachel; Hamel, Christian; Oertli, Daniel; Demartines, Nicolas; Gantert, Walter A

2010-08-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether trainees' performance on a virtual reality angled laparoscope navigation task correlates with scores obtained on a validated conventional test of spatial ability. 56 participants of a surgery workshop performed an angled laparoscope navigation task on the Xitact LS 500 virtual reality Simulator. Performance parameters were correlated with the score of a validated paper-and-pencil test of spatial ability. Performance at the conventional spatial ability test significantly correlated with performance at the virtual reality task for overall task score (p < 0.001), task completion time (p < 0.001) and economy of movement (p = 0.035), not for endoscope travel speed (p = 0.947). In conclusion, trainees' performance in a standardized virtual reality camera navigation task correlates with their innate spatial ability. This VR session holds potential to serve as an assessment tool for trainees.

Effect of Spatial Titration on Task Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glowacki, Lawrence

1976-01-01

A reinforcement schedule and spatial titration method were used to determine task-reinforcement area separation most preferred and effective in two third-grade boys. Errors in task performance decreased task-reinforcement area separation, while correct responses in task performance increased task-reinforcement area separation. (Author)

Children's attention to task-relevant information accounts for relations between language and spatial cognition.

PubMed

Miller, Hilary E; Simmering, Vanessa R

2018-08-01

Children's spatial language reliably predicts their spatial skills, but the nature of this relation is a source of debate. This investigation examined whether the mechanisms accounting for such relations are specific to language use or reflect a domain-general mechanism of selective attention. Experiment 1 examined whether 4-year-olds' spatial skills were predicted by their selective attention or their adaptive language use. Children completed (a) an attention task assessing attention to task-relevant color, size, and location cues; (b) a description task assessing adaptive language use to describe scenes varying in color, size, and location; and (c) three spatial tasks. There was correspondence between the cue types that children attended to and produced across description and attention tasks. Adaptive language use was predicted by both children's attention and task-related language production, suggesting that selective attention underlies skills in using language adaptively. After controlling for age, gender, receptive vocabulary, and adaptive language use, spatial skills were predicted by children's selective attention. The attention score predicted variance in spatial performance previously accounted for by adaptive language use. Experiment 2 followed up on the attention task (Experiment 2a) and description task (Experiment 2b) from Experiment 1 to assess whether performance in the tasks related to selective attention or task-specific demands. Performance in Experiments 2a and 2b paralleled that in Experiment 1, suggesting that the effects in Experiment 1 reflected children's selective attention skills. These findings show that selective attention is a central factor supporting spatial skill development that could account for many effects previously attributed to children's language use. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Levels of Conceptual Development in Melodic Permutation Concepts Based on Piaget's Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larn, Ronald L.

1973-01-01

Article considered different ways in which subjects at different age levels solved a musical task involving melodic permutation. The differences in responses to the musical task between age groups were judged to be compatible with Piaget's theory of cognitive development. (Author/RK)

Mapping feature-sensitivity and attentional modulation in human auditory cortex with functional magnetic resonance imaging

PubMed Central

Paltoglou, Aspasia E; Sumner, Christian J; Hall, Deborah A

2011-01-01

Feature-specific enhancement refers to the process by which selectively attending to a particular stimulus feature specifically increases the response in the same region of the brain that codes that stimulus property. Whereas there are many demonstrations of this mechanism in the visual system, the evidence is less clear in the auditory system. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study examined this process for two complex sound features, namely frequency modulation (FM) and spatial motion. The experimental design enabled us to investigate whether selectively attending to FM and spatial motion enhanced activity in those auditory cortical areas that were sensitive to the two features. To control for attentional effort, the difficulty of the target-detection tasks was matched as closely as possible within listeners. Locations of FM-related and motion-related activation were broadly compatible with previous research. The results also confirmed a general enhancement across the auditory cortex when either feature was being attended to, as compared with passive listening. The feature-specific effects of selective attention revealed the novel finding of enhancement for the nonspatial (FM) feature, but not for the spatial (motion) feature. However, attention to spatial features also recruited several areas outside the auditory cortex. Further analyses led us to conclude that feature-specific effects of selective attention are not statistically robust, and appear to be sensitive to the choice of fMRI experimental design and localizer contrast. PMID:21447093

The overlap between false belief and spatial reorientation in the temporo-parietal junction: The role of input modality and task.

PubMed

Özdem, Ceylan; Brass, Marcel; Van der Cruyssen, Laurens; Van Overwalle, Frank

2017-04-01

Neuroimaging research has demonstrated that the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) is activated when unexpected stimuli appear in spatial reorientation tasks as well as during thinking about the beliefs of other people triggered by verbal scenarios. While the role of potential common component processes subserved by the TPJ has been extensively studied to explain this common activation, the potential confounding role of input modality (spatial vs. verbal) has been largely ignored. To investigate the role of input modality apart from task processes, we developed a novel spatial false belief task based on moving shapes. We explored the overlap in TPJ activation across this novel task and traditional tasks of spatial reorientation (Posner) and verbal belief (False Belief vs. Photo stories). The results show substantial overlap across the same spatial input modality (both reorientation and false belief) as well as across the common task process (verbal and spatial belief), but no triple overlap. This suggests the potential for an overarching function of the TPJ, with some degree of specialization in different subregions due to modality, function and connectivity. The results are discussed with respect to recent theoretical models of the TPJ.

How spatial abilities and dynamic visualizations interplay when learning functional anatomy with 3D anatomical models.

PubMed

Berney, Sandra; Bétrancourt, Mireille; Molinari, Gaëlle; Hoyek, Nady

2015-01-01

The emergence of dynamic visualizations of three-dimensional (3D) models in anatomy curricula may be an adequate solution for spatial difficulties encountered with traditional static learning, as they provide direct visualization of change throughout the viewpoints. However, little research has explored the interplay between learning material presentation formats, spatial abilities, and anatomical tasks. First, to understand the cognitive challenges a novice learner would be faced with when first exposed to 3D anatomical content, a six-step cognitive task analysis was developed. Following this, an experimental study was conducted to explore how presentation formats (dynamic vs. static visualizations) support learning of functional anatomy, and affect subsequent anatomical tasks derived from the cognitive task analysis. A second aim was to investigate the interplay between spatial abilities (spatial visualization and spatial relation) and presentation formats when the functional anatomy of a 3D scapula and the associated shoulder flexion movement are learned. Findings showed no main effect of the presentation formats on performances, but revealed the predictive influence of spatial visualization and spatial relation abilities on performance. However, an interesting interaction between presentation formats and spatial relation ability for a specific anatomical task was found. This result highlighted the influence of presentation formats when spatial abilities are involved as well as the differentiated influence of spatial abilities on anatomical tasks. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

Dissociating action-effect activation and effect-based response selection.

PubMed

Schwarz, Katharina A; Pfister, Roland; Wirth, Robert; Kunde, Wilfried

2018-05-25

Anticipated action effects have been shown to govern action selection and initiation, as described in ideomotor theory, and they have also been demonstrated to determine crosstalk between different tasks in multitasking studies. Such effect-based crosstalk was observed not only in a forward manner (with a first task influencing performance in a following second task) but also in a backward manner (the second task influencing the preceding first task), suggesting that action effect codes can become activated prior to a capacity-limited processing stage often denoted as response selection. The process of effect-based response production, by contrast, has been proposed to be capacity-limited. These observations jointly suggest that effect code activation can occur independently of effect-based response production, though this theoretical implication has not been tested directly at present. We tested this hypothesis by employing a dual-task set-up in which we manipulated the ease of effect-based response production (via response-effect compatibility) in an experimental design that allows for observing forward and backward crosstalk. We observed robust crosstalk effects and response-effect compatibility effects alike, but no interaction between both effects. These results indicate that effect activation can occur in parallel for several tasks, independently of effect-based response production, which is confined to one task at a time. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Online and offline awareness deficits: Anosognosia for spatial neglect.

PubMed

Chen, Peii; Toglia, Joan

2018-04-12

Anosognosia for spatial neglect (ASN) can be offline or online. Offline ASN is general unawareness of having experienced spatial deficits. Online ASN is an awareness deficit of underestimating spatial difficulties that likely to occur in an upcoming task (anticipatory ASN) or have just occurred during the task (emergent ASN). We explored the relationships among spatial neglect, offline ASN, anticipatory ASN, and emergent ASN. Research Method/Design: Forty-four survivors of stroke answered questionnaires assessing offline and online self-awareness of spatial problems. The online questionnaire was asked immediately before and after each of 4 tests for spatial neglect, including shape cancellation, address and sentence copying, telephone dialing, and indented paragraph reading. Participants were certain they had difficulties in daily spatial tasks (offline awareness), in the task they were about to perform (anticipatory awareness) and had just performed (emergent awareness). Nonetheless, they consistently overestimated their spatial abilities, indicating ASN. Offline and online ASN appeared independent. Online ASN improved after task execution. Neglect severity was not positively correlated with offline ASN. Greater neglect severity correlated with both greater anticipatory and emergent ASN. Regardless of neglect severity, we found task-specific differences in emergent ASN but not in anticipatory ASN. Individuals with spatial neglect acknowledge their spatial difficulty (certainty of error occurrence) but may not necessarily recognize the extent of their difficulty (accuracy of error estimation). Our findings suggest that offline and online ASN are independent. A potential implication from the study is that familiar and challenging tasks may facilitate emergence of self-awareness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

The Importance of Gesture in Children's Spatial Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ehrlich, Stacy B.; Levine, Susan C.; Goldin-Meadow, Susan

2006-01-01

On average, men outperform women on mental rotation tasks. Even boys as young as 4 1/2 perform better than girls on simplified spatial transformation tasks. The goal of our study was to explore ways of improving 5-year-olds' performance on a spatial transformation task and to examine the strategies children use to solve this task. We found that…

The Relative Ease of Writing Narrative Text.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kellogg, Ronald T.; And Others

A study investigated whether the narrative writing task is more compatible with the structure of conscious thought than are other writing tasks. If so, composing a narrative text should demand less cognitive effort, occur more fluently, and yield a more coherent document than composing persuasive or descriptive texts. Sixteen college students were…

The role of working memory in spatial S-R correspondence effects.

PubMed

Wühr, Peter; Biebl, Rupert

2011-04-01

This study investigates the impact of working memory (WM) load on response conflicts arising from spatial (non) correspondence between irrelevant stimulus location and response location (Simon effect). The dominant view attributes the Simon effect to automatic processes of location-based response priming. The automaticity view predicts insensitivity of the Simon effect to manipulations of processing load. Four experiments investigated the role of spatial and verbal WM in horizontal and vertical Simon tasks by using a dual-task approach. Participants maintained different amounts of spatial or verbal information in WM while performing a horizontal or vertical Simon task. Results showed that high load generally decreased, and sometimes eliminated, the Simon effect. It is interesting to note that spatial load had a larger impact than verbal load on the horizontal Simon effect, whereas verbal load had a larger impact than spatial load on the vertical Simon effect. The results highlight the role of WM as the perception-action interface in choice-response tasks. Moreover, the results suggest spatial coding of horizontal stimulus-response (S-R) tasks, and verbal coding of vertical S-R tasks.

Ontological Problem-Solving Framework for Dynamically Configuring Sensor Systems and Algorithms

PubMed Central

Qualls, Joseph; Russomanno, David J.

2011-01-01

The deployment of ubiquitous sensor systems and algorithms has led to many challenges, such as matching sensor systems to compatible algorithms which are capable of satisfying a task. Compounding the challenges is the lack of the requisite knowledge models needed to discover sensors and algorithms and to subsequently integrate their capabilities to satisfy a specific task. A novel ontological problem-solving framework has been designed to match sensors to compatible algorithms to form synthesized systems, which are capable of satisfying a task and then assigning the synthesized systems to high-level missions. The approach designed for the ontological problem-solving framework has been instantiated in the context of a persistence surveillance prototype environment, which includes profiling sensor systems and algorithms to demonstrate proof-of-concept principles. Even though the problem-solving approach was instantiated with profiling sensor systems and algorithms, the ontological framework may be useful with other heterogeneous sensing-system environments. PMID:22163793

Spatial language facilitates spatial cognition: Evidence from children who lack language input

PubMed Central

Gentner, Dedre; Özyürek, Asli; Gürcanli, Özge; Goldin-Meadow, Susan

2013-01-01

Does spatial language influence how people think about space? To address this question, we observed children who did not know a conventional language, and tested their performance on nonlinguistic spatial tasks. We studied deaf children living in Istanbul whose hearing losses prevented them from acquiring speech and whose hearing parents had not exposed them to sign. Lacking a conventional language, the children used gestures, called homesigns, to communicate. In Study 1, we asked whether homesigners used gesture to convey spatial relations, and found that they did not. In Study 2, we tested a new group of homesigners on a spatial mapping task, and found that they performed significantly worse than hearing Turkish children who were matched to the deaf children on another cognitive task. The absence of spatial language thus went hand-in-hand with poor performance on the nonlinguistic spatial task, pointing to the importance of spatial language in thinking about space. PMID:23542409

Performance consequences of alternating directional control-response compatibility: evidence from a coal mine shuttle car simulator.

PubMed

Zupanc, Christine M; Burgess-Limerick, Robin J; Wallis, Guy

2007-08-01

To investigate error and reaction time consequences of alternating compatible and incompatible steering arrangements during a simulated obstacle avoidance task. Underground coal mine shuttle cars provide an example of a vehicle in which operators are required to alternate between compatible and incompatible steering configurations. This experiment examines the performance of 48 novice participants in a virtual analogy of an underground coal mine shuttle car. Participants were randomly assigned to a compatible condition, an incompatible condition, an alternating condition in which compatibility alternated within and between hands, or an alternating condition in which compatibility alternated between hands. Participants made fewer steering direction errors and made correct steering responses more quickly in the compatible condition. Error rate decreased over time in the incompatible condition. A compatibility effect for both errors and reaction time was also found when the control-response relationship alternated; however, performance improvements over time were not consistent. Isolating compatibility to a hand resulted in reduced error rate and faster reaction time than when compatibility alternated within and between hands. The consequences of alternating control-response relationships are higher error rates and slower responses, at least in the early stages of learning. This research highlights the importance of ensuring consistently compatible human-machine directional control-response relationships.

Robot design for a vacuum environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belinski, S.; Trento, W.; Imani-Shikhabadi, R.; Hackwood, S.

1987-01-01

The cleanliness requirements for many processing and manufacturing tasks are becoming ever stricter, resulting in a greater interest in the vacuum environment. Researchers discuss the importance of this special environment, and the development of robots which are physically and functionally suited to vacuum processing tasks. Work is in progress at the Center for robotic Systems in Microelectronics (CRSM) to provide a robot for the manufacture of a revolutionary new gyroscope in high vacuum. The need for vacuum in this and other processes is discussed as well as the requirements for a vacuum-compatible robot. Finally, researchers present details on work done at the CRSM to modify an existing clean-room compatible robot for use at high vacuum.

Solution strategies as possible explanations of individual and sex differences in a dynamic spatial task.

PubMed

Peña, Daniel; Contreras, María José; Shih, Pei Chun; Santacreu, José

2008-05-01

When individuals perform spatial tasks, individual differences emerge in accuracy and speed as well as in the response patterns used to cope with the task. The purpose of this study is to identify, through empirical criteria, the different response patterns or strategies used by individuals when performing the dynamic spatial task presented in the Spatial Orientation Dynamic Test-Revised (SODT-R). Results show that participants can be classified according to their response patterns. Three different ways of solving a task are described, and their relation to (a) performance factors (response latency, response frequency, and invested time) and (b) ability tests (analytical reasoning, verbal reasoning, and spatial estimation) are investigated. Sex differences in response patterns and performance are also analyzed. It is found that the frequency with which men and women employ each one of the strategies described here, is different and statistically significant. Thus, employed strategy plays an important role when interpreting sex differences on dynamic spatial tasks.

How Are Bodies Special? Effects Of Body Features On Spatial Reasoning

PubMed Central

Yu, Alfred B.; Zacks, Jeffrey M.

2015-01-01

Embodied views of cognition argue that cognitive processes are influenced by bodily experience. This implies that when people make spatial judgments about human bodies, they bring to bear embodied knowledge that affects spatial reasoning performance. Here, we examined the specific contribution to spatial reasoning of visual features associated with the human body. We used two different tasks to elicit distinct visuospatial transformations: object-based transformations, as elicited in typical mental rotation tasks, and perspective transformations, used in tasks in which people deliberately adopt the egocentric perspective of another person. Body features facilitated performance in both tasks. This result suggests that observers are particularly sensitive to the presence of a human head and body, and that these features allow observers to quickly recognize and encode the spatial configuration of a figure. Contrary to prior reports, this facilitation was not related to the transformation component of task performance. These results suggest that body features facilitate task components other than spatial transformation, including the encoding of stimulus orientation. PMID:26252072

Route learning in Korsakoff's syndrome: Residual acquisition of spatial memory despite profound amnesia.

PubMed

Oudman, Erik; Van der Stigchel, Stefan; Nijboer, Tanja C W; Wijnia, Jan W; Seekles, Maaike L; Postma, Albert

2016-03-01

Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) is characterized by explicit amnesia, but relatively spared implicit memory. The aim of this study was to assess to what extent KS patients can acquire spatial information while performing a spatial navigation task. Furthermore, we examined whether residual spatial acquisition in KS was based on automatic or effortful coding processes. Therefore, 20 KS patients and 20 matched healthy controls performed six tasks on spatial navigation after they navigated through a residential area. Ten participants per group were instructed to pay close attention (intentional condition), while 10 received mock instructions (incidental condition). KS patients showed hampered performance on a majority of tasks, yet their performance was superior to chance level on a route time and distance estimation tasks, a map drawing task and a route walking task. Performance was relatively spared on the route distance estimation task, but there were large variations between participants. Acquisition in KS was automatic rather than effortful, since no significant differences were obtained between the intentional and incidental condition on any task, whereas for the healthy controls, the intention to learn was beneficial for the map drawing task and the route walking task. The results of this study suggest that KS patients are still able to acquire spatial information during navigation on multiple domains despite the presence of the explicit amnesia. Residual acquisition is most likely based on automatic coding processes. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Your own actions influence how you perceive other people: A misattribution of action appraisals

PubMed Central

Tipper, Steven P.; Bach, Patric

2008-01-01

The attribution of personal traits to other persons depends on the actions the observer performs at the same time (Bach & Tipper, 2007). Here, we show that the effect reflects a misattribution of appraisals of the observers’ own actions to the actions of others. We exploited spatial compatibility effects to manipulate how fluently—how fast and how accurately—participants identified two individuals performing sporty or academic actions. The traits attributed to each person in a subsequent rating task depended on the fluency of participants’ responses in a specific manner. An individual more fluently identified while performing the academic action appeared more academic and less sporty. An individual more fluently identified while performing the sporty action appeared sportier. Thus, social perception is—at least partially—embodied. The ease of our own responses can be misattributed to the actions of others, affecting which personal traits are attributed to them. PMID:21633518

Individual Differences in Spatial Text Processing: High Spatial Ability Can Compensate for Spatial Working Memory Interference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meneghetti, Chiara; Gyselinck, Valerie; Pazzaglia, Francesca; De Beni, Rossana

2009-01-01

The present study investigates the relation between spatial ability and visuo-spatial and verbal working memory in spatial text processing. In two experiments, participants listened to a spatial text (Experiments 1 and 2) and a non-spatial text (Experiment 1), at the same time performing a spatial or a verbal concurrent task, or no secondary task.…

Evaluating the compatibility of multi-functional and intensive urban land uses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taleai, M.; Sharifi, A.; Sliuzas, R.; Mesgari, M.

2007-12-01

This research is aimed at developing a model for assessing land use compatibility in densely built-up urban areas. In this process, a new model was developed through the combination of a suite of existing methods and tools: geographical information system, Delphi methods and spatial decision support tools: namely multi-criteria evaluation analysis, analytical hierarchy process and ordered weighted average method. The developed model has the potential to calculate land use compatibility in both horizontal and vertical directions. Furthermore, the compatibility between the use of each floor in a building and its neighboring land uses can be evaluated. The method was tested in a built-up urban area located in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. The results show that the model is robust in clarifying different levels of physical compatibility between neighboring land uses. This paper describes the various steps and processes of developing the proposed land use compatibility evaluation model (CEM).

An investigation of the development of the topological spatial structures in elementary school students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Everett, Susan Ann

1999-09-01

In this study the relationships among the topological spatial structures were examined in students in kindergarten, second, and fourth grades. These topological spatial structures are part of the three major types of spatial thinking: topological, projective, and Euclidean (as defined by Jean Piaget and associates). According to Piaget's model of spatial thinking, the spatial structures enable humans to think about spatial relationships at a conceptual or representational level rather than only at a simpler, perceptual level. The clinical interview technique was used to interact individually with 72 children to assess the presence of each of the different topological spatial structures. This was accomplished through the use of seven task protocols and simple objects which are familiar to young children. These task protocols allowed the investigator to interact with each child in a consistent manner. The results showed that most of the children in this study (97.2%) had not developed all of the topological spatial structures. The task scores, were analyzed using non-parametric statistical tests due to the ordinal nature of the data. From the data the following results were obtained: (1) the spatial structures did not develop in random order based on the task scores but developed in the sequence expected from Piaget's model, (2) task performance improved with grade level with fourth grade students outperforming second graders and kindergartners on each of the seven tasks, and (3) no significant differences on task performance due to gender were found. Based on these results, young elementary children are beginning to develop topological spatial thinking. This is critical since it provides the foundation for the other types of spatial thinking, projective and Euclidean. Since spatial thinking is not a "gift" but can be developed, educators need to provide more opportunities for students to increase their level of spatial thinking since it is necessary for conceptual understanding of many different topics in math and science.

Object versus spatial visual mental imagery in patients with schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Aleman, André; de Haan, Edward H.F.; Kahn, René S.

2005-01-01

Objective Recent research has revealed a larger impairment of object perceptual discrimination than of spatial perceptual discrimination in patients with schizophrenia. It has been suggested that mental imagery may share processing systems with perception. We investigated whether patients with schizophrenia would show greater impairment regarding object imagery than spatial imagery. Methods Forty-four patients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy control subjects were tested on a task of object visual mental imagery and on a task of spatial visual mental imagery. Both tasks included a condition in which no imagery was needed for adequate performance, but which was in other respects identical to the imagery condition. This allowed us to adjust for nonspecific differences in individual performance. Results The results revealed a significant difference between patients and controls on the object imagery task (F1,63 = 11.8, p = 0.001) but not on the spatial imagery task (F1,63 = 0.14, p = 0.71). To test for a differential effect, we conducted a 2 (patients v. controls) х 2 (object task v. spatial task) analysis of variance. The interaction term was statistically significant (F1,62 = 5.2, p = 0.026). Conclusions Our findings suggest a differential dysfunction of systems mediating object and spatial visual mental imagery in schizophrenia. PMID:15644999

Low-dose cone-beam CT via raw counts domain low-signal correction schemes: Performance assessment and task-based parameter optimization (Part II. Task-based parameter optimization).

PubMed

Gomez-Cardona, Daniel; Hayes, John W; Zhang, Ran; Li, Ke; Cruz-Bastida, Juan Pablo; Chen, Guang-Hong

2018-05-01

Different low-signal correction (LSC) methods have been shown to efficiently reduce noise streaks and noise level in CT to provide acceptable images at low-radiation dose levels. These methods usually result in CT images with highly shift-variant and anisotropic spatial resolution and noise, which makes the parameter optimization process highly nontrivial. The purpose of this work was to develop a local task-based parameter optimization framework for LSC methods. Two well-known LSC methods, the adaptive trimmed mean (ATM) filter and the anisotropic diffusion (AD) filter, were used as examples to demonstrate how to use the task-based framework to optimize filter parameter selection. Two parameters, denoted by the set P, for each LSC method were included in the optimization problem. For the ATM filter, these parameters are the low- and high-signal threshold levels p l and p h ; for the AD filter, the parameters are the exponents δ and γ in the brightness gradient function. The detectability index d' under the non-prewhitening (NPW) mathematical observer model was selected as the metric for parameter optimization. The optimization problem was formulated as an unconstrained optimization problem that consisted of maximizing an objective function d'(P), where i and j correspond to the i-th imaging task and j-th spatial location, respectively. Since there is no explicit mathematical function to describe the dependence of d' on the set of parameters P for each LSC method, the optimization problem was solved via an experimentally measured d' map over a densely sampled parameter space. In this work, three high-contrast-high-frequency discrimination imaging tasks were defined to explore the parameter space of each of the LSC methods: a vertical bar pattern (task I), a horizontal bar pattern (task II), and a multidirectional feature (task III). Two spatial locations were considered for the analysis, a posterior region-of-interest (ROI) located within the noise streaks region and an anterior ROI, located further from the noise streaks region. Optimal results derived from the task-based detectability index metric were compared to other operating points in the parameter space with different noise and spatial resolution trade-offs. The optimal operating points determined through the d' metric depended on the interplay between the major spatial frequency components of each imaging task and the highly shift-variant and anisotropic noise and spatial resolution properties associated with each operating point in the LSC parameter space. This interplay influenced imaging performance the most when the major spatial frequency component of a given imaging task coincided with the direction of spatial resolution loss or with the dominant noise spatial frequency component; this was the case of imaging task II. The performance of imaging tasks I and III was influenced by this interplay in a smaller scale than imaging task II, since the major frequency component of task I was perpendicular to imaging task II, and because imaging task III did not have strong directional dependence. For both LSC methods, there was a strong dependence of the overall d' magnitude and shape of the contours on the spatial location within the phantom, particularly for imaging tasks II and III. The d' value obtained at the optimal operating point for each spatial location and imaging task was similar when comparing the LSC methods studied in this work. A local task-based detectability framework to optimize the selection of parameters for LSC methods was developed. The framework takes into account the potential shift-variant and anisotropic spatial resolution and noise properties to maximize the imaging performance of the CT system. Optimal parameters for a given LSC method depend strongly on the spatial location within the image object. © 2018 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Learning outdoors: male lizards show flexible spatial learning under semi-natural conditions

PubMed Central

Noble, Daniel W. A.; Carazo, Pau; Whiting, Martin J.

2012-01-01

Spatial cognition is predicted to be a fundamental component of fitness in many lizard species, and yet some studies suggest that it is relatively slow and inflexible. However, such claims are based on work conducted using experimental designs or in artificial contexts that may underestimate their cognitive abilities. We used a biologically realistic experimental procedure (using simulated predatory attacks) to study spatial learning and its flexibility in the lizard Eulamprus quoyii in semi-natural outdoor enclosures under similar conditions to those experienced by lizards in the wild. To evaluate the flexibility of spatial learning, we conducted a reversal spatial-learning task in which positive and negative reinforcements of learnt spatial stimuli were switched. Nineteen (32%) male lizards learnt both tasks within 10 days (spatial task mean: 8.16 ± 0.69 (s.e.) and reversal spatial task mean: 10.74 ± 0.98 (s.e.) trials). We demonstrate that E. quoyii are capable of flexible spatial learning and suggest that future studies focus on a range of lizard species which differ in phylogeny and/or ecology, using biologically relevant cognitive tasks, in an effort to bridge the cognitive divide between ecto- and endotherms. PMID:23075525

Altering spatial priority maps via statistical learning of target selection and distractor filtering.

PubMed

Ferrante, Oscar; Patacca, Alessia; Di Caro, Valeria; Della Libera, Chiara; Santandrea, Elisa; Chelazzi, Leonardo

2018-05-01

The cognitive system has the capacity to learn and make use of environmental regularities - known as statistical learning (SL), including for the implicit guidance of attention. For instance, it is known that attentional selection is biased according to the spatial probability of targets; similarly, changes in distractor filtering can be triggered by the unequal spatial distribution of distractors. Open questions remain regarding the cognitive/neuronal mechanisms underlying SL of target selection and distractor filtering. Crucially, it is unclear whether the two processes rely on shared neuronal machinery, with unavoidable cross-talk, or they are fully independent, an issue that we directly addressed here. In a series of visual search experiments, participants had to discriminate a target stimulus, while ignoring a task-irrelevant salient distractor (when present). We systematically manipulated spatial probabilities of either one or the other stimulus, or both. We then measured performance to evaluate the direct effects of the applied contingent probability distribution (e.g., effects on target selection of the spatial imbalance in target occurrence across locations) as well as its indirect or "transfer" effects (e.g., effects of the same spatial imbalance on distractor filtering across locations). By this approach, we confirmed that SL of both target and distractor location implicitly bias attention. Most importantly, we described substantial indirect effects, with the unequal spatial probability of the target affecting filtering efficiency and, vice versa, the unequal spatial probability of the distractor affecting target selection efficiency across locations. The observed cross-talk demonstrates that SL of target selection and distractor filtering are instantiated via (at least partly) shared neuronal machinery, as further corroborated by strong correlations between direct and indirect effects at the level of individual participants. Our findings are compatible with the notion that both kinds of SL adjust the priority of specific locations within attentional priority maps of space. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Virtual/real transfer of spatial knowledge: benefit from visual fidelity provided in a virtual environment and impact of active navigation.

PubMed

Wallet, Grégory; Sauzéon, Hélène; Pala, Prashant Arvind; Larrue, Florian; Zheng, Xia; N'Kaoua, Bernard

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect the visual fidelity of a virtual environment (VE) (undetailed vs. detailed) has on the transfer of spatial knowledge based on the navigation mode (passive vs. active) for three different spatial recall tasks (wayfinding, sketch mapping, and picture sorting). Sixty-four subjects (32 men and 32 women) participated in the experiment. Spatial learning was evaluated by these three tasks in the context of the Bordeaux district. In the wayfinding task, the results indicated that the detailed VE helped subjects to transfer their spatial knowledge from the VE to the real world, irrespective of the navigation mode. In the sketch-mapping task, the detailed VE increased performances compared to the undetailed VE condition, and allowed subjects to benefit from the active navigation. In the sorting task, performances were better in the detailed VE; however, in the undetailed version of the VE, active learning either did not help the subjects or it even deteriorated their performances. These results are discussed in terms of appropriate perceptive-motor and/or spatial representations for each spatial recall task.

Effects of working memory contents and perceptual load on distractor processing: When a response-related distractor is held in working memory.

PubMed

Koshino, Hideya

2017-01-01

Working memory and attention are closely related. Recent research has shown that working memory can be viewed as internally directed attention. Working memory can affect attention in at least two ways. One is the effect of working memory load on attention, and the other is the effect of working memory contents on attention. In the present study, an interaction between working memory contents and perceptual load in distractor processing was investigated. Participants performed a perceptual load task in a standard form in one condition (Single task). In the other condition, a response-related distractor was maintained in working memory, rather than presented in the same stimulus display as a target (Dual task). For the Dual task condition, a significant compatibility effect was found under high perceptual load; however, there was no compatibility effect under low perceptual load. These results suggest that the way the contents of working memory affect visual search depends on perceptual load. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Attentional reorienting triggers spatial asymmetries in a search task with cross-modal spatial cueing

PubMed Central

Paladini, Rebecca E.; Diana, Lorenzo; Zito, Giuseppe A.; Nyffeler, Thomas; Wyss, Patric; Mosimann, Urs P.; Müri, René M.; Nef, Tobias

2018-01-01

Cross-modal spatial cueing can affect performance in a visual search task. For example, search performance improves if a visual target and an auditory cue originate from the same spatial location, and it deteriorates if they originate from different locations. Moreover, it has recently been postulated that multisensory settings, i.e., experimental settings, in which critical stimuli are concurrently presented in different sensory modalities (e.g., visual and auditory), may trigger asymmetries in visuospatial attention. Thereby, a facilitation has been observed for visual stimuli presented in the right compared to the left visual space. However, it remains unclear whether auditory cueing of attention differentially affects search performance in the left and the right hemifields in audio-visual search tasks. The present study investigated whether spatial asymmetries would occur in a search task with cross-modal spatial cueing. Participants completed a visual search task that contained no auditory cues (i.e., unimodal visual condition), spatially congruent, spatially incongruent, and spatially non-informative auditory cues. To further assess participants’ accuracy in localising the auditory cues, a unimodal auditory spatial localisation task was also administered. The results demonstrated no left/right asymmetries in the unimodal visual search condition. Both an additional incongruent, as well as a spatially non-informative, auditory cue resulted in lateral asymmetries. Thereby, search times were increased for targets presented in the left compared to the right hemifield. No such spatial asymmetry was observed in the congruent condition. However, participants’ performance in the congruent condition was modulated by their tone localisation accuracy. The findings of the present study demonstrate that spatial asymmetries in multisensory processing depend on the validity of the cross-modal cues, and occur under specific attentional conditions, i.e., when visual attention has to be reoriented towards the left hemifield. PMID:29293637

In Praise of a Model but Not Its Conclusions: Commentary on Cooper, Catmur, and Heyes (2012)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bertenthal, Bennett I.; Scheutz, Matthias

2013-01-01

Cooper et al. (this issue) develop an interactive activation model of spatial and imitative compatibilities that simulates the key results from Catmur and Heyes (2011) and thus conclude that both compatibilities are mediated by the same processes since their single model can predict all the results. Although the model is impressive, the…

Entropy of space-time outcome in a movement speed-accuracy task.

PubMed

Hsieh, Tsung-Yu; Pacheco, Matheus Maia; Newell, Karl M

2015-12-01

The experiment reported was set-up to investigate the space-time entropy of movement outcome as a function of a range of spatial (10, 20 and 30 cm) and temporal (250-2500 ms) criteria in a discrete aiming task. The variability and information entropy of the movement spatial and temporal errors considered separately increased and decreased on the respective dimension as a function of an increment of movement velocity. However, the joint space-time entropy was lowest when the relative contribution of spatial and temporal task criteria was comparable (i.e., mid-range of space-time constraints), and it increased with a greater trade-off between spatial or temporal task demands, revealing a U-shaped function across space-time task criteria. The traditional speed-accuracy functions of spatial error and temporal error considered independently mapped to this joint space-time U-shaped entropy function. The trade-off in movement tasks with joint space-time criteria is between spatial error and timing error, rather than movement speed and accuracy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Obsessive-compulsive tendencies are associated with a focused information processing strategy.

PubMed

Soref, Assaf; Dar, Reuven; Argov, Galit; Meiran, Nachshon

2008-12-01

The study examined the hypothesis that obsessive-compulsive (OC) tendencies are related to a reliance on focused and serial rather than a parallel, speed-oriented information processing style. Ten students with high OC tendencies and 10 students with low OC tendencies performed the flanker task, in which they were required to quickly classify a briefly presented target letter (S or H) that was flanked by compatible (e.g., SSSSS) or incompatible (e.g., HHSHH) noise letters. Participants received 4 blocks of 100 trials each, two with 50% compatible trials and two with 80% compatible trials and were informed of the probability of compatible trials before the beginning of each block. As predicted, high OC participants, as compared to low OC participants, had slower overall reaction time (RT) and lower tendency for parallel processing (defined as incompatible trials RT minus compatible trials RT). Low, more than high OC participants tended to adjust their focused/parallel processing including a shift towards parallel processing in blocks with 80% compatible trials and in trials following compatible trials. Implications of these results to the cognitive theory and therapy of OCD are discussed.

Age- and sex-related disturbance in a battery of sensorimotor and cognitive tasks in Kunming mice.

PubMed

Chen, Gui-Hai; Wang, Yue-Ju; Zhang, Li-Qun; Zhou, Jiang-Ning

2004-12-15

A battery of tasks, i.e. beam walking, open field, tightrope, radial six-arm water maze (RAWM), novel-object recognition and olfactory discrimination, was used to determine whether there was age- and sex-related memory deterioration in Kunming (KM) mice, and whether these tasks are independent or correlated with each other. Two age groups of KM mice were used: a younger group (7-8 months old, 12 males and 11 females) and an older group (17-18 months old, 12 males and 12 females). The results showed that the spatial learning ability and memory in the RAWM were lower in older female KM mice relative to younger female mice and older male mice. Consistent with this, in the novel-object recognition task, a non-spatial cognitive task, older female mice but not older male mice had impairment of short-term memory. In olfactory discrimination, another non-spatial task, the older mice retained this ability. Interestingly, female mice performed better than males, especially in the younger group. The older females exhibited sensorimotor impairment in the tightrope task and low locomotor activity in the open-field task. Moreover, older mice spent a longer time in the peripheral squares of the open-field than younger ones. The non-spatial cognitive performance in the novel-object recognition and olfactory discrimination tasks was related to performance in the open-field, whereas the spatial cognitive performance in the RAWM was not related to performance in any of the three sensorimotor tasks. These results suggest that disturbance of spatial learning and memory, as well as selective impairment of non-spatial learning and memory, existed in older female KM mice.

Your brain on speed: cognitive performance of a spatial working memory task is not affected by walking speed

PubMed Central

Kline, Julia E.; Poggensee, Katherine; Ferris, Daniel P.

2014-01-01

When humans walk in everyday life, they typically perform a range of cognitive tasks while they are on the move. Past studies examining performance changes in dual cognitive-motor tasks during walking have produced a variety of results. These discrepancies may be related to the type of cognitive task chosen, differences in the walking speeds studied, or lack of controlling for walking speed. The goal of this study was to determine how young, healthy subjects performed a spatial working memory task over a range of walking speeds. We used high-density electroencephalography to determine if electrocortical activity mirrored changes in cognitive performance across speeds. Subjects stood (0.0 m/s) and walked (0.4, 0.8, 1.2, and 1.6 m/s) with and without performing a Brooks spatial working memory task. We hypothesized that performance of the spatial working memory task and the associated electrocortical activity would decrease significantly with walking speed. Across speeds, the spatial working memory task caused subjects to step more widely compared with walking without the task. This is typically a sign that humans are adapting their gait dynamics to increase gait stability. Several cortical areas exhibited power fluctuations time-locked to memory encoding during the cognitive task. In the somatosensory association cortex, alpha power increased prior to stimulus presentation and decreased during memory encoding. There were small significant reductions in theta power in the right superior parietal lobule and the posterior cingulate cortex around memory encoding. However, the subjects did not show a significant change in cognitive task performance or electrocortical activity with walking speed. These findings indicate that in young, healthy subjects walking speed does not affect performance of a spatial working memory task. These subjects can devote adequate cortical resources to spatial cognition when needed, regardless of walking speed. PMID:24847239

Brain activations during bimodal dual tasks depend on the nature and combination of component tasks

PubMed Central

Salo, Emma; Rinne, Teemu; Salonen, Oili; Alho, Kimmo

2015-01-01

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain activations during nine different dual tasks in which the participants were required to simultaneously attend to concurrent streams of spoken syllables and written letters. They performed a phonological, spatial or “simple” (speaker-gender or font-shade) discrimination task within each modality. We expected to find activations associated specifically with dual tasking especially in the frontal and parietal cortices. However, no brain areas showed systematic dual task enhancements common for all dual tasks. Further analysis revealed that dual tasks including component tasks that were according to Baddeley's model “modality atypical,” that is, the auditory spatial task or the visual phonological task, were not associated with enhanced frontal activity. In contrast, for other dual tasks, activity specifically associated with dual tasking was found in the left or bilateral frontal cortices. Enhanced activation in parietal areas, however, appeared not to be specifically associated with dual tasking per se, but rather with intermodal attention switching. We also expected effects of dual tasking in left frontal supramodal phonological processing areas when both component tasks required phonological processing and in right parietal supramodal spatial processing areas when both tasks required spatial processing. However, no such effects were found during these dual tasks compared with their component tasks performed separately. Taken together, the current results indicate that activations during dual tasks depend in a complex manner on specific demands of component tasks. PMID:25767443

On the role of working memory in spatial contextual cueing.

PubMed

Travis, Susan L; Mattingley, Jason B; Dux, Paul E

2013-01-01

The human visual system receives more information than can be consciously processed. To overcome this capacity limit, we employ attentional mechanisms to prioritize task-relevant (target) information over less relevant (distractor) information. Regularities in the environment can facilitate the allocation of attention, as demonstrated by the spatial contextual cueing paradigm. When observers are exposed repeatedly to a scene and invariant distractor information, learning from earlier exposures enhances the search for the target. Here, we investigated whether spatial contextual cueing draws on spatial working memory resources and, if so, at what level of processing working memory load has its effect. Participants performed 2 tasks concurrently: a visual search task, in which the spatial configuration of some search arrays occasionally repeated, and a spatial working memory task. Increases in working memory load significantly impaired contextual learning. These findings indicate that spatial contextual cueing utilizes working memory resources.

[Brain mapping in verbal and spatial thinking].

PubMed

Ivanitskiĭ, A M; Portnova, G V; Martynova, O V; Maĭorova, L A; Fedina, O N; Petrushevskiĭ, A G

2013-01-01

The goal of this study was to describe the topography of the active cortical areas and subcortical structuresin verbal and spatial thinking. The method of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used. 18 right-handed subjects participated in the study. Four types of tasks were presented: two experimental tasks--verbal (anagram) and spatial (search for a piece to complement a square), and two types of control tasks (written words and a spatial task, where all the pieces are identical). In solving verbal tasks the greater volume of activation was observed in the left hemisphere involving Broca's area, while the right middle frontal gyrus was activated in solving the spatial tasks. For occipital region an activation of the visual field 18 was more explicitin solving spatial problems, while the solution of anagrams caused an activation of the field 19 associated with higher levels of visual processing. The cerebellum was active bilaterally in both tasks with predominance in the second. The obtained fMRI data indicate that the verbal and spatial types of thinking are provided by an activation of narrow specific sets of brain structures, while the previous electrophysiological studies indicate the distributed nature of the brain processes in thinking. Combining these two approaches, it can be concluded that cognitive functions are supported by the systemic brain processes with a distinct location of the particular salient structures.

MnemoCity Task: Assessment of Childrens Spatial Memory Using Stereoscopy and Virtual Environments.

PubMed

Rodríguez-Andrés, David; Juan, M-Carmen; Méndez-López, Magdalena; Pérez-Hernández, Elena; Lluch, Javier

2016-01-01

This paper presents the MnemoCity task, which is a 3D application that introduces the user into a totally 3D virtual environment to evaluate spatial short-term memory. A study has been carried out to validate the MnemoCity task for the assessment of spatial short-term memory in children, by comparing the children's performance in the developed task with current approaches. A total of 160 children participated in the study. The task incorporates two types of interaction: one based on standard interaction and another one based on natural interaction involving physical movement by the user. There were no statistically significant differences in the results of the task using the two types of interaction. Furthermore, statistically significant differences were not found in relation to gender. The correlations between scores were obtained using the MnemoCity task and a traditional procedure for assessing spatial short-term memory. Those results revealed that the type of interaction used did not affect the performance of children in the MnemoCity task.

Age Differences in Recall and Information Processing in Verbal and Spatial Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mungas, Dan; And Others

1991-01-01

Three age groups of 24 people each completed verbal word list tasks and spatial learning tasks 5 times each. Significant age differences were found for total recall and type of task. Younger subjects showed increased levels of clustering--organizing information according to semantic or spatial clusters. Age was not related to temporal order of…

Piano Keyboard Training and the Spatial-Temporal Development of Young Children Attending Kindergarten Classes in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zafranas, Nikolaos

2004-01-01

This research had three main goals: to control whether children would show significant improvement in cognitive test scores following piano/keyboard instruction; to compare whether the spatial tasks would show greater improvement than other tasks; and to examine whether the effects of piano/keyboard training on spatial tasks are gender…

The stability of working memory: do previous tasks influence complex span?

PubMed

Healey, M Karl; Hasher, Lynn; Danilova, Elena

2011-11-01

Schmeichel (2007) reported that performing an initial task before completing a working memory span task can lower span scores and suggested that the effect was due to depleted cognitive resources. We showed that the detrimental effect of prior tasks depends on a match between the stimuli used in the span task and the preceding task. A task requiring participants to ignore words reduced performance on a subsequent word-based verbal span task but not on an arrow-based spatial span task. Ignoring arrows had the opposite pattern of effects: reducing performance on the spatial span task but not on the word-based span task. Finally, we showed that antisaccade, a nonverbal task that taxes domain-general processes implicated in working memory, did not influence subsequent performance of either a verbal or a spatial span task. Together these results suggest that while span is sensitive to prior tasks, that sensitivity does not stem from depleted resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of physical content in piagetian spatial tasks: Sex differences in spatial knowledge?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golbeck, Susan L.

Sex-related differences on Piagetian horizontality (water level) and verticality (plumb line) tasks were examined in 64 college students. It was hypothesized that females' difficulties on these Euclidean spatial problems are due not to differences in underlying spatial competence, but rather to differences in knowledge of task specific information about the physical properties of water levels and plumb lines. This was tested by presenting subjects with the standard water level and plumb line problems and also modified problems not requiring knowledge of physical principles (i.e., drawing straight up and down or straight across lines inside tipped rectangles). While males were expected to outperform females on the standard tasks, no sex differences were expected on the modified tasks. Results of an ANOVA on scores for horizontality and verticality each showed main effects for sex and task version but failed to reveal the hypothesized interaction. However, performance on the Euclidean spatial tasks was also considered in terms of overall success versus failure. While males were more successful than females in the standard format, males and females were equally successful in the modified, nonphysical, format. Hence, college aged males and females generally do not differ in spatial competence although they may be differentially influenced by task content. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for theory and practice. It is emphasized that science educators must be especially aware of such task influences for females so that performance deficits are not mistaken for competence deficits.

The relation between working memory and language comprehension in signers and speakers.

PubMed

Emmorey, Karen; Giezen, Marcel R; Petrich, Jennifer A F; Spurgeon, Erin; O'Grady Farnady, Lucinda

2017-06-01

This study investigated the relation between linguistic and spatial working memory (WM) resources and language comprehension for signed compared to spoken language. Sign languages are both linguistic and visual-spatial, and therefore provide a unique window on modality-specific versus modality-independent contributions of WM resources to language processing. Deaf users of American Sign Language (ASL), hearing monolingual English speakers, and hearing ASL-English bilinguals completed several spatial and linguistic serial recall tasks. Additionally, their comprehension of spatial and non-spatial information in ASL and spoken English narratives was assessed. Results from the linguistic serial recall tasks revealed that the often reported advantage for speakers on linguistic short-term memory tasks does not extend to complex WM tasks with a serial recall component. For English, linguistic WM predicted retention of non-spatial information, and both linguistic and spatial WM predicted retention of spatial information. For ASL, spatial WM predicted retention of spatial (but not non-spatial) information, and linguistic WM did not predict retention of either spatial or non-spatial information. Overall, our findings argue against strong assumptions of independent domain-specific subsystems for the storage and processing of linguistic and spatial information and furthermore suggest a less important role for serial encoding in signed than spoken language comprehension. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial working memory load affects counting but not subitizing in enumeration.

PubMed

Shimomura, Tomonari; Kumada, Takatsune

2011-08-01

The present study investigated whether subitizing reflects capacity limitations associated with two types of working memory tasks. Under a dual-task situation, participants performed an enumeration task in conjunction with either a spatial (Experiment 1) or a nonspatial visual (Experiment 2) working memory task. Experiment 1 showed that spatial working memory load affected the slope of a counting function but did not affect subitizing performance or subitizing range. Experiment 2 showed that nonspatial visual working memory load affected neither enumeration efficiency nor subitizing range. Furthermore, in both spatial and nonspatial memory tasks, neither subitizing efficiency nor subitizing range was affected by amount of imposed memory load. In all the experiments, working memory load failed to influence slope, subitizing range, or overall reaction time. These findings suggest that subitizing is performed without either spatial or nonspatial working memory. A possible mechanism of subitizing with independent capacity of working memory is discussed.

Singing numbers…in cognitive space--a dual-task study of the link between pitch, space, and numbers.

PubMed

Fischer, Martin H; Riello, Marianna; Giordano, Bruno L; Rusconi, Elena

2013-04-01

We assessed the automaticity of spatial-numerical and spatial-musical associations by testing their intentionality and load sensitivity in a dual-task paradigm. In separate sessions, 16 healthy adults performed magnitude and pitch comparisons on sung numbers with variable pitch. Stimuli and response alternatives were identical, but the relevant stimulus attribute (pitch or number) differed between tasks. Concomitant tasks required retention of either color or location information. Results show that spatial associations of both magnitude and pitch are load sensitive and that the spatial association for pitch is more powerful than that for magnitude. These findings argue against the automaticity of spatial mappings in either stimulus dimension. Copyright © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Preparatory neural activity predicts performance on a conflict task.

PubMed

Stern, Emily R; Wager, Tor D; Egner, Tobias; Hirsch, Joy; Mangels, Jennifer A

2007-10-24

Advance preparation has been shown to improve the efficiency of conflict resolution. Yet, with little empirical work directly linking preparatory neural activity to the performance benefits of advance cueing, it is not clear whether this relationship results from preparatory activation of task-specific networks, or from activity associated with general alerting processes. Here, fMRI data were acquired during a spatial Stroop task in which advance cues either informed subjects of the upcoming relevant feature of conflict stimuli (spatial or semantic) or were neutral. Informative cues decreased reaction time (RT) relative to neutral cues, and cues indicating that spatial information would be task-relevant elicited greater activity than neutral cues in multiple areas, including right anterior prefrontal and bilateral parietal cortex. Additionally, preparatory activation in bilateral parietal cortex and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex predicted faster RT when subjects responded to spatial location. No regions were found to be specific to semantic cues at conventional thresholds, and lowering the threshold further revealed little overlap between activity associated with spatial and semantic cueing effects, thereby demonstrating a single dissociation between activations related to preparing a spatial versus semantic task-set. This relationship between preparatory activation of spatial processing networks and efficient conflict resolution suggests that advance information can benefit performance by leading to domain-specific biasing of task-relevant information.

Two-Point Orientation Discrimination Versus the Traditional Two-Point Test for Tactile Spatial Acuity Assessment

PubMed Central

Tong, Jonathan; Mao, Oliver; Goldreich, Daniel

2013-01-01

Two-point discrimination is widely used to measure tactile spatial acuity. The validity of the two-point threshold as a spatial acuity measure rests on the assumption that two points can be distinguished from one only when the two points are sufficiently separated to evoke spatially distinguishable foci of neural activity. However, some previous research has challenged this view, suggesting instead that two-point task performance benefits from an unintended non-spatial cue, allowing spuriously good performance at small tip separations. We compared the traditional two-point task to an equally convenient alternative task in which participants attempt to discern the orientation (vertical or horizontal) of two points of contact. We used precision digital readout calipers to administer two-interval forced-choice versions of both tasks to 24 neurologically healthy adults, on the fingertip, finger base, palm, and forearm. We used Bayesian adaptive testing to estimate the participants’ psychometric functions on the two tasks. Traditional two-point performance remained significantly above chance levels even at zero point separation. In contrast, two-point orientation discrimination approached chance as point separation approached zero, as expected for a valid measure of tactile spatial acuity. Traditional two-point performance was so inflated at small point separations that 75%-correct thresholds could be determined on all tested sites for fewer than half of participants. The 95%-correct thresholds on the two tasks were similar, and correlated with receptive field spacing. In keeping with previous critiques, we conclude that the traditional two-point task provides an unintended non-spatial cue, resulting in spuriously good performance at small spatial separations. Unlike two-point discrimination, two-point orientation discrimination rigorously measures tactile spatial acuity. We recommend the use of two-point orientation discrimination for neurological assessment. PMID:24062677

Distinct roles of hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex in spatial and nonspatial memory.

PubMed

Sapiurka, Maya; Squire, Larry R; Clark, Robert E

2016-12-01

In earlier work, patients with hippocampal damage successfully path integrated, apparently by maintaining spatial information in working memory. In contrast, rats with hippocampal damage were unable to path integrate, even when the paths were simple and working memory might have been expected to support performance. We considered possible ways to understand these findings. We tested rats with either hippocampal lesions or lesions of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) on three tasks of spatial or nonspatial memory: path integration, spatial alternation, and a nonspatial alternation task. Rats with mPFC lesions were impaired on both spatial and nonspatial alternation but performed normally on path integration. By contrast, rats with hippocampal lesions were impaired on path integration and spatial alternation but performed normally on nonspatial alternation. We propose that rodent neocortex is limited in its ability to construct a coherent spatial working memory of complex environments. Accordingly, in tasks such as path integration and spatial alternation, working memory cannot depend on neocortex alone. Rats may accomplish many spatial memory tasks by relying on long-term memory. Alternatively, they may accomplish these tasks within working memory through sustained coordination between hippocampus and other cortical brain regions such as mPFC, in the case of spatial alternation, or parietal cortex in the case of path integration. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Spatial-Sequential Working Memory in Younger and Older Adults: Age Predicts Backward Recall Performance within Both Age Groups

PubMed Central

Brown, Louise A.

2016-01-01

Working memory is vulnerable to age-related decline, but there is debate regarding the age-sensitivity of different forms of spatial-sequential working memory task, depending on their passive or active nature. The functional architecture of spatial working memory was therefore explored in younger (18–40 years) and older (64–85 years) adults, using passive and active recall tasks. Spatial working memory was assessed using a modified version of the Spatial Span subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale – Third Edition (WMS-III; Wechsler, 1998). Across both age groups, the effects of interference (control, visual, or spatial), and recall type (forward and backward), were investigated. There was a clear effect of age group, with younger adults demonstrating a larger spatial working memory capacity than the older adults overall. There was also a specific effect of interference, with the spatial interference task (spatial tapping) reliably reducing performance relative to both the control and visual interference (dynamic visual noise) conditions in both age groups and both recall types. This suggests that younger and older adults have similar dependence upon active spatial rehearsal, and that both forward and backward recall require this processing capacity. Linear regression analyses were then carried out within each age group, to assess the predictors of performance in each recall format (forward and backward). Specifically the backward recall task was significantly predicted by age, within both the younger and older adult groups. This finding supports previous literature showing lifespan linear declines in spatial-sequential working memory, and in working memory tasks from other domains, but contrasts with previous evidence that backward spatial span is no more sensitive to aging than forward span. The study suggests that backward spatial span is indeed more processing-intensive than forward span, even when both tasks include a retention period, and that age predicts backward spatial span performance across the adult lifespan, within both younger and older adulthood. PMID:27757096

Spatial-Sequential Working Memory in Younger and Older Adults: Age Predicts Backward Recall Performance within Both Age Groups.

PubMed

Brown, Louise A

2016-01-01

Working memory is vulnerable to age-related decline, but there is debate regarding the age-sensitivity of different forms of spatial-sequential working memory task, depending on their passive or active nature. The functional architecture of spatial working memory was therefore explored in younger (18-40 years) and older (64-85 years) adults, using passive and active recall tasks. Spatial working memory was assessed using a modified version of the Spatial Span subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale - Third Edition (WMS-III; Wechsler, 1998). Across both age groups, the effects of interference (control, visual, or spatial), and recall type (forward and backward), were investigated. There was a clear effect of age group, with younger adults demonstrating a larger spatial working memory capacity than the older adults overall. There was also a specific effect of interference, with the spatial interference task (spatial tapping) reliably reducing performance relative to both the control and visual interference (dynamic visual noise) conditions in both age groups and both recall types. This suggests that younger and older adults have similar dependence upon active spatial rehearsal, and that both forward and backward recall require this processing capacity. Linear regression analyses were then carried out within each age group, to assess the predictors of performance in each recall format (forward and backward). Specifically the backward recall task was significantly predicted by age, within both the younger and older adult groups. This finding supports previous literature showing lifespan linear declines in spatial-sequential working memory, and in working memory tasks from other domains, but contrasts with previous evidence that backward spatial span is no more sensitive to aging than forward span. The study suggests that backward spatial span is indeed more processing-intensive than forward span, even when both tasks include a retention period, and that age predicts backward spatial span performance across the adult lifespan, within both younger and older adulthood.

The complex interaction between anxiety and cognition: insight from spatial and verbal working memory

PubMed Central

Vytal, Katherine E.; Cornwell, Brian R.; Letkiewicz, Allison M.; Arkin, Nicole E.; Grillon, Christian

2013-01-01

Anxiety can be distracting, disruptive, and incapacitating. Despite problems with empirical replication of this phenomenon, one fruitful avenue of study has emerged from working memory (WM) experiments where a translational method of anxiety induction (risk of shock) has been shown to disrupt spatial and verbal WM performance. Performance declines when resources (e.g., spatial attention, executive function) devoted to goal-directed behaviors are consumed by anxiety. Importantly, it has been shown that anxiety-related impairments in verbal WM depend on task difficulty, suggesting that cognitive load may be an important consideration in the interaction between anxiety and cognition. Here we use both spatial and verbal WM paradigms to probe the effect of cognitive load on anxiety-induced WM impairment across task modality. Subjects performed a series of spatial and verbal n-back tasks of increasing difficulty (1, 2, and 3-back) while they were safe or at risk for shock. Startle reflex was used to probe anxiety. Results demonstrate that induced-anxiety differentially impacts verbal and spatial WM, such that low and medium-load verbal WM is more susceptible to anxiety-related disruption relative to high-load, and spatial WM is disrupted regardless of task difficulty. Anxiety impacts both verbal and spatial processes, as described by correlations between anxiety and performance impairment, albeit the effect on spatial WM is consistent across load. Demanding WM tasks may exert top-down control over higher-order cortical resources engaged by anxious apprehension, however high-load spatial WM may continue to experience additional competition from anxiety-related changes in spatial attention, resulting in impaired performance. By describing this disruption across task modalities, these findings inform current theories of emotion–cognition interactions and may facilitate development of clinical interventions that seek to target cognitive impairments associated with anxiety. PMID:23542914

Testing domain general learning in an Australian lizard.

PubMed

Qi, Yin; Noble, Daniel W A; Fu, Jinzhong; Whiting, Martin J

2018-06-02

A key question in cognition is whether animals that are proficient in a specific cognitive domain (domain specific hypothesis), such as spatial learning, are also proficient in other domains (domain general hypothesis) or whether there is a trade-off. Studies testing among these hypotheses are biased towards mammals and birds. To understand constraints on the evolution of cognition more generally, we need broader taxonomic and phylogenetic coverage. We used Australian eastern water skinks (Eulamprus quoyii) with known spatial learning ability in three additional tasks: an instrumental and two discrimination tasks. Under domain specific learning we predicted that lizards that were good at spatial learning would perform less well in the discrimination tasks. Conversely, we predicted that lizards that did not meet our criterion for spatial learning would likewise perform better in discrimination tasks. Lizards with domain general learning should perform approximately equally well (or poorly) in these tasks. Lizards classified as spatial learners performed no differently to non-spatial learners in both the instrumental and discrimination learning tasks. Nevertheless, lizards were proficient in all tasks. Our results reveal two patterns: domain general learning in spatial learners and domain specific learning in non-spatial learners. We suggest that delineating learning into domain general and domain specific may be overly simplistic and we need to instead focus on individual variation in learning ability, which ultimately, is likely to play a key role in fitness. These results, in combination with previously published work on this species, suggests that this species has behavioral flexibility because they are competent across multiple cognitive domains and are capable of reversal learning.

Numbers Are Associated with Different Types of Spatial Information Depending on the Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Dijck, Jean-Philippe; Gevers, Wim; Fias, Wim

2009-01-01

In this study, we examined the nature of the spatial-numerical associations underlying the SNARC-effect by imposing a verbal or spatial working memory load during a parity judgment and a magnitude comparison task. The results showed a double dissociation between the type of working memory load and type of task. The SNARC-effect disappeared under…

Explorative Function in Williams Syndrome Analyzed through a Large-Scale Task with Multiple Rewards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foti, F.; Petrosini, L.; Cutuli, D.; Menghini, D.; Chiarotti, F.; Vicari, S.; Mandolesi, L.

2011-01-01

This study aimed to evaluate spatial function in subjects with Williams syndrome (WS) by using a large-scale task with multiple rewards and comparing the spatial abilities of WS subjects with those of mental age-matched control children. In the present spatial task, WS participants had to explore an open space to search nine rewards placed in…

Figure-ground asymmetries in the Implicit Association Test (IAT).

PubMed

Rothermund, K; Wentura, D

2001-01-01

Based on the assumption that binary classification tasks are often processed asymmetrically (figure-ground asymmetries), two experiments showed that association alone cannot account for effects observed in the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Experiment 1 (N = 16) replicated a standard version of the IAT effect using old vs. young names as target categories and good and bad words as attribute categories. However, reliable compatibility effects were also found for a modified version of the task in which neutral words vs. nonwords instead of good vs. bad words were used as attribute categories. In Experiment 2 (N = 8), a reversed IAT effect was observed after the figure-ground asymmetry in the target dimension had been inverted by a previous go/nogo detection task in which participants searched for exemplars of the category "young." The experiments support the hypothesis that figure-ground asymmetries produce compatibility effects in the IAT and suggest that IAT effects do not rely exclusively on evaluative associations between the target and attribute categories.

Word-to-picture recognition is a function of motor components mappings at the stage of retrieval.

PubMed

Brouillet, Denis; Brouillet, Thibaut; Milhau, Audrey; Heurley, Loïc; Vagnot, Caroline; Brunel, Lionel

2016-10-01

Embodied approaches of cognition argue that retrieval involves the re-enactment of both sensory and motor components of the desired remembering. In this study, we investigated the effect of motor action performed to produce the response in a recognition task when this action is compatible with the affordance of the objects that have to be recognised. In our experiment, participants were first asked to learn a list of words referring to graspable objects, and then told to make recognition judgements on pictures. The pictures represented objects where the graspable part was either pointing to the same or to the opposite side of the "Yes" response key. Results show a robust effect of compatibility between objects affordance and response hand. Moreover, this compatibility improves participants' ability of discrimination, suggesting that motor components are relevant cue for memory judgement at the stage of retrieval in a recognition task. More broadly, our data highlight that memory judgements are a function of motor components mappings at the stage of retrieval. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

A dedicated system for topographical working memory: evidence from domain-specific interference tests.

PubMed

Piccardi, L; Nori, R; Boccia, M; Barbetti, S; Verde, P; Guariglia, C; Ferlazzo, F

2015-08-01

In the present study, we used single- and dual-task conditions to investigate the nature of topographical working memory to better understand what type of task can hamper performance during navigation. During dual-task conditions, we considered four different sources of interference: motor (M), spatial motor (SM), verbal (i.e. articulatory suppression AS) and spatial environmental (SE). In order to assess the nature of topographical working memory, we used the Walking Corsi Test, asking the participants to perform two tasks simultaneously (M, SM, AS and SE). Our results showed that only spatial-environmental interference hampers the execution of a topographical working memory task, suggesting a task-domain-specific effect. We also found general gender differences in the topographical working memory capabilities: men were more proficient than women, regardless of the type of interferences. However, like men, women performed worse when a spatial-environmental interference was present.

Verbal makes it positive, spatial makes it negative: working memory biases judgments, attention, and moods.

PubMed

Storbeck, Justin; Watson, Philip

2014-12-01

Prior research has suggested that emotion and working memory domains are integrated, such that positive affect enhances verbal working memory, whereas negative affect enhances spatial working memory (Gray, 2004; Storbeck, 2012). Simon (1967) postulated that one feature of emotion and cognition integration would be reciprocal connectedness (i.e., emotion influences cognition and cognition influences emotion). We explored whether affective judgments and attention to affective qualities are biased by the activation of verbal and spatial working memory mind-sets. For all experiments, participants completed a 2-back verbal or spatial working memory task followed by an endorsement task (Experiments 1 & 2), word-pair selection task (Exp. 3), or attentional dot-probe task (Exp. 4). Participants who had an activated verbal, compared with spatial, working memory mind-set were more likely to endorse pictures (Exp. 1) and words (Exp. 2) as being more positive and to select the more positive word pair out of a set of word pairs that went 'together best' (Exp. 3). Additionally, people who completed the verbal working memory task took longer to disengage from positive stimuli, whereas those who completed the spatial working memory task took longer to disengage from negative stimuli (Exp. 4). Interestingly, across the 4 experiments, we observed higher levels of self-reported negative affect for people who completed the spatial working memory task, which was consistent with their endorsement and attentional bias toward negative stimuli. Therefore, emotion and working memory may have a reciprocal connectedness allowing for bidirectional influence.

Mice lacking hippocampal left-right asymmetry show non-spatial learning deficits.

PubMed

Shimbo, Akihiro; Kosaki, Yutaka; Ito, Isao; Watanabe, Shigeru

2018-01-15

Left-right asymmetry is known to exist at several anatomical levels in the brain and recent studies have provided further evidence to show that it also exists at a molecular level in the hippocampal CA3-CA1 circuit. The distribution of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor NR2B subunits in the apical and basal synapses of CA1 pyramidal neurons is asymmetrical if the input arrives from the left or right CA3 pyramidal neurons. In the present study, we examined the role of hippocampal asymmetry in cognitive function using β2-microglobulin knock-out (β2m KO) mice, which lack hippocampal asymmetry. We tested β2m KO mice in a series of spatial and non-spatial learning tasks and compared the performances of β2m KO and C57BL6/J wild-type (WT) mice. The β2m KO mice appeared normal in both spatial reference memory and spatial working memory tasks but they took more time than WT mice in learning the two non-spatial learning tasks (i.e., a differential reinforcement of lower rates of behavior (DRL) task and a straight runway task). The β2m KO mice also showed less precision in their response timing in the DRL task and showed weaker spontaneous recovery during extinction in the straight runway task. These results indicate that hippocampal asymmetry is important for certain characteristics of non-spatial learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sex Differences in Using Spatial and Verbal Abilities Influence Route Learning Performance in a Virtual Environment: A Comparison of 6- to 12-Year Old Boys and Girls.

PubMed

Merrill, Edward C; Yang, Yingying; Roskos, Beverly; Steele, Sara

2016-01-01

Previous studies have reported sex differences in wayfinding performance among adults. Men are typically better at using Euclidean information and survey strategies while women are better at using landmark information and route strategies. However, relatively few studies have examined sex differences in wayfinding in children. This research investigated relationships between route learning performance and two general abilities: spatial ability and verbal memory in 153 boys and girls between 6- to 12-years-old. Children completed a battery of spatial ability tasks (a two-dimension mental rotation task, a paper folding task, a visuo-spatial working memory task, and a Piagetian water level task) and a verbal memory task. In the route learning task, they had to learn a route through a series of hallways presented via computer. Boys had better overall route learning performance than did girls. In fact, the difference between boys and girls was constant across the age range tested. Structural equation modeling of the children's performance revealed that spatial abilities and verbal memory were significant contributors to route learning performance. However, there were different patterns of correlates for boys and girls. For boys, spatial abilities contributed to route learning while verbal memory did not. In contrast, for girls both spatial abilities and verbal memory contributed to their route learning performance. This difference may reflect the precursor of a strategic difference between boys and girls in wayfinding that is commonly observed in adults.

Brain activity during auditory and visual phonological, spatial and simple discrimination tasks.

PubMed

Salo, Emma; Rinne, Teemu; Salonen, Oili; Alho, Kimmo

2013-02-16

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure human brain activity during tasks demanding selective attention to auditory or visual stimuli delivered in concurrent streams. Auditory stimuli were syllables spoken by different voices and occurring in central or peripheral space. Visual stimuli were centrally or more peripherally presented letters in darker or lighter fonts. The participants performed a phonological, spatial or "simple" (speaker-gender or font-shade) discrimination task in either modality. Within each modality, we expected a clear distinction between brain activations related to nonspatial and spatial processing, as reported in previous studies. However, within each modality, different tasks activated largely overlapping areas in modality-specific (auditory and visual) cortices, as well as in the parietal and frontal brain regions. These overlaps may be due to effects of attention common for all three tasks within each modality or interaction of processing task-relevant features and varying task-irrelevant features in the attended-modality stimuli. Nevertheless, brain activations caused by auditory and visual phonological tasks overlapped in the left mid-lateral prefrontal cortex, while those caused by the auditory and visual spatial tasks overlapped in the inferior parietal cortex. These overlapping activations reveal areas of multimodal phonological and spatial processing. There was also some evidence for intermodal attention-related interaction. Most importantly, activity in the superior temporal sulcus elicited by unattended speech sounds was attenuated during the visual phonological task in comparison with the other visual tasks. This effect might be related to suppression of processing irrelevant speech presumably distracting the phonological task involving the letters. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Strategy generalization across orientation tasks: testing a computational cognitive model.

PubMed

Gunzelmann, Glenn

2008-07-08

Humans use their spatial information processing abilities flexibly to facilitate problem solving and decision making in a variety of tasks. This article explores the question of whether a general strategy can be adapted for performing two different spatial orientation tasks by testing the predictions of a computational cognitive model. Human performance was measured on an orientation task requiring participants to identify the location of a target either on a map (find-on-map) or within an egocentric view of a space (find-in-scene). A general strategy instantiated in a computational cognitive model of the find-on-map task, based on the results from Gunzelmann and Anderson (2006), was adapted to perform both tasks and used to generate performance predictions for a new study. The qualitative fit of the model to the human data supports the view that participants were able to tailor a general strategy to the requirements of particular spatial tasks. The quantitative differences between the predictions of the model and the performance of human participants in the new experiment expose individual differences in sample populations. The model provides a means of accounting for those differences and a framework for understanding how human spatial abilities are applied to naturalistic spatial tasks that involve reasoning with maps. 2008 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Dual-task results and the lateralization of spatial orientation: artifact of test selection?

PubMed

Bowers, C A; Milham, L M; Price, C

1998-01-01

An investigation was conducted to identify the degree to which results regarding the lateralization of spatial orientation among men and women are artifacts of test selection. A dual-task design was used to study possible lateralization differences, providing baseline and dual-task measures of spatial-orientation performance, right- and left-hand tapping, and vocalization of "cat, dog, horse." The Guilford-Zimmerman Test (Guilford & Zimmerman, 1953), the Eliot-Price Test (Eliot & Price, 1976), and the Stumpf-Fay Cube Perspectives Test (Stumpf & Fay, 1983) were the three spatial-orientation tests used to investigate possible artifacts of test selection. Twenty-eight right-handed male and 39 right-handed female undergraduates completed random baseline and dual-task sessions. Analyses indicated no significant sex-related differences in spatial-orientation ability for all three tests. Furthermore, there was no evidence of differential lateralization of spatial orientation between the sexes.

Relationships between the floral neighborhood and individual pollen limitation in two self-incompatible herbs.

PubMed

Jakobsson, Anna; Lázaro, Amparo; Totland, Orjan

2009-07-01

Local flower density can affect pollen limitation and plant reproductive success through changes in pollinator visitation and availability of compatible pollen. Many studies have investigated the relationship between conspecific density and pollen limitation among populations, but less is known about within-population relationships and the effect of heterospecific flower density. In addition, few studies have explicitly assessed how the spatial scales at which flowers are monitored affect relationships. We investigated the effect of floral neighborhood on pollen limitation at four spatial scales in the self-incompatible herbs Armeria maritima spp. maritima and Ranunculus acris spp. acris. Moreover, we measured pollen deposition in Armeria and pollinator visits to Ranunculus. There was substantial variation in pollen limitation among Armeria individuals, and 25% of this variation was explained by the density of compatible and heterospecific flowers within a 3 m circle. Deposition of compatible pollen was affected by the density of compatible and incompatible inflorescences within a 0.5 m circle, and deposition of heterospecific pollen was affected by the density of heterospecific flowers within a 2 m circle. In Ranunculus, the number of pollinator visits was affected by both conspecific and heterospecific flower densities. This did not, however, result in effects of the floral neighborhood on pollen limitation, probably due to an absence of pollen limitation at the population level. Our study shows that considerable variation in pollen limitation may occur among individuals of a population, and that this variation is partly explained by floral neighborhood density. Such individual-based measures provide an important link between pollen limitation theory, which predicts ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences for individual plants, and studies of the effects of landscape fragmentation on plant species persistence. Our study also highlights the importance of considering multiple spatial scales to understand the spatial extent of pollination processes within a population.

Measurement Error Correction for Predicted Spatiotemporal Air Pollution Exposures.

PubMed

Keller, Joshua P; Chang, Howard H; Strickland, Matthew J; Szpiro, Adam A

2017-05-01

Air pollution cohort studies are frequently analyzed in two stages, first modeling exposure then using predicted exposures to estimate health effects in a second regression model. The difference between predicted and unobserved true exposures introduces a form of measurement error in the second stage health model. Recent methods for spatial data correct for measurement error with a bootstrap and by requiring the study design ensure spatial compatibility, that is, monitor and subject locations are drawn from the same spatial distribution. These methods have not previously been applied to spatiotemporal exposure data. We analyzed the association between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and birth weight in the US state of Georgia using records with estimated date of conception during 2002-2005 (n = 403,881). We predicted trimester-specific PM2.5 exposure using a complex spatiotemporal exposure model. To improve spatial compatibility, we restricted to mothers residing in counties with a PM2.5 monitor (n = 180,440). We accounted for additional measurement error via a nonparametric bootstrap. Third trimester PM2.5 exposure was associated with lower birth weight in the uncorrected (-2.4 g per 1 μg/m difference in exposure; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -3.9, -0.8) and bootstrap-corrected (-2.5 g, 95% CI: -4.2, -0.8) analyses. Results for the unrestricted analysis were attenuated (-0.66 g, 95% CI: -1.7, 0.35). This study presents a novel application of measurement error correction for spatiotemporal air pollution exposures. Our results demonstrate the importance of spatial compatibility between monitor and subject locations and provide evidence of the association between air pollution exposure and birth weight.

Spatial-simultaneous working memory and selective interference in Down syndrome.

PubMed

Lanfranchi, Silvia; Mammarella, Irene C; Carretti, Barbara

2015-01-01

Several studies have suggested that individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have impairments in some aspects of the visuospatial domain. It has been reported that they are particularly impaired in the spatial-simultaneous working memory (WM) even in advantageous conditions such as when information is grouped to form a configuration. This study aimed to assess the performance of individuals with DS carrying out a spatial-simultaneous WM task in single and dual selective interference conditions in order to better explore the characteristics of their impairment in this area. Groups of individuals with DS and mentally age-matched typically developing (TD) children were asked to carry out a spatial-simultaneous WM task in a single- and in two dual-task conditions. In the single condition, the participants were required to recall an increasing number of positions of red squares presented simultaneously in a matrix. In the dual-task conditions, together with the spatial-simultaneous WM task, the participants were asked to carry out an articulatory suppression task or a tapping task. As has already been shown in other studies, individuals with DS were found to be impaired in carrying out a spatial-simultaneous WM task and showed a worse performance with respect to the TD group in both the conditions. These findings indicate that individuals with DS use the same coding modality as TD children of the same mental age. Just as the TD children, they performed lower in the dual- than in the single-task condition and there was no difference between the verbal and visuospatial conditions.

Spatial task performance, sex differences, and motion sickness susceptibility.

PubMed

Levine, Max E; Stern, Robert M

2002-10-01

There are substantial individual differences in susceptibility to motion sickness, yet little is known about what mediates these differences. Spatial ability and sex have been suggested as possible factors in this relationship. 89 participants (57 women) were administered a Motion Sickness Questionnaire that assesses motion sickness susceptibility, a Water-level Task that gauges sensitivity to gravitational upright, and a Mental Rotation Task that tests an individual's awareness of how objects typically move in space. Significant sex differences were observed in performance of both the Water-level Task (p<.01), and the Mental Rotation Task (p<.005), with women performing less accurately than men. Women also had significantly higher scores on the Motion Sickness Questionnaire (p<.005). Among men, but not women, significant negative relationships were observed between Water-level Task performance and Motion Sickness Questionnaire score (p<.001) and between Mental Rotation Task performance and Motion Sickness Questionnaire score (p<.005). In conclusion, women performed significantly more poorly than men did on the spatial ability tasks and reported significantly more bouts of motion sickness. In addition, men showed a significant negative relationship between spatial ability and motion sickness susceptibility.

MnemoCity Task: Assessment of Childrens Spatial Memory Using Stereoscopy and Virtual Environments

PubMed Central

Rodríguez-Andrés, David; Méndez-López, Magdalena; Pérez-Hernández, Elena; Lluch, Javier

2016-01-01

This paper presents the MnemoCity task, which is a 3D application that introduces the user into a totally 3D virtual environment to evaluate spatial short-term memory. A study has been carried out to validate the MnemoCity task for the assessment of spatial short-term memory in children, by comparing the children’s performance in the developed task with current approaches. A total of 160 children participated in the study. The task incorporates two types of interaction: one based on standard interaction and another one based on natural interaction involving physical movement by the user. There were no statistically significant differences in the results of the task using the two types of interaction. Furthermore, statistically significant differences were not found in relation to gender. The correlations between scores were obtained using the MnemoCity task and a traditional procedure for assessing spatial short-term memory. Those results revealed that the type of interaction used did not affect the performance of children in the MnemoCity task. PMID:27579715

A lateralization of function approach to sex differences in spatial ability: a reexamination.

PubMed

Rilea, Stacy L

2008-07-01

The current study assessed the lateralization of function hypothesis (Rilea, S. L., Roskos-Ewoldsen, B., & Boles, D. (2004). Sex differences in spatial ability: A lateralization of function approach. Brain and Cognition, 56, 332-343) which suggested that it was the interaction of brain organization and the type of spatial task that led to sex differences in spatial ability. A second purpose was to evaluate explanations for their unexpected findings on the mental rotation task. In Experiment 1, participants completed the Water Level, Paper Folding, and mental rotation tasks (using an object-based or self-based perspective), presented bilaterally. Sex differences were only observed on the Water Level Task; a right hemisphere advantage was observed on Water Level and mental rotation tasks. In Experiment 2, a human stick figure or a polygon was mentally rotated. Men outperformed women when rotating polygons, but not when rotating stick figures. Men demonstrated a right hemisphere advantage when rotating polygons; women showed no hemisphere differences for either stimulus. Thus, hemisphere processing, task complexity, and stimulus type may influence performance for men and women across different spatial measures.

The role of memory representation in the vigilance decrement.

PubMed

Caggiano, Daniel M; Parasuraman, Raja

2004-10-01

Working memory load is critically important for the overall level of performance on vigilance tasks. However, its role in a key aspect of vigilance-sensitivity decrement over time-is unclear. We used a dual-task procedure in which either a spatial or a nonspatial working memory task was performed simultaneously with a spatial vigilance task for 20 min. Sensitivity in the vigilance task declined over time when the concurrent task involved spatial working memory. In contrast, there was no sensitivity decrement with a nonspatial working memory task. The results provide the first evidence of a specific role for working memory representation in vigilance decrement. The findings are also consistent with a multiple resource theory in which separate resources for memory representation and cognitive control operations are differentially susceptible to depletion over time, depending on the demands of the task at hand.

Evaluation of a conceptual framework for predicting navigation performance in virtual reality.

PubMed

Grübel, Jascha; Thrash, Tyler; Hölscher, Christoph; Schinazi, Victor R

2017-01-01

Previous research in spatial cognition has often relied on simple spatial tasks in static environments in order to draw inferences regarding navigation performance. These tasks are typically divided into categories (e.g., egocentric or allocentric) that reflect different two-systems theories. Unfortunately, this two-systems approach has been insufficient for reliably predicting navigation performance in virtual reality (VR). In the present experiment, participants were asked to learn and navigate towards goal locations in a virtual city and then perform eight simple spatial tasks in a separate environment. These eight tasks were organised along four orthogonal dimensions (static/dynamic, perceived/remembered, egocentric/allocentric, and distance/direction). We employed confirmatory and exploratory analyses in order to assess the relationship between navigation performance and performances on these simple tasks. We provide evidence that a dynamic task (i.e., intercepting a moving object) is capable of predicting navigation performance in a familiar virtual environment better than several categories of static tasks. These results have important implications for studies on navigation in VR that tend to over-emphasise the role of spatial memory. Given that our dynamic tasks required efficient interaction with the human interface device (HID), they were more closely aligned with the perceptuomotor processes associated with locomotion than wayfinding. In the future, researchers should consider training participants on HIDs using a dynamic task prior to conducting a navigation experiment. Performances on dynamic tasks should also be assessed in order to avoid confounding skill with an HID and spatial knowledge acquisition.

Evaluation of a conceptual framework for predicting navigation performance in virtual reality

PubMed Central

Thrash, Tyler; Hölscher, Christoph; Schinazi, Victor R.

2017-01-01

Previous research in spatial cognition has often relied on simple spatial tasks in static environments in order to draw inferences regarding navigation performance. These tasks are typically divided into categories (e.g., egocentric or allocentric) that reflect different two-systems theories. Unfortunately, this two-systems approach has been insufficient for reliably predicting navigation performance in virtual reality (VR). In the present experiment, participants were asked to learn and navigate towards goal locations in a virtual city and then perform eight simple spatial tasks in a separate environment. These eight tasks were organised along four orthogonal dimensions (static/dynamic, perceived/remembered, egocentric/allocentric, and distance/direction). We employed confirmatory and exploratory analyses in order to assess the relationship between navigation performance and performances on these simple tasks. We provide evidence that a dynamic task (i.e., intercepting a moving object) is capable of predicting navigation performance in a familiar virtual environment better than several categories of static tasks. These results have important implications for studies on navigation in VR that tend to over-emphasise the role of spatial memory. Given that our dynamic tasks required efficient interaction with the human interface device (HID), they were more closely aligned with the perceptuomotor processes associated with locomotion than wayfinding. In the future, researchers should consider training participants on HIDs using a dynamic task prior to conducting a navigation experiment. Performances on dynamic tasks should also be assessed in order to avoid confounding skill with an HID and spatial knowledge acquisition. PMID:28915266

Two-digit number comparison: Decade-unit and unit-decade produce the same compatibility effect with number words.

PubMed

Macizo, Pedro; Herrera, Amparo

2010-03-01

This study explored the processing of 2-digit number words by examining the unit-decade compatibility effect in Spanish. Participants were required to choose the larger of 2-digit number words presented in verbal notation. In compatible trials the decade and unit comparisons led to the same response (e.g., 53-68) while in incompatible trials the decade and unit comparisons led to different responses (e.g., 59-74). Participants were slower on compatible trials as compared to incompatible trials. In Experiments 2 and 3, we evaluated whether the reverse compatibility effect in Spanish was only due to a pure left-to-right encoding which favours the decade processing in this language (decade-unit order). When participants processed 2-digit number words presented in reverse form (in the unit-decade order), the same reverse compatibility effect was found. This pattern of results suggests that participants have learnt a language-dependent process for analysing written numbers which is used irrespective of the specific arrangement of units and decades in the comparison task. 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Space Station evolution study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, David B.

1993-01-01

This is the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Evolution Study 1993 Final Report, performed under NASA Contract NAS8-38783, Task Order 5.1. This task examined: (1) the feasibility of launching current National Space Transportation System (NSTS) compatible logistics elements on expendable launch vehicles (ELV's) and the associated modifications, and (2) new, non-NSTS logistics elements for launch on ELV's to augment current SSF logistics capability.

A Test of Bayesian Observer Models of Processing in the Eriksen Flanker Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Corey N.; Brown, Scott; Ratcliff, Roger

2012-01-01

Two Bayesian observer models were recently proposed to account for data from the Eriksen flanker task, in which flanking items interfere with processing of a central target. One model assumes that interference stems from a perceptual bias to process nearby items as if they are compatible, and the other assumes that the interference is due to…

Spatial interactions during bimanual coordination patterns: the effect of directional compatibility.

PubMed

Bogaerts, H; Swinnen, S P

2001-04-01

Whereas previous bimanual coordination research has predominantly focused on the constraining role of timing, the present study addressed the role of spatial (i.e., directional) constraints during the simultaneous production of equilateral triangles with both upper limbs. In addition to coordination modes in which mirror-image and isodirectional movements were performed (compatible patterns), new modes were tested in which the left limb lagged with respect to the right by one triangle side (non-compatible patterns). This resulted in the experimental manipulation of directional compatibility between the limbs. In addition, triangles with either horizontal or vertical orientations were to be drawn in order to assess the role of static images on movement production. Results supported the important role of directional constraints in bimanual coordination. Furthermore, triangles in vertical orientations (with a vertical symmetry axis, i.e., one apex pointing up) were drawn more successfully than those in horizontal orientations (with a horizontal symmetry axis, i.e., one apex pointing left or right), suggesting that the static aspects of a geometric form may affect movement dynamics. Finally, evidence suggested that cognitive processes related to integration of the submovements into a unified plan mediate the performance of new coordination patterns. The implications of the present finding for clinical populations are discussed

Using Mental Transformation Strategies for Spatial Scaling: Evidence from a Discrimination Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Möhring, Wenke; Newcombe, Nora S.; Frick, Andrea

2016-01-01

Spatial scaling, or an understanding of how distances in different-sized spaces relate to each other, is fundamental for many spatial tasks and relevant for success in numerous professions. Previous research has suggested that adults use mental transformation strategies to mentally scale spatial input, as indicated by linear increases in response…

Effect of Action Video Games on the Spatial Distribution of Visuospatial Attention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, C. Shawn; Bavelier, Daphne

2006-01-01

The authors investigated the effect of action gaming on the spatial distribution of attention. The authors used the flanker compatibility effect to separately assess center and peripheral attentional resources in gamers versus nongamers. Gamers exhibited an enhancement in attentional resources compared with nongamers, not only in the periphery but…

Are Books Like Number Lines? Children Spontaneously Encode Spatial-Numeric Relationships in a Novel Spatial Estimation Task.

PubMed

Thompson, Clarissa A; Morris, Bradley J; Sidney, Pooja G

2017-01-01

Do children spontaneously represent spatial-numeric features of a task, even when it does not include printed numbers (Mix et al., 2016)? Sixty first grade students completed a novel spatial estimation task by seeking and finding pages in a 100-page book without printed page numbers. Children were shown pages 1 through 6 and 100, and then were asked, "Can you find page X?" Children's precision of estimates on the page finder task and a 0-100 number line estimation task was calculated with the Percent Absolute Error (PAE) formula (Siegler and Booth, 2004), in which lower PAE indicated more precise estimates. Children's numerical knowledge was further assessed with: (1) numeral identification (e.g., What number is this: 57?), (2) magnitude comparison (e.g., Which is larger: 54 or 57?), and (3) counting on (e.g., Start counting from 84 and count up 5 more). Children's accuracy on these tasks was correlated with their number line PAE. Children's number line estimation PAE predicted their page finder PAE, even after controlling for age and accuracy on the other numerical tasks. Children's estimates on the page finder and number line tasks appear to tap a general magnitude representation. However, the page finder task did not correlate with numeral identification and counting-on performance, likely because these tasks do not measure children's magnitude knowledge. Our results suggest that the novel page finder task is a useful measure of children's magnitude knowledge, and that books have similar spatial-numeric affordances as number lines and numeric board games.

FMRI to probe sex-related differences in brain function with multitasking

PubMed Central

Tschernegg, Melanie; Neuper, Christa; Schmidt, Reinhold; Wood, Guilherme; Kronbichler, Martin; Fazekas, Franz; Enzinger, Christian

2017-01-01

Background Although established as a general notion in society, there is no solid scientific foundation for the existence of sex-differences in multitasking. Reaction time and accuracy in dual task conditions have an inverse relationship relative to single task, independently from sex. While a more disseminated network, parallel to decreasing accuracy and reaction time has been demonstrated in dual task fMRI studies, little is known so far whether there exist respective sex-related differences in activation. Methods We subjected 20 women (mean age = 25.45; SD = 5.23) and 20 men (mean age = 27.55; SD = 4.00) to a combined verbal and spatial fMRI paradigm at 3.0T to assess sex-related skills, based on the assumption that generally women better perform in verbal tasks while men do better in spatial tasks. We also obtained behavioral tests for verbal and spatial intelligence, attention, executive functions, and working memory. Results No differences between women and men were observed in behavioral measures of dual-tasking or cognitive performance. Generally, brain activation increased with higher task load, mainly in the bilateral inferior and prefrontal gyri, the anterior cingulum, thalamus, putamen and occipital areas. Comparing sexes, women showed increased activation in the inferior frontal gyrus in the verbal dual-task while men demonstrated increased activation in the precuneus and adjacent visual areas in the spatial task. Conclusion Against the background of equal cognitive and behavioral dual-task performance in both sexes, we provide first evidence for sex-related activation differences in functional networks for verbal and spatial dual-tasking. PMID:28759619

FMRI to probe sex-related differences in brain function with multitasking.

PubMed

Tschernegg, Melanie; Neuper, Christa; Schmidt, Reinhold; Wood, Guilherme; Kronbichler, Martin; Fazekas, Franz; Enzinger, Christian; Koini, Marisa

2017-01-01

Although established as a general notion in society, there is no solid scientific foundation for the existence of sex-differences in multitasking. Reaction time and accuracy in dual task conditions have an inverse relationship relative to single task, independently from sex. While a more disseminated network, parallel to decreasing accuracy and reaction time has been demonstrated in dual task fMRI studies, little is known so far whether there exist respective sex-related differences in activation. We subjected 20 women (mean age = 25.45; SD = 5.23) and 20 men (mean age = 27.55; SD = 4.00) to a combined verbal and spatial fMRI paradigm at 3.0T to assess sex-related skills, based on the assumption that generally women better perform in verbal tasks while men do better in spatial tasks. We also obtained behavioral tests for verbal and spatial intelligence, attention, executive functions, and working memory. No differences between women and men were observed in behavioral measures of dual-tasking or cognitive performance. Generally, brain activation increased with higher task load, mainly in the bilateral inferior and prefrontal gyri, the anterior cingulum, thalamus, putamen and occipital areas. Comparing sexes, women showed increased activation in the inferior frontal gyrus in the verbal dual-task while men demonstrated increased activation in the precuneus and adjacent visual areas in the spatial task. Against the background of equal cognitive and behavioral dual-task performance in both sexes, we provide first evidence for sex-related activation differences in functional networks for verbal and spatial dual-tasking.

Age-related similarities and differences in monitoring spatial cognition.

PubMed

Ariel, Robert; Moffat, Scott D

2018-05-01

Spatial cognitive performance is impaired in later adulthood but it is unclear whether the metacognitive processes involved in monitoring spatial cognitive performance are also compromised. Inaccurate monitoring could affect whether people choose to engage in tasks that require spatial thinking and also the strategies they use in spatial domains such as navigation. The current experiment examined potential age differences in monitoring spatial cognitive performance in a variety of spatial domains including visual-spatial working memory, spatial orientation, spatial visualization, navigation, and place learning. Younger and older adults completed a 2D mental rotation test, 3D mental rotation test, paper folding test, spatial memory span test, two virtual navigation tasks, and a cognitive mapping test. Participants also made metacognitive judgments of performance (confidence judgments, judgments of learning, or navigation time estimates) on each trial for all spatial tasks. Preference for allocentric or egocentric navigation strategies was also measured. Overall, performance was poorer and confidence in performance was lower for older adults than younger adults. In most spatial domains, the absolute and relative accuracy of metacognitive judgments was equivalent for both age groups. However, age differences in monitoring accuracy (specifically relative accuracy) emerged in spatial tasks involving navigation. Confidence in navigating for a target location also mediated age differences in allocentric navigation strategy use. These findings suggest that with the possible exception of navigation monitoring, spatial cognition may be spared from age-related decline even though spatial cognition itself is impaired in older age.

A fully-integrated 12.5-Gb/s 850-nm CMOS optical receiver based on a spatially-modulated avalanche photodetector.

PubMed

Lee, Myung-Jae; Youn, Jin-Sung; Park, Kang-Yeob; Choi, Woo-Young

2014-02-10

We present a fully integrated 12.5-Gb/s optical receiver fabricated with standard 0.13-µm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology for 850-nm optical interconnect applications. Our integrated optical receiver includes a newly proposed CMOS-compatible spatially-modulated avalanche photodetector, which provides larger photodetection bandwidth than previously reported CMOS-compatible photodetectors. The receiver also has high-speed CMOS circuits including transimpedance amplifier, DC-balanced buffer, equalizer, and limiting amplifier. With the fabricated optical receiver, detection of 12.5-Gb/s optical data is successfully achieved at 5.8 pJ/bit. Our receiver achieves the highest data rate ever reported for 850-nm integrated CMOS optical receivers.

Sex Differences in Using Spatial and Verbal Abilities Influence Route Learning Performance in a Virtual Environment: A Comparison of 6- to 12-Year Old Boys and Girls

PubMed Central

Merrill, Edward C.; Yang, Yingying; Roskos, Beverly; Steele, Sara

2016-01-01

Previous studies have reported sex differences in wayfinding performance among adults. Men are typically better at using Euclidean information and survey strategies while women are better at using landmark information and route strategies. However, relatively few studies have examined sex differences in wayfinding in children. This research investigated relationships between route learning performance and two general abilities: spatial ability and verbal memory in 153 boys and girls between 6- to 12-years-old. Children completed a battery of spatial ability tasks (a two-dimension mental rotation task, a paper folding task, a visuo-spatial working memory task, and a Piagetian water level task) and a verbal memory task. In the route learning task, they had to learn a route through a series of hallways presented via computer. Boys had better overall route learning performance than did girls. In fact, the difference between boys and girls was constant across the age range tested. Structural equation modeling of the children’s performance revealed that spatial abilities and verbal memory were significant contributors to route learning performance. However, there were different patterns of correlates for boys and girls. For boys, spatial abilities contributed to route learning while verbal memory did not. In contrast, for girls both spatial abilities and verbal memory contributed to their route learning performance. This difference may reflect the precursor of a strategic difference between boys and girls in wayfinding that is commonly observed in adults. PMID:26941701

Framing spatial cognition: Neural representations of proximal and distal frames of reference and their roles in navigation

PubMed Central

Knierim, James J.; Hamilton, Derek A.

2011-01-01

The most common behavioral test of hippocampus-dependent, spatial learning and memory is the Morris water task, and the most commonly studied behavioral correlate of hippocampal neurons is the spatial specificity of place cells. Despite decades of intensive research, it is not completely understood how animals solve the water task and how place cells generate their spatially specific firing fields. Based on early work, it has become the accepted wisdom in the general neuroscience community that distal spatial cues are the primary sources of information used by animals to solve the water task (and similar spatial tasks) and by place cells to generate their spatial specificity. More recent research, along with earlier studies that were overshadowed by the emphasis on distal cues, put this common view into question by demonstrating primary influences of local cues and local boundaries on spatial behavior and place-cell firing. This paper first reviews the historical underpinnings of the “standard” view from a behavioral perspective, and then reviews newer results demonstrating that an animal's behavior in such spatial tasks is more strongly controlled by a local-apparatus frame of reference than by distal landmarks. The paper then reviews similar findings from the literature on the neurophysiological correlates of place cells and other spatially-correlated cells from related brain areas. A model is proposed by which distal cues primarily set the orientation of the animal's internal spatial coordinate system, via the head direction cell system, whereas local cues and apparatus boundaries primarily set the translation and scale of that coordinate system. PMID:22013211

The role of memory representation in the vigilance decrement

PubMed Central

CAGGIANO, DANIEL M.; PARASURAMAN, RAJA

2005-01-01

Working memory load is critically important for the overall level of performance on vigilance tasks. However, its role in a key aspect of vigilance—sensitivity decrement over time—is unclear. We used a dual-task procedure in which either a spatial or a nonspatial working memory task was performed simultaneously with a spatial vigilance task for 20 min. Sensitivity in the vigilance task declined over time when the concurrent task involved spatial working memory. In contrast, there was no sensitivity decrement with a nonspatial working memory task. The results provide the first evidence of a specific role for working memory representation in vigilance decrement. The findings are also consistent with a multiple resource theory in which separate resources for memory representation and cognitive control operations are differentially susceptible to depletion over time, depending on the demands of the task at hand. PMID:15732706

Biasing spatial attention with semantic information: an event coding approach.

PubMed

Amer, Tarek; Gozli, Davood G; Pratt, Jay

2017-04-21

We investigated the influence of conceptual processing on visual attention from the standpoint of Theory of Event Coding (TEC). The theory makes two predictions: first, an important factor in determining the influence of event 1 on processing event 2 is whether features of event 1 are bound into a unified representation (i.e., selection or retrieval of event 1). Second, whether processing the two events facilitates or interferes with each other should depend on the extent to which their constituent features overlap. In two experiments, participants performed a visual-attention cueing task, in which the visual target (event 2) was preceded by a relevant or irrelevant explicit (e.g., "UP") or implicit (e.g., "HAPPY") spatial-conceptual cue (event 1). Consistent with TEC, we found relevant explicit cues (which featurally overlap to a greater extent with the target) and implicit cues (which featurally overlap to a lesser extent), respectively, facilitated and interfered with target processing at compatible locations. Irrelevant explicit and implicit cues, on the other hand, both facilitated target processing, presumably because they were less likely selected or retrieved as an integrated and unified event file. We argue that such effects, often described as "attentional cueing", are better accounted for within the event coding framework.

Aircraft electromagnetic compatibility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clarke, Clifton A.; Larsen, William E.

1987-01-01

Illustrated are aircraft architecture, electromagnetic interference environments, electromagnetic compatibility protection techniques, program specifications, tasks, and verification and validation procedures. The environment of 400 Hz power, electrical transients, and radio frequency fields are portrayed and related to thresholds of avionics electronics. Five layers of protection for avionics are defined. Recognition is given to some present day electromagnetic compatibility weaknesses and issues which serve to reemphasize the importance of EMC verification of equipment and parts, and their ultimate EMC validation on the aircraft. Proven standards of grounding, bonding, shielding, wiring, and packaging are laid out to help provide a foundation for a comprehensive approach to successful future aircraft design and an understanding of cost effective EMC in an aircraft setting.

A Twin Study of Spatial and Non-Spatial Delayed Response Performance in Middle Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kremen, William S.; Mai, Tuan; Panizzon, Matthew S.; Franz, Carol E.; Blankfeld, Howard M.; Xian, Hong; Eisen, Seth A.; Tsuang, Ming T.; Lyons, Michael J.

2011-01-01

Delayed alternation and object alternation are classic spatial and non-spatial delayed response tasks. We tested 632 middle-aged male veteran twins on variants of these tasks in order to compare test difficulty, measure their inter-correlation, test order effects, and estimate heritabilities (proportion of observed variance due to genetic…

Spatial Construction Skills of Chimpanzees ("Pan Troglodytes") and Young Human Children ("Homo Sapiens Sapiens")

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poti, Patrizia; Hayashi, Misato; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro

2009-01-01

Spatial construction tasks are basic tests of visual-spatial processing. Two studies have assessed spatial construction skills in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and young children (Homo sapiens sapiens) with a block modelling task. Study 1a subjects were three young chimpanzees and five adult chimpanzees. Study 1b subjects were 30 human children…

Spatial cognition in autism spectrum disorders: superior, impaired, or just intact?

PubMed

Edgin, Jamie O; Pennington, Bruce F

2005-12-01

The profile of spatial ability is of interest across autism spectrum disorders (ASD) because of reported spatial strengths in ASD and due to the recent association of Asperger's syndrome with Nonverbal Learning Disability. Spatial functions were examined in relation to two cognitive theories in autism: the central coherence and executive function (EF) theories. Performance on spatial tasks, EFs, and global/local processing was compared in children with ASD and controls. While the ASD group had faster reaction times on the Embedded Figures task, spatial performance was intact, but not superior, on other tasks. There was no evidence for impairments in EF or in processing global/local information, therefore contradicting these two theories. The implications of these results for these two theories are discussed.

Cerebral Correlates of Emotional and Action Appraisals During Visual Processing of Emotional Scenes Depending on Spatial Frequency: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Campagne, Aurélie; Fradcourt, Benoit; Pichat, Cédric; Baciu, Monica; Kauffmann, Louise; Peyrin, Carole

2016-01-01

Visual processing of emotional stimuli critically depends on the type of cognitive appraisal involved. The present fMRI pilot study aimed to investigate the cerebral correlates involved in the visual processing of emotional scenes in two tasks, one emotional, based on the appraisal of personal emotional experience, and the other motivational, based on the appraisal of the tendency to action. Given that the use of spatial frequency information is relatively flexible during the visual processing of emotional stimuli depending on the task's demands, we also explored the effect of the type of spatial frequency in visual stimuli in each task by using emotional scenes filtered in low spatial frequency (LSF) and high spatial frequencies (HSF). Activation was observed in the visual areas of the fusiform gyrus for all emotional scenes in both tasks, and in the amygdala for unpleasant scenes only. The motivational task induced additional activation in frontal motor-related areas (e.g. premotor cortex, SMA) and parietal regions (e.g. superior and inferior parietal lobules). Parietal regions were recruited particularly during the motivational appraisal of approach in response to pleasant scenes. These frontal and parietal activations, respectively, suggest that motor and navigation processes play a specific role in the identification of the tendency to action in the motivational task. Furthermore, activity observed in the motivational task, in response to both pleasant and unpleasant scenes, was significantly greater for HSF than for LSF scenes, suggesting that the tendency to action is driven mainly by the detailed information contained in scenes. Results for the emotional task suggest that spatial frequencies play only a small role in the evaluation of unpleasant and pleasant emotions. Our preliminary study revealed a partial distinction between visual processing of emotional scenes during identification of the tendency to action, and during identification of personal emotional experiences. It also illustrates flexible use of the spatial frequencies contained in scenes depending on their emotional valence and on task demands.

Pseudoneglect in line bisection judgement is associated with a modulation of right hemispheric spatial attention dominance in right-handers.

PubMed

Zago, Laure; Petit, Laurent; Jobard, Gael; Hay, Julien; Mazoyer, Bernard; Tzourio-Mazoyer, Nathalie; Karnath, Hans-Otto; Mellet, Emmanuel

2017-01-08

The objective of this study was to validate a line bisection judgement (LBJ) task for use in investigating the lateralized cerebral bases of spatial attention in a sample of 51 right-handed healthy participants. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the participants performed a LBJ task that was compared to a visuomotor control task during which the participants made similar saccadic and motoric responses. Cerebral lateralization was determined using a voxel-based functional asymmetry analysis and a hemispheric functional lateralization index (HFLI) computed from fMRI contrast images. Behavioural attentional deviation biases were assessed during the LBJ task and a "paper and pencil" symbol cancellation task (SCT). Individual visuospatial skills were also evaluated. The results showed that both the LBJ and SCT tasks elicited leftward spatial biases in healthy subjects, although the biases were not correlated, which indicated their independence. Neuroimaging results showed that the LBJ task elicited a right hemispheric lateralization, with rightward asymmetries found in a large posterior occipito-parietal area, the posterior calcarine sulcus (V1p) and the temporo-occipital junction (TOJ) and in the inferior frontal gyrus, the anterior insula and the superior medial frontal gyrus. The comparison of the LBJ asymmetry map to the lesion map of neglect patients who suffer line bisection deviation demonstrated maximum overlap in a network that included the middle occipital gyrus (MOG), the TOJ, the anterior insula and the inferior frontal region, likely subtending spatial LBJ bias. Finally, the LBJ task-related cerebral lateralization was specifically correlated with the LBJ spatial bias but not with the SCT bias or with the visuospatial skills of the participants. Taken together, these results demonstrated that the LBJ task is adequate for investigating spatial lateralization in healthy subjects and is suitable for determining the factors underlying the variability of spatial cerebral lateralization. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of acute stress on spatial tasks in humans.

PubMed

Richardson, Anthony E; VanderKaay Tomasulo, Melissa M

2011-07-06

Few studies have investigated the relationship between stress and spatial performance in humans. In this study, participants were exposed to an acute laboratory stressor (Star Mirror Tracing Task) or a control condition (watching a nature video) and then performed two spatial tasks. In the first task, participants navigated through a virtual reality (VR) environment and then returned to the environment to make directional judgments relating to the learned targets. In the second task, perspective taking, participants made directional judgments to targets after imagined body rotations with respect to a map. Compared to the control condition, participants in the Stress condition showed increases in heart rate and systolic and diastolic blood pressure indicating sympathetic adrenal medulla (SAM) axis activation. Participants in the Stress condition also reported being more anxious, angry, frustrated, and irritated than participants in the Non-Stress condition. Salivary cortisol did not differ between conditions, indicating no significant hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis involvement. In the VR task, memory encoding was unaffected as directional error was similar in both conditions; however, participants in the Stress condition responded more slowly, which may be due to increases in negative affect, SAM disruption in spatial memory retrieval through catecholamine release, or a combination of both factors. In the perspective taking task, participants were also slower to respond after stress, suggesting interference in the ability to adopt new spatial orientations. Additionally, sex differences were observed in that men had greater accuracy on both spatial tasks, but no significant Sex by Stress condition interactions were demonstrated. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spatially Resolved MR-Compatible Doppler Ultrasound: Proof of Concept for Triggering of Diagnostic Quality Cardiovascular MRI for Function and Flow Quantification at 3T.

PubMed

Crowe, Lindsey Alexandra; Manasseh, Gibran; Chmielewski, Aneta; Hachulla, Anne-Lise; Speicher, Daniel; Greiser, Andreas; Muller, Hajo; de Perrot, Thomas; Vallee, Jean-Paul; Salomir, Rares

2018-02-01

We demonstrate the use of a magnetic-resonance (MR)-compatible ultrasound (US) imaging probe using spatially resolved Doppler for diagnostic quality cardiovascular MR imaging (MRI) as an initial step toward hybrid US/MR fetal imaging. A newly developed technology for a dedicated MR-compatible phased array ultrasound-imaging probe acquired pulsed color Doppler carotid images, which were converted in near-real time to a trigger signal for cardiac cine and flow quantification MRI. Ultrasound and MR data acquired simultaneously were interference free. Conventional electrocardiogram (ECG) and the proposed spatially resolved Doppler triggering were compared in 10 healthy volunteers. A synthetic "false-triggered" image was retrospectively processed using metric optimized gating (MOG). Images were scored by expert readers, and sharpness, cardiac function and aortic flow were quantified. Four-dimensional (4-D) flow (two volunteers) showed feasibility of Doppler triggering over a long acquisition time. Imaging modalities were compatible. US probe positioning was stable and comfortable. Image quality scores and quantified sharpness were statistically equal for Doppler- and ECG-triggering (p ). ECG-, Doppler-triggered, and MOG ejection fractions were equivalent (p ), with false-triggered values significantly lower (p < 0.0005). Aortic flow showed no difference between ECG- and Doppler-triggered and MOG (p > 0.05). 4-D flow quantification gave consistent results between ECG and Doppler triggering. We report interference-free pulsed color Doppler ultrasound during MR data acquisition. Cardiovascular MRI of diagnostic quality was successfully obtained with pulsed color Doppler triggering. The hardware platform could further enable advanced free-breathing cardiac imaging. Doppler ultrasound triggering is applicable where ECG is compromised due to pathology or interference at higher magnetic fields, and where direct ECG is impossible, i.e., fetal imaging.

The Structure of Working Memory Abilities across the Adult Life Span

PubMed Central

Hale, Sandra; Rose, Nathan S.; Myerson, Joel; Strube, Michael J; Sommers, Mitchell; Tye-Murray, Nancy; Spehar, Brent

2010-01-01

The present study addresses three questions regarding age differences in working memory: (1) whether performance on complex span tasks decreases as a function of age at a faster rate than performance on simple span tasks; (2) whether spatial working memory decreases at a faster rate than verbal working memory; and (3) whether the structure of working memory abilities is different for different age groups. Adults, ages 20–89 (n=388), performed three simple and three complex verbal span tasks and three simple and three complex spatial memory tasks. Performance on the spatial tasks decreased at faster rates as a function of age than performance on the verbal tasks, but within each domain, performance on complex and simple span tasks decreased at the same rates. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that domain-differentiated models yielded better fits than models involving domain-general constructs, providing further evidence of the need to distinguish verbal and spatial working memory abilities. Regardless of which domain-differentiated model was examined, and despite the faster rates of decrease in the spatial domain, age group comparisons revealed that the factor structure of working memory abilities was highly similar in younger and older adults and showed no evidence of age-related dedifferentiation. PMID:21299306

The influence of cue-task association and location on switch cost and alternating-switch cost.

PubMed

Arbuthnott, Katherine D; Woodward, Todd S

2002-03-01

Task-switching performance is strongly influenced by whether the imperative stimulus uniquely specifies which task to perform: Switch cost is substantial with bivalent stimuli but is greatly reduced with univalent stimuli, suggesting that available contextual information influences processing in task-switching situations. The present study examined whether task-relevant information provided by task cues influences the magnitude of switch cost in a parallel manner. Cues presented 500 ms prior to a trivalent stimulus indicated which of three tasks to perform. These cues either had a preexisting association with the to-be-performed task (verbal cues), or a recently learned association with the task (spatial and shape cues). The results paralleled the effects of stimulus bivalence: substantial switch cost with recently learned cue-task associations and greatly reduced switch cost with preexisting cue-task associations. This suggests that both stimulus-based and cue-based information can activate the relevant task set, possibly providing external support to endogenous control processes. Alternating-switch cost, a greater cost for switching back to a recently abandoned task, was also observed with both preexisting and recently learned cue-task associations, but only when all tasks were presented in a consistent spatial location. When spatial location was used to cue the to-be-performed tasks, no alternating-switch cost was observed, suggesting that different processes may be involved when tasks are uniquely located in space. Specification of the nature of these processes may prove to be complex, as post-hoc inspection of the data suggested that for the spatial cue condition, the alternating-switch cost may oscillate between cost and benefit, depending on the relevant task.

Mineralocorticoid receptor stimulation effects on spatial memory in healthy young adults: A study using the virtual Morris Water Maze task.

PubMed

Piber, Dominique; Schultebraucks, Katharina; Mueller, Sven C; Deuter, Christian Eric; Wingenfeld, Katja; Otte, Christian

2016-12-01

Stress hormones such as cortisol are known to influence a wide range of cognitive functions, including hippocampal based spatial memory. In the brain, cortisol acts via two different receptors: the glucocorticoid (GR) and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR). As the MR has a high density in the hippocampus, we examined the effects of pharmacological MR stimulation on spatial memory. Eighty healthy participants (40 women, 40 men, mean age=23.9years±SD=3.3) completed the virtual Morris Water Maze (vMWM) task to test spatial encoding and spatial memory retrieval after receiving 0.4mg fludrocortisone, a MR agonist, or placebo. There was no effect of MR stimulation on spatial encoding during the vMWM task. However, participants who received fludrocortisone exhibited improved spatial memory retrieval performance. There was neither a main effect of sex nor a sex-by-treatment interaction. In young healthy participants, MR stimulation improved hippocampal based spatial memory retrieval in a virtual Morris Water Maze task. Our study not only confirms the importance of MR function in spatial memory, but suggests beneficial effects of acute MR stimulation on spatial memory retrieval in humans. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developmental changes in spatial learning in the Morris water-maze in young meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus.

PubMed

Galea, L A; Ossenkopp, K P; Kavaliers, M

1994-01-31

Spatial learning in pre- and postweaning meadow voles, (Microtus pennsylvanicus) was examined in a Morris water-maze task. The learning performance of 10-day-old (preweaning) and 15-, 20- and 25-day-old (postweaning) male and female voles was assessed by measuring the latency to reach a hidden platform by each animal twice a day for 5 days. Voles of all age groups were able to learn the spatial task with Day 10 and Day 15 voles acquiring the task more slowly than did Day 20 and Day 25 voles. There were no significant sex differences in task acquisition in any of the four age groups. In addition, although swimming speed was related to age, with older animals swimming faster than younger ones, differences in swim speed did not account for the faster acquisition by the older animals. These results show that both preweaning and postweaning voles can successfully learn a spatial task. This is in contrast to preweaning laboratory rats which cannot successfully acquire a similar spatial task. These findings indicate that there are species differences in the ontogeny of spatial learning, which are likely related to the ecological and behavioural developmental characteristics of the species. Furthermore, in contrast to the sex difference in water-maze performance obtained in adult, breeding meadow voles who demonstrate a sex difference, there were no significant sex differences in the spatial performance of the juvenile voles. This suggests that sex differences in spatial learning in the meadow vole do not appear until voles reach reproductive adulthood.

Caloric restriction and spatial learning in old mice.

PubMed

Bellush, L L; Wright, A M; Walker, J P; Kopchick, J; Colvin, R A

1996-08-01

Spatial learning in old mice (19 or 24 months old), some of which had been calorically restricted beginning at 14 weeks of age, was compared to that of young mice, in two separate experiments using a Morris water maze. In the first experiment, only old mice reaching criterion performance on a cued learning task were tested in a subsequent spatial task. Thus, all old mice tested for spatial learning had achieved escape latencies equivalent to those of young controls. Despite equivalent swimming speeds, only about half the old mice in each diet group achieved criterion performance in the spatial task. In the second experiment, old and young mice all received the same number of training trials in a cued task and then in a spatial task. Immediately following spatial training, they were given a 60-s probe trial, with no platform in the pool. Both groups of old mice spent significantly less time in the quadrant where the platform had been and made significantly fewer direct crosses over the previous platform location than did the young control group. As in Experiment 1, calorie restriction failed to provide protection against aging-related deficits. However, in both experiments, some individual old mice evidenced performance in spatial learning indistinguishable from that of young controls. Separate comparisons of "age-impaired" and "age-unimpaired" old mice with young controls may facilitate the identification of neurobiological mechanisms underlying age-related cognitive decline.

Lateralization of spatial rather than temporal attention underlies the left hemifield advantage in rapid serial visual presentation.

PubMed

Asanowicz, Dariusz; Kruse, Lena; Śmigasiewicz, Kamila; Verleger, Rolf

2017-11-01

In bilateral rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP), the second of two targets, T1 and T2, is better identified in the left visual field (LVF) than in the right visual field (RVF). This LVF advantage may reflect hemispheric asymmetry in temporal attention or/and in spatial orienting of attention. Participants performed two tasks: the "standard" bilateral RSVP task (Exp.1) and its unilateral variant (Exp.1 & 2). In the bilateral task, spatial location was uncertain, thus target identification involved stimulus-driven spatial orienting. In the unilateral task, the targets were presented block-wise in the LVF or RVF only, such that no spatial orienting was needed for target identification. Temporal attention was manipulated in both tasks by varying the T1-T2 lag. The results showed that the LVF advantage disappeared when involvement of stimulus-driven spatial orienting was eliminated, whereas the manipulation of temporal attention had no effect on the asymmetry. In conclusion, the results do not support the hypothesis of hemispheric asymmetry in temporal attention, and provide further evidence that the LVF advantage reflects right hemisphere predominance in stimulus-driven orienting of spatial attention. These conclusions fit evidence that temporal attention is implemented by bilateral parietal areas and spatial attention by the right-lateralized ventral frontoparietal network. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stimulus-Response Compatibility in Spatial Precuing and Symbolic Identification: Effects of Coding Practice, Retention and Transfer

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-05-31

for the effects. Most of the pqychophysiological research has examined event-related potentials (ERPs). Bashore (Chapter 7 ), Ragot (Chapter 8), and...flanking noise letters I signaled a response that was incongruent with the resTcnse i:.dicated b., a target letter. Bashore (Chapter 7 ) describes a...forms. First, compatibility effects have been used as estimates of interhemispheric transmission time (Bashore, I Chapter 7 ). The logic, articulated

Plasticity of human spatial cognition: spatial language and cognition covary across cultures.

PubMed

Haun, Daniel B M; Rapold, Christian J; Janzen, Gabriele; Levinson, Stephen C

2011-04-01

The present paper explores cross-cultural variation in spatial cognition by comparing spatial reconstruction tasks by Dutch and Namibian elementary school children. These two communities differ in the way they predominantly express spatial relations in language. Four experiments investigate cognitive strategy preferences across different levels of task-complexity and instruction. Data show a correlation between dominant linguistic spatial frames of reference and performance patterns in non-linguistic spatial memory tasks. This correlation is shown to be stable across an increase of complexity in the spatial array. When instructed to use their respective non-habitual cognitive strategy, participants were not easily able to switch between strategies and their attempts to do so impaired their performance. These results indicate a difference not only in preference but also in competence and suggest that spatial language and non-linguistic preferences and competences in spatial cognition are systematically aligned across human populations. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inter-individual Differences in Exercise-Induced Spatial Working Memory Improvement: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study.

PubMed

Yamazaki, Yudai; Sato, Daisuke; Yamashiro, Koya; Tsubaki, Atsuhiro; Yamaguchi, Yui; Takehara, Nana; Maruyama, Atsuo

2017-01-01

Acute aerobic exercise at a mild intensity improves cognitive function. However, the response to exercise exhibits inter-individual differences, and the mechanisms underlying these differences remain unclear. The objective of this study was to determine potential factors in the brain that underlie differential responses to exercise in terms of cognitive improvement using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Fourteen healthy subjects participated in these experiments. Participants performed a low intensity cycling exercise at 30% maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2peak ) for 10 min and performed a spatial memory task before and after exercising (5 and 30 min). The spatial memory task comprised two levels of difficulty (low: 1-dot EXERCISE, high: 3-dot EXERCISE). Cortical oxy-hemoglobin (O 2 Hb) levels were recorded using near-infrared spectroscopy during both the exercise and the spatial memory task phases. Regions of interests included the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), and frontopolar area (FPA). The participants were divided into two groups depending on whether they were responders (improved task reaction time) or non-responders (no improvement). Subsequently, we analyzed the group characteristics and differences in the change in O 2 Hb levels during exercise and spatial working memory tasks. Acute mild exercise significantly improved mean reaction times in the 1-dot memory task but not in the 3-dot task across the participants. In the 1-dot EXERCISE, 10 subjects were responders and four subjects were non-responders, whereas in the 3-dot EXERCISE, seven subjects were non-responders. In responders, during exercise, we found higher O 2 Hb levels in the right VLPFC response for the 1-dot memory task. Acute mild exercise caused inter-individual differences in spatial memory improvement, which were associated with changes in O 2 Hb activity in the prefrontal area during the exercise phase but not during the actual spatial memory task. Therefore, individuals who respond with higher reactivity to mild intensity exercise in the VLPFC might obtain larger spatial working memory improvements following exercise than non-responders.

Inattentional Blindness and Individual Differences in Cognitive Abilities.

PubMed

Kreitz, Carina; Furley, Philip; Memmert, Daniel; Simons, Daniel J

2015-01-01

People sometimes fail to notice salient unexpected objects when their attention is otherwise occupied, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness. To explore individual differences in inattentional blindness, we employed both static and dynamic tasks that either presented the unexpected object away from the focus of attention (spatial) or near the focus of attention (central). We hypothesized that noticing in central tasks might be driven by the availability of cognitive resources like working memory, and that noticing in spatial tasks might be driven by the limits on spatial attention like attention breadth. However, none of the cognitive measures predicted noticing in the dynamic central task or in either the static or dynamic spatial task. Only in the central static task did working memory capacity predict noticing, and that relationship was fairly weak. Furthermore, whether or not participants noticed an unexpected object in a static task was only weakly associated with their odds of noticing an unexpected object in a dynamic task. Taken together, our results are largely consistent with the notion that noticing unexpected objects is driven more by stochastic processes common to all people than by stable individual differences in cognitive abilities.

Inattentional Blindness and Individual Differences in Cognitive Abilities

PubMed Central

Kreitz, Carina; Furley, Philip; Memmert, Daniel; Simons, Daniel J.

2015-01-01

People sometimes fail to notice salient unexpected objects when their attention is otherwise occupied, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness. To explore individual differences in inattentional blindness, we employed both static and dynamic tasks that either presented the unexpected object away from the focus of attention (spatial) or near the focus of attention (central). We hypothesized that noticing in central tasks might be driven by the availability of cognitive resources like working memory, and that noticing in spatial tasks might be driven by the limits on spatial attention like attention breadth. However, none of the cognitive measures predicted noticing in the dynamic central task or in either the static or dynamic spatial task. Only in the central static task did working memory capacity predict noticing, and that relationship was fairly weak. Furthermore, whether or not participants noticed an unexpected object in a static task was only weakly associated with their odds of noticing an unexpected object in a dynamic task. Taken together, our results are largely consistent with the notion that noticing unexpected objects is driven more by stochastic processes common to all people than by stable individual differences in cognitive abilities. PMID:26258545

Gender differences in multitasking reflect spatial ability.

PubMed

Mäntylä, Timo

2013-04-01

Demands involving the scheduling and interleaving of multiple activities have become increasingly prevalent, especially for women in both their paid and unpaid work hours. Despite the ubiquity of everyday requirements to multitask, individual and gender-related differences in multitasking have gained minimal attention in past research. In two experiments, participants completed a multitasking session with four gender-fair monitoring tasks and separate tasks measuring executive functioning (working memory updating) and spatial ability (mental rotation). In both experiments, males outperformed females in monitoring accuracy. Individual differences in executive functioning and spatial ability were independent predictors of monitoring accuracy, but only spatial ability mediated gender differences in multitasking. Menstrual changes accentuated these effects, such that gender differences in multitasking (and spatial ability) were eliminated between males and females who were in the menstrual phase of the menstrual cycle but not between males and females who were in the luteal phase. These findings suggest that multitasking involves spatiotemporal task coordination and that gender differences in multiple-task performance reflect differences in spatial ability.

Children's construction task performance and spatial ability: controlling task complexity and predicting mathematics performance.

PubMed

Richardson, Miles; Hunt, Thomas E; Richardson, Cassandra

2014-12-01

This paper presents a methodology to control construction task complexity and examined the relationships between construction performance and spatial and mathematical abilities in children. The study included three groups of children (N = 96); ages 7-8, 10-11, and 13-14 years. Each group constructed seven pre-specified objects. The study replicated and extended previous findings that indicated that the extent of component symmetry and variety, and the number of components for each object and available for selection, significantly predicted construction task difficulty. Results showed that this methodology is a valid and reliable technique for assessing and predicting construction play task difficulty. Furthermore, construction play performance predicted mathematical attainment independently of spatial ability.

Are Books Like Number Lines? Children Spontaneously Encode Spatial-Numeric Relationships in a Novel Spatial Estimation Task

PubMed Central

Thompson, Clarissa A.; Morris, Bradley J.; Sidney, Pooja G.

2017-01-01

Do children spontaneously represent spatial-numeric features of a task, even when it does not include printed numbers (Mix et al., 2016)? Sixty first grade students completed a novel spatial estimation task by seeking and finding pages in a 100-page book without printed page numbers. Children were shown pages 1 through 6 and 100, and then were asked, “Can you find page X?” Children’s precision of estimates on the page finder task and a 0-100 number line estimation task was calculated with the Percent Absolute Error (PAE) formula (Siegler and Booth, 2004), in which lower PAE indicated more precise estimates. Children’s numerical knowledge was further assessed with: (1) numeral identification (e.g., What number is this: 57?), (2) magnitude comparison (e.g., Which is larger: 54 or 57?), and (3) counting on (e.g., Start counting from 84 and count up 5 more). Children’s accuracy on these tasks was correlated with their number line PAE. Children’s number line estimation PAE predicted their page finder PAE, even after controlling for age and accuracy on the other numerical tasks. Children’s estimates on the page finder and number line tasks appear to tap a general magnitude representation. However, the page finder task did not correlate with numeral identification and counting-on performance, likely because these tasks do not measure children’s magnitude knowledge. Our results suggest that the novel page finder task is a useful measure of children’s magnitude knowledge, and that books have similar spatial-numeric affordances as number lines and numeric board games. PMID:29312084

Environment learning using descriptions or navigation: The involvement of working memory in young and older adults.

PubMed

Meneghetti, Chiara; Borella, Erika; Carbone, Elena; Martinelli, Massimiliano; De Beni, Rossana

2016-05-01

This study examined age-related differences between young and older adults in the involvement of verbal and visuo-spatial components of working memory (WM) when paths are learned from verbal and visuo-spatial inputs. A sample of 60 young adults (20-30 years old) and 58 older adults (60-75 years old) learned two paths from the person's point of view, one displayed in the form of a video showing the path, the other presenting the path in a verbal description. During the learning phase, participants concurrently performed a verbal task (articulatory suppression, AS group), or a visuo-spatial task (spatial tapping, ST group), or no secondary task (control, C group). After learning each path, participants completed tasks that involved the following: (1) recalling the sequential order and the location of landmarks; and (2) judging spatial sentences as true or false (verification test). The results showed that young adults outperformed older adults in all recall tasks. In both age groups performance in all types of task was worse in the AS and ST groups than in the C group, irrespective of the type of input. Overall, these findings suggest that verbal and visuo-spatial components of WM underpin the processing of environmental information in both young and older adults. The results are discussed in terms of age-related differences and according to the spatial cognition framework. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Developmental gender differences in children in a virtual spatial memory task.

PubMed

León, Irene; Cimadevilla, José Manuel; Tascón, Laura

2014-07-01

Behavioral achievements are the product of brain maturation. During postnatal development, the medial temporal lobe completes its maturation, and children acquire new memory abilities. In recent years, virtual reality-based tasks have been introduced in the neuropsychology field to assess different cognitive functions. In this work, desktop virtual reality tasks are combined with classic psychometric tests to assess spatial abilities in 4- to 10-year-old children. Fifty boys and 50 girls 4-10-years of age participated in this study. Spatial reference memory and spatial working memory were assessed using a desktop virtual reality-based task. Other classic psychometric tests were also included in this work (e.g., the Corsi Block Tapping Test, digit tests, 10/36 Spatial Recall Test). In general terms, 4- and 5-year-old groups showed poorer performance than the older groups. However, 5-year-old children showed basic spatial navigation abilities with little difficulty. In addition, boys outperformed girls from the 6-8-year-old groups. Gender differences only emerged in the reference-memory version of the spatial task, whereas both sexes displayed similar performances in the working-memory version. There was general improvement in the performance of different tasks in children older than 5 years. However, results also suggest that brain regions involved in allocentric memory are functional even at the age of 5. In addition, the brain structures underlying reference memory mature later in girls than those required for the working memory.

Affiliative stimuli as primers to prosocial predispositions.

PubMed

Souza, Gabriela Guerra Leal; Pereira, Mirtes Garcia; Vila, Jaime; Oliveira, Leticia; Volchan, Eliane

2012-03-01

Affiliative stimuli are pleasant and highly biologically relevant. Affiliative cues are thought to elicit a prosocial predisposition. Here affiliative and neutral pictures were exposed prior to a reaction time task which consisted in responding to a visual target. Half the participants responded with finger-flexion, a movement frequently involved in prosocial activities. The other half responded with finger extension, a less prosocially compatible movement. Results showed that under the exposure to affiliative pictures, as compared to neutral ones, participants who used finger flexion were faster, while those using finger extension were slower. Performance benefits to the task, when flexing the finger, together with performance costs, when extending it, indicate the relevance of movement compatibility to the context. These findings put forward a possible link between affiliative primers and motor preparation to facilitate a repertoire of movements related to prosocial predispositions including finger flexion.

The impact of fornix lesions in rats on spatial learning tasks sensitive to anterior thalamic and hippocampal damage

PubMed Central

Dumont, Julie R.; Amin, Eman; Wright, Nicholas F.; Dillingham, Christopher M.; Aggleton, John P.

2015-01-01

The present study sought to understand how the hippocampus and anterior thalamic nuclei are conjointly required for spatial learning by examining the impact of cutting a major tract (the fornix) that interconnects these two sites. The initial experiments examined the consequences of fornix lesions in rats on spatial biconditional discrimination learning. The rationale arose from previous findings showing that fornix lesions spare the learning of spatial biconditional tasks, despite the same task being highly sensitive to both hippocampal and anterior thalamic nuclei lesions. In the present study, fornix lesions only delayed acquisition of the spatial biconditional task, pointing to additional contributions from non-fornical routes linking the hippocampus with the anterior thalamic nuclei. The same fornix lesions spared the learning of an analogous nonspatial biconditional task that used local contextual cues. Subsequent tests, including T-maze place alternation, place learning in a cross-maze, and a go/no-go place discrimination, highlighted the impact of fornix lesions when distal spatial information is used flexibly to guide behaviour. The final experiment examined the ability to learn incidentally the spatial features of a square water-maze that had differently patterned walls. Fornix lesions disrupted performance but did not stop the rats from distinguishing the various corners of the maze. Overall, the results indicate that interconnections between the hippocampus and anterior thalamus, via the fornix, help to resolve problems with flexible spatial and temporal cues, but the results also signal the importance of additional, non-fornical contributions to hippocampal-anterior thalamic spatial processing, particularly for problems with more stable spatial solutions. PMID:25453745

A theory of working memory without consciousness or sustained activity

PubMed Central

Trübutschek, Darinka; Marti, Sébastien; Ojeda, Andrés; King, Jean-Rémi; Mi, Yuanyuan; Tsodyks, Misha; Dehaene, Stanislas

2017-01-01

Working memory and conscious perception are thought to share similar brain mechanisms, yet recent reports of non-conscious working memory challenge this view. Combining visual masking with magnetoencephalography, we investigate the reality of non-conscious working memory and dissect its neural mechanisms. In a spatial delayed-response task, participants reported the location of a subjectively unseen target above chance-level after several seconds. Conscious perception and conscious working memory were characterized by similar signatures: a sustained desynchronization in the alpha/beta band over frontal cortex, and a decodable representation of target location in posterior sensors. During non-conscious working memory, such activity vanished. Our findings contradict models that identify working memory with sustained neural firing, but are compatible with recent proposals of ‘activity-silent’ working memory. We present a theoretical framework and simulations showing how slowly decaying synaptic changes allow cell assemblies to go dormant during the delay, yet be retrieved above chance-level after several seconds. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.23871.001 PMID:28718763

Entropy of Movement Outcome in Space-Time.

PubMed

Lai, Shih-Chiung; Hsieh, Tsung-Yu; Newell, Karl M

2015-07-01

Information entropy of the joint spatial and temporal (space-time) probability of discrete movement outcome was investigated in two experiments as a function of different movement strategies (space-time, space, and time instructional emphases), task goals (point-aiming and target-aiming) and movement speed-accuracy constraints. The variance of the movement spatial and temporal errors was reduced by instructional emphasis on the respective spatial or temporal dimension, but increased on the other dimension. The space-time entropy was lower in targetaiming task than the point aiming task but did not differ between instructional emphases. However, the joint probabilistic measure of spatial and temporal entropy showed that spatial error is traded for timing error in tasks with space-time criteria and that the pattern of movement error depends on the dimension of the measurement process. The unified entropy measure of movement outcome in space-time reveals a new relation for the speed-accuracy.

Developmental Trends for Object and Spatial Working Memory: A Psychophysiological Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Leijenhorst, Linda; Crone, Eveline A.; Van der Molen, Maurits W.

2007-01-01

This study examined developmental trends in object and spatial working memory (WM) using heart rate (HR) to provide an index of covert cognitive processes. Participants in 4 age groups (6-7, 9-10, 11-12, 18-26, n=20 each) performed object and spatial WM tasks, in which each trial was followed by feedback. Spatial WM task performance reached adult…

Effects of a classroom intervention with spatial play materials on children's object and viewer transformation abilities.

PubMed

Vander Heyden, Karin M; Huizinga, Mariette; Jolles, Jelle

2017-02-01

Children practice their spatial skills when playing with spatial toys, such as construction materials, board games, and puzzles. Sex and SES differences are observed in the engagement in such spatial play activities at home, which relate to individual differences in spatial performance. The current study investigated the effects of explicitly providing spatial play activities in the school setting on different types of spatial ability. We presented 8- to 10-year-old children with a short and easy-to-adopt classroom intervention comprising a set of different spatial play materials. The design involved a pretest-posttest comparison between the intervention group (n = 70) and a control group without intervention (n = 70). Effects were examined on object transformation ability (i.e., a paper-and-pencil mental rotation and paper folding task) and viewer transformation ability (i.e., a hands-on 3D spatial perspective-taking task). Results showed specific effects: there were no differences between the intervention and control group in progress on the two object transformation tasks. Substantial improvements were found for the intervention group compared to the control group on the viewer transformation task. Training progress was not related to sex and socioeconomic background of the child. These findings support the value of spatial play in the classroom for the spatial development of children between 8 and 10 years of age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Compatibility and consistency in display-control systems - Implications for aircraft decision aid design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andre, Anthony D.; Wickens, Christopher D.

1992-01-01

In this study we contrast display-control movement relations defined in terms of stimulus-response (physical) compatibility with those defined by stimulus-cognitive compatibility, and we relate these findings to the issue of command versus status levels of decision aid support. A second issue addressed is the cost of inconsistency across multiple display-control mappings. Subjects performed a flight control task while responding to one to four analog indicators, formatted as either command or status displays. The results suggest that there is an advantage for the status format when subjects are required to verbally report the state of the indicator(s), but no advantage was found for either format when subjects were required to manually correct the indicated state. The data point to the importance of display-control consistency and suggest that it may even outweigh that of compatibility.

Simultaneous dual-task performance reveals parallel response selection after practice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hazeltine, Eliot; Teague, Donald; Ivry, Richard B.

2002-01-01

E. H. Schumacher, T. L. Seymour, J. M. Glass, D. E. Kieras, and D. E. Meyer (2001) reported that dual-task costs are minimal when participants are practiced and give the 2 tasks equal emphasis. The present research examined whether such findings are compatible with the operation of an efficient response selection bottleneck. Participants trained until they were able to perform both tasks simultaneously without interference. Novel stimulus pairs produced no reaction time costs, arguing against the development of compound stimulus-response associations (Experiment 1). Manipulating the relative onsets (Experiments 2 and 4) and durations (Experiments 3 and 4) of response selection processes did not lead to dual-task costs. The results indicate that the 2 tasks did not share a bottleneck after practice.

Executive Function, Visual Attention and the Cocktail Party Problem in Musicians and Non-Musicians.

PubMed

Clayton, Kameron K; Swaminathan, Jayaganesh; Yazdanbakhsh, Arash; Zuk, Jennifer; Patel, Aniruddh D; Kidd, Gerald

2016-01-01

The goal of this study was to investigate how cognitive factors influence performance in a multi-talker, "cocktail-party" like environment in musicians and non-musicians. This was achieved by relating performance in a spatial hearing task to cognitive processing abilities assessed using measures of executive function (EF) and visual attention in musicians and non-musicians. For the spatial hearing task, a speech target was presented simultaneously with two intelligible speech maskers that were either colocated with the target (0° azimuth) or were symmetrically separated from the target in azimuth (at ±15°). EF assessment included measures of cognitive flexibility, inhibition control and auditory working memory. Selective attention was assessed in the visual domain using a multiple object tracking task (MOT). For the MOT task, the observers were required to track target dots (n = 1,2,3,4,5) in the presence of interfering distractor dots. Musicians performed significantly better than non-musicians in the spatial hearing task. For the EF measures, musicians showed better performance on measures of auditory working memory compared to non-musicians. Furthermore, across all individuals, a significant correlation was observed between performance on the spatial hearing task and measures of auditory working memory. This result suggests that individual differences in performance in a cocktail party-like environment may depend in part on cognitive factors such as auditory working memory. Performance in the MOT task did not differ between groups. However, across all individuals, a significant correlation was found between performance in the MOT and spatial hearing tasks. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that musicianship and performance on the MOT task significantly predicted performance on the spatial hearing task. Overall, these findings confirm the relationship between musicianship and cognitive factors including domain-general selective attention and working memory in solving the "cocktail party problem".

Executive Function, Visual Attention and the Cocktail Party Problem in Musicians and Non-Musicians

PubMed Central

Clayton, Kameron K.; Swaminathan, Jayaganesh; Yazdanbakhsh, Arash; Zuk, Jennifer; Patel, Aniruddh D.; Kidd, Gerald

2016-01-01

The goal of this study was to investigate how cognitive factors influence performance in a multi-talker, “cocktail-party” like environment in musicians and non-musicians. This was achieved by relating performance in a spatial hearing task to cognitive processing abilities assessed using measures of executive function (EF) and visual attention in musicians and non-musicians. For the spatial hearing task, a speech target was presented simultaneously with two intelligible speech maskers that were either colocated with the target (0° azimuth) or were symmetrically separated from the target in azimuth (at ±15°). EF assessment included measures of cognitive flexibility, inhibition control and auditory working memory. Selective attention was assessed in the visual domain using a multiple object tracking task (MOT). For the MOT task, the observers were required to track target dots (n = 1,2,3,4,5) in the presence of interfering distractor dots. Musicians performed significantly better than non-musicians in the spatial hearing task. For the EF measures, musicians showed better performance on measures of auditory working memory compared to non-musicians. Furthermore, across all individuals, a significant correlation was observed between performance on the spatial hearing task and measures of auditory working memory. This result suggests that individual differences in performance in a cocktail party-like environment may depend in part on cognitive factors such as auditory working memory. Performance in the MOT task did not differ between groups. However, across all individuals, a significant correlation was found between performance in the MOT and spatial hearing tasks. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that musicianship and performance on the MOT task significantly predicted performance on the spatial hearing task. Overall, these findings confirm the relationship between musicianship and cognitive factors including domain-general selective attention and working memory in solving the “cocktail party problem”. PMID:27384330

Gender differences in patterns of spatial ability, environmental cognition, and math and English achievement in late adolescence.

PubMed

Pearson, J L; Ferguson, L R

1989-01-01

Relationships were explored among three measures of spatial ability--the Embedded Figures Test (EFT), the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), and the Differential Aptitude Spatial Relations subtest (DAT)--an environmental cognition task (MAP), American College Testing (ACT) math and English achievement, and gender in a sample of 282 undergraduates. Variance attributable to gender among the spatial tasks ranged from 0.5% in the EFT to 12% in the MRT. Gender accounted for only 1% of the variance in the MAP task. Gender differences were noted in regression analyses; women's math and English achievement scores were both predictive of spatial ability, while for men, only math achievement was predictive of spatial ability. The results were interpreted as substantiating sex role socialization theory of cognitive abilities.

Spatial release of cognitive load measured in a dual-task paradigm in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners.

PubMed

Xia, Jing; Nooraei, Nazanin; Kalluri, Sridhar; Edwards, Brent

2015-04-01

This study investigated whether spatial separation between talkers helps reduce cognitive processing load, and how hearing impairment interacts with the cognitive load of individuals listening in multi-talker environments. A dual-task paradigm was used in which performance on a secondary task (visual tracking) served as a measure of the cognitive load imposed by a speech recognition task. Visual tracking performance was measured under four conditions in which the target and the interferers were distinguished by (1) gender and spatial location, (2) gender only, (3) spatial location only, and (4) neither gender nor spatial location. Results showed that when gender cues were available, a 15° spatial separation between talkers reduced the cognitive load of listening even though it did not provide further improvement in speech recognition (Experiment I). Compared to normal-hearing listeners, large individual variability in spatial release of cognitive load was observed among hearing-impaired listeners. Cognitive load was lower when talkers were spatially separated by 60° than when talkers were of different genders, even though speech recognition was comparable in these two conditions (Experiment II). These results suggest that a measure of cognitive load might provide valuable insight into the benefit of spatial cues in multi-talker environments.

When congruence breeds preference: the influence of selective attention processes on evaluative conditioning.

PubMed

Blask, Katarina; Walther, Eva; Frings, Christian

2017-09-01

We investigated in two experiments whether selective attention processes modulate evaluative conditioning (EC). Based on the fact that the typical stimuli in an EC paradigm involve an affect-laden unconditioned stimulus (US) and a neutral conditioned stimulus (CS), we started from the assumption that learning might depend in part upon selective attention to the US. Attention to the US was manipulated by including a variant of the Eriksen flanker task in the EC paradigm. Similarly to the original Flanker paradigm, we implemented a target-distracter logic by introducing the CS as the task-relevant stimulus (i.e. the target) to which the participants had to respond and the US as a task-irrelevant distracter. Experiment 1 showed that CS-US congruence modulated EC if the CS had to be selected against the US. Specifically, EC was more pronounced for congruent CS-US pairs as compared to incongruent CS-US pairs. Experiment 2 disentangled CS-US congruence and CS-US compatibility and suggested that it is indeed CS-US stimulus congruence rather than CS-US response compatibility that modulates EC.

Automatized smoking-related action schemata are reflected by reduced fMRI activity in sensorimotor brain regions of smokers.

PubMed

Isik, Ayse Ilkay; Naumer, Marcus J; Kaiser, Jochen; Buschenlange, Christian; Wiesmann, Sandro; Czoschke, Stefan; Yalachkov, Yavor

2017-01-01

In the later stages of addiction, automatized processes play a prominent role in guiding drug-seeking and drug-taking behavior. However, little is known about the neural correlates of automatized drug-taking skills and drug-related action knowledge in humans. We employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while smokers and non-smokers performed an orientation affordance task, where compatibility between the hand used for a behavioral response and the spatial orientation of a priming stimulus leads to shorter reaction times resulting from activation of the corresponding motor representations. While non-smokers exhibited this behavioral effect only for control objects, smokers showed the affordance effect for both control and smoking-related objects. Furthermore, smokers exhibited reduced fMRI activation for smoking-related as compared to control objects for compatible stimulus-response pairings in a sensorimotor brain network consisting of the right primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, middle occipital gyrus, left fusiform gyrus and bilateral cingulate gyrus. In the incompatible condition, we found higher fMRI activation in smokers for smoking-related as compared to control objects in the right primary motor cortex, cingulate gyrus, and left fusiform gyrus. This suggests that the activation and performance of deeply embedded, automatized drug-taking schemata employ less brain resources. This might reduce the threshold for relapsing in individuals trying to abstain from smoking. In contrast, the interruption or modification of already triggered automatized action representations require increased neural resources.

Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Causal Relationship.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rauscher, Frances H.; And Others

This research paper reports on testing the hypothesis that music and spatial task performance are causally related. Two complementary studies are presented that replicate and explore previous findings. One study of college students showed that listening to a Mozart sonata induces subsequent short-term spatial reasoning facilitation and tested the…

Augmented Reality for the Assessment of Children's Spatial Memory in Real Settings

PubMed Central

Juan, M.-Carmen; Mendez-Lopez, Magdalena; Perez-Hernandez, Elena; Albiol-Perez, Sergio

2014-01-01

Short-term memory can be defined as the capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active state for a short period of time. Although some instruments have been developed to study spatial short-term memory in real environments, there are no instruments that are specifically designed to assess visuospatial short-term memory in an attractive way to children. In this paper, we present the ARSM (Augmented Reality Spatial Memory) task, the first Augmented Reality task that involves a user's movement to assess spatial short-term memory in healthy children. The experimental procedure of the ARSM task was designed to assess the children's skill to retain visuospatial information. They were individually asked to remember the real place where augmented reality objects were located. The children (N = 76) were divided into two groups: preschool (5–6 year olds) and primary school (7–8 year olds). We found a significant improvement in ARSM task performance in the older group. The correlations between scores for the ARSM task and traditional procedures were significant. These traditional procedures were the Dot Matrix subtest for the assessment of visuospatial short-term memory of the computerized AWMA-2 battery and a parent's questionnaire about a child's everyday spatial memory. Hence, we suggest that the ARSM task has high verisimilitude with spatial short-term memory skills in real life. In addition, we evaluated the ARSM task's usability and perceived satisfaction. The study revealed that the younger children were more satisfied with the ARSM task. This novel instrument could be useful in detecting visuospatial short-term difficulties that affect specific developmental navigational disorders and/or school academic achievement. PMID:25438146

Augmented reality for the assessment of children's spatial memory in real settings.

PubMed

Juan, M-Carmen; Mendez-Lopez, Magdalena; Perez-Hernandez, Elena; Albiol-Perez, Sergio

2014-01-01

Short-term memory can be defined as the capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active state for a short period of time. Although some instruments have been developed to study spatial short-term memory in real environments, there are no instruments that are specifically designed to assess visuospatial short-term memory in an attractive way to children. In this paper, we present the ARSM (Augmented Reality Spatial Memory) task, the first Augmented Reality task that involves a user's movement to assess spatial short-term memory in healthy children. The experimental procedure of the ARSM task was designed to assess the children's skill to retain visuospatial information. They were individually asked to remember the real place where augmented reality objects were located. The children (N = 76) were divided into two groups: preschool (5-6 year olds) and primary school (7-8 year olds). We found a significant improvement in ARSM task performance in the older group. The correlations between scores for the ARSM task and traditional procedures were significant. These traditional procedures were the Dot Matrix subtest for the assessment of visuospatial short-term memory of the computerized AWMA-2 battery and a parent's questionnaire about a child's everyday spatial memory. Hence, we suggest that the ARSM task has high verisimilitude with spatial short-term memory skills in real life. In addition, we evaluated the ARSM task's usability and perceived satisfaction. The study revealed that the younger children were more satisfied with the ARSM task. This novel instrument could be useful in detecting visuospatial short-term difficulties that affect specific developmental navigational disorders and/or school academic achievement.

Dual Tasking and Working Memory in Alcoholism: Relation to Frontocerebellar Circuitry

PubMed Central

Chanraud, Sandra; Pitel, Anne-Lise; Rohlfing, Torsten; Pfefferbaum, Adolf; Sullivan, Edith V

2010-01-01

Controversy exists regarding the role of cerebellar systems in cognition and whether working memory compromise commonly marking alcoholism can be explained by compromise of nodes of corticocerebellar circuitry. We tested 17 alcoholics and 31 age-matched controls with dual-task, working memory paradigms. Interference tasks competed with verbal and spatial working memory tasks using low (three item) or high (six item) memory loads. Participants also underwent structural MRI to obtain volumes of nodes of the frontocerebellar system. On the verbal working memory task, both groups performed equally. On the spatial working memory with the high-load task, the alcoholic group was disproportionately more affected by the arithmetic distractor than were controls. In alcoholics, volumes of the left thalamus and left cerebellar Crus I volumes were more robust predictors of performance in the spatial working memory task with the arithmetic distractor than the left frontal superior cortex. In controls, volumes of the right middle frontal gyrus and right cerebellar Crus I were independent predictors over the left cerebellar Crus I, left thalamus, right superior parietal cortex, or left middle frontal gyrus of spatial working memory performance with tracking interference. The brain–behavior correlations suggest that alcoholics and controls relied on the integrity of certain nodes of corticocerebellar systems to perform these verbal and spatial working memory tasks, but that the specific pattern of relationships differed by group. The resulting brain structure–function patterns provide correlational support that components of this corticocerebellar system not typically related to normal performance in dual-task conditions may be available to augment otherwise dampened performance by alcoholics. PMID:20410871

Effects of tactile cueing on concurrent performance of military and robotics tasks in a simulated multitasking environment.

PubMed

Chen, J Y C; Terrence, P I

2008-08-01

This study examined the concurrent performance of military gunnery, robotics control and communication tasks in a simulated environment. More specifically, the study investigated how aided target recognition (AiTR) capabilities (delivered either through tactile or tactile + visual cueing) for the gunnery task might benefit overall performance. Results showed that AiTR benefited not only the gunnery task, but also the concurrent robotics and communication tasks. The participants' spatial ability was found to be a good indicator of their gunnery and robotics task performance. However, when AiTR was available to assist their gunnery task, those participants of lower spatial ability were able to perform their robotics tasks as well as those of higher spatial ability. Finally, participants' workload assessment was significantly higher when they teleoperated (i.e. remotely operated) a robot and when their gunnery task was unassisted. These results will further understanding of multitasking performance in military tasking environments. These results will also facilitate the implementation of robots in military settings and will provide useful data to military system designs.

Interference between a fast-paced spatial puzzle task and verbal memory demands.

PubMed

Epling, Samantha L; Blakely, Megan J; Russell, Paul N; Helton, William S

2017-06-01

Research continues to provide evidence that people are poor multi-taskers. Cognitive resource theory is a common explanation for the inability to efficiently perform multiple tasks at the same time. This theory proposes that one's limited supply of cognitive resources can be utilized faster than it is replenished, which results in a performance decline, particularly when these limited resources must be allocated among multiple tasks. Researchers have proposed both domain-specific, for example, spatial versus verbal processing resources, and domain general cognitive resources. In the present research, we investigated whether a spatial puzzle task performed simultaneously with a verbal recall task would impair performance in either task or both tasks, compared to performance on the tasks individually. As hypothesized, a reduction in word recall was found when dual-tasking, though performance on the puzzle task did not significantly differ between the single- and dual-task conditions. This is consistent, in part, with both a general resource theory and a Multiple Resource Theory, but further work is required to better understand the cognitive processing system. The employment of the recall task in the dual-task paradigm with a variety of secondary tasks will help to continue mapping out the specificity (or lack thereof) of cognitive resources utilized in various mental and physical tasks.

Decision-Related Activity in Macaque V2 for Fine Disparity Discrimination Is Not Compatible with Optimal Linear Readout

PubMed Central

Clery, Stephane; Cumming, Bruce G.

2017-01-01

Fine judgments of stereoscopic depth rely mainly on relative judgments of depth (relative binocular disparity) between objects, rather than judgments of the distance to where the eyes are fixating (absolute disparity). In macaques, visual area V2 is the earliest site in the visual processing hierarchy for which neurons selective for relative disparity have been observed (Thomas et al., 2002). Here, we found that, in macaques trained to perform a fine disparity discrimination task, disparity-selective neurons in V2 were highly selective for the task, and their activity correlated with the animals' perceptual decisions (unexplained by the stimulus). This may partially explain similar correlations reported in downstream areas. Although compatible with a perceptual role of these neurons for the task, the interpretation of such decision-related activity is complicated by the effects of interneuronal “noise” correlations between sensory neurons. Recent work has developed simple predictions to differentiate decoding schemes (Pitkow et al., 2015) without needing measures of noise correlations, and found that data from early sensory areas were compatible with optimal linear readout of populations with information-limiting correlations. In contrast, our data here deviated significantly from these predictions. We additionally tested this prediction for previously reported results of decision-related activity in V2 for a related task, coarse disparity discrimination (Nienborg and Cumming, 2006), thought to rely on absolute disparity. Although these data followed the predicted pattern, they violated the prediction quantitatively. This suggests that optimal linear decoding of sensory signals is not generally a good predictor of behavior in simple perceptual tasks. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Activity in sensory neurons that correlates with an animal's decision is widely believed to provide insights into how the brain uses information from sensory neurons. Recent theoretical work developed simple predictions to differentiate decoding schemes, and found support for optimal linear readout of early sensory populations with information-limiting correlations. Here, we observed decision-related activity for neurons in visual area V2 of macaques performing fine disparity discrimination, as yet the earliest site for this task. These findings, and previously reported results from V2 in a different task, deviated from the predictions for optimal linear readout of a population with information-limiting correlations. Our results suggest that optimal linear decoding of early sensory information is not a general decoding strategy used by the brain. PMID:28100751

Haptic spatial matching in near peripersonal space.

PubMed

Kaas, Amanda L; Mier, Hanneke I van

2006-04-01

Research has shown that haptic spatial matching at intermanual distances over 60 cm is prone to large systematic errors. The error pattern has been explained by the use of reference frames intermediate between egocentric and allocentric coding. This study investigated haptic performance in near peripersonal space, i.e. at intermanual distances of 60 cm and less. Twelve blindfolded participants (six males and six females) were presented with two turn bars at equal distances from the midsagittal plane, 30 or 60 cm apart. Different orientations (vertical/horizontal or oblique) of the left bar had to be matched by adjusting the right bar to either a mirror symmetric (/ \\) or parallel (/ /) position. The mirror symmetry task can in principle be performed accurately in both an egocentric and an allocentric reference frame, whereas the parallel task requires an allocentric representation. Results showed that parallel matching induced large systematic errors which increased with distance. Overall error was significantly smaller in the mirror task. The task difference also held for the vertical orientation at 60 cm distance, even though this orientation required the same response in both tasks, showing a marked effect of task instruction. In addition, men outperformed women on the parallel task. Finally, contrary to our expectations, systematic errors were found in the mirror task, predominantly at 30 cm distance. Based on these findings, we suggest that haptic performance in near peripersonal space might be dominated by different mechanisms than those which come into play at distances over 60 cm. Moreover, our results indicate that both inter-individual differences and task demands affect task performance in haptic spatial matching. Therefore, we conclude that the study of haptic spatial matching in near peripersonal space might reveal important additional constraints for the specification of adequate models of haptic spatial performance.

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

PubMed

Lee, Jaeyong; Cho, Yang Seok

2013-11-01

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

Seeing ahead: experience and language in spatial perspective.

PubMed

Alloway, Tracy Packiam; Corley, Martin; Ramscar, Michael

2006-03-01

Spatial perspective can be directed by various reference frames, as well as by the direction of motion. In the present study, we explored how ambiguity in spatial tasks can be resolved. Participants were presented with virtual reality environments in order to stimulate a spatialreference frame based on motion. They interacted with an ego-moving spatial system in Experiment 1 and an object-moving spatial system in Experiment 2. While interacting with the virtual environment, the participants were presented with either a question representing a motion system different from that of the virtual environment or a nonspatial question relating to physical features of the virtual environment. They then performed the target task assign the label front in an ambiguous spatial task. The findings indicate that the disambiguation of spatial terms can be influenced by embodied experiences, as represented by the virtual environment, as well as by linguistic context.

Rhinal and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Lesions Produce Selective Impairments in Object and Spatial Learning and Memory in Canines

PubMed Central

Christie, Lori-Ann; Saunders, Richard C.; Kowalska, Danuta, M.; MacKay, William A.; Head, Elizabeth; Cotman, Carl W.; Milgram, Norton W.

2014-01-01

To examine the effects of rhinal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lesions on object and spatial recognition memory in canines, we used a protocol in which both an object (delayed non-matching to sample, or DNMS) and a spatial (delayed non-matching to position or DNMP) recognition task were administered daily. The tasks used similar procedures such that only the type of stimulus information to be remembered differed. Rhinal cortex (RC) lesions produced a selective deficit on the DNMS task, both in retention of the task rules at short delays and in object recognition memory. By contrast, performance on the DNMP task remained intact at both short and long delay intervals in RC animals. Subjects who received dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) lesions were impaired on a spatial task at a short, 5-sec delay, suggesting disrupted retention of the general task rules, however, this impairment was transient; long-term spatial memory performance was unaffected in dlPFC subjects. The present results provide support for the involvement of the RC in object, but not visuospatial, processing and recognition memory, whereas the dlPFC appears to mediate retention of a non-matching rule. These findings support theories of functional specialization within the medial temporal lobe and frontal cortex and suggest that rhinal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices in canines are functionally similar to analogous regions in other mammals. PMID:18792072

Functional connectivity of hippocampal and prefrontal networks during episodic and spatial memory based on real-world environments.

PubMed

Robin, Jessica; Hirshhorn, Marnie; Rosenbaum, R Shayna; Winocur, Gordon; Moscovitch, Morris; Grady, Cheryl L

2015-01-01

Several recent studies have compared episodic and spatial memory in neuroimaging paradigms in order to understand better the contribution of the hippocampus to each of these tasks. In the present study, we build on previous findings showing common neural activation in default network areas during episodic and spatial memory tasks based on familiar, real-world environments (Hirshhorn et al. (2012) Neuropsychologia 50:3094-3106). Following previous demonstrations of the presence of functionally connected sub-networks within the default network, we performed seed-based functional connectivity analyses to determine how, depending on the task, the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex differentially couple with one another and with distinct whole-brain networks. We found evidence for a medial prefrontal-parietal network and a medial temporal lobe network, which were functionally connected to the prefrontal and hippocampal seeds, respectively, regardless of the nature of the memory task. However, these two networks were functionally connected with one another during the episodic memory task, but not during spatial memory tasks. Replicating previous reports of fractionation of the default network into stable sub-networks, this study also shows how these sub-networks may flexibly couple and uncouple with one another based on task demands. These findings support the hypothesis that episodic memory and spatial memory share a common medial temporal lobe-based neural substrate, with episodic memory recruiting additional prefrontal sub-networks. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Lateral Entorhinal Cortex Lesions Impair Local Spatial Frameworks

PubMed Central

Kuruvilla, Maneesh V.; Ainge, James A.

2017-01-01

A prominent theory in the neurobiology of memory processing is that episodic memory is supported by contextually gated spatial representations in the hippocampus formed by combining spatial information from medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) with non-spatial information from lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC). However, there is a growing body of evidence from lesion and single-unit recording studies in rodents suggesting that LEC might have a role in encoding space, particularly the current and previous locations of objects within the local environment. Landmarks, both local and global, have been shown to control the spatial representations hypothesized to underlie cognitive maps. Consequently, it has recently been suggested that information processing within this network might be organized with reference to spatial scale with LEC and MEC providing information about local and global spatial frameworks respectively. In the present study, we trained animals to search for food using either a local or global spatial framework. Animals were re-tested on both tasks after receiving excitotoxic lesions of either the MEC or LEC. LEC lesioned animals were impaired in their ability to learn a local spatial framework task. LEC lesioned animals were also impaired on an object recognition (OR) task involving multiple local features but unimpaired at recognizing a single familiar object. Together, this suggests that LEC is involved in associating features of the local environment. However, neither LEC nor MEC lesions impaired performance on the global spatial framework task. PMID:28567006

Sex differences in spatial ability: a lateralization of function approach.

PubMed

Rilea, Stacy L; Roskos-Ewoldsen, Beverly; Boles, David

2004-12-01

The current study was designed to examine whether the extent of the male advantage in performance on a spatial task was determined by the extent to which the task was right-hemisphere dependent. Participants included 108 right-handed men and women who completed the mental rotation, waterlevel, and paperfolding tasks, all of which were presented bilaterally. The results partially supported the hypothesis. On the mental rotation task, men showed a right-hemisphere advantage, whereas women showed no hemispheric differences; however, no overall sex differences were observed. On the waterlevel task, men outperformed women, and both men and women showed a right-hemisphere advantage. On the paperfolding task, no sex or hemispheric differences were observed. Although the findings of the current study were mixed, the study provides a framework for examining sex differences across different types of spatial ability.

A dual-task design of corrosion-controlling and osteo-compatible hexamethylenediaminetetrakis- (methylene phosphonic acid) (HDTMPA) coating on magnesium for biodegradable bone implants application.

PubMed

Zhao, Sheng; Chen, Yingqi; Liu, Bo; Chen, Meiyun; Mao, Jinlong; He, Hairuo; Zhao, Yuancong; Huang, Nan; Wan, Guojiang

2015-05-01

Magnesium as well as its alloys appears increasingly as a revolutionary bio-metal for biodegradable implants application but the biggest challenges exist in its too fast bio-corrosion/degradation. Both corrosion-controllable and bio-compatible Mg-based bio-metal is highly desirable in clinic. In present work, hexamethylenediaminetetrakis (methylenephosphonic acid) [HDTMPA, (H2 O3 P-CH2 )2 -N-(CH2 )6 -N-(CH2 -PO3 H2 )2 ], as a natural and bioactive organic substance, was covalently immobilized and chelating-deposited onto Mg surface by means of chemical conversion process and dip-coating method, to fullfill dual-task performance of corrosion-protective and osteo-compatible functionalities. The chemical grafting of HDTMPA molecules, by participation of functional groups on pretreated Mg surface, ensured a firmly anchored base layer, and then sub-sequential chelating reactions of HDTMPA molecules guaranteed a homogenous and dense HDTMPA coating deposition on Mg substrate. Electrochemical corrosion and immersion degradation results reveal that the HDTMPA coated Mg provides a significantly better controlled bio-corrosion/degradation behavior in phosphate buffer saline solution as compared with untreated Mg from perspective of clinic requirement. Moreover, the HDTMPA coated Mg exhibits osteo-compatible in that it induces not only bioactivity of bone-like apatite precipitation but also promotes osteoblast cells adhesion and proliferation. Our well-controlled biodegradable and biocompatible HDTMPA modified Mg might bode well for next generation bone implant application. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cognitive effort is modulated outside of the explicit awareness of conflict frequency: Evidence from pupillometry.

PubMed

Diede, Nathaniel T; Bugg, Julie M

2017-05-01

Classic theories of cognitive control conceptualized controlled processes as slow, strategic, and willful, with automatic processes being fast and effortless. The context-specific proportion compatibility (CSPC) effect, the reduction in the compatibility effect in a context (e.g., location) associated with a high relative to low likelihood of conflict, challenged classic theories by demonstrating fast and flexible control that appears to operate outside of conscious awareness. Two theoretical questions yet to be addressed are whether the CSPC effect is accompanied by context-dependent variation in effort, and whether the exertion of effort depends on explicit awareness of context-specific task demands. To address these questions, pupil diameter was measured during a CSPC paradigm. Stimuli were randomly presented in either a mostly compatible location or a mostly incompatible location. Replicating prior research, the CSPC effect was found. The novel finding was that pupil diameter was greater in the mostly incompatible location compared to the mostly compatible location, despite participants' lack of awareness of context-specific task demands. Additionally, this difference occurred regardless of trial type or a preceding switch in location. These patterns support the view that context (location) dictates selection of optimal attentional settings in the CSPC paradigm, and varying levels of effort and performance accompany these settings. Theoretically, these patterns imply that cognitive control may operate fast, flexibly, and outside of awareness, but not effortlessly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Operating Room of the Future: Advanced Technologies in Safe and Efficient Operating Rooms

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-10-01

fit” or compatibility with different tasks. Ideally, the optimal match between tasks and well-designed display alternatives will be self -apparent...hierarchical display environment. The FARO robot arm is used as an accurate and reliable tracker to control a virtual camera. The virtual camera pose is...in learning outcomes due to self -feedback, improvements in learning outcomes due to instructor feedback and synchronous versus asynchronous

I believe I'm good at orienting myself… But is that true?

PubMed

Nori, Raffaella; Piccardi, Laura

2015-08-01

The present study aimed to analyse beliefs that men and women have with respect to their sense of direction (SOD) and whether they correlate with spatial environmental task performance. Eighty-four students filled in the short version of the Familiarity and Spatial Cognitive Style Scale to evaluate beliefs on their SOD, knowledge of the city (TK), spatial ability (SA) and wayfinding (WA) and performed three spatial environmental tasks. Results showed that gender did not predict the performance on the spatial environmental tasks, whereas it can be predicted by participants' beliefs related to their SOD and TK. The findings point out the need to identify specific training aimed at improving women's metacognitive skills in order to delete or reduce gender differences in SA.

Automatic Retrieval of Newly Instructed Cue-Task Associations Seen in Task-Conflict Effects in the First Trial after Cue-Task Instructions.

PubMed

Meiran, Nachshon; Pereg, Maayan

2017-01-01

Novel stimulus-response associations are retrieved automatically even without prior practice. Is this true for novel cue-task associations? The experiment involved miniblocks comprising three phases and task switching. In the INSTRUCTION phase, two new stimuli (or familiar cues) were arbitrarily assigned as cues for up-down/right-left tasks performed on placeholder locations. In the UNIVALENT phase, there was no task cue since placeholder's location afforded one task but the placeholders were the stimuli that we assigned as task cues for the following BIVALENT phase (involving target locations affording both tasks). Thus, participants held the novel cue-task associations in memory while executing the UNIVALENT phase. Results show poorer performance in the first univalent trial when the placeholder was associated with the opposite task (incompatible) than when it was compatible, an effect that was numerically larger with newly instructed cues than with familiar cues. These results indicate automatic retrieval of newly instructed cue-task associations.

Applications of algebraic topology to compatible spatial discretizations.

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

Bochev, Pavel Blagoveston; Hyman, James M.

We provide a common framework for compatible discretizations using algebraic topology to guide our analysis. The main concept is the natural inner product on cochains, which induces a combinatorial Hodge theory. The framework comprises of mutually consistent operations of differentiation and integration, has a discrete Stokes theorem, and preserves the invariants of the DeRham cohomology groups. The latter allows for an elementary calculation of the kernel of the discrete Laplacian. Our framework provides an abstraction that includes examples of compatible finite element, finite volume and finite difference methods. We describe how these methods result from the choice of a reconstructionmore » operator and when they are equivalent.« less

Strategy Generalization across Orientation Tasks: Testing a Computational Cognitive Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunzelmann, Glenn

2008-01-01

Humans use their spatial information processing abilities flexibly to facilitate problem solving and decision making in a variety of tasks. This article explores the question of whether a general strategy can be adapted for performing two different spatial orientation tasks by testing the predictions of a computational cognitive model. Human…

Top-down attentional control in spatially coincident stimuli enhances activity in both task-relevant and task-irrelevant regions of cortex

PubMed Central

Erickson, Kirk I.; Prakash, Ruchika Shaurya; Kim, Jennifer S.; Sutton, Bradley P.; Colcombe, Stanley J.; Kramer, Arthur F.

2010-01-01

Models of selective attention predict that focused attention to spatially contiguous stimuli may result in enhanced activity in areas of cortex specialized for processing task-relevant and task-irrelevant information. We examined this hypothesis by localizing color-sensitive areas (CSA) and word and letter sensitive areas of cortex and then examining modulation of these regions during performance of a modified version of the Stroop task in which target and distractors are spatially coincident. We report that only the incongruent condition with the highest cognitive demand showed increased activity in CSA relative to other conditions, indicating an attentional enhancement in target processing areas. We also found an enhancement of activity in one region sensitive to word/letter processing during the most cognitively demanding incongruent condition indicating greater processing of the distractor dimension. Correlations with performance revealed that top-down modulation during the task was critical for effective filtering of irrelevant information in conflict conditions. These results support predictions made by models of selective attention and suggest an important mechanism of top-down attentional control in spatially contiguous stimuli. PMID:18804123

Patterned-string tasks: relation between fine motor skills and visual-spatial abilities in parrots.

PubMed

Krasheninnikova, Anastasia

2013-01-01

String-pulling and patterned-string tasks are often used to analyse perceptual and cognitive abilities in animals. In addition, the paradigm can be used to test the interrelation between visual-spatial and motor performance. Two Australian parrot species, the galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) and the cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus), forage on the ground, but only the galah uses its feet to manipulate food. I used a set of string pulling and patterned-string tasks to test whether usage of the feet during foraging is a prerequisite for solving the vertical string pulling problem. Indeed, the two species used techniques that clearly differed in the extent of beak-foot coordination but did not differ in terms of their success in solving the string pulling task. However, when the visual-spatial skills of the subjects were tested, the galahs outperformed the cockatiels. This supports the hypothesis that the fine motor skills needed for advanced beak-foot coordination may be interrelated with certain visual-spatial abilities needed for solving patterned-string tasks. This pattern was also found within each of the two species on the individual level: higher motor abilities positively correlated with performance in patterned-string tasks. This is the first evidence of an interrelation between visual-spatial and motor abilities in non-mammalian animals.

How to enhance route learning and visuo-spatial working memory in aging: a training for residential care home residents.

PubMed

Mitolo, Micaela; Borella, Erika; Meneghetti, Chiara; Carbone, Elena; Pazzaglia, Francesca

2017-05-01

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a route-learning training in a group of older adults living in a residential care home. We verified the presence of training-specific effects in tasks similar to those trained - route-learning tasks - as well as transfer effects on related cognitive processes - visuo-spatial short-term memory (VSSTM; Corsi Blocks Test (CBT), forward version), visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM; CBT, backward version; Pathway Span Tasks; Jigsaw Puzzle Test) - and in self-report measures. The maintenance of training benefits was examined after 3 months. Thirty 70-90-year-old residential care home residents were randomly assigned to the route-learning training group or to an active control group (involved in non-visuo-spatial activities). The trained group performed better than the control group in the route-learning tasks, retaining this benefit 3 months later. Immediate transfer effects were also seen in visuo-spatial span tasks (i.e., CBT forward and backward version and Pathway Span Task); these benefits had been substantially maintained at the 3-month follow-up. These findings suggest that a training on route learning is a promising approach to sustain older adults' environmental learning and some related abilities (e.g., VSSTM and VSWM), even in residential care home residents.

Persistent spatial information in the frontal eye field during object-based short-term memory.

PubMed

Clark, Kelsey L; Noudoost, Behrad; Moore, Tirin

2012-08-08

Spatial attention is known to gate entry into visual short-term memory, and some evidence suggests that spatial signals may also play a role in binding features or protecting object representations during memory maintenance. To examine the persistence of spatial signals during object short-term memory, the activity of neurons in the frontal eye field (FEF) of macaque monkeys was recorded during an object-based delayed match-to-sample task. In this task, monkeys were trained to remember an object image over a brief delay, regardless of the locations of the sample or target presentation. FEF neurons exhibited visual, delay, and target period activity, including selectivity for sample location and target location. Delay period activity represented the sample location throughout the delay, despite the irrelevance of spatial information for successful task completion. Furthermore, neurons continued to encode sample position in a variant of the task in which the matching stimulus never appeared in their response field, confirming that FEF maintains sample location independent of subsequent behavioral relevance. FEF neurons also exhibited target-position-dependent anticipatory activity immediately before target onset, suggesting that monkeys predicted target position within blocks. These results show that FEF neurons maintain spatial information during short-term memory, even when that information is irrelevant for task performance.

Sex differences in retention after a visual or a spatial discrimination learning task in brood parasitic shiny cowbirds.

PubMed

Astié, Andrea A; Scardamaglia, Romina C; Muzio, Rubén N; Reboreda, Juan C

2015-10-01

Females of avian brood parasites, like the shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis), locate host nests and on subsequent days return to parasitize them. This ecological pressure for remembering the precise location of multiple host nests may have selected for superior spatial memory abilities. We tested the hypothesis that shiny cowbirds show sex differences in spatial memory abilities associated with sex differences in host nest searching behavior and relative hippocampus volume. We evaluated sex differences during acquisition, reversal and retention after extinction in a visual and a spatial discrimination learning task. Contrary to our prediction, females did not outperform males in the spatial task in either the acquisition or the reversal phases. Similarly, there were no sex differences in either phase in the visual task. During extinction, in both tasks the retention of females was significantly higher than expected by chance up to 50 days after the last rewarded session (∼85-90% of the trials with correct responses), but the performance of males at that time did not differ than that expected by chance. This last result shows a long-term memory capacity of female shiny cowbirds, which were able to remember information learned using either spatial or visual cues after a long retention interval. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mental rotation training: transfer and maintenance effects on spatial abilities.

PubMed

Meneghetti, Chiara; Borella, Erika; Pazzaglia, Francesca

2016-01-01

One of the aims of research in spatial cognition is to examine whether spatial skills can be enhanced. The goal of the present study was thus to assess the benefit and maintenance effects of mental rotation training in young adults. Forty-eight females took part in the study: 16 were randomly assigned to receive the mental rotation training (based on comparing pairs of 2D or 3D objects and rotation games), 16 served as active controls (performing parallel non-spatial activities), and 16 as passive controls. Transfer effects to both untrained spatial tasks (testing both object rotation and perspective taking) and visual and verbal tasks were examined. Across the training sessions, the group given mental rotation training revealed benefits in the time it took to make judgments when comparing 3D and 2D objects, but their mental rotation speed did not improve. When compared with the other groups, the mental rotation training group did show transfer effects, however, in tasks other than those practiced (i.e., in object rotation and perspective-taking tasks), and these benefits persisted after 1 month. The training had no effect on visual or verbal tasks. These findings are discussed from the spatial cognition standpoint and with reference to the (rotation) training literature.

Spatial gradient for unique-feature detection in patients with unilateral neglect: evidence from auditory and visual search.

PubMed

Eramudugolla, Ranmalee; Mattingley, Jason B

2008-01-01

Patients with unilateral spatial neglect following right hemisphere damage are impaired in detecting contralesional targets in both visual and haptic search tasks, and often show a graded improvement in detection performance for more ipsilesional spatial locations. In audition, multiple simultaneous sounds are most effectively perceived if they are distributed along the frequency dimension. Thus, attention to spectro-temporal features alone can allow detection of a target sound amongst multiple simultaneous distracter sounds, regardless of whether these sounds are spatially separated. Spatial bias in attention associated with neglect should not affect auditory search based on spectro-temporal features of a sound target. We report that a right brain damaged patient with neglect demonstrated a significant gradient favouring the ipsilesional side on a visual search task as well as an auditory search task in which the target was a frequency modulated tone amongst steady distractor tones. No such asymmetry was apparent in the auditory search performance of a control patient with a right hemisphere lesion but no neglect. The results suggest that the spatial bias in attention exhibited by neglect patients affects stimulus processing even when spatial information is irrelevant to the task.

Cognitive Process Modeling of Spatial Ability: The Assembling Objects Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ivie, Jennifer L.; Embretson, Susan E.

2010-01-01

Spatial ability tasks appear on many intelligence and aptitude tests. Although the construct validity of spatial ability tests has often been studied through traditional correlational methods, such as factor analysis, less is known about the cognitive processes involved in solving test items. This study examines the cognitive processes involved in…

Differential Age Effects on Spatial and Visual Working Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oosterman, Joukje M.; Morel, Sascha; Meijer, Lisette; Buvens, Cleo; Kessels, Roy P. C.; Postma, Albert

2011-01-01

The present study was intended to compare age effects on visual and spatial working memory by using two versions of the same task that differed only in presentation mode. The working memory task contained both a simultaneous and a sequential presentation mode condition, reflecting, respectively, visual and spatial working memory processes. Young…

The Effect of Configuration on VSWM Performance of Down Syndrome Individuals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carretti, B.; Lanfranchi, S.

2010-01-01

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that individuals with Down syndrome (DS) are poorer than controls in spatial-simultaneous tasks, but not in spatial-sequential tasks. To explain this finding, it has been suggested that the simultaneous visuo-spatial working memory deficit of individuals with DS could be due to the request for…

Visuospatial Anatomy Comprehension: The Role of Spatial Visualization Ability and Problem-Solving Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Ngan; Mulla, Ali; Nelson, Andrew J.; Wilson, Timothy D.

2014-01-01

The present study explored the problem-solving strategies of high- and low-spatial visualization ability learners on a novel spatial anatomy task to determine whether differences in strategies contribute to differences in task performance. The results of this study provide further insights into the processing commonalities and differences among…

Spatial Orienting of Attention in Dyslexic Adults Using Directional and Alphabetic Cues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Judge, Jeannie; Knox, Paul C.; Caravolas, Marketa

2013-01-01

Spatial attention performance was investigated in adults with dyslexia. Groups with and without dyslexia completed literacy/phonological tasks as well as two spatial cueing tasks, in which attention was oriented in response to a centrally presented pictorial (arrow) or alphabetic (letter) cue. Cued response times and orienting effects were largely…

Early Puzzle Play: A predictor of preschoolers’ spatial transformation skill

PubMed Central

Levine, S.C.; Ratliff, K.R.; Huttenlocher, J.; Cannon, J.

2011-01-01

Individual differences in spatial skill emerge prior to kindergarten entry. However, little is known about the early experiences that may contribute to these differences. The current study examines the relation between children’s early puzzle play and their spatial skill. Children and parents (n = 53) were observed at home for 90 minutes every four months (six times) between 2 and 4 years of age (26 to 46 months). When children were 4 years 6 months old, they completed a spatial task involving mental transformations of 2D shapes. Children who were observed playing with puzzles performed better on this task than those who did not, controlling for parent education, income, and overall parent word types. Moreover, among those children who played with puzzles, frequency of puzzle play predicted performance on the spatial transformation task. Although the frequency of puzzle play did not differ for boys and girls, the quality of puzzle play (a composite of puzzle difficulty, parent engagement, and parent spatial language) was higher for boys than girls. In addition, variation in puzzle play quality predicted performance on the spatial transformation task for girls but not boys. Implications of these findings as well as future directions for research on the role of the role of puzzle play in the development of spatial skill are discussed. PMID:22040312

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.

Task relevance modulates the behavioural and neural effects of sensory predictions

PubMed Central

Friston, Karl J.; Nobre, Anna C.

2017-01-01

The brain is thought to generate internal predictions to optimize behaviour. However, it is unclear whether predictions signalling is an automatic brain function or depends on task demands. Here, we manipulated the spatial/temporal predictability of visual targets, and the relevance of spatial/temporal information provided by auditory cues. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to measure participants’ brain activity during task performance. Task relevance modulated the influence of predictions on behaviour: spatial/temporal predictability improved spatial/temporal discrimination accuracy, but not vice versa. To explain these effects, we used behavioural responses to estimate subjective predictions under an ideal-observer model. Model-based time-series of predictions and prediction errors (PEs) were associated with dissociable neural responses: predictions correlated with cue-induced beta-band activity in auditory regions and alpha-band activity in visual regions, while stimulus-bound PEs correlated with gamma-band activity in posterior regions. Crucially, task relevance modulated these spectral correlates, suggesting that current goals influence PE and prediction signalling. PMID:29206225

Effects of speech intelligibility level on concurrent visual task performance.

PubMed

Payne, D G; Peters, L J; Birkmire, D P; Bonto, M A; Anastasi, J S; Wenger, M J

1994-09-01

Four experiments were performed to determine if changes in the level of speech intelligibility in an auditory task have an impact on performance in concurrent visual tasks. The auditory task used in each experiment was a memory search task in which subjects memorized a set of words and then decided whether auditorily presented probe items were members of the memorized set. The visual tasks used were an unstable tracking task, a spatial decision-making task, a mathematical reasoning task, and a probability monitoring task. Results showed that performance on the unstable tracking and probability monitoring tasks was unaffected by the level of speech intelligibility on the auditory task, whereas accuracy in the spatial decision-making and mathematical processing tasks was significantly worse at low speech intelligibility levels. The findings are interpreted within the framework of multiple resource theory.

The effect of perceptual load on tactile spatial attention: Evidence from event-related potentials.

PubMed

Gherri, Elena; Berreby, Fiona

2017-10-15

To investigate whether tactile spatial attention is modulated by perceptual load, behavioural and electrophysiological measures were recorded during two spatial cuing tasks in which the difficulty of the target/non-target discrimination was varied (High and Low load tasks). Moreover, to study whether attentional modulations by load are sensitive to the availability of visual information, the High and Low load tasks were carried out under both illuminated and darkness conditions. ERPs to cued and uncued non-targets were compared as a function of task (High vs. Low load) and illumination condition (Light vs. Darkness). Results revealed that the locus of tactile spatial attention was determined by a complex interaction between perceptual load and illumination conditions during sensory-specific stages of processing. In the Darkness, earlier effects of attention were present in the High load than in the Low load task, while no difference between tasks emerged in the Light. By contrast, increased load was associated with stronger attention effects during later post-perceptual processing stages regardless of illumination conditions. These findings demonstrate that ERP correlates of tactile spatial attention are strongly affected by the perceptual load of the target/non-target discrimination. However, differences between illumination conditions show that the impact of load on tactile attention depends on the presence of visual information. Perceptual load is one of the many factors that contribute to determine the effects of spatial selectivity in touch. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

When Content Matters: The Role of Processing Code in Tactile Display Design.

PubMed

Ferris, Thomas K; Sarter, Nadine

2010-01-01

The distribution of tasks and stimuli across multiple modalities has been proposed as a means to support multitasking in data-rich environments. Recently, the tactile channel and, more specifically, communication via the use of tactile/haptic icons have received considerable interest. Past research has examined primarily the impact of concurrent task modality on the effectiveness of tactile information presentation. However, it is not well known to what extent the interpretation of iconic tactile patterns is affected by another attribute of information: the information processing codes of concurrent tasks. In two driving simulation studies (n = 25 for each), participants decoded icons composed of either spatial or nonspatial patterns of vibrations (engaging spatial and nonspatial processing code resources, respectively) while concurrently interpreting spatial or nonspatial visual task stimuli. As predicted by Multiple Resource Theory, performance was significantly worse (approximately 5-10 percent worse) when the tactile icons and visual tasks engaged the same processing code, with the overall worst performance in the spatial-spatial task pairing. The findings from these studies contribute to an improved understanding of information processing and can serve as input to multidimensional quantitative models of timesharing performance. From an applied perspective, the results suggest that competition for processing code resources warrants consideration, alongside other factors such as the naturalness of signal-message mapping, when designing iconic tactile displays. Nonspatially encoded tactile icons may be preferable in environments which already rely heavily on spatial processing, such as car cockpits.

Comparison of Congruence Judgment and Auditory Localization Tasks for Assessing the Spatial Limits of Visual Capture

PubMed Central

Bosen, Adam K.; Fleming, Justin T.; Brown, Sarah E.; Allen, Paul D.; O'Neill, William E.; Paige, Gary D.

2016-01-01

Vision typically has better spatial accuracy and precision than audition, and as a result often captures auditory spatial perception when visual and auditory cues are presented together. One determinant of visual capture is the amount of spatial disparity between auditory and visual cues: when disparity is small visual capture is likely to occur, and when disparity is large visual capture is unlikely. Previous experiments have used two methods to probe how visual capture varies with spatial disparity. First, congruence judgment assesses perceived unity between cues by having subjects report whether or not auditory and visual targets came from the same location. Second, auditory localization assesses the graded influence of vision on auditory spatial perception by having subjects point to the remembered location of an auditory target presented with a visual target. Previous research has shown that when both tasks are performed concurrently they produce similar measures of visual capture, but this may not hold when tasks are performed independently. Here, subjects alternated between tasks independently across three sessions. A Bayesian inference model of visual capture was used to estimate perceptual parameters for each session, which were compared across tasks. Results demonstrated that the range of audio-visual disparities over which visual capture was likely to occur were narrower in auditory localization than in congruence judgment, which the model indicates was caused by subjects adjusting their prior expectation that targets originated from the same location in a task-dependent manner. PMID:27815630

Differential shift in spatial bias over time depends on observers׳ initial bias: Observer subtypes, or regression to the mean?

PubMed

Newman, Daniel P; Loughnane, Gerard M; Abe, Rafael; Zoratti, Marco T R; Martins, Ana C P; van den Bogert, Petra C; Kelly, Simon P; O'Connell, Redmond G; Bellgrove, Mark A

2014-11-01

Healthy subjects typically exhibit a subtle bias of visuospatial attention favouring left space that is commonly termed 'pseudoneglect'. This bias is attenuated, or shifted rightwards, with decreasing alertness over time, consistent with theoretical models proposing that pseudoneglect is a result of the right hemisphere׳s dominance in regulating attention. Although this 'time-on-task effect' for spatial bias is observed when averaging across whole samples of healthy participants, Benwell, C. S. Y., Thut, G., Learmonth, G., & Harvey, M. (2013b). Spatial attention: differential shifts in pseudoneglect direction with time-on-task and initial bias support the idea of observer subtypes. Neuropsychologia, 51(13), 2747-2756 recently presented evidence that the direction and magnitude of bias exhibited by the participant early in the task (left biased, no bias, or right biased) were stable traits that predicted the direction of the subsequent time-on-task shift in spatial bias. That is, the spatial bias of participants who were initially left biased shifted in a rightward direction with time, whereas that of participants who were initially right biased shifted in a leftward direction. If valid, the data of Benwell et al. are potentially important and may demand a re-evaluation of current models of the neural networks governing spatial attention. Here we use two novel spatial attention tasks in an attempt to confirm the results of Benwell et al. We show that rather than being indicative of true participant subtypes, these data patterns are likely driven, at least in part, by 'regression towards the mean' arising from the analysis method employed. Although evidence supports the contention that trait-like individual differences in spatial bias exist within the healthy population, no clear evidence is yet available for participant/observer subtypes in the direction of time-on-task shift in spatial biases. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attention Modifies Spatial Resolution According to Task Demands.

PubMed

Barbot, Antoine; Carrasco, Marisa

2017-03-01

How does visual attention affect spatial resolution? In texture-segmentation tasks, exogenous (involuntary) attention automatically increases resolution at the attended location, which improves performance where resolution is too low (at the periphery) but impairs performance where resolution is already too high (at central locations). Conversely, endogenous (voluntary) attention improves performance at all eccentricities, which suggests a more flexible mechanism. Here, using selective adaptation to spatial frequency, we investigated the mechanism by which endogenous attention benefits performance in resolution tasks. Participants detected a texture target that could appear at several eccentricities. Adapting to high or low spatial frequencies selectively affected performance in a manner consistent with changes in resolution. Moreover, adapting to high, but not low, frequencies mitigated the attentional benefit at central locations where resolution was too high; this shows that attention can improve performance by decreasing resolution. Altogether, our results indicate that endogenous attention benefits performance by modulating the contribution of high-frequency information in order to flexibly adjust spatial resolution according to task demands.

Persistent spatial information in the FEF during object-based short-term memory does not contribute to task performance.

PubMed

Clark, Kelsey L; Noudoost, Behrad; Moore, Tirin

2014-06-01

We previously reported the existence of a persistent spatial signal in the FEF during object-based STM. This persistent activity reflected the location at which the sample appeared, irrespective of the location of upcoming targets. We hypothesized that such a spatial signal could be used to maintain or enhance object-selective memory activity elsewhere in cortex, analogous to the role of a spatial signal during attention. Here, we inactivated a portion of the FEF with GABAa agonist muscimol to test whether the observed activity contributes to object memory performance. We found that, although RTs were slowed for saccades into the inactivated portion of retinotopic space, performance for samples appearing in that region was unimpaired. This contrasts with the devastating effects of the same FEF inactivation on purely spatial working memory, as assessed with the memory-guided saccade task. Thus, in a task in which a significant fraction of FEF neurons displayed persistent, sample location-based activity, disrupting this activity had no impact on task performance.

Attention Modifies Spatial Resolution According to Task Demands

PubMed Central

Barbot, Antoine; Carrasco, Marisa

2017-01-01

How does visual attention affect spatial resolution? In texture-segmentation tasks, exogenous (involuntary) attention automatically increases resolution at the attended location, which improves performance where resolution is too low (at the periphery) but impairs performance where resolution is already too high (at central locations). Conversely, endogenous (voluntary) attention improves performance at all eccentricities, which suggests a more flexible mechanism. Here, using selective adaptation to spatial frequency, we investigated the mechanism by which endogenous attention benefits performance in resolution tasks. Participants detected a texture target that could appear at several eccentricities. Adapting to high or low spatial frequencies selectively affected performance in a manner consistent with changes in resolution. Moreover, adapting to high, but not low, frequencies mitigated the attentional benefit at central locations where resolution was too high; this shows that attention can improve performance by decreasing resolution. Altogether, our results indicate that endogenous attention benefits performance by modulating the contribution of high-frequency information in order to flexibly adjust spatial resolution according to task demands. PMID:28118103

Spatial-simultaneous and spatial-sequential working memory in individuals with Down syndrome: the effect of configuration.

PubMed

Carretti, Barbara; Lanfranchi, Silvia; Mammarella, Irene C

2013-01-01

Earlier research showed that visuospatial working memory (VSWM) is better preserved in Down syndrome (DS) than verbal WM. Some differences emerged, however, when VSWM performance was broken down into its various components, and more recent studies revealed that the spatial-simultaneous component of VSWM is more impaired than the spatial-sequential one. The difficulty of managing more than one item at a time is also evident when the information to be recalled is structured. To further analyze this issue, we investigated the advantage of material being structured in spatial-simultaneous and spatial-sequential tasks by comparing the performance of a group of individuals with DS and a group of typically-developing children matched for mental age. Both groups were presented with VSWM tasks in which both the presentation format (simultaneous vs. sequential) and the type of configuration (pattern vs. random) were manipulated. Findings indicated that individuals with DS took less advantage of the pattern configuration in the spatial-simultaneous task than TD children; in contrast, the two groups' performance did not differ in the pattern configuration of the spatial-sequential task. Taken together, these results confirmed difficulties relating to the spatial-simultaneous component of VSWM in individuals with DS, supporting the importance of distinguishing between different components within this system. The findings are discussed in terms of factors influencing this specific deficit. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accident data availability

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-06-01

This project investigates alternate forms of dissemination for the accident information. Costs, capabilities, and compatibility are reviewed for integration of the accident database with a GIS format to allow a graphical and spatial interface. the is...

Flexibility in Visual Working Memory: Accurate Change Detection in the Face of Irrelevant Variations in Position

PubMed Central

Woodman, Geoffrey F.; Vogel, Edward K.; Luck, Steven J.

2012-01-01

Many recent studies of visual working memory have used change-detection tasks in which subjects view sequential displays and are asked to report whether they are identical or if one object has changed. A key question is whether the memory system used to perform this task is sufficiently flexible to detect changes in object identity independent of spatial transformations, but previous research has yielded contradictory results. To address this issue, the present study compared standard change-detection tasks with tasks in which the objects varied in size or position between successive arrays. Performance was nearly identical across the standard and transformed tasks unless the task implicitly encouraged spatial encoding. These results resolve the discrepancies in prior studies and demonstrate that the visual working memory system can detect changes in object identity across spatial transformations. PMID:22287933

A rapid compatibility analysis of potential offshore sand sources for beaches of the Santa Barbara Littoral Cell

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mustain, N.; Griggs, G.; Barnard, P.L.

2007-01-01

The beaches of the Santa Barbara Littoral Cell, which are narrow as a result of either natural and/or anthropogenic factors, may benefit from nourishment. Sand compatibility is fundamental to beach nourishment success and grain size is the parameter often used to evaluate equivalence. Only after understanding which sand sizes naturally compose beaches in a specific cell, especially the smallest size that remains on the beach, can the potential compatibility of source areas, such as offshore borrow sites, be accurately assessed. This study examines sediments on the beach and in the nearshore (5-20m depth) for the entire Santa Barbara Littoral Cell east of Point Conception. A digital bed sediment camera, the Eyeball??, and spatial autocorrelation technique were used to determine sediment grain size. Here we report on whether nearshore sediments are comparable and compatible with beach sands of the Santa Barbara Littoral Cell. ?? 2007 ASCE.

Increased Task Demand during Spatial Memory Testing Recruits the Anterior Cingulate Cortex

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carr, Joshua K.; Fournier, Neil M.; Lehmann, Hugo

2016-01-01

We examined whether increasing retrieval difficulty in a spatial memory task would promote the recruitment of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) similar to what is typically observed during remote memory retrieval. Rats were trained on the hidden platform version of the Morris Water Task and tested three or 30 d later. Retrieval difficulty was…

Opposing influences on conflict-driven adaptation in the Eriksen flanker task

PubMed Central

Bugg, Julie M.

2009-01-01

Compatibility effects in conflict paradigms are reduced following incompatible trials, and this effect is referred to as conflict adaptation. A perplexing pattern exists, however, with conflict-driven adaptation emerging in several paradigms (e.g., Stroop, Simon) but not consistently in the Eriksen and Eriksen (1974) flanker task. The present experiments address the seemingly elusive presence of conflict adaptation in this task. Experiment 1 shows that a negative-priming-like slowing may be masking conflict adaptation in the flanker task. In Experiment 2, conflict adaptation was revealed when a larger stimulus set designed to reduce negative priming was implemented. Taken together, the findings indicate that a consideration of processes opposing conflict adaptation in the flanker task may help reconcile prior findings. PMID:18927038

Software engineering and data management for automated payload experiment tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maddux, Gary A.; Provancha, Anna; Chattam, David

1994-01-01

The Microgravity Projects Office identified a need to develop a software package that will lead experiment developers through the development planning process, obtain necessary information, establish an electronic data exchange avenue, and allow easier manipulation/reformatting of the collected information. An MS-DOS compatible software package called the Automated Payload Experiment Tool (APET) has been developed and delivered. The objective of this task is to expand on the results of the APET work previously performed by UAH and provide versions of the software in a Macintosh and Windows compatible format.

Engineering and Development Support of General Decon Technology for the DARCOM Installation Restoration Program. Task 1. Lagoon/Landfill Liner Compatibility Testing with Explosives.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-06-01

NOTES 19. KEY WORDS (Continue on reveree side if necesaary and Identify by block number) Neoprene Synthetic Liners TCE, XR-5, EPDM Hypalon Compatibility...CPE, Hypalon , XR-5, HDPE, Neoprene, and EPDM ) were immersed in TNT, RDX, and TCE solutions for I week. Liner and test .*. method selection and data...Mean Weight Change Values - EPDM /Neoprene Group 57 Unexposed and in Distilled Water 7 Mean Weight Change Values - PVC Group in Distilled 58 Water and in

Attentional bias in clinical depression and anxiety: The impact of emotional and non-emotional distracting information.

PubMed

Lichtenstein-Vidne, L; Okon-Singer, H; Cohen, N; Todder, D; Aue, T; Nemets, B; Henik, A

2017-01-01

Both anxiety and major depression disorder (MDD) were reported to involve a maladaptive selective attention mechanism, associated with bias toward negative stimuli. Previous studies investigated attentional bias using distractors that required processing as part of task settings, and therefore, in our view, these distractors should be regarded as task-relevant. Here, we applied a unique task that used peripheral distractors that presented emotional and spatial information simultaneously. Notably, the emotional information was not associated in any way to the task, and thus was task-irrelevant. The spatial information, however, was task-relevant as it corresponded with task instructions. Corroborating previous findings, anxious patients showed attentional bias toward negative information. MDD patients showed no indication of this bias. Spatial information influenced all groups similarly. These results indicate that anxiety, but not MDD, is associated with an inherent negative information bias, further illustrating that the two closely related disorders are characterized by different processing patterns. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of gender, imagery ability, and sports practice on the performance of a mental rotation task.

PubMed

Habacha, Hamdi; Molinaro, Corinne; Dosseville, Fabrice

2014-01-01

Mental rotation is one of the main spatial abilities necessary in the spatial transformation of mental images and the manipulation of spatial parameters. Researchers have shown that mental rotation abilities differ between populations depending on several variables. This study uses a mental rotation task to investigate effects of several factors on the spatial abilities of 277 volunteers. The results demonstrate that high and low imagers performed equally well on this tasks. Athletes outperformed nonathletes regardless of their discipline, and athletes with greater expertise outperformed those with less experience. The results replicate the previously reported finding that men exhibit better spatial abilities than women. However, with high amounts of practice, the women in the current study were able to perform as well as men.

Visual spatial cue use for guiding orientation in two-to-three-year-old children

PubMed Central

van den Brink, Danielle; Janzen, Gabriele

2013-01-01

In spatial development representations of the environment and the use of spatial cues change over time. To date, the influence of individual differences in skills relevant for orientation and navigation has not received much attention. The current study investigated orientation abilities on the basis of visual spatial cues in 2–3-year-old children, and assessed factors that possibly influence spatial task performance. Thirty-month and 35-month-olds performed an on-screen Virtual Reality (VR) orientation task searching for an animated target in the presence of visual self-movement cues and landmark information. Results show that, in contrast to 30-month-old children, 35-month-olds were successful in using visual spatial cues for maintaining orientation. Neither age group benefited from landmarks present in the environment, suggesting that successful task performance relied on the use of optic flow cues, rather than object-to-object relations. Analysis of individual differences revealed that 2-year-olds who were relatively more independent in comparison to their peers, as measured by the daily living skills scale of the parental questionnaire Vineland-Screener were most successful at the orientation task. These results support previous findings indicating that the use of various spatial cues gradually improves during early childhood. Our data show that a developmental transition in spatial cue use can be witnessed within a relatively short period of 5 months only. Furthermore, this study indicates that rather than chronological age, individual differences may play a role in successful use of visual cues for spatial updating in an orientation task. Future studies are necessary to assess the exact nature of these individual differences. PMID:24368903

Visual spatial cue use for guiding orientation in two-to-three-year-old children.

PubMed

van den Brink, Danielle; Janzen, Gabriele

2013-01-01

In spatial development representations of the environment and the use of spatial cues change over time. To date, the influence of individual differences in skills relevant for orientation and navigation has not received much attention. The current study investigated orientation abilities on the basis of visual spatial cues in 2-3-year-old children, and assessed factors that possibly influence spatial task performance. Thirty-month and 35-month-olds performed an on-screen Virtual Reality (VR) orientation task searching for an animated target in the presence of visual self-movement cues and landmark information. Results show that, in contrast to 30-month-old children, 35-month-olds were successful in using visual spatial cues for maintaining orientation. Neither age group benefited from landmarks present in the environment, suggesting that successful task performance relied on the use of optic flow cues, rather than object-to-object relations. Analysis of individual differences revealed that 2-year-olds who were relatively more independent in comparison to their peers, as measured by the daily living skills scale of the parental questionnaire Vineland-Screener were most successful at the orientation task. These results support previous findings indicating that the use of various spatial cues gradually improves during early childhood. Our data show that a developmental transition in spatial cue use can be witnessed within a relatively short period of 5 months only. Furthermore, this study indicates that rather than chronological age, individual differences may play a role in successful use of visual cues for spatial updating in an orientation task. Future studies are necessary to assess the exact nature of these individual differences.

Task and spatial frequency modulations of object processing: an EEG study.

PubMed

Craddock, Matt; Martinovic, Jasna; Müller, Matthias M

2013-01-01

Visual object processing may follow a coarse-to-fine sequence imposed by fast processing of low spatial frequencies (LSF) and slow processing of high spatial frequencies (HSF). Objects can be categorized at varying levels of specificity: the superordinate (e.g. animal), the basic (e.g. dog), or the subordinate (e.g. Border Collie). We tested whether superordinate and more specific categorization depend on different spatial frequency ranges, and whether any such dependencies might be revealed by or influence signals recorded using EEG. We used event-related potentials (ERPs) and time-frequency (TF) analysis to examine the time course of object processing while participants performed either a grammatical gender-classification task (which generally forces basic-level categorization) or a living/non-living judgement (superordinate categorization) on everyday, real-life objects. Objects were filtered to contain only HSF or LSF. We found a greater positivity and greater negativity for HSF than for LSF pictures in the P1 and N1 respectively, but no effects of task on either component. A later, fronto-central negativity (N350) was more negative in the gender-classification task than the superordinate categorization task, which may indicate that this component relates to semantic or syntactic processing. We found no significant effects of task or spatial frequency on evoked or total gamma band responses. Our results demonstrate early differences in processing of HSF and LSF content that were not modulated by categorization task, with later responses reflecting such higher-level cognitive factors.

Training specificity and transfer in time and distance estimation.

PubMed

Healy, Alice F; Tack, Lindsay Anderson; Schneider, Vivian I; Barshi, Immanuel

2015-07-01

Learning is often specific to the conditions of training, making it important to identify which aspects of the testing environment are crucial to be matched in the training environment. In the present study, we examined training specificity in time and distance estimation tasks that differed only in the focus of processing (FOP). External spatial cues were provided for the distance estimation task and for the time estimation task in one condition, but not in another. The presence of a concurrent alphabet secondary task was manipulated during training and testing in all estimation conditions in Experiment 1. For distance as well as for time estimation in both conditions, training of the primary estimation task was found to be specific to the presence of the secondary task. In Experiments 2 and 3, we examined transfer between one estimation task and another, with no secondary task in either case. When all conditions were equal aside from the FOP instructions, including the presence of external spatial cues, Experiment 2 showed "transfer" between tasks, suggesting that training might not be specific to the FOP. When the external spatial cues were removed from the time estimation task, Experiment 3 showed no transfer between time and distance estimations, suggesting that external task cues influenced the procedures used in the estimation tasks.

The Impact of Visual-Spatial Attention on Reading and Spelling in Chinese Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Duo; Chen, Xi; Wang, Ying

2016-01-01

The present study investigated the associations of visual-spatial attention with word reading fluency and spelling in 92 third grade Hong Kong Chinese children. Word reading fluency was measured with a timed reading task whereas spelling was measured with a dictation task. Results showed that visual-spatial attention was a unique predictor of…

Applying independent component analysis to detect silent speech in magnetic resonance imaging signals.

PubMed

Abe, Kazuhiro; Takahashi, Toshimitsu; Takikawa, Yoriko; Arai, Hajime; Kitazawa, Shigeru

2011-10-01

Independent component analysis (ICA) can be usefully applied to functional imaging studies to evaluate the spatial extent and temporal profile of task-related brain activity. It requires no a priori assumptions about the anatomical areas that are activated or the temporal profile of the activity. We applied spatial ICA to detect a voluntary but hidden response of silent speech. To validate the method against a standard model-based approach, we used the silent speech of a tongue twister as a 'Yes' response to single questions that were delivered at given times. In the first task, we attempted to estimate one number that was chosen by a participant from 10 possibilities. In the second task, we increased the possibilities to 1000. In both tasks, spatial ICA was as effective as the model-based method for determining the number in the subject's mind (80-90% correct per digit), but spatial ICA outperformed the model-based method in terms of time, especially in the 1000-possibility task. In the model-based method, calculation time increased by 30-fold, to 15 h, because of the necessity of testing 1000 possibilities. In contrast, the calculation time for spatial ICA remained as short as 30 min. In addition, spatial ICA detected an unexpected response that occurred by mistake. This advantage was validated in a third task, with 13 500 possibilities, in which participants had the freedom to choose when to make one of four responses. We conclude that spatial ICA is effective for detecting the onset of silent speech, especially when it occurs unexpectedly. © 2011 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2011 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Age, gesture span, and dissociations among component subsystems of working memory.

PubMed

Dolman, R; Roy, E A; Dimeck, P T; Hall, C R

2000-01-01

Working memory was examined in old and young adults using a series of span tasks, including the forward versions of the visual-spatial and digit span tasks from the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, and comparable hand gesture and visual design span tasks. The observation that the young participants performed significantly better on all the tasks except digit span suggested that aging has an impact on some component subsystems of working memory but not others. Analyses of intercorrelations in span performance supports the dissociation among three component subsystems, one for auditory verbal information (the articulatory loop), one for visual-spatial information (visual-spatial scratch-pad), and one for hand/body postural configuration.

Adaptation to recent conflict in the classical color-word Stroop-task mainly involves facilitation of processing of task-relevant information.

PubMed

Purmann, Sascha; Pollmann, Stefan

2015-01-01

To process information selectively and to continuously fine-tune selectivity of information processing are important abilities for successful goal-directed behavior. One phenomenon thought to represent this fine-tuning are conflict adaptation effects in interference tasks, i.e., reduction of interference after an incompatible trial and when incompatible trials are frequent. The neurocognitive mechanisms of these effects are currently only partly understood and results from brainimaging studies so far are mixed. In our study we validate and extend recent findings by examining adaption to recent conflict in the classical Stroop task using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Consistent with previous research we found increased activity in a fronto-parietal network comprising the medial prefrontal cortex, ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex, and posterior parietal cortex when contrasting incompatible with compatible trials. These areas have been associated with attentional processes and might reflect increased cognitive conflict and resolution thereof during incompatible trials. While carefully controlling for non-attentional sequential effects we found smaller Stroop interference after an incompatible trial (conflict adaptation effect). These behavioral conflict adaptation effects were accompanied by changes in activity in visual color-selective areas (V4, V4α), while there was no modulation by previous trial compatibility in a visual word-selective area (VWFA). Our results provide further evidence for the notion, that adaptation to recent conflict seems to be based mainly on enhancement of processing of the task-relevant information.

Functional MRI of Handwriting Tasks: A Study of Healthy Young Adults Interacting with a Novel Touch-Sensitive Tablet

PubMed Central

Karimpoor, Mahta; Churchill, Nathan W.; Tam, Fred; Fischer, Corinne E.; Schweizer, Tom A.; Graham, Simon J.

2018-01-01

Handwriting is a complex human activity that engages a blend of cognitive and visual motor skills. Current understanding of the neural correlates of handwriting has largely come from lesion studies of patients with impaired handwriting. Task-based fMRI studies would be useful to supplement this work. To address concerns over ecological validity, previously we developed a fMRI-compatible, computerized tablet system for writing and drawing including visual feedback of hand position and an augmented reality display. The purpose of the present work is to use the tablet system in proof-of-concept to characterize brain activity associated with clinically relevant handwriting tasks, originally developed to characterize handwriting impairments in Alzheimer’s disease patients. As a prelude to undertaking fMRI studies of patients, imaging was performed of twelve young healthy subjects who copied sentences, phone numbers, and grocery lists using the fMRI-compatible tablet. Activation maps for all handwriting tasks consisted of a distributed network of regions in reasonable agreement with previous studies of handwriting performance. In addition, differences in brain activity were observed between the test subcomponents consistent with different demands of neural processing for successful task performance, as identified by investigating three quantitative behavioral metrics (writing speed, stylus contact force and stylus in air time). This study provides baseline behavioral and brain activity results for fMRI studies that adopt this handwriting test to characterize patients with brain impairments. PMID:29487511

Functional MRI of Handwriting Tasks: A Study of Healthy Young Adults Interacting with a Novel Touch-Sensitive Tablet.

PubMed

Karimpoor, Mahta; Churchill, Nathan W; Tam, Fred; Fischer, Corinne E; Schweizer, Tom A; Graham, Simon J

2018-01-01

Handwriting is a complex human activity that engages a blend of cognitive and visual motor skills. Current understanding of the neural correlates of handwriting has largely come from lesion studies of patients with impaired handwriting. Task-based fMRI studies would be useful to supplement this work. To address concerns over ecological validity, previously we developed a fMRI-compatible, computerized tablet system for writing and drawing including visual feedback of hand position and an augmented reality display. The purpose of the present work is to use the tablet system in proof-of-concept to characterize brain activity associated with clinically relevant handwriting tasks, originally developed to characterize handwriting impairments in Alzheimer's disease patients. As a prelude to undertaking fMRI studies of patients, imaging was performed of twelve young healthy subjects who copied sentences, phone numbers, and grocery lists using the fMRI-compatible tablet. Activation maps for all handwriting tasks consisted of a distributed network of regions in reasonable agreement with previous studies of handwriting performance. In addition, differences in brain activity were observed between the test subcomponents consistent with different demands of neural processing for successful task performance, as identified by investigating three quantitative behavioral metrics (writing speed, stylus contact force and stylus in air time). This study provides baseline behavioral and brain activity results for fMRI studies that adopt this handwriting test to characterize patients with brain impairments.

Spatial frequency discrimination learning in normal and developmentally impaired human vision

PubMed Central

Astle, Andrew T.; Webb, Ben S.; McGraw, Paul V.

2010-01-01

Perceptual learning effects demonstrate that the adult visual system retains neural plasticity. If perceptual learning holds any value as a treatment tool for amblyopia, trained improvements in performance must generalise. Here we investigate whether spatial frequency discrimination learning generalises within task to other spatial frequencies, and across task to contrast sensitivity. Before and after training, we measured contrast sensitivity and spatial frequency discrimination (at a range of reference frequencies 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 c/deg). During training, normal and amblyopic observers were divided into three groups. Each group trained on a spatial frequency discrimination task at one reference frequency (2, 4, or 8 c/deg). Normal and amblyopic observers who trained at lower frequencies showed a greater rate of within task learning (at their reference frequency) compared to those trained at higher frequencies. Compared to normals, amblyopic observers showed greater within task learning, at the trained reference frequency. Normal and amblyopic observers showed asymmetrical transfer of learning from high to low spatial frequencies. Both normal and amblyopic subjects showed transfer to contrast sensitivity. The direction of transfer for contrast sensitivity measurements was from the trained spatial frequency to higher frequencies, with the bandwidth and magnitude of transfer greater in the amblyopic observers compared to normals. The findings provide further support for the therapeutic efficacy of this approach and establish general principles that may help develop more effective protocols for the treatment of developmental visual deficits. PMID:20832416

Task switching in a hierarchical task structure: evidence for the fragility of the task repetition benefit.

PubMed

Lien, Mei-Ching; Ruthruff, Eric

2004-05-01

This study examined how task switching is affected by hierarchical task organization. Traditional task-switching studies, which use a constant temporal and spatial distance between each task element (defined as a stimulus requiring a response), promote a flat task structure. Using this approach, Experiment 1 revealed a large switch cost of 238 ms. In Experiments 2-5, adjacent task elements were grouped temporally and/or spatially (forming an ensemble) to create a hierarchical task organization. Results indicate that the effect of switching at the ensemble level dominated the effect of switching at the element level. Experiments 6 and 7, using an ensemble of 3 task elements, revealed that the element-level switch cost was virtually absent between ensembles but was large within an ensemble. The authors conclude that the element-level task repetition benefit is fragile and can be eliminated in a hierarchical task organization.

Task switching in a hierarchical task structure: evidence for the fragility of the task repetition benefit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lien, Mei-Ching; Ruthruff, Eric

2004-01-01

This study examined how task switching is affected by hierarchical task organization. Traditional task-switching studies, which use a constant temporal and spatial distance between each task element (defined as a stimulus requiring a response), promote a flat task structure. Using this approach, Experiment 1 revealed a large switch cost of 238 ms. In Experiments 2-5, adjacent task elements were grouped temporally and/or spatially (forming an ensemble) to create a hierarchical task organization. Results indicate that the effect of switching at the ensemble level dominated the effect of switching at the element level. Experiments 6 and 7, using an ensemble of 3 task elements, revealed that the element-level switch cost was virtually absent between ensembles but was large within an ensemble. The authors conclude that the element-level task repetition benefit is fragile and can be eliminated in a hierarchical task organization.

Task specificity of attention training: the case of probability cuing

PubMed Central

Jiang, Yuhong V.; Swallow, Khena M.; Won, Bo-Yeong; Cistera, Julia D.; Rosenbaum, Gail M.

2014-01-01

Statistical regularities in our environment enhance perception and modulate the allocation of spatial attention. Surprisingly little is known about how learning-induced changes in spatial attention transfer across tasks. In this study, we investigated whether a spatial attentional bias learned in one task transfers to another. Most of the experiments began with a training phase in which a search target was more likely to be located in one quadrant of the screen than in the other quadrants. An attentional bias toward the high-probability quadrant developed during training (probability cuing). In a subsequent, testing phase, the target's location distribution became random. In addition, the training and testing phases were based on different tasks. Probability cuing did not transfer between visual search and a foraging-like task. However, it did transfer between various types of visual search tasks that differed in stimuli and difficulty. These data suggest that different visual search tasks share a common and transferrable learned attentional bias. However, this bias is not shared by high-level, decision-making tasks such as foraging. PMID:25113853

Spatial attention in the mental architecture: evidence from neuropsychology.

PubMed

Behrmann, M; Black, S E; Murji, S

1995-04-01

Using neuropsychological evidence, this paper examines whether spatial attention functions as a domain-specific module or as a more general-purpose central processor. Data are presented from two spatial attention cuing tasks completed by subjects, with an acquired attentional deficit, and control subjects. In both tasks, an arrow indicated with high probability the side of response (response task) or the side of space on which the stimulus would appear (visuospatial task). In the response task, the stimuli appeared foveally and the response component was lateralized, and in the visuospatial task, the stimuli were lateralized and the response component remained constant in the midline. Only the neglect subjects showed a disproportionate increase in reaction time on both the response and visuospatial tasks when the arrow cued the subject to the ipsilateral side and the stimulus or response was on the side of space contralateral to the lesion. The substantial association across the two tasks suggests that a common underlying internal spatial representation subserves perception and action. While this finding is consistent with Fodor's view of a cross-domain processor, it does not meet all of his criteria of a central processor. We conclude, therefore, that the posterior attentional mechanism is strictly neither a module nor a central processor. Rather, these results suggest that a common attentional mechanism may subserve behavior in domains that are tightly coupled.

Electrophysiological Evidence for Domain-General Processes in Task-Switching

PubMed Central

Capizzi, Mariagrazia; Ambrosini, Ettore; Arbula, Sandra; Mazzonetto, Ilaria; Vallesi, Antonino

2016-01-01

The ability to flexibly switch between tasks is a hallmark of cognitive control. Despite previous studies that have investigated whether different task-switching types would be mediated by distinct or overlapping neural mechanisms, no definitive consensus has been reached on this question yet. Here, we aimed at directly addressing this issue by recording the event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by two types of task-switching occurring in the context of spatial and verbal cognitive domains. Source analysis was also applied to the ERP data in order to track the spatial dynamics of brain activity underlying task-switching abilities. In separate blocks of trials, participants had to perform either spatial or verbal switching tasks both of which employed the same type of stimuli. The ERP analysis, which was carried out through a channel- and time-uninformed mass univariate approach, showed no significant differences between the spatial and verbal domains in the modulation of switch and repeat trials. Specifically, relative to repeat trials, switch trials in both domains were associated with a first larger positivity developing over left parieto-occipital electrodes and with a subsequent larger negativity distributed over mid-left fronto-central sites. The source analysis reconstruction for the two ERP components complemented these findings by highlighting the involvement of left-lateralized prefrontal areas in task-switching. Overall, our results join and extend recent research confirming the existence of left-lateralized domain-general task-switching processes. PMID:27047366

The underlying number-space mapping among kindergarteners and its relation with early numerical abilities.

PubMed

Chan, Winnie Wai Lan; Wong, Terry Tin-Yau

2016-08-01

People map numbers onto space. The well-replicated SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect indicates that people have a left-sided bias when responding to small numbers and a right-sided bias when responding to large numbers. This study examined whether such spatial codes were tagged to the ordinal or magnitude information of numbers among kindergarteners and whether it was related to early numerical abilities. Based on the traditional magnitude judgment task, we developed two variant tasks-namely the month judgment task and dot judgment task-to elicit ordinal and magnitude processing of numbers, respectively. Results showed that kindergarteners oriented small numbers toward the left side and large numbers toward the right side when processing the ordinal information of numbers in the month judgment task but not when processing the magnitude information in the number judgment task and dot judgment task, suggesting that the left-to-right spatial bias was probably tagged to the ordinal but not magnitude property of numbers. Moreover, the strength of the SNARC effect was not related to early numerical abilities. These findings have important implications for the early spatial representation of numbers and its role in numerical performance among kindergarteners. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improving balance by performing a secondary cognitive task.

PubMed

Swan, Laurie; Otani, Hajime; Loubert, Peter V; Sheffert, Sonya M; Dunbar, Gary L

2004-02-01

Contrary to general findings in the attention and memory literature, some studies have shown that performing a secondary cognitive task produces an improvement in balance performance. The purpose of the present experiment was to investigate under what condition such an improvement would occur. Young and older adults were asked to hold as still as possible on a platform that measured sway while performing or not performing the encoding phase of the Brooks' (1967) spatial or non-spatial memory task. The difficulty of maintaining balance was manipulated by varying the availability of visual input and sway-referenced motion of the platform. Sway scores were computed based on the distance between the individual pressure centres and the average centre of pressure during each 20-s trial. The results indicated that both the spatial and non-spatial memory tasks improved balance for older adults under the most difficult balance condition.

Spatial water maze learning using celestial cues by the meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus.

PubMed

Kavaliers, M; Galea, L A

1994-03-31

The Morris water maze is widely used to evaluate to evaluate the spatial learning ability of rodents under laboratory settings. The present study demonstrates that reproductive male meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, are able to acquire and retain a spatial water maze task using celestial cues. Voles were able to acquire a modified outdoor Morris water maze task over 4 trials per day, whereby they had to learn and remember the location of a submerged hidden platform, using the position of the sun and associated celestial cues. Their proficiency on this task was related to the availability of the celestial cues, with voles displaying significantly poorer spatial navigation on overcast than clear days and when the testing time (and position of the sun and associated celestial cues) was shifted from morning to afternoon. These findings with meadow voles support the ecological relevance of the water maze task.

Information processing. [in human performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wickens, Christopher D.; Flach, John M.

1988-01-01

Theoretical models of sensory-information processing by the human brain are reviewed from a human-factors perspective, with a focus on their implications for aircraft and avionics design. The topics addressed include perception (signal detection and selection), linguistic factors in perception (context provision, logical reversals, absence of cues, and order reversals), mental models, and working and long-term memory. Particular attention is given to decision-making problems such as situation assessment, decision formulation, decision quality, selection of action, the speed-accuracy tradeoff, stimulus-response compatibility, stimulus sequencing, dual-task performance, task difficulty and structure, and factors affecting multiple task performance (processing modalities, codes, and stages).

Out with the Old and in with the New—Is Backward Inhibition a Domain-Specific Process?

PubMed Central

Menghini, Deny; Vicari, Stefano; Petrosini, Laura; Ferlazzo, Fabio

2015-01-01

Effective task switching is supported by the inhibition of the just executed task, so that potential interference from previously executed tasks is adaptively counteracted. This inhibitory mechanism, named Backward Inhibition (BI), has been inferred from the finding that switching back to a recently executed task (A-B-A task sequence) is harder than switching back to a less recently executed task (C-B-A task sequence). Despite the fact that BI effects do impact performance on everyday life activities, up to now it is still not clear whether the BI represents an amodal and material-independent process or whether it interacts with the task material. To address this issue, a group of individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) characterized by specific difficulties in maintaining and processing visuo-spatial, but not verbal, information, and a mental age- and gender-matched group of typically developing (TD) children were subjected to three task-switching experiments requiring verbal or visuo-spatial material to be processed. Results showed that individuals with WS exhibited a normal BI effect during verbal task-switching, but a clear deficit during visuo-spatial task-switching. Overall, our findings demonstrating that the BI is a material-specific process have important implications for theoretical models of cognitive control and its architecture. PMID:26565628

Cerebral Correlates of Emotional and Action Appraisals During Visual Processing of Emotional Scenes Depending on Spatial Frequency: A Pilot Study

PubMed Central

Campagne, Aurélie; Fradcourt, Benoit; Pichat, Cédric; Baciu, Monica; Kauffmann, Louise; Peyrin, Carole

2016-01-01

Visual processing of emotional stimuli critically depends on the type of cognitive appraisal involved. The present fMRI pilot study aimed to investigate the cerebral correlates involved in the visual processing of emotional scenes in two tasks, one emotional, based on the appraisal of personal emotional experience, and the other motivational, based on the appraisal of the tendency to action. Given that the use of spatial frequency information is relatively flexible during the visual processing of emotional stimuli depending on the task’s demands, we also explored the effect of the type of spatial frequency in visual stimuli in each task by using emotional scenes filtered in low spatial frequency (LSF) and high spatial frequencies (HSF). Activation was observed in the visual areas of the fusiform gyrus for all emotional scenes in both tasks, and in the amygdala for unpleasant scenes only. The motivational task induced additional activation in frontal motor-related areas (e.g. premotor cortex, SMA) and parietal regions (e.g. superior and inferior parietal lobules). Parietal regions were recruited particularly during the motivational appraisal of approach in response to pleasant scenes. These frontal and parietal activations, respectively, suggest that motor and navigation processes play a specific role in the identification of the tendency to action in the motivational task. Furthermore, activity observed in the motivational task, in response to both pleasant and unpleasant scenes, was significantly greater for HSF than for LSF scenes, suggesting that the tendency to action is driven mainly by the detailed information contained in scenes. Results for the emotional task suggest that spatial frequencies play only a small role in the evaluation of unpleasant and pleasant emotions. Our preliminary study revealed a partial distinction between visual processing of emotional scenes during identification of the tendency to action, and during identification of personal emotional experiences. It also illustrates flexible use of the spatial frequencies contained in scenes depending on their emotional valence and on task demands. PMID:26757433

Early puzzle play: a predictor of preschoolers' spatial transformation skill.

PubMed

Levine, Susan C; Ratliff, Kristin R; Huttenlocher, Janellen; Cannon, Joanna

2012-03-01

Individual differences in spatial skill emerge prior to kindergarten entry. However, little is known about the early experiences that may contribute to these differences. The current study examined the relation between children's early puzzle play and their spatial skill. Children and parents (n = 53) were observed at home for 90 min every 4 months (6 times) between 2 and 4 years of age (26 to 46 months). When children were 4 years 6 months old, they completed a spatial task involving mental transformations of 2-dimensional shapes. Children who were observed playing with puzzles performed better on this task than those who did not, controlling for parent education, income, and overall parent word types. Moreover, among those children who played with puzzles, frequency of puzzle play predicted performance on the spatial transformation task. Although the frequency of puzzle play did not differ for boys and girls, the quality of puzzle play (a composite of puzzle difficulty, parent engagement, and parent spatial language) was higher for boys than for girls. In addition, variation in puzzle play quality predicted performance on the spatial transformation task for girls but not for boys. Implications of these findings as well as future directions for research on the role of puzzle play in the development of spatial skill are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Valence-space compatibility effects depend on situated motor fluency in both right- and left-handers.

PubMed

Milhau, Audrey; Brouillet, Thibaut; Brouillet, Denis

2015-01-01

According to the body specificity hypothesis, the way we interact with our environment participates in our conceptualization of concepts and word meanings. For instance, valence is associated to horizontal space because of the motor fluency by which one acts with one's dominant hand. We propose that the decisive factor in the compatibility effects between valence and lateral actions is the interaction between the fluency of response movement and the situational constraints of the task. In a valence judgement task with positive and negative words, right-handers (Experiment 1) and left-handers (Experiment 2) responded with lateralized actions of either their dominant or their nondominant hand. To do so, we used a response device that was either congruent or noncongruent with the fluency of the response hand. Results highlighted that when the response device was congruent with the fluency of the responding hand, response times to positive evaluations were shorter than those to negative evaluations. Conversely, when the response device was noncongruent with the fluency of the responding hand, we observed faster responses for negative evaluations than for positive evaluations. Furthermore, we obtained similar patterns for right- and left-handers, supporting the idea that compatibility effects are driven by the situated fluency of the responding hand.

A localized model of spatial cognition in chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stieff, Mike

This dissertation challenges the assumption that spatial cognition, particularly visualization, is the key component to problem solving in chemistry. In contrast to this assumption, I posit a localized, or task-specific, model of spatial cognition in chemistry problem solving to locate the exact tasks in a traditional organic chemistry curriculum that require students to use visualization strategies to problem solve. Instead of assuming that visualization is required for most chemistry tasks simply because chemistry concerns invisible three-dimensional entities, I instead use the framework of the localized model to identify how students do and do not make use of visualization strategies on a wide variety of assessment tasks regardless of each task's explicit demand for spatial cognition. I establish the dimensions of the localized model with five studies. First, I designed two novel psychometrics to reveal how students selectively use visualization strategies to interpret and analyze molecular structures. The third study comprised a document analysis of the organic chemistry assessments that empirically determined only 12% of these tasks explicitly require visualization. The fourth study concerned a series of correlation analyses between measures of visuo-spatial ability and chemistry performance to clarify the impact of individual differences. Finally, I performed a series of micro-genetic analyses of student problem solving that confirmed the earlier findings and revealed students prefer to visualize molecules from alternative perspectives without using mental rotation. The results of each study reveal that occurrences of sophisticated spatial cognition are relatively infrequent in chemistry, despite instructors' ostensible emphasis on the visualization of three-dimensional structures. To the contrary, students eschew visualization strategies and instead rely on the use of molecular diagrams to scaffold spatial cognition. Visualization does play a key role, however, in problem solving on a select group of chemistry tasks that require students to translate molecular representations or fundamentally alter the morphology of a molecule. Ultimately, this dissertation calls into question the assumption that individual differences in visuo-spatial ability play a critical role in determining who succeeds in chemistry. The results of this work establish a foundation for defining the precise manner in which visualization tools can best support problem solving.

Reversible Hippocampal Lesions Disrupt Water Maze Performance during Both Recent and Remote Memory Tests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broadbent, Nicola J.; Squire, Larry R.; Clark, Robert E.

2006-01-01

Conventional lesion methods have shown that damage to the rodent hippocampus can impair previously acquired spatial memory in tasks such as the water maze. In contrast, work with reversible lesion methods using a different spatial task has found remote memory to be spared. To determine whether the finding of spared remote spatial memory depends on…

The Impact of Residual Vision in Spatial Skills of Individuals with Visual Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papadopoulos, Konstantinos; Koustriava, Eleni; Kartasidou, Lefkothea

2011-01-01

Loss of vision is believed to have a great impact on the acquisition of spatial knowledge. The aims of the present study are to examine the performance of individuals with visual impairments on spatial tasks and the impact of residual vision on processing these tasks. In all, 28 individuals with visual impairments--blindness or low…

Caffeine Promotes Global Spatial Processing in Habitual and Non-Habitual Caffeine Consumers

PubMed Central

Giles, Grace E.; Mahoney, Caroline R.; Brunyé, Tad T.; Taylor, Holly A.; Kanarek, Robin B.

2013-01-01

Information processing is generally biased toward global cues, often at the expense of local information. Equivocal extant data suggests that arousal states may accentuate either a local or global processing bias, at least partially dependent on the nature of the manipulation, task, and stimuli. To further differentiate the conditions responsible for such equivocal results we varied caffeine doses to alter physiological arousal states and measured their effect on tasks requiring the retrieval of local versus global spatial knowledge. In a double-blind, repeated-measures design, non-habitual (Experiment 1; N = 36, M = 42.5 ± 28.7 mg/day caffeine) and habitual (Experiment 2; N = 34, M = 579.5 ± 311.5 mg/day caffeine) caffeine consumers completed four test sessions corresponding to each of four caffeine doses (0, 100, 200, 400 mg). During each test session, participants consumed a capsule containing one of the three doses of caffeine or placebo, waited 60 min, and then completed two spatial tasks, one involving memorizing maps and one spatial descriptions. A spatial statement verification task tested local versus global spatial knowledge by differentially probing memory for proximal versus distal landmark relationships. On the map learning task, results indicated that caffeine enhanced memory for distal (i.e., global) compared to proximal (i.e., local) comparisons at 100 (marginal), 200, and 400 mg caffeine in non-habitual consumers, and marginally beginning at 200 mg caffeine in habitual consumers. On the spatial descriptions task, caffeine enhanced memory for distal compared to proximal comparisons beginning at 100 mg in non-habitual but not habitual consumers. We thus provide evidence that caffeine-induced physiological arousal amplifies global spatial processing biases, and these effects are at least partially driven by habitual caffeine consumption. PMID:24146646

Recognition of visual stimuli and memory for spatial context in schizophrenic patients and healthy volunteers.

PubMed

Brébion, Gildas; David, Anthony S; Pilowsky, Lyn S; Jones, Hugh

2004-11-01

Verbal and visual recognition tasks were administered to 40 patients with schizophrenia and 40 healthy comparison subjects. The verbal recognition task consisted of discriminating between 16 target words and 16 new words. The visual recognition task consisted of discriminating between 16 target pictures (8 black-and-white and 8 color) and 16 new pictures (8 black-and-white and 8 color). Visual recognition was followed by a spatial context discrimination task in which subjects were required to remember the spatial location of the target pictures at encoding. Results showed that recognition deficit in patients was similar for verbal and visual material. In both schizophrenic and healthy groups, men, but not women, obtained better recognition scores for the colored than for the black-and-white pictures. However, men and women similarly benefited from color to reduce spatial context discrimination errors. Patients showed a significant deficit in remembering the spatial location of the pictures, independently of accuracy in remembering the pictures themselves. These data suggest that patients are impaired in the amount of visual information that they can encode. With regards to the perceptual attributes of the stimuli, memory for spatial information appears to be affected, but not processing of color information.

The effects of incentives on visual-spatial working memory in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Shiels, Keri; Hawk, Larry W; Lysczek, Cynthia L; Tannock, Rosemary; Pelham, William E; Spencer, Sarah V; Gangloff, Brian P; Waschbusch, Daniel A

2008-08-01

Working memory is one of several putative core neurocognitive processes in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present work seeks to determine whether visual-spatial working memory is sensitive to motivational incentives, a laboratory analogue of behavioral treatment. Participants were 21 children (ages 7-10) with a diagnosis of ADHD-combined type. Participants completed a computerized spatial span task designed to assess storage of visual-spatial information (forward span) and manipulation of the stored information (backward span). The spatial span task was completed twice on the same day, once with a performance-based incentive (trial-wise feedback and points redeemable for prizes) and once without incentives. Participants performed significantly better on the backward span when rewarded for correct responses, compared to the no incentive condition. However, incentives had no effect on performance during the forward span. These findings may suggest the use of motivational incentives improved manipulation, but not storage, of visual-spatial information among children with ADHD. Possible explanations for the differential incentive effects are discussed, including the possibility that incentives prevented a vigilance decrement as task difficulty and time on task increased.

A Tale of Two Types of Perspective Taking: Sex Differences in Spatial Ability.

PubMed

Tarampi, Margaret R; Heydari, Nahal; Hegarty, Mary

2016-11-01

Sex differences in favor of males have been documented in measures of spatial perspective taking. In this research, we examined whether social factors (i.e., stereotype threat and the inclusion of human figures in tasks) account for these differences. In Experiment 1, we evaluated performance when perspective-taking tests were framed as measuring either spatial or social (empathetic) perspective-taking abilities. In the spatial condition, tasks were framed as measures of spatial ability on which males have an advantage. In the social condition, modified tasks contained human figures and were framed as measures of empathy on which females have an advantage. Results showed a sex difference in favor of males in the spatial condition but not the social condition. Experiments 2 and 3 indicated that both stereotype threat and including human figures contributed to these effects. Results suggest that females may underperform on spatial tests in part because of negative performance expectations and the character of the spatial tests rather than because of actual lack of abilities. © The Author(s) 2016.

CompatPM: enabling energy efficient multimedia workloads for distributed mobile platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nathuji, Ripal; O'Hara, Keith J.; Schwan, Karsten; Balch, Tucker

2007-01-01

The computation and communication abilities of modern platforms are enabling increasingly capable cooperative distributed mobile systems. An example is distributed multimedia processing of sensor data in robots deployed for search and rescue, where a system manager can exploit the application's cooperative nature to optimize the distribution of roles and tasks in order to successfully accomplish the mission. Because of limited battery capacities, a critical task a manager must perform is online energy management. While support for power management has become common for the components that populate mobile platforms, what is lacking is integration and explicit coordination across the different management actions performed in a variety of system layers. This papers develops an integration approach for distributed multimedia applications, where a global manager specifies both a power operating point and a workload for a node to execute. Surprisingly, when jointly considering power and QoS, experimental evaluations show that using a simple deadline-driven approach to assigning frequencies can be non-optimal. These trends are further affected by certain characteristics of underlying power management mechanisms, which in our research, are identified as groupings that classify component power management as "compatible" (VFC) or "incompatible" (VFI) with voltage and frequency scaling. We build on these findings to develop CompatPM, a vertically integrated control strategy for power management in distributed mobile systems. Experimental evaluations of CompatPM indicate average energy improvements of 8% when platform resources are managed jointly rather than independently, demonstrating that previous attempts to maximize battery life by simply minimizing frequency are inappropriate from a platform-level perspective.

Individual differences in brain activity during visuo-spatial processing assessed by slow cortical potentials and LORETA.

PubMed

Lamm, Claus; Fischmeister, Florian Ph S; Bauer, Herbert

2005-12-01

Using slow-cortical potentials (SCPs), Vitouch et al. demonstrated that subjects with low ability to solve a complex visuo-spatial imagery task show higher activity in occipital, parietal and frontal cortex during task processing than subjects with high ability. This finding has been interpreted in the sense of the so-called "neural efficiency" hypothesis, which assumes that the central nervous system of individuals with higher intellectual abilities is functioning in a more efficient way than the one of individuals with lower abilities. Using a higher spatial resolution of SCP recordings, and by employing the source localization method of LORETA (low-resolution electromagnetic tomography), we investigated this hypothesis by performing an extended replication of Vitouch et al.'s study. SCPs during processing of a visuo-spatial imagery task were recorded in pre-selected subjects with either high or low abilities in solving the imagery task. Topographic and LORETA analyses of SCPs revealed that a distributed network of extrastriate occipital, superior parietal, temporal, medial frontal and prefrontal areas was active during task solving. This network is well in line with former studies of the functional neuroanatomy of visuo-spatial imagery. Contrary to our expectations, however, the results of Vitouch et al. as well as of other studies supporting the neural efficiency hypothesis could not be confirmed since no difference in brain activity between groups was observed. This inconsistency between studies might be due to differing task processing strategies. While subjects with high abilities in the Vitouch et al. study seemed to use a visuo-perceptual task solving approach, all other subjects relied upon a visuo-motor task processing strategy.

Automatic Imitation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heyes, Cecilia

2011-01-01

"Automatic imitation" is a type of stimulus-response compatibility effect in which the topographical features of task-irrelevant action stimuli facilitate similar, and interfere with dissimilar, responses. This article reviews behavioral, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging research on automatic imitation, asking in what sense it is "automatic"…

Video gaming in children improves performance on a virtual reality trainer but does not yet make a laparoscopic surgeon.

PubMed

Rosenthal, Rachel; Geuss, Steffen; Dell-Kuster, Salome; Schäfer, Juliane; Hahnloser, Dieter; Demartines, Nicolas

2011-06-01

In children, video game experience improves spatial performance, a predictor of surgical performance. This study aims at comparing laparoscopic virtual reality (VR) task performance of children with different levels of experience in video games and residents. A total of 32 children (8.4 to 12.1 years), 20 residents, and 14 board-certified surgeons (total n = 66) performed several VR and 2 conventional tasks (cube/spatial and pegboard/fine motor). Performance between the groups was compared (primary outcome). VR performance was correlated with conventional task performance (secondary outcome). Lowest VR performance was found in children with low video game experience, followed by those with high video game experience, residents, and board-certified surgeons. VR performance correlated well with the spatial test and moderately with the fine motor test. The use of computer games can be considered not only as pure entertainment but may also contribute to the development of skills relevant for adequate performance in VR laparoscopic tasks. Spatial skills are relevant for VR laparoscopic task performance.

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

PubMed

Moehler, Tobias; Fiehler, Katja

2014-12-01

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

Multi-tasking uncovers right spatial neglect and extinction in chronic left-hemisphere stroke patients.

PubMed

Blini, Elvio; Romeo, Zaira; Spironelli, Chiara; Pitteri, Marco; Meneghello, Francesca; Bonato, Mario; Zorzi, Marco

2016-11-01

Unilateral Spatial Neglect, the most dramatic manifestation of contralesional space unawareness, is a highly heterogeneous syndrome. The presence of neglect is related to core spatially lateralized deficits, but its severity is also modulated by several domain-general factors (such as alertness or sustained attention) and by task demands. We previously showed that a computer-based dual-task paradigm exploiting both lateralized and non-lateralized factors (i.e., attentional load/multitasking) better captures this complex scenario and exacerbates deficits for the contralesional space after right hemisphere damage. Here we asked whether multitasking would reveal contralesional spatial disorders in chronic left-hemisphere damaged (LHD) stroke patients, a population in which impaired spatial processing is thought to be uncommon. Ten consecutive LHD patients with no signs of right-sided neglect at standard neuropsychological testing performed a computerized spatial monitoring task with and without concurrent secondary tasks (i.e., multitasking). Severe contralesional (right) space unawareness emerged in most patients under attentional load in both the visual and auditory modalities. Multitasking affected the detection of contralesional stimuli both when presented concurrently with an ipsilesional one (i.e., extinction for bilateral targets) and when presented in isolation (i.e., left neglect for right-sided targets). No spatial bias emerged in a control group of healthy elderly participants, who performed at ceiling, as well as in a second control group composed of patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment. We conclude that the pathological spatial asymmetry in LHD patients cannot be attributed to a global reduction of cognitive resources but it is the consequence of unilateral brain damage. Clinical and theoretical implications of the load-dependent lack of awareness for contralesional hemispace following LHD are discussed. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The Walter Reed performance assessment battery.

PubMed

Thorne, D R; Genser, S G; Sing, H C; Hegge, F W

1985-01-01

This paper describes technical details of a computerized psychological test battery designed for examining the effects of various state-variables on a representative sample of normal psychomotor, perceptual and cognitive tasks. The duration, number and type of tasks can be customized to different experimental needs, and then administered and analyzed automatically, at intervals as short as one hour. The battery can be run on either the Apple-II family of computers or on machines compatible with the IBM-PC.

How Attention Affects Spatial Resolution

PubMed Central

Carrasco, Marisa; Barbot, Antoine

2015-01-01

We summarize and discuss a series of psychophysical studies on the effects of spatial covert attention on spatial resolution, our ability to discriminate fine patterns. Heightened resolution is beneficial in most, but not all, visual tasks. We show how endogenous attention (voluntary, goal driven) and exogenous attention (involuntary, stimulus driven) affect performance on a variety of tasks mediated by spatial resolution, such as visual search, crowding, acuity, and texture segmentation. Exogenous attention is an automatic mechanism that increases resolution regardless of whether it helps or hinders performance. In contrast, endogenous attention flexibly adjusts resolution to optimize performance according to task demands. We illustrate how psychophysical studies can reveal the underlying mechanisms of these effects and allow us to draw linking hypotheses with known neurophysiological effects of attention. PMID:25948640

Visuo-spatial interference affects the identification of emotional facial expressions in unmedicated Parkinson's patients.

PubMed

García-Rodríguez, Beatriz; Guillén, Carmen Casares; Barba, Rosa Jurado; io Valladolid, Gabriel Rub; Arjona, José Antonio Molina; Ellgring, Heiner

2012-02-15

There is evidence that visuo-spatial capacity can become overloaded when processing a secondary visual task (Dual Task, DT), as occurs in daily life. Hence, we investigated the influence of the visuo-spatial interference in the identification of emotional facial expressions (EFEs) in early stages of Parkinson's disease (PD). We compared the identification of 24 emotional faces that illustrate six basic emotions in, unmedicated recently diagnosed PD patients (16) and healthy adults (20), under two different conditions: a) simple EFE identification, and b) identification with a concurrent visuo-spatial task (Corsi Blocks). EFE identification by PD patients was significantly worse than that of healthy adults when combined with another visual stimulus. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Do Aging and Dual-Tasking Impair the Capacity to Store and Retrieve Visuospatial Information Needed to Guide Perturbation-Evoked Reach-To-Grasp Reactions?

PubMed Central

Cheng, Kenneth C.; Pratt, Jay; Maki, Brian E.

2013-01-01

A recent study involving young adults showed that rapid perturbation-evoked reach-to-grasp balance-recovery reactions can be guided successfully with visuospatial-information (VSI) retained in memory despite: 1) a reduction in endpoint accuracy due to recall-delay (time between visual occlusion and perturbation-onset, PO) and 2) slowing of the reaction when performing a concurrent cognitive task during the recall-delay interval. The present study aimed to determine whether this capacity is compromised by effects of aging. Ten healthy older adults were tested with the previous protocol and compared with the previously-tested young adults. Reactions to recover balance by grasping a small handhold were evoked by unpredictable antero-posterior platform-translation (barriers deterred stepping reactions), while using liquid-crystal goggles to occlude vision post-PO and for varying recall-delay times (0-10s) prior to PO (the handhold was moved unpredictably to one of four locations 2s prior to vision-occlusion). Subjects also performed a spatial- or non-spatial-memory cognitive task during the delay-time in a subset of trials. Results showed that older adults had slower reactions than the young across all experimental conditions. Both age groups showed similar reduction in medio-lateral end-point accuracy when recall-delay was longest (10s), but differed in the effect of recall delay on vertical hand elevation. For both age groups, engaging in either the non-spatial or spatial-memory task had similar (slowing) effects on the arm reactions; however, the older adults also showed a dual-task interference effect (poorer cognitive-task performance) that was specific to the spatial-memory task. This provides new evidence that spatial working memory plays a role in the control of perturbation-evoked balance-recovery reactions. The delays in completing the reaction that occurred when performing either cognitive task suggest that such dual-task situations in daily life could increase risk of falling in seniors, particularly when combined with the general age-related slowing that was observed across all experimental conditions. PMID:24223942

An investigation of immune system disorder as a "marker" for anomalous dominance.

PubMed

Rich, D A; McKeever, W F

1990-01-01

Geschwind and Galaburda (1987) proposed that immune disorder (ID) susceptibility, along with left handedness and familial sinistrality (FS), is a "marker" for anomalous dominance. The theory predicts lesser left lateralization for language processes, lessened left hemisphere abilities, and enhanced right hemisphere abilities. We assessed language laterality (dichotic consonant vowel task) and performances on spatial and verbal tasks. Subjects were 128 college students. The factors of handedness, sex, FS, and immune disorder history (negative or positive) were perfectly counterbalanced. Left-handers were significantly less lateralized for language and scored lower than right-handers on the spatial tasks. Females scored lower on mental rotation than males, but performed comparably to males on the spatial relations task. The only effect of ID was by way of interaction with FS on both spatial tasks--subjects who were either negative or positive on both FS and ID status factors scored significantly higher than subjects negative for one but positive for the other factor. A speculative explanatory model for this interaction was proposed. The model incorporates the notion that FS and ID factors are comparably correlated, but in opposite directions, with hormonal factors implicated by other research as relevant for spatial ability differences. Finally, no support for the "anomalous dominance" hypothesis predictions was found.

Age-Related Differences and Cognitive Correlates of Self-Reported and Direct Navigation Performance: The Effect of Real and Virtual Test Conditions Manipulation

PubMed Central

Taillade, Mathieu; N'Kaoua, Bernard; Sauzéon, Hélène

2016-01-01

The present study investigated the effect of aging on direct navigation measures and self-reported ones according to the real-virtual test manipulation. Navigation (wayfinding tasks) and spatial memory (paper-pencil tasks) performances, obtained either in real-world or in virtual-laboratory test conditions, were compared between young (n = 32) and older (n = 32) adults who had self-rated their everyday navigation behavior (SBSOD scale). Real age-related differences were observed in navigation tasks as well as in paper-pencil tasks, which investigated spatial learning relative to the distinction between survey-route knowledge. The manipulation of test conditions (real vs. virtual) did not change these age-related differences, which are mostly explained by age-related decline in both spatial abilities and executive functioning (measured with neuropsychological tests). In contrast, elderly adults did not differ from young adults in their self-reporting relative to everyday navigation, suggesting some underestimation of navigation difficulties by elderly adults. Also, spatial abilities in young participants had a mediating effect on the relations between actual and self-reported navigation performance, but not for older participants. So, it is assumed that the older adults carried out the navigation task with fewer available spatial abilities compared to young adults, resulting in inaccurate self-estimates. PMID:26834666

Age-Related Differences and Cognitive Correlates of Self-Reported and Direct Navigation Performance: The Effect of Real and Virtual Test Conditions Manipulation.

PubMed

Taillade, Mathieu; N'Kaoua, Bernard; Sauzéon, Hélène

2015-01-01

The present study investigated the effect of aging on direct navigation measures and self-reported ones according to the real-virtual test manipulation. Navigation (wayfinding tasks) and spatial memory (paper-pencil tasks) performances, obtained either in real-world or in virtual-laboratory test conditions, were compared between young (n = 32) and older (n = 32) adults who had self-rated their everyday navigation behavior (SBSOD scale). Real age-related differences were observed in navigation tasks as well as in paper-pencil tasks, which investigated spatial learning relative to the distinction between survey-route knowledge. The manipulation of test conditions (real vs. virtual) did not change these age-related differences, which are mostly explained by age-related decline in both spatial abilities and executive functioning (measured with neuropsychological tests). In contrast, elderly adults did not differ from young adults in their self-reporting relative to everyday navigation, suggesting some underestimation of navigation difficulties by elderly adults. Also, spatial abilities in young participants had a mediating effect on the relations between actual and self-reported navigation performance, but not for older participants. So, it is assumed that the older adults carried out the navigation task with fewer available spatial abilities compared to young adults, resulting in inaccurate self-estimates.

A test of the reward-value hypothesis.

PubMed

Smith, Alexandra E; Dalecki, Stefan J; Crystal, Jonathon D

2017-03-01

Rats retain source memory (memory for the origin of information) over a retention interval of at least 1 week, whereas their spatial working memory (radial maze locations) decays within approximately 1 day. We have argued that different forgetting functions dissociate memory systems. However, the two tasks, in our previous work, used different reward values. The source memory task used multiple pellets of a preferred food flavor (chocolate), whereas the spatial working memory task provided access to a single pellet of standard chow-flavored food at each location. Thus, according to the reward-value hypothesis, enhanced performance in the source memory task stems from enhanced encoding/memory of a preferred reward. We tested the reward-value hypothesis by using a standard 8-arm radial maze task to compare spatial working memory accuracy of rats rewarded with either multiple chocolate or chow pellets at each location using a between-subjects design. The reward-value hypothesis predicts superior accuracy for high-valued rewards. We documented equivalent spatial memory accuracy for high- and low-value rewards. Importantly, a 24-h retention interval produced equivalent spatial working memory accuracy for both flavors. These data are inconsistent with the reward-value hypothesis and suggest that reward value does not explain our earlier findings that source memory survives unusually long retention intervals.

Route selection by rats and humans in a navigational traveling salesman problem.

PubMed

Blaser, Rachel E; Ginchansky, Rachel R

2012-03-01

Spatial cognition is typically examined in non-human animals from the perspective of learning and memory. For this reason, spatial tasks are often constrained by the time necessary for training or the capacity of the animal's short-term memory. A spatial task with limited learning and memory demands could allow for more efficient study of some aspects of spatial cognition. The traveling salesman problem (TSP), used to study human visuospatial problem solving, is a simple task with modifiable learning and memory requirements. In the current study, humans and rats were characterized in a navigational version of the TSP. Subjects visited each of 10 baited targets in any sequence from a set starting location. Unlike similar experiments, the roles of learning and memory were purposely minimized; all targets were perceptually available, no distracters were used, and each configuration was tested only once. The task yielded a variety of behavioral measures, including target revisits and omissions, route length, and frequency of transitions between each pair of targets. Both humans and rats consistently chose routes that were more efficient than chance, but less efficient than optimal, and generally less efficient than routes produced by the nearest-neighbor strategy. We conclude that the TSP is a useful and flexible task for the study of spatial cognition in human and non-human animals.

Playing the Simon game: use of the Simon task for investigating human information processing.

PubMed

Proctor, Robert W

2011-02-01

A little more than 40 years ago, J. R. Simon and colleagues introduced what is now called the Simon task, which yielded a correspondence effect known as the Simon effect. In this paper, I set Simon's contribution in the context of research on stimulus-response compatibility. The novel contribution of the Simon task is described, along with foundational findings using the task that Simon and colleagues reported. I acknowledge the significance of Simon's (1990) review chapter in generating my own interests in the Simon task and describe four selected lines of research from my lab that have been a result of those interests. The article concludes with a brief tribute to Simon and his contribution to experimental psychology. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Geographic Information Systems and Martian Data: Compatibility and Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Jennifer L.

2005-01-01

Planning future landed Mars missions depends on accurate, informed data. This research has created and used spatially referenced instrument data from NASA missions such as the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey Orbiter and the Mars Orbital Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Orbiter. Creating spatially referenced data enables its use in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) such as ArcGIS. It has then been possible to integrate this spatially referenced data with global base maps and build and populate location based databases that are easy to access.

Task-level feedback can explain temporal recruitment of spatially fixed muscle synergies throughout postural perturbations

PubMed Central

Safavynia, Seyed A.

2012-01-01

Recent evidence suggests that complex spatiotemporal patterns of muscle activity can be explained with a low-dimensional set of muscle synergies or M-modes. While it is clear that both spatial and temporal aspects of muscle coordination may be low dimensional, constraints on spatial versus temporal features of muscle coordination likely involve different neural control mechanisms. We hypothesized that the low-dimensional spatial and temporal features of muscle coordination are independent of each other. We further hypothesized that in reactive feedback tasks, spatially fixed muscle coordination patterns—or muscle synergies—are hierarchically recruited via time-varying neural commands based on delayed task-level feedback. We explicitly compared the ability of spatially fixed (SF) versus temporally fixed (TF) muscle synergies to reconstruct the entire time course of muscle activity during postural responses to anterior-posterior support-surface translations. While both SF and TF muscle synergies could account for EMG variability in a postural task, SF muscle synergies produced more consistent and physiologically interpretable results than TF muscle synergies during postural responses to perturbations. Moreover, a majority of SF muscle synergies were consistent in structure when extracted from epochs throughout postural responses. Temporal patterns of SF muscle synergy recruitment were well-reconstructed by delayed feedback of center of mass (CoM) kinematics and reproduced EMG activity of multiple muscles. Consistent with the idea that independent and hierarchical low-dimensional neural control structures define spatial and temporal patterns of muscle activity, our results suggest that CoM kinematics are a task variable used to recruit SF muscle synergies for feedback control of balance. PMID:21957219

How Much Like a Target Can a Mask Be? Geometric, Spatial, and Temporal Similarity in Priming: A Reply to Schlaghecken and Eimer (2006)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lleras, Alejandro; Enns, James T.

2006-01-01

The authors make 3 points in response to F. Schlaghecken and M. Eimer's (see record 2006-09007-009) proposal of self-inhibition as an explanatory factor in the negative compatibility effect: (a) The self-inhibition hypothesis lacks empirical support for its main tenets; (b) considering the roles of geometric, spatial, and temporal similarity of…

Decision-Related Activity in Macaque V2 for Fine Disparity Discrimination Is Not Compatible with Optimal Linear Readout.

PubMed

Clery, Stephane; Cumming, Bruce G; Nienborg, Hendrikje

2017-01-18

Fine judgments of stereoscopic depth rely mainly on relative judgments of depth (relative binocular disparity) between objects, rather than judgments of the distance to where the eyes are fixating (absolute disparity). In macaques, visual area V2 is the earliest site in the visual processing hierarchy for which neurons selective for relative disparity have been observed (Thomas et al., 2002). Here, we found that, in macaques trained to perform a fine disparity discrimination task, disparity-selective neurons in V2 were highly selective for the task, and their activity correlated with the animals' perceptual decisions (unexplained by the stimulus). This may partially explain similar correlations reported in downstream areas. Although compatible with a perceptual role of these neurons for the task, the interpretation of such decision-related activity is complicated by the effects of interneuronal "noise" correlations between sensory neurons. Recent work has developed simple predictions to differentiate decoding schemes (Pitkow et al., 2015) without needing measures of noise correlations, and found that data from early sensory areas were compatible with optimal linear readout of populations with information-limiting correlations. In contrast, our data here deviated significantly from these predictions. We additionally tested this prediction for previously reported results of decision-related activity in V2 for a related task, coarse disparity discrimination (Nienborg and Cumming, 2006), thought to rely on absolute disparity. Although these data followed the predicted pattern, they violated the prediction quantitatively. This suggests that optimal linear decoding of sensory signals is not generally a good predictor of behavior in simple perceptual tasks. Activity in sensory neurons that correlates with an animal's decision is widely believed to provide insights into how the brain uses information from sensory neurons. Recent theoretical work developed simple predictions to differentiate decoding schemes, and found support for optimal linear readout of early sensory populations with information-limiting correlations. Here, we observed decision-related activity for neurons in visual area V2 of macaques performing fine disparity discrimination, as yet the earliest site for this task. These findings, and previously reported results from V2 in a different task, deviated from the predictions for optimal linear readout of a population with information-limiting correlations. Our results suggest that optimal linear decoding of early sensory information is not a general decoding strategy used by the brain. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/370715-11$15.00/0.

The Effect of Two-dimensional and Stereoscopic Presentation on Middle School Students' Performance of Spatial Cognition Tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Price, Aaron; Lee, Hee-Sun

2010-02-01

We investigated whether and how student performance on three types of spatial cognition tasks differs when worked with two-dimensional or stereoscopic representations. We recruited nineteen middle school students visiting a planetarium in a large Midwestern American city and analyzed their performance on a series of spatial cognition tasks in terms of response accuracy and task completion time. Results show that response accuracy did not differ between the two types of representations while task completion time was significantly greater with the stereoscopic representations. The completion time increased as the number of mental manipulations of 3D objects increased in the tasks. Post-interviews provide evidence that some students continued to think of stereoscopic representations as two-dimensional. Based on cognitive load and cue theories, we interpret that, in the absence of pictorial depth cues, students may need more time to be familiar with stereoscopic representations for optimal performance. In light of these results, we discuss potential uses of stereoscopic representations for science learning.

Improved application of independent component analysis to functional magnetic resonance imaging study via linear projection techniques.

PubMed

Long, Zhiying; Chen, Kewei; Wu, Xia; Reiman, Eric; Peng, Danling; Yao, Li

2009-02-01

Spatial Independent component analysis (sICA) has been widely used to analyze functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. The well accepted implicit assumption is the spatially statistical independency of intrinsic sources identified by sICA, making the sICA applications difficult for data in which there exist interdependent sources and confounding factors. This interdependency can arise, for instance, from fMRI studies investigating two tasks in a single session. In this study, we introduced a linear projection approach and considered its utilization as a tool to separate task-related components from two-task fMRI data. The robustness and feasibility of the method are substantiated through simulation on computer data and fMRI real rest data. Both simulated and real two-task fMRI experiments demonstrated that sICA in combination with the projection method succeeded in separating spatially dependent components and had better detection power than pure model-based method when estimating activation induced by each task as well as both tasks.

fMRI Validation of fNIRS Measurements During a Naturalistic Task

PubMed Central

Noah, J. Adam; Ono, Yumie; Nomoto, Yasunori; Shimada, Sotaro; Tachibana, Atsumichi; Zhang, Xian; Bronner, Shaw; Hirsch, Joy

2015-01-01

We present a method to compare brain activity recorded with near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in a dance video game task to that recorded in a reduced version of the task using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). Recently, it has been shown that fNIRS can accurately record functional brain activities equivalent to those concurrently recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging for classic psychophysical tasks and simple finger tapping paradigms. However, an often quoted benefit of fNIRS is that the technique allows for studying neural mechanisms of complex, naturalistic behaviors that are not possible using the constrained environment of fMRI. Our goal was to extend the findings of previous studies that have shown high correlation between concurrently recorded fNIRS and fMRI signals to compare neural recordings obtained in fMRI procedures to those separately obtained in naturalistic fNIRS experiments. Specifically, we developed a modified version of the dance video game Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) to be compatible with both fMRI and fNIRS imaging procedures. In this methodology we explain the modifications to the software and hardware for compatibility with each technique as well as the scanning and calibration procedures used to obtain representative results. The results of the study show a task-related increase in oxyhemoglobin in both modalities and demonstrate that it is possible to replicate the findings of fMRI using fNIRS in a naturalistic task. This technique represents a methodology to compare fMRI imaging paradigms which utilize a reduced-world environment to fNIRS in closer approximation to naturalistic, full-body activities and behaviors. Further development of this technique may apply to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, late states of dementia, or those with magnetic susceptibility which are contraindicated for fMRI scanning. PMID:26132365

Oculomotor responses and visuospatial perceptual judgments compete for common limited resources

PubMed Central

Tibber, Marc S.; Grant, Simon; Morgan, Michael J.

2010-01-01

While there is evidence for multiple spatial and attentional maps in the brain it is not clear to what extent visuoperceptual and oculomotor tasks rely on common neural representations and attentional mechanisms. Using a dual-task interference paradigm we tested the hypothesis that eye movements and perceptual judgments made to simultaneously presented visuospatial information compete for shared limited resources. Observers undertook judgments of stimulus collinearity (perceptual extrapolation) using a pointer and Gabor patch and/or performed saccades to a peripheral dot target while their eye movements were recorded. In addition, observers performed a non-spatial control task (contrast discrimination), matched for task difficulty and stimulus structure, which on the basis of previous studies was expected to represent a lesser load on putative shared resources. Greater mutual interference was indeed found between the saccade and extrapolation task pair than between the saccade and contrast discrimination task pair. These data are consistent with visuoperceptual and oculomotor responses competing for common limited resources as well as spatial tasks incurring a relatively high attentional cost. PMID:20053112

Task-relevant output signals are sent from monkey dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to the superior colliculus during a visuospatial working memory task.

PubMed

Johnston, Kevin; Everling, Stefan

2009-05-01

Visuospatial working memory is one of the most extensively investigated functions of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Theories of prefrontal cortical function have suggested that this area exerts cognitive control by modulating the activity of structures to which it is connected. Here, we used the oculomotor system as a model in which to characterize the output signals sent from the DLPFC to a target structure during a classical spatial working memory task. We recorded the activity of identified DLPFC-superior colliculus (SC) projection neurons while monkeys performed a memory-guided saccade task in which they were required to generate saccades toward remembered stimulus locations. DLPFC neurons sent signals related to all aspects of the task to the SC, some of which were spatially tuned. These data provide the first direct evidence that the DLPFC sends task-relevant information to the SC during a spatial working memory task, and further support a role for the DLPFC in the direct modulation of other brain areas.

Team performance in networked supervisory control of unmanned air vehicles: effects of automation, working memory, and communication content.

PubMed

McKendrick, Ryan; Shaw, Tyler; de Visser, Ewart; Saqer, Haneen; Kidwell, Brian; Parasuraman, Raja

2014-05-01

Assess team performance within a net-worked supervisory control setting while manipulating automated decision aids and monitoring team communication and working memory ability. Networked systems such as multi-unmanned air vehicle (UAV) supervision have complex properties that make prediction of human-system performance difficult. Automated decision aid can provide valuable information to operators, individual abilities can limit or facilitate team performance, and team communication patterns can alter how effectively individuals work together. We hypothesized that reliable automation, higher working memory capacity, and increased communication rates of task-relevant information would offset performance decrements attributed to high task load. Two-person teams performed a simulated air defense task with two levels of task load and three levels of automated aid reliability. Teams communicated and received decision aid messages via chat window text messages. Task Load x Automation effects were significant across all performance measures. Reliable automation limited the decline in team performance with increasing task load. Average team spatial working memory was a stronger predictor than other measures of team working memory. Frequency of team rapport and enemy location communications positively related to team performance, and word count was negatively related to team performance. Reliable decision aiding mitigated team performance decline during increased task load during multi-UAV supervisory control. Team spatial working memory, communication of spatial information, and team rapport predicted team success. An automated decision aid can improve team performance under high task load. Assessment of spatial working memory and the communication of task-relevant information can help in operator and team selection in supervisory control systems.

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.

Spatial localization deficits and auditory cortical dysfunction in schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Perrin, Megan A.; Butler, Pamela D.; DiCostanzo, Joanna; Forchelli, Gina; Silipo, Gail; Javitt, Daniel C.

2014-01-01

Background Schizophrenia is associated with deficits in the ability to discriminate auditory features such as pitch and duration that localize to primary cortical regions. Lesions of primary vs. secondary auditory cortex also produce differentiable effects on ability to localize and discriminate free-field sound, with primary cortical lesions affecting variability as well as accuracy of response. Variability of sound localization has not previously been studied in schizophrenia. Methods The study compared performance between patients with schizophrenia (n=21) and healthy controls (n=20) on sound localization and spatial discrimination tasks using low frequency tones generated from seven speakers concavely arranged with 30 degrees separation. Results For the sound localization task, patients showed reduced accuracy (p=0.004) and greater overall response variability (p=0.032), particularly in the right hemifield. Performance was also impaired on the spatial discrimination task (p=0.018). On both tasks, poorer accuracy in the right hemifield was associated with greater cognitive symptom severity. Better accuracy in the left hemifield was associated with greater hallucination severity on the sound localization task (p=0.026), but no significant association was found for the spatial discrimination task. Conclusion Patients show impairments in both sound localization and spatial discrimination of sounds presented free-field, with a pattern comparable to that of individuals with right superior temporal lobe lesions that include primary auditory cortex (Heschl’s gyrus). Right primary auditory cortex dysfunction may protect against hallucinations by influencing laterality of functioning. PMID:20619608

Social priming of hemispatial neglect affects spatial coding: Evidence from the Simon task.

PubMed

Arend, Isabel; Aisenberg, Daniela; Henik, Avishai

2016-10-01

In the Simon effect (SE), choice reactions are fast if the location of the stimulus and the response correspond when stimulus location is task-irrelevant; therefore, the SE reflects the automatic processing of space. Priming of social concepts was found to affect automatic processing in the Stroop effect. We investigated whether spatial coding measured by the SE can be affected by the observer's mental state. We used two social priming manipulations of impairments: one involving spatial processing - hemispatial neglect (HN) and another involving color perception - achromatopsia (ACHM). In two experiments the SE was reduced in the "neglected" visual field (VF) under the HN, but not under the ACHM manipulation. Our results show that spatial coding is sensitive to spatial representations that are not derived from task-relevant parameters, but from the observer's cognitive state. These findings dispute stimulus-response interference models grounded on the idea of the automaticity of spatial processing. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Effects of Secondary Task Modality and Processing Code on Automation Trust and Utilization During Simulated Airline Luggage Screening

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, Rachel; Madhavan, Poornima

2010-01-01

The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of environmental distractions on human trust and utilization of automation during the process of visual search. Participants performed a computer-simulated airline luggage screening task with the assistance of a 70% reliable automated decision aid (called DETECTOR) both with and without environmental distractions. The distraction was implemented as a secondary task in either a competing modality (visual) or non-competing modality (auditory). The secondary task processing code either competed with the luggage screening task (spatial code) or with the automation's textual directives (verbal code). We measured participants' system trust, perceived reliability of the system (when a target weapon was present and absent), compliance, reliance, and confidence when agreeing and disagreeing with the system under both distracted and undistracted conditions. Results revealed that system trust was lower in the visual-spatial and auditory-verbal conditions than in the visual-verbal and auditory-spatial conditions. Perceived reliability of the system (when the target was present) was significantly higher when the secondary task was visual rather than auditory. Compliance with the aid increased in all conditions except for the auditory-verbal condition, where it decreased. Similar to the pattern for trust, reliance on the automation was lower in the visual-spatial and auditory-verbal conditions than in the visual-verbal and auditory-spatial conditions. Confidence when agreeing with the system decreased with the addition of any kind of distraction; however, confidence when disagreeing increased with the addition of an auditory secondary task but decreased with the addition of a visual task. A model was developed to represent the research findings and demonstrate the relationship between secondary task modality, processing code, and automation use. Results suggest that the nature of environmental distractions influence interaction with automation via significant effects on trust and system utilization. These findings have implications for both automation design and operator training.

Effects of spatial cues on color-change detection in humans

PubMed Central

Herman, James P.; Bogadhi, Amarender R.; Krauzlis, Richard J.

2015-01-01

Studies of covert spatial attention have largely used motion, orientation, and contrast stimuli as these features are fundamental components of vision. The feature dimension of color is also fundamental to visual perception, particularly for catarrhine primates, and yet very little is known about the effects of spatial attention on color perception. Here we present results using novel dynamic color stimuli in both discrimination and color-change detection tasks. We find that our stimuli yield comparable discrimination thresholds to those obtained with static stimuli. Further, we find that an informative spatial cue improves performance and speeds response time in a color-change detection task compared with an uncued condition, similar to what has been demonstrated for motion, orientation, and contrast stimuli. Our results demonstrate the use of dynamic color stimuli for an established psychophysical task and show that color stimuli are well suited to the study of spatial attention. PMID:26047359

Asymmetric Spatial Processing Under Cognitive Load.

PubMed

Naert, Lien; Bonato, Mario; Fias, Wim

2018-01-01

Spatial attention allows us to selectively process information within a certain location in space. Despite the vast literature on spatial attention, the effect of cognitive load on spatial processing is still not fully understood. In this study we added cognitive load to a spatial processing task, so as to see whether it would differentially impact upon the processing of visual information in the left versus the right hemispace. The main paradigm consisted of a detection task that was performed during the maintenance interval of a verbal working memory task. We found that increasing cognitive working memory load had a more negative impact on detecting targets presented on the left side compared to those on the right side. The strength of the load effect correlated with the strength of the interaction on an individual level. The implications of an asymmetric attentional bias with a relative disadvantage for the left (vs the right) hemispace under high verbal working memory (WM) load are discussed.

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

PubMed

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

2018-03-01

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

Developmental changes in using verbal self-cueing in task-switching situations: the impact of task practice and task-sequencing demands.

PubMed

Kray, Jutta; Gaspard, Hanna; Karbach, Julia; Blaye, Agnès

2013-01-01

In this study we examined whether developmental changes in using verbal self-cueing for task-goal maintenance are dependent on the amount of task practice and task-sequencing demands. To measure task-goal maintenance we applied a switching paradigm in which children either performed only task A or B in single-task blocks or switched between them on every second trial in mixed-task blocks. Task-goal maintenance was determined by comparing the performance between both blocks (mixing costs). The influence of verbal self-cueing was measured by instructing children to either name the next task aloud or not to verbalize during task preparation. Task-sequencing demands were varied between groups whereas one group received spatial task cues to support keeping track of the task sequence, while the other group did not. We also varied by the amount of prior practice in task switching while one group of participants practiced task switching first, before performing the task naming in addition, and the other group did it vice versa. Results of our study investigating younger (8-10 years) and older children (11-13 years) revealed no age differences in beneficial effects of verbal self-cueing. In line with previous findings, children showed reduced mixing costs under task-naming instructions and under conditions of low task-sequence demands (with the presence of spatial task cues). Our results also indicated that these benefits were only obtained for those groups of children that first received practice in task switching alone with no additional verbalization instruction. These findings suggest that internal task-cueing strategies can be efficiently used in children but only if they received prior practice in the underlying task so that demands on keeping and coordinating various instructions are reduced. Moreover, children benefitted from spatial task cues for better task-goal maintenance only if no verbal task-cueing strategy was introduced first.

Generalized lessons about sequence learning from the study of the serial reaction time task

PubMed Central

Schwarb, Hillary; Schumacher, Eric H.

2012-01-01

Over the last 20 years researchers have used the serial reaction time (SRT) task to investigate the nature of spatial sequence learning. They have used the task to identify the locus of spatial sequence learning, identify situations that enhance and those that impair learning, and identify the important cognitive processes that facilitate this type of learning. Although controversies remain, the SRT task has been integral in enhancing our understanding of implicit sequence learning. It is important, however, to ask what, if anything, the discoveries made using the SRT task tell us about implicit learning more generally. This review analyzes the state of the current spatial SRT sequence learning literature highlighting the stimulus-response rule hypothesis of sequence learning which we believe provides a unifying account of discrepant SRT data. It also challenges researchers to use the vast body of knowledge acquired with the SRT task to understand other implicit learning literatures too often ignored in the context of this particular task. This broad perspective will make it possible to identify congruences among data acquired using various different tasks that will allow us to generalize about the nature of implicit learning. PMID:22723815

Brain functional network changes following Prelimbic area inactivation in a spatial memory extinction task.

PubMed

Méndez-Couz, Marta; Conejo, Nélida M; Vallejo, Guillermo; Arias, Jorge L

2015-01-01

Several studies suggest a prefrontal cortex involvement during the acquisition and consolidation of spatial memory, suggesting an active modulating role at late stages of acquisition processes. Recently, we have reported that the prelimbic and infralimbic areas of the prefrontal cortex, among other structures, are also specifically involved in the late phases of spatial memory extinction. This study aimed to evaluate whether the inactivation of the prelimbic area of the prefrontal cortex impaired spatial memory extinction. For this purpose, male Wistar rats were implanted bilaterally with cannulae into the prelimbic region of the prefrontal cortex. Animals were trained during 5 consecutive days in a hidden platform task and tested for reference spatial memory immediately after the last training session. One day after completing the training task, bilateral infusion of the GABAA receptor agonist Muscimol was performed before the extinction protocol was carried out. Additionally, cytochrome c oxidase histochemistry was applied to map the metabolic brain activity related to the spatial memory extinction under prelimbic cortex inactivation. Results show that animals acquired the reference memory task in the water maze, and the extinction task was successfully completed without significant impairment. However, analysis of the functional brain networks involved by cytochrome oxidase activity interregional correlations showed changes in brain networks between the group treated with Muscimol as compared to the saline-treated group, supporting the involvement of the mammillary bodies at a the late stage in the memory extinction process. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sex differences in verbal and visual-spatial tasks under different hemispheric visual-field presentation conditions.

PubMed

Boyle, Gregory J; Neumann, David L; Furedy, John J; Westbury, H Rae

2010-04-01

This paper reports sex differences in cognitive task performance that emerged when 39 Australian university undergraduates (19 men, 20 women) were asked to solve verbal (lexical) and visual-spatial cognitive matching tasks which varied in difficulty and visual field of presentation. Sex significantly interacted with task type, task difficulty, laterality, and changes in performance across trials. The results revealed that the significant individual-differences' variable of sex does not always emerge as a significant main effect, but instead in terms of significant interactions with other variables manipulated experimentally. Our results show that sex differences must be taken into account when conducting experiments into human cognitive-task performance.

Perceptual learning improves contrast sensitivity, visual acuity, and foveal crowding in amblyopia.

PubMed

Barollo, Michele; Contemori, Giulio; Battaglini, Luca; Pavan, Andrea; Casco, Clara

2017-01-01

Amblyopic observers present abnormal spatial interactions between a low-contrast sinusoidal target and high-contrast collinear flankers. It has been demonstrated that perceptual learning (PL) can modulate these low-level lateral interactions, resulting in improved visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. We measured the extent and duration of generalization effects to various spatial tasks (i.e., visual acuity, Vernier acuity, and foveal crowding) through PL on the target's contrast detection. Amblyopic observers were trained on a contrast-detection task for a central target (i.e., a Gabor patch) flanked above and below by two high-contrast Gabor patches. The pre- and post-learning tasks included lateral interactions at different target-to-flankers separations (i.e., 2, 3, 4, 8λ) and included a range of spatial frequencies and stimulus durations as well as visual acuity, Vernier acuity, contrast-sensitivity function, and foveal crowding. The results showed that perceptual training reduced the target's contrast-detection thresholds more for the longest target-to-flanker separation (i.e., 8λ). We also found generalization of PL to different stimuli and tasks: contrast sensitivity for both trained and untrained spatial frequencies, visual acuity for Sloan letters, and foveal crowding, and partially for Vernier acuity. Follow-ups after 5-7 months showed not only complete maintenance of PL effects on visual acuity and contrast sensitivity function but also further improvement in these tasks. These results suggest that PL improves facilitatory lateral interactions in amblyopic observers, which usually extend over larger separations than in typical foveal vision. The improvement in these basic visual spatial operations leads to a more efficient capability of performing spatial tasks involving high levels of visual processing, possibly due to the refinement of bottom-up and top-down networks of visual areas.

Effects of grasp compatibility on long-term memory for objects.

PubMed

Canits, Ivonne; Pecher, Diane; Zeelenberg, René

2018-01-01

Previous studies have shown action potentiation during conceptual processing of manipulable objects. In four experiments, we investigated whether these motor actions also play a role in long-term memory. Participants categorized objects that afforded either a power grasp or a precision grasp as natural or artifact by grasping cylinders with either a power grasp or a precision grasp. In all experiments, responses were faster when the affordance of the object was compatible with the type of grasp response. However, subsequent free recall and recognition memory tasks revealed no better memory for object pictures and object names for which the grasp affordance was compatible with the grasp response. The present results therefore do not support the hypothesis that motor actions play a role in long-term memory. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sex and cultural differences in spatial performance between Japanese and North Americans.

PubMed

Sakamoto, Maiko; Spiers, Mary V

2014-04-01

Previous studies have suggested that Asians perform better than North Americans on spatial tasks but show smaller sex differences. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between long-term experience with a pictorial written language and spatial performance. It was hypothesized that native Japanese Kanji (a complex pictorial written language) educated adults would show smaller sex differences on spatial tasks than Japanese Americans or North Americans without Kanji education. A total of 80 young healthy participants (20 native Japanese speakers, 20 Japanese Americans-non Japanese speaking, and 40 North Americans-non Japanese speaking) completed the Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT), the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), and customized 2D and 3D spatial object location memory tests. As predicted, main effects revealed men performed better on the MRT and RCFT and women performed better on the spatial object location memory tests. Also, as predicted, native Japanese performed better on all tests than the other groups. In contrast to the other groups, native Japanese showed a decreased magnitude of sex differences on aspects of the RCFT (immediate and delayed recall) and no significant sex difference on the efficiency of the strategy used to copy and encode the RCFT figure. This study lends support to the idea that intensive experience over time with a pictorial written language (i.e., Japanese Kanji) may contribute to increased spatial performance on some spatial tasks as well as diminish sex differences in performance on tasks that most resemble Kanji.

Functional anatomy of temporal organisation and domain-specificity of episodic memory retrieval.

PubMed

Kwok, Sze Chai; Shallice, Tim; Macaluso, Emiliano

2012-10-01

Episodic memory provides information about the "when" of events as well as "what" and "where" they happened. Using functional imaging, we investigated the domain specificity of retrieval-related processes following encoding of complex, naturalistic events. Subjects watched a 42-min TV episode, and 24h later, made discriminative choices of scenes from the clip during fMRI. Subjects were presented with two scenes and required to either choose the scene that happened earlier in the film (Temporal), or the scene with a correct spatial arrangement (Spatial), or the scene that had been shown (Object). We identified a retrieval network comprising the precuneus, lateral and dorsal parietal cortex, middle frontal and medial temporal areas. The precuneus and angular gyrus are associated with temporal retrieval, with precuneal activity correlating negatively with temporal distance between two happenings at encoding. A dorsal fronto-parietal network engages during spatial retrieval, while antero-medial temporal regions activate during object-related retrieval. We propose that access to episodic memory traces involves different processes depending on task requirements. These include memory-searching within an organised knowledge structure in the precuneus (Temporal task), online maintenance of spatial information in dorsal fronto-parietal cortices (Spatial task) and combining scene-related spatial and non-spatial information in the hippocampus (Object task). Our findings support the proposal of process-specific dissociations of retrieval. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Functional anatomy of temporal organisation and domain-specificity of episodic memory retrieval

PubMed Central

Kwok, Sze Chai; Shallice, Tim; Macaluso, Emiliano

2013-01-01

Episodic memory provides information about the “when” of events as well as “what” and “where” they happened. Using functional imaging, we investigated the domain specificity of retrieval-related processes following encoding of complex, naturalistic events. Subjects watched a 42-min TV episode, and 24 h later, made discriminative choices of scenes from the clip during fMRI. Subjects were presented with two scenes and required to either choose the scene that happened earlier in the film (Temporal), or the scene with a correct spatial arrangement (Spatial), or the scene that had been shown (Object). We identified a retrieval network comprising the precuneus, lateral and dorsal parietal cortex, middle frontal and medial temporal areas. The precuneus and angular gyrus are associated with temporal retrieval, with precuneal activity correlating negatively with temporal distance between two happenings at encoding. A dorsal fronto-parietal network engages during spatial retrieval, while antero-medial temporal regions activate during object-related retrieval. We propose that access to episodic memory traces involves different processes depending on task requirements. These include memory-searching within an organised knowledge structure in the precuneus (Temporal task), online maintenance of spatial information in dorsal fronto-parietal cortices (Spatial task) and combining scene-related spatial and non-spatial information in the hippocampus (Object task). Our findings support the proposal of process-specific dissociations of retrieval. PMID:22877840

TARGET - TASK ANALYSIS REPORT GENERATION TOOL, VERSION 1.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ortiz, C. J.

1994-01-01

The Task Analysis Report Generation Tool, TARGET, is a graphical interface tool used to capture procedural knowledge and translate that knowledge into a hierarchical report. TARGET is based on VISTA, a knowledge acquisition tool developed by the Naval Systems Training Center. TARGET assists a programmer and/or task expert organize and understand the steps involved in accomplishing a task. The user can label individual steps in the task through a dialogue-box and get immediate graphical feedback for analysis. TARGET users can decompose tasks into basic action kernels or minimal steps to provide a clear picture of all basic actions needed to accomplish a job. This method allows the user to go back and critically examine the overall flow and makeup of the process. The user can switch between graphics (box flow diagrams) and text (task hierarchy) versions to more easily study the process being documented. As the practice of decomposition continues, tasks and their subtasks can be continually modified to more accurately reflect the user's procedures and rationale. This program is designed to help a programmer document an expert's task thus allowing the programmer to build an expert system which can help others perform the task. Flexibility is a key element of the system design and of the knowledge acquisition session. If the expert is not able to find time to work on the knowledge acquisition process with the program developer, the developer and subject matter expert may work in iterative sessions. TARGET is easy to use and is tailored to accommodate users ranging from the novice to the experienced expert systems builder. TARGET is written in C-language for IBM PC series and compatible computers running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows version 3.0 or 3.1. No source code is supplied. The executable also requires 2Mb of RAM, a Microsoft compatible mouse, a VGA display and an 80286, 386 or 486 processor machine. The standard distribution medium for TARGET is one 5.25 inch 360K MS-DOS format diskette. TARGET was developed in 1991.

Spatial abilities across the adult life span.

PubMed

Borella, Erika; Meneghetti, Chiara; Ronconi, Lucia; De Beni, Rossana

2014-02-01

The study investigates age-related effects across the adult life span on spatial abilities (testing subabilities based on a distinction between spatial visualization, mental rotation, and perspective taking) and spatial self-assessments. The sample consisted of 454 participants (223 women and 231 men) from 20 to 91 years of age. Results showed nonlinear age-related effects for spatial visualization and perspective taking but linear effects for mental rotation; few or no age-related effects were found for spatial self-assessments. Working memory accounted for only a small proportion of the variance in all spatial tasks and had no effect on spatial self-assessments. Overall, our findings suggest that the influence of age on spatial skills across the adult life span is considerable, but the effects of age change as a function of the spatial task considered, and the effect on spatial self-assessment is more marginal.

A virtual reality task based on animal research – spatial learning and memory in patients after the first episode of schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Fajnerová, Iveta; Rodriguez, Mabel; Levčík, David; Konrádová, Lucie; Mikoláš, Pavol; Brom, Cyril; Stuchlík, Aleš; Vlček, Kamil; Horáček, Jiří

2014-01-01

Objectives: Cognitive deficit is considered to be a characteristic feature of schizophrenia disorder. A similar cognitive dysfunction was demonstrated in animal models of schizophrenia. However, the poor comparability of methods used to assess cognition in animals and humans could be responsible for low predictive validity of current animal models. In order to assess spatial abilities in schizophrenia and compare our results with the data obtained in animal models, we designed a virtual analog of the Morris water maze (MWM), the virtual Four Goals Navigation (vFGN) task. Methods: Twenty-nine patients after the first psychotic episode with schizophrenia symptoms and a matched group of healthy volunteers performed the vFGN task. They were required to find and remember four hidden goal positions in an enclosed virtual arena. The task consisted of two parts. The Reference memory (RM) session with a stable goal position was designed to test spatial learning. The Delayed-matching-to-place (DMP) session presented a modified working memory protocol designed to test the ability to remember a sequence of three hidden goal positions. Results: Data obtained in the RM session show impaired spatial learning in schizophrenia patients compared to the healthy controls in pointing and navigation accuracy. The DMP session showed impaired spatial memory in schizophrenia during the recall of spatial sequence and a similar deficit in spatial bias in the probe trials. The pointing accuracy and the quadrant preference showed higher sensitivity toward the cognitive deficit than the navigation accuracy. Direct navigation to the goal was affected by sex and age of the tested subjects. The age affected spatial performance only in healthy controls. Conclusions: Despite some limitations of the study, our results correspond well with the previous studies in animal models of schizophrenia and support the decline of spatial cognition in schizophrenia, indicating the usefulness of the vFGN task in comparative research. PMID:24904329

Separation of the global and local components in functional near-infrared spectroscopy signals using principal component spatial filtering

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xian; Noah, Jack Adam; Hirsch, Joy

2016-01-01

Abstract. Global systemic effects not specific to a task can be prominent in functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals and the separation of task-specific fNIRS signals and global nonspecific effects is challenging due to waveform correlations. We describe a principal component spatial filter algorithm for separation of the global and local effects. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated using fNIRS signals acquired during a right finger-thumb tapping task where the response patterns are well established. Both the temporal waveforms and the spatial pattern consistencies between oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin signals are significantly improved, consistent with the basic physiological basis of fNIRS signals and the expected pattern of activity associated with the task. PMID:26866047

Effects of verbal and nonverbal interference on spatial and object visual working memory.

PubMed

Postle, Bradley R; Desposito, Mark; Corkin, Suzanne

2005-03-01

We tested the hypothesis that a verbal coding mechanism is necessarily engaged by object, but not spatial, visual working memory tasks. We employed a dual-task procedure that paired n-back working memory tasks with domain-specific distractor trials inserted into each interstimulus interval of the n-back tasks. In two experiments, object n-back performance demonstrated greater sensitivity to verbal distraction, whereas spatial n-back performance demonstrated greater sensitivity to motion distraction. Visual object and spatial working memory may differ fundamentally in that the mnemonic representation of featural characteristics of objects incorporates a verbal (perhaps semantic) code, whereas the mnemonic representation of the location of objects does not. Thus, the processes supporting working memory for these two types of information may differ in more ways than those dictated by the "what/where" organization of the visual system, a fact more easily reconciled with a component process than a memory systems account of working memory function.

Effects of verbal and nonverbal interference on spatial and object visual working memory

PubMed Central

POSTLE, BRADLEY R.; D’ESPOSITO, MARK; CORKIN, SUZANNE

2005-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that a verbal coding mechanism is necessarily engaged by object, but not spatial, visual working memory tasks. We employed a dual-task procedure that paired n-back working memory tasks with domain-specific distractor trials inserted into each interstimulus interval of the n-back tasks. In two experiments, object n-back performance demonstrated greater sensitivity to verbal distraction, whereas spatial n-back performance demonstrated greater sensitivity to motion distraction. Visual object and spatial working memory may differ fundamentally in that the mnemonic representation of featural characteristics of objects incorporates a verbal (perhaps semantic) code, whereas the mnemonic representation of the location of objects does not. Thus, the processes supporting working memory for these two types of information may differ in more ways than those dictated by the “what/where” organization of the visual system, a fact more easily reconciled with a component process than a memory systems account of working memory function. PMID:16028575

Enhancing Allocentric Spatial Recall in Pre-schoolers through Navigational Training Programme

PubMed Central

Boccia, Maddalena; Rosella, Michela; Vecchione, Francesca; Tanzilli, Antonio; Palermo, Liana; D'Amico, Simonetta; Guariglia, Cecilia; Piccardi, Laura

2017-01-01

Unlike for other abilities, children do not receive systematic spatial orientation training at school, even though navigational training during adulthood improves spatial skills. We investigated whether navigational training programme (NTP) improved spatial orientation skills in pre-schoolers. We administered 12-week NTP to seventeen 4- to 5-year-old children (training group, TG). The TG children and 17 age-matched children (control group, CG) who underwent standard didactics were tested twice before (T0) and after (T1) the NTP using tasks that tap into landmark, route and survey representations. We determined that the TG participants significantly improved their performances in the most demanding navigational task, which is the task that taps into survey representation. This improvement was significantly higher than that observed in the CG, suggesting that NTP fostered the acquisition of survey representation. Such representation is typically achieved by age seven. This finding suggests that NTP improves performance on higher-level navigational tasks in pre-schoolers. PMID:29085278

Spatial and numerical processing in children with high and low visuospatial abilities.

PubMed

Crollen, Virginie; Noël, Marie-Pascale

2015-04-01

In the literature on numerical cognition, a strong association between numbers and space has been repeatedly demonstrated. However, only a few recent studies have been devoted to examine the consequences of low visuospatial abilities on calculation processing. In this study, we wanted to investigate whether visuospatial weakness may affect pure spatial processing as well as basic numerical reasoning. To do so, the performances of children with high and low visuospatial abilities were directly compared on different spatial tasks (the line bisection and Simon tasks) and numerical tasks (the number bisection, number-to-position, and numerical comparison tasks). Children from the low visuospatial group presented the classic Simon and SNARC (spatial numerical association of response codes) effects but showed larger deviation errors as compared with the high visuospatial group. Our results, therefore, demonstrated that low visuospatial abilities did not change the nature of the mental number line but rather led to a decrease in its accuracy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Short-Term Memory Maintenance of Object Locations during Active Navigation: Which Working Memory Subsystem Is Essential?

PubMed Central

Baumann, Oliver; Skilleter, Ashley J.; Mattingley, Jason B.

2011-01-01

The goal of the present study was to examine the extent to which working memory supports the maintenance of object locations during active spatial navigation. Participants were required to navigate a virtual environment and to encode the location of a target object. In the subsequent maintenance period they performed one of three secondary tasks that were designed to selectively load visual, verbal or spatial working memory subsystems. Thereafter participants re-entered the environment and navigated back to the remembered location of the target. We found that while navigation performance in participants with high navigational ability was impaired only by the spatial secondary task, navigation performance in participants with poor navigational ability was impaired equally by spatial and verbal secondary tasks. The visual secondary task had no effect on navigation performance. Our results extend current knowledge by showing that the differential engagement of working memory subsystems is determined by navigational ability. PMID:21629686

A Low-Cost Part-Task Flight Training System: An Application of a Head Mounted Display

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

architecture. The task at hand was to develop a software emulation libary that would emulate the function calls used within the Flight and Dog programs. This...represented in two hexadecimal digits for each color. The format of the packed long integer looks like aaggbbrr with each color value representing a...Western Digital ethernet card as the cheapest compatible card available. Good fortune arrived, as I was calling to order the card, I saw an unused card

Identification and location tasks rely on different mental processes: a diffusion model account of validity effects in spatial cueing paradigms with emotional stimuli.

PubMed

Imhoff, Roland; Lange, Jens; Germar, Markus

2018-02-22

Spatial cueing paradigms are popular tools to assess human attention to emotional stimuli, but different variants of these paradigms differ in what participants' primary task is. In one variant, participants indicate the location of the target (location task), whereas in the other they indicate the shape of the target (identification task). In the present paper we test the idea that although these two variants produce seemingly comparable cue validity effects on response times, they rest on different underlying processes. Across four studies (total N = 397; two in the supplement) using both variants and manipulating the motivational relevance of cue content, diffusion model analyses revealed that cue validity effects in location tasks are primarily driven by response biases, whereas the same effect rests on delay due to attention to the cue in identification tasks. Based on this, we predict and empirically support that a symmetrical distribution of valid and invalid cues would reduce cue validity effects in location tasks to a greater extent than in identification tasks. Across all variants of the task, we fail to replicate the effect of greater cue validity effects for arousing (vs. neutral) stimuli. We discuss the implications of these findings for best practice in spatial cueing research.

Frequency modulation system test procedure shuttle task 501 approach and landing test configuration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doland, G. D.

1976-01-01

Shuttle Task 501 is an in-line task to test the performance and compatibility of radiofrequency links between the SSO and ground, and relay via a satellite. Under Shuttle Task 501 approach and landing test (ALT) phase only a limited portion of the communication and tracking (C&T) equipment is to be tested. The principal item to be tested is a frequency modulated (FM) data link. To test this RF link, an ALT FM System was designed, constructed, and the console wiring verified. A step-by-step procedure to be used to perform the ALT FM system is presented. The ALT FM system test is to be performed prior to delivery of the equipment to the Electronic Systems Test Laboratory (ESTL).

Acquisition of dental skills in preclinical technique courses: influence of spatial and manual abilities.

PubMed

Schwibbe, Anja; Kothe, Christian; Hampe, Wolfgang; Konradt, Udo

2016-10-01

Sixty years of research have not added up to a concordant evaluation of the influence of spatial and manual abilities on dental skill acquisition. We used Ackerman's theory of ability determinants of skill acquisition to explain the influence of spatial visualization and manual dexterity on the task performance of dental students in two consecutive preclinical technique courses. We measured spatial and manual abilities of applicants to Hamburg Dental School by means of a multiple choice test on Technical Aptitude and a wire-bending test, respectively. Preclinical dental technique tasks were categorized as consistent-simple and inconsistent-complex based on their contents. For analysis, we used robust regression to circumvent typical limitations in dental studies like small sample size and non-normal residual distributions. We found that manual, but not spatial ability exhibited a moderate influence on the performance in consistent-simple tasks during dental skill acquisition in preclinical dentistry. Both abilities revealed a moderate relation with the performance in inconsistent-complex tasks. These findings support the hypotheses which we had postulated on the basis of Ackerman's work. Therefore, spatial as well as manual ability are required for the acquisition of dental skills in preclinical technique courses. These results support the view that both abilities should be addressed in dental admission procedures in addition to cognitive measures.

Disentangling fine motor skills' relations to academic achievement: the relative contributions of visual-spatial integration and visual-motor coordination.

PubMed

Carlson, Abby G; Rowe, Ellen; Curby, Timothy W

2013-01-01

Recent research has established a connection between children's fine motor skills and their academic performance. Previous research has focused on fine motor skills measured prior to elementary school, while the present sample included children ages 5-18 years old, making it possible to examine whether this link remains relevant throughout childhood and adolescence. Furthermore, the majority of research linking fine motor skills and academic achievement has not determined which specific components of fine motor skill are driving this relation. The few studies that have looked at associations of separate fine motor tasks with achievement suggest that copying tasks that tap visual-spatial integration skills are most closely related to achievement. The present study examined two separate elements of fine motor skills--visual-motor coordination and visual-spatial integration--and their associations with various measures of academic achievement. Visual-motor coordination was measured using tracing tasks, while visual-spatial integration was measured using copy-a-figure tasks. After controlling for gender, socioeconomic status, IQ, and visual-motor coordination, and visual-spatial integration explained significant variance in children's math and written expression achievement. Knowing that visual-spatial integration skills are associated with these two achievement domains suggests potential avenues for targeted math and writing interventions for children of all ages.

Duration, distance, and speed judgments of two moving objects by 4- to 11-year olds.

PubMed

Matsuda, F

1996-11-01

Four- to 11-year-old children (N = 133) made duration, distance, and speed judgments on a Piagetian task where two cars ran on two parallel tracks. Special effort was made to make duration judgment tasks and distance judgment tasks comparable. Among younger children, difficulties of duration judgments and distance judgments were approximately the same. Additionally, temporal attributes had nearly the same effects on duration judgments as spatial attributes had on distance judgments, and spatial attributes had nearly the same effects on duration judgments as temporal attributes had on distance judgments. Among older children, distance judgments were easier than duration judgments, and the above-mentioned symmetry in effects of temporal and spatial attributes decreased somewhat. Temporal and spatial attributes affected speed judgments equally, across age groups.

A comparison of conscious and automatic memory processes for picture and word stimuli: a process dissociation analysis.

PubMed

McBride, Dawn M; Anne Dosher, Barbara

2002-09-01

Four experiments were conducted to evaluate explanations of picture superiority effects previously found for several tasks. In a process dissociation procedure (Jacoby, 1991) with word stem completion, picture fragment completion, and category production tasks, conscious and automatic memory processes were compared for studied pictures and words with an independent retrieval model and a generate-source model. The predictions of a transfer appropriate processing account of picture superiority were tested and validated in "process pure" latent measures of conscious and unconscious, or automatic and source, memory processes. Results from both model fits verified that pictures had a conceptual (conscious/source) processing advantage over words for all tasks. The effects of perceptual (automatic/word generation) compatibility depended on task type, with pictorial tasks favoring pictures and linguistic tasks favoring words. Results show support for an explanation of the picture superiority effect that involves an interaction of encoding and retrieval processes.

Spatial perception predicts laparoscopic skills on virtual reality laparoscopy simulator.

PubMed

Hassan, I; Gerdes, B; Koller, M; Dick, B; Hellwig, D; Rothmund, M; Zielke, A

2007-06-01

This study evaluates the influence of visual-spatial perception on laparoscopic performance of novices with a virtual reality simulator (LapSim(R)). Twenty-four novices completed standardized tests of visual-spatial perception (Lameris Toegepaste Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek [TNO] Test(R) and Stumpf-Fay Cube Perspectives Test(R)) and laparoscopic skills were assessed objectively, while performing 1-h practice sessions on the LapSim(R), comprising of coordination, cutting, and clip application tasks. Outcome variables included time to complete the tasks, economy of motion as well as total error scores, respectively. The degree of visual-spatial perception correlated significantly with laparoscopic performance on the LapSim(R) scores. Participants with a high degree of spatial perception (Group A) performed the tasks faster than those (Group B) who had a low degree of spatial perception (p = 0.001). Individuals with a high degree of spatial perception also scored better for economy of motion (p = 0.021), tissue damage (p = 0.009), and total error (p = 0.007). Among novices, visual-spatial perception is associated with manual skills performed on a virtual reality simulator. This result may be important for educators to develop adequate training programs that can be individually adapted.

What versus where: Investigating how autobiographical memory retrieval differs when accessed with thematic versus spatial information.

PubMed

Sheldon, Signy; Chu, Sonja

2017-09-01

Autobiographical memory research has investigated how cueing distinct aspects of a past event can trigger different recollective experiences. This research has stimulated theories about how autobiographical knowledge is accessed and organized. Here, we test the idea that thematic information organizes multiple autobiographical events whereas spatial information organizes individual past episodes by investigating how retrieval guided by these two forms of information differs. We used a novel autobiographical fluency task in which participants accessed multiple memory exemplars to event theme and spatial (location) cues followed by a narrative description task in which they described the memories generated to these cues. Participants recalled significantly more memory exemplars to event theme than to spatial cues; however, spatial cues prompted faster access to past memories. Results from the narrative description task revealed that memories retrieved via event theme cues compared to spatial cues had a higher number of overall details, but those recalled to the spatial cues were recollected with a greater concentration on episodic details than those retrieved via event theme cues. These results provide evidence that thematic information organizes and integrates multiple memories whereas spatial information prompts the retrieval of specific episodic content from a past event.

Spatial memory tasks in rodents: what do they model?

PubMed

Morellini, Fabio

2013-10-01

The analysis of spatial learning and memory in rodents is commonly used to investigate the mechanisms underlying certain forms of human cognition and to model their dysfunction in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. Proper interpretation of rodent behavior in terms of spatial memory and as a model of human cognitive functions is only possible if various navigation strategies and factors controlling the performance of the animal in a spatial task are taken into consideration. The aim of this review is to describe the experimental approaches that are being used for the study of spatial memory in rats and mice and the way that they can be interpreted in terms of general memory functions. After an introduction to the classification of memory into various categories and respective underlying neuroanatomical substrates, I explain the concept of spatial memory and its measurement in rats and mice by analysis of their navigation strategies. Subsequently, I describe the most common paradigms for spatial memory assessment with specific focus on methodological issues relevant for the correct interpretation of the results in terms of cognitive function. Finally, I present recent advances in the use of spatial memory tasks to investigate episodic-like memory in mice.

What aspects of vision facilitate haptic processing?

PubMed

Millar, Susanna; Al-Attar, Zainab

2005-12-01

We investigate how vision affects haptic performance when task-relevant visual cues are reduced or excluded. The task was to remember the spatial location of six landmarks that were explored by touch in a tactile map. Here, we use specially designed spectacles that simulate residual peripheral vision, tunnel vision, diffuse light perception, and total blindness. Results for target locations differed, suggesting additional effects from adjacent touch cues. These are discussed. Touch with full vision was most accurate, as expected. Peripheral and tunnel vision, which reduce visuo-spatial cues, differed in error pattern. Both were less accurate than full vision, and significantly more accurate than touch with diffuse light perception, and touch alone. The important finding was that touch with diffuse light perception, which excludes spatial cues, did not differ from touch without vision in performance accuracy, nor in location error pattern. The contrast between spatially relevant versus spatially irrelevant vision provides new, rather decisive, evidence against the hypothesis that vision affects haptic processing even if it does not add task-relevant information. The results support optimal integration theories, and suggest that spatial and non-spatial aspects of vision need explicit distinction in bimodal studies and theories of spatial integration.

Human Factors Study of the Clothe the Soldier Temperate Combat Glove

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-03-01

Thermal Comfort ................................................................. ..................................... 10...26 - 5. 1.20 Task Performance - FIBUA I Fire & Movement................... . ................. . . ....... . . . . .. 26 5. 1.2 J Thermal Comfort ................... . . ........................... . ... ............. .... . .. . ......... . . . .. .. . 27...summarized in the following sections. 1. Fit 7. Clinical Hand Tests 2. Accessibility I Adjustability 8. Thermal Comfort 3. Compatibility

Neural Substrates of Visual Spatial Coding and Visual Feedback Control for Hand Movements in Allocentric and Target-Directed Tasks

PubMed Central

Thaler, Lore; Goodale, Melvyn A.

2011-01-01

Neuropsychological evidence suggests that different brain areas may be involved in movements that are directed at visual targets (e.g., pointing or reaching), and movements that are based on allocentric visual information (e.g., drawing or copying). Here we used fMRI to investigate the neural correlates of these two types of movements in healthy volunteers. Subjects (n = 14) performed right hand movements in either a target-directed task (moving a cursor to a target dot) or an allocentric task (moving a cursor to reproduce the distance and direction between two distal target dots) with or without visual feedback about their hand movement. Movements were monitored with an MR compatible touch panel. A whole brain analysis revealed that movements in allocentric conditions led to an increase in activity in the fundus of the left intra-parietal sulcus (IPS), in posterior IPS, in bilateral dorsal premotor cortex (PMd), and in the lateral occipital complex (LOC). Visual feedback in both target-directed and allocentric conditions led to an increase in activity in area MT+, superior parietal–occipital cortex (SPOC), and posterior IPS (all bilateral). In addition, we found that visual feedback affected brain activity differently in target-directed as compared to allocentric conditions, particularly in the pre-supplementary motor area, PMd, IPS, and parieto-occipital cortex. Our results, in combination with previous findings, suggest that the LOC is essential for allocentric visual coding and that SPOC is involved in visual feedback control. The differences in brain activity between target-directed and allocentric visual feedback conditions may be related to behavioral differences in visual feedback control. Our results advance the understanding of the visual coordinate frame used by the LOC. In addition, because of the nature of the allocentric task, our results have relevance for the understanding of neural substrates of magnitude estimation and vector coding of movements. PMID:21941474

Middle-aged human apoE4 targeted-replacement mice show retention deficits on a wide range of spatial memory tasks.

PubMed

Bour, Alexandra; Grootendorst, Jeannette; Vogel, Elise; Kelche, Christian; Dodart, Jean-Cosme; Bales, Kelly; Moreau, Pierre-Henri; Sullivan, Patrick M; Mathis, Chantal

2008-11-21

Apolipoprotein (apo) E4, one of three human apoE (h-apoE) isoforms, has been identified as a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and for cognitive deficits associated with aging. However, the biological mechanisms involving apoE in learning and memory processes are unclear. A potential isoform-dependent role of apoE in cognitive processes was studied in human apoE targeted-replacement (TR) mice. These mice express either the human apoE3 or apoE4 gene under the control of endogenous murine apoE regulatory sequences, resulting in physiological expression of h-apoE in both a temporal and spatial pattern similar to humans. Male and female apoE3-TR, apoE4-TR, apoE-knockout and C57BL/6J mice (15-18 months) were tested with spatial memory and avoidance conditioning tasks. Compared to apoE3-TR mice, spatial memory in female apoE4-TR mice was impaired based on their poor performances in; (i) the probe test of the water-maze reference memory task, (ii) the water-maze working memory task and (iii) an active avoidance Y-maze task. Retention performance on a passive avoidance task was also impaired in apoE4-TR mice, but not in other genotypes. These deficits in both spatial and avoidance memory tasks may be related to the anatomical and functional abnormalities previously reported in the hippocampus and the amygdala of apoE4-TR mice. We conclude that the apoE4-TR mice provide an excellent model for understanding the mechanisms underlying apoE4-dependent susceptibility to cognitive decline.

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

A Framework for Spatial Interaction Analysis Based on Large-Scale Mobile Phone Data

PubMed Central

Li, Weifeng; Cheng, Xiaoyun; Guo, Gaohua

2014-01-01

The overall understanding of spatial interaction and the exact knowledge of its dynamic evolution are required in the urban planning and transportation planning. This study aimed to analyze the spatial interaction based on the large-scale mobile phone data. The newly arisen mass dataset required a new methodology which was compatible with its peculiar characteristics. A three-stage framework was proposed in this paper, including data preprocessing, critical activity identification, and spatial interaction measurement. The proposed framework introduced the frequent pattern mining and measured the spatial interaction by the obtained association. A case study of three communities in Shanghai was carried out as verification of proposed method and demonstration of its practical application. The spatial interaction patterns and the representative features proved the rationality of the proposed framework. PMID:25435865

Functional Neuroanatomy Involved in Automatic order Mental Arithmetic and Recitation of the Multiplication Table

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Li-Qun; Saito, Masao

We used 1.5T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore that which brain areas contribute uniquely to numeric computation. The BOLD effect activation pattern of metal arithmetic task (successive subtraction: actual calculation task) was compared with multiplication tables repetition task (rote verbal arithmetic memory task) response. The activation found in right parietal lobule during metal arithmetic task suggested that quantitative cognition or numeric computation may need the assistance of sensuous convert, such as spatial imagination and spatial sensuous convert. In addition, this mechanism may be an ’analog algorithm’ in the simple mental arithmetic processing.

Correlates of individual, and age-related, differences in short-term learning.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhiyong; Davis, Hasker P; Salthouse, Timothy A; Tucker-Drob, Elliot M

2007-07-01

Latent growth models were applied to data on multitrial verbal and spatial learning tasks from two independent studies. Although significant individual differences in both initial level of performance and subsequent learning were found in both tasks, age differences were found only in mean initial level, and not in mean learning. In neither task was fluid or crystallized intelligence associated with learning. Although there were moderate correlations among the level parameters across the verbal and spatial tasks, the learning parameters were not significantly correlated with one another across task modalities. These results are inconsistent with the existence of a general (e.g., material-independent) learning ability.

Distributed Task Offloading in Heterogeneous Vehicular Crowd Sensing

PubMed Central

Liu, Yazhi; Wang, Wendong; Ma, Yuekun; Yang, Zhigang; Yu, Fuxing

2016-01-01

The ability of road vehicles to efficiently execute different sensing tasks varies because of the heterogeneity in their sensing ability and trajectories. Therefore, the data collection sensing task, which requires tempo-spatial sensing data, becomes a serious problem in vehicular sensing systems, particularly those with limited sensing capabilities. A utility-based sensing task decomposition and offloading algorithm is proposed in this paper. The utility function for a task executed by a certain vehicle is built according to the mobility traces and sensing interfaces of the vehicle, as well as the sensing data type and tempo-spatial coverage requirements of the sensing task. Then, the sensing tasks are decomposed and offloaded to neighboring vehicles according to the utilities of the neighboring vehicles to the decomposed sensing tasks. Real trace-driven simulation shows that the proposed task offloading is able to collect much more comprehensive and uniformly distributed sensing data than other algorithms. PMID:27428967

Real-world navigation in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: The relation to visuospatial memory and volume of hippocampal subregions.

PubMed

Peter, Jessica; Sandkamp, Richard; Minkova, Lora; Schumacher, Lena V; Kaller, Christoph P; Abdulkadir, Ahmed; Klöppel, Stefan

2018-01-31

Spatial disorientation is a frequent symptom in Alzheimer's disease and in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In the clinical routine, spatial orientation is less often tested with real-world navigation but rather with 2D visuoconstructive tasks. However, reports about the association between the two types of tasks are sparse. Additionally, spatial disorientation has been linked to volume of the right hippocampus but it remains unclear whether right hippocampal subregions have differential involvement in real-world navigation. Yet, this would help uncover different functional roles of the subregions, which would have important implications for understanding the neuronal underpinnings of navigation skills. We compared patients with amnestic MCI (aMCI; n = 25) and healthy elderly controls (HC; n = 25) in a real-world navigation task that engaged different spatial processes. The association between real-world navigation and different visuoconstructive tasks was tested (i.e., figures from the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease; CERAD, the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure task; and clock drawing). Furthermore, the relation between spatial navigation and volume of right hippocampal subregions was examined. Linear regression and relative weight analysis were applied for statistical analyses. Patients with aMCI were significantly less able to correctly navigate through a route compared to HC but had comparable map drawing and landmark recognition skills. The association between visuoconstructive tasks and real-world navigation was only significant when using the visuospatial memory component of the Rey figure. In aMCI, more volume of the right hippocampal tail was significantly associated with better navigation skills, while volume of the right CA2/3 region was a significant predictor in HC. Standard visuoconstructive tasks (e.g., the CERAD figures or clock drawing) are not sufficient to detect real-world spatial disabilities in aMCI. Consequently, more complex visuoconstructive tasks (i.e., the Rey figure) should be routinely included in the assessment of cognitive functions in the context of AD. Moreover, in those elderly individuals with impaired complex visuospatial memory, route finding behaviour should be evaluated in detail. Regarding the contribution of hippocampal subregions to spatial navigation, the right hippocampal tail seems to be particularly important for patients with aMCI, while the CA2/3 region appears to be more relevant in HC. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visual information processing of faces in body dysmorphic disorder.

PubMed

Feusner, Jamie D; Townsend, Jennifer; Bystritsky, Alexander; Bookheimer, Susan

2007-12-01

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a severe psychiatric condition in which individuals are preoccupied with perceived appearance defects. Clinical observation suggests that patients with BDD focus on details of their appearance at the expense of configural elements. This study examines abnormalities in visual information processing in BDD that may underlie clinical symptoms. To determine whether patients with BDD have abnormal patterns of brain activation when visually processing others' faces with high, low, or normal spatial frequency information. Case-control study. University hospital. Twelve right-handed, medication-free subjects with BDD and 13 control subjects matched by age, sex, and educational achievement. Intervention Functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing matching tasks of face stimuli. Stimuli were neutral-expression photographs of others' faces that were unaltered, altered to include only high spatial frequency visual information, or altered to include only low spatial frequency visual information. Blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging signal changes in the BDD and control groups during tasks with each stimulus type. Subjects with BDD showed greater left hemisphere activity relative to controls, particularly in lateral prefrontal cortex and lateral temporal lobe regions for all face tasks (and dorsal anterior cingulate activity for the low spatial frequency task). Controls recruited left-sided prefrontal and dorsal anterior cingulate activity only for the high spatial frequency task. Subjects with BDD demonstrate fundamental differences from controls in visually processing others' faces. The predominance of left-sided activity for low spatial frequency and normal faces suggests detail encoding and analysis rather than holistic processing, a pattern evident in controls only for high spatial frequency faces. These abnormalities may be associated with apparent perceptual distortions in patients with BDD. The fact that these findings occurred while subjects viewed others' faces suggests differences in visual processing beyond distortions of their own appearance.

Spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder: evidence for impairments in mental simulation?

PubMed Central

Lind, Sophie E.; Bowler, Dermot M.; Raber, Jacob

2014-01-01

This study explored spatial navigation alongside several other cognitive abilities that are thought to share common underlying neurocognitive mechanisms (e.g., the capacity for self-projection, scene construction, or mental simulation), and which we hypothesized may be impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty intellectually high-functioning children with ASD (with a mean age of ~8 years) were compared to 20 sex, age, IQ, and language ability matched typically developing children on a series of tasks to assess spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking (also known as episodic foresight or prospection), theory of mind (ToM), relational memory, and central coherence. This is the first study to explore these abilities concurrently within the same sample. Spatial navigation was assessed using the “memory island” task, which involves finding objects within a realistic, computer simulated, three-dimensional environment. Episodic memory and episodic future thinking were assessed using a past and future event description task. ToM was assessed using the “animations” task, in which children were asked to describe the interactions between two animated triangles. Relational memory was assessed using a recognition task involving memory for items (line drawings), patterned backgrounds, or combinations of items and backgrounds. Central coherence was assessed by exploring differences in performance across segmented and unsegmented versions of block design. Children with ASD were found to show impairments in spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and central coherence, but not ToM or relational memory. Among children with ASD, spatial navigation was found to be significantly negatively related to the number of repetitive behaviors. In other words, children who showed more repetitive behaviors showed poorer spatial navigation. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed. PMID:25538661

Spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder: evidence for impairments in mental simulation?

PubMed

Lind, Sophie E; Bowler, Dermot M; Raber, Jacob

2014-01-01

This study explored spatial navigation alongside several other cognitive abilities that are thought to share common underlying neurocognitive mechanisms (e.g., the capacity for self-projection, scene construction, or mental simulation), and which we hypothesized may be impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty intellectually high-functioning children with ASD (with a mean age of ~8 years) were compared to 20 sex, age, IQ, and language ability matched typically developing children on a series of tasks to assess spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking (also known as episodic foresight or prospection), theory of mind (ToM), relational memory, and central coherence. This is the first study to explore these abilities concurrently within the same sample. Spatial navigation was assessed using the "memory island" task, which involves finding objects within a realistic, computer simulated, three-dimensional environment. Episodic memory and episodic future thinking were assessed using a past and future event description task. ToM was assessed using the "animations" task, in which children were asked to describe the interactions between two animated triangles. Relational memory was assessed using a recognition task involving memory for items (line drawings), patterned backgrounds, or combinations of items and backgrounds. Central coherence was assessed by exploring differences in performance across segmented and unsegmented versions of block design. Children with ASD were found to show impairments in spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and central coherence, but not ToM or relational memory. Among children with ASD, spatial navigation was found to be significantly negatively related to the number of repetitive behaviors. In other words, children who showed more repetitive behaviors showed poorer spatial navigation. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Stimulus- and state-dependence of systematic bias in spatial attention: additive effects of stimulus-size and time-on-task.

PubMed

Benwell, Christopher S Y; Harvey, Monika; Gardner, Stephanie; Thut, Gregor

2013-03-01

Systematic biases in spatial attention are a common finding. In the general population, a systematic leftward bias is typically observed (pseudoneglect), possibly as a consequence of right hemisphere dominance for visuospatial attention. However, this leftward bias can cross-over to a systematic rightward bias with changes in stimulus and state factors (such as line length and arousal). The processes governing these changes are still unknown. Here we tested models of spatial attention as to their ability to account for these effects. To this end, we experimentally manipulated both stimulus and state factors, while healthy participants performed a computerized version of a landmark task. State was manipulated by time-on-task (>1 h) leading to increased fatigue and a reliable left- to rightward shift in spatial bias. Stimulus was manipulated by presenting either long or short lines which was associated with a shift of subjective midpoint from a reliable leftward bias for long to a more rightward bias for short lines. Importantly, we found time-on-task and line length effects to be additive suggesting a common denominator for line bisection across all conditions, which is in disagreement with models that assume that bisection decisions in long and short lines are governed by distinct processes (Magnitude estimation vs Global/local distinction). Our findings emphasize the dynamic rather than static nature of spatial biases in midline judgement. They are best captured by theories of spatial attention positing that spatial bias is flexibly modulated, and subject to inter-hemispheric balance which can change over time or conditions to accommodate task demands or reflect fatigue. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visuo-spatial processing and executive functions in children with specific language impairment

PubMed Central

Marton, Klara

2007-01-01

Background Individual differences in complex working memory tasks reflect simultaneous processing, executive functions, and attention control. Children with specific language impairment (SLI) show a deficit in verbal working memory tasks that involve simultaneous processing of information. Aims The purpose of the study was to examine executive functions and visuo-spatial processing and working memory in children with SLI and in their typically developing peers (TLD). Experiment 1 included 40 children with SLI (age=5;3–6;10) and 40 children with TLD (age=5;3–6;7); Experiment 2 included 25 children with SLI (age=8;2–11;2) and 25 children with TLD (age=8;3–11;0). It was examined whether the difficulties that children with SLI show in verbal working memory tasks are also present in visuo-spatial working memory. Methods & Procedures In Experiment 1, children's performance was measured with three visuo-spatial processing tasks: space visualization, position in space, and design copying. The stimuli in Experiment 2 were two widely used neuropsychological tests: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test — 64 (WCST-64) and the Tower of London test (TOL). Outcomes & Results In Experiment 1, children with SLI performed more poorly than their age-matched peers in all visuo-spatial working memory tasks. There was a subgroup within the SLI group that included children whose parents and teachers reported a weakness in the child's attention control. These children showed particular difficulties in the tasks of Experiment 1. The results support Engle's attention control theory: individuals need good attention control to perform well in visuo-spatial working memory tasks. In Experiment 2, the children with SLI produced more perseverative errors and more rule violations than their peers. Conclusions Executive functions have a great impact on SLI children's working memory performance, regardless of domain. Tasks that require an increased amount of attention control and executive functions are more difficult for the children with SLI than for their peers. Most children with SLI scored either below average or in the low average range on the neuropsychological tests that measured executive functions. PMID:17852522

Protocol for Short- and Longer-term Spatial Learning and Memory in Mice

PubMed Central

Willis, Emily F.; Bartlett, Perry F.; Vukovic, Jana

2017-01-01

Studies on the role of the hippocampus in higher cognitive functions such as spatial learning and memory in rodents are reliant upon robust and objective behavioral tests. This protocol describes one such test—the active place avoidance (APA) task. This behavioral task involves the mouse continuously integrating visual cues to orientate itself within a rotating arena in order to actively avoid a shock zone, the location of which remains constant relative to the room. This protocol details the step-by-step procedures for a novel paradigm of the hippocampal-dependent APA task, measuring acquisition of spatial learning during a single 20-min trial (i.e., short-term memory), with spatial memory encoding and retrieval (i.e., long-term memory) assessed by trials conducted over consecutive days. Using the APA task, cognitive flexibility can be assessed using the reversal learning paradigm, as this increases the cognitive load required for efficient performance in the task. In addition to a detailed experimental protocol, this paper also describes the range of its possible applications, the expected key results, as well as the analytical methods to assess the data, and the pitfalls/troubleshooting measures. The protocol described herein is highly robust and produces replicable results, thus presenting an important paradigm that enables the assessment of subtle short-term changes in spatial learning and memory, such as those observed for many experimental interventions. PMID:29089878

Hippocampal activation during episodic and semantic memory retrieval: comparing category production and category cued recall.

PubMed

Ryan, Lee; Cox, Christine; Hayes, Scott M; Nadel, Lynn

2008-01-01

Whether or not the hippocampus participates in semantic memory retrieval has been the focus of much debate in the literature. However, few neuroimaging studies have directly compared hippocampal activation during semantic and episodic retrieval tasks that are well matched in all respects other than the source of the retrieved information. In Experiment 1, we compared hippocampal fMRI activation during a classic semantic memory task, category production, and an episodic version of the same task, category cued recall. Left hippocampal activation was observed in both episodic and semantic conditions, although other regions of the brain clearly distinguished the two tasks. Interestingly, participants reported using retrieval strategies during the semantic retrieval task that relied on autobiographical and spatial information; for example, visualizing themselves in their kitchen while producing items for the category kitchen utensils. In Experiment 2, we considered whether the use of these spatial and autobiographical retrieval strategies could have accounted for the hippocampal activation observed in Experiment 1. Categories were presented that elicited one of three retrieval strategy types, autobiographical and spatial, autobiographical and nonspatial, and neither autobiographical nor spatial. Once again, similar hippocampal activation was observed for all three category types, regardless of the inclusion of spatial or autobiographical content. We conclude that the distinction between semantic and episodic memory is more complex than classic memory models suggest.

Cognitive Control Structures in the Imitation Learning of Spatial Sequences and Rhythms-An fMRI Study.

PubMed

Sakreida, Katrin; Higuchi, Satomi; Di Dio, Cinzia; Ziessler, Michael; Turgeon, Martine; Roberts, Neil; Vogt, Stefan

2018-03-01

Imitation learning involves the acquisition of novel motor patterns based on action observation (AO). We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the imitation learning of spatial sequences and rhythms during AO, motor imagery (MI), and imitative execution in nonmusicians and musicians. While both tasks engaged the fronto-parietal mirror circuit, the spatial sequence task recruited posterior parietal and dorsal premotor regions more strongly. The rhythm task involved an additional network for auditory working memory. This partial dissociation supports the concept of task-specific mirror mechanisms. Two regions of cognitive control were identified: 1) dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was found to be more strongly activated during MI of novel spatial sequences, which allowed us to extend the 2-level model of imitation learning by Buccino et al. (2004) to spatial sequences. 2) During imitative execution of both tasks, the posterior medial frontal cortex was robustly activated, along with the DLPFC, which suggests that both regions are involved in the cognitive control of imitation learning. The musicians' selective behavioral advantage for rhythm imitation was reflected cortically in enhanced sensory-motor processing during AO and by the absence of practice-related activation differences in DLPFC during rhythm execution. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Spatial working memory in heavy cannabis users: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

PubMed

Kanayama, Gen; Rogowska, Jadwiga; Pope, Harrison G; Gruber, Staci A; Yurgelun-Todd, Deborah A

2004-11-01

Many neuropsychological studies have documented deficits in working memory among recent heavy cannabis users. However, little is known about the effects of cannabis on brain activity. We assessed brain function among recent heavy cannabis users while they performed a working memory task. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine brain activity in 12 long-term heavy cannabis users, 6-36 h after last use, and in 10 control subjects while they performed a spatial working memory task. Regional brain activation was analyzed and compared using statistical parametric mapping techniques. Compared with controls, cannabis users exhibited increased activation of brain regions typically used for spatial working memory tasks (such as prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate). Users also recruited additional regions not typically used for spatial working memory (such as regions in the basal ganglia). These findings remained essentially unchanged when re-analyzed using subjects' ages as a covariate. Brain activation showed little or no significant correlation with subjects' years of education, verbal IQ, lifetime episodes of cannabis use, or urinary cannabinoid levels at the time of scanning. Recent cannabis users displayed greater and more widespread brain activation than normal subjects when attempting to perform a spatial working memory task. This observation suggests that recent cannabis users may experience subtle neurophysiological deficits, and that they compensate for these deficits by "working harder"-calling upon additional brain regions to meet the demands of the task.

The case against specialized visual-spatial short-term memory.

PubMed

Morey, Candice C

2018-05-24

The dominant paradigm for understanding working memory, or the combination of the perceptual, attentional, and mnemonic processes needed for thinking, subdivides short-term memory (STM) according to whether memoranda are encoded in aural-verbal or visual formats. This traditional dissociation has been supported by examples of neuropsychological patients who seem to selectively lack STM for either aural-verbal, visual, or spatial memoranda, and by experimental research using dual-task methods. Though this evidence is the foundation of assumptions of modular STM systems, the case it makes for a specialized visual STM system is surprisingly weak. I identify the key evidence supporting a distinct verbal STM system-patients with apparent selective damage to verbal STM and the resilience of verbal short-term memories to general dual-task interference-and apply these benchmarks to neuropsychological and experimental investigations of visual-spatial STM. Contrary to the evidence on verbal STM, patients with apparent visual or spatial STM deficits tend to experience a wide range of additional deficits, making it difficult to conclude that a distinct short-term store was damaged. Consistently with this, a meta-analysis of dual-task visual-spatial STM research shows that robust dual-task costs are consistently observed regardless of the domain or sensory code of the secondary task. Together, this evidence suggests that positing a specialized visual STM system is not necessary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Hippocampal Activation during Episodic and Semantic Memory Retrieval: Comparing Category Production and Category Cued Recall

PubMed Central

Ryan, Lee; Cox, Christine; Hayes, Scott M.; Nadel, Lynn

2008-01-01

Whether or not the hippocampus participates in semantic memory retrieval has been the focus of much debate in the literature. However, few neuroimaging studies have directly compared hippocampal activation during semantic and episodic retrieval tasks that are well matched in all respects other than the source of the retrieved information. In Experiment 1, we compared hippocampal fMRI activation during a classic semantic memory task, category production, and an episodic version of the same task, category cued recall. Left hippocampal activation was observed in both episodic and semantic conditions, although other regions of the brain clearly distinguished the two tasks. Interestingly, participants reported using retrieval strategies during the semantic retrieval task that relied on autobiographical and spatial information; for example, visualizing themselves in their kitchen while producing items for the category kitchen utensils. In Experiment 2, we considered whether the use of these spatial and autobiographical retrieval strategies could have accounted for the hippocampal activation observed in Experiment 1. Categories were presented that elicited one of three retrieval strategy types, autobiographical and spatial, autobiographical and nonspatial, and neither autobiographical nor spatial. Once again, similar hippocampal activation was observed for all three category types, regardless of the inclusion of spatial or autobiographical content. We conclude that the distinction between semantic and episodic memory is more complex than classic memory models suggest. PMID:18420234

The role of visual and spatial working memory in forming mental models derived from survey and route descriptions.

PubMed

Meneghetti, Chiara; Labate, Enia; Pazzaglia, Francesca; Hamilton, Colin; Gyselinck, Valérie

2017-05-01

This study examines the involvement of spatial and visual working memory (WM) in the construction of flexible spatial models derived from survey and route descriptions. Sixty young adults listened to environment descriptions, 30 from a survey perspective and the other 30 from a route perspective, while they performed spatial (spatial tapping [ST]) and visual (dynamic visual noise [DVN]) secondary tasks - believed to overload the spatial and visual working memory (WM) components, respectively - or no secondary task (control, C). Their mental representations of the environment were tested by free recall and a verification test with both route and survey statements. Results showed that, for both recall tasks, accuracy was worse in the ST than in the C or DVN conditions. In the verification test, the effect of both ST and DVN was a decreasing accuracy for sentences testing spatial relations from the opposite perspective to the one learnt than if the perspective was the same; only ST had a stronger interference effect than the C condition for sentences from the opposite perspective from the one learnt. Overall, these findings indicate that both visual and spatial WM, and especially the latter, are involved in the construction of perspective-flexible spatial models. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Attention to local and global levels of hierarchical Navon figures affects rapid scene categorization.

PubMed

Brand, John; Johnson, Aaron P

2014-01-01

In four experiments, we investigated how attention to local and global levels of hierarchical Navon figures affected the selection of diagnostic spatial scale information used in scene categorization. We explored this issue by asking observers to classify hybrid images (i.e., images that contain low spatial frequency (LSF) content of one image, and high spatial frequency (HSF) content from a second image) immediately following global and local Navon tasks. Hybrid images can be classified according to either their LSF, or HSF content; thus, making them ideal for investigating diagnostic spatial scale preference. Although observers were sensitive to both spatial scales (Experiment 1), they overwhelmingly preferred to classify hybrids based on LSF content (Experiment 2). In Experiment 3, we demonstrated that LSF based hybrid categorization was faster following global Navon tasks, suggesting that LSF processing associated with global Navon tasks primed the selection of LSFs in hybrid images. In Experiment 4, replicating Experiment 3 but suppressing the LSF information in Navon letters by contrast balancing the stimuli examined this hypothesis. Similar to Experiment 3, observers preferred to classify hybrids based on LSF content; however and in contrast, LSF based hybrid categorization was slower following global than local Navon tasks.

Attention to local and global levels of hierarchical Navon figures affects rapid scene categorization

PubMed Central

Brand, John; Johnson, Aaron P.

2014-01-01

In four experiments, we investigated how attention to local and global levels of hierarchical Navon figures affected the selection of diagnostic spatial scale information used in scene categorization. We explored this issue by asking observers to classify hybrid images (i.e., images that contain low spatial frequency (LSF) content of one image, and high spatial frequency (HSF) content from a second image) immediately following global and local Navon tasks. Hybrid images can be classified according to either their LSF, or HSF content; thus, making them ideal for investigating diagnostic spatial scale preference. Although observers were sensitive to both spatial scales (Experiment 1), they overwhelmingly preferred to classify hybrids based on LSF content (Experiment 2). In Experiment 3, we demonstrated that LSF based hybrid categorization was faster following global Navon tasks, suggesting that LSF processing associated with global Navon tasks primed the selection of LSFs in hybrid images. In Experiment 4, replicating Experiment 3 but suppressing the LSF information in Navon letters by contrast balancing the stimuli examined this hypothesis. Similar to Experiment 3, observers preferred to classify hybrids based on LSF content; however and in contrast, LSF based hybrid categorization was slower following global than local Navon tasks. PMID:25520675

Unbounding the mental number line—new evidence on children's spatial representation of numbers

PubMed Central

Link, Tanja; Huber, Stefan; Nuerk, Hans-Christoph; Moeller, Korbinian

2014-01-01

Number line estimation (i.e., indicating the position of a given number on a physical line) is a standard assessment of children's spatial representation of number magnitude. Importantly, there is an ongoing debate on the question in how far the bounded task version with start and endpoint given (e.g., 0 and 100) might induce specific estimation strategies and thus may not allow for unbiased inferences on the underlying representation. Recently, a new unbounded version of the task was suggested with only the start point and a unit fixed (e.g., the distance from 0 to 1). In adults this task provided a less biased index of the spatial representation of number magnitude. Yet, so far there are no children data available for the unbounded number line estimation task. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study on primary school children performing both, the bounded and the unbounded version of the task. We observed clear evidence for systematic strategic influences (i.e., the consideration of reference points) in the bounded number line estimation task for children older than grade two whereas there were no such indications for the unbounded version for any one of the age groups. In summary, the current data corroborate the unbounded number line estimation task to be a valuable tool for assessing children's spatial representation of number magnitude in a systematic and unbiased manner. Yet, similar results for the bounded and the unbounded version of the task for first- and second-graders may indicate that both versions of the task might assess the same underlying representation for relatively younger children—at least in number ranges familiar to the children assessed. This is of particular importance for inferences about the nature and development of children's magnitude representation. PMID:24478734

Surgical simulation tasks challenge visual working memory and visual-spatial ability differently.

PubMed

Schlickum, Marcus; Hedman, Leif; Enochsson, Lars; Henningsohn, Lars; Kjellin, Ann; Felländer-Tsai, Li

2011-04-01

New strategies for selection and training of physicians are emerging. Previous studies have demonstrated a correlation between visual-spatial ability and visual working memory with surgical simulator performance. The aim of this study was to perform a detailed analysis on how these abilities are associated with metrics in simulator performance with different task content. The hypothesis is that the importance of visual-spatial ability and visual working memory varies with different task contents. Twenty-five medical students participated in the study that involved testing visual-spatial ability using the MRT-A test and visual working memory using the RoboMemo computer program. Subjects were also trained and tested for performance in three different surgical simulators. The scores from the psychometric tests and the performance metrics were then correlated using multivariate analysis. MRT-A score correlated significantly with the performance metrics Efficiency of screening (p = 0.006) and Total time (p = 0.01) in the GI Mentor II task and Total score (p = 0.02) in the MIST-VR simulator task. In the Uro Mentor task, both the MRT-A score and the visual working memory 3-D cube test score as presented in the RoboMemo program (p = 0.02) correlated with Total score (p = 0.004). In this study we have shown that some differences exist regarding the impact of visual abilities and task content on simulator performance. When designing future cognitive training programs and testing regimes, one might have to consider that the design must be adjusted in accordance with the specific surgical task to be trained in mind.

Processing deficits in monitoring analog and digital displays: Implications for attentional theory and mental-state estimation research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Payne, David G.; Gunther, Virginia A. L.

1988-01-01

Subjects performed short term memory tasks, involving both spatial and verbal components, and a visual monitoring task involving either analog or digital display formats. These two tasks (memory vs. monitoring) were performed both singly and in conjunction. Contrary to expectations derived from multiple resource theories of attentional processes, there was no evidence that when the two tasks involved the same cognitive codes (i.e., either both spatial or both verbal/linguistics) there was more of a dual task performance decrement than when the two tasks employed different cognitive codes/processes. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for theories of attentional processes and also for research in mental state estimation.

Spatial and temporal aspects of navigation in two neurological patients.

PubMed

van der Ham, Ineke J M; van Zandvoort, Martine J E; Meilinger, Tobias; Bosch, Sander E; Kant, Neeltje; Postma, Albert

2010-07-14

We present two cases (A.C. and W.J.) with navigation problems resulting from parieto-occipital right hemisphere damage. For both the cases, performance on the neuropsychological tests did not indicate specific impairments in spatial processing, despite severe subjective complaints of spatial disorientation. Various aspects of navigation were tested in a new virtual reality task, the Virtual Tübingen task. A double dissociation between spatial and temporal deficits was found; A.C. was impaired in route ordering, a temporal test, whereas W.J. was impaired in scene recognition and route continuation, which are spatial in nature. These findings offer important insights in the functional and neural architecture of navigation.

Functional dissociations in top-down control dependent neural repetition priming.

PubMed

Klaver, Peter; Schnaidt, Malte; Fell, Jürgen; Ruhlmann, Jürgen; Elger, Christian E; Fernández, Guillén

2007-02-15

Little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying top-down control of repetition priming. Here, we use functional brain imaging to investigate these mechanisms. Study and repetition tasks used a natural/man-made forced choice task. In the study phase subjects were required to respond to either pictures or words that were presented superimposed on each other. In the repetition phase only words were presented that were new, previously attended or ignored, or picture names that were derived from previously attended or ignored pictures. Relative to new words we found repetition priming for previously attended words. Previously ignored words showed a reduced priming effect, and there was no significant priming for pictures repeated as picture names. Brain imaging data showed that neural priming of words in the left prefrontal cortex (LIPFC) and left fusiform gyrus (LOTC) was affected by attention, semantic compatibility of superimposed stimuli during study and cross-modal priming. Neural priming reduced for words in the LIPFC and for words and pictures in the LOTC if stimuli were previously ignored. Previously ignored words that were semantically incompatible with a superimposed picture during study induce increased neural priming compared to semantically compatible ignored words (LIPFC) and decreased neural priming of previously attended pictures (LOTC). In summary, top-down control induces dissociable effects on neural priming by attention, cross-modal priming and semantic compatibility in a way that was not evident from behavioral results.

Event-Related Potential Responses to Task Switching Are Sensitive to Choice of Spatial Filter

PubMed Central

Wong, Aaron S. W.; Cooper, Patrick S.; Conley, Alexander C.; McKewen, Montana; Fulham, W. Ross; Michie, Patricia T.; Karayanidis, Frini

2018-01-01

Event-related potential (ERP) studies using the task-switching paradigm show that multiple ERP components are modulated by activation of proactive control processes involved in preparing to repeat or switch task and reactive control processes involved in implementation of the current or new task. Our understanding of the functional significance of these ERP components has been hampered by variability in their robustness, as well as their temporal and scalp distribution across studies. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of choice of reference electrode or spatial filter on the number, timing and scalp distribution of ERP elicited during task-switching. We compared four configurations, including the two most common (i.e., average mastoid reference and common average reference) and two novel ones that aim to reduce volume conduction (i.e., reference electrode standardization technique (REST) and surface Laplacian) on mixing cost and switch cost effects in cue-locked and target-locked ERP waveforms in 201 healthy participants. All four spatial filters showed the same well-characterized ERP components that are typically seen in task-switching paradigms: the cue-locked switch positivity and target-locked N2/P3 effect. However, both the number of ERP effects associated with mixing and switch cost, and their temporal and spatial resolution were greater with the surface Laplacian transformation which revealed rapid temporal adjustments that were not identifiable with other spatial filters. We conclude that the surface Laplacian transformation may be more suited to characterize EEG signatures of complex spatiotemporal networks involved in cognitive control. PMID:29568260

Postural tasks are associated with center of pressure spatial patterns of three-dimensional statokinesigrams in young and elderly healthy subjects.

PubMed

Baracat, Patrícia Junqueira Ferraz; de Sá Ferreira, Arthur

2013-12-01

The present study investigated the association between postural tasks and center of pressure spatial patterns of three-dimensional statokinesigrams. Young (n=35; 27.0±7.7years) and elderly (n=38; 67.3±8.7years) healthy volunteers maintained an undisturbed standing position during postural tasks characterized by combined sensory (vision/no vision) and biomechanical challenges (feet apart/together). A method for the analysis of three-dimensional statokinesigrams based on nonparametric statistics and image-processing analysis was employed. Four patterns of spatial distribution were derived from ankle and hip strategies according to the quantity (single; double; multi) and location (anteroposterior; mediolateral) of high-density regions on three-dimensional statokinesigrams. Significant associations between postural task and spatial pattern were observed (young: gamma=0.548, p<.001; elderly: gamma=0.582, p<.001). Robustness analysis revealed small changes related to parameter choices for histogram processing. MANOVA revealed multivariate main effects for postural task [Wilks' Lambda=0.245, p<.001] and age [Wilks' Lambda=0.308, p<.001], with interaction [Wilks' Lambda=0.732, p<.001]. The quantity of high-density regions was positively correlated to stabilogram and statokinesigram variables (p<.05 or lower). In conclusion, postural tasks are associated with center of pressure spatial patterns and are similar in young and elderly healthy volunteers. Single-centered patterns reflected more stable postural conditions and were more frequent with complete visual input and a wide base of support. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Memory under pressure: secondary-task effects on contextual cueing of visual search.

PubMed

Annac, Efsun; Manginelli, Angela A; Pollmann, Stefan; Shi, Zhuanghua; Müller, Hermann J; Geyer, Thomas

2013-11-04

Repeated display configurations improve visual search. Recently, the question has arisen whether this contextual cueing effect (Chun & Jiang, 1998) is itself mediated by attention, both in terms of selectivity and processing resources deployed. While it is accepted that selective attention modulates contextual cueing (Jiang & Leung, 2005), there is an ongoing debate whether the cueing effect is affected by a secondary working memory (WM) task, specifically at which stage WM influences the cueing effect: the acquisition of configural associations (e.g., Travis, Mattingley, & Dux, 2013) versus the expression of learned associations (e.g., Manginelli, Langer, Klose, & Pollmann, 2013). The present study re-investigated this issue. Observers performed a visual search in combination with a spatial WM task. The latter was applied on either early or late search trials--so as to examine whether WM load hampers the acquisition of or retrieval from contextual memory. Additionally, the WM and search tasks were performed either temporally in parallel or in succession--so as to permit the effects of spatial WM load to be dissociated from those of executive load. The secondary WM task was found to affect cueing in late, but not early, experimental trials--though only when the search and WM tasks were performed in parallel. This pattern suggests that contextual cueing involves a spatial WM resource, with spatial WM providing a workspace linking the current search array with configural long-term memory; as a result, occupying this workspace by a secondary WM task hampers the expression of learned configural associations.

The interaction of feature and space based orienting within the attention set.

PubMed

Lim, Ahnate; Sinnett, Scott

2014-01-01

The processing of sensory information relies on interacting mechanisms of sustained attention and attentional capture, both of which operate in space and on object features. While evidence indicates that exogenous attentional capture, a mechanism previously understood to be automatic, can be eliminated while concurrently performing a demanding task, we reframe this phenomenon within the theoretical framework of the "attention set" (Most et al., 2005). Consequently, the specific prediction that cuing effects should reappear when feature dimensions of the cue overlap with those in the attention set (i.e., elements of the demanding task) was empirically tested and confirmed using a dual-task paradigm involving both sustained attention and attentional capture, adapted from Santangelo et al. (2007). Participants were required to either detect a centrally presented target presented in a stream of distractors (the primary task), or respond to a spatially cued target (the secondary task). Importantly, the spatial cue could either share features with the target in the centrally presented primary task, or not share any features. Overall, the findings supported the attention set hypothesis showing that a spatial cuing effect was only observed when the peripheral cue shared a feature with objects that were already in the attention set (i.e., the primary task). However, this finding was accompanied by differential attentional orienting dependent on the different types of objects within the attention set, with feature-based orienting occurring for target-related objects, and additional spatial-based orienting for distractor-related objects.

The interaction of feature and space based orienting within the attention set

PubMed Central

Lim, Ahnate; Sinnett, Scott

2014-01-01

The processing of sensory information relies on interacting mechanisms of sustained attention and attentional capture, both of which operate in space and on object features. While evidence indicates that exogenous attentional capture, a mechanism previously understood to be automatic, can be eliminated while concurrently performing a demanding task, we reframe this phenomenon within the theoretical framework of the “attention set” (Most et al., 2005). Consequently, the specific prediction that cuing effects should reappear when feature dimensions of the cue overlap with those in the attention set (i.e., elements of the demanding task) was empirically tested and confirmed using a dual-task paradigm involving both sustained attention and attentional capture, adapted from Santangelo et al. (2007). Participants were required to either detect a centrally presented target presented in a stream of distractors (the primary task), or respond to a spatially cued target (the secondary task). Importantly, the spatial cue could either share features with the target in the centrally presented primary task, or not share any features. Overall, the findings supported the attention set hypothesis showing that a spatial cuing effect was only observed when the peripheral cue shared a feature with objects that were already in the attention set (i.e., the primary task). However, this finding was accompanied by differential attentional orienting dependent on the different types of objects within the attention set, with feature-based orienting occurring for target-related objects, and additional spatial-based orienting for distractor-related objects. PMID:24523682

The Fleeting Nature of Sex Differences in Spatial Ability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alderton, David L.

Gender differences were examined on three computer-administered spatial processing tasks: (1) the Intercept task, requiring processing dynamic or moving figures; (2) the mental rotation test, employing rotated asymmetric polygons; and (3) the integrating details test, in which subjects performed a complex visual synthesis. Participants were about…

The Relationship of Drawing and Mathematical Problem Solving: "Draw for Math" Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edens, Kellah; Potter, Ellen

2007-01-01

This study examines a series of children's drawings ("Draw for Math" tasks) to determine the relationship of students' spatial understanding and mathematical problem solving. Level of spatial understanding was assessed by applying the framework of central conceptual structures suggested by Case (1996), a cognitive developmental researcher.…

Viewer Perspective Affects Central Bottleneck Requirements in Spatial Translation Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franz, Elizabeth A.; Sebastian, Alexandra; Hust, Christina; Norris, Tom

2008-01-01

A psychological refractory period (PRP) approach and the locus of slack logic were applied to examine the novel question of whether spatial translation processes can begin before the central bottleneck when effector or noneffector stimuli are processed from an egocentric (viewer-centered) perspective. In single tasks, trials requiring spatial…

Effects of Hearing Status and Sign Language Use on Working Memory

PubMed Central

Sarchet, Thomastine; Trani, Alexandra

2016-01-01

Deaf individuals have been found to score lower than hearing individuals across a variety of memory tasks involving both verbal and nonverbal stimuli, particularly those requiring retention of serial order. Deaf individuals who are native signers, meanwhile, have been found to score higher on visual-spatial memory tasks than on verbal-sequential tasks and higher on some visual-spatial tasks than hearing nonsigners. However, hearing status and preferred language modality (signed or spoken) frequently are confounded in such studies. That situation is resolved in the present study by including deaf students who use spoken language and sign language interpreting students (hearing signers) as well as deaf signers and hearing nonsigners. Three complex memory span tasks revealed overall advantages for hearing signers and nonsigners over both deaf signers and deaf nonsigners on 2 tasks involving memory for verbal stimuli (letters). There were no differences among the groups on the task involving visual-spatial stimuli. The results are consistent with and extend recent findings concerning the effects of hearing status and language on memory and are discussed in terms of language modality, hearing status, and cognitive abilities among deaf and hearing individuals. PMID:26755684

Rhesus monkeys employ a procedural strategy to reduce working memory load in a self-ordered spatial search task

PubMed Central

Taffe, Michael A.; Taffe, William J.

2011-01-01

Several nonhuman primate species have been reported to employ a distance-minimizing, traveling salesman-like, strategy during foraging as well as in experimental spatial search tasks involving lesser amounts of locomotion. Spatial sequencing may optimize performance by reducing reference or episodic memory loads, locomotor costs, competition or other demands. A computerized self-ordered spatial search (SOSS) memory task has been adapted from a human neuropsychological testing battery (CANTAB, Cambridge Cognition, Ltd) for use in monkeys. Accurate completion of a trial requires sequential responses to colored boxes in two or more spatial locations without repetition of a previous location. Marmosets have been reported to employ a circling pattern of search, suggesting spontaneous adoption of a strategy to reduce working memory load. In this study the SOSS performance of rhesus monkeys was assessed to determine if the use of a distance-minimizing search path enhances accuracy. A novel strategy score, independent of the trial difficulty and arrangement of boxes, has been devised. Analysis of the performance of 21 monkeys trained on SOSS over two years shows that a distance-minimizing search strategy is associated with improved accuracy. This effect is observed within individuals as they improve over many cumulative sessions of training on the task and across individuals at any given level of training. Erroneous trials were associated with a failure to deploy the strategy. It is concluded that the effect of utilizing the strategy on this locomotion-free, laboratory task is to enhance accuracy by reducing demands on spatial working memory resources. PMID:21840507

Statistical Mechanics Model of the Speed - Accuracy Tradeoff in Spatial and Lexical Memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaufman, Miron; Allen, Philip

2000-03-01

The molar neural network model of P. Allen, M. Kaufman, A. F. Smith, R. E. Popper, Psychology and Aging 13, 501 (1998) and Experimental Aging Research, 24, 307 (1998) is extended to incorporate reaction times. In our model the entropy associated with a particular task determines the reaction time. We use this molar neural model to directly analyze experimental data on episodic (spatial) memory and semantic (lexical) memory tasks. In particular we are interested in the effect of aging on the two types of memory. We find that there is no difference in performance levels for lexical memory tasks between younger and older adults. In the case spatial memory tasks we find that aging has a detrimental effect on the performance level. This work is supported by NIH/NIA grant AG09282-06.

Encouraging Spatial Talk: Using Children's Museums to Bolster Spatial Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polinsky, Naomi; Perez, Jasmin; Grehl, Mora; McCrink, Koleen

2017-01-01

Longitudinal spatial language intervention studies have shown that greater exposure to spatial language improves children's performance on spatial tasks. Can short naturalistic, spatial language interactions also evoke improved spatial performance? In this study, parents were asked to interact with their child at a block wall exhibit in a…

Local Use-Dependent Sleep in Wakefulness Links Performance Errors to Learning

PubMed Central

Quercia, Angelica; Zappasodi, Filippo; Committeri, Giorgia; Ferrara, Michele

2018-01-01

Sleep and wakefulness are no longer to be considered as discrete states. During wakefulness brain regions can enter a sleep-like state (off-periods) in response to a prolonged period of activity (local use-dependent sleep). Similarly, during nonREM sleep the slow-wave activity, the hallmark of sleep plasticity, increases locally in brain regions previously involved in a learning task. Recent studies have demonstrated that behavioral performance may be impaired by off-periods in wake in task-related regions. However, the relation between off-periods in wake, related performance errors and learning is still untested in humans. Here, by employing high density electroencephalographic (hd-EEG) recordings, we investigated local use-dependent sleep in wake, asking participants to repeat continuously two intensive spatial navigation tasks. Critically, one task relied on previous map learning (Wayfinding) while the other did not (Control). Behaviorally awake participants, who were not sleep deprived, showed progressive increments of delta activity only during the learning-based spatial navigation task. As shown by source localization, delta activity was mainly localized in the left parietal and bilateral frontal cortices, all regions known to be engaged in spatial navigation tasks. Moreover, during the Wayfinding task, these increments of delta power were specifically associated with errors, whose probability of occurrence was significantly higher compared to the Control task. Unlike the Wayfinding task, during the Control task neither delta activity nor the number of errors increased progressively. Furthermore, during the Wayfinding task, both the number and the amplitude of individual delta waves, as indexes of neuronal silence in wake (off-periods), were significantly higher during errors than hits. Finally, a path analysis linked the use of the spatial navigation circuits undergone to learning plasticity to off periods in wake. In conclusion, local sleep regulation in wakefulness, associated with performance failures, could be functionally linked to learning-related cortical plasticity. PMID:29666574

Enhancing creativity: Proper body posture meets proper emotion.

PubMed

Hao, Ning; Xue, Hua; Yuan, Huan; Wang, Qing; Runco, Mark A

2017-02-01

This study tested whether compatibility or incompatibility between body posture and emotion was beneficial for creativity. In Study 1, participants were asked to solve the Alternative Uses Task (AUT) problems when performing open or closed body posture in positive or negative emotional state respectively. The results showed that originality of AUT performance was higher in the compatible conditions (i.e., open-positive and closed-negative) than in the incompatible conditions (i.e., closed-positive and open-negative). In Study 2, the compatibility effect was replicated in both the AUT and the Realistic Presented Problem test (i.e., RPP). Moreover, it was revealed that participants exhibited the highest associative flexibility in the open-positive condition, and the highest persistence in the closed-negative condition. These findings indicate that compatibility between body posture and emotion is beneficial for creativity. This may be because when the implicit emotions elicited by body posture match explicit emotions, the effects of emotions on creativity are enhanced, therefore promoting creativity through the flexibility or the persistence pathway respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High spatial sampling light-guide snapshot spectrometer

PubMed Central

Wang, Ye; Pawlowski, Michal E.; Tkaczyk, Tomasz S.

2017-01-01

A prototype fiber-based imaging spectrometer was developed to provide snapshot hyperspectral imaging tuned for biomedical applications. The system is designed for imaging in the visible spectral range from 400 to 700 nm for compatibility with molecular imaging applications as well as satellite and remote sensing. An 81 × 96 pixel spatial sampling density is achieved by using a custom-made fiber-optic bundle. The design considerations and fabrication aspects of the fiber bundle and imaging spectrometer are described in detail. Through the custom fiber bundle, the image of a scene of interest is collected and divided into discrete spatial groups, with spaces generated in between groups for spectral dispersion. This reorganized image is scaled down by an image taper for compatibility with following optical elements, dispersed by a prism, and is finally acquired by a CCD camera. To obtain an (x, y, λ) datacube from the snapshot measurement, a spectral calibration algorithm is executed for reconstruction of the spatial–spectral signatures of the observed scene. System characterization of throughput, resolution, and crosstalk was performed. Preliminary results illustrating changes in oxygen-saturation in an occluded human finger are presented to demonstrate the system’s capabilities. PMID:29238115

Sex differences in visual-spatial working memory: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Voyer, Daniel; Voyer, Susan D; Saint-Aubin, Jean

2017-04-01

Visual-spatial working memory measures are widely used in clinical and experimental settings. Furthermore, it has been argued that the male advantage in spatial abilities can be explained by a sex difference in visual-spatial working memory. Therefore, sex differences in visual-spatial working memory have important implication for research, theory, and practice, but they have yet to be quantified. The present meta-analysis quantified the magnitude of sex differences in visual-spatial working memory and examined variables that might moderate them. The analysis used a set of 180 effect sizes from healthy males and females drawn from 98 samples ranging in mean age from 3 to 86 years. Multilevel meta-analysis was used on the overall data set to account for non-independent effect sizes. The data also were analyzed in separate task subgroups by means of multilevel and mixed-effects models. Results showed a small but significant male advantage (mean d = 0.155, 95 % confidence interval = 0.087-0.223). All the tasks produced a male advantage, except for memory for location, where a female advantage emerged. Age of the participants was a significant moderator, indicating that sex differences in visual-spatial working memory appeared first in the 13-17 years age group. Removing memory for location tasks from the sample affected the pattern of significant moderators. The present results indicate a male advantage in visual-spatial working memory, although age and specific task modulate the magnitude and direction of the effects. Implications for clinical applications, cognitive model building, and experimental research are discussed.

Spatial short-term memory is impaired in dependent betel quid chewers.

PubMed

Chiu, Meng-Chun; Shen, Bin; Li, Shuo-Heng; Ho, Ming-Chou

2016-08-01

Betel quid is regarded as a human carcinogen by the World Health Organization. It remains unknown whether chewing betel quid has a chronic effect on healthy betel quid chewers' memory. The present study aims to investigate whether chewing betel quid can affect short-term memory (STM). Three groups of participants (24 dependent chewers, 24 non-dependent chewers, and 24 non-chewers) were invited to carry out the matrix span task, the object span task, and the digit span task. All span tasks' results were adopted to assess spatial STM, visual STM, and verbal STM, respectively. Besides, there are three set sizes (small, medium, and large) in each span task. For the matrix span task, results showed that the dependent chewers had worse performances than the non-dependent chewers and the non-chewers at medium and large set sizes. For the object span task and digit span task, there were no differences in between groups. In each group, recognition performances were worse with the increasing set size and showing successful manipulation of memory load. The current study provided the first evidence that dependent betel quid chewing can selectively impair spatial STM rather than visual STM and verbal STM. Theoretical and practical implications of this result are discussed.

Assessment of the effects of sex and sex hormones on spatial cognition in adult rats using the Barnes maze.

PubMed

Locklear, M N; Kritzer, M F

2014-07-01

Although sex differences and hormone effects on spatial cognition are observed in humans and animals, consensus has not been reached regarding exact impact on spatial working or reference memory. Recent studies in rats suggest that stress and/or reward, which are often different in tasks used to assess spatial cognition, can contribute to the inconsistencies in the literature. To minimize the impact of these sex- and sex hormone-sensitive factors, we used the Barnes maze to compare spatial working memory, spatial reference memory and spatial learning strategy in adult male, female, gonadectomized (GDX) male, and GDX male rats supplemented with 17β-estradiol (E) or testosterone propionate (TP). Rats received four acquisition trials, four trials 24h later, and a single retention trial one week after. Males and females acquired the task during the first four trials and retained the task thereafter. In contrast, GDX rats took longer to acquire the task and showed retention deficits at 1week. All deficits were attenuated similarly by TP and E. Assessment of search patterns also showed that strategies in the males transitioned from random to spatially focused and eventually direct approaches to the goal. However, this transition was faster in control and GDX-TP than in GDX and GDX-E rats. In contrast, the females almost invariantly followed the maze edge in thigmotactic, serial searches. Thus, while Barnes maze reveals activational, in part estrogenic effects on spatial cognition in males, its amenability to animals' use of multiple strategies may limit its ability to resolve mnemonic differences across sex. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Requiring collaboration: Hippocampal-prefrontal networks needed in spatial working memory and ageing. A multivariate analysis approach.

PubMed

Zancada-Menendez, C; Alvarez-Suarez, P; Sampedro-Piquero, P; Cuesta, M; Begega, A

2017-04-01

Ageing is characterized by a decline in the processes of retention and storage of spatial information. We have examined the behavioural performance of adult rats (3months old) and aged rats (18months old) in a spatial complex task (delayed match to sample). The spatial task was performed in the Morris water maze and consisted of three sessions per day over a period of three consecutive days. Each session consisted of two trials (one sample and retention) and inter-session intervals of 5min. Behavioural results showed that the spatial task was difficult for middle aged group. This worse execution could be associated with impairments of processing speed and spatial information retention. We examined the changes in the neuronal metabolic activity of different brain regions through cytochrome C oxidase histochemistry. Then, we performed MANOVA and Discriminant Function Analyses to determine the functional profile of the brain networks that are involved in the spatial learning of the adult and middle-aged groups. This multivariate analysis showed two principal functional networks that necessarily participate in this spatial learning. The first network was composed of the supramammillary nucleus, medial mammillary nucleus, CA3, and CA1. The second one included the anterior cingulate, prelimbic, and infralimbic areas of the prefrontal cortex, dentate gyrus, and amygdala complex (basolateral l and central subregions). There was a reduction in the hippocampal-supramammilar network in both learning groups, whilst there was an overactivation in the executive network, especially in the aged group. This response could be due to a higher requirement of the executive control in a complex spatial memory task in older animals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hippocampal-prefrontal input supports spatial encoding in working memory.

PubMed

Spellman, Timothy; Rigotti, Mattia; Ahmari, Susanne E; Fusi, Stefano; Gogos, Joseph A; Gordon, Joshua A

2015-06-18

Spatial working memory, the caching of behaviourally relevant spatial cues on a timescale of seconds, is a fundamental constituent of cognition. Although the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus are known to contribute jointly to successful spatial working memory, the anatomical pathway and temporal window for the interaction of these structures critical to spatial working memory has not yet been established. Here we find that direct hippocampal-prefrontal afferents are critical for encoding, but not for maintenance or retrieval, of spatial cues in mice. These cues are represented by the activity of individual prefrontal units in a manner that is dependent on hippocampal input only during the cue-encoding phase of a spatial working memory task. Successful encoding of these cues appears to be mediated by gamma-frequency synchrony between the two structures. These findings indicate a critical role for the direct hippocampal-prefrontal afferent pathway in the continuous updating of task-related spatial information during spatial working memory.

Lateralization of spatial information processing in response monitoring

PubMed Central

Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Beste, Christian

2014-01-01

The current study aims at identifying how lateralized multisensory spatial information processing affects response monitoring and action control. In a previous study, we investigated multimodal sensory integration in response monitoring processes using a Simon task. Behavioral and neurophysiologic results suggested that different aspects of response monitoring are asymmetrically and independently allocated to the hemispheres: while efference-copy-based information on the motor execution of the task is further processed in the hemisphere that originally generated the motor command, proprioception-based spatial information is processed in the hemisphere contralateral to the effector. Hence, crossing hands (entering a “foreign” spatial hemifield) yielded an augmented bilateral activation during response monitoring since these two kinds of information were processed in opposing hemispheres. Because the traditional Simon task does not provide the possibility to investigate which aspect of the spatial configuration leads to the observed hemispheric allocation, we introduced a new “double crossed” condition that allows for the dissociation of internal/physiological and external/physical influences on response monitoring processes. Comparing behavioral and neurophysiologic measures of this new condition to those of the traditional Simon task setup, we could demonstrate that the egocentric representation of the physiological effector's spatial location accounts for the observed lateralization of spatial information in action control. The finding that the location of the physical effector had a very small influence on response monitoring measures suggests that this aspect is either less important and/or processed in different brain areas than egocentric physiological information. PMID:24550855

Strategic Resource Allocation in the Human Brain Supports Cognitive Coordination of Object and Spatial Working Memory

PubMed Central

Jackson, Margaret C; Morgan, Helen M; Shapiro, Kimron L; Mohr, Harald; Linden, David EJ

2011-01-01

The ability to integrate different types of information (e.g., object identity and spatial orientation) and maintain or manipulate them concurrently in working memory (WM) facilitates the flow of ongoing tasks and is essential for normal human cognition. Research shows that object and spatial information is maintained and manipulated in WM via separate pathways in the brain (object/ventral versus spatial/dorsal). How does the human brain coordinate the activity of different specialized systems to conjoin different types of information? Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate conjunction- versus single-task manipulation of object (compute average color blend) and spatial (compute intermediate angle) information in WM. Object WM was associated with ventral (inferior frontal gyrus, occipital cortex), and spatial WM with dorsal (parietal cortex, superior frontal, and temporal sulci) regions. Conjoined object/spatial WM resulted in intermediate activity in these specialized areas, but greater activity in different prefrontal and parietal areas. Unique to our study, we found lower temporo-occipital activity and greater deactivation in temporal and medial prefrontal cortices for conjunction- versus single-tasks. Using structural equation modeling, we derived a conjunction-task connectivity model that comprises a frontoparietal network with a bidirectional DLPFC-VLPFC connection, and a direct parietal-extrastriate pathway. We suggest that these activation/deactivation patterns reflect efficient resource allocation throughout the brain and propose a new extended version of the biased competition model of WM. Hum Brain Mapp, 2011. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. PMID:20715083

Configural displays can improve nutrition-related. decisions: an application of the proximity compatibility principle.

PubMed

Marino, Christopher J; Mahan, Robert R

2005-01-01

The nutrition label format currently used by consumers to make dietary-related decisions presents significant information-processing demands for integration-based decisions; however, those demands were not considered as primary factors when the format was adopted. Labels designed in accordance with known principles of cognitive psychology might enhance the kind of decision making that food labeling was intended to facilitate. Three experiments were designed on the basis of the proximity compatibility principle (PCP) to investigate the relationship between nutrition label format and decision making; the experiments involved two types of integration decisions and one type of filtering decision. Based on the PCP, decision performance was measured to test the overall hypothesis that matched task-display tandems would result in better decision performance than would mismatched tandems. In each experiment, a statistically significant increase in mean decision performance was found when the display design was cognitively matched to the demands of the task. Combined, the results from all three experiments support the general hypothesis that task-display matching is a design principle that may enhance the utility of nutrition labeling in nutrition-related decision making. Actual or potential applications of this research include developing robust display solutions that aid in less effortful assimilation of nutrition-related information for consumers.

Early Life Manipulations Alter Learning and Memory in Rats

PubMed Central

Kosten, Therese A; Kim, Jeansok J; Lee, Hongjoo J.

2012-01-01

Much research shows early life manipulations have enduring behavioral, neural, and hormonal effects. However, findings of learning and memory performance vary widely across studies. We reviewed studies in which pre-weaning rat pups were exposed to stressors and tested on learning and memory tasks in adulthood. Tasks were classified as aversive conditioning, inhibitory learning, or spatial/relational memory. Variables of duration, type, and timing of neonatal manipulation and sex and strain of animals were examined to determine if any predict enhanced or impaired performance. Brief separations enhanced and prolonged separations impaired performance on spatial/relational tasks. Performance was impaired in aversive conditioning and enhanced in inhibitory learning tasks regardless of manipulation duration. Opposing effects on performance for spatial/relational memory also depended upon timing of manipulation. Enhanced performance was likely if the manipulation occurred during postnatal week 3 but performance was impaired if it was confined to the first two postnatal weeks. Thus, the relationship between early life experiences and adulthood learning and memory performance is multifaceted and decidedly task-dependent. PMID:22819985

Visuospatial deficits in schizophrenia: central executive and memory subsystems impairments.

PubMed

Leiderman, Eduardo A; Strejilevich, Sergio A

2004-06-01

Object and spatial visual working memory are impaired in schizophrenic patients. It is not clear if the impairments reside in each memory subsystem alone or also in the central executive component that coordinates these processes. In order to elucidate which memory component is impaired, we developed a paradigm with single spatial and object working memory tasks and dual ones with two different delays (5 and 30 s). Fifteen schizophrenic patients and 14 control subjects performed these tests. Schizophrenic patients had a poorer performance compared to normal controls in all tasks and in all time delays. Both schizophrenics and controls performed significantly worse in the object task than in the spatial task. The performance was even worse in the dual task compared to the singles ones in schizophrenic patients but not in controls. These data suggest that visuospatial performance deficits in schizophrenia are due to both visuospatial memory subsystems impairments and central executive ones. The pattern of deficits observed points to a codification or evocation deficit and not to a maintenance one.

Fractionation of Spatial Memory in GRM2/3 (mGlu2/mGlu3) Double Knockout Mice Reveals a Role for Group II Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors at the Interface Between Arousal and Cognition

PubMed Central

Lyon, Louisa; Burnet, Philip WJ; Kew, James NC; Corti, Corrado; Rawlins, J Nicholas P; Lane, Tracy; De Filippis, Bianca; Harrison, Paul J; Bannerman, David M

2011-01-01

Group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR2 and mGluR3, encoded by GRM2 and GRM3) are implicated in hippocampal function and cognition, and in the pathophysiology and treatment of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. However, pharmacological and behavioral studies with group II mGluR agonists and antagonists have produced complex results. Here, we studied hippocampus-dependent memory in GRM2/3 double knockout (GRM2/3−/−) mice in an iterative sequence of experiments. We found that they were impaired on appetitively motivated spatial reference and working memory tasks, and on a spatial novelty preference task that relies on animals' exploratory drive, but were unimpaired on aversively motivated spatial memory paradigms. GRM2/3−/− mice also performed normally on an appetitively motivated, non-spatial, visual discrimination task. These results likely reflect an interaction between GRM2/3 genotype and the arousal-inducing properties of the experimental paradigm. The deficit seen on appetitive and exploratory spatial memory tasks may be absent in aversive tasks because the latter induce higher levels of arousal, which rescue spatial learning. Consistent with an altered arousal–cognition relationship in GRM2/3−/− mice, injection stress worsened appetitively motivated, spatial working memory in wild-types, but enhanced performance in GRM2/3−/− mice. GRM2/3−/− mice were also hypoactive in response to amphetamine. This fractionation of hippocampus-dependent memory depending on the appetitive-aversive context is to our knowledge unique, and suggests a role for group II mGluRs at the interface of arousal and cognition. These arousal-dependent effects may explain apparently conflicting data from previous studies, and have translational relevance for the involvement of these receptors in schizophrenia and other disorders. PMID:21832989

Chronic treatment with sulbutiamine improves memory in an object recognition task and reduces some amnesic effects of dizocilpine in a spatial delayed-non-match-to-sample task.

PubMed

Bizot, Jean-Charles; Herpin, Alexandre; Pothion, Stéphanie; Pirot, Sylvain; Trovero, Fabrice; Ollat, Hélène

2005-07-01

The effect of a sulbutiamine chronic treatment on memory was studied in rats with a spatial delayed-non-match-to-sample (DNMTS) task in a radial maze and a two trial object recognition task. After completion of training in the DNMTS task, animals were subjected for 9 weeks to daily injections of either saline or sulbutiamine (12.5 or 25 mg/kg). Sulbutiamine did not modify memory in the DNMTS task but improved it in the object recognition task. Dizocilpine, impaired both acquisition and retention of the DNMTS task in the saline-treated group, but not in the two sulbutiamine-treated groups, suggesting that sulbutiamine may counteract the amnesia induced by a blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptors. Taken together, these results are in favor of a beneficial effect of sulbutiamine on working and episodic memory.

Time course based artifact identification for independent components of resting-state FMRI.

PubMed

Rummel, Christian; Verma, Rajeev Kumar; Schöpf, Veronika; Abela, Eugenio; Hauf, Martinus; Berruecos, José Fernando Zapata; Wiest, Roland

2013-01-01

In functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) coherent oscillations of the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal can be detected. These arise when brain regions respond to external stimuli or are activated by tasks. The same networks have been characterized during wakeful rest when functional connectivity of the human brain is organized in generic resting-state networks (RSN). Alterations of RSN emerge as neurobiological markers of pathological conditions such as altered mental state. In single-subject fMRI data the coherent components can be identified by blind source separation of the pre-processed BOLD data using spatial independent component analysis (ICA) and related approaches. The resulting maps may represent physiological RSNs or may be due to various artifacts. In this methodological study, we propose a conceptually simple and fully automatic time course based filtering procedure to detect obvious artifacts in the ICA output for resting-state fMRI. The filter is trained on six and tested on 29 healthy subjects, yielding mean filter accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of 0.80, 0.82, and 0.75 in out-of-sample tests. To estimate the impact of clearly artifactual single-subject components on group resting-state studies we analyze unfiltered and filtered output with a second level ICA procedure. Although the automated filter does not reach performance values of visual analysis by human raters, we propose that resting-state compatible analysis of ICA time courses could be very useful to complement the existing map or task/event oriented artifact classification algorithms.

Milliwatt Generator Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latimer, T. W.; Rinehart, G. H.

1992-05-01

This report covers progress on the Milliwatt Generator Project from April 1986 through March 1988. Activities included fuel processing and characterization, production of heat sources, fabrication of pressure-burst test units, compatibility studies, impact testing, and examination of surveillance units. The major task of the Los Alamos Milliwatt Generator Project is to fabricate MC2893A heat sources (4.0 W) for MC2730A radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG's) and MC3599 heat sources (4.5 W) for MC3500 RTG's. The MWG Project interfaces with the following contractors: Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque (designer); E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (Inc.), Savannah River Plant (fuel); Monsanto Research Corporation, Mound Facility (metal hardware); and General Electric Company, Neutron Devices Department (RTG's). In addition to MWG fabrication activities, Los Alamos is involved in (1) fabrication of pressure-burst test units, (2) compatibility testing and evaluation, (3) examination of surveillance units, and (4) impact testing and subsequent examination of compatibility and surveillance units.

Interactions Between Modality of Working Memory Load and Perceptual Load in Distractor Processing.

PubMed

Koshino, Hideya; Olid, Pilar

2015-01-01

The present study investigated interactions between working memory load and perceptual load. The load theory (Lavie, Hirst, de Fockert, & Viding, 2004 ) claims that perceptual load decreases distractor interference, whereas working memory load increases interference. However, recent studies showed that effects of working memory might depend on the relationship between modalities of working memory and task stimuli. Here, we examined whether the relationship between working memory load and perceptual load would remain the same across modalities. The results of Experiment 1 showed that verbal working memory load did not affect a compatibility effect for low perceptual load, whereas it increased the compatibility effect for high perceptual load. In Experiment 2, the compatibility effect remained the same regardless of visual working memory load. These results suggest that the effects of working memory load and perceptual load depend on the relationship between the modalities of working memory and stimuli.

The neural substrates of deliberative decision making: contrasting effects of hippocampus lesions on performance and vicarious trial-and-error behavior in a spatial memory task and a visual discrimination task

PubMed Central

Bett, David; Allison, Elizabeth; Murdoch, Lauren H.; Kaefer, Karola; Wood, Emma R.; Dudchenko, Paul A.

2012-01-01

Vicarious trial-and-errors (VTEs) are back-and-forth movements of the head exhibited by rodents and other animals when faced with a decision. These behaviors have recently been associated with prospective sweeps of hippocampal place cell firing, and thus may reflect a rodent model of deliberative decision-making. The aim of the current study was to test whether the hippocampus is essential for VTEs in a spatial memory task and in a simple visual discrimination (VD) task. We found that lesions of the hippocampus with ibotenic acid produced a significant impairment in the accuracy of choices in a serial spatial reversal (SR) task. In terms of VTEs, whereas sham-lesioned animals engaged in more VTE behavior prior to identifying the location of the reward as opposed to repeated trials after it had been located, the lesioned animals failed to show this difference. In contrast, damage to the hippocampus had no effect on acquisition of a VD or on the VTEs seen in this task. For both lesion and sham-lesion animals, adding an additional choice to the VD increased the number of VTEs and decreased the accuracy of choices. Together, these results suggest that the hippocampus may be specifically involved in VTE behavior during spatial decision making. PMID:23115549

Load-related brain activation predicts spatial working memory performance in youth aged 9–12 and is associated with executive function at earlier ages

PubMed Central

Huang, Anna S.; Klein, Daniel N.; Leung, Hoi-Chung

2015-01-01

Spatial working memory is a central cognitive process that matures through adolescence in conjunction with major changes in brain function and anatomy. Here we focused on late childhood and early adolescence to more closely examine the neural correlates of performance variability during this important transition period. Using a modified spatial 1-back task with two memory load conditions in an fMRI study, we examined the relationship between load-dependent neural responses and task performance in a sample of 39 youth aged 9–12 years. Our data revealed that between-subject differences in task performance was predicted by load-dependent deactivation in default network regions, including the ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Although load-dependent increases in activation in prefrontal and posterior parietal regions were only weakly correlated with performance, increased prefrontal-parietal coupling was associated with better performance. Furthermore, behavioral measures of executive function from as early as age 3 predicted current load-dependent deactivation in vACC and PCC. These findings suggest that both task positive and task negative brain activation during spatial working memory contributed to successful task performance in late childhood/early adolescence. This may serve as a good model for studying executive control deficits in developmental disorders. PMID:26562059

Using Spatial Multiple Regression to Identify Intrinsic Connectivity Networks Involved in Working Memory Performance

PubMed Central

Gordon, Evan M.; Stollstorff, Melanie; Vaidya, Chandan J.

2012-01-01

Many researchers have noted that the functional architecture of the human brain is relatively invariant during task performance and the resting state. Indeed, intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) revealed by resting-state functional connectivity analyses are spatially similar to regions activated during cognitive tasks. This suggests that patterns of task-related activation in individual subjects may result from the engagement of one or more of these ICNs; however, this has not been tested. We used a novel analysis, spatial multiple regression, to test whether the patterns of activation during an N-back working memory task could be well described by a linear combination of ICNs delineated using Independent Components Analysis at rest. We found that across subjects, the cingulo-opercular Set Maintenance ICN, as well as right and left Frontoparietal Control ICNs, were reliably activated during working memory, while Default Mode and Visual ICNs were reliably deactivated. Further, involvement of Set Maintenance, Frontoparietal Control, and Dorsal Attention ICNs was sensitive to varying working memory load. Finally, the degree of left Frontoparietal Control network activation predicted response speed, while activation in both left Frontoparietal Control and Dorsal Attention networks predicted task accuracy. These results suggest that a close relationship between resting-state networks and task-evoked activation is functionally relevant for behavior, and that spatial multiple regression analysis is a suitable method for revealing that relationship. PMID:21761505

Inactivation of the Nucleus Reuniens/Rhomboid Causes a Delay-dependent Impairment of Spatial Working Memory

PubMed Central

Layfield, Dylan M.; Patel, Monica; Hallock, Henry; Griffin, Amy

2015-01-01

Inactivation of the rodent medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus or disconnection of the hippocampus from the mPFC produces deficits in spatial working memory tasks. Previous studies have shown that delay length determines the extent to which mPFC and hippocampus functionally interact, with both structures being necessary for tasks with longer delays and either structure being sufficient for tasks with shorter delays. In addition, inactivation of the nucleus reuniens (Re) / rhomboid nucleus (Rh) of the thalamus, which has bidirectional connections with the mPFC and hippocampus, also produces deficits in these tasks. However, it is unknown how delay duration relates to the function of Re/Rh. If Re/Rh are critical in modulating mPFC-hippocampus interactions, inactivation of the RE/Rh should produce a delay-dependent impairment in spatial working memory performance. To investigate this question, groups of rats were trained on one of three different spatial working memory tasks: continuous alternation (CA), delayed alternation with a five-second delay (DA5), or with a thirty-second delay (DA30). The Re/Rh were inactivated with muscimol infusions prior to testing. The results demonstrate that inactivation of RE/Rh produces a deficit only on the two DA tasks, supporting the notion that the Re/Rh is a critical orchestrator of mPFC-HC interactions. PMID:26391450

Load-related brain activation predicts spatial working memory performance in youth aged 9-12 and is associated with executive function at earlier ages.

PubMed

Huang, Anna S; Klein, Daniel N; Leung, Hoi-Chung

2016-02-01

Spatial working memory is a central cognitive process that matures through adolescence in conjunction with major changes in brain function and anatomy. Here we focused on late childhood and early adolescence to more closely examine the neural correlates of performance variability during this important transition period. Using a modified spatial 1-back task with two memory load conditions in an fMRI study, we examined the relationship between load-dependent neural responses and task performance in a sample of 39 youth aged 9-12 years. Our data revealed that between-subject differences in task performance was predicted by load-dependent deactivation in default network regions, including the ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Although load-dependent increases in activation in prefrontal and posterior parietal regions were only weakly correlated with performance, increased prefrontal-parietal coupling was associated with better performance. Furthermore, behavioral measures of executive function from as early as age 3 predicted current load-dependent deactivation in vACC and PCC. These findings suggest that both task positive and task negative brain activation during spatial working memory contributed to successful task performance in late childhood/early adolescence. This may serve as a good model for studying executive control deficits in developmental disorders. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Happiness increases verbal and spatial working memory capacity where sadness does not: Emotion, working memory and executive control.

PubMed

Storbeck, Justin; Maswood, Raeya

2016-08-01

The effects of emotion on working memory and executive control are often studied in isolation. Positive mood enhances verbal and impairs spatial working memory, whereas negative mood enhances spatial and impairs verbal working memory. Moreover, positive mood enhances executive control, whereas negative mood has little influence. We examined how emotion influences verbal and spatial working memory capacity, which requires executive control to coordinate between holding information in working memory and completing a secondary task. We predicted that positive mood would improve both verbal and spatial working memory capacity because of its influence on executive control. Positive, negative and neutral moods were induced followed by completing a verbal (Experiment 1) or spatial (Experiment 2) working memory operation span task to assess working memory capacity. Positive mood enhanced working memory capacity irrespective of the working memory domain, whereas negative mood had no influence on performance. Thus, positive mood was more successful holding information in working memory while processing task-irrelevant information, suggesting that the influence mood has on executive control supersedes the independent effects mood has on domain-specific working memory.

Motor expertise and performance in spatial tasks: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Voyer, Daniel; Jansen, Petra

2017-08-01

The present study aimed to provide a summary of findings relevant to the influence of motor expertise on performance in spatial tasks and to examine potential moderators of this effect. Studies of relevance were those in which individuals involved in activities presumed to require motor expertise were compared to non-experts in such activities. A final set of 62 effect sizes from 33 samples was included in a multilevel meta-analysis. The results showed an overall advantage in favor of motor experts in spatial tasks (d=0.38). However, the magnitude of that effect was moderated by expert type (athlete, open skills/ball sports, runner/cyclist, gymnast/dancers, musicians), stimulus type (2D, blocks, bodies, others), test category (mental rotation, spatial perception, spatial visualization), specific test (Mental Rotations Test, generic mental rotation, disembedding, rod-and-frame test, other), and publication status. These findings are discussed in the context of embodied cognition and the potential role of activities requiring motor expertise in promoting good spatial performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Aging and the Effects of Exploratory Behavior on Spatial Memory.

PubMed

Varner, Kaitlin M; Dopkins, Stephen; Philbeck, John W

2016-03-01

The present research examined the effect of encoding from multiple viewpoints on scene recall in a group of younger (18-22 years) and older (65-80 years) adults. Participants completed a visual search task, during which they were given the opportunity to examine a room using two sets of windows that partitioned the room differently. Their choice of window set was recorded, to determine whether an association between these choices and spatial memory performance existed. Subsequently, participants were tested for spatial memory of the domain in which the search task was completed. Relative to younger adults, older adults demonstrated an increased tendency to use a single set of windows as well as decreased spatial memory for the domain. Window-set usage was associated with spatial memory, such that older adults who relied more heavily on a single set of windows also had better performance on the spatial memory task. These findings suggest that, in older adults, moderation in exploratory behavior may have a positive effect on memory for the domain of exploration. © The Author(s) 2016.

The neural correlates of age effects on verbal-spatial binding in working memory.

PubMed

Meier, Timothy B; Nair, Veena A; Meyerand, Mary E; Birn, Rasmus M; Prabhakaran, Vivek

2014-06-01

In this study, we investigated the neural correlates of age-related differences in the binding of verbal and spatial information utilizing event-related working memory tasks. Twenty-one right handed younger adults and twenty-one right handed older adults performed two versions of a dual task of verbal and spatial working memory. In the unbound dual task version letters and locations were presented simultaneously in separate locations, while in the bound dual task version each letter was paired with a specific location. In order to identify binding-specific differences, mixed-effects ANOVAs were run with the interaction of age and task as the effect of interest. Although older adults performed worse in the bound task than younger adults, there was no significant interaction between task and age on working memory performance. However, interactions of age and task were observed in brain activity analyses. Older adults did not display the greater unbound than bound task activity that younger adults did at the encoding phase in bilateral inferior parietal lobule, right putamen, and globus pallidus as well as at the maintenance phase in the cerebellum. We conclude that the binding of letters and locations in working memory is not as efficient in older adults as it is in younger adults, possibly due to the decline of cognitive control processes that are specific to working memory binding. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhanced verbal abilities in the congenitally blind.

PubMed

Occelli, Valeria; Lacey, Simon; Stephens, Careese; Merabet, Lotfi B; Sathian, K

2017-06-01

Numerous studies have found that congenitally blind individuals have better verbal memory than their normally sighted counterparts. However, it is not known whether this reflects superiority of verbal or memory abilities. In order to distinguish between these possibilities, we tested congenitally blind participants and normally sighted control participants, matched for age and education, on a range of verbal and spatial tasks. Congenitally blind participants were significantly better than sighted controls on all the verbal tasks but the groups did not differ significantly on the spatial tasks. Thus, the congenitally blind appear to have superior verbal, but not spatial, abilities. This may reflect greater reliance on verbal information and the involvement of visual cortex in language processing in the congenitally blind.

Effects of laterality and pitch height of an auditory accessory stimulus on horizontal response selection: the Simon effect and the SMARC effect.

PubMed

Nishimura, Akio; Yokosawa, Kazuhiko

2009-08-01

In the present article, we investigated the effects of pitch height and the presented ear (laterality) of an auditory stimulus, irrelevant to the ongoing visual task, on horizontal response selection. Performance was better when the response and the stimulated ear spatially corresponded (Simon effect), and when the spatial-musical association of response codes (SMARC) correspondence was maintained-that is, right (left) response with a high-pitched (low-pitched) tone. These findings reveal an automatic activation of spatially and musically associated responses by task-irrelevant auditory accessory stimuli. Pitch height is strong enough to influence the horizontal responses despite modality differences with task target.

Interaction Between Spatial and Feature Attention in Posterior Parietal Cortex

PubMed Central

Ibos, Guilhem; Freedman, David J.

2016-01-01

Summary Lateral intraparietal (LIP) neurons encode a vast array of sensory and cognitive variables. Recently, we proposed that the flexibility of feature representations in LIP reflect the bottom-up integration of sensory signals, modulated by feature-based attention (FBA), from upstream feature-selective cortical neurons. Moreover, LIP activity is also strongly modulated by the position of space-based attention (SBA). However, the mechanisms by which SBA and FBA interact to facilitate the representation of task-relevant spatial and non-spatial features in LIP remain unclear. We recorded from LIP neurons during performance of a task which required monkeys to detect specific conjunctions of color, motion-direction, and stimulus position. Here we show that FBA and SBA potentiate each other’s effect in a manner consistent with attention gating the flow of visual information along the cortical visual pathway. Our results suggest that linear bottom-up integrative mechanisms allow LIP neurons to emphasize task-relevant spatial and non-spatial features. PMID:27499082

Asymmetric Spatial Processing Under Cognitive Load

PubMed Central

Naert, Lien; Bonato, Mario; Fias, Wim

2018-01-01

Spatial attention allows us to selectively process information within a certain location in space. Despite the vast literature on spatial attention, the effect of cognitive load on spatial processing is still not fully understood. In this study we added cognitive load to a spatial processing task, so as to see whether it would differentially impact upon the processing of visual information in the left versus the right hemispace. The main paradigm consisted of a detection task that was performed during the maintenance interval of a verbal working memory task. We found that increasing cognitive working memory load had a more negative impact on detecting targets presented on the left side compared to those on the right side. The strength of the load effect correlated with the strength of the interaction on an individual level. The implications of an asymmetric attentional bias with a relative disadvantage for the left (vs the right) hemispace under high verbal working memory (WM) load are discussed. PMID:29740371

Sex differences in the processing of flankers.

PubMed

Stoet, Gijsbert

2010-04-01

The study of sex differences in cognition has often focused on differences in spatial processing. Recently, sex differences in selective attention have been observed by Bayliss, di Pellegrino, and Tipper (2005), showing that women are more influenced than men by irrelevant spatial cues. The current study elaborates on this finding and tests whether sex differences in the processing of irrelevant information also occur in a simpler task, in which there is no need to redirect visual attention and no need to remember multiple spatial stimulus-response associations. Here, attention is studied using a novel combination of a go/no-go task and a flanker task. A total of 80 neurotypical participants were studied, and it was found that responses in women were more strongly affected by flanker information than were responses in men. This suggests that these sex differences were not due to difficulties with spatial reorientation, or remembering spatial stimulus-response relationships. The findings are discussed in the context of the hunter-gatherer theory of sex differences.

Cognitive correlates of spatial navigation: Associations between executive functioning and the virtual Morris Water Task.

PubMed

Korthauer, L E; Nowak, N T; Frahmand, M; Driscoll, I

2017-01-15

Although effective spatial navigation requires memory for objects and locations, navigating a novel environment may also require considerable executive resources. The present study investigated associations between performance on the virtual Morris Water Task (vMWT), an analog version of a nonhuman spatial navigation task, and neuropsychological tests of executive functioning and spatial performance in 75 healthy young adults. More effective vMWT performance (e.g., lower latency and distance to reach hidden platform, greater distance in goal quadrant on a probe trial, fewer path intersections) was associated with better verbal fluency, set switching, response inhibition, and ability to mentally rotate objects. Findings also support a male advantage in spatial navigation, with sex moderating several associations between vMWT performance and executive abilities. Overall, we report a robust relationship between executive functioning and navigational skill, with some evidence that men and women may differentially recruit cognitive abilities when navigating a novel environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interaction between Spatial and Feature Attention in Posterior Parietal Cortex.

PubMed

Ibos, Guilhem; Freedman, David J

2016-08-17

Lateral intraparietal (LIP) neurons encode a vast array of sensory and cognitive variables. Recently, we proposed that the flexibility of feature representations in LIP reflect the bottom-up integration of sensory signals, modulated by feature-based attention (FBA), from upstream feature-selective cortical neurons. Moreover, LIP activity is also strongly modulated by the position of space-based attention (SBA). However, the mechanisms by which SBA and FBA interact to facilitate the representation of task-relevant spatial and non-spatial features in LIP remain unclear. We recorded from LIP neurons during performance of a task that required monkeys to detect specific conjunctions of color, motion direction, and stimulus position. Here we show that FBA and SBA potentiate each other's effect in a manner consistent with attention gating the flow of visual information along the cortical visual pathway. Our results suggest that linear bottom-up integrative mechanisms allow LIP neurons to emphasize task-relevant spatial and non-spatial features. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using time to investigate space: a review of tactile temporal order judgments as a window onto spatial processing in touch

PubMed Central

Heed, Tobias; Azañón, Elena

2014-01-01

To respond to a touch, it is often necessary to localize it in space, and not just on the skin. The computation of this external spatial location involves the integration of somatosensation with visual and proprioceptive information about current body posture. In the past years, the study of touch localization has received substantial attention and has become a central topic in the research field of multisensory integration. In this review, we will explore important findings from this research, zooming in on one specific experimental paradigm, the temporal order judgment (TOJ) task, which has proven particularly fruitful for the investigation of tactile spatial processing. In a typical TOJ task participants perform non-speeded judgments about the order of two tactile stimuli presented in rapid succession to different skin sites. This task could be solved without relying on external spatial coordinates. However, postural manipulations affect TOJ performance, indicating that external coordinates are in fact computed automatically. We show that this makes the TOJ task a reliable indicator of spatial remapping, and provide an overview over the versatile analysis options for TOJ. We introduce current theories of TOJ and touch localization, and then relate TOJ to behavioral and electrophysiological evidence from other paradigms, probing the benefit of TOJ for the study of spatial processing as well as related topics such as multisensory plasticity, body processing, and pain. PMID:24596561

Frontal and parietal theta burst TMS impairs working memory for visual-spatial conjunctions

PubMed Central

Morgan, Helen M.; Jackson, Margaret C.; van Koningsbruggen, Martijn G.; Shapiro, Kimron L.; Linden, David E.J.

2013-01-01

In tasks that selectively probe visual or spatial working memory (WM) frontal and posterior cortical areas show a segregation, with dorsal areas preferentially involved in spatial (e.g. location) WM and ventral areas in visual (e.g. object identity) WM. In a previous fMRI study [1], we showed that right parietal cortex (PC) was more active during WM for orientation, whereas left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) was more active during colour WM. During WM for colour-orientation conjunctions, activity in these areas was intermediate to the level of activity for the single task preferred and non-preferred information. To examine whether these specialised areas play a critical role in coordinating visual and spatial WM to perform a conjunction task, we used theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to induce a functional deficit. Compared to sham stimulation, TMS to right PC or left IFG selectively impaired WM for conjunctions but not single features. This is consistent with findings from visual search paradigms, in which frontal and parietal TMS selectively affects search for conjunctions compared to single features, and with combined TMS and functional imaging work suggesting that parietal and frontal regions are functionally coupled in tasks requiring integration of visual and spatial information. Our results thus elucidate mechanisms by which the brain coordinates spatially segregated processing streams and have implications beyond the field of working memory. PMID:22483548

Frontal and parietal theta burst TMS impairs working memory for visual-spatial conjunctions.

PubMed

Morgan, Helen M; Jackson, Margaret C; van Koningsbruggen, Martijn G; Shapiro, Kimron L; Linden, David E J

2013-03-01

In tasks that selectively probe visual or spatial working memory (WM) frontal and posterior cortical areas show a segregation, with dorsal areas preferentially involved in spatial (e.g. location) WM and ventral areas in visual (e.g. object identity) WM. In a previous fMRI study [1], we showed that right parietal cortex (PC) was more active during WM for orientation, whereas left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) was more active during colour WM. During WM for colour-orientation conjunctions, activity in these areas was intermediate to the level of activity for the single task preferred and non-preferred information. To examine whether these specialised areas play a critical role in coordinating visual and spatial WM to perform a conjunction task, we used theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to induce a functional deficit. Compared to sham stimulation, TMS to right PC or left IFG selectively impaired WM for conjunctions but not single features. This is consistent with findings from visual search paradigms, in which frontal and parietal TMS selectively affects search for conjunctions compared to single features, and with combined TMS and functional imaging work suggesting that parietal and frontal regions are functionally coupled in tasks requiring integration of visual and spatial information. Our results thus elucidate mechanisms by which the brain coordinates spatially segregated processing streams and have implications beyond the field of working memory. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Short-term memory stores organized by information domain.

PubMed

Noyce, Abigail L; Cestero, Nishmar; Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara G; Somers, David C

2016-04-01

Vision and audition have complementary affinities, with vision excelling in spatial resolution and audition excelling in temporal resolution. Here, we investigated the relationships among the visual and auditory modalities and spatial and temporal short-term memory (STM) using change detection tasks. We created short sequences of visual or auditory items, such that each item within a sequence arose at a unique spatial location at a unique time. On each trial, two successive sequences were presented; subjects attended to either space (the sequence of locations) or time (the sequence of inter item intervals) and reported whether the patterns of locations or intervals were identical. Each subject completed blocks of unimodal trials (both sequences presented in the same modality) and crossmodal trials (Sequence 1 visual, Sequence 2 auditory, or vice versa) for both spatial and temporal tasks. We found a strong interaction between modality and task: Spatial performance was best on unimodal visual trials, whereas temporal performance was best on unimodal auditory trials. The order of modalities on crossmodal trials also mattered, suggesting that perceptual fidelity at encoding is critical to STM. Critically, no cost was attributable to crossmodal comparison: In both tasks, performance on crossmodal trials was as good as or better than on the weaker unimodal trials. STM representations of space and time can guide change detection in either the visual or the auditory modality, suggesting that the temporal or spatial organization of STM may supersede sensory-specific organization.

Spatial vs. Nonspatial Reasoning Ability in Chronic Schizophrenics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartlage, Lawrence C.; Garber, Judy

1976-01-01

Compares spatial with nonspatial reasoning ability within the same patients to determine whether spatial reasoning deficits in schizophrenics are specific to spatial types of tasks or are indicative of generalized reasoning difficulties. (Author/RK)

Task Switching in a Hierarchical Task Structure: Evidence for the Fragility of the Task Repetition Benefit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lien, Mei-Ching; Ruthruff, Eric

2004-01-01

This study examined how task switching is affected by hierarchical task organization. Traditional task-switching studies, which use a constant temporal and spatial distance between each task element (defined as a stimulus requiring a response), promote a flat task structure. Using this approach, Experiment 1 revealed a large switch cost of 238 ms.…

Software engineering and data management for automated payload experiment tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maddux, Gary A.; Provancha, Anna; Chattam, David

1994-01-01

The Microgravity Projects Office identified a need to develop a software package that will lead experiment developers through the development planning process, obtain necessary information, establish an electronic data exchange avenue, and allow easier manipulation/reformatting of the collected information. An MS-DOS compatible software package called the Automated Payload Experiment Tool (APET) has been developed and delivered. The objective of this task is to expand on the results of the APET work previously performed by University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and provide versions of the software in a Macintosh and Windows compatible format. Appendix 1 science requirements document (SRD) Users Manual is attached.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and the Flexible Modulation of Cognitive Control in Preadolescent Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pontifex, Matthew B.; Raine, Lauren B.; Johnson, Christopher R.; Chaddock, Laura; Voss, Michelle W.; Cohen, Neal J.; Kramer, Arthur F.; Hillman, Charles H.

2011-01-01

The influence of cardiorespiratory fitness on the modulation of cognitive control was assessed in preadolescent children separated into higher- and lower-fit groups. Participants completed compatible and incompatible stimulus-response conditions of a modified flanker task, consisting of congruent and incongruent arrays, while ERPs and task…

78 FR 63848 - Special Conditions: Embraer S.A., Model EMB-550 Airplanes; Sidestick Controllers

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-25

..., freedom of arm movement, controller displacement, handgrip size and accommodations for a range of pilot... column controls. Pitch and roll control force and displacement sensitivity must be compatible so that... precision path control/tasks and turbulence. In addition, pitch and roll control force and displacement...

Identities in Harmony: Gender-Work Identity Integration Moderates Frame Switching in Cognitive Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sacharin, Vera; Lee, Fiona; Gonzalez, Richard

2009-01-01

Professional women's identity integration--the perceived compatibility between work and gender identities--plays a role in how task or relationship information is processed. Seventy female business school students were primed with either their professional or their gender identity. Business women with higher identity integration showed an…