Task-Dependent Behavioral Dynamics Make the Case for Temporal Integration in Multiple Strategies during Odor Processing

PubMed Central

Brown, Austin; Mehta, Nisarg; Vujovic, Mark; Amina, Tasneem; Fixsen, Bethany

2017-01-01

Differing results in olfactory-based decision-making research regarding the amount of time that rats and mice use to identify odors have led to some disagreements about odor-processing mechanics, including whether or not rodents use temporal integration (i.e., sniffing longer to identify odors better). Reported differences in behavioral strategies may be due to the different types of tasks used in different laboratories. Some researchers have reported that animals performing two-alternative choice (TAC) tasks need only 1–2 sniffs and do not increase performance with longer sampling. Others have reported that animals performing go/no-go (GNG) tasks increase sampling times and performance for difficult discriminations, arguing for temporal integration. We present results from four experiments comparing GNG and TAC tasks over several behavioral variables (e.g., performance, sampling duration). When rats know only one task, they perform better in GNG than in TAC. However, performance was not statistically different when rats learned and were tested in both tasks. Rats sample odors longer in GNG than in TAC, even when they know both tasks and perform them in the same or different sessions. Longer sampling is associated with better performance for both tasks in difficult discriminations, which supports the case for temporal integration over ≥2–6 sniffs in both tasks. These results illustrate that generalizations from a single task about behavioral or cognitive abilities (e.g., processing, perception) do not capture the full range of complexity and can significantly impact inferences about general abilities in sensory perception. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Behavioral tasks and training and testing history affect measured outcomes in cognitive tests. Rats sample odors longer in a go/no-go (GNG) than in a two-alternative choice (TAC) task, performing better in GNG unless they know both tasks. Odor-sampling time is extended in both tasks when the odors to be discriminated are very similar. Rats may extend sampling time to integrate odor information up to ∼0.5 s (2–6 sniffs). Such factors as task, task parameters, and training history affect decision times and performance, making it important to use multiple tasks when making inferences about sensory or cognitive processing. PMID:28336570

Task-focused behavior mediates the associations between supportive interpersonal environments and students' academic performance.

PubMed

Kiuru, Noona; Pakarinen, Eija; Vasalampi, Kati; Silinskas, Gintautas; Aunola, Kaisa; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija; Metsäpelto, Riitta-Leena; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2014-04-01

In the longitudinal study presented here, we tested the theoretical assumption that children's task-focused behavior in learning situations mediates the associations between supportive interpersonal environments and academic performance. The sample consisted of 2,137 Finnish-speaking children. Data on supportive interpersonal environments (characterized by authoritative parenting, positive teacher affect toward the child, and peer acceptance) were gathered in Grade 1. The children's task-focused behavior was measured in Grades 2 and 3, and academic performance was measured in Grades 1 and 4. The results supported our assumption by showing that all three supportive environments were positively associated with children's subsequent academic performance via increased task-focused behavior in learning situations. These findings suggest that students' academic performance can be promoted by increasing the support they receive from peers, parents, and teachers because such increased support leads to better task focus in learning tasks.

Detection of driver engagement in secondary tasks from observed naturalistic driving behavior.

PubMed

Ye, Mengqiu; Osman, Osama A; Ishak, Sherif; Hashemi, Bita

2017-09-01

Distracted driving has long been acknowledged as one of the leading causes of death or injury in roadway crashes. The focus of past research has been mainly on the impact of different causes of distraction on driving behavior. However, only a few studies attempted to address how some driving behavior attributes could be linked to the cause of distraction. In essence, this study takes advantage of the rich SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) database to develop a model for detecting the likelihood of a driver's involvement in secondary tasks from distinctive attributes of driving behavior. Five performance attributes, namely speed, longitudinal acceleration, lateral acceleration, yaw rate, and throttle position were used to describe the driving behavior. A model was developed for each of three selected secondary tasks: calling, texting, and passenger interaction. The models were developed using a supervised feed-forward Artificial Neural Network (ANN) architecture to account for the effect of inherent nonlinearity in the relationships between driving behavior and secondary tasks. The results show that the developed ANN models were able to detect the drivers' involvement in calling, texting, and passenger interaction with an overall accuracy of 99.5%, 98.1%, and 99.8%, respectively. These results show that the selected driving performance attributes were effective in detecting the associated secondary tasks with driving behavior. The results are very promising and the developed models could potentially be applied in crash investigations to resolve legal disputes in traffic accidents. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clarifying the Behavioral Economics of Social Anxiety Disorder: Effects of Interpersonal Problems and Symptom Severity on Generosity.

PubMed

Rodebaugh, Thomas L; Heimberg, Richard G; Taylor, Kristin P; Lenze, Eric J

2016-01-01

Social anxiety disorder is associated with lower interpersonal warmth, possibly explaining its associated interpersonal impairment. Across two samples, we attempted to replicate previous findings that the disorder's constraint of interpersonal warmth can be detected via behavioral economic tasks. We also tested the test-retest stability of task indices. Results indicated that factors associated with social anxiety disorder (and not the disorder itself), such as the severity of social anxiety and more extreme interpersonal problems, lead to less generous behavior on the economic task examined. Results were clearest regarding fine-grained indices derived from latent trajectories. Unexpectedly, the combination of generalized anxiety disorder and higher depression also restricted generosity. Two of three indices showed acceptable test-retest stability. Maladaptive giving behavior may be a treatment target to improve interpersonal functioning in psychiatric disorders; therefore, future work should more precisely characterize behavioral economic tasks, including basic psychometric work (i.e., tests of reliability and validity).

Clarifying the Behavioral Economics of Social Anxiety Disorder: Effects of Interpersonal Problems and Symptom Severity on Generosity

PubMed Central

Rodebaugh, Thomas L.; Heimberg, Richard G.; Taylor, Kristin P.; Lenze, Eric J.

2015-01-01

Social anxiety disorder is associated with lower interpersonal warmth, possibly explaining its associated interpersonal impairment. Across two samples, we attempted to replicate previous findings that the disorder’s constraint of interpersonal warmth can be detected via behavioral economic tasks. We also tested the test-retest stability of task indices. Results indicated that factors associated with social anxiety disorder (and not the disorder itself), such as the severity of social anxiety and more extreme interpersonal problems, lead to less generous behavior on the economic task examined. Results were clearest regarding fine-grained indices derived from latent trajectories. Unexpectedly, the combination of generalized anxiety disorder and higher depression also restricted generosity. Two of three indices showed acceptable test-retest stability. Maladaptive giving behavior may be a treatment target to improve interpersonal functioning in psychiatric disorders; therefore, future work should more precisely characterize behavioral economic tasks, including basic psychometric work (i.e., tests of reliability and validity). PMID:27034911

Relationship between Adolescent Risk Preferences on a Laboratory Task and Behavioral Measures of Risk-taking

PubMed Central

Rao, Uma; Sidhartha, Tanuj; Harker, Karen R.; Bidesi, Anup S.; Chen, Li-Ann; Ernst, Monique

2010-01-01

Purpose The goal of the study was to assess individual differences in risk-taking behavior among adolescents in the laboratory. A second aim was to evaluate whether the laboratory-based risk-taking behavior is associated with other behavioral and psychological measures associated with risk-taking behavior. Methods Eighty-two adolescents with no personal history of psychiatric disorder completed a computerized decision-making task, the Wheel of Fortune (WOF). By offering choices between clearly defined probabilities and real monetary outcomes, this task assesses risk preferences when participants are confronted with potential rewards and losses. The participants also completed a variety of behavioral and psychological measures associated with risk-taking behavior. Results Performance on the task varied based on the probability and anticipated outcomes. In the winning sub-task, participants selected low probability-high magnitude reward (high-risk choice) less frequently than high probability-low magnitude reward (low-risk choice). In the losing sub-task, participants selected low probability-high magnitude loss more often than high probability-low magnitude loss. On average, the selection of probabilistic rewards was optimal and similar to performance in adults. There were, however, individual differences in performance, and one-third of the adolescents made high-risk choice more frequently than low-risk choice while selecting a reward. After controlling for sociodemographic and psychological variables, high-risk choice on the winning task predicted “real-world” risk-taking behavior and substance-related problems. Conclusions These findings highlight individual differences in risk-taking behavior. Preliminary data on face validity of the WOF task suggest that it might be a valuable laboratory tool for studying behavioral and neurobiological processes associated with risk-taking behavior in adolescents. PMID:21257113

Associations Between Behavioral Inhibition and Children's Social Problem Solving Behavior During Social Exclusion.

PubMed

Walker, Olga L; Henderson, Heather A; Degnan, Kathryn A; Penela, Elizabeth C; Fox, Nathan A

2014-08-01

The current study examined the associations between the early childhood temperament of behavioral inhibition and children's displays of social problem-solving (SPS) behavior during social exclusion. During toddlerhood (ages 2-3), maternal report and behavioral observations of behavioral inhibition were collected. At age 7, children's SPS behaviors were observed during a laboratory social exclusion task based on the commonly used Cyberball game. Results showed that behavioral inhibition was positively associated with displayed social withdrawal and negatively associated with assertive behavior during the observed social exclusion task at 7 years of age. These results add to our understanding of inhibited children's SPS behaviors during social exclusion and provide evidence for the associations between toddler temperament and children's social behavior during middle childhood.

Trading off switch costs and stimulus availability benefits: An investigation of voluntary task-switching behavior in a predictable dynamic multitasking environment.

PubMed

Mittelstädt, Victor; Miller, Jeff; Kiesel, Andrea

2018-03-09

In the present study, we introduce a novel, self-organized task-switching paradigm that can be used to study more directly the determinants of switching. Instead of instructing participants to randomly switch between tasks, as in the classic voluntary task-switching paradigm (Arrington & Logan, 2004), we instructed participants to optimize their task performance in a voluntary task-switching environment in which the stimulus associated with the previously selected task appeared in each trial after a delay. Importantly, the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) increased further with each additional repetition of this task, whereas the stimulus needed for a task switch was always immediately available. We conducted two experiments with different SOA increments (i.e., Exp. 1a = 50 ms, Exp. 1b = 33 ms) to see whether this procedure would induce switching behavior, and we explored how people trade off switch costs against the increasing availability of the stimulus needed for a task repetition. We observed that participants adapted their behavior to the different task environments (i.e., SOA increments) and that participants switched tasks when the SOA in task switches approximately matched the switch costs. Moreover, correlational analyses indicated relations between individual switch costs and individual switch rates across participants. Together, these results demonstrate that participants were sensitive to the increased availability of switch stimuli in deciding whether to switch or to repeat, which in turn demonstrates flexible adaptive task selection behavior. We suggest that performance limitations in task switching interact with the task environment to influence switching behavior.

Behavior generation strategy of artificial behavioral system by self-learning paradigm for autonomous robot tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dağlarli, Evren; Temeltaş, Hakan

2008-04-01

In this study, behavior generation and self-learning paradigms are investigated for the real-time applications of multi-goal mobile robot tasks. The method is capable to generate new behaviors and it combines them in order to achieve multi goal tasks. The proposed method is composed from three layers: Behavior Generating Module, Coordination Level and Emotion -Motivation Level. Last two levels use Hidden Markov models to manage dynamical structure of behaviors. The kinematics and dynamic model of the mobile robot with non-holonomic constraints are considered in the behavior based control architecture. The proposed method is tested on a four-wheel driven and four-wheel steered mobile robot with constraints in simulation environment and results are obtained successfully.

Exploring the repetition bias in voluntary task switching.

PubMed

Mittelstädt, Victor; Dignath, David; Schmidt-Ott, Magdalena; Kiesel, Andrea

2018-01-01

In the voluntary task-switching paradigm, participants are required to randomly select tasks. We reasoned that the consistent finding of a repetition bias (i.e., participants repeat tasks more often than expected by chance) reflects reasonable adaptive task selection behavior to balance the goal of random task selection with the goals to minimize the time and effort for task performance. We conducted two experiments in which participants were provided with variable amount of preview for the non-chosen task stimuli (i.e., potential switch stimuli). We assumed that switch stimuli would initiate some pre-processing resulting in improved performance in switch trials. Results showed that reduced switch costs due to extra-preview in advance of each trial were accompanied by more task switches. This finding is in line with the characteristics of rational adaptive behavior. However, participants were not biased to switch tasks more often than chance despite large switch benefits. We suggest that participants might avoid effortful additional control processes that modulate the effects of preview on task performance and task choice.

Behavioral Task Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

and related tech- nologies . Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Neisser , U . (1967) . Cognitive psychology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts...behavior (see Neisser [1967] for a review of the early stages of information processing). The result is a characterization of human tasks as involving

Differential effects of reinforcement on the self-monitoring of on-task behavior.

PubMed

Otero, Tiffany L; Haut, Jillian M

2016-03-01

In the current study, the differential effects of reinforcement on a self-monitoring intervention were evaluated. Three students nominated by their teachers for having a marked difficultly maintaining on-task behaviors participated in the study. Using an alternating treatments single-case design to assess self-monitoring with and without reinforcement, students self-monitored their on-task behavior while being prompted by a vibrating timer at 1-min intervals for 20-min sessions. The investigators collected data regarding the students' percentage of intervals on-task and the accuracy of their recordings. Accuracy was measured by calculating the percent of agreement between the observer and student. For half of the self-monitoring sessions, students were provided reinforcement for matching at least 80% of their self-monitored ratings with those of the observer. Results indicated that self-monitoring alone was effective for 2 students in increasing their on-task behaviors in a general education classroom and self-monitoring with reinforcement was effective for all 3. Two students demonstrated an increase in on-task behavior when self-monitoring was paired with the opportunity to receive reinforcement compared to self-monitoring alone. Percentage of nonoverlapping data for self-monitoring without reinforcement ranged from 16.6% to 100%, and self-monitoring with reinforcement ranged from 83% to 100%. Additionally, the opportunity to receive reinforcement impacted students' accuracy in self-monitoring resulting in more accurate self-recording of on-task behavior. Including reinforcement as a component of a self-monitoring intervention package is an important consideration as it may impact the effectiveness of the intervention for students with significant difficulties maintaining attention to tasks. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Task difficulty modulates brain-behavior correlations in language production and cognitive control: Behavioral and fMRI evidence from a phonological go/no-go picture-naming paradigm.

PubMed

Zhang, Haoyun; Eppes, Anna; Beatty-Martínez, Anne; Navarro-Torres, Christian; Diaz, Michele T

2018-06-19

Language production and cognitive control are complex processes that involve distinct yet interacting brain networks. However, the extent to which these processes interact and their neural bases have not been thoroughly examined. Here, we investigated the neural and behavioral bases of language production and cognitive control via a phonological go/no-go picture-naming task. Naming difficulty and cognitive control demands (i.e., conflict monitoring and response inhibition) were manipulated by varying the proportion of naming trials (go trials) and inhibition trials (no-go trials) across task runs. The results demonstrated that as task demands increased, participants' behavioral performance declined (i.e., longer reaction times on naming trials, more commission errors on inhibition trials) whereas brain activation generally increased. Increased activation was found not only within the language network but also in domain-general control regions. Additionally, right superior and inferior frontal and left supramarginal gyri were sensitive to increased task difficulty during both language production and response inhibition. We also found both positive and negative brain-behavior correlations. Most notably, increased activation in sensorimotor regions, such as precentral and postcentral gyri, was associated with better behavioral performance, in both successful picture naming and successful inhibition. Moreover, comparing the strength of correlations across conditions indicated that the brain-behavior correlations in sensorimotor regions that were associated with improved performance became stronger as task demands increased. Overall, our results suggest that cognitive control demands affect language production, and that successfully coping with increases in task difficulty relies on both language-specific and domain-general cognitive control regions.

Encoding and choice in the task span paradigm.

PubMed

Reiman, Kaitlin M; Weaver, Starla M; Arrington, Catherine M

2015-03-01

Cognitive control during sequences of planned behaviors requires both plan-level processes such as generating, maintaining, and monitoring the plan, as well as task-level processes such as selecting, establishing and implementing specific task sets. The task span paradigm (Logan in J Exp Psychol Gen 133:218-236, 2004) combines two common cognitive control paradigms, task switching and working memory span, to investigate the integration of plan-level and task-level processes during control of sequential behavior. The current study expands past task span research to include measures of encoding processes and choice behavior with volitional sequence generation, using the standard task span as well as a novel voluntary task span paradigm. In two experiments, we consider how sequence complexity, defined separately for plan-level and task-level complexity, influences sequence encoding (Experiment 1), sequence choice (Experiment 2), sequence memory, and task performance of planned sequences of action. Results indicate that participants were sensitive to sequence complexity, but that different aspects of behavior are most strongly influenced by different types of complexity. Hierarchical complexity at the plan level best predicts voluntary sequence generation and memory; while switch frequency at the task level best predicts encoding of externally defined sequences and task performance. Furthermore, performance RTs were similar for externally and internally defined plans, whereas memory was improved for internally defined sequences. Finally, participants demonstrated a significant sequence choice bias in the voluntary task span. Consistent with past research on choice behavior, volitional selection of plans was markedly influenced by both the ease of memory and performance.

Increasing Customer Service Behaviors Using Manager-Delivered Task Clarification and Social Praise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Anna; Austin, John; Gravina, Nicole

2009-01-01

This project assessed an intervention to improve employee customer service behaviors (correct greetings and closing behaviors). A combination of task clarification and manager-delivered social praise resulted in increased correct greeting from 11.5% to 66% and correct closing from 8% to 70%. The effect was maintained at a 48-week follow-up for…

Do Children with Better Inhibitory Control Donate More? Differentiating between Early and Middle Childhood and Cool and Hot Inhibitory Control.

PubMed

Hao, Jian

2017-01-01

Inhibitory control may play an important part in prosocial behavior, such as donating behavior. However, it is not clear at what developmental stage inhibitory control becomes associated with donating behavior and which aspects of inhibitory control are related to donating behavior during development in early to middle childhood. The present study aimed to clarify these issues with two experiments. In Experiment 1, 103 3- to 5-year-old preschoolers completed cool (Stroop-like) and hot (delay of gratification) inhibitory control tasks and a donating task. The results indicated that there were no relationships between cool or hot inhibitory control and donating behavior in the whole group and each age group of the preschoolers. In Experiment 2, 140 elementary school children in Grades 2, 4, and 6 completed cool (Stroop-like) and hot (delay of gratification) inhibitory control tasks and a donating task. The results showed that inhibitory control was positively associated with donating behavior in the whole group. Cool and hot inhibitory control respectively predicted donating behavior in the second and sixth graders. Therefore, the present study reveals that donating behavior increasingly relies on specific inhibitory control, i.e., hot inhibitory control as children grow in middle childhood.

Writing in the air: A visualization tool for written languages.

PubMed

Itaguchi, Yoshihiro; Yamada, Chiharu; Yoshihara, Masahiro; Fukuzawa, Kazuyoshi

2017-01-01

The present study investigated interactions between cognitive processes and finger actions called "kusho," meaning "air-writing" in Japanese. Kanji-culture individuals often employ kusho behavior in which they move their fingers as a substitute for a pen to write mostly done when they are trying to recall the shape of a Kanji character or the spelling of an English word. To further examine the visualization role of kusho behavior on cognitive processing, we conducted a Kanji construction task in which a stimulus (i.e., sub-parts to be constructed) was simultaneously presented. In addition, we conducted a Kanji vocabulary test to reveal the relation between the kusho benefit and vocabulary size. The experiment provided two sets of novel findings. First, executing kusho behavior improved task performance (correct responses) as long as the participants watched their finger movements while solving the task. This result supports the idea that visual feedback of kusho behavior helps cognitive processing for the task. Second, task performance was positively correlated with the vocabulary score when stimuli were presented for a relatively long time, whereas the kusho benefits and vocabulary score were not correlated regardless of stimulus-presentation time. These results imply that a longer stimulus-presentation could allow participants to utilize their lexical resources for solving the task. The current findings together support the visualization role of kusho behavior, adding experimental evidence supporting the view that there are interactions between cognition and motor behavior.

Implementation of a self-monitoring application to improve on-task behavior: A high school pilot study.

PubMed

Wills, Howard P; Mason, Benjamin A

2014-12-01

Technological innovations offer promise for improving intervention implementation in secondary, inclusive classrooms. A withdrawal design was employed with two high school students in order to assess the effectiveness of a technologically-delivered, self-monitoring intervention in improving on-task behavior in a science classroom. Two students ages 14 and 15 with diagnoses of specific learning disability (student 1) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD: student 2) were selected by case manager referral due to difficulties with on-task behavior despite long-term administration of psychostimulant medication. After baseline data were collected, both students were trained in the use of a self-monitoring application (I-Connect) delivered via a handheld tablet. On-task prompts were delivered at five min intervals in an ABAB withdrawal design. The intervention resulted in positive, stable improvements in the primary dependent variable of on-task behavior for both students and less clear improvement in the generalization variable of disruptive behavior.

Behavioral Economics of Cigarette Purchase Tasks: Within-Subject Comparison of Real, Potentially Real, and Hypothetical Cigarettes

PubMed Central

Wilson, A. George; Franck, Christopher T.; Koffarnus, Mikhail N.

2016-01-01

Abstract Introduction: Hypothetical rewards are commonly used in studies of laboratory-based tobacco demand. However, behavioral economic demand procedures require confirmation that the behavior elicited from real and hypothetical reward types are equivalent, and that results attained from these procedures are comparable to other accepted tasks, such as the hypothetical purchase task. Methods: Nineteen smokers were asked to purchase 1 week’s worth of cigarettes that they would consume over the following week either at one price that incrementally increased across four weekly sessions (“real” sessions) or four prices in a single session (“potentially real” session), one of which was randomly chosen to be actualized. At each session, participants also completed a hypothetical cigarette purchase task. After each week, participants reported the number of cigarettes they actually smoked. Results: Demand was found to be equivalent under both the real and potentially real reward conditions but statistically different from the demand captured in the hypothetical purchase task. However, the amounts purchased at specific prices in the hypothetical purchase task were significantly correlated with the amount purchased at comparable prices in the other two tasks (except for the highest price examined in both tasks of $1.00 per cigarette). Number of cigarettes consumed that were obtained outside of the study was correlated with study cigarette price. Conclusions: Combined, these results suggest that purchasing behavior during potentially real sessions (1) was not functionally different from real sessions, (2) imposes fewer costs to the experimenter, and (3) has high levels of both internal and external validity. PMID:26187389

[Determinants of task preferences when performance is indicative of individual characteristics: self-assessment motivation and self-verification motivation].

PubMed

Numazaki, M; Kudo, E

1995-04-01

The present study was conducted to examine determinants of information-gathering behavior with regard to one's own characteristics. Four tasks with different self-congruent and incongruent diagnosticity were presented to subjects. As self-assessment theory predicted, high diagnostic tasks were preferred to low tasks. And as self-verification theory predicted, self-congruent diagnosticity had a stronger effect on task preference than self-incongruent diagnosticity. In addition, subjects who perceived the relevant characteristics important inclined to choose self-assessment behavior more than who did not. Also, subjects who were certain of their self-concept inclined to choose self-verification behavior more than who were not. These results suggest that both self-assessment and self-verification motivations play important roles in information-gathering behavior regarding one's characteristics, and strength of the motivations is determined by the importance of relevant characteristics or the certainty of self-concept.

Daily Behavior Report Cards: An Investigation of the Consistency of On-Task Data across Raters and Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chafouleas, Sandra M.; Riley-Tillman, T. Chris; Sassu, Kari A.; LaFrance, Mary J.; Patwa, Shamim S.

2007-01-01

In this study, the consistency of on-task data collected across raters using either a Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC) or systematic direct observation was examined to begin to understand the decision reliability of using DBRCs to monitor student behavior. Results suggested very similar conclusions might be drawn when visually examining data…

Observed Self-Regulation is Associated with Weight in Low-Income Toddlers

PubMed Central

Miller, Alison L.; Rosenblum, Katherine L.; Retzloff, Lauren B.; Lumeng, Julie C.

2016-01-01

Obesity emerges in early childhood and tracks across development. Self-regulation develops rapidly during the toddler years, yet few studies have examined toddlers’ self-regulation in relation to concurrent child weight. Further, few studies compare child responses in food and non-food-related tasks. Our goal was to examine toddlers’ observed behavioral and emotional self-regulation in food and non-food tasks in relation to their body mass index z-score (BMIz) and weight status (overweight/obese vs. not). Observational measures were used to assess self-regulation (SR) in four standardized tasks in 133 low-income children (M age=33.1 months; SD=0.6). Behavioral SR was measured by assessing how well the child could delay gratification for a snack (food-related task) and a gift (non-food-related task). Emotional SR was measured by assessing child intensity of negative affect in two tasks designed to elicit frustration: being shown, then denied a cookie (food-related) or a toy (non-food-related). Task order was counterbalanced. BMIz was measured. Bivariate correlations and regression analyses adjusting for child sex, child race/ethnicity, and maternal education were conducted to examine associations of SR with weight. Results were that better behavioral SR in the snack delay task associated with lower BMIz (β=−0.27, p<.05) and lower odds of overweight/obesity (OR=0.66, 95% CI 0.45, 0.96), but behavioral SR in the gift task did not associate with BMIz or weight status. Better emotional SR in the non-food task associated with lower BMIz (β= −0.27, p<.05), and better emotional SR in food and non-food tasks associated with lower odds of overweight/obesity (OR=0.65, 95% CI 0.45, 0.96 and OR=0.56, 95% CI 0.37, 0.87, respectively). Results are discussed regarding how behavioral SR for food and overall emotional SR relate to weight during toddlerhood, and regarding early childhood obesity prevention implications. PMID:27397726

Decision Making in Concurrent Multitasking: Do People Adapt to Task Interference?

PubMed Central

Nijboer, Menno; Taatgen, Niels A.; Brands, Annelies; Borst, Jelmer P.; van Rijn, Hedderik

2013-01-01

While multitasking has received a great deal of attention from researchers, we still know little about how well people adapt their behavior to multitasking demands. In three experiments, participants were presented with a multicolumn subtraction task, which required working memory in half of the trials. This primary task had to be combined with a secondary task requiring either working memory or visual attention, resulting in different types of interference. Before each trial, participants were asked to choose which secondary task they wanted to perform concurrently with the primary task. We predicted that if people seek to maximize performance or minimize effort required to perform the dual task, they choose task combinations that minimize interference. While performance data showed that the predicted optimal task combinations indeed resulted in minimal interference between tasks, the preferential choice data showed that a third of participants did not show any adaptation, and for the remainder it took a considerable number of trials before the optimal task combinations were chosen consistently. On the basis of these results we argue that, while in principle people are able to adapt their behavior according to multitasking demands, selection of the most efficient combination of strategies is not an automatic process. PMID:24244527

Visual scanning behavior and mental workload in aircraft pilots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tole, J. R.; Harris, R. L., Sr.; Stephens, A. T.; Ephrath, A. R.

1982-01-01

This paper describes an experimental paradigm and a set of preliminary results which demonstrate a relationship between the level of performance on a skilled man-machine control task, the skill of the operator, the level of mental difficulty induced by an additional task imposed on the basic control task, and visual scanning performance. During a constant, simulated piloting task, visual scanning of instruments was found to vary as a function of the level of difficulty of a verbal loading task. The average dwell time of each fixation on the pilot's primary instrument increased as a function of the loading. The scanning behavior was also a function of the estimated skill level of the pilots, with novices being affected by the loading task much more than experts. The results suggest that visual scanning of instruments in a controlled task may be an indicator of both workload and skill.

Beyond Synchrony: Joint Action in a Complex Production Task Reveals Beneficial Effects of Decreased Interpersonal Synchrony

PubMed Central

Mitkidis, Panagiotis; Roepstorff, Andreas

2016-01-01

A variety of joint action studies show that people tend to fall into synchronous behavior with others participating in the same task, and that such synchronization is beneficial, leading to greater rapport, satisfaction, and performance. It has been noted that many of these task environments require simple interactions that involve little planning of action coordination toward a shared goal. The present study utilized a complex joint construction task in which dyads were instructed to build model cars while their hand movements and heart rates were measured. Participants built these models under varying conditions, delimiting how freely they could divide labor during a build session. While hand movement synchrony was sensitive to the different tasks and outcomes, the heart rate measure did not show any effects of interpersonal synchrony. Results for hand movements show that the more participants were constrained by a particular building strategy, the greater their behavioral synchrony. Within the different conditions, the degree of synchrony was predictive of subjective satisfaction and objective product outcomes. However, in contrast to many previous findings, synchrony was negatively associated with superior products, and, depending on the constraints on the interaction, positively or negatively correlated with higher subjective satisfaction. These results show that the task context critically shapes the role of synchronization during joint action, and that in more complex tasks, not synchronization of behavior, but rather complementary types of behavior may be associated with superior task outcomes. PMID:27997558

Multitasking: Effects of processing multiple auditory feature patterns

PubMed Central

Miller, Tova; Chen, Sufen; Lee, Wei Wei; Sussman, Elyse S.

2016-01-01

ERPs and behavioral responses were measured to assess how task-irrelevant sounds interact with task processing demands and affect the ability to monitor and track multiple sound events. Participants listened to four-tone sequential frequency patterns, and responded to frequency pattern deviants (reversals of the pattern). Irrelevant tone feature patterns (duration and intensity) and respective pattern deviants were presented together with frequency patterns and frequency pattern deviants in separate conditions. Responses to task-relevant and task-irrelevant feature pattern deviants were used to test processing demands for irrelevant sound input. Behavioral performance was significantly better when there were no distracting feature patterns. Errors primarily occurred in response to the to-be-ignored feature pattern deviants. Task-irrelevant elicitation of ERP components was consistent with the error analysis, indicating a level of processing for the irrelevant features. Task-relevant elicitation of ERP components was consistent with behavioral performance, demonstrating a “cost” of performance when there were two feature patterns presented simultaneously. These results provide evidence that the brain tracked the irrelevant duration and intensity feature patterns, affecting behavioral performance. Overall, our results demonstrate that irrelevant informational streams are processed at a cost, which may be considered a type of multitasking that is an ongoing, automatic processing of taskirrelevant sensory events. PMID:25939456

Effects of Morphine on Behavioral Task Performance in SIV-Infected Rhesus Macaques.

PubMed

Marcario, Joanne K; Pendyala, Gurudutt; Riazi, Mariam; Fleming, Kandace; Marquis, Janet; Callen, Shannon; Lisco, Steven J; Fowler, Stephen C; Cheney, Paul D; Buch, Shilpa J

2016-06-01

The abuse of opiates such as morphine in synergy with HIV infection not only exacerbates neuropathogenesis but significantly impacts behavioral attributes in HIV infected subjects. Thus, the goal of the current study was to characterize behavioral perturbations in rhesus macaques subjected to chronic morphine and SIV infection. Specifically, we assessed three behavioral tasks: motor skill (MS), forelimb force (FFT) and progressive ratio (PR) tasks. After collecting baseline control data (44 weeks) and data during the morphine-only dependency period (26 weeks), a subset of animals were productively infected with neurovirulent strains of SIVmac (R71/E17) for an additional 33 weeks. A general pattern in the results is that behavioral decline occurred with high CSF viral loads but not necessarily with high plasma viral loads. Compared to saline controls, all treated animals showed significant decreases in performance on all three behavioral tasks during the morphine-only dependency period. During the post infection period, only the morphine plus SIV group showed a significant further decline and this only occurred for the MS task. Taken together, these data demonstrate a clear effect of morphine to produce behavioral deficits and also suggest that morphine can act synergistically with SIV/HIV to exacerbate behavioral deficits.

Effects of morphine on behavioral task performance in SIV-infected Rhesus macaques

PubMed Central

Marcario, Joanne K; Pendyala, Gurudutt; Riazi, Mariam; Fleming, Kandace; Marquis, Janet; Callen, Shannon; Lisco, Steven J; Fowler, Stephen C.; Cheney, Paul D; Buch, Shilpa J

2016-01-01

The abuse of opiates such as morphine in synergy with HIV infection not only exacerbates neuropathogenesis but significantly impacts behavioral attributes in HIV infected subjects. Thus, the goal of the current study was to characterize behavioral perturbations in rhesus macaques subjected to chronic morphine and SIV infection. Specifically, we assessed three behavioral tasks: motor skill (MS), forelimb force (FFT) and progressive ratio (PR) tasks. After collecting baseline control data (44 weeks) and data during the morphine-only dependency period (26 weeks), a subset of animals were productively infected with neurovirulent strains of SIVmac (R71/E17) for an additional 33 weeks. A general pattern in the results is that behavioral decline occurred with high CSF viral loads but not necessarily with high plasma viral loads. Compared to saline controls, all treated animals showed significant decreases in performance on all three behavioral tasks during the morphine-only dependency period. During the post infection period, only the morphine plus SIV group showed a significant further decline and this only occurred for the MS task. Taken together, these data demonstrate a clear effect of morphine to produce behavioral deficits and also suggest that morphine can act synergistically with SIV/HIV to exacerbate behavioral deficits. PMID:27039332

Rational models as theories - not standards - of behavior.

PubMed

McKenzie, Craig R.M.

2003-09-01

When people's behavior in laboratory tasks systematically deviates from a rational model, the implication is that real-world performance could be improved by changing the behavior. However, recent studies suggest that behavioral violations of rational models are at least sometimes the result of strategies that are well adapted to the real world (and not necessarily to the laboratory task). Thus, even if one accepts that certain behavior in the laboratory is irrational, compelling evidence that real-world behavior ought to change accordingly is often lacking. It is suggested here that rational models be seen as theories, and not standards, of behavior.

Persistency and flexibility of complex brain networks underlie dual-task interference.

PubMed

Alavash, Mohsen; Hilgetag, Claus C; Thiel, Christiane M; Gießing, Carsten

2015-09-01

Previous studies on multitasking suggest that performance decline during concurrent task processing arises from interfering brain modules. Here, we used graph-theoretical network analysis to define functional brain modules and relate the modular organization of complex brain networks to behavioral dual-task costs. Based on resting-state and task fMRI we explored two organizational aspects potentially associated with behavioral interference when human subjects performed a visuospatial and speech task simultaneously: the topological overlap between persistent single-task modules, and the flexibility of single-task modules in adaptation to the dual-task condition. Participants showed a significant decline in visuospatial accuracy in the dual-task compared with single visuospatial task. Global analysis of topological similarity between modules revealed that the overlap between single-task modules significantly correlated with the decline in visuospatial accuracy. Subjects with larger overlap between single-task modules showed higher behavioral interference. Furthermore, lower flexible reconfiguration of single-task modules in adaptation to the dual-task condition significantly correlated with larger decline in visuospatial accuracy. Subjects with lower modular flexibility showed higher behavioral interference. At the regional level, higher overlap between single-task modules and less modular flexibility in the somatomotor cortex positively correlated with the decline in visuospatial accuracy. Additionally, higher modular flexibility in cingulate and frontal control areas and lower flexibility in right-lateralized nodes comprising the middle occipital and superior temporal gyri supported dual-tasking. Our results suggest that persistency and flexibility of brain modules are important determinants of dual-task costs. We conclude that efficient dual-tasking benefits from a specific balance between flexibility and rigidity of functional brain modules. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Evolution of Self-Organized Task Specialization in Robot Swarms

PubMed Central

Ferrante, Eliseo; Turgut, Ali Emre; Duéñez-Guzmán, Edgar; Dorigo, Marco; Wenseleers, Tom

2015-01-01

Division of labor is ubiquitous in biological systems, as evidenced by various forms of complex task specialization observed in both animal societies and multicellular organisms. Although clearly adaptive, the way in which division of labor first evolved remains enigmatic, as it requires the simultaneous co-occurrence of several complex traits to achieve the required degree of coordination. Recently, evolutionary swarm robotics has emerged as an excellent test bed to study the evolution of coordinated group-level behavior. Here we use this framework for the first time to study the evolutionary origin of behavioral task specialization among groups of identical robots. The scenario we study involves an advanced form of division of labor, common in insect societies and known as “task partitioning”, whereby two sets of tasks have to be carried out in sequence by different individuals. Our results show that task partitioning is favored whenever the environment has features that, when exploited, reduce switching costs and increase the net efficiency of the group, and that an optimal mix of task specialists is achieved most readily when the behavioral repertoires aimed at carrying out the different subtasks are available as pre-adapted building blocks. Nevertheless, we also show for the first time that self-organized task specialization could be evolved entirely from scratch, starting only from basic, low-level behavioral primitives, using a nature-inspired evolutionary method known as Grammatical Evolution. Remarkably, division of labor was achieved merely by selecting on overall group performance, and without providing any prior information on how the global object retrieval task was best divided into smaller subtasks. We discuss the potential of our method for engineering adaptively behaving robot swarms and interpret our results in relation to the likely path that nature took to evolve complex sociality and task specialization. PMID:26247819

Evolution of Self-Organized Task Specialization in Robot Swarms.

PubMed

Ferrante, Eliseo; Turgut, Ali Emre; Duéñez-Guzmán, Edgar; Dorigo, Marco; Wenseleers, Tom

2015-08-01

Division of labor is ubiquitous in biological systems, as evidenced by various forms of complex task specialization observed in both animal societies and multicellular organisms. Although clearly adaptive, the way in which division of labor first evolved remains enigmatic, as it requires the simultaneous co-occurrence of several complex traits to achieve the required degree of coordination. Recently, evolutionary swarm robotics has emerged as an excellent test bed to study the evolution of coordinated group-level behavior. Here we use this framework for the first time to study the evolutionary origin of behavioral task specialization among groups of identical robots. The scenario we study involves an advanced form of division of labor, common in insect societies and known as "task partitioning", whereby two sets of tasks have to be carried out in sequence by different individuals. Our results show that task partitioning is favored whenever the environment has features that, when exploited, reduce switching costs and increase the net efficiency of the group, and that an optimal mix of task specialists is achieved most readily when the behavioral repertoires aimed at carrying out the different subtasks are available as pre-adapted building blocks. Nevertheless, we also show for the first time that self-organized task specialization could be evolved entirely from scratch, starting only from basic, low-level behavioral primitives, using a nature-inspired evolutionary method known as Grammatical Evolution. Remarkably, division of labor was achieved merely by selecting on overall group performance, and without providing any prior information on how the global object retrieval task was best divided into smaller subtasks. We discuss the potential of our method for engineering adaptively behaving robot swarms and interpret our results in relation to the likely path that nature took to evolve complex sociality and task specialization.

Music and On-task Behaviors in Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Dieringer, Shannon Titus; Porretta, David L; Sainato, Diane

2017-07-01

The purpose of our study was to determine the effect of music (music with lyrics versus music with lyrics plus instruction) relative to on-task behaviors in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a gross motor setting. Five preschool children (4 boys, 1 girl) diagnosed with ASD served as participants. A multiple baseline across participants in conjunction with an alternating-treatment design was used. For all participants, music with lyrics plus instruction increased on-task behaviors to a greater extent than did music with lyrics. The results of our study provide a better understanding of the role of music with regard to the behaviors of young children with ASD.

Learning Enhances Sensory and Multiple Non-sensory Representations in Primary Visual Cortex

PubMed Central

Poort, Jasper; Khan, Adil G.; Pachitariu, Marius; Nemri, Abdellatif; Orsolic, Ivana; Krupic, Julija; Bauza, Marius; Sahani, Maneesh; Keller, Georg B.; Mrsic-Flogel, Thomas D.; Hofer, Sonja B.

2015-01-01

Summary We determined how learning modifies neural representations in primary visual cortex (V1) during acquisition of a visually guided behavioral task. We imaged the activity of the same layer 2/3 neuronal populations as mice learned to discriminate two visual patterns while running through a virtual corridor, where one pattern was rewarded. Improvements in behavioral performance were closely associated with increasingly distinguishable population-level representations of task-relevant stimuli, as a result of stabilization of existing and recruitment of new neurons selective for these stimuli. These effects correlated with the appearance of multiple task-dependent signals during learning: those that increased neuronal selectivity across the population when expert animals engaged in the task, and those reflecting anticipation or behavioral choices specifically in neuronal subsets preferring the rewarded stimulus. Therefore, learning engages diverse mechanisms that modify sensory and non-sensory representations in V1 to adjust its processing to task requirements and the behavioral relevance of visual stimuli. PMID:26051421

Strong genetic influences on measures of behavioral-regulation among inbred rat strains

PubMed Central

Richards, Jerry B.; Lloyd, David R.; Kuehlewind, Brandon; Militello, Leah; Paredez, Marita; Solberg -Woods, Leah; Palmer, Abraham A.

2013-01-01

A fundamental challenge for any complex nervous system is to regulate behavior in response to environmental challenges. Three measures of behavioral regulation were tested in a panel of 8 inbred rat strains. These measures were; 1) sensation seeking as assessed by locomotor response to novelty and the sensory reinforcing effects of light onset, 2) attention and impulsivity, as measured by a choice reaction time task, and 3) impulsivity as measured by a delay discounting task. Deficient behavioral regulation has been linked to a number of psychopathologies, including ADHD, Schizophrenia, Autism, drug abuse and eating disorders. Eight inbred rat strains (August Copenhagen Irish, Brown Norway, Buffalo, Fischer 344, Wistar Kyoto, Spontaneous Hypertensive Rat, Lewis, Dahl Salt Sensitive) were tested. With n=9 for each strain, we observed robust strain differences for all tasks; heritability was estimated between 0.43 and 0.66. Performance of the 8 inbred rat strains on the choice reaction time task was compared to the performance of out bred Sprague Dawley (n=28) and Heterogeneous strain rats (n=48). The results indicate a strong genetic influence on complex tasks related to behavioral regulation and indicate that some of measures tap common genetically-driven processes. Furthermore, our results establish the potential for future studies aimed at identifying specific alleles that influence variability for these traits. Identification of such alleles could contribute to our understanding of the molecular genetic basis of behavioral regulation, which is of fundamental importance and likely contributes to multiple psychiatric disorders. PMID:23710681

Attentional load and attentional boost: a review of data and theory.

PubMed

Swallow, Khena M; Jiang, Yuhong V

2013-01-01

Both perceptual and cognitive processes are limited in capacity. As a result, attention is selective, prioritizing items and tasks that are important for adaptive behavior. However, a number of recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies suggest that, at least under some circumstances, increasing attention to one task can enhance performance in a second task (e.g., the attentional boost effect). Here we review these findings and suggest a new theoretical framework, the dual-task interaction model, that integrates these findings with current views of attentional selection. To reconcile the attentional boost effect with the effects of attentional load, we suggest that temporal selection results in a temporally specific enhancement across modalities, tasks, and spatial locations. Moreover, the effects of temporal selection may be best observed when the attentional system is optimally tuned to the temporal dynamics of incoming stimuli. Several avenues of research motivated by the dual-task interaction model are then discussed.

Attentional Load and Attentional Boost: A Review of Data and Theory

PubMed Central

Swallow, Khena M.; Jiang, Yuhong V.

2013-01-01

Both perceptual and cognitive processes are limited in capacity. As a result, attention is selective, prioritizing items and tasks that are important for adaptive behavior. However, a number of recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies suggest that, at least under some circumstances, increasing attention to one task can enhance performance in a second task (e.g., the attentional boost effect). Here we review these findings and suggest a new theoretical framework, the dual-task interaction model, that integrates these findings with current views of attentional selection. To reconcile the attentional boost effect with the effects of attentional load, we suggest that temporal selection results in a temporally specific enhancement across modalities, tasks, and spatial locations. Moreover, the effects of temporal selection may be best observed when the attentional system is optimally tuned to the temporal dynamics of incoming stimuli. Several avenues of research motivated by the dual-task interaction model are then discussed. PMID:23730294

Increasing the on-Task Homework Behavior of Youth with Behavior Disorders Using Functional Behavioral Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Renee O.; Axelrod, Michael I.

2008-01-01

Research has shown a positive correlation between time spent on homework and learning. However, students often engage in off-task behaviors to escape the demands of homework. Youth with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) are especially likely to engage in off-task behaviors. Effective interventions to increase on-task behavior during homework…

Breaking Down the Coercive Cycle: How Parent and Child Risk Factors Influence Real-Time Variability in Parental Responses to Child Misbehavior

PubMed Central

Lunkenheimer, Erika; Lichtwarck-Aschoff, Anna; Hollenstein, Tom; Kemp, Christine J.; Granic, Isabela

2016-01-01

Objective Parent-child coercive cycles have been associated with both rigidity and inconsistency in parenting behavior. To explain these mixed findings, we examined real-time variability in maternal responses to children's off-task behavior to determine whether this common trigger of the coercive cycle (responding to child misbehavior) is associated with rigidity or inconsistency in parenting. We also examined the effects of risk factors for coercion (maternal hostility, maternal depressive symptoms, child externalizing problems, and dyadic negativity) on patterns of parenting. Design Mother-child dyads (N = 96; M child age = 41 months) completed a difficult puzzle task, and observations were coded continuously for parent (e.g., directive, teaching) and child behavior (e.g., on-task, off-task). Results Multilevel continuous-time survival analyses revealed that parenting behavior is less variable when children are off-task. However, when risk factors are higher, a different profile emerges. Combined maternal and child risk is associated with markedly lower variability in parenting behavior overall (i.e., rigidity) paired with shifts towards higher variability specifically when children are off-task (i.e., inconsistency). Dyadic negativity (i.e., episodes when children are off-task and parents engage in negative behavior) are also associated with higher parenting variability. Conclusions Risk factors confer rigidity in parenting overall, but in moments when higher-risk parents must respond to child misbehavior, their parenting becomes more variable, suggesting inconsistency and ineffectiveness. This context-dependent shift in parenting behavior may help explain prior mixed findings and offer new directions for family interventions designed to reduce coercive processes. PMID:28190978

Emulating Real-Life Situations with a Play Task to Observe Parenting Skills and Child Behaviors

PubMed Central

Rusby, Julie C.; Metzler, Carol W.; Sanders, Matthew R.; Crowley, Ryann

2015-01-01

Play tasks that use standardized procedures and materials are a practical way to assess parenting skills, child behaviors, and the ways in which parents and children interact. We describe a systematic process for developing the Parent–Child Play Task (PCPT) to assess mother–child interactions for a randomized controlled trial on a video-based parenting program. Participants are 307 mothers and their 3-through 6-year-old children who present oppositional and disruptive behavior challenges. The validity of the PCPT was investigated by testing (a) the extent to which the tasks elicit the specific parent and child behaviors of interest, (b) the consistency of individuals’ behavior across the play tasks, and (c) the concurrent associations of the PCPT observed child behaviors and mother reports of child behavior. The different tasks elicited the mother and child behaviors that they were designed to elicit. Behavior consistency across tasks for individual mothers and children was fair to good, with the exception of two task-specific behaviors. Mothers’ guidance (provision of instructions to foster a skill) during the teaching task and children’s interruptions while mother was busy during the questionnaire task were highly task specific. Modest associations were found between observed children’s noncompliance and inappropriate behaviors, and mother-reported conduct problems and oppositional behaviors. Implications for clinical and research assessments are discussed. PMID:25689090

Investigation of possible causes for human-performance degradation during microgravity flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schroeder, James E.; Tuttle, Megan L.

1992-01-01

The results of the first year of a three year study of the effects of microgravity on human performance are given. Test results show support for the hypothesis that the effects of microgravity can be studied indirectly on Earth by measuring performance in an altered gravitational field. The hypothesis was that an altered gravitational field could disrupt performance on previously automated behaviors if gravity was a critical part of the stimulus complex controlling those behaviors. In addition, it was proposed that performance on secondary cognitive tasks would also degrade, especially if the subject was provided feedback about degradation on the previously automated task. In the initial experimental test of these hypotheses, there was little statistical support. However, when subjects were categorized as high or low in automated behavior, results for the former group supported the hypotheses. The predicted interaction between body orientation and level of workload in their joint effect on performance in the secondary cognitive task was significant for the group high in automatized behavior and receiving feedback, but no such interventions were found for the group high in automatized behavior but not receiving feedback, or the group low in automatized behavior.

Effects of task and image properties on visual-attention deployment in image-quality assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alers, Hani; Redi, Judith; Liu, Hantao; Heynderickx, Ingrid

2015-03-01

It is important to understand how humans view images and how their behavior is affected by changes in the properties of the viewed images and the task they are given, particularly the task of scoring the image quality (IQ). This is a complex behavior that holds great importance for the field of image-quality research. This work builds upon 4 years of research work spanning three databases studying image-viewing behavior. Using eye-tracking equipment, it was possible to collect information on human viewing behavior of different kinds of stimuli and under different experimental settings. This work performs a cross-analysis on the results from all these databases using state-of-the-art similarity measures. The results strongly show that asking the viewers to score the IQ significantly changes their viewing behavior. Also muting the color saturation seems to affect the saliency of the images. However, a change in IQ was not consistently found to modify visual attention deployment, neither under free looking nor during scoring. These results are helpful in gaining a better understanding of image viewing behavior under different conditions. They also have important implications on work that collects subjective image-quality scores from human observers.

The Association between Parenting Behavior and Executive Functioning in Children and Young Adolescents

PubMed Central

Sosic-Vasic, Zrinka; Kröner, Julia; Schneider, Sibylle; Vasic, Nenad; Spitzer, Manfred; Streb, Judith

2017-01-01

Executive functioning (EF) is associated with various aspects of school achievement and cognitive development in children and adolescents. There has been substantial research investigating associations between EF and other factors in young children, such as support processes and parenting, but less research has been conducted about external factors relating to EF in older children and adolescents. Therefore, the present study investigates one possible factor that could correlate with EF in school-age children and adolescents: parenting behavior. The cross-sectional study design gathered data from 169 children in primary schools, middle-schools, and Gymnasien, and their corresponding parents. All children underwent a standardized task to measure EF, the computer-based Erikson Flanker task, which evaluates EF as a function of error rates and response time. A self-report questionnaire was used to assess parenting behavior. Multilevel analysis was implemented to test the effects of parenting behavior on EF in school-age children. The results show significant associations between various parenting behaviors and children's EF: High scores on parental involvement or parental responsibility are associated with low error rates on the Erikson Flanker task, whereas high parental scores on inconsistent discipline are associated with high error rates. These correlations between parenting behavior and EF remained significant despite controlling for child age, maternal education, family income, and baseline performance (i.e., congruent trials on the Erikson Flanker task). No associations were found between parental behavior and reaction time on the Erikson Flanker task. These results indicate the important association between parenting behaviors and EF skills in school-age children, and foster the necessity to inform parents about ways in which they can optimally support their children's cognitive development. PMID:28424644

Gaze Behavior in a Natural Environment with a Task-Relevant Distractor: How the Presence of a Goalkeeper Distracts the Penalty Taker

PubMed Central

Kurz, Johannes; Hegele, Mathias; Munzert, Jörn

2018-01-01

Gaze behavior in natural scenes has been shown to be influenced not only by top–down factors such as task demands and action goals but also by bottom–up factors such as stimulus salience and scene context. Whereas gaze behavior in the context of static pictures emphasizes spatial accuracy, gazing in natural scenes seems to rely more on where to direct the gaze involving both anticipative components and an evaluation of ongoing actions. Not much is known about gaze behavior in far-aiming tasks in which multiple task-relevant targets and distractors compete for the allocation of visual attention via gaze. In the present study, we examined gaze behavior in the far-aiming task of taking a soccer penalty. This task contains a proximal target, the ball; a distal target, an empty location within the goal; and a salient distractor, the goalkeeper. Our aim was to investigate where participants direct their gaze in a natural environment with multiple potential fixation targets that differ in task relevance and salience. Results showed that the early phase of the run-up seems to be driven by both the salience of the stimulus setting and the need to perform a spatial calibration of the environment. The late run-up, in contrast, seems to be controlled by attentional demands of the task with penalty takers having habitualized a visual routine that is not disrupted by external influences (e.g., the goalkeeper). In addition, when trying to shoot a ball as accurately as possible, penalty takers directed their gaze toward the ball in order to achieve optimal foot-ball contact. These results indicate that whether gaze is driven by salience of the stimulus setting or by attentional demands depends on the phase of the actual task. PMID:29434560

Teaching Task Sequencing via Verbal Mediation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rusch, Frank R.; And Others

1987-01-01

Verbal sequence training was used to teach a moderately mentally retarded woman to sequence job-related tasks. Learning to say the tasks in the proper sequence resulted in the employee performing her tasks in that sequence, and the employee was capable of mediating her own work behavior when scheduled changes occurred. (Author/JDD)

Marijuana Primes, Marijuana Expectancies, and Arithmetic Efficiency*

PubMed Central

Hicks, Joshua A.; Pedersen, Sarah L.; McCarthy, Denis M.; Friedman, Ronald S.

2009-01-01

Objective: Previous research has shown that primes associated with alcohol influence behavior consistent with specific alcohol expectancies. The present study examined whether exposure to marijuana-related primes and marijuana expectancies interact to produce similar effects. Specifically, the present study examined whether marijuana primes and marijuana expectancies regarding cognitive and behavioral impairment interact to influence performance on an arithmetic task. Method: Two independent samples (N = 260) of undergraduate students (both marijuana users and nonusers) first completed measures of marijuana-outcome expectancies associated with cognitive and behavioral impairment and with general negative effects (Sample 2). Later in the semester, participants were exposed to marijuana-related (or neutral) primes and then completed an arithmetic task. Results: Results from Sample 1 indicated that participants who were exposed to marijuana-themed magazine covers performed more poorly on the arithmetic task if they expected that marijuana would lead to cognitive and behavioral impairment. Results from Sample 2 indicated that, for marijuana users, cognitive and behavioral impairment expectancies, but not expectancies regarding general negative effects, similarly moderated arithmetic performance for participants exposed to marijuana-related words. Conclusions: Results support the hypothesis that the implicit activation of specific marijuana-outcome expectancies can influence cognitive processes. Implications for research on marijuana are discussed. PMID:19371490

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.

Pro Free Will Priming Enhances “Risk-Taking” Behavior in the Iowa Gambling Task, but Not in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task: Two Independent Priming Studies

PubMed Central

Schrag, Yann; Tremea, Alessandro; Lagger, Cyril; Ohana, Noé; Mohr, Christine

2016-01-01

Studies indicated that people behave less responsibly after exposure to information containing deterministic statements as compared to free will statements or neutral statements. Thus, deterministic primes should lead to enhanced risk-taking behavior. We tested this prediction in two studies with healthy participants. In experiment 1, we tested 144 students (24 men) in the laboratory using the Iowa Gambling Task. In experiment 2, we tested 274 participants (104 men) online using the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. In the Iowa Gambling Task, the free will priming condition resulted in more risky decisions than both the deterministic and neutral priming conditions. We observed no priming effects on risk-taking behavior in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. To explain these unpredicted findings, we consider the somatic marker hypothesis, a gain frequency approach as well as attention to gains and / or inattention to losses. In addition, we highlight the necessity to consider both pro free will and deterministic priming conditions in future studies. Importantly, our and previous results indicate that the effects of pro free will and deterministic priming do not oppose each other on a frequently assumed continuum. PMID:27018854

Pro Free Will Priming Enhances "Risk-Taking" Behavior in the Iowa Gambling Task, but Not in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task: Two Independent Priming Studies.

PubMed

Schrag, Yann; Tremea, Alessandro; Lagger, Cyril; Ohana, Noé; Mohr, Christine

2016-01-01

Studies indicated that people behave less responsibly after exposure to information containing deterministic statements as compared to free will statements or neutral statements. Thus, deterministic primes should lead to enhanced risk-taking behavior. We tested this prediction in two studies with healthy participants. In experiment 1, we tested 144 students (24 men) in the laboratory using the Iowa Gambling Task. In experiment 2, we tested 274 participants (104 men) online using the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. In the Iowa Gambling Task, the free will priming condition resulted in more risky decisions than both the deterministic and neutral priming conditions. We observed no priming effects on risk-taking behavior in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. To explain these unpredicted findings, we consider the somatic marker hypothesis, a gain frequency approach as well as attention to gains and / or inattention to losses. In addition, we highlight the necessity to consider both pro free will and deterministic priming conditions in future studies. Importantly, our and previous results indicate that the effects of pro free will and deterministic priming do not oppose each other on a frequently assumed continuum.

Observed self-regulation is associated with weight in low-income toddlers.

PubMed

Miller, Alison L; Rosenblum, Katherine L; Retzloff, Lauren B; Lumeng, Julie C

2016-10-01

Obesity emerges in early childhood and tracks across development. Self-regulation develops rapidly during the toddler years, yet few studies have examined toddlers' self-regulation in relation to concurrent child weight. Further, few studies compare child responses in food and non-food-related tasks. Our goal was to examine toddlers' observed behavioral and emotional self-regulation in food and non-food tasks in relation to their body mass index z-score (BMIz) and weight status (overweight/obese vs. not). Observational measures were used to assess self-regulation (SR) in four standardized tasks in 133 low-income children (M age = 33.1 months; SD = 0.6). Behavioral SR was measured by assessing how well the child could delay gratification for a snack (food-related task) and a gift (non-food-related task). Emotional SR was measured by assessing child intensity of negative affect in two tasks designed to elicit frustration: being shown, then denied a cookie (food-related) or a toy (non-food-related). Task order was counterbalanced. BMIz was measured. Bivariate correlations and regression analyses adjusting for child sex, child race/ethnicity, and maternal education were conducted to examine associations of SR with weight. Results were that better behavioral SR in the snack delay task associated with lower BMIz (β = -0.27, p < 0.05) and lower odds of overweight/obesity (OR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.45, 0.96), but behavioral SR in the gift task did not associate with BMIz or weight status. Better emotional SR in the non-food task associated with lower BMIz (β = -0.27, p < 0.05), and better emotional SR in food and non-food tasks associated with lower odds of overweight/obesity (OR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.45, 0.96 and OR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.37, 0.87, respectively). Results are discussed regarding how behavioral SR for food and overall emotional SR relate to weight during toddlerhood, and regarding early childhood obesity prevention implications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A novel method linking neural connectivity to behavioral fluctuations: Behavior-regressed connectivity.

PubMed

Passaro, Antony D; Vettel, Jean M; McDaniel, Jonathan; Lawhern, Vernon; Franaszczuk, Piotr J; Gordon, Stephen M

2017-03-01

During an experimental session, behavioral performance fluctuates, yet most neuroimaging analyses of functional connectivity derive a single connectivity pattern. These conventional connectivity approaches assume that since the underlying behavior of the task remains constant, the connectivity pattern is also constant. We introduce a novel method, behavior-regressed connectivity (BRC), to directly examine behavioral fluctuations within an experimental session and capture their relationship to changes in functional connectivity. This method employs the weighted phase lag index (WPLI) applied to a window of trials with a weighting function. Using two datasets, the BRC results are compared to conventional connectivity results during two time windows: the one second before stimulus onset to identify predictive relationships, and the one second after onset to capture task-dependent relationships. In both tasks, we replicate the expected results for the conventional connectivity analysis, and extend our understanding of the brain-behavior relationship using the BRC analysis, demonstrating subject-specific BRC maps that correspond to both positive and negative relationships with behavior. Comparison with Existing Method(s): Conventional connectivity analyses assume a consistent relationship between behaviors and functional connectivity, but the BRC method examines performance variability within an experimental session to understand dynamic connectivity and transient behavior. The BRC approach examines connectivity as it covaries with behavior to complement the knowledge of underlying neural activity derived from conventional connectivity analyses. Within this framework, BRC may be implemented for the purpose of understanding performance variability both within and between participants. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Deficits in novelty exploration after controlled cortical impact.

PubMed

Wagner, Amy K; Postal, Brett A; Darrah, Shaun D; Chen, Xiangbai; Khan, Amina S

2007-08-01

Experimental models of traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been utilized to characterize the behavioral derangements associated with brain trauma. Several studies exist characterizing motor function in the controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury model of TBI, but less research has focused on how CCI affects exploratory behavior. The goal of this study was to characterize deficits in three novelty exploration tasks after the CCI. Under anesthesia, 37 adult male Sprague Dawley rats received CCI (2.7 mm and 2.9 mm; 4 m/sec) over the right parietal cortex or sham surgery. For days 1-6 post-surgery, the beam balance and beam walking tasks were used to assess motor deficits. The Open Field, Y-Maze, and Free Choice Novelty (FCN) tasks were used to measure exploratory deficits from days 7-14 post-surgery. Injured rats displayed a significant, but transient, deficit on each motor task (p < 0.0001). Open Field results showed that injured rats had lower activity levels than shams (p < 0.0001), displayed less habituation to the task, and had more anxiety related behaviors (thigmotaxis) across days (p < 0.0001). Y-maze results suggest that injured rats spent less time in the novel arm versus the familiar arms when compared to shams (p < 0.0001). For FCN, injured rats were less active (p < 0.05) and spent less time and had fewer interactions with objects in the novel environment compared to shams (p < 0.05). These results suggest that several ethological factors contribute to exploratory deficits after CCI and can be effectively characterized with the behavioral tasks described. Future work will utilize these tasks to evaluate the neural substrates underlying exploratory deficits after TBI.

Smoking and the bandit: a preliminary study of smoker and nonsmoker differences in exploratory behavior measured with a multiarmed bandit task.

PubMed

Addicott, Merideth A; Pearson, John M; Wilson, Jessica; Platt, Michael L; McClernon, F Joseph

2013-02-01

Advantageous decision-making is an adaptive trade-off between exploring alternatives and exploiting the most rewarding option. This trade-off may be related to maladaptive decision-making associated with nicotine dependence; however, explore/exploit behavior has not been previously investigated in the context of addiction. The explore/exploit trade-off is captured by the multiarmed bandit task, in which different arms of a slot machine are chosen to discover the relative payoffs. The goal of this study was to preliminarily investigate whether smokers differ from nonsmokers in their degree of exploratory behavior. Smokers (n = 18) and nonsmokers (n = 17) completed a 6-armed bandit task as well as self-report measures of behavior and personality traits. Smokers were found to exhibit less exploratory behavior (i.e., made fewer switches between slot machine arms) than nonsmokers within the first 300 trials of the bandit task. The overall proportion of exploratory choices negatively correlated with self-reported measures of delay aversion and nonplanning impulsivity. These preliminary results suggest that smokers make fewer initial exploratory choices on the bandit task. The bandit task is a promising measure that could provide valuable insights into how nicotine use and dependence is associated with explore/exploit decision-making. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Smoking and the bandit: A preliminary study of smoker and non-smoker differences in exploratory behavior measured with a multi-armed bandit task

PubMed Central

Addicott, Merideth A.; Pearson, John M.; Wilson, Jessica; Platt, Michael L.; McClernon, F. Joseph

2014-01-01

Advantageous decision-making is an adaptive trade-off between exploring alternatives and exploiting the most rewarding option. This trade-off may be related to maladaptive decision-making associated with nicotine dependence; however, explore/exploit behavior has not been previously investigated in the context of addiction. The explore/exploit trade-off is captured by the multi-armed bandit task, in which different arms of a slot machine are chosen to discover the relative payoffs. The goal of this study was to preliminarily investigate whether smokers differ from non-smokers in their degree of exploratory behavior. Smokers (n = 18) and non-smokers (n = 17) completed a six-armed bandit task as well as self-report measures of behavior and personality traits. Smokers were found to exhibit less exploratory behavior (i.e. made fewer switches between slot machine arms) than non-smokers within the first 300 trials of the bandit task. The overall proportion of exploratory choices negatively correlated with self-reported measures of delay aversion and nonplanning impulsivity. These preliminary results suggest that smokers make fewer initial exploratory choices on the bandit task. The bandit task is a promising measure that could provide valuable insights into how nicotine use and dependence is associated with explore/exploit decision-making. PMID:23245198

Model of rhythmic ball bouncing using a visually controlled neural oscillator.

PubMed

Avrin, Guillaume; Siegler, Isabelle A; Makarov, Maria; Rodriguez-Ayerbe, Pedro

2017-10-01

The present paper investigates the sensory-driven modulations of central pattern generator dynamics that can be expected to reproduce human behavior during rhythmic hybrid tasks. We propose a theoretical model of human sensorimotor behavior able to account for the observed data from the ball-bouncing task. The novel control architecture is composed of a Matsuoka neural oscillator coupled with the environment through visual sensory feedback. The architecture's ability to reproduce human-like performance during the ball-bouncing task in the presence of perturbations is quantified by comparison of simulated and recorded trials. The results suggest that human visual control of the task is achieved online. The adaptive behavior is made possible by a parametric and state control of the limit cycle emerging from the interaction of the rhythmic pattern generator, the musculoskeletal system, and the environment. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The study demonstrates that a behavioral model based on a neural oscillator controlled by visual information is able to accurately reproduce human modulations in a motor action with respect to sensory information during the rhythmic ball-bouncing task. The model attractor dynamics emerging from the interaction between the neuromusculoskeletal system and the environment met task requirements, environmental constraints, and human behavioral choices without relying on movement planning and explicit internal models of the environment. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Human Guidance Behavior Decomposition and Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feit, Andrew James

Trained humans are capable of high performance, adaptable, and robust first-person dynamic motion guidance behavior. This behavior is exhibited in a wide variety of activities such as driving, piloting aircraft, skiing, biking, and many others. Human performance in such activities far exceeds the current capability of autonomous systems in terms of adaptability to new tasks, real-time motion planning, robustness, and trading safety for performance. The present work investigates the structure of human dynamic motion guidance that enables these performance qualities. This work uses a first-person experimental framework that presents a driving task to the subject, measuring control inputs, vehicle motion, and operator visual gaze movement. The resulting data is decomposed into subspace segment clusters that form primitive elements of action-perception interactive behavior. Subspace clusters are defined by both agent-environment system dynamic constraints and operator control strategies. A key contribution of this work is to define transitions between subspace cluster segments, or subgoals, as points where the set of active constraints, either system or operator defined, changes. This definition provides necessary conditions to determine transition points for a given task-environment scenario that allow a solution trajectory to be planned from known behavior elements. In addition, human gaze behavior during this task contains predictive behavior elements, indicating that the identified control modes are internally modeled. Based on these ideas, a generative, autonomous guidance framework is introduced that efficiently generates optimal dynamic motion behavior in new tasks. The new subgoal planning algorithm is shown to generate solutions to certain tasks more quickly than existing approaches currently used in robotics.

Vocal Control: Is It Susceptible to the Negative Effects of Self-Regulatory Depletion?

PubMed

Vinney, Lisa A; van Mersbergen, Miriam; Connor, Nadine P; Turkstra, Lyn S

2016-09-01

Self-regulation (SR) relies on the capacity to modify behavior. This capacity may diminish with use and result in self-regulatory depletion (SRD), or the reduced ability to engage in future SR efforts. If the SRD effect applies to vocal behavior, it may hinder success during behavioral voice treatment. Thus, this proof-of-concept study sought to determine whether SRD affects vocal behavior change and if so, whether it can be repaired by an intervention meant to replete SR resources. One hundred four women without voice disorders were randomized into groups that performed either (1) a high-SR writing task followed by a high-SR voice task; (2) a low-SR writing task followed by a high-SR voice task; or (3) a high-SR writing task followed by a relaxation intervention and a high-SR voice task. The high-SR voice tasks in all groups involved suppression of the Lombard effect during reading and free speech. The low-SR group suppressed the Lombard effect to a greater extent than the high-SR group and high-SR-plus-relaxation group on the free speech task. There were no significant group differences on the reading task. Findings suggest that SRD may present challenges to vocal behavior modification during free speech but not reading. Furthermore, relaxation did not significantly replete self-regulatory resources for vocal modification during free speech. Findings may highlight potential considerations for voice treatment and assessment and support the need for future research focusing on effective methods to test self-regulatory capacity and replete self-regulatory resources in voice patients. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Behavioral and TMS Markers of Action Observation Might Reflect Distinct Neuronal Processes.

PubMed

Hétu, Sébastien; Taschereau-Dumouchel, Vincent; Meziane, Hadj Boumediene; Jackson, Philip L; Mercier, Catherine

2016-01-01

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have shown that observing an action induces muscle-specific changes in corticospinal excitability. From a signal detection theory standpoint, this pattern can be related to sensitivity, which here would measure the capacity to distinguish between two action observation conditions. In parallel to these TMS studies, action observation has also been linked to behavioral effects such as motor priming and interference. It has been hypothesized that behavioral markers of action observation could be related to TMS markers and thus represent a potentially cost-effective mean of assessing the functioning of the action-perception system. However, very few studies have looked at possible relationships between these two measures. The aim of this study was to investigate if individual differences in sensitivity to action observation could be related to the behavioral motor priming and interference effects produced by action observation. To this end, 14 healthy participants observed index and little finger movements during a TMS task and a stimulus-response compatibility task. Index muscle displayed sensitivity to action observation, and action observation resulted in significant motor priming+interference, while no significant effect was observed for the little finger in both task. Nevertheless, our results indicate that the sensitivity measured in TMS was not related to the behavioral changes measured in the stimulus-response compatibility task. Contrary to a widespread assumption, the current results indicate that individual differences in physiological and behavioral markers of action observation may be unrelated. This could have important impacts on the potential use of behavioral markers in place of more costly physiological markers of action observation in clinical settings.

Performance of Young Adult Cannabis Users on Neurocognitive Measures of Impulsive Behavior and their Relationship to Symptoms of Cannabis Use Disorders

PubMed Central

Gonzalez, Raul; Schuster, Randi Melissa; Mermelstein, Robin J.; Vassileva, Jasmin; Martin, Eileen M.; Diviak, Kathleen R.

2012-01-01

Recent studies suggest that abstinent cannabis users show deficits on neurocognitive laboratory tasks of impulsive behavior. But results are mixed and less is known on the performance of non-treatment seeking, young adult cannabis users. Importantly, relationships between performance on measures of impulsive behavior and symptoms of cannabis addiction remain relatively unexplored. We compared young adult current cannabis users (CU, n = 65) and non-using controls (NU, n = 65) on several laboratory measures of impulsive behavior, as well as on a measure of episodic memory commonly impacted by cannabis use. The CU group performed more poorly than the NU group on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised Total Immediate Recall and Delayed Recall. No significant differences were observed on the measures of impulsive behavior (i.e., Iowa Gambling Task [IGT], Go-Stop Task, Monetary Choice Questionnaire, Balloon Analogue Risk Task). We examined relationships between neurocognitive performance and symptoms of cannabis use disorder symptoms (DSM-IV CUD) among the CU group, which revealed that poorer IGT performance was associated with more symptoms of DSM-IV CUD. Our results show poorer memory performance among young adult cannabis users relative to healthy controls, but no differences on measures of impulsive behavior. However, performance on a specific type of impulsive behavior (i.e., poorer decision-making) was associated with more cannabis use disorder symptoms. These results provide preliminary evidence to suggest that decision-making deficits may be more strongly associated with problems experienced from cannabis use, rather than solely being a consequence of cannabis use, per se. PMID:22882144

Guidelines for cognitive behavioral training within doctoral psychology programs in the United States: report of the Inter-organizational Task Force on Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology Doctoral Education.

PubMed

Klepac, Robert K; Ronan, George F; Andrasik, Frank; Arnold, Kevin D; Belar, Cynthia D; Berry, Sharon L; Christofff, Karen A; Craighead, Linda W; Dougher, Michael J; Dowd, E Thomas; Herbert, James D; McFarr, Lynn M; Rizvi, Shireen L; Sauer, Eric M; Strauman, Timothy J

2012-12-01

The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies initiated an interorganizational task force to develop guidelines for integrated education and training in cognitive and behavioral psychology at the doctoral level in the United States. Fifteen task force members representing 16 professional associations participated in a year-long series of conferences, and developed a consensus on optimal doctoral education and training in cognitive and behavioral psychology. The recommendations assume solid foundational training that is typical within applied psychology areas such as clinical and counseling psychology programs located in the United States. This article details the background, assumptions, and resulting recommendations specific to doctoral education and training in cognitive and behavioral psychology, including competencies expected in the areas of ethics, research, and practice. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Motivational climate, staff and members' behaviors, and members' psychological well-being at a national fitness franchise.

PubMed

Brown, Theresa C; Fry, Mary D

2014-06-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between members' perceptions of staffs behaviors, motivational climate, their own behaviors, commitment to future exercise, and life satisfaction in a group-fitness setting. The theory-driven hypothesized mediating role of perceptions of the climate was also tested. Members (N = 5,541) of a national group-fitness studio franchise completed a survey regarding their class experiences. The survey included questions that measured participants' perceptions of the motivational climate (caring, task-involving, ego-involving), perceptions of staff's behaviors, their own behaviors, commitment to exercise, and life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used to assess both the association between variables and the theoretically driven predictive relationships. The participants perceived the environment as highly caring and task-involving and low ego-involving. They reported high exercise commitment and moderately high life satisfaction and perceived that the staffs and their own behaviors reflected caring, task-involving characteristics. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that those who perceived a higher caring, task-involving climate and lower ego-involving climate were more likely to report more task-involving, caring behaviors among the staff and themselves as well as greater commitment to exercise. In addition, a theory-driven mediational model suggested that staff behaviors may be an antecedent to members' exercise experiences by impacting their perceptions of the climate. The results of this study give direction to specific behaviors in which staff of group-fitness programs might engage to positively influence members' exercise experiences.

The influence of time management skill on the curvilinear relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and task performance.

PubMed

Rapp, Adam A; Bachrach, Daniel G; Rapp, Tammy L

2013-07-01

In this research we integrate resource allocation and social exchange perspectives to build and test theory focusing on the moderating role of time management skill in the nonmonotonic relationship between organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and task performance. Results from matching survey data collected from 212 employees and 41 supervisors and from task performance metrics collected several months later indicate that the curvilinear association between OCB and task performance is significantly moderated by employees' time management skill. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Comparison of Alcohol Impairment of Behavioral and Attentional Inhibition

PubMed Central

Weafer, Jessica; Fillmore, Mark T.

2012-01-01

Background Despite the wealth of studies demonstrating the impairing effects of alcohol on behavioral inhibition, less is known regarding effects of the drug on attentional inhibition (i.e., the ability to ignore distracting stimuli in the environment in order to focus attention on relevant information). The current study examined alcohol impairment of both behavioral and attentional inhibition, as well as potential associations between the two mechanisms of inhibitory control. Methods Men (n = 27) and women (n = 21) performed a measure of behavioral inhibition (cued go/no-go task) and a measure of attentional inhibition (delayed ocular return task) following three doses of alcohol: 0.65 g/kg, 0.45 g/kg, and 0.0 g/kg (placebo). Results Alcohol impaired both behavioral and attentional inhibition relative to placebo; however, correlational analyses revealed no associations between measures of behavioral and attentional inhibition following any dose. Additionally, men committed more inhibitory failures on the behavioral inhibition task, whereas women committed more inhibitory failures on the attentional inhibition task. Conclusions These findings suggest that behavioral and attentional inhibition are equally sensitive to the impairing effects of alcohol, yet represent distinct components of inhibitory control. Additionally, the observed gender differences in control of behavior and attention could have important implications regarding negative consequences associated with alcohol-induced disinhibition in men and women. PMID:22673197

Behavioral Measures of Auditory Streaming in Ferrets (Mustela putorius)

PubMed Central

Ma, Ling; Yin, Pingbo; Micheyl, Christophe; Oxenham, Andrew J.; Shamma, Shihab A.

2015-01-01

An important aspect of the analysis of auditory “scenes” relates to the perceptual organization of sound sequences into auditory “streams.” In this study, we adapted two auditory perception tasks, used in recent human psychophysical studies, to obtain behavioral measures of auditory streaming in ferrets (Mustela putorius). One task involved the detection of shifts in the frequency of tones within an alternating tone sequence. The other task involved the detection of a stream of regularly repeating target tones embedded within a randomly varying multitone background. In both tasks, performance was measured as a function of various stimulus parameters, which previous psychophysical studies in humans have shown to influence auditory streaming. Ferret performance in the two tasks was found to vary as a function of these parameters in a way that is qualitatively consistent with the human data. These results suggest that auditory streaming occurs in ferrets, and that the two tasks described here may provide a valuable tool in future behavioral and neurophysiological studies of the phenomenon. PMID:20695663

Human Orbitofrontal Cortex Represents a Cognitive Map of State Space.

PubMed

Schuck, Nicolas W; Cai, Ming Bo; Wilson, Robert C; Niv, Yael

2016-09-21

Although the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has been studied intensely for decades, its precise functions have remained elusive. We recently hypothesized that the OFC contains a "cognitive map" of task space in which the current state of the task is represented, and this representation is especially critical for behavior when states are unobservable from sensory input. To test this idea, we apply pattern-classification techniques to neuroimaging data from humans performing a decision-making task with 16 states. We show that unobservable task states can be decoded from activity in OFC, and decoding accuracy is related to task performance and the occurrence of individual behavioral errors. Moreover, similarity between the neural representations of consecutive states correlates with behavioral accuracy in corresponding state transitions. These results support the idea that OFC represents a cognitive map of task space and establish the feasibility of decoding state representations in humans using non-invasive neuroimaging. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Deletion of Fmr1 results in sex-specific changes in behavior.

PubMed

Nolan, Suzanne O; Reynolds, Conner D; Smith, Gregory D; Holley, Andrew J; Escobar, Brianna; Chandler, Matthew A; Volquardsen, Megan; Jefferson, Taylor; Pandian, Ashvini; Smith, Tileena; Huebschman, Jessica; Lugo, Joaquin N

2017-10-01

In this study, we used a systemic Fmr1 knockout in order to investigate both genotype- and sex-specific differences across multiple measures of sociability, repetitive behaviors, activity levels, anxiety, and fear-related learning and memory. Fragile X syndrome is the most common monogenic cause of intellectual disability and autism. Few studies to date have examined sex differences in a mouse model of Fragile X syndrome, though clinical data support the idea of differences in both overall prevalence and phenotype between the sexes. Using wild-type and systemic homozygous Fmr1 knockout mice, we assessed a variety of behavioral paradigms in adult animals, including the open field test, elevated plus maze, nose-poke assay, accelerating rotarod, social partition task, three-chambered social task, and two different fear conditioning paradigms. Tests were ordered such that the most invasive tests were performed last in the sequence, and testing paradigms for similar behaviors were performed in separate cohorts to minimize testing effects. Our results indicate several sex-specific changes in Fmr1 knockout mice, including male-specific increases in activity levels, and female-specific increases in repetitive behaviors on both the nose-poke assay and motor coordination on the accelerating rotarod task. The results also indicated that Fmr1 deletion results in deficits in fear learning and memory across both sexes, and no changes in social behavior across two tasks. These findings highlight the importance of including female subjects in preclinical studies, as simply studying the impact of genetic mutations in males does not yield a complete picture of the phenotype. Further research should explore these marked phenotypic differences among the sexes. Moreover, given that treatment strategies are typically equivalent between the sexes, the results highlight a potential need for sex-specific therapeutics.

Alterations in Error-Related Brain Activity and Post-Error Behavior over Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Themanson, Jason R.; Rosen, Peter J.; Pontifex, Matthew B.; Hillman, Charles H.; McAuley, Edward

2012-01-01

This study examines the relation between the error-related negativity (ERN) and post-error behavior over time in healthy young adults (N = 61). Event-related brain potentials were collected during two sessions of an identical flanker task. Results indicated changes in ERN and post-error accuracy were related across task sessions, with more…

Student Off-Task Behavior in Computer-Based Learning in the Philippines: Comparison to Prior Research in the USA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodrigo, Ma. Mercedes T.; Baker, Ryan S. J. D.; Rossi, Lisa

2013-01-01

Background: Off-task behavior can be defined as any behavior that does not involve the learning task or material, or where learning from the material is not the primary goal. One suggested path for understanding how to address off-task behavior is to study classrooms where off-task behavior is less common, particularly in Asia, in order to…

Self-generated strategic behavior in an ecological shopping task.

PubMed

Bottari, Carolina; Wai Shun, Priscilla Lam; Dorze, Guylaine Le; Gosselin, Nadia; Dawson, Deirdre

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVES. The use of cognitive strategies optimizes performance in complex everyday tasks such as shopping. This exploratory study examined the cognitive strategies people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) effectively use in an unstructured, real-world situation. METHOD. A behavioral analysis of the self-generated strategic behaviors of 5 people with severe TBI using videotaped sessions of an ecological shopping task (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Profile) was performed. RESULTS. All participants used some form of cognitive strategy in an unstructured real-world shopping task, although the number, type, and degree of effectiveness of the strategies in leading to goal attainment varied. The most independent person used the largest number and a broader repertoire of self-generated strategies. CONCLUSION. These results provide initial evidence that occupational therapists should examine the use of self-generated cognitive strategies in real-world contexts as a potential means of guiding therapy aimed at improving independence in everyday activities for people with TBI. Copyright © 2014 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Paralimbic system and striatum are involved in motivational behavior.

PubMed

Nishimura, Masahiko; Yoshii, Yoshihiko; Watanabe, Jobu; Ishiuchi, Shogo

2009-10-28

Goal-directed rewarded behavior and goal-directed non-rewarded behavior are concerned with motivation. However, the neural substrates involved in goal-directed non-rewarded behaviors are unknown. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the brain activities of healthy individuals during a novel tool use (turning a screwdriver) to elucidate the relationship between the brain mechanism relevant to goal-directed non-rewarded behavior and motivation. We found that our designed behavioral task evoked activities in the orbitofrontal cortex, striatum, anterior insula, lateral prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex compared with a meaningless task. These results suggest that activation in these cerebral regions play important roles in motivational behavior without tangible rewards.

Impaired performance on a rhesus monkey neuropsychological testing battery following simian immunodeficiency virus infection.

PubMed

Weed, Michael R; Gold, Lisa H; Polis, Ilham; Koob, George F; Fox, Howard S; Taffe, Michael A

2004-01-01

Infection with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in macaques provides an excellent model of AIDS including HIV-induced central nervous system (CNS) pathology and cognitive/behavioral impairment. Recently a behavioral test battery has been developed for macaques based on the CANTAB human neuropsychological testing battery. As with human neuropsychological batteries, different tasks are thought to involve different neural substrates, and therefore performance profiles may assess function in particular brain regions. Ten rhesus monkeys were infected with SIV after being trained on two or more of the battery tasks addressing memory (delayed nonmatching to sample, DNMS), spatial working memory (using a self-ordered spatial search task, SOSS), motivation (progressive-ratio, PR), reaction time (RT), and/or fine motor skills (bimanual motor skill, BMS). Performance was compared to that of 9 uninfected monkeys. Overall, some aspect of performance was impaired in all 10 monkeys following infection. Consistent with results in human AIDS patients, individual performance was impaired most often on battery tasks thought to be sensitive to frontostriatal dopaminergic functioning such as SOSS, RT, and BMS. These results further demonstrate the similarity of behavioral impairment produced by SIV and HIV on homologous behavioral tests, and establish the utility of the testing battery for further investigations into the CNS mechanisms of the reported behavioral changes.

Perseveration effects in detection tasks with correlated decision intervals. [applied to pilot collision avoidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gai, E. G.; Curry, R. E.

1978-01-01

An investigation of the behavior of the human decisionmaker is described for a task related to the problem of a pilot using a traffic situation display to avoid collisions. This sequential signal detection task is characterized by highly correlated signals with time varying strength. Experimental results are presented and the behavior of the observers is analyzed using the theory of Markov processes and classical signal detection theory. Mathematical models are developed which describe the main result of the experiment: that correlation in sequential signals induced perseveration in the observer response and a strong tendency to repeat their previous decision, even when they were wrong.

Age differences in risky choice: a meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Mata, Rui; Josef, Anika K.; Samanez-Larkin, Gregory R.; Hertwig, Ralph

2012-01-01

Does risk taking change as a function of age? We conducted a systematic literature search and found 29 comparisons between younger and older adults on behavioral tasks thought to measure risk taking (N =4,093). The reports relied on various tasks differing in several respects, such as the amount of learning required or the choice framing (gains vs. losses). The results suggest that age-related differences vary considerably as a function of task characteristics, in particular the learning requirements of the task. In decisions from experience, age-related differences in risk taking were a function of decreased learning performance: older adults were more risk seeking compared to younger adults when learning led to risk-avoidant behavior, but were more risk averse when learning led to risk-seeking behavior. In decisions from description, younger adults and older adults showed similar risk-taking behavior for the majority of the tasks, and there were no clear age-related differences as a function of gain/loss framing. We discuss limitations and strengths of past research and provide suggestions for future work on age-related differences in risk taking. PMID:22023565

A tale of two tasks: reversing the self-regulatory resource depletion effect.

PubMed

Converse, Patrick D; Deshon, Richard P

2009-09-01

This research examined the self-regulatory depletion model (e.g., M. Muraven & R. F. Baumeister, 2000). Although numerous studies support this model's prediction of decrements in self-regulation across tasks, the majority of this research has relied on a single paradigm in which two tasks are performed in succession. Other work related to learned industriousness (R. Eisenberger, 1992) and adaptation-level theory (H. Helson, 1964) indicates that self-regulatory behavior may remain stable or even improve as a result of prior self-regulatory activities in situations involving additional tasks. Three studies examined these differing perspectives with 2- and 3-task designs. Results indicated that, relative to low initial self-regulatory exertion, high exertion can lead to poorer or better subsequent self-regulation. These findings are consistent with an adaptation view of self-regulation, suggesting that the depletion effect may be only part of the picture of self-regulatory behavior over time.

Differences between racing and non-racing drivers: A simulator study using eye-tracking

PubMed Central

de Groot, Stefan; Happee, Riender; de Winter, Joost C. F.

2017-01-01

Motorsport has developed into a professional international competition. However, limited research is available on the perceptual and cognitive skills of racing drivers. By means of a racing simulator, we compared the driving performance of seven racing drivers with ten non-racing drivers. Participants were tasked to drive the fastest possible lap time. Additionally, both groups completed a choice reaction time task and a tracking task. Results from the simulator showed faster lap times, higher steering activity, and a more optimal racing line for the racing drivers than for the non-racing drivers. The non-racing drivers’ gaze behavior corresponded to the tangent point model, whereas racing drivers showed a more variable gaze behavior combined with larger head rotations while cornering. Results from the choice reaction time task and tracking task showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Our results are consistent with the current consensus in sports sciences in that task-specific differences exist between experts and novices while there are no major differences in general cognitive and motor abilities. PMID:29121090

Maternal behavior predicts infant neurophysiological and behavioral attention processes in the first year.

PubMed

Swingler, Margaret M; Perry, Nicole B; Calkins, Susan D; Bell, Martha Ann

2017-01-01

We apply a biopsychosocial conceptualization to attention development in the 1st year and examine the role of neurophysiological and social processes on the development of early attention processes. We tested whether maternal behavior measured during 2 mother-child interaction tasks when infants (N = 388) were 5 months predicted infant medial frontal (F3/F4) EEG power and observed attention behavior during an attention task at 10 months. After controlling for infant attention behavior and EEG power in the same task measured at an earlier 5-month time point, results indicated a significant direct and positive association from 5-month maternal positive affect to infant attention behavior at 10 months. However, maternal positive affect was not related to medial frontal EEG power. In contrast, 5-month maternal intrusive behavior was associated with infants' task-related EEG power change at the left frontal location, F3, at 10 months of age. The test of indirect effects from 5-month maternal intrusiveness to 10-month infant attention behavior via infants' EEG power change at F3 was significant. These findings suggest that the development of neural networks serving attention processes may be 1 mechanism through which early maternal behavior is related to infant attention development in the 1st year and that intrusive maternal behavior may have a particularly disruptive effect on this process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

A Preliminary Analysis of Self-Control with Aversive Events: the Effects of Task Magnitude and Delay on the Choices of Children with Autism

PubMed Central

Lerman, Dorothea C; Addison, Laura R; Kodak, Tiffany

2006-01-01

When faced with a choice between two aversive events, a person exhibits self-control by choosing a smaller, more immediate aversive event over a larger, delayed aversive event. Task demands are often aversive to children with autism and other developmental disabilities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate behavioral sensitivity to differences in the amount and delay of tasks as part of a preliminary study on self-control. Participants were 2 children with autism who engaged in problem behavior maintained by escape. Results indicated a lack of self-control with respect to choosing between two aversive tasks and suggested potential strategies for increasing self-control (i.e., choosing a small immediate task over a large delayed task). PMID:16813043

A preliminary analysis of self-control with aversive events: the effects of task magnitude and delay on the choices of children with autism.

PubMed

Lerman, Dorothea C; Addison, Laura R; Kodak, Tiffany

2006-01-01

When faced with a choice between two aversive events, a person exhibits self-control by choosing a smaller, more immediate aversive event over a larger, delayed aversive event. Task demands are often aversive to children with autism and other developmental disabilities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate behavioral sensitivity to differences in the amount and delay of tasks as part of a preliminary study on self-control. Participants were 2 children with autism who engaged in problem behavior maintained by escape. Results indicated a lack of self-control with respect to choosing between two aversive tasks and suggested potential strategies for increasing self-control (i.e., choosing a small immediate task over a large delayed task).

Positive and negative reinforcement underlying risk behavior in early adolescents.

PubMed

MacPherson, Laura; Reynolds, Elizabeth K; Daughters, Stacey B; Wang, Frances; Cassidy, Jude; Mayes, Linda C; Lejuez, C W

2010-09-01

The goal of the current study was to examine the combined influence of positive reinforcement processes using a behavioral task measuring risk taking propensity (RTP) and negative reinforcement processes using a behavioral task measuring deficits in distress tolerance (DT) on a range of risk taking behaviors among early adolescents. Participants included a community sample of 230 early adolescents (aged 9-13) who completed two behavioral tasks assessing reinforcement processes as well as reported on past year risk behavior involvement as assessed by items from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System at a baseline and a 1-year follow-up assessment. Data indicated that at the Wave 2 assessment, RTP was positively related to number of risk-taking behaviors in the past year but only for those with low DT, with this finding persisting after controlling for the significant influence of male gender and higher sensation seeking. Results of the present study highlight the importance of considering both positive and negative reinforcement processes in combination when investigating vulnerability factors for early risk behavior engagement in youth.

Toward Developing Laboratory-Based Parent-Adolescent Conflict Discussion Tasks that Consistently Elicit Adolescent Conflict-Related Stress Responses: Support from Physiology and Observed Behavior.

PubMed

Thomas, Sarah A; Wilson, Tristan; Jain, Anjali; Deros, Danielle E; Um, Miji; Hurwitz, Joanna; Jacobs, Irene; Myerberg, Lindsay; Ehrlich, Katherine B; Dunn, Emily J; Aldao, Amelia; Stadnik, Ryan; De Los Reyes, Andres

2017-12-01

Parent-adolescent conflict poses risk for youth maladjustment. One potential mechanism of this risk is that stress in the form of increased arousal during conflict interactions results in adolescents' impaired decision-making. However, eliciting consistent adolescent stress responses within laboratory-based tasks of parent-adolescent conflict (i.e., conflict discussion tasks) is hindered by task design. This limitation may stem from how conflict topics are assessed and selected for discussion. Within a sample of 47 adolescents (ages 14-17) and parents, we investigated whether a modified version of a conflict discussion task could elicit physiological (i.e., arousal) and behavioral (i.e., hostility) displays of adolescents' conflict-related stress responses. We assessed parent-adolescent conflict via structured interview to identify topics for dyads to discuss during the task. We randomly assigned dyads to complete a 5-minute task to discuss either a putatively benign topic (i.e., control condition) or a conflict topic while undergoing direct assessments of continuous arousal. Trained raters coded dyad members' hostile behavior during the task. Adolescents in the conflict condition exhibited significantly greater levels of arousal than adolescents in the control condition. We observed an interaction between discussion condition and baseline conflict. Specifically, higher baseline conflict predicted greater hostile behavior for adolescents in the conflict condition, yet we observed the inverse relation for adolescents in the control condition. Our modified laboratory discussion task successfully elicited both physiological and behavioral displays of adolescent conflict-related stress. These findings have important implications for leveraging experimental paradigms to understand causal links between parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent psychopathology, and their underlying mechanisms.

Motion as motivation: using repetitive flexion movements to stimulate the approach system.

PubMed

Haeffel, Gerald J

2011-12-01

Research suggests that having a healthy approach system is critical for adaptive emotional functioning. The goal of the current study (n=186 undergraduates) was to determine the efficacy of an easy-to-disseminate and cost-efficient strategy for stimulating this system. The experiment tested the effects of repeated flexion movements (rFM) on approach system activation as measured by both self-report (BAS scales) and behavior. The results showed that rFM increased approach system motivation in men but not women. Men who completed the rFM task reported significantly greater levels of fun-seeking motivation than men in the control task. Moreover, the rFM task led to changes in actual behavior. Men who completed the rFM task exhibited significantly greater persistence on a difficult laboratory task than men in the control task. In contrast, women who completed the rFM task reported significantly lower levels of fun seeking and tended to exhibit less persistence on a difficult laboratory task than women in the control task. These results provide support for embodied theories of emotion as well as additional evidence for a gender difference in approach-avoidance tendencies. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Age-related differences in the neural bases of phonological and semantic processes

PubMed Central

Diaz, Michele T.; Johnson, Micah A.; Burke, Deborah M.; Madden, David J.

2014-01-01

Changes in language functions during normal aging are greater for phonological compared to semantic processes. To investigate the behavioral and neural basis for these age-related differences, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine younger and older adults who made semantic and phonological decisions about pictures. The behavioral performance of older adults was less accurate and less efficient than younger adults’ in the phonological task, but did not differ in the semantic task. In the fMRI analyses, the semantic task activated left-hemisphere language regions, while the phonological task activated bilateral cingulate and ventral precuneus. Age-related effects were widespread throughout the brain, and most often expressed as greater activation for older adults. Activation was greater for younger compared to older adults in ventral brain regions involved in visual and object processing. Although there was not a significant Age x Condition interaction in the whole-brain fMRI results, correlations examining the relationship between behavior and fMRI activation were stronger for younger compared to older adults. Our results suggest that the relationship between behavior and neural activation declines with age and this may underlie some of the observed declines in performance. PMID:24893737

Effects of a weighted vest on attention to task and self-stimulatory behaviors in preschoolers with pervasive developmental disorders.

PubMed

Fertel-Daly, D; Bedell, G; Hinojosa, J

2001-01-01

This study examined the effectiveness of using a weighted vest for increasing attention to a fine motor task and decreasing self-stimulatory behaviors in preschool children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). Using an ABA single-subject design, the duration of attention to task and self-stimulatory behaviors and the number of distractions were measured in five preschool children with PDD over a period of 6 weeks. During the intervention phase, all participants displayed a decrease in the number of distractions and an increase in the duration of focused attention while wearing the weighted vest. All but 1 participant demonstrated a decrease in the duration of self-stimulatory behaviors while wearing a weighted vest; however, the type of self-stimulatory behaviors changed and became less self-abusive for this child while she wore the vest. During the intervention withdrawal phase, 3 participants experienced an increase in the duration of self-stimulatory behaviors, and all participants experienced an increase in the number of distractions and a decrease in the duration of focused attention. The increase or decrease, however, never returned to baseline levels for these behaviors. The findings suggest that for these 5 children with PDD, the use of a weighted vest resulted in an increase in attention to task and decrease in self-stimulatory behaviors. The most consistent improvement observed was the decreased number of distractions. Additional research is necessary to build consensus about the effectiveness of wearing a weighted vest to increase attention to task and decrease self-stimulatory behaviors for children with PDD.

Acquisition and production of skilled behavior in dynamic decision-making tasks: Modeling strategic behavior in human-automation interaction: Why and aid can (and should) go unused

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirlik, Alex

1991-01-01

Advances in computer and control technology offer the opportunity for task-offload aiding in human-machine systems. A task-offload aid (e.g., an autopilot, an intelligent assistant) can be selectively engaged by the human operator to dynamically delegate tasks to an automated system. Successful design and performance prediction in such systems requires knowledge of the factors influencing the strategy the operator develops and uses for managing interaction with the task-offload aid. A model is presented that shows how such strategies can be predicted as a function of three task context properties (frequency and duration of secondary tasks and costs of delaying secondary tasks) and three aid design properties (aid engagement and disengagement times, aid performance relative to human performance). Sensitivity analysis indicates how each of these contextual and design factors affect the optimal aid aid usage strategy and attainable system performance. The model is applied to understanding human-automation interaction in laboratory experiments on human supervisory control behavior. The laboratory task allowed subjects freedom to determine strategies for using an autopilot in a dynamic, multi-task environment. Modeling results suggested that many subjects may indeed have been acting appropriately by not using the autopilot in the way its designers intended. Although autopilot function was technically sound, this aid was not designed with due regard to the overall task context in which it was placed. These results demonstrate the need for additional research on how people may strategically manage their own resources, as well as those provided by automation, in an effort to keep workload and performance at acceptable levels.

Emotional reactivity and cognitive performance in aversively motivated tasks: a comparison between four rat strains

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Cognitive function might be affected by the subjects' emotional reactivity. We assessed whether behavior in different tests of emotional reactivity is correlated with performance in aversively motivated learning tasks, using four strains of rats generally considered to have a different emotional reactivity. Methods The performance of male Brown Norway, Lewis, Fischer 344, and Wistar Kyoto rats in open field (OF), elevated plus-maze (EPM), and circular light-dark preference box (cLDB) tasks, which are believed to provide measures of emotional reactivity, was evaluated. Spatial working and reference memory were assessed in two aversively motivated learning and memory tasks: the standard and the "repeated acquisition" versions of the Morris water maze escape task, respectively. All rats were also tested in a passive avoidance task. At the end of the study, levels of serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and 5-HT turnover in the hippocampus and frontal cortex were determined. Results Strain differences showed a complex pattern across behavioral tests and serotonergic measures. Fischer 344 rats had the poorest performance in both versions of the Morris water escape task, whereas Brown Norway rats performed these tasks very well but the passive avoidance task poorly. Neither correlation analysis nor principal component analysis provided convincing support for the notion that OF, EPM, and cLDB tasks measure the same underlying trait. Conclusions Our findings do not support the hypothesis that the level of emotional reactivity modulates cognitive performance in aversively motivated tasks. Concepts such as "emotional reactivity" and "learning and memory" cannot adequately be tapped with only one behavioral test. Our results emphasize the need for multiple testing. PMID:20003525

Looking for ideas: Eye behavior during goal-directed internally focused cognition☆

PubMed Central

Walcher, Sonja; Körner, Christof; Benedek, Mathias

2017-01-01

Humans have a highly developed visual system, yet we spend a high proportion of our time awake ignoring the visual world and attending to our own thoughts. The present study examined eye movement characteristics of goal-directed internally focused cognition. Deliberate internally focused cognition was induced by an idea generation task. A letter-by-letter reading task served as external task. Idea generation (vs. reading) was associated with more and longer blinks and fewer microsaccades indicating an attenuation of visual input. Idea generation was further associated with more and shorter fixations, more saccades and saccades with higher amplitudes as well as heightened stimulus-independent variation of eye vergence. The latter results suggest a coupling of eye behavior to internally generated information and associated cognitive processes, i.e. searching for ideas. Our results support eye behavior patterns as indicators of goal-directed internally focused cognition through mechanisms of attenuation of visual input and coupling of eye behavior to internally generated information. PMID:28689088

The Role of Informative and Ambiguous Feedback in Avoidance Behavior: Empirical and Computational Findings

PubMed Central

Moustafa, Ahmed A.; Sheynin, Jony; Myers, Catherine E.

2015-01-01

Avoidance behavior is a critical component of many psychiatric disorders, and as such, it is important to understand how avoidance behavior arises, and whether it can be modified. In this study, we used empirical and computational methods to assess the role of informational feedback and ambiguous outcome in avoidance behavior. We adapted a computer-based probabilistic classification learning task, which includes positive, negative and no-feedback outcomes; the latter outcome is ambiguous as it might signal either a successful outcome (missed punishment) or a failure (missed reward). Prior work with this task suggested that most healthy subjects viewed the no-feedback outcome as strongly positive. Interestingly, in a later version of the classification task, when healthy subjects were allowed to opt out of (i.e. avoid) responding, some subjects (“avoiders”) reliably avoided trials where there was a risk of punishment, but other subjects (“non-avoiders”) never made any avoidance responses at all. One possible interpretation is that the “non-avoiders” valued the no-feedback outcome so positively on punishment-based trials that they had little incentive to avoid. Another possible interpretation is that the outcome of an avoided trial is unspecified and that lack of information is aversive, decreasing subjects’ tendency to avoid. To examine these ideas, we here tested healthy young adults on versions of the task where avoidance responses either did or did not generate informational feedback about the optimal response. Results showed that provision of informational feedback decreased avoidance responses and also decreased categorization performance, without significantly affecting the percentage of subjects classified as “avoiders.” To better understand these results, we used a modified Q-learning model to fit individual subject data. Simulation results suggest that subjects in the feedback condition adjusted their behavior faster following better-than-expected outcomes, compared to subjects in the no-feedback condition. Additionally, in both task conditions, “avoiders” adjusted their behavior faster following worse-than-expected outcomes, and treated the ambiguous no-feedback outcome as less rewarding, compared to non-avoiders. Together, results shed light on the important role of ambiguous and informative feedback in avoidance behavior. PMID:26630279

Exaggerated acquisition and resistance to extinction of avoidance behavior in treated heroin-dependent men.

PubMed

Sheynin, Jony; Moustafa, Ahmed A; Beck, Kevin D; Servatius, Richard J; Casbolt, Peter A; Haber, Paul; Elsayed, Mahmoud; Hogarth, Lee; Myers, Catherine E

2016-03-01

Addiction is often conceptualized as a behavioral strategy for avoiding negative experiences. In rodents, opioid intake has been associated with abnormal acquisition and extinction of avoidance behavior. Here, we tested the hypothesis that these findings would generalize to human opioid-dependent subjects. Adults meeting DSM-IV criteria for heroin dependence and treated with opioid medication (n = 27) and healthy controls (n = 26) were recruited between March 2013 and October 2013 and given a computer-based task to assess avoidance behavior. For this task, subjects controlled a spaceship and could either gain points by shooting an enemy spaceship or hide in safe areas to avoid on-screen aversive events. Hiding duration during different periods of the task was used to measure avoidance behavior. While groups did not differ on escape responding (hiding) during the aversive event, heroin-dependent men (but not women) made more avoidance responses during a warning signal that predicted the aversive event (analysis of variance, sex × group interaction, P = .007). Heroin-dependent men were also slower to extinguish the avoidance response when the aversive event no longer followed the warning signal (P = .011). This behavioral pattern resulted in reduced opportunity to obtain reward without reducing risk of punishment. Results suggest that, in male patients, differences in avoidance behavior cannot be easily explained by impaired task performance or by exaggerated motor activity. This study provides evidence for abnormal acquisition and extinction of avoidance behavior in opioid-dependent patients. Interestingly, data suggest that abnormal avoidance is demonstrated only by male patients. Findings shed light on cognitive and behavioral manifestations of opioid addiction and may facilitate development of therapeutic approaches to help affected individuals. © Copyright 2016 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

COMMUNICATION: On variability and use of rat primary motor cortex responses in behavioral task discrimination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jensen, Winnie; Rousche, Patrick J.

2006-03-01

The success of a cortical motor neuroprosthetic system will rely on the system's ability to effectively execute complex motor tasks in a changing environment. Invasive, intra-cortical electrodes have been successfully used to predict joint movement and grip force of a robotic arm/hand with a non-human primate (Chapin J K, Moxon K A, Markowitz R S and Nicolelis M A L 1999 Real-time control of a robotic arm using simultaneously recorded neurons in the motor cortex Nat. Neurosci. 2 664-70). It is well known that cortical encoding occurs with a high degree of cortical plasticity and depends on both the functional and behavioral context. Questions on the expected robustness of future motor prosthesis systems therefore still remain. The objective of the present work was to study the effect of minor changes in functional movement strategies on the M1 encoding. We compared the M1 encoding in freely moving, non-constrained animals that performed two similar behavioral tasks with the same end-goal, and investigated if these behavioral tasks could be discriminated based on the M1 recordings. The rats depressed a response paddle either with a set of restrictive bars ('WB') or without the bars ('WOB') placed in front of the paddle. The WB task required changes in the motor strategy to complete the paddle press and resulted in highly stereotyped movements, whereas in the WOB task the movement strategy was not restricted. Neural population activity was recorded from 16-channel micro-wire arrays and data up to 200 ms before a paddle hit were analyzed off-line. The analysis showed a significant neural firing difference between the two similar WB and WOB tasks, and using principal component analysis it was possible to distinguish between the two tasks with a best classification at 76.6%. While the results are dependent upon a small, randomly sampled neural population, they indicate that information about similar behavioral tasks may be extracted from M1 based on relatively few channels of neural signal for possible use in a cortical neuroprosthetic system.

Response mode-dependent differences in neurofunctional networks during response inhibition: an EEG-beamforming study.

PubMed

Dippel, Gabriel; Chmielewski, Witold; Mückschel, Moritz; Beste, Christian

2016-11-01

Response inhibition processes are one of the most important executive control functions and have been subject to intense research in cognitive neuroscience. However, knowledge on the neurophysiology and functional neuroanatomy on response inhibition is biased because studies usually employ experimental paradigms (e.g., sustained attention to response task, SART) in which behavior is susceptible to impulsive errors. Here, we investigate whether there are differences in neurophysiological mechanisms and networks depending on the response mode that predominates behavior in a response inhibition task. We do so comparing a SART with a traditionally formatted task paradigm. We use EEG-beamforming in two tasks inducing opposite response modes during action selection. We focus on theta frequency modulations, since these are implicated in cognitive control processes. The results show that a response mode that is susceptible to impulsive errors (response mode used in the SART) is associated with stronger theta band activity in the left temporo-parietal junction. The results suggest that the response modes applied during response inhibition differ in the encoding of surprise signals, or related processes of attentional sampling. Response modes during response inhibition seem to differ in processes necessary to update task representations relevant to behavioral control.

Pitch ranking, electrode discrimination, and physiological spread of excitation using current steering in cochlear implants

PubMed Central

Goehring, Jenny L.; Neff, Donna L.; Baudhuin, Jacquelyn L.; Hughes, Michelle L.

2014-01-01

The first objective of this study was to determine whether adaptive pitch-ranking and electrode-discrimination tasks with cochlear-implant (CI) recipients produce similar results for perceiving intermediate “virtual-channel” pitch percepts using current steering. Previous studies have not examined both behavioral tasks in the same subjects with current steering. A second objective was to determine whether a physiological metric of spatial separation using the electrically evoked compound action potential spread-of-excitation (ECAP SOE) function could predict performance in the behavioral tasks. The metric was the separation index (Σ), defined as the difference in normalized amplitudes between two adjacent ECAP SOE functions, summed across all masker electrodes. Eleven CII or 90 K Advanced Bionics (Valencia, CA) recipients were tested using pairs of electrodes from the basal, middle, and apical portions of the electrode array. The behavioral results, expressed as d′, showed no significant differences across tasks. There was also no significant effect of electrode region for either task. ECAP Σ was not significantly correlated with pitch ranking or electrode discrimination for any of the electrode regions. Therefore, the ECAP separation index is not sensitive enough to predict perceptual resolution of virtual channels. PMID:25480063

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex alters decision making during approach-avoidance conflict.

PubMed

Chrysikou, Evangelia G; Gorey, Claire; Aupperle, Robin L

2017-03-01

Approach-avoidance conflict (AAC) refers to situations associated with both rewarding and threatening outcomes. The AAC task was developed to measure AAC decision-making. Approach behavior during this task has been linked to self-reported anxiety sensitivity and has elicited anterior cingulate, insula, caudate and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) activity, with right lateral PFC tracking the extent of approach behavior. Guided by these results, we used excitatory transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to demonstrate the causal involvement of right dlPFC in AAC decision-making. Participants received anodal tDCS at 1.5mA over either left or right dlPFC or sham stimulation, while performing the AAC task and a control short-term memory task. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) revealed that for individuals with high anxiety sensitivity excitatory right (but not left or sham) dlPFC stimulation elicited measurable decreases in approach behavior during conflict. Excitatory left (but not right or sham) dlPFC simulation improved performance on the control task. These results support a possible asymmetry between the contributions of right and left dlPFC to AAC resolution during emotional decision-making. Increased activity in right dlPFC may contribute to anxiety-related symptoms and, as such, serve as a neurobehavioral target of anxiolytic treatments aiming to decrease avoidance behavior. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press.

Errors on interrupter tasks presented during spatial and verbal working memory performance are linearly linked to large-scale functional network connectivity in high temporal resolution resting state fMRI.

PubMed

Magnuson, Matthew Evan; Thompson, Garth John; Schwarb, Hillary; Pan, Wen-Ju; McKinley, Andy; Schumacher, Eric H; Keilholz, Shella Dawn

2015-12-01

The brain is organized into networks composed of spatially separated anatomical regions exhibiting coherent functional activity over time. Two of these networks (the default mode network, DMN, and the task positive network, TPN) have been implicated in the performance of a number of cognitive tasks. To directly examine the stable relationship between network connectivity and behavioral performance, high temporal resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected during the resting state, and behavioral data were collected from 15 subjects on different days, exploring verbal working memory, spatial working memory, and fluid intelligence. Sustained attention performance was also evaluated in a task interleaved between resting state scans. Functional connectivity within and between the DMN and TPN was related to performance on these tasks. Decreased TPN resting state connectivity was found to significantly correlate with fewer errors on an interrupter task presented during a spatial working memory paradigm and decreased DMN/TPN anti-correlation was significantly correlated with fewer errors on an interrupter task presented during a verbal working memory paradigm. A trend for increased DMN resting state connectivity to correlate to measures of fluid intelligence was also observed. These results provide additional evidence of the relationship between resting state networks and behavioral performance, and show that such results can be observed with high temporal resolution fMRI. Because cognitive scores and functional connectivity were collected on nonconsecutive days, these results highlight the stability of functional connectivity/cognitive performance coupling.

Moral license in video games: when being right can mean doing wrong.

PubMed

Ellithorpe, Morgan E; Cruz, Carlos; Velez, John A; Ewoldsen, David R; Bogert, Adam K

2015-04-01

Research on video game violence has found largely consistent evidence that violence in video games tends to be associated with an increase in antisocial behavior. However, this body of work has mostly ignored one prominent feature of many violent games: moral decision making. It is possible that the influence of video game violence could change when moral decisions are brought into the context. One way video games change behavior is through changes in players' self-perceptions, a process called identity simulation. In addition, a perspective called moral license predicts that these effects should not necessarily be consistent across behaviors, in that people should try to balance selfishness with keeping the moral high ground across many behaviors. Therefore, moral choices (or immoral choices) in a video game may predict less moral (or more moral) behaviors right after the game. However, later behavior may revert yet again, creating a cycle of pro- and antisocial behaviors. The present experiment asks participants to make moral choices in a video game, and then measures their behavior on two subsequent tasks. Results indicate that taking what participants perceive to be the more moral mind-set in the video game predicts more antisocial behavior on the first task, but more pro-social behavior on the next task. These results support identity simulation and moral license processes in a video game and moral behavior context, and indicate that there may be greater complexity in video game violence effects than previously understood.

Explaining the Timing of Natural Scene Understanding with a Computational Model of Perceptual Categorization

PubMed Central

Sofer, Imri; Crouzet, Sébastien M.; Serre, Thomas

2015-01-01

Observers can rapidly perform a variety of visual tasks such as categorizing a scene as open, as outdoor, or as a beach. Although we know that different tasks are typically associated with systematic differences in behavioral responses, to date, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Here, we implemented a single integrated paradigm that links perceptual processes with categorization processes. Using a large image database of natural scenes, we trained machine-learning classifiers to derive quantitative measures of task-specific perceptual discriminability based on the distance between individual images and different categorization boundaries. We showed that the resulting discriminability measure accurately predicts variations in behavioral responses across categorization tasks and stimulus sets. We further used the model to design an experiment, which challenged previous interpretations of the so-called “superordinate advantage.” Overall, our study suggests that observed differences in behavioral responses across rapid categorization tasks reflect natural variations in perceptual discriminability. PMID:26335683

Differential Endocannabinoid Regulation of Extinction in Appetitive and Aversive Barnes Maze Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harloe, John P.; Thorpe, Andrew J.; Lichtman, Aron H.

2008-01-01

CB[subscript 1] receptor-compromised animals show profound deficits in extinguishing learned behavior from aversive conditioning tasks, but display normal extinction learning in appetitive operant tasks. However, it is difficult to discern whether the differential involvement of the endogenous cannabinoid system on extinction results from the…

Meta-analysis of the effects of academic interventions and modifications on student behavior outcomes.

PubMed

Warmbold-Brann, Kristy; Burns, Matthew K; Preast, June L; Taylor, Crystal N; Aguilar, Lisa N

2017-09-01

The current study examined the effect of academic interventions and modifications on behavioral outcomes in a meta-analysis of 32 single-case design studies. Academic interventions included modifying task difficulty, providing instruction in reading, mathematics, or writing, and contingent reinforcement for academic performance. There was an overall small to moderate effect (ϕ = .56) on behavioral outcomes, with a stronger effect on increasing time on task (ϕ = .64) than on decreasing disruptive behavior (ϕ = .42). There was a small effect for using a performance-based contingent reinforcer (ϕ = .48). Interventions completed in an individual setting resulted in a moderate to large effects on behavior outcomes. Results of the current meta-analysis suggest that academic interventions can offer both positive academic and behavioral outcomes. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are included. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Targeting impulsive processes of eating behavior via the internet. Effects on body weight.

PubMed

Veling, Harm; van Koningsbruggen, Guido M; Aarts, Henk; Stroebe, Wolfgang

2014-07-01

Because eating behavior can take on an impulsive nature many people experience difficulty with dieting to lose weight. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the effectiveness of two interventions targeting impulsive processes of eating behavior to facilitate weight loss: Implementation intentions to remind people about dieting versus a go/no-go task to change impulses toward palatable foods. Dieters performed an online training program (four times in 4 weeks) in which they were randomly assigned to a 2 (implementation intention condition: dieting versus control) × 2 (go/no-go task condition: food versus control) design. They formed either dieting implementation intentions (e.g., If I open the fridge I will think of dieting!) or control implementation intentions. Furthermore, they received either a go/no-go task in which behavioral stop signals were presented upon presentation of palatable foods (food go/no-go task), or upon control stimuli. Participants' weight was measured in the laboratory before and after the intervention. Strength of participants' dieting goal and their Body Mass Index (BMI; as a proxy for impulsiveness toward food) were examined as moderators. Results showed that both dieting implementation intentions and the food go/no-go task facilitated weight loss. Moreover, dieting implementation intentions facilitated weight loss particularly among people with a strong current dieting goal, whereas the food go/no-go task facilitated weight loss independent of this factor. Instead, the food go/no-go task, but not formation of dieting implementation intentions, was primarily effective among dieters with a relatively high BMI. These results provide the first preliminary evidence that interventions aimed at targeting impulsive eating-related processes via the internet can facilitate weight loss. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling task-specific neuronal ensembles improves decoding of grasp

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Ryan J.; Soares, Alcimar B.; Rouse, Adam G.; Schieber, Marc H.; Thakor, Nitish V.

2018-06-01

Objective. Dexterous movement involves the activation and coordination of networks of neuronal populations across multiple cortical regions. Attempts to model firing of individual neurons commonly treat the firing rate as directly modulating with motor behavior. However, motor behavior may additionally be associated with modulations in the activity and functional connectivity of neurons in a broader ensemble. Accounting for variations in neural ensemble connectivity may provide additional information about the behavior being performed. Approach. In this study, we examined neural ensemble activity in primary motor cortex (M1) and premotor cortex (PM) of two male rhesus monkeys during performance of a center-out reach, grasp and manipulate task. We constructed point process encoding models of neuronal firing that incorporated task-specific variations in the baseline firing rate as well as variations in functional connectivity with the neural ensemble. Models were evaluated both in terms of their encoding capabilities and their ability to properly classify the grasp being performed. Main results. Task-specific ensemble models correctly predicted the performed grasp with over 95% accuracy and were shown to outperform models of neuronal activity that assume only a variable baseline firing rate. Task-specific ensemble models exhibited superior decoding performance in 82% of units in both monkeys (p  <  0.01). Inclusion of ensemble activity also broadly improved the ability of models to describe observed spiking. Encoding performance of task-specific ensemble models, measured by spike timing predictability, improved upon baseline models in 62% of units. Significance. These results suggest that additional discriminative information about motor behavior found in the variations in functional connectivity of neuronal ensembles located in motor-related cortical regions is relevant to decode complex tasks such as grasping objects, and may serve the basis for more reliable and accurate neural prosthesis.

Neurocognitive and Behavioral Predictors of Math Performance in Children with and without ADHD

PubMed Central

Antonini, Tanya N.; O’Brien, Kathleen M.; Narad, Megan E.; Langberg, Joshua M.; Tamm, Leanne; Epstein, Jeff N.

2014-01-01

Objective: This study examined neurocognitive and behavioral predictors of math performance in children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method: Neurocognitive and behavioral variables were examined as predictors of 1) standardized mathematics achievement scores,2) productivity on an analog math task, and 3) accuracy on an analog math task. Results: Children with ADHD had lower achievement scores but did not significantly differ from controls on math productivity or accuracy. N-back accuracy and parent-rated attention predicted math achievement. N-back accuracy and observed attention predicted math productivity. Alerting scores on the Attentional Network Task predicted math accuracy. Mediation analyses indicated that n-back accuracy significantly mediated the relationship between diagnostic group and math achievement. Conclusion: Neurocognition, rather than behavior, may account for the deficits in math achievement exhibited by many children with ADHD. PMID:24071774

Active Listening Delays Attentional Disengagement and Saccadic Eye Movements.

PubMed

Lester, Benjamin D; Vecera, Shaun P

2018-06-01

Successful goal-directed visual behavior depends on efficient disengagement of attention. Attention must be withdrawn from its current focus before being redeployed to a new object or internal process. Previous research has demonstrated that occupying cognitive processes with a secondary cellular phone conversation impairs attentional functioning and driving behavior. For example, attentional processing is significantly impacted by concurrent cell phone use, resulting in decreased explicit memory for on-road information. Here, we examined the impact of a critical component of cell-phone use-active listening-on the effectiveness of attentional disengagement. In the gap task-a saccadic manipulation of attentional disengagement-we measured saccade latencies while participants performed a secondary active listening task. Saccadic latencies significantly increased under an active listening load only when attention needed to be disengaged, indicating that active listening delays a disengagement operation. Simple dual-task interference did not account for the observed results. Rather, active cognitive engagement is required for measurable disengagement slowing to be observed. These results have implications for investigations of attention, gaze behavior, and distracted driving. Secondary tasks such as active listening or cell-phone conversations can have wide-ranging impacts on cognitive functioning, potentially impairing relatively elementary operations of attentional function, including disengagement.

Nonsuicidal self-injury: relationship to behavioral and self-rating measures of impulsivity and self-aggression.

PubMed

McCloskey, Michael S; Look, Amy E; Chen, Eunice Y; Pajoumand, Golnaz; Berman, Mitchell E

2012-04-01

Previous research using self-report measures has shown an association between nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior (NSSI) and impulsive tendencies. However, self-injurers have not been shown to be different from comparison groups on laboratory tasks putatively assessing impulsive behavior. One explanation for these contradictory findings is that self-report and laboratory measures of impulsive behavior tap into distinct but related constructs. Moreover, performance on laboratory measures of impulsive behavior can be influenced by myriad contextual and affective factors not present during past self-reported NSSI events. Accordingly, a relationship between behavioral tasks of impulsivity and self-injurious behavior could emerge if both are assessed relatively close in time under controlled laboratory conditions. To test this possibility, both self-ratings and laboratory task measures of self-injurious and impulsive behavior were employed in the current study. This multi-modal assessment approach revealed that self-rated impulsivity was associated with both self-report and behavioral measures of self-injurious behavior. Moreover, behavioral measures of impulsivity were associated with self-injurious behavior, but not NSSI history. These results provide support for the notion that a multi-modal approach to assessing self-injurious behavior is important for better understanding the correlates of nonsuicidal self-injury. © 2012 The American Association of Suicidology.

Does the Macaque Monkey Provide a Good Model for Studying Human Executive Control? A Comparative Behavioral Study of Task Switching

PubMed Central

Caselli, Luana; Chelazzi, Leonardo

2011-01-01

The ability to swiftly and smoothly switch from one task set to another is central to intelligent behavior, because it allows an organism to flexibly adapt to ever changing environmental conditions and internal needs. For this reason, researchers interested in executive control processes have often relied on task-switching paradigms as powerful tools to uncover the underlying cognitive and brain architecture. In order to gather fundamental information at the single-cell level, it would be greatly helpful to demonstrate that non-human primates, especially the macaque monkey, share with us similar behavioral manifestations of task-switching and therefore, in all likelihood, similar underlying brain mechanisms. Unfortunately, prior attempts have provided negative results (e.g., Stoet & Snyder, 2003b), in that it was reported that macaques do not show the typical signature of task-switching operations at the behavioral level, represented by switch costs. If confirmed, this would indicate that the macaque cannot be used as a model approach to explore human executive control mechanisms by means of task-switching paradigms. We have therefore decided to re-explore this issue, by conducting a comparative experiment on a group of human participants and two macaque monkeys, whereby we measured and compared performance costs linked to task switching and resistance to interference across the two species. Contrary to what previously reported, we found that both species display robust task switching costs, thus supporting the claim that macaque monkeys provide an exquisitely suitable model to study the brain mechanisms responsible for maintaining and switching task sets. PMID:21720549

Elucidating Poor Decision-Making in a Rat Gambling Task

PubMed Central

Seriès, Peggy; Marchand, Alain R.; Dellu-Hagedorn, Françoise

2013-01-01

Although poor decision-making is a hallmark of psychiatric conditions such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, pathological gambling or substance abuse, a fraction of healthy individuals exhibit similar poor decision-making performances in everyday life and specific laboratory tasks such as the Iowa Gambling Task. These particular individuals may provide information on risk factors or common endophenotypes of these mental disorders. In a rodent version of the Iowa gambling task – the Rat Gambling Task (RGT), we identified a population of poor decision makers, and assessed how these rats scored for several behavioral traits relevant to executive disorders: risk taking, reward seeking, behavioral inflexibility, and several aspects of impulsivity. First, we found that poor decision-making could not be well predicted by single behavioral and cognitive characteristics when considered separately. By contrast, a combination of independent traits in the same individual, namely risk taking, reward seeking, behavioral inflexibility, as well as motor impulsivity, was highly predictive of poor decision-making. Second, using a reinforcement-learning model of the RGT, we confirmed that only the combination of extreme scores on these traits could induce maladaptive decision-making. Third, the model suggested that a combination of these behavioral traits results in an inaccurate representation of rewards and penalties and inefficient learning of the environment. Poor decision-making appears as a consequence of the over-valuation of high-reward-high-risk options in the task. Such a specific psychological profile could greatly impair clinically healthy individuals in decision-making tasks and may predispose to mental disorders with similar symptoms. PMID:24339988

Elucidating poor decision-making in a rat gambling task.

PubMed

Rivalan, Marion; Valton, Vincent; Seriès, Peggy; Marchand, Alain R; Dellu-Hagedorn, Françoise

2013-01-01

Although poor decision-making is a hallmark of psychiatric conditions such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, pathological gambling or substance abuse, a fraction of healthy individuals exhibit similar poor decision-making performances in everyday life and specific laboratory tasks such as the Iowa Gambling Task. These particular individuals may provide information on risk factors or common endophenotypes of these mental disorders. In a rodent version of the Iowa gambling task--the Rat Gambling Task (RGT), we identified a population of poor decision makers, and assessed how these rats scored for several behavioral traits relevant to executive disorders: risk taking, reward seeking, behavioral inflexibility, and several aspects of impulsivity. First, we found that poor decision-making could not be well predicted by single behavioral and cognitive characteristics when considered separately. By contrast, a combination of independent traits in the same individual, namely risk taking, reward seeking, behavioral inflexibility, as well as motor impulsivity, was highly predictive of poor decision-making. Second, using a reinforcement-learning model of the RGT, we confirmed that only the combination of extreme scores on these traits could induce maladaptive decision-making. Third, the model suggested that a combination of these behavioral traits results in an inaccurate representation of rewards and penalties and inefficient learning of the environment. Poor decision-making appears as a consequence of the over-valuation of high-reward-high-risk options in the task. Such a specific psychological profile could greatly impair clinically healthy individuals in decision-making tasks and may predispose to mental disorders with similar symptoms.

Distinguishing bias from sensitivity effects in multialternative detection tasks.

PubMed

Sridharan, Devarajan; Steinmetz, Nicholas A; Moore, Tirin; Knudsen, Eric I

2014-08-21

Studies investigating the neural bases of cognitive phenomena increasingly employ multialternative detection tasks that seek to measure the ability to detect a target stimulus or changes in some target feature (e.g., orientation or direction of motion) that could occur at one of many locations. In such tasks, it is essential to distinguish the behavioral and neural correlates of enhanced perceptual sensitivity from those of increased bias for a particular location or choice (choice bias). However, making such a distinction is not possible with established approaches. We present a new signal detection model that decouples the behavioral effects of choice bias from those of perceptual sensitivity in multialternative (change) detection tasks. By formulating the perceptual decision in a multidimensional decision space, our model quantifies the respective contributions of bias and sensitivity to multialternative behavioral choices. With a combination of analytical and numerical approaches, we demonstrate an optimal, one-to-one mapping between model parameters and choice probabilities even for tasks involving arbitrarily large numbers of alternatives. We validated the model with published data from two ternary choice experiments: a target-detection experiment and a length-discrimination experiment. The results of this validation provided novel insights into perceptual processes (sensory noise and competitive interactions) that can accurately and parsimoniously account for observers' behavior in each task. The model will find important application in identifying and interpreting the effects of behavioral manipulations (e.g., cueing attention) or neural perturbations (e.g., stimulation or inactivation) in a variety of multialternative tasks of perception, attention, and decision-making. © 2014 ARVO.

Distinguishing bias from sensitivity effects in multialternative detection tasks

PubMed Central

Sridharan, Devarajan; Steinmetz, Nicholas A.; Moore, Tirin; Knudsen, Eric I.

2014-01-01

Studies investigating the neural bases of cognitive phenomena increasingly employ multialternative detection tasks that seek to measure the ability to detect a target stimulus or changes in some target feature (e.g., orientation or direction of motion) that could occur at one of many locations. In such tasks, it is essential to distinguish the behavioral and neural correlates of enhanced perceptual sensitivity from those of increased bias for a particular location or choice (choice bias). However, making such a distinction is not possible with established approaches. We present a new signal detection model that decouples the behavioral effects of choice bias from those of perceptual sensitivity in multialternative (change) detection tasks. By formulating the perceptual decision in a multidimensional decision space, our model quantifies the respective contributions of bias and sensitivity to multialternative behavioral choices. With a combination of analytical and numerical approaches, we demonstrate an optimal, one-to-one mapping between model parameters and choice probabilities even for tasks involving arbitrarily large numbers of alternatives. We validated the model with published data from two ternary choice experiments: a target-detection experiment and a length-discrimination experiment. The results of this validation provided novel insights into perceptual processes (sensory noise and competitive interactions) that can accurately and parsimoniously account for observers' behavior in each task. The model will find important application in identifying and interpreting the effects of behavioral manipulations (e.g., cueing attention) or neural perturbations (e.g., stimulation or inactivation) in a variety of multialternative tasks of perception, attention, and decision-making. PMID:25146574

The Role of Executive Functions in the Control of Aggressive Behavior

PubMed Central

Krämer, Ulrike M.; Kopyciok, Robert P. J.; Richter, Sylvia; Rodriguez-Fornells, Antoni; Münte, Thomas F.

2011-01-01

An extensive literature suggests a link between executive functions and aggressive behavior in humans, pointing mostly to an inverse relationship, i.e., increased tendencies toward aggression in individuals scoring low on executive function tests. This literature is limited, though, in terms of the groups studied and the measures of executive functions. In this paper, we present data from two studies addressing these issues. In a first behavioral study, we asked whether high trait aggressiveness is related to reduced executive functions. A sample of over 600 students performed in an extensive behavioral test battery including paradigms addressing executive functions such as the Eriksen Flanker task, Stroop task, n-back task, and Tower of London (TOL). High trait aggressive participants were found to have a significantly reduced latency score in the TOL, indicating more impulsive behavior compared to low trait aggressive participants. No other differences were detected. In an EEG-study, we assessed neural and behavioral correlates of error monitoring and response inhibition in participants who were characterized based on their laboratory-induced aggressive behavior in a competitive reaction time task. Participants who retaliated more in the aggression paradigm and had reduced frontal activity when being provoked did not, however, show any reduction in behavioral or neural correlates of executive control compared to the less aggressive participants. Our results question a strong relationship between aggression and executive functions at least for healthy, high-functioning people. PMID:21747775

When does incivility lead to counterproductive work behavior? Roles of job involvement, task interdependence, and gender.

PubMed

Welbourne, Jennifer L; Sariol, Ana M

2017-04-01

This research investigated the conditions under which exposure to incivility at work was associated with engaging in counterproductive work behavior (CWB). Drawing from stressor-strain and coping frameworks, we predicted that experienced incivility would be associated with engaging in production deviance and withdrawal behavior, and that these relationships would be strongest for employees who had high levels of job involvement and worked under task interdependent conditions. Gender differences in these effects were also investigated. A sample of 250 United States full-time employees from various occupations completed 2 waves (timed 6 weeks apart) of an online survey. Results indicate that employees with high job involvement were more likely to engage in production deviance and withdrawal behavior following exposure to incivility than were employees with low job involvement. The moderating effect of task interdependence varied by gender, such that the relationship between incivility and CWB was strengthened under high task interdependence for female employees, but weakened under high task interdependence for male employees. These findings highlight that certain work conditions can increase employees' susceptibility to the impacts of incivility, leading to harmful outcomes for organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Altered behavior in experimental cortical dysplasia.

PubMed

Zhou, Fu-Wen; Rani, Asha; Martinez-Diaz, Hildabelis; Foster, Thomas C; Roper, Steven N

2011-12-01

Developmental delay and cognitive impairment are common comorbidities in people with epilepsy associated with malformations of cortical development (MCDs). We studied cognition and behavior in an animal model of diffuse cortical dysplasia (CD), in utero irradiation, using a battery of behavioral tests for neuromuscular and cognitive function. Fetal rats were exposed to 2.25 Gy external radiation on embryonic day 17 (E17). At 1 month of age they were tested using an open field task, a grip strength task, a grid walk task, inhibitory avoidance, an object recognition task, and the Morris water maze task. Rats with CD showed reduced nonlocomotor activity in the open field task and impaired motor coordination for grid walking but normal grip strength. They showed a reduced tendency to recognize novel objects and reduced retention in an inhibitory avoidance task. Water maze testing showed that learning and memory were impaired in irradiated rats for both cue discrimination and spatially oriented tasks. These results demonstrate significant deficits in cortex- and hippocampus-dependent cognitive functions associated with the diffuse abnormalities of cortical and hippocampal development that have been documented in this model. This study documents multimodal cognitive deficits associated with CD and can serve as the foundation for future investigations into the mechanisms of and possible therapeutic interventions for this problem. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2011 International League Against Epilepsy.

Decision-Making under Ambiguity Is Modulated by Visual Framing, but Not by Motor vs. Non-Motor Context. Experiments and an Information-Theoretic Ambiguity Model

PubMed Central

Grau-Moya, Jordi; Ortega, Pedro A.; Braun, Daniel A.

2016-01-01

A number of recent studies have investigated differences in human choice behavior depending on task framing, especially comparing economic decision-making to choice behavior in equivalent sensorimotor tasks. Here we test whether decision-making under ambiguity exhibits effects of task framing in motor vs. non-motor context. In a first experiment, we designed an experience-based urn task with varying degrees of ambiguity and an equivalent motor task where subjects chose between hitting partially occluded targets. In a second experiment, we controlled for the different stimulus design in the two tasks by introducing an urn task with bar stimuli matching those in the motor task. We found ambiguity attitudes to be mainly influenced by stimulus design. In particular, we found that the same subjects tended to be ambiguity-preferring when choosing between ambiguous bar stimuli, but ambiguity-avoiding when choosing between ambiguous urn sample stimuli. In contrast, subjects’ choice pattern was not affected by changing from a target hitting task to a non-motor context when keeping the stimulus design unchanged. In both tasks subjects’ choice behavior was continuously modulated by the degree of ambiguity. We show that this modulation of behavior can be explained by an information-theoretic model of ambiguity that generalizes Bayes-optimal decision-making by combining Bayesian inference with robust decision-making under model uncertainty. Our results demonstrate the benefits of information-theoretic models of decision-making under varying degrees of ambiguity for a given context, but also demonstrate the sensitivity of ambiguity attitudes across contexts that theoretical models struggle to explain. PMID:27124723

Decision-Making under Ambiguity Is Modulated by Visual Framing, but Not by Motor vs. Non-Motor Context. Experiments and an Information-Theoretic Ambiguity Model.

PubMed

Grau-Moya, Jordi; Ortega, Pedro A; Braun, Daniel A

2016-01-01

A number of recent studies have investigated differences in human choice behavior depending on task framing, especially comparing economic decision-making to choice behavior in equivalent sensorimotor tasks. Here we test whether decision-making under ambiguity exhibits effects of task framing in motor vs. non-motor context. In a first experiment, we designed an experience-based urn task with varying degrees of ambiguity and an equivalent motor task where subjects chose between hitting partially occluded targets. In a second experiment, we controlled for the different stimulus design in the two tasks by introducing an urn task with bar stimuli matching those in the motor task. We found ambiguity attitudes to be mainly influenced by stimulus design. In particular, we found that the same subjects tended to be ambiguity-preferring when choosing between ambiguous bar stimuli, but ambiguity-avoiding when choosing between ambiguous urn sample stimuli. In contrast, subjects' choice pattern was not affected by changing from a target hitting task to a non-motor context when keeping the stimulus design unchanged. In both tasks subjects' choice behavior was continuously modulated by the degree of ambiguity. We show that this modulation of behavior can be explained by an information-theoretic model of ambiguity that generalizes Bayes-optimal decision-making by combining Bayesian inference with robust decision-making under model uncertainty. Our results demonstrate the benefits of information-theoretic models of decision-making under varying degrees of ambiguity for a given context, but also demonstrate the sensitivity of ambiguity attitudes across contexts that theoretical models struggle to explain.

Age-related differences in resolving semantic and phonological competition during receptive language tasks.

PubMed

Zhuang, Jie; Johnson, Micah A; Madden, David J; Burke, Deborah M; Diaz, Michele T

2016-12-01

Receptive language (e.g., reading) is largely preserved in the aging brain, and semantic processes in particular may continue to develop throughout the lifespan. We investigated the neural underpinnings of phonological and semantic retrieval in older and younger adults during receptive language tasks (rhyme and semantic similarity judgments). In particular, we were interested in the role of competition on language retrieval and varied the similarities between a cue, target, and distractor that were hypothesized to affect the mental process of competition. Behaviorally, all participants responded faster and more accurately during the rhyme task compared to the semantic task. Moreover, older adults demonstrated higher response accuracy than younger adults during the semantic task. Although there were no overall age-related differences in the neuroimaging results, an Age×Task interaction was found in left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), with older adults producing greater activation than younger adults during the semantic condition. These results suggest that at lower levels of task difficulty, older and younger adults engaged similar neural networks that benefited behavioral performance. As task difficulty increased during the semantic task, older adults relied more heavily on largely left hemisphere language regions, as well as regions involved in perception and internal monitoring. Our results are consistent with the stability of language comprehension across the adult lifespan and illustrate how the preservation of semantic representations with aging may influence performance under conditions of increased task difficulty. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transformational leadership and task cohesion in sport: the mediating role of inside sacrifice.

PubMed

Cronin, Lorcan Donal; Arthur, Calum Alexander; Hardy, James; Callow, Nichola

2015-02-01

In this cross-sectional study, we examined a mediational model whereby transformational leadership is related to task cohesion via sacrifice. Participants were 381 American (Mage = 19.87 years, SD = 1.41) Division I university athletes (188 males, 193 females) who competed in a variety of sports. Participants completed measures of coach transformational leadership, personal and teammate inside sacrifice, and task cohesion. After conducting multilevel mediation analysis, we found that both personal and teammate inside sacrifice significantly mediated the relationships between transformational leadership behaviors and task cohesion. However, there were differential patterns of these relationships for male and female athletes. Interpretation of the results highlights that coaches should endeavor to display transformational leadership behaviors as they are related to personal and teammate inside sacrifices and task cohesion.

Neural Determinants of Task Performance during Feature-Based Attention in Human Cortex

PubMed Central

Gong, Mengyuan

2018-01-01

Abstract Studies of feature-based attention have associated activity in a dorsal frontoparietal network with putative attentional priority signals. Yet, how this neural activity mediates attentional selection and whether it guides behavior are fundamental questions that require investigation. We reasoned that endogenous fluctuations in the quality of attentional priority should influence task performance. Human subjects detected a speed increment while viewing clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) motion (baseline task) or while attending to either direction amid distracters (attention task). In an fMRI experiment, direction-specific neural pattern similarity between the baseline task and the attention task revealed a higher level of similarity for correct than incorrect trials in frontoparietal regions. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we disrupted posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and found a selective deficit in the attention task, but not in the baseline task, demonstrating the necessity of this cortical area during feature-based attention. These results reveal that frontoparietal areas maintain attentional priority that facilitates successful behavioral selection. PMID:29497703

Driver behavior profiling: An investigation with different smartphone sensors and machine learning

PubMed Central

Ferreira, Jair; Carvalho, Eduardo; Ferreira, Bruno V.; de Souza, Cleidson; Suhara, Yoshihiko; Pentland, Alex

2017-01-01

Driver behavior impacts traffic safety, fuel/energy consumption and gas emissions. Driver behavior profiling tries to understand and positively impact driver behavior. Usually driver behavior profiling tasks involve automated collection of driving data and application of computer models to generate a classification that characterizes the driver aggressiveness profile. Different sensors and classification methods have been employed in this task, however, low-cost solutions and high performance are still research targets. This paper presents an investigation with different Android smartphone sensors, and classification algorithms in order to assess which sensor/method assembly enables classification with higher performance. The results show that specific combinations of sensors and intelligent methods allow classification performance improvement. PMID:28394925

Individual differences in impulsive and risky choice: effects of environmental rearing conditions.

PubMed

Kirkpatrick, Kimberly; Marshall, Andrew T; Smith, Aaron P; Koci, Juraj; Park, Yoonseong

2014-08-01

The present experiment investigated early-rearing environment modulation of individual differences in impulsive and risky choice. Rats were reared in an isolated condition (IC; n=12), in which they lived alone without novel stimuli, or an enriched condition (EC; n=11), in which they lived among conspecifics with novel stimuli. The impulsive choice task involved choices between smaller-sooner (SS) versus larger-later (LL) rewards. The risky choice task involved choices between certain-smaller (C-S) versus uncertain-larger (U-L) rewards. Following choice testing, incentive motivation to work for food was measured using a progressive ratio task and correlated with choice behavior. HPLC analyses were conducted to determine how monoamine concentrations within the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAC) related to behavior in different tasks. IC rats were more impulsive than EC rats, but they did not differ in risky choice behavior. However, choice behavior across tasks was significantly correlated (i.e., the more impulsive rats were also riskier). There were no group differences in monoamine levels, but noradrenergic and serotonergic concentrations were significantly correlated with impulsive and risky choice. Furthermore, serotonin and norepinephrine concentrations in the NAC significantly correlated with incentive motivation and the timing of the reward delays within the choice tasks. These results suggest a role for domain general processes in impulsive and risky choice and indicate the importance of the NAC and/or PFC in timing, reward processing, and choice behavior. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Individual differences in impulsive and risky choice: Effects of environmental rearing conditions

PubMed Central

Kirkpatrick, Kimberly; Marshall, Andrew T.; Smith, Aaron P.; Koci, Juraj; Park, Yoonseong

2014-01-01

The present experiment investigated early-rearing environment modulation of individual differences in impulsive and risky choice. Rats were reared in an isolated condition (IC; n = 12), in which they lived alone without novel stimuli, or an enriched condition (EC; n = 12), in which they lived among conspecifics with novel stimuli. The impulsive choice task involved choices between smaller-sooner (SS) versus larger-later (LL) rewards. The risky choice task involved choices between certain-smaller (C-S) versus uncertain-larger (U-L) rewards. Following choice testing, incentive motivation to work for food was measured using a progressive ratio task and correlated with choice behavior. HPLC analyses were conducted to determine how monoamine concentrations within the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAC) related to behavior in different tasks. IC rats were more impulsive than EC rats, but they did not differ in risky choice behavior. However, choice behavior across tasks was significantly correlated (i.e., the more impulsive rats were also riskier). There were no group differences in monoamine levels, but noradrenergic and serotonergic concentrations were significantly correlated with impulsive and risky choice. Furthermore, serotonin and norepinephrine concentrations in the NAC significantly correlated with incentive motivation and the timing of the reward delays within the choice tasks. These results suggest a role for domain general processes in impulsive and risky choice and indicate the importance of the NAC and/or PFC in timing, reward processing, and choice behavior. PMID:24769268

Operator strategies under varying conditions of workload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnegard, Ruth J.

1991-01-01

An attempt was made to operationally define and measure strategic behavior in a complex multiple task environment. The Multi-Attribute Task battery was developed to simulate various aspects of flight and consisted of an auditory communication task, monitoring tasks, a tracking tasks, a resource management task which allowed a wide range of responding patterns, and a scheduling window which allowed operators to predict changes in workload. This battery was validated for its sensitivity to strategic behavior, and baseline measures for each individual task were collected. Twenty-four undergraduate and graduate students then performed the battery for four 64 minute sessions which took place over a period of 2 days. Each subject performed the task battery under four levels of workload, which were presented for equal lengths of time during all four sessions. Results indicated that in general, performance improves as a function of experience with the battery, but that performance decreased as workload level increased. The data also showed that subjects developed strategies for responding to the resource management task which allowed them to manage the high workload levels more efficiently. This particular strategy developed over time but was also associated with errors of complacency. These results are presented along with implications for the aviation field and areas of future research.

Theta and Alpha Oscillations in Attentional Interaction during Distracted Driving

PubMed Central

Wang, Yu-Kai; Jung, Tzyy-Ping; Lin, Chin-Teng

2018-01-01

Performing multiple tasks simultaneously usually affects the behavioral performance as compared with executing the single task. Moreover, processing multiple tasks simultaneously often involve more cognitive demands. Two visual tasks, lane-keeping task and mental calculation, were utilized to assess the brain dynamics through 32-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) recorded from 14 participants. A 400-ms stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) factor was used to induce distinct levels of attentional requirements. In the dual-task conditions, the deteriorated behavior reflected the divided attention and the overlapping brain resources used. The frontal, parietal and occipital components were decomposed by independent component analysis (ICA) algorithm. The event- and response-related theta and alpha oscillations in selected brain regions were investigated first. The increased theta oscillation in frontal component and decreased alpha oscillations in parietal and occipital components reflect the cognitive demands and attentional requirements as executing the designed tasks. Furthermore, time-varying interactive over-additive (O-Add), additive (Add) and under-additive (U-Add) activations were explored and summarized through the comparison between the summation of the elicited spectral perturbations in two single-task conditions and the spectral perturbations in the dual task. Add and U-Add activations were observed while executing the dual tasks. U-Add theta and alpha activations dominated the posterior region in dual-task situations. Our results show that both deteriorated behaviors and interactive brain activations should be comprehensively considered for evaluating workload or attentional interaction precisely. PMID:29479310

Effects of Achievement Goals on Challenge Seeking and Feedback Processing: Behavioral and fMRI Evidence

PubMed Central

Lee, Woogul; Kim, Sung-il

2014-01-01

We conducted behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research to investigate the effects of two types of achievement goals—mastery goals and performance-approach goals— on challenge seeking and feedback processing. The results of the behavioral experiment indicated that mastery goals were associated with a tendency to seek challenge, both before and after experiencing difficulty during task performance, whereas performance-approach goals were related to a tendency to avoid challenge after encountering difficulty during task performance. The fMRI experiment uncovered a significant decrease in ventral striatal activity when participants received negative feedback for any task type and both forms of achievement goals. During the processing of negative feedback for the rule-finding task, performance-approach-oriented participants showed a substantial reduction in activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the frontopolar cortex, whereas mastery-oriented participants showed little change. These results suggest that performance-approach-oriented participants are less likely to either recruit control processes in response to negative feedback or focus on task-relevant information provided alongside the negative feedback. In contrast, mastery-oriented participants are more likely to modulate aversive valuations to negative feedback and focus on the constructive elements of feedback in order to attain their task goals. We conclude that performance-approach goals lead to a reluctant stance towards difficulty, while mastery goals encourage a proactive stance. PMID:25251396

Nucleus accumbens core lesions induce sub-optimal choice and reduce sensitivity to magnitude and delay in impulsive choice tasks

PubMed Central

Steele, Catherine C.; Peterson, Jennifer R.; Marshall, Andrew T.; Stuebing, Sarah L.; Kirkpatrick, Kimberly

2017-01-01

The nucleus accumbens core (NAc) has long been recognized as an important contributor to the computation of reward value that is critical for impulsive choice behavior. Impulsive choice refers to choosing a smaller-sooner (SS) over a larger-later (LL) reward when the LL is more optimal in terms of the rate of reward delivery. Two experiments examined the role of the NAc in impulsive choice and its component processes of delay and magnitude processing. Experiment 1 delivered an impulsive choice task with manipulations of LL reward magnitude, followed by a reward magnitude discrimination task. Experiment 2 tested impulsive choice under manipulations of LL delay, followed by temporal bisection and progressive interval tasks. NAc lesions, in comparison to sham control lesions, produced suboptimal preferences that resulted in lower reward earning rates, and led to reduced sensitivity to magnitude and delay within the impulsive choice task. The secondary tasks revealed intact reward magnitude and delay discrimination abilities, but the lesion rats persisted in responding more as the progressive interval increased during the session. The results suggest that the NAc is most critical for demonstrating good sensitivity to magnitude and delay, and adjusting behavior accordingly. Ultimately, the NAc lesions induced suboptimal choice behavior rather than simply promoting impulsive choice, suggesting that an intact NAc is necessary for optimal decision making. PMID:29146281

Neurophysiological correlates of attention behavior in early infancy: Implications for emotion regulation during early childhood

PubMed Central

Perry, Nicole B.; Swingler, Margaret M.; Calkins, Susan D.; Bell, Martha Ann

2015-01-01

Current theoretical conceptualizations of regulatory development suggest that attention processes and emotion regulation processes share common neurophysiological underpinnings and behavioral antecedents such that emotion regulation abilities may build upon early attentional skills. To further elucidate this proposed relationship, we tested whether early neurophysiological processes measured during an attention task in infancy predicted in-task attention behavior, and whether infant's attention behavior was subsequently associated with their ability to regulate emotion in early childhood (N=388). Results indicated that, greater EEG power change (from baseline to task) at medial frontal locations (F3 and F4) during an attention task at 10 months were associated with concurrent observed behavioral attention. Specifically, greater change in EEG power at the right frontal location (F4) was associated with more attention, and greater EEG power at the left frontal location (F3) was associated with less attention, indicating a potential right hemisphere specialization for attention processes already present in the first year of life. In addition, after controlling for 5-month attention behavior, increased behavioral attention at 10-months was negatively associated with children's observed frustration to emotional challenge at age 3. Finally, the indirect effects from 10-month EEG power change at F3 and F4 to 3-year emotion regulation via infants' 10-month behavioral attention were significant, suggesting that infant's attention behavior is one mechanism through which early neurophysiological activity is related to emotion regulation abilities in childhood. PMID:26381926

I. WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY IN CONTEXT: MODELING DYNAMIC PROCESSES OF BEHAVIOR, MEMORY, AND DEVELOPMENT.

PubMed

Simmering, Vanessa R

2016-09-01

Working memory is a vital cognitive skill that underlies a broad range of behaviors. Higher cognitive functions are reliably predicted by working memory measures from two domains: children's performance on complex span tasks, and infants' performance in looking paradigms. Despite the similar predictive power across these research areas, theories of working memory development have not connected these different task types and developmental periods. The current project takes a first step toward bridging this gap by presenting a process-oriented theory, focusing on two tasks designed to assess visual working memory capacity in infants (the change-preference task) versus children and adults (the change detection task). Previous studies have shown inconsistent results, with capacity estimates increasing from one to four items during infancy, but only two to three items during early childhood. A probable source of this discrepancy is the different task structures used with each age group, but prior theories were not sufficiently specific to explain how performance relates across tasks. The current theory focuses on cognitive dynamics, that is, how memory representations are formed, maintained, and used within specific task contexts over development. This theory was formalized in a computational model to generate three predictions: 1) capacity estimates in the change-preference task should continue to increase beyond infancy; 2) capacity estimates should be higher in the change-preference versus change detection task when tested within individuals; and 3) performance should correlate across tasks because both rely on the same underlying memory system. I also tested a fourth prediction, that development across tasks could be explained through increasing real-time stability, realized computationally as strengthening connectivity within the model. Results confirmed these predictions, supporting the cognitive dynamics account of performance and developmental changes in real-time stability. The monograph concludes with implications for understanding memory, behavior, and development in a broader range of cognitive development. © 2016 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

The effects of computer-assisted instruction on the mathematics performance and classroom behavior of children with ADHD.

PubMed

Mautone, Jennifer A; DuPaul, George J; Jitendra, Asha K

2005-08-01

The present study examines the effects of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on the mathematics performance and classroom behavior of three second-through fourth-grade students with ADHD. A controlled case study is used to evaluate the effects of the computer software on participants' mathematics performance and on-task behavior. Participants' mathematics achievement improve and their on-task behavior increase during the CAI sessions relative to independent seatwork conditions. In addition, students and teachers consider CAI to be an acceptable intervention for some students with ADHD who are having difficulty with mathematics. Implications of these results for practice and research are discussed.

Effects of High-Definition and Conventional tDCS on Response Inhibition.

PubMed

Hogeveen, J; Grafman, J; Aboseria, M; David, A; Bikson, M; Hauner, K K

2016-01-01

Response inhibition is a critical executive function, enabling the adaptive control of behavior in a changing environment. The inferior frontal cortex (IFC) is considered to be critical for response inhibition, leading researchers to develop transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) montages attempting to target the IFC and improve inhibitory performance. However, conventional tDCS montages produce diffuse current through the brain, making it difficult to establish causality between stimulation of any one given brain region and resulting behavioral changes. Recently, high-definition tDCS (HD-tDCS) methods have been developed to target brain regions with increased focality relative to conventional tDCS. Remarkably few studies have utilized HD-tDCS to improve cognitive task performance, however, and no study has directly compared the behavioral effects of HD-tDCS to conventional tDCS. In the present study, participants received either HD-tDCS or conventional tDCS to the IFC during performance of a response inhibition task (stop-signal task, SST) or a control task (choice reaction time task, CRT). A third group of participants completed the same behavioral protocols, but received tDCS to a control site (mid-occipital cortex). Post-stimulation improvement in SST performance was analyzed as a function of tDCS group and the task performed during stimulation using both conventional and Bayesian parameter estimation analyses. Bayesian estimation of the effects of HD- and conventional tDCS to IFC relative to control site stimulation demonstrated enhanced response inhibition for both conditions. No improvements were found after control task (CRT) training in any tDCS condition. Results support the use of both HD- and conventional tDCS to the IFC for improving response inhibition, providing empirical evidence that HD-tDCS can be used to facilitate performance on an executive function task. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using SHRP 2 naturalistic driving data to assess drivers' speed choice while being engaged in different secondary tasks.

PubMed

Schneidereit, Tina; Petzoldt, Tibor; Keinath, Andreas; Krems, Josef F

2017-09-01

The engagement in secondary tasks while driving has been found to result in considerable impairments of driving performance. Texting has especially been suspected to be associated with an increased crash risk. At the same time, there is evidence that drivers use various self-regulating strategies to compensate for the increased demands caused by secondary task engagement. One of the findings reported from multiple studies is a reduction in driving speed. However, most of these studies are of experimental nature and do not let the drivers decide for themselves to (not) engage in the secondary task, and therefore, eliminate other strategies of self-regulation (e.g., postponing the task). The goal of the present analysis was to investigate if secondary task engagement results in speed adjustment also under naturalistic conditions. Our analysis relied on data of the SHRP 2 naturalistic driving study. To minimize the influence of potentially confounding factors on drivers' speed choice, we focused on episodes of free flow driving on interstates/highways. Driving speed was analyzed before, during, and after texting, smoking, eating, and adjusting/monitoring radio or climate control; in a total of 403 episodes. Data show some indication for speed adjustment for texting, especially when driving with high speed. However, the effect sizes were small and behavioral patterns varied considerably between drivers. The engagement in the other tasks did not influence drivers' speed behavior significantly. While drivers might indeed reduce speed slightly to accommodate for secondary task engagement, other forms of adaptation (e.g., strategic decisions) might play a more important role in a natural driving environment. The use of naturalistic driving data to study drivers' self-regulatory behavior at an operational level has proven to be promising. Still, in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding about drivers' self-regulatory behavior, a mixed-method approach is required. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A continuous time-resolved measure decoded from EEG oscillatory activity predicts working memory task performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Astrand, Elaine

2018-06-01

Objective. Working memory (WM), crucial for successful behavioral performance in most of our everyday activities, holds a central role in goal-directed behavior. As task demands increase, inducing higher WM load, maintaining successful behavioral performance requires the brain to work at the higher end of its capacity. Because it is depending on both external and internal factors, individual WM load likely varies in a continuous fashion. The feasibility to extract such a continuous measure in time that correlates to behavioral performance during a working memory task remains unsolved. Approach. Multivariate pattern decoding was used to test whether a decoder constructed from two discrete levels of WM load can generalize to produce a continuous measure that predicts task performance. Specifically, a linear regression with L2-regularization was chosen with input features from EEG oscillatory activity recorded from healthy participants while performing the n-back task, n\\in [1,2] . Main results. The feasibility to extract a continuous time-resolved measure that correlates positively to trial-by-trial working memory task performance is demonstrated (r  =  0.47, p  <  0.05). It is furthermore shown that this measure allows to predict task performance before action (r  =  0.49, p  <  0.05). We show that the extracted continuous measure enables to study the temporal dynamics of the complex activation pattern of WM encoding during the n-back task. Specifically, temporally precise contributions of different spectral features are observed which extends previous findings of traditional univariate approaches. Significance. These results constitute an important contribution towards a wide range of applications in the field of cognitive brain–machine interfaces. Monitoring mental processes related to attention and WM load to reduce the risk of committing errors in high-risk environments could potentially prevent many devastating consequences or using the continuous measure as neurofeedback opens up new possibilities to develop novel rehabilitation techniques for individuals with degraded WM capacity.

From homeostasis to behavior: Balanced activity in an exploration of embodied dynamic environmental-neural interaction.

PubMed

Hellyer, Peter John; Clopath, Claudia; Kehagia, Angie A; Turkheimer, Federico E; Leech, Robert

2017-08-01

In recent years, there have been many computational simulations of spontaneous neural dynamics. Here, we describe a simple model of spontaneous neural dynamics that controls an agent moving in a simple virtual environment. These dynamics generate interesting brain-environment feedback interactions that rapidly destabilize neural and behavioral dynamics demonstrating the need for homeostatic mechanisms. We investigate roles for homeostatic plasticity both locally (local inhibition adjusting to balance excitatory input) as well as more globally (regional "task negative" activity that compensates for "task positive", sensory input in another region) balancing neural activity and leading to more stable behavior (trajectories through the environment). Our results suggest complementary functional roles for both local and macroscale mechanisms in maintaining neural and behavioral dynamics and a novel functional role for macroscopic "task-negative" patterns of activity (e.g., the default mode network).

Transferring cognitive tasks between brain imaging modalities: implications for task design and results interpretation in FMRI studies.

PubMed

Warbrick, Tracy; Reske, Martina; Shah, N Jon

2014-09-22

As cognitive neuroscience methods develop, established experimental tasks are used with emerging brain imaging modalities. Here transferring a paradigm (the visual oddball task) with a long history of behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) experiments to a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment is considered. The aims of this paper are to briefly describe fMRI and when its use is appropriate in cognitive neuroscience; illustrate how task design can influence the results of an fMRI experiment, particularly when that task is borrowed from another imaging modality; explain the practical aspects of performing an fMRI experiment. It is demonstrated that manipulating the task demands in the visual oddball task results in different patterns of blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activation. The nature of the fMRI BOLD measure means that many brain regions are found to be active in a particular task. Determining the functions of these areas of activation is very much dependent on task design and analysis. The complex nature of many fMRI tasks means that the details of the task and its requirements need careful consideration when interpreting data. The data show that this is particularly important in those tasks relying on a motor response as well as cognitive elements and that covert and overt responses should be considered where possible. Furthermore, the data show that transferring an EEG paradigm to an fMRI experiment needs careful consideration and it cannot be assumed that the same paradigm will work equally well across imaging modalities. It is therefore recommended that the design of an fMRI study is pilot tested behaviorally to establish the effects of interest and then pilot tested in the fMRI environment to ensure appropriate design, implementation and analysis for the effects of interest.

Exaggerated acquisition and resistance to extinction of avoidance behavior in treated heroin-dependent males

PubMed Central

Sheynin, Jony; Moustafa, Ahmed A.; Beck, Kevin D.; Servatius, Richard J.; Casbolt, Peter A.; Haber, Paul; Elsayed, Mahmoud; Hogarth, Lee; Myers, Catherine E.

2015-01-01

Objective Addiction is often conceptualized as a behavioral strategy for avoiding negative experiences. In rodents, opioid intake has been associated with abnormal acquisition and extinction of avoidance behavior. Here, we tested the hypothesis that these findings would generalize to human opioid-dependent subjects. Method Adults meeting DSM-IV criteria for heroin-dependence and treated with opioid medication (n=27), and healthy controls (n=26), were recruited between March–October 2013 and given a computer-based task to assess avoidance behavior. On this task, subjects controlled a spaceship and could either gain points by shooting an enemy spaceship, or hide in safe areas to avoid on-screen aversive events. Results While groups did not differ on escape responding (hiding) during the aversive event, heroin-dependent males (but not females) made more avoidance responses during a warning signal that predicted the aversive event (ANOVA, sex × group interaction, p=0.007). This group was also slower to extinguish the avoidance response when the aversive event no longer followed the warning signal (p=0.011). This behavioral pattern resulted in reduced opportunity to obtain reward without reducing risk of punishment. Results suggest that differences in avoidance behavior cannot be easily explained by impaired task performance or by exaggerated motor activity in male patients. Conclusion This study provides evidence for abnormal acquisition and extinction of avoidance behavior in opioid-dependent patients. Interestingly, data suggest abnormal avoidance is demonstrated only by male patients. Findings shed light on cognitive and behavioral manifestations of opioid addiction, and may facilitate development of therapeutic approaches to help affected individuals. PMID:27046310

Electrophysiological evidence for cognitive control during conflict processing in visual spatial attention.

PubMed

Kehrer, Stefanie; Kraft, Antje; Irlbacher, Kerstin; Koch, Stefan P; Hagendorf, Herbert; Kathmann, Norbert; Brandt, Stephan A

2009-11-01

Event-related potentials were measured to investigate the role of visual spatial attention mechanisms in conflict processing. We suggested that a more difficult target selection leads to stronger attentional top-down control, thereby reducing the effects of arising conflicts. This hypothesis was tested by varying the selection difficulty in a location negative priming (NP) paradigm. The difficult task resulted in prolonged responses as compared to the easy task. A behavioral NP effect was only evident in the easy task. Psychophysiologically the easy task was associated with reduced parietal N1, enhanced frontocentral N2 and N2pc components and a prolonged P3 latency for the conflict as compared to the control condition. The N2pc effect was also obvious in the difficult task. Additionally frontocentral N2 amplitudes increased and latencies of N2pc and P3 were delayed compared to the easy task. The differences at frontocentral and parietal electrodes are consistent with previous studies ascribing activity in the prefrontal and parietal cortex as the source of top-down attentional control. Thus, we propose that stronger cognitive control is involved in the difficult task, resulting in a reduced behavioral NP conflict.

The neural architecture of age-related dual-task interferences.

PubMed

Chmielewski, Witold X; Yildiz, Ali; Beste, Christian

2014-01-01

In daily life elderly adults exhibit deficits when dual-tasking is involved. So far these deficits have been verified on a behavioral level in dual-tasking. Yet, the neuronal architecture of these deficits in aging still remains to be explored especially when late-middle aged individuals around 60 years of age are concerned. Neuroimaging studies in young participants concerning dual-tasking were, among others, related to activity in middle frontal (MFG) and superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and the anterior insula (AI). According to the frontal lobe hypothesis of aging, alterations in these frontal regions (i.e., SFG and MFG) might be responsible for cognitive deficits. We measured brain activity using fMRI, while examining age-dependent variations in dual-tasking by utilizing the PRP (psychological refractory period) test. Behavioral data showed an increasing PRP effect in late-middle aged adults. The results suggest the age-related deteriorated performance in dual-tasking, especially in conditions of risen complexity. These effects are related to changes in networks involving the AI, the SFG and the MFG. The results suggest that different cognitive subprocesses are affected that mediate the observed dual-tasking problems in late-middle aged individuals.

On the differentiation of N2 components in an appetitive choice task: evidence for the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory.

PubMed

Leue, Anja; Chavanon, Mira-Lynn; Wacker, Jan; Stemmler, Gerhard

2009-11-01

Task- and personality-related modulations of the N2 were probed within the framework of the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST). Using an appetitive choice task, we investigated 58 students with extreme scores on the behavioral inhibition system and behavioral approach system (BIS/BAS) scales. The baseline-to-peak N2 amplitude was sensitive to the strength of decision conflict and demonstrated RST-related personality differences. In addition to the baseline N2 amplitude, temporal PCA results suggested two N2 components accounting for a laterality effect and capturing different N2 patterns for BIS/BAS groups with increasing conflict level. Evidence for RST-related personality differences was obtained for baseline-to-peak N2 and tPCA components in the present task. The results support the RST prediction that BAS sensitivity modulates conflict processing and confirm the cognitive-motivational conflict concept of RST.

Emotional task management: neural correlates of switching between affective and non-affective task-sets

PubMed Central

Reeck, Crystal

2015-01-01

Although task-switching has been investigated extensively, its interaction with emotionally salient task content remains unclear. Prioritized processing of affective stimulus content may enhance accessibility of affective task-sets and generate increased interference when switching between affective and non-affective task-sets. Previous research has demonstrated that more dominant task-sets experience greater switch costs, as they necessitate active inhibition during performance of less entrenched tasks. Extending this logic to the affective domain, the present experiment examined (a) whether affective task-sets are more dominant than non-affective ones, and (b) what neural mechanisms regulate affective task-sets, so that weaker, non-affective task-sets can be executed. While undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants categorized face stimuli according to either their gender (non-affective task) or their emotional expression (affective task). Behavioral results were consistent with the affective task dominance hypothesis: participants were slower to switch to the affective task, and cross-task interference was strongest when participants tried to switch from the affective to the non-affective task. These behavioral costs of controlling the affective task-set were mirrored in the activation of a right-lateralized frontostriatal network previously implicated in task-set updating and response inhibition. Connectivity between amygdala and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex was especially pronounced during cross-task interference from affective features. PMID:25552571

Modeling the Mechanical Behavior of Ceramic Matrix Composite Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jordan, William

1998-01-01

Ceramic matrix composites are ceramic materials, such as SiC, that have been reinforced by high strength fibers, such as carbon. Designers are interested in using ceramic matrix composites because they have the capability of withstanding significant loads while at relatively high temperatures (in excess of 1,000 C). Ceramic matrix composites retain the ceramic materials ability to withstand high temperatures, but also possess a much greater ductility and toughness. Their high strength and medium toughness is what makes them of so much interest to the aerospace community. This work concentrated on two different tasks. The first task was to do an extensive literature search into the mechanical behavior of ceramic matrix composite materials. This report contains the results of this task. The second task was to use this understanding to help interpret the ceramic matrix composite mechanical test results that had already been obtained by NASA. Since the specific details of these test results are subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), they are reported in a separate document (Jordan, 1997).

Striatal dysfunction during reversal learning in unmedicated schizophrenia patients☆

PubMed Central

Schlagenhauf, Florian; Huys, Quentin J.M.; Deserno, Lorenz; Rapp, Michael A.; Beck, Anne; Heinze, Hans-Joachim; Dolan, Ray; Heinz, Andreas

2014-01-01

Subjects with schizophrenia are impaired at reinforcement-driven reversal learning from as early as their first episode. The neurobiological basis of this deficit is unknown. We obtained behavioral and fMRI data in 24 unmedicated, primarily first episode, schizophrenia patients and 24 age-, IQ- and gender-matched healthy controls during a reversal learning task. We supplemented our fMRI analysis, focusing on learning from prediction errors, with detailed computational modeling to probe task solving strategy including an ability to deploy an internal goal directed model of the task. Patients displayed reduced functional activation in the ventral striatum (VS) elicited by prediction errors. However, modeling task performance revealed that a subgroup did not adjust their behavior according to an accurate internal model of the task structure, and these were also the more severely psychotic patients. In patients who could adapt their behavior, as well as in controls, task solving was best described by cognitive strategies according to a Hidden Markov Model. When we compared patients and controls who acted according to this strategy, patients still displayed a significant reduction in VS activation elicited by informative errors that precede salient changes of behavior (reversals). Thus, our study shows that VS dysfunction in schizophrenia patients during reward-related reversal learning remains a core deficit even when controlling for task solving strategies. This result highlights VS dysfunction is tightly linked to a reward-related reversal learning deficit in early, unmedicated schizophrenia patients. PMID:24291614

Is there less to social anxiety than meets the eye? Behavioral and neural responses to three socio-emotional tasks

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is widely thought to be characterized by heightened behavioral and limbic reactivity to socio-emotional stimuli. However, although behavioral findings are clear, neural findings are surprisingly mixed. Methods Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined behavioral and brain responses in a priori emotion generative regions of interest (amygdala and insula) in 67 patients with generalized SAD and in 28 healthy controls (HC) during three distinct socio-emotional tasks. We administered these socio-emotional tasks during one fMRI scanning session: 1) looming harsh faces (Faces); 2) videotaped actors delivering social criticism (Criticism); and 3) written negative self-beliefs (Beliefs). Results In each task, SAD patients reported heightened negative emotion, compared to HC. There were, however, no SAD versus HC differential brain responses in the amygdala and insula. Between-group whole-brain analyses confirmed no group differences in the responses of the amygdala and insula, and indicated different brain networks activated during each of the tasks. In SAD participants, social anxiety symptom severity was associated with increased BOLD signal in the left insula during the Faces task. Conclusions The similar responses in amygdala and insula in SAD and HC participants suggest that heightened negative emotion responses reported by patients with SAD may be related to dysfunction in higher cognitive processes (e.g., distorted appraisal, attention biases, or ineffective cognitive reappraisal). In addition, the findings of this study emphasize the differential effects of socio-emotional experimental tasks. PMID:23448192

Beliefs About Behavior Account for Age Differences in the Correspondence Bias

PubMed Central

Blanchard-Fields, Fredda

2011-01-01

Objectives. Older adults tend to exhibit the correspondence bias to a greater extent than young adults. The current study examined whether these age differences are a function of the degree to which an individual subscribes to a lay theory of attitude–behavior consistency. Methods. First, participants responded to questions regarding their beliefs about attitude–behavior consistency. Approximately 2 weeks later, 144 (67 young adults and 77 older adults) participants completed the correspondence bias task. Results. As expected, older adults were more biased than young adults. Analyses revealed that the degree to which an individual holds attitude–behavior consistency beliefs in the dishonesty domain accounted for age-related differences in the correspondence bias. Discussion. The results of this study suggest that age differences in the correspondence bias task are in part driven by older adults holding stronger attitude–behavior consistency beliefs than young adults. PMID:21071624

Self-Management of On-Task Homework Behavior: A Promising Strategy for Adolescents with Attention and Behavior Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Axelrod, Michael I.; Zhe, Elizabeth J.; Haugen, Kimberly A.; Klein, Jean A.

2009-01-01

Students with attention and behavior problems oftentimes experience difficulty finishing academic work. On-task behavior is frequently cited as a primary reason for students' failure to complete homework assignments. Researchers have identified self-monitoring and self-management of on-task behavior as effective tools for improving homework…

Evaluating the Effects of Formal Corrective Feedback on Off-Task/On-Task Behavior of Mild Intellectually Disabled Students: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Kevin

2016-01-01

The off-task behavior demonstrated by the study participants appears to interfere with classroom instruction, contribute to poor academic performance and in many instances lead to disciplinary actions such as suspension. The purpose of the study entailed determining if formal corrective feedback has an effect on the off-task/on-task behavior of…

Effects of Task Complexity on L2 Writing Behaviors and Linguistic Complexity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Révész, Andrea; Kourtali, Nektaria-Efstathia; Mazgutova, Diana

2017-01-01

This study investigated whether task complexity influences second language (L2) writers' fluency, pausing, and revision behaviors and the cognitive processes underlying these behaviors; whether task complexity affects linguistic complexity of written output; and whether relationships between writing behaviors and linguistic complexity are…

The Effects of Partner-Check Self-Recording of On-Task Behavior on Academic Productivity in Children with Behavior Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohakamnu, George N.

2010-01-01

Due to an increase in behavior problems among school children, especially at-risk children who have problems staying on-task, there is a need for a teaching strategy that will enable children to be focused and on task in the classroom. This quantitative study investigated whether partner-check self-recording of on-task behavior will increase the…

Conflicts between On-Task and Off-Task Behaviors in the Classroom: The Influences of Parental Monitoring, Peer Value Orientations, Students' Goals, and Their Value Orientations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kilian, Britta; Hofer, Manfred; Kuhnle, Claudia

2013-01-01

Students in class are sometimes torn between following the lesson and engaging in off-task behavior. In this paper, instead of classifying it as a form of deviant behavior, off-task behavior is reconstructed as a manifestation of students multiple motivations in the classroom. The study examines whether parental monitoring, peer value…

A discrimination task used as a novel method of testing decision-making behavior following traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Martens, Kris M; Vonder Haar, Cole; Hutsell, Blake A; Hoane, Michael R

2012-10-10

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in a multitude of deficits following injury. Some of the most pervasive in humans are the changes that affect frontally-mediated cognitive functioning, such as decision making. The assessment of decision-making behavior in rodents has been extensively tested in the field of the experimental analysis of behavior. However, due to the narrow therapeutic window following TBI, time-intensive operant paradigms are rarely incorporated into the battery of tests traditionally used, the majority of which assess motor and sensory functioning. The cognitive measures that are used are frequently limited to memory and do not account for changes in decision-making behavior. The purpose of the present study was to develop a simplified discrimination task that can assess deficits in decision-making behavior in rodents. For the task, rats were required to dig in cocoa-scented sand (versus unscented sand) for a reinforcer. Rats were given 12 sessions per day until a criterion level of 80% accuracy for 3 days straight was reached. Once the criterion was achieved, cortical contusion injuries were induced (frontal, parietal, or sham). Following a recovery period, the rats were re-tested on cocoa versus unscented sand. Upon reaching criterion, a reversal discrimination was evaluated in which the reinforcer was placed in unscented sand. Finally, a novel scent discrimination (basil versus coffee with basil reinforced), and a reversal (coffee) were evaluated. The results indicated that the Dig task is a simple experimental preparation that can be used to assess deficits in decision-making behavior following TBI.

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

The effects of response cost and species-typical behaviors on a daily time-place learning task.

PubMed

Deibel, Scott H; Thorpe, Christina M

2013-03-01

Two theories that have been hypothesized to mediate acquisition in daily time-place learning (TPL) tasks were investigated in a free operant daily TPL task: the response cost hypothesis and the species-typical behavior hypothesis. One lever at the end of one of the choice arms of a T-maze provided food in the morning, and 6 h later, a lever in the other choice arm provided food. Four groups were used to assess the effect of two possible sources of response cost: physical effort of the task and costs associated with foraging ecology. One group was used to assess the effect of explicitly allowing for species-typical behaviors. If only first arm choice data were considered, there was little evidence of learning. However, both first press and percentage of presses on the correct lever prior to the first reinforcement revealed evidence of TPL in most rats tested. Unexpectedly, the high response cost groups for both of the proposed sources did not perform better than the low response cost groups. The groups that allowed animals to display species-typical behaviors performed the worst. Skip session probe trials confirmed that the majority of the rats that acquired the task were using a circadian timing strategy. The results from the present study suggest that learning in free operant daily TPL tasks might not be dependent on response cost.

Impaired Decision-Making in Adolescent Suicide Attempters

PubMed Central

Bridge, Jeffrey A.; McBee-Strayer, Sandra M.; Cannon, Elizabeth A.; Sheftall, Arielle H.; Reynolds, Brady; Campo, John V.; Pajer, Kathleen A.; Barbe, Rémy P.; Brent, David A.

2012-01-01

Objective Decision-making deficits have been linked to suicidal behavior in adults. However, it remains unclear whether impaired decision-making plays a role in the etiopathogenesis of youth suicidal behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine decision-making processes in adolescent suicide attempters and never-suicidal comparison subjects. Method Using the Iowa Gambling Task, the authors examined decision-making in 40 adolescent suicide attempters, ages 13–18, and 40 never-suicidal, demographically-matched psychiatric comparison subjects. Results Overall, suicide attempters performed significantly worse on the Iowa Gambling Task than comparison subjects. This difference in overall task performance between the groups persisted in an exact conditional logistic regression analysis that controlled for affective disorder, current psychotropic medication use, impulsivity, and hostility (adjusted odds ratio=0.96, 95% confidence interval=0.90–0.99, p<.05). A two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed a significant group-by-block interaction, demonstrating that attempters failed to learn during the task, picking approximately the same proportion of disadvantageous cards in the first and final blocks of the task. In contrast, comparison subjects picked proportionately fewer cards from the disadvantageous decks as the task progressed. Within the attempter group, overall task performance did not correlate with any characteristic of the index attempt or with the personality dimensions of impulsivity, hostility, and emotional lability. Conclusions Similar to findings in adults, impaired decision-making is associated with suicidal behavior in adolescents. Longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate the temporal relationship between decision-making processes and suicidal behavior and help frame potential targets for early identification and preventive interventions to reduce youth suicide and suicidal behavior. PMID:22449645

Pharmacokinetics and behavioral effects of liposomal hydromorphone suitable for perioperative use in rhesus macaques

PubMed Central

KuKanich, Butch; Schmidt, Brynn; Heath, Timothy D.; Brown, Carolyn

2011-01-01

Introduction This study aims to evaluate the pharmacokinetic, behavioral, and motor effects of a liposomal preparation of hydromorphone hydrochloride (LE-hydro) in rhesus monkeys. We administered either 2 mg/kg of LE-hydro (n=8) subcutaneous (s.c.) or 0.1 mg/kg of standard pharmaceutical hydromorphone HCl (hydro) preparation either intravenous (i.v.; n=4) or s.c. (n=5). Materials and methods Serial blood samples were drawn after injection and analyzed for serum hydro concentration by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Following s.c. injection of 0.1 mg/kg hydro or 2 mg/kg LE-hydro, behavioral evaluations were conducted in groups of rhesus monkeys (n=10/group) in the presence of a compatible stimulus animal and motor skills were also evaluated (n=10/group). The motor skills test consisted of removing a food reward (carrot ring) from either a straight peg (simple task) or a curved peg (difficult task). Results LE-hydro (MRT0-INF = 105.9 h) demonstrated extended-release pharmacokinetics compared to hydro when administered by either i.v. (MRT0-INF =1.1 h) or s.c. (MRT0-INF =1.3 h) routes. Hydro did not affect motor performance of the simpler task, but the monkeys’ performance deteriorated on the more difficult task at 0.5 and 1 h after injection. LE-hydro had no effect on motor skills in either the simpler or more difficult task. Conclusions The results of these studies indicate that LE-hydro has a pharmacokinetic and behavioral side effects profile consistent with an analgesic that could be tested for surgical use in animals. Our studies also expand the use of rhesus monkeys as a translational behavioral pharmacodynamics model for testing extended-release opioid medication. PMID:21404039

The impact of reward and punishment on skill learning depends on task demands

PubMed Central

Steel, Adam; Silson, Edward H.; Stagg, Charlotte J.; Baker, Chris I.

2016-01-01

Reward and punishment motivate behavior, but it is unclear exactly how they impact skill performance and whether the effect varies across skills. The present study investigated the effect of reward and punishment in both a sequencing skill and a motor skill context. Participants trained on either a sequencing skill (serial reaction time task) or a motor skill (force-tracking task). Skill knowledge was tested immediately after training, and again 1 hour, 24–48 hours, and 30 days after training. We found a dissociation of the effects of reward and punishment on the tasks, primarily reflecting the impact of punishment. While punishment improved serial reaction time task performance, it impaired force-tracking task performance. In contrast to prior literature, neither reward nor punishment benefitted memory retention, arguing against the common assumption that reward ubiquitously benefits skill retention. Collectively, these results suggest that punishment impacts skilled behavior more than reward in a complex, task dependent fashion. PMID:27786302

The impact of reward and punishment on skill learning depends on task demands.

PubMed

Steel, Adam; Silson, Edward H; Stagg, Charlotte J; Baker, Chris I

2016-10-27

Reward and punishment motivate behavior, but it is unclear exactly how they impact skill performance and whether the effect varies across skills. The present study investigated the effect of reward and punishment in both a sequencing skill and a motor skill context. Participants trained on either a sequencing skill (serial reaction time task) or a motor skill (force-tracking task). Skill knowledge was tested immediately after training, and again 1 hour, 24-48 hours, and 30 days after training. We found a dissociation of the effects of reward and punishment on the tasks, primarily reflecting the impact of punishment. While punishment improved serial reaction time task performance, it impaired force-tracking task performance. In contrast to prior literature, neither reward nor punishment benefitted memory retention, arguing against the common assumption that reward ubiquitously benefits skill retention. Collectively, these results suggest that punishment impacts skilled behavior more than reward in a complex, task dependent fashion.

Increasing On-Task Behavior through Motivational Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lantz, Christine; McKenna, Barbara; Price, Brianne; Stralow, Duane

2007-01-01

This report describes a program designed to increase students' on-task behavior. The students in the sample population consisted of kindergarten, first, and fifth graders. These classrooms are located in a community in northern Illinois. The problem of student behavior adversely affecting on-task behavior was well documented through a review of…

An Updated Version of the U.S. Air Force Multi-Attribute Task Battery (AF-MATB)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-01

assessing human performance in a controlled multitask environment. The most recent release of AF-MATB contains numerous improvements and additions...Strategic Behavior, MATB, Multitasking , Task Battery, Simulator, Multi-Attribute Task Battery, Automation 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF...performance and multitasking strategy. As a result, a specific Information Throughput (IT) Mode was designed to customize the task to fit the Human

Smartphone form factors: Effects of width and bottom bezel on touch performance, workload, and physical demand.

PubMed

Lee, Seul Chan; Cha, Min Chul; Hwangbo, Hwan; Mo, Sookhee; Ji, Yong Gu

2018-02-01

This study aimed at investigating the effect of two smartphone form factors (width and bottom bezel) on touch behaviors with one-handed interaction. User experiments on tapping tasks were conducted for four widths (67, 70, 72, and 74 mm) and five bottom bezel levels (2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, and 12.5 mm). Task performance, electromyography, and subjective workload data were collected to examine the touch behavior. The success rate and task completion time were collected as task performance measures. The NASA-TLX method was used to observe the subjective workload. The electromyogram signals of two thumb muscles, namely the first dorsal interosseous and abductor pollicis brevis, were observed. The task performances deteriorated with increasing width level. The subjective workload and electromyography data showed similar patterns with the task performances. The task performances of the bottom bezel devices were analyzed by using three different evaluation criteria. The results from these criteria indicated that tasks became increasingly difficult as the bottom bezel level decreased. The results of this study provide insights into the optimal range of smartphone form factors for one-handed interaction, which could contribute to the design of new smartphones. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Parental investment theory and gender differences in the evolution of inhibition mechanisms.

PubMed

Bjorklund, D F; Kipp, K

1996-09-01

Based on the tenets of parental investment theory, the authors postulate that there was greater pressure to inhibit potentially maladaptive emotional, social, and sexual responses on prehistoric women than men in some contexts, resulting in enhanced inhibitory abilities in women in some domains. They reviewed studies whose researchers examined gender differences on social, behavioral, and cognitive tasks involving inhibition and found gender differences favoring female humans most consistent for social tasks (e.g., control of emotions), somewhat less pronounced for behavioral tasks (e.g., delay of gratification), and weak and inconsistent for cognitive tasks (e.g., conceptual tempo). This pattern was interrupted as being consistent with the position that gender differences in inhibition are relatively domain specific in nature, with women demonstrating greater abilities on tasks related to reproduction and childrearing, which is consistent with parental investment theory.

Dynamical signatures of isometric force control as a function of age, expertise, and task constraints.

PubMed

Vieluf, Solveig; Sleimen-Malkoun, Rita; Voelcker-Rehage, Claudia; Jirsa, Viktor; Reuter, Eva-Maria; Godde, Ben; Temprado, Jean-Jacques; Huys, Raoul

2017-07-01

From the conceptual and methodological framework of the dynamical systems approach, force control results from complex interactions of various subsystems yielding observable behavioral fluctuations, which comprise both deterministic (predictable) and stochastic (noise-like) dynamical components. Here, we investigated these components contributing to the observed variability in force control in groups of participants differing in age and expertise level. To this aim, young (18-25 yr) as well as late middle-aged (55-65 yr) novices and experts (precision mechanics) performed a force maintenance and a force modulation task. Results showed that whereas the amplitude of force variability did not differ across groups in the maintenance tasks, in the modulation task it was higher for late middle-aged novices than for experts and higher for both these groups than for young participants. Within both tasks and for all groups, stochastic fluctuations were lowest where the deterministic influence was smallest. However, although all groups showed similar dynamics underlying force control in the maintenance task, a group effect was found for deterministic and stochastic fluctuations in the modulation task. The latter findings imply that both components were involved in the observed group differences in the variability of force fluctuations in the modulation task. These findings suggest that between groups the general characteristics of the dynamics do not differ in either task and that force control is more affected by age than by expertise. However, expertise seems to counteract some of the age effects. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Stochastic and deterministic dynamical components contribute to force production. Dynamical signatures differ between force maintenance and cyclic force modulation tasks but hardly between age and expertise groups. Differences in both stochastic and deterministic components are associated with group differences in behavioral variability, and observed behavioral variability is more strongly task dependent than person dependent. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Reevaluating canine perspective-taking behavior.

PubMed

Udell, Monique A R; Wynne, Clive D L

2011-12-01

Udell, Dorey, and Wynne (2011) demonstrated that both domesticated and nondomesticated canids-specifically, gray wolves-have the capacity to succeed on perspective-taking tasks, suggesting that dogs' ability to respond to the human attentional state is not a by-product of domestication alone. Furthermore, not all dogs were successful on the task. Instead, the occluder type used was a strong predictor of performance, indicating the important role of environment and experience for tasks of this type. Here, we address several commentaries reflecting on the methods and design of that study, as well as the interpretation of the results. We also discuss the positive shift toward more interactive approaches in the field of canine behavior and cognition. Finally, we question the functionality of describing canine social behavior in terms of theory of mind.

A Motion Capture Study to Measure the Feeling of Synchrony in Romantic Couples and in Professional Musicians

PubMed Central

Preissmann, Delphine; Charbonnier, Caecilia; Chagué, Sylvain; Antonietti, Jean-Philippe; Llobera, Joan; Ansermet, Francois; Magistretti, Pierre J.

2016-01-01

The feeling of synchrony is fundamental for most social activities and prosocial behaviors. However, little is known about the behavioral correlates of this feeling and its modulation by intergroup differences. We previously showed that the subjective feeling of synchrony in subjects involved in a mirror imitation task was modulated by objective behavioral measures, as well as contextual factors such as task difficulty and duration of the task performance. In the present study, we extended our methodology to investigate possible interindividual differences. We hypothesized that being in a romantic relationship or being a professional musician can modulate both implicit and explicit synchronization and the feeling of synchrony as well as the ability to detect synchrony from a third person perspective. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find significant differences between people in a romantic relationship and control subjects. However, we observed differences between musicians and control subjects. For the implicit synchrony (spontaneous synchronization during walking), the results revealed that musicians that had never met before spontaneously synchronized their movements earlier among themselves than control subjects, but not better than people sharing a romantic relationship. Moreover, in explicit behavioral synchronization tasks (mirror game), musicians reported earlier feeling of synchrony and had less speed errors than control subjects. This was in interaction with tasks difficulty as these differences appeared only in tasks with intermediate difficulty. Finally, when subjects had to judge synchrony from a third person perspective, musicians had a better performance to identify if they were present or not in the videos. Taken together, our results suggest that being a professional musician can play a role in the feeling of synchrony and its underlying mechanisms. PMID:27833580

Neuronal Assemblies Evidence Distributed Interactions within a Tactile Discrimination Task in Rats

PubMed Central

Deolindo, Camila S.; Kunicki, Ana C. B.; da Silva, Maria I.; Lima Brasil, Fabrício; Moioli, Renan C.

2018-01-01

Accumulating evidence suggests that neural interactions are distributed and relate to animal behavior, but many open questions remain. The neural assembly hypothesis, formulated by Hebb, states that synchronously active single neurons may transiently organize into functional neural circuits—neuronal assemblies (NAs)—and that would constitute the fundamental unit of information processing in the brain. However, the formation, vanishing, and temporal evolution of NAs are not fully understood. In particular, characterizing NAs in multiple brain regions over the course of behavioral tasks is relevant to assess the highly distributed nature of brain processing. In the context of NA characterization, active tactile discrimination tasks with rats are elucidative because they engage several cortical areas in the processing of information that are otherwise masked in passive or anesthetized scenarios. In this work, we investigate the dynamic formation of NAs within and among four different cortical regions in long-range fronto-parieto-occipital networks (primary somatosensory, primary visual, prefrontal, and posterior parietal cortices), simultaneously recorded from seven rats engaged in an active tactile discrimination task. Our results first confirm that task-related neuronal firing rate dynamics in all four regions is significantly modulated. Notably, a support vector machine decoder reveals that neural populations contain more information about the tactile stimulus than the majority of single neurons alone. Then, over the course of the task, we identify the emergence and vanishing of NAs whose participating neurons are shown to contain more information about animal behavior than randomly chosen neurons. Taken together, our results further support the role of multiple and distributed neurons as the functional unit of information processing in the brain (NA hypothesis) and their link to active animal behavior. PMID:29375324

The "hypnotic state" and eye movements: Less there than meets the eye?

PubMed Central

Nordhjem, Barbara; Marcusson-Clavertz, David; Holmqvist, Kenneth

2017-01-01

Responsiveness to hypnotic procedures has been related to unusual eye behaviors for centuries. Kallio and collaborators claimed recently that they had found a reliable index for "the hypnotic state" through eye-tracking methods. Whether or not hypnotic responding involves a special state of consciousness has been part of a contentious debate in the field, so the potential validity of their claim would constitute a landmark. However, their conclusion was based on 1 highly hypnotizable individual compared with 14 controls who were not measured on hypnotizability. We sought to replicate their results with a sample screened for High (n = 16) or Low (n = 13) hypnotizability. We used a factorial 2 (high vs. low hypnotizability) x 2 (hypnosis vs. resting conditions) counterbalanced order design with these eye-tracking tasks: Fixation, Saccade, Optokinetic nystagmus (OKN), Smooth pursuit, and Antisaccade (the first three tasks has been used in Kallio et al.'s experiment). Highs reported being more deeply in hypnosis than Lows but only in the hypnotic condition, as expected. There were no significant main or interaction effects for the Fixation, OKN, or Smooth pursuit tasks. For the Saccade task both Highs and Lows had smaller saccades during hypnosis, and in the Antisaccade task both groups had slower Antisaccades during hypnosis. Although a couple of results suggest that a hypnotic condition may produce reduced eye motility, the lack of significant interactions (e.g., showing only Highs expressing a particular eye behavior during hypnosis) does not support the claim that eye behaviors (at least as measured with the techniques used) are an indicator of a "hypnotic state.” Our results do not preclude the possibility that in a more spontaneous or different setting the experience of being hypnotized might relate to specific eye behaviors. PMID:28846696

Fostering Intrinsic Motivation, Learning Goals, and Fluid Beliefs of Intelligence among Struggling Readers: An Intervention Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orkin, Melissa

2013-01-01

Beginning in elementary school, those students who struggle to acquire basic reading skills tend to demonstrate a stronger tendency towards task avoidance. As a result of their avoidant behaviors, students' reading ability progresses at a slower rate, which leads to further task evasion. The current study addressed task avoidance among…

Harsh parenting and child externalizing behavior: skin conductance level reactivity as a moderator.

PubMed

Erath, Stephen A; El-Sheikh, Mona; Mark Cummings, E

2009-01-01

Skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) was examined as a moderator of the association between harsh parenting and child externalizing behavior. Participants were 251 boys and girls (8-9 years). Mothers and fathers provided reports of harsh parenting and their children's externalizing behavior; children also provided reports of harsh parenting. SCLR was assessed in response to a socioemotional stress task and a problem-solving challenge task. Regression analyses revealed that the association between harsh parenting and externalizing behavior was stronger among children with lower SCLR, as compared to children with higher SCLR. SCLR may be a more robust moderator among boys compared to girls. Results are discussed with regard to theories on antisocial behavior and multiple-domain models of child development.

A Teacher-Report Measure of Children's Task-Avoidant Behavior: A Validation Study of the Behavioral Strategy Rating Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Xiao; Nurmi, Jari-Erik; Kiuru, Noona; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina; Aunola, Kaisa

2011-01-01

This study aims to validate a teacher-report measure of children's task-avoidant behavior, namely the Behavioral Strategy Rating Scale (BSRS), in a sample of 352 Finnish children. In each of the four waves from Kindergarten to Grade 2, teachers rated children's task-avoidant behavior using the BSRS, children completed reading and mathematics…

Using Stimulant Drugs in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barkley, Russell A.

1979-01-01

Research is reviewed on the effects of stimulant drugs on the classroom behavior and academic achievement of hyperactive children. Results indicate that stimulant drugs do not appreciably improve academic achievement, but are effective in improving attention span, on-task behavior, activity level, and disruptive behavior. (Author/MH)

Brain Signal Variability Differentially Affects Cognitive Flexibility and Cognitive Stability.

PubMed

Armbruster-Genç, Diana J N; Ueltzhöffer, Kai; Fiebach, Christian J

2016-04-06

Recent research yielded the intriguing conclusion that, in healthy adults, higher levels of variability in neuronal processes are beneficial for cognitive functioning. Beneficial effects of variability in neuronal processing can also be inferred from neurocomputational theories of working memory, albeit this holds only for tasks requiring cognitive flexibility. However, cognitive stability, i.e., the ability to maintain a task goal in the face of irrelevant distractors, should suffer under high levels of brain signal variability. To directly test this prediction, we studied both behavioral and brain signal variability during cognitive flexibility (i.e., task switching) and cognitive stability (i.e., distractor inhibition) in a sample of healthy human subjects and developed an efficient and easy-to-implement analysis approach to assess BOLD-signal variability in event-related fMRI task paradigms. Results show a general positive effect of neural variability on task performance as assessed by accuracy measures. However, higher levels of BOLD-signal variability in the left inferior frontal junction area result in reduced error rate costs during task switching and thus facilitate cognitive flexibility. In contrast, variability in the same area has a detrimental effect on cognitive stability, as shown in a negative effect of variability on response time costs during distractor inhibition. This pattern was mirrored at the behavioral level, with higher behavioral variability predicting better task switching but worse distractor inhibition performance. Our data extend previous results on brain signal variability by showing a differential effect of brain signal variability that depends on task context, in line with predictions from computational theories. Recent neuroscientific research showed that the human brain signal is intrinsically variable and suggested that this variability improves performance. Computational models of prefrontal neural networks predict differential effects of variability for different behavioral situations requiring either cognitive flexibility or stability. However, this hypothesis has so far not been put to an empirical test. In this study, we assessed cognitive flexibility and cognitive stability, and, besides a generally positive effect of neural variability on accuracy measures, we show that neural variability in a prefrontal brain area at the inferior frontal junction is differentially associated with performance: higher levels of variability are beneficial for the effectiveness of task switching (cognitive flexibility) but detrimental for the efficiency of distractor inhibition (cognitive stability). Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/363978-10$15.00/0.

A comparison of procedures for unpairing conditioned reflexive motivating operations.

PubMed

Kettering, Tracy L; Neef, Nancy A; Kelley, Michael E; Heward, William L

2018-03-01

This study compared the effectiveness of two procedures to reduce behavior evoked by a reflexive conditioned motivating operation (CMO-R). Task demands were shown to evoke escape-maintained problem behavior for 4 students with disabilities. Alternative communication responses were taught as an appropriate method to request escape and this treatment combined with extinction for problem behavior led to decreases in problem behavior for all students. A beeping timer was then arranged to temporally precede the task demand to create a CMO-R that evoked communication responses. When data showed that the sound of the timer was functioning as a CMO-R, two methods to reduce behavior evoked by a CMO-R-extinction unpairing and noncontingent unpairing-were evaluated. Results indicated that noncontingent unpairing was an effective method to reduce the evocative effects of the CMO-R. Extinction produced unsystematic effects across participants. Results are discussed in terms of abolishing CMOs and the implications of CMOs. © 2018 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Using aberrant behaviors as reinforcers for autistic children.

PubMed Central

Charlop, M H; Kurtz, P F; Casey, F G

1990-01-01

In a series of experiments, we assessed the efficacy of using autistic children's aberrant behaviors as reinforcers to increase their correct task responding. In Experiment 1, reinforcer conditions of stereotypy, food, and varied (food or stereotypy) were compared. In Experiment 2, the conditions were delayed echolalia, food, and varied (food or delayed echolalia), and in Experiment 3, perseverative behavior was compared with stereotypy and food as potential reinforcers. A multielement design was used for all comparisons, and side-effect measures were recorded during and after teaching sessions as well as at home. Results indicated that, in general, task performance was highest when brief opportunities to engage in aberrant behaviors were provided as reinforcers. Edibles were associated with the lowest performance. Furthermore, no negative side effects (e.g., an increase in aberrant behaviors) occurred. The results are discussed in terms of suggesting a more pragmatic treatment approach by addressing the contingent use of autistic children's aberrant behaviors as reinforcers. PMID:2373653

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

Emotional reactivity and cognitive performance in aversively motivated tasks: a comparison between four rat strains.

PubMed

van der Staay, F Josef; Schuurman, Teun; van Reenen, Cornelis G; Korte, S Mechiel

2009-12-15

Cognitive function might be affected by the subjects' emotional reactivity. We assessed whether behavior in different tests of emotional reactivity is correlated with performance in aversively motivated learning tasks, using four strains of rats generally considered to have a different emotional reactivity. The performance of male Brown Norway, Lewis, Fischer 344, and Wistar Kyoto rats in open field (OF), elevated plus-maze (EPM), and circular light-dark preference box (cLDB) tasks, which are believed to provide measures of emotional reactivity, was evaluated. Spatial working and reference memory were assessed in two aversively motivated learning and memory tasks: the standard and the "repeated acquisition" versions of the Morris water maze escape task, respectively. All rats were also tested in a passive avoidance task. At the end of the study, levels of serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and 5-HT turnover in the hippocampus and frontal cortex were determined. Strain differences showed a complex pattern across behavioral tests and serotonergic measures. Fischer 344 rats had the poorest performance in both versions of the Morris water escape task, whereas Brown Norway rats performed these tasks very well but the passive avoidance task poorly. Neither correlation analysis nor principal component analysis provided convincing support for the notion that OF, EPM, and cLDB tasks measure the same underlying trait. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that the level of emotional reactivity modulates cognitive performance in aversively motivated tasks. Concepts such as "emotional reactivity" and "learning and memory" cannot adequately be tapped with only one behavioral test. Our results emphasize the need for multiple testing.

Visual scanning behavior and pilot workload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, R. L., Sr.; Tole, J. R.; Stephens, A. T.; Ephrath, A. R.

1982-01-01

This paper describes an experimental paradigm and a set of results which demonstrate a relationship between the level of performance on a skilled man-machine control task, the skill of the operator, the level of mental difficulty induced by an additional task imposed on the basic control task, and visual scanning performance. During a constant, simulated piloting task, visual scanning of instruments was found to vary with the difficulty of a verbal mental loading task. The average dwell time of each fixation on the pilot's primary instrument increased with the estimated skill level of the pilots, with novices being affected by the loading task much more than experts. The results suggest that visual scanning of instruments in a controlled task may be an indicator of both workload and skill.

Remote guidance of untrained turtles by controlling voluntary instinct behavior.

PubMed

Lee, Serin; Kim, Cheol-Hu; Kim, Dae-Gun; Kim, Han-Guen; Lee, Phill-Seung; Myung, Hyun

2013-01-01

Recently, several studies have been carried out on the direct control of behavior in insects and other lower animals in order to apply these behaviors to the performance of specialized tasks in an attempt to find more efficient means of carrying out these tasks than artificial intelligence agents. While most of the current methods cause involuntary behavior in animals by electronically stimulating the corresponding brain area or muscle, we show that, in turtles, it is also possible to control certain types of behavior, such as movement trajectory, by evoking an appropriate voluntary instinctive behavior. We have found that causing a particular behavior, such as obstacle avoidance, by providing a specific visual stimulus results in effective control of the turtle's movement. We propose that this principle may be adapted and expanded into a general framework to control any animal behavior as an alternative to robotic probes.

Remote Guidance of Untrained Turtles by Controlling Voluntary Instinct Behavior

PubMed Central

Kim, Dae-Gun; Kim, Han-Guen; Lee, Phill-Seung; Myung, Hyun

2013-01-01

Recently, several studies have been carried out on the direct control of behavior in insects and other lower animals in order to apply these behaviors to the performance of specialized tasks in an attempt to find more efficient means of carrying out these tasks than artificial intelligence agents. While most of the current methods cause involuntary behavior in animals by electronically stimulating the corresponding brain area or muscle, we show that, in turtles, it is also possible to control certain types of behavior, such as movement trajectory, by evoking an appropriate voluntary instinctive behavior. We have found that causing a particular behavior, such as obstacle avoidance, by providing a specific visual stimulus results in effective control of the turtle's movement. We propose that this principle may be adapted and expanded into a general framework to control any animal behavior as an alternative to robotic probes. PMID:23613939

Early Huntington's Disease: Impulse Control Deficits but Correct Judgment Regarding Risky Situations.

PubMed

Galvez, Victor; Fernandez-Ruiz, Juan; Bayliss, Leo; Ochoa-Morales, Adriana; Hernandez-Castillo, Carlos R; Díaz, Rosalinda; Campos-Romo, Aurelio

2017-01-01

Huntington's disease (HD) patients show alterations in decision making tasks. However, it is still uncertain if these deficits are due to poor judgment regarding risky situations, or to impulse control deficits. To elucidate whether decision-making in patients is related to genuine risk behavior or to impulse control deficits. To test between these two alternative possibilities, we evaluated the performance of 19 prodromal HD patients and 19 matched healthy controls in the Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT). This task assesses decision-making while dissociating between genuine risk-taking behaviors (ascending condition) from impulsive behavior (descending condition). The results showed that patients and controls had the same performance during all trials in the ascending condition, reflecting a correct judgment regarding risky situations; however, during the descending condition, patients responded before the controls in all trials, making a significantly larger number of higher bets. Unlike the control group, they did not wait for more optimal subsequent options. These results suggest impulse control deficits in HD gene carriers, but unimpaired risk-taking judgment.

Behavioral demand modulates object category representation in the inferior temporal cortex

PubMed Central

Emadi, Nazli

2014-01-01

Visual object categorization is a critical task in our daily life. Many studies have explored category representation in the inferior temporal (IT) cortex at the level of single neurons and population. However, it is not clear how behavioral demands modulate this category representation. Here, we recorded from the IT single neurons in monkeys performing two different tasks with identical visual stimuli: passive fixation and body/object categorization. We found that category selectivity of the IT neurons was improved in the categorization compared with the passive task where reward was not contingent on image category. The category improvement was the result of larger rate enhancement for the preferred category and smaller response variability for both preferred and nonpreferred categories. These specific modulations in the responses of IT category neurons enhanced signal-to-noise ratio of the neural responses to discriminate better between the preferred and nonpreferred categories. Our results provide new insight into the adaptable category representation in the IT cortex, which depends on behavioral demands. PMID:25080572

Neurophysiological correlates of attention behavior in early infancy: Implications for emotion regulation during early childhood.

PubMed

Perry, Nicole B; Swingler, Margaret M; Calkins, Susan D; Bell, Martha Ann

2016-02-01

Current theoretical conceptualizations of regulatory development suggest that attention processes and emotion regulation processes share common neurophysiological underpinnings and behavioral antecedents such that emotion regulation abilities may build on early attentional skills. To further elucidate this proposed relationship, we tested whether early neurophysiological processes measured during an attention task in infancy predicted in-task attention behavior and whether infants' attention behavior was subsequently associated with their ability to regulate emotion during early childhood (N=388). Results indicated that greater electroencephalogram (EEG) power change (from baseline to task) at medial frontal locations (F3 and F4) during an attention task at 10months of age was associated with concurrent observed behavioral attention. Specifically, greater change in EEG power at the right frontal location (F4) was associated with more attention and greater EEG power at the left frontal location (F3) was associated with less attention, indicating a potential right hemisphere specialization for attention processes already present during the first year of life. In addition, after controlling for 5-month attention behavior, increased behavioral attention at 10months was negatively associated with children's observed frustration to emotional challenge at 3years of age. Finally, the indirect effects from 10-month EEG power change at F3 and F4 to 3-year emotion regulation via infants' 10-month behavioral attention were significant, suggesting that infants' attention behavior is one mechanism through which early neurophysiological activity is related to emotion regulation abilities during childhood. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Age and self-relevance effects on information search during decision making.

PubMed

Hess, Thomas M; Queen, Tara L; Ennis, Gilda E

2013-09-01

We investigated how information search strategies used to support decision making were influenced by self-related implications of the task to the individual. Consistent with the notion of selective engagement, we hypothesized that increased self-relevance would result in more adaptive search behaviors and that this effect would be stronger in older adults than in younger adults. We examined search behaviors in 79 younger and 81 older adults using a process-tracing procedure with 2 different decision tasks. The impact of motivation (i.e., self-related task implications) was examined by manipulating social accountability and the age-related relevance of the task. Although age differences in search strategies were not great, older adults were more likely than younger adults to use simpler strategies in contexts with minimal self-implications. Contrary to expectations, young and old alike were more likely to use noncompensatory than compensatory strategies, even when engaged in systematic search, with education being the most important determinant of search behavior. The results support the notion that older adults are adaptive decision makers and that factors other than age may be more important determinants of performance in situations where knowledge can be used to support performance.

The Impact of Prolonged Participation in a Pro-Social Cognitive Behavioral Skills Program on Elementary Age Students, with Behavior Related Disorders, Behavior Accelerative, Behavior Reductive, and Return to Regular Classroom Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esser, Ted H.

2012-01-01

Overall, pretest-posttest results indicated statistically significant pretest beginning program compared to posttest ending program percentage of behavioral improvement for on task, following directions, and positive interactions outcomes improvement for individual students who completed the elementary grades pro-social cognitive behavioral skills…

An investigation of the neural substrates of mind wandering induced by viewing traditional Chinese landscape paintings.

PubMed

Wang, Tingting; Mo, Lei; Vartanian, Oshin; Cant, Jonathan S; Cupchik, Gerald

2014-01-01

The present study was conducted to investigate whether the calming effect induced by viewing traditional Chinese landscape paintings would make disengagement from that mental state more difficult, as measured by performance on a cognitive control task. In Experiment 1 we examined the subjective experience of viewing traditional Chinese landscape paintings vs. realistic oil landscape paintings in a behavioral study. Our results confirmed that, as predicted, traditional Chinese landscape paintings induce greater levels of relaxation and mind wandering and lower levels of object-oriented absorption and recognition, compared to realistic oil landscape paintings. In Experiment 2 we used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to explore the behavioral and neural effects of viewing traditional Chinese landscape paintings on a task requiring cognitive control (i.e., the flanker task)-administered immediately following exposure to paintings. Contrary to our prediction, the behavioral data demonstrated that compared to realistic oil landscape paintings, exposure to traditional Chinese landscape paintings had no effect on performance on the flanker task. However, the neural data demonstrated an interaction effect such that there was greater activation in the inferior parietal cortex and the superior frontal gyrus on incongruent compared with congruent flanker trials when participants switched from viewing traditional Chinese landscape paintings to the flanker task than when they switched from realistic oil landscape paintings. These results suggest that switching from traditional Chinese landscape paintings placed greater demands on the brain's attention and working memory networks during the flanker task than did switching from realistic oil landscape paintings.

Evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of two stimulus prompt strategies with severely handicapped students.

PubMed Central

Steege, M W; Wacker, D P; McMahon, C M

1987-01-01

In this study we compared the effectiveness and efficiency of two treatment packages that used stimulus prompt sequences and task analyses for teaching community living skills to severely handicapped students. Four severely and multiply handicapped students were trained to perform four tasks: (a) making toast, (b) making popcorn, (c) operating a clothes dryer, and (d) operating a washing machine. Following baseline, each student was exposed to two types of training procedures, each involving a task analysis of the target behavior. Training Procedure 1 (Traditional) utilized a least-to-most restrictive prompt sequence. Training Procedure 2 (Prescriptive) utilized ongoing behavioral assessment data to identify discriminative stimuli. The assessment data were used to prescribe instructional prompts across successive training trials. Performance on the tasks was evaluated within a combination multiple baseline (across subjects) and probe (across tasks) design. Training conditions were counterbalanced across subjects and tasks. Results indicated that both training procedures were equally effective in increasing independent task acquisition for subjects on all tasks; however, the prescriptive procedure was the more efficient procedure. PMID:3667479

Predicting Risk-Taking Behavior from Prefrontal Resting-State Activity and Personality

PubMed Central

Studer, Bettina; Pedroni, Andreas; Rieskamp, Jörg

2013-01-01

Risk-taking is subject to considerable individual differences. In the current study, we tested whether resting-state activity in the prefrontal cortex and trait sensitivity to reward and punishment can help predict risk-taking behavior. Prefrontal activity at rest was assessed in seventy healthy volunteers using electroencephalography, and compared to their choice behavior on an economic risk-taking task. The Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System scale was used to measure participants’ trait sensitivity to reward and punishment. Our results confirmed both prefrontal resting-state activity and personality traits as sources of individual differences in risk-taking behavior. Right-left asymmetry in prefrontal activity and scores on the Behavioral Inhibition System scale, reflecting trait sensitivity to punishment, were correlated with the level of risk-taking on the task. We further discovered that scores on the Behavioral Inhibition System scale modulated the relationship between asymmetry in prefrontal resting-state activity and risk-taking. The results of this study demonstrate that heterogeneity in risk-taking behavior can be traced back to differences in the basic physiology of decision-makers’ brains, and suggest that baseline prefrontal activity and personality traits might interplay in guiding risk-taking behavior. PMID:24116176

Walking in School-Aged Children in a Dual-Task Paradigm Is Related to Age But Not to Cognition, Motor Behavior, Injuries, or Psychosocial Functioning

PubMed Central

Hagmann-von Arx, Priska; Manicolo, Olivia; Lemola, Sakari; Grob, Alexander

2016-01-01

Age-dependent gait characteristics and associations with cognition, motor behavior, injuries, and psychosocial functioning were investigated in 138 typically developing children aged 6.7–13.2 years (M = 10.0 years). Gait velocity, normalized velocity, and variability were measured using the walkway system GAITRite without an additional task (single task) and while performing a motor or cognitive task (dual task). Assessment of children’s cognition included tests for intelligence and executive functions; parents reported on their child’s motor behavior, injuries, and psychosocial functioning. Gait variability (an index of gait regularity) decreased with increasing age in both single- and dual-task walking. Dual-task gait decrements were stronger when children walked in the motor compared to the cognitive dual-task condition and decreased with increasing age in both dual-task conditions. Gait alterations from single- to dual-task conditions were not related to children’s cognition, motor behavior, injuries, or psychosocial functioning. PMID:27014158

Autism, Attention, and Alpha Oscillations: An Electrophysiological Study of Attentional Capture.

PubMed

Keehn, Brandon; Westerfield, Marissa; Müller, Ralph-Axel; Townsend, Jeanne

2017-09-01

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with deficits in adaptively orienting attention to behaviorally-relevant information. Neural oscillatory activity plays a key role in brain function and provides a high-resolution temporal marker of attention dynamics. Alpha band (8-12 Hz) activity is associated with both selecting task-relevant stimuli and filtering task-irrelevant information. The present study used electroencephalography (EEG) to examine alpha-band oscillatory activity associated with attentional capture in nineteen children with ASD and twenty-one age- and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) children. Participants completed a rapid serial visual presentation paradigm designed to investigate responses to behaviorally-relevant targets and contingent attention capture by task-irrelevant distractors, which either did or did not share a behaviorally-relevant feature. Participants also completed six minutes of eyes-open resting EEG. In contrast to their TD peers, children with ASD did not evidence posterior alpha desynchronization to behaviorally-relevant targets. Additionally, reduced target-related desynchronization and poorer target detection were associated with increased ASD symptomatology. TD children also showed behavioral and electrophysiological evidence of contingent attention capture, whereas children with ASD showed no behavioral facilitation or alpha desynchronization to distractors that shared a task-relevant feature. Lastly, children with ASD had significantly decreased resting alpha power, and for all participants increased resting alpha levels were associated with greater task-related alpha desynchronization. These results suggest that in ASD under-responsivity and impairments in orienting to salient events within their environment are reflected by atypical EEG oscillatory neurodynamics, which may signify atypical arousal levels and/or an excitatory/inhibitory imbalance.

Changes in driving behavior and cognitive performance with different breath alcohol concentration levels.

PubMed

Liu, Yung-Ching; Fu, Shing-Mei

2007-06-01

This study examines the changes in driving behavior and cognitive performance of drivers with different breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) levels. Eight licensed drivers, aged between 20 and 30 years, with BrAC levels of 0.00, 0.25, 0.4 and 0.5 mg/l performed simulated driving tests under high- and low-load conditions. Subjects were asked to assess their subjective psychological load at specified intervals and perform various tasks. The outcome was measured in terms of reaction times for task completion, accuracy rates, and driver's driving behavior. The effects of BrAC vary depending on the task. Performance of tasks involving attention shift, information processing, and short-term memory showed significant deterioration with increasing BrAC, while dangerous external vehicle driving behavior occurred only when the BrAC reached 0.4 mg/l and the deterioration was marked. We can conclude that the cognitive faculty is the first to be impaired by drinking resulting in deteriorated performance in tasks related to divided attention, short-term memory, logical reasoning, followed by visual perception. On the other hand, increasing alcohol dose may not pose an immediate impact on the external vehicle driving behavior but may negatively affect the driver's motor behavior even at low BrAC levels. Experience and will power could compensate for the negative influence of alcohol enabling the drivers to remain in full steering control. This lag between alcohol consumption and impaired driving performance may mislead the drivers in thinking that they are still capable of safe steering and cause them to ignore the potential dangers of drunk driving.

Reduced posterior parietal cortex activation after training on a visual search task.

PubMed

Bueichekú, Elisenda; Miró-Padilla, Anna; Palomar-García, María-Ángeles; Ventura-Campos, Noelia; Parcet, María-Antonia; Barrós-Loscertales, Alfonso; Ávila, César

2016-07-15

Gaining experience on a cognitive task improves behavioral performance and is thought to enhance brain efficiency. Despite the body of literature already published on the effects of training on brain activation, less research has been carried out on visual search attention processes under well controlled conditions. Thirty-six healthy adults divided into trained and control groups completed a pre-post letter-based visual search task fMRI study in one day. Twelve letters were used as targets and ten as distractors. The trained group completed a training session (840 trials) with half the targets between scans. The effects of training were studied at the behavioral and brain levels by controlling for repetition effects using both between-subjects (trained vs. control groups) and within-subject (trained vs. untrained targets) controls. The trained participants reduced their response speed by 31% as a result of training, maintaining their accuracy scores, whereas the control group hardly changed. Neural results revealed that brain changes associated with visual search training were circumscribed to reduced activation in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) when controlling for group, and they included inferior occipital areas when controlling for targets. The observed behavioral and brain changes are discussed in relation to automatic behavior development. The observed training-related decreases could be associated with increased neural efficiency in specific key regions for task performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sex differences in behavioral outcomes following temperature modulation during induced neonatal hypoxic ischemic injury in rats.

PubMed

Smith, Amanda L; Garbus, Haley; Rosenkrantz, Ted S; Fitch, Roslyn Holly

2015-05-22

Neonatal hypoxia ischemia (HI; reduced oxygen and/or blood flow to the brain) can cause various degrees of tissue damage, as well as subsequent cognitive/behavioral deficits such as motor, learning/memory, and auditory impairments. These outcomes frequently result from cardiovascular and/or respiratory events observed in premature infants. Data suggests that there is a sex difference in HI outcome, with males being more adversely affected relative to comparably injured females. Brain/body temperature may play a role in modulating the severity of an HI insult, with hypothermia during an insult yielding more favorable anatomical and behavioral outcomes. The current study utilized a postnatal day (P) 7 rodent model of HI injury to assess the effect of temperature modulation during injury in each sex. We hypothesized that female P7 rats would benefit more from lowered body temperatures as compared to male P7 rats. We assessed all subjects on rota-rod, auditory discrimination, and spatial/non-spatial maze tasks. Our results revealed a significant benefit of temperature reduction in HI females as measured by most of the employed behavioral tasks. However, HI males benefitted from temperature reduction as measured on auditory and non-spatial tasks. Our data suggest that temperature reduction protects both sexes from the deleterious effects of HI injury, but task and sex specific patterns of relative efficacy are seen.

Self-Associations Influence Task-Performance through Bayesian Inference

PubMed Central

Bengtsson, Sara L.; Penny, Will D.

2013-01-01

The way we think about ourselves impacts greatly on our behavior. This paper describes a behavioral study and a computational model that shed new light on this important area. Participants were primed “clever” and “stupid” using a scrambled sentence task, and we measured the effect on response time and error-rate on a rule-association task. First, we observed a confirmation bias effect in that associations to being “stupid” led to a gradual decrease in performance, whereas associations to being “clever” did not. Second, we observed that the activated self-concepts selectively modified attention toward one’s performance. There was an early to late double dissociation in RTs in that primed “clever” resulted in RT increase following error responses, whereas primed “stupid” resulted in RT increase following correct responses. We propose a computational model of subjects’ behavior based on the logic of the experimental task that involves two processes; memory for rules and the integration of rules with subsequent visual cues. The model incorporates an adaptive decision threshold based on Bayes rule, whereby decision thresholds are increased if integration was inferred to be faulty. Fitting the computational model to experimental data confirmed our hypothesis that priming affects the memory process. This model explains both the confirmation bias and double dissociation effects and demonstrates that Bayesian inferential principles can be used to study the effect of self-concepts on behavior. PMID:23966937

Sex differences in neural efficiency: Are they due to the stereotype threat effect?☆

PubMed Central

Dunst, Beate; Benedek, Mathias; Bergner, Sabine; Athenstaedt, Ursula; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.

2013-01-01

The neural efficiency hypothesis postulates a more efficient use of brain resources in more intelligent people as compared to less intelligent ones. However, this relationship was found to be moderated by sex and task content. While the phenomenon of neural efficiency was previously supported for men when performing visuo-spatial tasks it occurred for women only when performing verbal tasks. One possible explanation for this finding could be provided by the well-studied phenomenon called stereotype threat. Stereotype threat arises when a negative stereotype of one’s own group is made salient and can result in behavior that confirms the stereotype. Overall, 32 boys and 31 girls of varying intellectual ability were tested with a mental rotation task, either under a stereotype exposure or a no-stereotype exposure condition while measuring their EEG. The behavioral results show that an activated negative stereotype not necessarily hampers the performance of girls. Physiologically, a confirmation of the neural efficiency phenomenon was only obtained for boys working under a no-stereotype exposure condition. This result pattern replicates previous findings without threat and thus suggests that sex differences in neural efficiency during visuo-spatial tasks may not be due to the stereotype threat effect. PMID:24092950

Single-task fMRI overlap predicts concurrent multitasking interference.

PubMed

Nijboer, Menno; Borst, Jelmer; van Rijn, Hedderik; Taatgen, Niels

2014-10-15

There is no consensus regarding the origin of behavioral interference that occurs during concurrent multitasking. Some evidence points toward a multitasking locus in the brain, while other results imply that interference is the consequence of task interactions in several brain regions. To investigate this issue, we conducted a functional MRI (fMRI) study consisting of three component tasks, which were performed both separately and in combination. The results indicated that no specific multitasking area exists. Instead, different patterns of activation across conditions could be explained by assuming that the interference is a result of task interactions. Additionally, similarity in single-task activation patterns correlated with a decrease in accuracy during dual-task conditions. Taken together, these results support the view that multitasking interference is not due to a bottleneck in a single "multitasking" brain region, but is a result of interactions between concurrently running processes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Emotional task management: neural correlates of switching between affective and non-affective task-sets.

PubMed

Reeck, Crystal; Egner, Tobias

2015-08-01

Although task-switching has been investigated extensively, its interaction with emotionally salient task content remains unclear. Prioritized processing of affective stimulus content may enhance accessibility of affective task-sets and generate increased interference when switching between affective and non-affective task-sets. Previous research has demonstrated that more dominant task-sets experience greater switch costs, as they necessitate active inhibition during performance of less entrenched tasks. Extending this logic to the affective domain, the present experiment examined (a) whether affective task-sets are more dominant than non-affective ones, and (b) what neural mechanisms regulate affective task-sets, so that weaker, non-affective task-sets can be executed. While undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants categorized face stimuli according to either their gender (non-affective task) or their emotional expression (affective task). Behavioral results were consistent with the affective task dominance hypothesis: participants were slower to switch to the affective task, and cross-task interference was strongest when participants tried to switch from the affective to the non-affective task. These behavioral costs of controlling the affective task-set were mirrored in the activation of a right-lateralized frontostriatal network previously implicated in task-set updating and response inhibition. Connectivity between amygdala and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex was especially pronounced during cross-task interference from affective features. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Attentional synchrony and the influence of viewing task on gaze behavior in static and dynamic scenes.

PubMed

Smith, Tim J; Mital, Parag K

2013-07-17

Does viewing task influence gaze during dynamic scene viewing? Research into the factors influencing gaze allocation during free viewing of dynamic scenes has reported that the gaze of multiple viewers clusters around points of high motion (attentional synchrony), suggesting that gaze may be primarily under exogenous control. However, the influence of viewing task on gaze behavior in static scenes and during real-world interaction has been widely demonstrated. To dissociate exogenous from endogenous factors during dynamic scene viewing we tracked participants' eye movements while they (a) freely watched unedited videos of real-world scenes (free viewing) or (b) quickly identified where the video was filmed (spot-the-location). Static scenes were also presented as controls for scene dynamics. Free viewing of dynamic scenes showed greater attentional synchrony, longer fixations, and more gaze to people and areas of high flicker compared with static scenes. These differences were minimized by the viewing task. In comparison with the free viewing of dynamic scenes, during the spot-the-location task fixation durations were shorter, saccade amplitudes were longer, and gaze exhibited less attentional synchrony and was biased away from areas of flicker and people. These results suggest that the viewing task can have a significant influence on gaze during a dynamic scene but that endogenous control is slow to kick in as initial saccades default toward the screen center, areas of high motion and people before shifting to task-relevant features. This default-like viewing behavior returns after the viewing task is completed, confirming that gaze behavior is more predictable during free viewing of dynamic than static scenes but that this may be due to natural correlation between regions of interest (e.g., people) and motion.

Top-down regulation of default mode activity in spatial visual attention

PubMed Central

Wen, Xiaotong; Liu, Yijun; Yao, Li; Ding, Mingzhou

2013-01-01

Dorsal anterior cingulate and bilateral anterior insula form a task control network (TCN) whose primary function includes initiating and maintaining task-level cognitive set and exerting top-down regulation of sensorimotor processing. The default mode network (DMN), comprising an anatomically distinct set of cortical areas, mediates introspection and self-referential processes. Resting-state data show that TCN and DMN interact. The functional ramifications of their interaction remain elusive. Recording fMRI data from human subjects performing a visual spatial attention task and correlating Granger causal influences with behavioral performance and blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activity we report three main findings. First, causal influences from TCN to DMN, i.e., TCN→DMN, are positively correlated with behavioral performance. Second, causal influences from DMN to TCN, i.e., DMN→TCN, are negatively correlated with behavioral performance. Third, stronger DMN→TCN are associated with less elevated BOLD activity in TCN, whereas the relationship between TCN→DMN and DMN BOLD activity is unsystematic. These results suggest that during visual spatial attention, top-down signals from TCN to DMN regulate the activity in DMN to enhance behavioral performance, whereas signals from DMN to TCN, acting possibly as internal noise, interfere with task control, leading to degraded behavioral performance. PMID:23575842

Finding peace of mind when there still is so much left undone-A diary study on how job stress, competence need satisfaction, and proactive work behavior contribute to work-related rumination during the weekend.

PubMed

Weigelt, Oliver; Syrek, Christine J; Schmitt, Antje; Urbach, Tina

2018-05-21

Unfinished work tasks have been identified as a significant job-related stressor in recent occupational stress research. Extending this research, we examine how and when not finishing one's tasks by the end of the work week affects work-related rumination at the weekend. Drawing on control theory, we examined competence need satisfaction as a mediating mechanism that links unfinished tasks at the end of the work week to work-related rumination at the weekend. Furthermore, we scrutinized whether proactive work behavior within the work week may neutralize the detrimental effects of unfinished tasks on competence need satisfaction and rumination. Using diary methodology, we collected weekly observations from 58 employees at the beginning and at the end of the work week over a period of 12 consecutive weeks, yielding 377 matched observations. Multilevel modeling analyses provided evidence for the assumed indirect effect at the intraindividual level. Higher levels of unfinished tasks were associated with lower levels of competence need satisfaction during the weekend. Competence need satisfaction, in turn, was negatively related to work-related rumination. Proactive work behavior attenuated the detrimental effects of unfinished tasks on competence need satisfaction and rumination at the weekend. These results imply that proactive work behavior facilitates switching off mentally during the weekend as it may restore competence need satisfaction in the face of unfinished tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluation of 16 measures of mental workload using a simulated flight task emphasizing mediational activity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wierwille, W. W.; Rahimi, M.; Casali, J. G.

1985-01-01

As aircraft and other systems become more automated, a shift is occurring in human operator participation in these systems. This shift is away from manual control and toward activities that tap the higher mental functioning of human operators. Therefore, an experiment was performed in a moving-base flight simulator to assess mediational (cognitive) workload measurement. Specifically, 16 workload estimation techniques were evaluated as to their sensitivity and intrusion in a flight task emphasizing mediational behavior. Task loading, using navigation problems presented on a display, was treated as an independent variable, and workload-measure values were treated as dependent variables. Results indicate that two mediational task measures, two rating scale measures, time estimation, and two eye behavior measures were reliably sensitive to mediational loading. The time estimation measure did, however, intrude on mediational task performance. Several of the remaining measures were completely insensitive to mediational load.

Threat prompts defensive brain responses independently of attentional control.

PubMed

Pichon, Swann; de Gelder, Beatrice; Grèzes, Julie

2012-02-01

Negative emotional signals are known to influence task performance, but so far, investigations have focused on how emotion interacts with perceptual processes by mobilizing attentional resources. The attention-independent effects of negative emotional signals are less well understood. Here, we show that threat signals trigger defensive responses independently of what observers pay attention to. Participants were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging while watching short video clips of threatening actions and performed either color or emotion judgments. Seeing threatening actions interfered with performance in both tasks. Amygdala activation reflected both stimulus and task conditions. In contrast, threat stimuli prompted a constant activity in a network underlying reflexive defensive behavior (periaqueductal gray, hypothalamus, and premotor cortex). Threat stimuli also disrupted ongoing behavior and provoked motor conflict in prefrontal regions during both tasks. The present results are consistent with the view that emotions trigger adaptive action tendencies independently of task settings.

Dynamic Trial-by-Trial Recoding of Task-Set Representations in the Frontoparietal Cortex Mediates Behavioral Flexibility

PubMed Central

Qiao, Lei; Zhang, Lijie

2017-01-01

Cognitive flexibility forms the core of the extraordinary ability of humans to adapt, but the precise neural mechanisms underlying our ability to nimbly shift between task sets remain poorly understood. Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies employing multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) have shown that a currently relevant task set can be decoded from activity patterns in the frontoparietal cortex, but whether these regions support the dynamic transformation of task sets from trial to trial is not clear. Here, we combined a cued task-switching protocol with human (both sexes) fMRI, and harnessed representational similarity analysis (RSA) to facilitate a novel assessment of trial-by-trial changes in neural task-set representations. We first used MVPA to define task-sensitive frontoparietal and visual regions and found that neural task-set representations on switch trials are less stably encoded than on repeat trials. We then exploited RSA to show that the neural representational pattern dissimilarity across consecutive trials is greater for switch trials than for repeat trials, and that the degree of this pattern dissimilarity predicts behavior. Moreover, the overall neural pattern of representational dissimilarities followed from the assumption that repeating sets, compared with switching sets, results in stronger neural task representations. Finally, when moving from cue to target phase within a trial, pattern dissimilarities tracked the transformation from previous-trial task representations to the currently relevant set. These results provide neural evidence for the longstanding assumptions of an effortful task-set reconfiguration process hampered by task-set inertia, and they demonstrate that frontoparietal and stimulus processing regions support “dynamic adaptive coding,” flexibly representing changing task sets in a trial-by-trial fashion. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Humans can fluently switch between different tasks, reflecting an ability to dynamically configure “task sets,” rule representations that link stimuli to appropriate responses. Recent studies show that neural signals in frontal and parietal brain regions can tell us which of two tasks a person is currently performing. However, it is not known whether these regions are also involved in dynamically reconfiguring task-set representations when switching between tasks. Here we measured human brain activity during task switching and tracked the similarity of neural task-set representations from trial to trial. We show that frontal and parietal brain regions flexibly recode changing task sets in a trial-by-trial fashion, and that task-set similarity over consecutive trials predicts behavior. PMID:28972126

Cold-Blooded Attention: Finger Temperature Predicts Attentional Performance.

PubMed

Vergara, Rodrigo C; Moënne-Loccoz, Cristóbal; Maldonado, Pedro E

2017-01-01

Thermal stress has been shown to increase the chances of unsafe behavior during industrial and driving performances due to reductions in mental and attentional resources. Nonetheless, establishing appropriate safety standards regarding environmental temperature has been a major problem, as modulations are also be affected by the task type, complexity, workload, duration, and previous experience with the task. To bypass this attentional and thermoregulatory problem, we focused on the body rather than environmental temperature. Specifically, we measured tympanic, forehead, finger and environmental temperatures accompanied by a battery of attentional tasks. We considered a 10 min baseline period wherein subjects were instructed to sit and relax, followed by three attentional tasks: a continuous performance task (CPT), a flanker task (FT) and a counting task (CT). Using multiple linear regression models, we evaluated which variable(s) were the best predictors of performance. The results showed a decrement in finger temperature due to instruction and task engagement that was absent when the subject was instructed to relax. No changes were observed in tympanic or forehead temperatures, while the environmental temperature remained almost constant for each subject. Specifically, the magnitude of the change in finger temperature was the best predictor of performance in all three attentional tasks. The results presented here suggest that finger temperature can be used as a predictor of alertness, as it predicted performance in attentional tasks better than environmental temperature. These findings strongly support that peripheral temperature can be used as a tool to prevent unsafe behaviors and accidents.

Adaptive Encoding of Outcome Prediction by Prefrontal Cortex Ensembles Supports Behavioral Flexibility.

PubMed

Del Arco, Alberto; Park, Junchol; Wood, Jesse; Kim, Yunbok; Moghaddam, Bita

2017-08-30

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is thought to play a critical role in behavioral flexibility by monitoring action-outcome contingencies. How PFC ensembles represent shifts in behavior in response to changes in these contingencies remains unclear. We recorded single-unit activity and local field potentials in the dorsomedial PFC (dmPFC) of male rats during a set-shifting task that required them to update their behavior, among competing options, in response to changes in action-outcome contingencies. As behavior was updated, a subset of PFC ensembles encoded the current trial outcome before the outcome was presented. This novel outcome-prediction encoding was absent in a control task, in which actions were rewarded pseudorandomly, indicating that PFC neurons are not merely providing an expectancy signal. In both control and set-shifting tasks, dmPFC neurons displayed postoutcome discrimination activity, indicating that these neurons also monitor whether a behavior is successful in generating rewards. Gamma-power oscillatory activity increased before the outcome in both tasks but did not differentiate between expected outcomes, suggesting that this measure is not related to set-shifting behavior but reflects expectation of an outcome after action execution. These results demonstrate that PFC neurons support flexible rule-based action selection by predicting outcomes that follow a particular action. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Tracking action-outcome contingencies and modifying behavior when those contingencies change is critical to behavioral flexibility. We find that ensembles of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex neurons differentiate between expected outcomes when action-outcome contingencies change. This predictive mode of signaling may be used to promote a new response strategy at the service of behavioral flexibility. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/378363-11$15.00/0.

Dynamical aspects of behavior generation under constraints

PubMed Central

Harter, Derek; Achunala, Srinivas

2007-01-01

Dynamic adaptation is a key feature of brains helping to maintain the quality of their performance in the face of increasingly difficult constraints. How to achieve high-quality performance under demanding real-time conditions is an important question in the study of cognitive behaviors. Animals and humans are embedded in and constrained by their environments. Our goal is to improve the understanding of the dynamics of the interacting brain–environment system by studying human behaviors when completing constrained tasks and by modeling the observed behavior. In this article we present results of experiments with humans performing tasks on the computer under variable time and resource constraints. We compare various models of behavior generation in order to describe the observed human performance. Finally we speculate on mechanisms how chaotic neurodynamics can contribute to the generation of flexible human behaviors under constraints. PMID:19003514

Reduced amygdala-orbitofrontal connectivity during moral judgments in youths with disruptive behavior disorders and psychopathic traits

PubMed Central

Marsh, Abigail A.; Finger, Elizabeth C.; Fowler, Katherine A.; Jurkowitz, Ilana T.N.; Schechter, Julia C.; Yu, Henry H.; Pine, Daniel S.; Blair, R. J. R.

2011-01-01

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate dysfunction in the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex in adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders and psychopathic traits during a moral judgment task. Fourteen adolescents with psychopathic traits and 14 healthy controls were assessed using fMRI while they categorized illegal and legal behaviors in a moral judgment implicit association task. fMRI data were then analyzed using random-effects analysis of variance and functional connectivity. Youths with psychopathic traits showed reduced amygdala activity when making judgments about legal actions and reduced functional connectivity between the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex during task performance. These results suggest that psychopathic traits are associated with amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex dysfunction. This dysfunction may relate to previous findings of disrupted moral judgment in this population. PMID:22047730

Increased engagement of the cognitive control network associated with music training in children during an fMRI Stroop task.

PubMed

Sachs, Matthew; Kaplan, Jonas; Der Sarkissian, Alissa; Habibi, Assal

2017-01-01

Playing a musical instrument engages various sensorimotor processes and draws on cognitive capacities collectively termed executive functions. However, while music training is believed to associated with enhancements in certain cognitive and language abilities, studies that have explored the specific relationship between music and executive function have yielded conflicting results. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, we investigated the effects of music training on executive function using fMRI and several behavioral tasks, including the Color-Word Stroop task. Children involved in ongoing music training (N = 14, mean age = 8.67) were compared with two groups of comparable general cognitive abilities and socioeconomic status, one involved in sports ("sports" group, N = 13, mean age = 8.85) and another not involved in music or sports ("control" group, N = 17, mean age = 9.05). During the Color-Word Stroop task, children with music training showed significantly greater bilateral activation in the pre-SMA/SMA, ACC, IFG, and insula in trials that required cognitive control compared to the control group, despite no differences in performance on behavioral measures of executive function. No significant differences in brain activation or in task performance were found between the music and sports groups. The results suggest that systematic extracurricular training, particularly music-based training, is associated with changes in the cognitive control network in the brain even in the absence of changes in behavioral performance.

Reading, Mathematics, and Behavioral Difficulties Interrelate: Evidence from a Cross-lagged Panel Design and Population-based Sample

PubMed Central

Lin, Yu-Chu; Morgan, Paul L.; Farkas, George; Hillemeier, Marianne; Cook, Michael

2015-01-01

We examined three questions. First, do reading difficulties increase children’s risk of behavior difficulties? Second, do behavioral difficulties increase children’s risk of reading difficulties? Third, do mathematics difficulties increase children’s risk of reading or behavioral difficulties? We investigated these questions using a sample of 9,324 children followed from third to fifth grade as they participated in a nationally representative dataset, conducting multilevel logistic regression modeling and including statistical control for many potential confounds. Results indicated that poor readers in third grade were significantly more likely to display poor task management, poor self-control, poor interpersonal skills, internalizing behavior problems, and externalizing behavior problems in fifth grade (odds ratio [OR] range = 1.30 – 1.57). Statistically controlling for a prior history of reading difficulties, children with poor mathematics skills in third grade were also significantly more likely to display poor task management, poor interpersonal skills, internalizing behavior problems, and reading difficulties in fifth grade (OR range = 1.38 – 5.14). In contrast, only those children exhibiting poor task management, but not other types of problem behaviors, in third grade were more likely to be poor readers in fifth grade (OR = 1.49). PMID:26097274

Cognitive Effects of Risperidone in Children with Autism and Irritable Behavior

PubMed Central

Aman, Michael G.; McDougle, Christopher J.; Scahill, Lawrence; Tierney, Elaine; McCracken, James T.; Arnold, L. Eugene; Vitiello, Benedetto; Ritz, Louise; Gavaletz, Allison; Cronin, Pegeen; Swiezy, Naomi; Wheeler, Courtney; Koenig, Kathleen; Ghuman, Jaswinder K.; Posey, David J.

2008-01-01

Abstract Objective The objective of this research was to explore the effects of risperidone on cognitive processes in children with autism and irritable behavior. Method Thirty-eight children, ages 5–17 years with autism and severe behavioral disturbance, were randomly assigned to risperidone (0.5 to 3.5 mg/day) or placebo for 8 weeks. This sample of 38 was a subset of 101 subjects who participated in the clinical trial; 63 were unable to perform the cognitive tasks. A double-blind placebo-controlled parallel groups design was used. Dependent measures included tests of sustained attention, verbal learning, hand-eye coordination, and spatial memory assessed before, during, and after the 8-week treatment. Changes in performance were compared by repeated measures ANOVA. Results Twenty-nine boys and 9 girls with autism and severe behavioral disturbance and a mental age ≥18 months completed the cognitive part of the study. No decline in performance occurred with risperidone. Performance on a cancellation task (number of correct detections) and a verbal learning task (word recognition) was better on risperidone than on placebo (without correction for multiplicity). Equivocal improvement also occurred on a spatial memory task. There were no significant differences between treatment conditions on the Purdue Pegboard (hand-eye coordination) task or the Analog Classroom Task (timed math test). Conclusion Risperidone given to children with autism at doses up to 3.5 mg for up to 8 weeks appears to have no detrimental effect on cognitive performance. PMID:18582177

Individual differences in the influence of task-irrelevant Pavlovian cues on human behavior.

PubMed

Garofalo, Sara; di Pellegrino, Giuseppe

2015-01-01

Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) refers to the process of a Pavlovian reward-paired cue acquiring incentive motivational proprieties that drive choices. It represents a crucial phenomenon for understanding cue-controlled behavior, and it has both adaptive and maladaptive implications (i.e., drug-taking). In animals, individual differences in the degree to which such cues bias performance have been identified in two types of individuals that exhibit distinct Conditioned Responses (CR) during Pavlovian conditioning: Sign-Trackers (ST) and Goal-Trackers (GT). Using an appetitive PIT procedure with a monetary reward, the present study investigated, for the first time, the extent to which such individual differences might affect the influence of reward-paired cues in humans. In a first task, participants learned an instrumental response leading to reward; then, in a second task, a visual Pavlovian cue was associated with the same reward; finally, in a third task, PIT was tested by measuring the preference for the reward-paired instrumental response when the task-irrelevant reward-paired cue was presented, in the absence of the reward itself. In ST individuals, but not in GT individuals, reward-related cues biased behavior, resulting in an increased likelihood to perform the instrumental response independently paired with the same reward when presented with the task-irrelevant reward-paired cue, even if the reward itself was no longer available (i.e., stronger PIT effect). This finding has important implications for developing individualized treatment for maladaptive behaviors, such as addiction.

Detour Behavior of Mice Trained with Transparent, Semitransparent and Opaque Barriers

PubMed Central

Juszczak, Grzegorz R.; Miller, Michal

2016-01-01

Detour tasks are commonly used to study problem solving skills and inhibitory control in canids and primates. However, there is no comparable detour test designed for rodents despite its significance for studying the development of executive skills. Furthermore, mice offer research opportunities that are not currently possible to achieve when primates are used. Therefore, the aim of the study was to translate the classic detour task to mice and to compare obtained data with key findings obtained previously in other mammals. The experiment was performed with V-shaped barriers and was based on the water escape paradigm. The study showed that an apparently simple task requiring mice to move around a small barrier constituted in fact a challenge that was strongly affected by the visibility of the target. The most difficult task involved a completely transparent barrier, which forced the mice to resolve a conflict between vision and tactile perception. The performance depended both on the inhibitory skills and on previous experiences. Additionally, all mice displayed a preference for one side of the barrier and most of them relied on the egocentric strategy. Obtained results show for the first time that the behavior of mice subjected to the detour task is comparable to the behavior of other mammals tested previously with free-standing barriers. This detailed characterization of the detour behavior of mice constitutes the first step toward the substitution of rodents for primates in laboratory experiments employing the detour task. PMID:27588753

Individual differences in the influence of task-irrelevant Pavlovian cues on human behavior

PubMed Central

Garofalo, Sara; di Pellegrino, Giuseppe

2015-01-01

Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) refers to the process of a Pavlovian reward-paired cue acquiring incentive motivational proprieties that drive choices. It represents a crucial phenomenon for understanding cue-controlled behavior, and it has both adaptive and maladaptive implications (i.e., drug-taking). In animals, individual differences in the degree to which such cues bias performance have been identified in two types of individuals that exhibit distinct Conditioned Responses (CR) during Pavlovian conditioning: Sign-Trackers (ST) and Goal-Trackers (GT). Using an appetitive PIT procedure with a monetary reward, the present study investigated, for the first time, the extent to which such individual differences might affect the influence of reward-paired cues in humans. In a first task, participants learned an instrumental response leading to reward; then, in a second task, a visual Pavlovian cue was associated with the same reward; finally, in a third task, PIT was tested by measuring the preference for the reward-paired instrumental response when the task-irrelevant reward-paired cue was presented, in the absence of the reward itself. In ST individuals, but not in GT individuals, reward-related cues biased behavior, resulting in an increased likelihood to perform the instrumental response independently paired with the same reward when presented with the task-irrelevant reward-paired cue, even if the reward itself was no longer available (i.e., stronger PIT effect). This finding has important implications for developing individualized treatment for maladaptive behaviors, such as addiction. PMID:26157371

Do distinct mind wandering differently disrupt drivers? Interpretation of physiological and behavioral pattern with a data triangulation method.

PubMed

Pepin, Guillaume; Malin, Séverine; Jallais, Christophe; Moreau, Fabien; Fort, Alexandra; Navarro, Jordan; Ndiaye, Daniel; Gabaude, Catherine

2018-07-01

MW is damaging for tasks requiring sustained and divided attention, for example driving. Recent findings seem to be indicating that off-task thoughts differently disrupt drivers. The present paper delved into characteristics of off-task thoughts to assess their respective detrimental impact on driving. Twenty volunteers had to declare their MW thoughts and get intentionally involved in Problem-Solving Thoughts (PST) according to instructions. Heart rate and oculometric behavior were collected during the two sessions. Results showed that MW and PST led to a fixed gaze. MW might also led to a cognitive effort necessary to switch from task-unrelated to task-related focus. Similarities and differences between intentional and unintentional off-task thoughts were discussed in greater detail. By designing a detection algorithm, it could be possible to detect disruptive MW during risky situations while permitting the mind to wander when the driving demand is low. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Relations between Television Exposure and Executive Function in Chinese Preschoolers: The Moderated Role of Parental Mediation Behaviors

PubMed Central

Yang, Xiaohui; Chen, Zhe; Wang, Zhenhong; Zhu, Liqi

2017-01-01

The present study examined the relations between preschoolers’ television exposure and executive functions (EF). One hundred and nineteen 3- to 6-year-old children and their parents participated. Parents filled in a questionnaire regarding children’s television viewing time, television content and parental mediation behaviors about their child’s television viewing. The children were asked to finish six EF tasks, including the backward digit span task, the spatial span task, the boy–girl Stroop, the Simon task, the flanker task and the Tower of Hanoi task that assessed working memory, inhibition and planning, respectively. Children’s vocabulary was tested using Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and included as control variables in addition to socioeconomic status of the participated families. The results showed that television viewing time and child-directed educational programs were positively associated with EF. In addition, television content fully mediated the effect of television viewing time on EF and parental restrictive approach strategies moderated the effect of television viewing time on EF. PMID:29089912

Selection of behavioral tasks and development of software for evaluation of Rhesus Monkey behavior during spaceflight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rumbaugh, Duane M.; Washburn, David A.; Richardson, W. K.

1996-01-01

The results of several experiments were disseminated during this semiannual period. These publications and presented papers represent investigations of the continuity in psychological processes between monkeys and humans. Thus, each serves to support the animal model of behavior and performance research.

Effects of Activity Schedules on Challenging Behavior for Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scalzo, Rachel; Davis, Tonya N.; Weston, Regan; Dukes, Elizabeth; Leeper, Dana; Min, Nandar; Mom, Allen; Stone, Jessica; Weber, Alex

2017-01-01

This study examined activity schedules as an intervention to decrease challenging behavior and increase academic engagement during work tasks scheduled after free play activities in three boys diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Functional analysis results indicated all participants' challenging behavior was maintained, at least in…

The Relationship between Instructional Variables and Problem Behavior: A Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munk, Dennis D.; Repp, Alan C.

1994-01-01

This paper reviews studies that have used instructional variables as nonaversive interventions for problem behaviors of individuals with severe disabilities. These include student choice of task, task variation, pace of instruction, interspersal of high probability tasks, partial versus whole task training, decreasing task difficulty, and a…

Suboptimal foraging behavior: A new perspective on gambling

PubMed Central

Addicott, Merideth A.; Pearson, John M.; Kaiser, Nicole; Platt, Michael L.; McClernon, F. Joseph

2015-01-01

Why do people gamble? Conventional views hold that gambling may be motivated by irrational beliefs, risk-seeking, impulsive temperament, or dysfunction within the same reward circuitry affected by drugs of abuse. An alternate, unexplored perspective is that gambling is an extension of natural foraging behavior to a financial environment. However, when these foraging algorithms are applied to stochastic gambling outcomes, undesirable results may occur. To test this hypothesis, we recruited participants based on their frequency of gambling – yearly (or less), monthly, and weekly – and investigated how gambling frequency related to irrational beliefs, risk-taking/impulsivity, and foraging behavior. We found that increased gambling frequency corresponded to greater gambling-related beliefs, more exploratory choices on an explore/exploit foraging task, and fewer points earned on a patchy foraging task. Gambling-related beliefs negatively related to performance on the patchy foraging task, indicating that individuals with more gambling-related cognitions tended to leave a patch too quickly. This indicates that frequent gamblers have reduced foraging ability to maximize rewards; however, gambling frequency- and by extension, poor foraging ability- was not related to risk-taking or impulsive behavior. These results suggest that gambling reflects the application of a dysfunctional foraging process to financial outcomes. PMID:26191945

Suboptimal foraging behavior: a new perspective on gambling.

PubMed

Addicott, Merideth A; Pearson, John M; Kaiser, Nicole; Platt, Michael L; McClernon, F Joseph

2015-10-01

Why do people gamble? Conventional views hold that gambling may be motivated by irrational beliefs, risk-seeking, impulsive temperament, or dysfunction within the same reward circuitry affected by drugs of abuse. An alternate, unexplored perspective is that gambling is an extension of natural foraging behavior to a financial environment. However, when these foraging algorithms are applied to stochastic gambling outcomes, undesirable results may occur. To test this hypothesis, we recruited participants based on their frequency of gambling-yearly (or less), monthly, and weekly-and investigated how gambling frequency related to irrational beliefs, risk-taking/impulsivity, and foraging behavior. We found that increased gambling frequency corresponded to greater gambling-related beliefs, more exploratory choices on an explore/exploit foraging task, and fewer points earned on a Patchy Foraging Task. Gambling-related beliefs negatively related to performance on the Patchy Foraging Task, indicating that individuals with more gambling-related cognitions tended to leave a patch too quickly. This indicates that frequent gamblers have reduced foraging ability to maximize rewards; however, gambling frequency -and by extension, poor foraging ability- was not related to risk-taking or impulsive behavior. These results suggest that gambling reflects the application of a dysfunctional foraging process to financial outcomes. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

The Meta Marriage: Links Between Older Couples' Relationship Narratives and Marital Satisfaction.

PubMed

McCoy, Alexandra; Rauer, Amy; Sabey, Allen

2017-12-01

Drawing upon a relatively understudied population and a unique observational task, the current study sought to examine how older couples' interactional behaviors during a relationship narrative task were associated with marital satisfaction over time. Using observational data from a sample of 64 older, higher-functioning married couples, we analyzed a series of Actor-Partner Independence Models (APIM) to explore how couples' interactional behaviors during a relationship narrative task were associated with spouses' marital satisfaction both concurrently and one year later. Analyses revealed that spouses' behaviors (e.g., expressions of positive affect, negative affect, communication skills, engagement) were associated with their self-reported marital satisfaction both at the time of the narrative and with changes in marital satisfaction. We found particularly robust evidence for the role of husbands' negative affect during the narrative task in predicting changes in both spouses' marital satisfaction over time. Our results indicate that researchers and clinicians should carefully consider the influence of development on the associations between spouses' behaviors and marital satisfaction. Further, those seeking to improve marriages in later life may need to consider the meaningful role that gender appears to play in shaping the marital experiences of older couples. © 2016 Family Process Institute.

Visual scanning behavior and pilot workload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, R. L., Sr.; Tole, J. R.; Stephens, A. T.; Ephrath, A. R.

1981-01-01

An experimental paradigm and a set of results which demonstrate a relationship between the level of performance on a skilled man-machine control task, the skill of the operator, the level of mental difficulty induced by an additional task imposed on the basic control task, and visual scanning performance. During a constant, simulated piloting task, visual scanning of instruments was found to vary as a function of the level of difficulty of a verbal mental loading task. The average dwell time of each fixation on the pilot's primary instrument increased as a function of the estimated skill level of the pilots, with novices being affected by the loading task much more than the experts. The results suggest that visual scanning of instruments in a controlled task may be an indicator of both workload and skill.

Causal inferences about others’ behavior among the Wampar, Papua New Guinea – and why they are hard to elicit

PubMed Central

Beer, Bettina; Bender, Andrea

2015-01-01

As social beings, people need to be able to interact intelligently with others in their social environment. Accordingly, people spend much time conversing with one another in order to understand the broad and fine aspects of the relations that link them. They are especially interested in the interactive behaviors that constitute social relations, such as mutual aid, gift giving and exchange, sharing, informal socializing, or deception. The evaluations of these behaviors are embedded in social relationships and charged with values and emotions. We developed tasks to probe how people in an unfamiliar socio-cultural setting understand and account for the behavior of others conditional upon their category membership – by trying to elicit the basic categories, stereotypes, and models that inform the causal perceptions, inferences and reasoning people use in understanding others’ interactive behaviors – and we tested these tasks among the Wampar in Papua New Guinea. The results show changes in the relevance of social categories among the Wampar but also, and perhaps more important, limitations in the translation and applicability of cognitive tasks. PMID:25806007

Aggressive behavior and change in salivary testosterone concentrations predict willingness to engage in a competitive task.

PubMed

Carré, Justin M; McCormick, Cheryl M

2008-08-01

The current study investigated relationships among aggressive behavior, change in salivary testosterone concentrations, and willingness to engage in a competitive task. Thirty-eight male participants provided saliva samples before and after performing the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (a laboratory measure that provides opportunity for aggressive and defensive behavior while working for reward; all three involve pressing specific response keys). Baseline testosterone concentrations were not associated with aggressive responding. However, aggressive responding (but not point reward or point protection responding) predicted the pre- to post-PSAP change in testosterone: Those with the highest aggressive responding had the largest percent increase in testosterone concentrations. Together, aggressive responding and change in testosterone predicted willingness to compete following the PSAP. Controlling for aggression, men who showed a rise in testosterone were more likely to choose to compete again (p=0.03) and controlling for testosterone change, men who showed the highest level of aggressive responding were more likely to choose the non-competitive task (p=0.02). These results indicate that situation-specific aggressive behavior and testosterone responsiveness are functionally relevant predictors of future social behavior.

All set, indeed! N2pc components reveal simultaneous attentional control settings for multiple target colors.

PubMed

Grubert, Anna; Eimer, Martin

2016-08-01

To study whether top-down attentional control processes can be set simultaneously for different visual features, we employed a spatial cueing procedure to measure behavioral and electrophysiological markers of task-set contingent attentional capture during search for targets defined by 1 or 2 possible colors (one-color and two-color tasks). Search arrays were preceded by spatially nonpredictive color singleton cues. Behavioral spatial cueing effects indicative of attentional capture were elicited only by target-matching but not by distractor-color cues. However, when search displays contained 1 target-color and 1 distractor-color object among gray nontargets, N2pc components were triggered not only by target-color but also by distractor-color cues both in the one-color and two-color task, demonstrating that task-set nonmatching items attracted attention. When search displays contained 6 items in 6 different colors, so that participants had to adopt a fully feature-specific task set, the N2pc to distractor-color cues was eliminated in both tasks, indicating that nonmatching items were now successfully excluded from attentional processing. These results demonstrate that when observers adopt a feature-specific search mode, attentional task sets can be configured flexibly for multiple features within the same dimension, resulting in the rapid allocation of attention to task-set matching objects only. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Virtual reality cognitive behavior therapy for public speaking anxiety: a randomized clinical trial.

PubMed

Wallach, Helene S; Safir, Marilyn P; Bar-Zvi, Margalit

2009-05-01

Public speaking anxiety (PSA) is a common phobia. Although cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is preferred, difficulties arise with the exposure component (lack of therapist control, patient's inability to imagine, self-flooding, loss of confidentiality resulting from public exposure). Virtual reality CBT (VRCBT) enables a high degree of therapist control, thus overcoming these difficulties. This study examined whether VRCBT is an alternative to CBT. Participants with PSA were randomly assigned to VRCBT (28 participants), CBT (30 participants), and wait list control (WLC; 30 participants). VRCBT and CBT were significantly more effective than WLC in anxiety reduction on four of five anxiety measures, and on subject's self-rating of anxiety during a behavioral task. No significant differences were found on observer ratings of the behavioral task. However, twice as many participants dropped out from CBT than from VRCBT. Our results demonstrated that VRCBT is an effective and brief treatment regimen, equal to CBT.

Executive Control Goes to School: Implications of Preschool Executive Performance for Observed Elementary Classroom Learning Engagement

PubMed Central

Nelson, Timothy D.; Nelson, Jennifer Mize; James, Tiffany D.; Clark, Caron A.C.; Kidwell, Katherine M.; Espy, Kimberly Andrews

2017-01-01

The transition to elementary school is accompanied by increasing demands for children to regulate their attention and behavior within the classroom setting. Executive control (EC) may be critical for meeting these demands; however, few studies have rigorously examined the association between EC and observed classroom behavior. This study examined EC in preschool (age 5 years, 3 months) as a predictor of classroom learning engagement behaviors in first grade, using a battery of performance-based EC tasks and live classroom observations in a longitudinal sample of 313 children. Multilevel modeling results indicated that stronger EC predicted more focused engagement and fewer task management and competing responses, controlling for socioeconomic status, child sex, and age at observations. Results suggest that early EC may support subsequent classroom engagement behaviors that are critical for successful transition to elementary school and long-term learning trajectories. PMID:28358540

Brain Connectivity and Visual Attention

PubMed Central

Parks, Emily L.

2013-01-01

Abstract Emerging hypotheses suggest that efficient cognitive functioning requires the integration of separate, but interconnected cortical networks in the brain. Although task-related measures of brain activity suggest that a frontoparietal network is associated with the control of attention, little is known regarding how components within this distributed network act together or with other networks to achieve various attentional functions. This review considers both functional and structural studies of brain connectivity, as complemented by behavioral and task-related neuroimaging data. These studies show converging results: The frontal and parietal cortical regions are active together, over time, and identifiable frontoparietal networks are active in relation to specific task demands. However, the spontaneous, low-frequency fluctuations of brain activity that occur in the resting state, without specific task demands, also exhibit patterns of connectivity that closely resemble the task-related, frontoparietal attention networks. Both task-related and resting-state networks exhibit consistent relations to behavioral measures of attention. Further, anatomical structure, particularly white matter pathways as defined by diffusion tensor imaging, places constraints on intrinsic functional connectivity. Lastly, connectivity analyses applied to investigate cognitive differences across individuals in both healthy and diseased states suggest that disconnection of attentional networks is linked to deficits in cognitive functioning, and in extreme cases, to disorders of attention. Thus, comprehensive theories of visual attention and their clinical translation depend on the continued integration of behavioral, task-related neuroimaging, and brain connectivity measures. PMID:23597177

Development of using experimenter-given cues in infant chimpanzees: longitudinal changes in behavior and cognitive development.

PubMed

Okamoto-Barth, Sanae; Tomonaga, Masaki; Tanaka, Masayuki; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro

2008-01-01

The use of gaze shifts as social cues has various evolutionary advantages. To investigate the developmental processes of this ability, we conducted an object-choice task by using longitudinal methods with infant chimpanzees tested from 8 months old until 3 years old. The experimenter used one of six gestures towards a cup concealing food; tapping, touching, whole-hand pointing, gazing plus close-pointing, distant-pointing, close-gazing, and distant-gazing. Unlike any other previous study, we analyzed the behavioral changes that occurred before and after choosing the cup. We assumed that pre-choice behavior indicates the development of an attentional and spatial connection between a pointing cue and an object (e.g. Woodward, 2005); and post-choice behavior indicates the emergence of object permanence (e.g. Piaget, 1954). Our study demonstrated that infant chimpanzees begin to use experimenter-given cues with age (after 11 months of age). Moreover, the results from the behavioral analysis showed that the infants gradually developed the spatial link between the pointing as an object-directed action and the object. Moreover, when they were 11 months old, the infants began to inspect the inside of the cup, suggesting the onset of object permanence. Overall, our results imply that the ability to use the cues is developing and mutually related with other cognitive developments. The present study also suggests what the standard object-choice task actually measures by breaking the task down into the developmental trajectories of its component parts, and describes for the first time the social-physical cognitive development during the task with a longitudinal method.

Impaired behavior on real-world tasks following damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

PubMed

Tranel, Daniel; Hathaway-Nepple, Julie; Anderson, Steven W

2007-04-01

Patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortices (VMPC) commonly manifest blatant behavioral navigation defects in the real world, but it has been difficult to measure these impairments in the clinic or laboratory. Using a set of "strategy application" tasks, which were designed by Shallice and Burgess (1991) to be ecologically valid for detecting executive dysfunction, we investigated the hypothesis that VMPC damage would be associated with defective performance on such tasks, whereas damage outside the VMPC region would not. A group of 9 patients with bilateral VMPC damage was contrasted with comparison groups of participants with (a) prefrontal brain damage outside the VMPC region (n = 8); (b) nonprefrontal brain damage (n = 17); and (c) no brain damage (n = 20). We found support for the hypothesis: VMPC patients had more impaired performances on the strategy application tasks, especially on a Multiple Errands Test that required patients to execute a series of unstructured tasks in a real-world setting (shopping mall). The results are consistent with the notion that efficacious behavioral navigation is dependent on the VMPC region. However, the strategy application tasks were relatively time consuming and effortful, and their diagnostic yield over and above conventional executive functioning tests may not be sufficient to warrant their inclusion in standard clinical assessment.

Impaired behavior on real-world tasks following damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex

PubMed Central

Tranel, Daniel; Hathaway-Nepple, Julie; Anderson, Steven W.

2008-01-01

Patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortices (VMPC) commonly manifest blatant behavioral navigation defects in the real world, but it has been difficult to measure these impairments in the clinic or laboratory. Using a set of “strategy application” tasks, which were designed by Shallice and Burgess (1991) to be ecologically valid for detecting executive dysfunction, we investigated the hypothesis that VMPC damage would be associated with defective performance on such tasks, whereas damage outside the VMPC region would not. A group of 9 patients with bilateral VMPC damage was contrasted with comparison groups of participants with (a) prefrontal brain damage outside the VMPC region (n=8); (b) nonprefrontal brain damage (n=17); and (c) no brain damage (n=20). We found support for the hypothesis: VMPC patients had more impaired performances on the strategy application tasks, especially on a Multiple Errands Test that required patients to execute a series of unstructured tasks in a real-world setting (shopping mall). The results are consistent with the notion that efficacious behavioral navigation is dependent on the VMPC region. However, the strategy application tasks were relatively time consuming and effortful, and their diagnostic yield over and above conventional executive functioning tests may not be sufficient to warrant their inclusion in standard clinical assessment. PMID:17454352

An Integrated Framework for Human-Robot Collaborative Manipulation.

PubMed

Sheng, Weihua; Thobbi, Anand; Gu, Ye

2015-10-01

This paper presents an integrated learning framework that enables humanoid robots to perform human-robot collaborative manipulation tasks. Specifically, a table-lifting task performed jointly by a human and a humanoid robot is chosen for validation purpose. The proposed framework is split into two phases: 1) phase I-learning to grasp the table and 2) phase II-learning to perform the manipulation task. An imitation learning approach is proposed for phase I. In phase II, the behavior of the robot is controlled by a combination of two types of controllers: 1) reactive and 2) proactive. The reactive controller lets the robot take a reactive control action to make the table horizontal. The proactive controller lets the robot take proactive actions based on human motion prediction. A measure of confidence of the prediction is also generated by the motion predictor. This confidence measure determines the leader/follower behavior of the robot. Hence, the robot can autonomously switch between the behaviors during the task. Finally, the performance of the human-robot team carrying out the collaborative manipulation task is experimentally evaluated on a platform consisting of a Nao humanoid robot and a Vicon motion capture system. Results show that the proposed framework can enable the robot to carry out the collaborative manipulation task successfully.

Functional Roles of Neural Preparatory Processes in a Cued Stroop Task Revealed by Linking Electrophysiology with Behavioral Performance.

PubMed

Wang, Chao; Ding, Mingzhou; Kluger, Benzi M

2015-01-01

It is well established that cuing facilitates behavioral performance and that different aspects of instructional cues evoke specific neural preparatory processes in cued task-switching paradigms. To deduce the functional role of these neural preparatory processes the majority of studies vary aspects of the experimental paradigm and describe how these variations alter markers of neural preparatory processes. Although these studies provide important insights, they also have notable limitations, particularly in terms of understanding the causal or functional relationship of neural markers to cognitive and behavioral processes. In this study, we sought to address these limitations and uncover the functional roles of neural processes by examining how variability in the amplitude of neural preparatory processes predicts behavioral performance to subsequent stimuli. To achieve this objective 16 young adults were recruited to perform a cued Stroop task while their brain activity was measured using high-density electroencephalography. Four temporally overlapping but functionally and topographically distinct cue-triggered event related potentials (ERPs) were identified: 1) A left-frontotemporal negativity (250-700 ms) that was positively associated with word-reading performance; 2) a midline-frontal negativity (450-800 ms) that was positively associated with color-naming and incongruent performance; 3) a left-frontal negativity (450-800 ms) that was positively associated with switch trial performance; and 4) a centroparietal positivity (450-800 ms) that was positively associated with performance for almost all trial types. These results suggest that at least four dissociable cognitive processes are evoked by instructional cues in the present task, including: 1) domain-specific task facilitation; 2) switch-specific task-set reconfiguration; 3) preparation for response conflict; and 4) proactive attentional control. Examining the relationship between ERPs and behavioral performance provides a functional link between neural markers and the cognitive processes they index.

Task Performance and Meta-Cognitive Outcomes When Using Activity Workstations and Traditional Desks

PubMed Central

Pilcher, June J.; Baker, Victoria C.

2016-01-01

The purpose of the current study is to compare the effects of light physical activity to sedentary behavior on cognitive task performance and meta-cognitive responses. Thirty-eight undergraduate students participated in the study. The participants used a stationary bicycle with a desk top and a traditional desk while completing two complex cognitive tasks and measures of affect, motivation, morale, and engagement. The participants pedaled the stationary bicycle at a slow pace (similar in exertion to a normal walking pace) while working. The results indicated that cognitive task performance did not change between the two workstations. However, positive affect, motivation, and morale improved when using the stationary bicycle. These results suggest that activity workstations could be implemented in the work place and in educational settings to help decrease sedentary behavior without negatively affecting performance. Furthermore, individuals could experience a positive emotional response when working on activity workstations which in turn could help encourage individuals to choose to be more physical active during daily activities. PMID:27445921

Task design influences prosociality in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

PubMed

House, Bailey R; Silk, Joan B; Lambeth, Susan P; Schapiro, Steven J

2014-01-01

Chimpanzees confer benefits on group members, both in the wild and in captive populations. Experimental studies of how animals allocate resources can provide useful insights about the motivations underlying prosocial behavior, and understanding the relationship between task design and prosocial behavior provides an important foundation for future research exploring these animals' social preferences. A number of studies have been designed to assess chimpanzees' preferences for outcomes that benefit others (prosocial preferences), but these studies vary greatly in both the results obtained and the methods used, and in most cases employ procedures that reduce critical features of naturalistic social interactions, such as partner choice. The focus of the current study is on understanding the link between experimental methodology and prosocial behavior in captive chimpanzees, rather than on describing these animals' social motivations themselves. We introduce a task design that avoids isolating subjects and allows them to freely decide whether to participate in the experiment. We explore key elements of the methods utilized in previous experiments in an effort to evaluate two possibilities that have been offered to explain why different experimental designs produce different results: (a) chimpanzees are less likely to deliver food to others when they obtain food for themselves, and (b) evidence of prosociality may be obscured by more "complex" experimental apparatuses (e.g., those including more components or alternative choices). Our results suggest that the complexity of laboratory tasks may generate observed variation in prosocial behavior in laboratory experiments, and highlights the need for more naturalistic research designs while also providing one example of such a paradigm.

Task Design Influences Prosociality in Captive Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

PubMed Central

House, Bailey R.; Silk, Joan B.; Lambeth, Susan P.; Schapiro, Steven J.

2014-01-01

Chimpanzees confer benefits on group members, both in the wild and in captive populations. Experimental studies of how animals allocate resources can provide useful insights about the motivations underlying prosocial behavior, and understanding the relationship between task design and prosocial behavior provides an important foundation for future research exploring these animals' social preferences. A number of studies have been designed to assess chimpanzees' preferences for outcomes that benefit others (prosocial preferences), but these studies vary greatly in both the results obtained and the methods used, and in most cases employ procedures that reduce critical features of naturalistic social interactions, such as partner choice. The focus of the current study is on understanding the link between experimental methodology and prosocial behavior in captive chimpanzees, rather than on describing these animals' social motivations themselves. We introduce a task design that avoids isolating subjects and allows them to freely decide whether to participate in the experiment. We explore key elements of the methods utilized in previous experiments in an effort to evaluate two possibilities that have been offered to explain why different experimental designs produce different results: (a) chimpanzees are less likely to deliver food to others when they obtain food for themselves, and (b) evidence of prosociality may be obscured by more “complex” experimental apparatuses (e.g., those including more components or alternative choices). Our results suggest that the complexity of laboratory tasks may generate observed variation in prosocial behavior in laboratory experiments, and highlights the need for more naturalistic research designs while also providing one example of such a paradigm. PMID:25191860

Motivational Antecedents of Individual Innovation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picci, Patrizia; Battistelli, Adalgisa

The current work seeks to focus on the innovative work behavior and, in particular, on the stage of idea generation. An important factor that stimulates the individual to carry out the various emergent processes of change and innovation within the organization is known as intrinsic motivation, but under certain conditions, the presence of different forms of extrinsic motivation, as external regulation, introjection, identification and integration, positively influences innovative behavior at work, specifically the creative stage of the process. Starting from this evidence, the organizational environment could be capable of stimulating or indeed inhibiting potential creativity and innovation of individuals. About 100 individuals employees of a local government health department in Central Italy were given an explicit questionnaire. The results show that among external factors that effect the individual such as control, rewards and recognition for work well done, controlled motivation influences overall innovative behavior whereas autonomous motivation plays a significant role in the specific behavior of idea generation. At the same time, it must also be acknowledged that a clearly articulated task which allows an individual to identify with said task, seems to favor overall innovative behavior, whilst a task which allows a fair degree of autonomy influences the behavior of generating ideas.

Validating the Why/How Contrast for Functional MRI Studies of Theory of Mind

PubMed Central

Spunt, Robert P.; Adolphs, Ralph

2014-01-01

The ability to impute mental states to others, or Theory of Mind (ToM), has been the subject of hundreds of neuroimaging studies. Although reviews and meta-analyses of these studies have concluded that ToM recruits a coherent brain network, mounting evidence suggests that this network is an abstraction based on pooling data from numerous studies, most of which use different behavioral tasks to investigate ToM. Problematically, this means that no single behavioral task can be used to reliably measure ToM Network function as currently conceived. To make ToM Network function scientifically tractable, we need standardized tasks capable of reliably measuring specific aspects of its functioning. Here, our goal is to validate the Why/How Task for this purpose. Several prior studies have found that when compared to answering how-questions about another person's behavior, answering why-questions about that same behavior activates a network that is anatomically consistent with meta-analytic definitions of the ToM Network. In the version of the Why/How Task presented here, participants answer yes/no Why (e.g., Is the person helping someone?) and How (e.g., Is the person lifting something?) questions about pretested photographs of naturalistic human behaviors. Across three fMRI studies, we show that the task elicits reliable performance measurements and modulates a left-lateralized network that is consistently localized across studies. While this network is convergent with meta-analyses of ToM studies, it is largely distinct from the network identified by the widely used False-Belief Localizer, the most common ToM task. Our new task is publicly available, and can be used as an efficient functional localizer to provide reliable identification of single-subject responses in most regions of the network. Our results validate the Why/How Task, both as a standardized protocol capable of producing maximally comparable data across studies, and as a flexible foundation for programmatic research on the neurobiological foundations of a basic manifestation of human ToM. PMID:24844746

Effect of minimal/mild hearing loss on children's speech understanding in a simulated classroom.

PubMed

Lewis, Dawna E; Valente, Daniel L; Spalding, Jody L

2015-01-01

While classroom acoustics can affect educational performance for all students, the impact for children with minimal/mild hearing loss (MMHL) may be greater than for children with normal hearing (NH). The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of MMHL on children's speech recognition comprehension and looking behavior in a simulated classroom environment. It was hypothesized that children with MMHL would perform similarly to their peers with NH on the speech recognition task but would perform more poorly on the comprehension task. Children with MMHL also were expected to look toward talkers more often than children with NH. Eighteen children with MMHL and 18 age-matched children with NH participated. In a simulated classroom environment, children listened to lines from an elementary-age-appropriate play read by a teacher and four students reproduced over LCD monitors and loudspeakers located around the listener. A gyroscopic headtracking device was used to monitor looking behavior during the task. At the end of the play, comprehension was assessed by asking a series of 18 factual questions. Children also were asked to repeat 50 meaningful sentences with three key words each presented audio-only by a single talker either from the loudspeaker at 0 degree azimuth or randomly from the five loudspeakers. Both children with NH and those with MMHL performed at or near ceiling on the sentence recognition task. For the comprehension task, children with MMHL performed more poorly than those with NH. Assessment of looking behavior indicated that both groups of children looked at talkers while they were speaking less than 50% of the time. In addition, the pattern of overall looking behaviors suggested that, compared with older children with NH, a larger portion of older children with MMHL may demonstrate looking behaviors similar to younger children with or without MMHL. The results of this study demonstrate that, under realistic acoustic conditions, it is difficult to differentiate performance among children with MMHL and children with NH using a sentence recognition task. The more cognitively demanding comprehension task identified performance differences between these two groups. The comprehension task represented a condition in which the persons talking change rapidly and are not readily visible to the listener. Examination of looking behavior suggested that, in this complex task, attempting to visualize the talker may inefficiently utilize cognitive resources that would otherwise be allocated for comprehension.

Mixing of Honeybees with Different Genotypes Affects Individual Worker Behavior and Transcription of Genes in the Neuronal Substrate

PubMed Central

Bienefeld, Kaspar; Beye, Martin

2012-01-01

Division of labor in social insects has made the evolution of collective traits possible that cannot be achieved by individuals alone. Differences in behavioral responses produce variation in engagement in behavioral tasks, which as a consequence, generates a division of labor. We still have little understanding of the genetic components influencing these behaviors, although several candidate genomic regions and genes influencing individual behavior have been identified. Here, we report that mixing of worker honeybees with different genotypes influences the expression of individual worker behaviors and the transcription of genes in the neuronal substrate. These indirect genetic effects arise in a colony because numerous interactions between workers produce interacting phenotypes and genotypes across organisms. We studied hygienic behavior of honeybee workers, which involves the cleaning of diseased brood cells in the colony. We mixed ∼500 newly emerged honeybee workers with genotypes of preferred Low (L) and High (H) hygienic behaviors. The L/H genotypic mixing affected the behavioral engagement of L worker bees in a hygienic task, the cooperation among workers in uncapping single brood cells, and switching between hygienic tasks. We found no evidence that recruiting and task-related stimuli are the primary source of the indirect genetic effects on behavior. We suggested that behavioral responsiveness of L bees was affected by genotypic mixing and found evidence for changes in the brain in terms of 943 differently expressed genes. The functional categories of cell adhesion, cellular component organization, anatomical structure development, protein localization, developmental growth and cell morphogenesis were overrepresented in this set of 943 genes, suggesting that indirect genetic effects can play a role in modulating and modifying the neuronal substrate. Our results suggest that genotypes of social partners affect the behavioral responsiveness and the neuronal substrate of individual workers, indicating a complex genetic architecture underlying the expression of behavior. PMID:22348118

Amygdala task-evoked activity and task-free connectivity independently contribute to feelings of arousal.

PubMed

Touroutoglou, Alexandra; Bickart, Kevin C; Barrett, Lisa Feldman; Dickerson, Bradford C

2014-10-01

Individual differences in the intensity of feelings of arousal while viewing emotional pictures have been associated with the magnitude of task-evoked blood-oxygen dependent (BOLD) response in the amygdala. Recently, we reported that individual differences in feelings of arousal are associated with task-free (resting state) connectivity within the salience network. There has not yet been an investigation of whether these two types of functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures are redundant or independent in their relationships to behavior. Here we tested the hypothesis that a combination of task-evoked amygdala activation and task-free amygdala connectivity within the salience network relate to individual differences in feelings of arousal while viewing of negatively potent images. In 25 young adults, results revealed that greater task-evoked amygdala activation and stronger task-free amygdala connectivity within the salience network each contributed independently to feelings of arousal, predicting a total of 45% of its variance. Individuals who had both increased task-evoked amygdala activation and stronger task-free amygdala connectivity within the salience network had the most heightened levels of arousal. Task-evoked amygdala activation and task-free amygdala connectivity within the salience network were not related to each other, suggesting that resting-state and task-evoked dynamic brain imaging measures may provide independent and complementary information about affective experience, and likely other kinds of behaviors as well. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Gender differences in the behavioral effects of methamphetamine.

PubMed

Schindler, Charles W; Bross, Joshua G; Thorndike, Eric B

2002-05-10

The effects of methamphetamine were tested in male and female rats on two different behavioral tasks. Following habituation to a locomotor activity chamber, female rats were more sensitive to the locomotor activating effect of i.p. methamphetamine (0.1-3.0 mg/kg) than were male rats. A similar effect has been observed for other psychomotor stimulants, including cocaine and amphetamine. However, males and females did not differ on methamphetamine-induced place preference following eight conditioning trials with a wide range of doses (0.1-5.6 mg/kg). These results suggest that males and females differ in their response to methamphetamine for only some behavioral tasks.

Test-retest reliability of behavioral measures of impulsive choice, impulsive action, and inattention.

PubMed

Weafer, Jessica; Baggott, Matthew J; de Wit, Harriet

2013-12-01

Behavioral measures of impulsivity are widely used in substance abuse research, yet relatively little attention has been devoted to establishing their psychometric properties, especially their reliability over repeated administration. The current study examined the test-retest reliability of a battery of standardized behavioral impulsivity tasks, including measures of impulsive choice (i.e., delay discounting, probability discounting, and the Balloon Analogue Risk Task), impulsive action (i.e., the stop signal task, the go/no-go task, and commission errors on the continuous performance task), and inattention (i.e., attention lapses on a simple reaction time task and omission errors on the continuous performance task). Healthy adults (n = 128) performed the battery on two separate occasions. Reliability estimates for the individual tasks ranged from moderate to high, with Pearson correlations within the specific impulsivity domains as follows: impulsive choice (r range: .76-.89, ps < .001); impulsive action (r range: .65-.73, ps < .001); and inattention (r range: .38-.42, ps < .001). Additionally, the influence of day-to-day fluctuations in mood, as measured by the Profile of Mood States, was assessed in relation to variability in performance on each of the behavioral tasks. Change in performance on the delay discounting task was significantly associated with change in positive mood and arousal. No other behavioral measures were significantly associated with mood. In sum, the current analysis demonstrates that behavioral measures of impulsivity are reliable measures and thus can be confidently used to assess various facets of impulsivity as intermediate phenotypes for drug abuse.

Test-retest reliability of behavioral measures of impulsive choice, impulsive action, and inattention

PubMed Central

Weafer, Jessica; Baggott, Matthew J.; de Wit, Harriet

2014-01-01

Behavioral measures of impulsivity are widely used in substance abuse research, yet relatively little attention has been devoted to establishing their psychometric properties, especially their reliability over repeated administration. The current study examined the test-retest reliability of a battery of standardized behavioral impulsivity tasks, including measures of impulsive choice (delay discounting, probability discounting, and the Balloon Analogue Risk Task), impulsive action (the stop signal task, the go/no-go task, and commission errors on the continuous performance task), and inattention (attention lapses on a simple reaction time task and omission errors on the continuous performance task). Healthy adults (n=128) performed the battery on two separate occasions. Reliability estimates for the individual tasks ranged from moderate to high, with Pearson correlations within the specific impulsivity domains as follows: impulsive choice (r = .76 - .89, ps < .001); impulsive action (r = .65 - .73, ps < .001); and inattention (r = .38-.42, ps < .001). Additionally, the influence of day-to-day fluctuations in mood as measured by the Profile of Mood States was assessed in relation to variability in performance on each of the behavioral tasks. Change in performance on the delay discounting task was significantly associated with change in positive mood and arousal. No other behavioral measures were significantly associated with mood. In sum, the current analysis demonstrates that behavioral measures of impulsivity are reliable measures and thus can be confidently used to assess various facets of impulsivity as intermediate phenotypes for drug abuse. PMID:24099351

Tracking Immanent Language Learning Behavior Over Time in Task-Based Classroom Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kunitz, Silvia; Marian, Klara Skogmyr

2017-01-01

In this study, the authors explore how classroom tasks that are commonly used in task-based language teaching (TBLT) are achieved as observable aspects of "local educational order" (Hester & Francis, 2000) through observable and immanently social classroom behaviors. They focus specifically on students' language learning behaviors,…

Guidelines for Cognitive Behavioral Training within Doctoral Psychology Programs in the United States: Report of the Inter-Organizational Task Force on Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology Doctoral Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klepac, Robert K.; Ronan, George F.; Andrasik, Frank; Arnold, Kevin D.; Belar, Cynthia D.; Berry, Sharon L.; Christofff, Karen A.; Craighead, Linda W.; Dougher, Michael J.; Dowd, E. Thomas; Herbert, James D.; McFarr, Lynn M.; Rizvi, Shireen L.; Sauer, Eric M.; Strauman, Timothy J.

2012-01-01

The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies initiated an interorganizational task force to develop guidelines for integrated education and training in cognitive and behavioral psychology at the doctoral level in the United States. Fifteen task force members representing 16 professional associations participated in a yearlong series of…

Relationship quality and relationship context as antecedents of person- and task-focused interpersonal citizenship behavior.

PubMed

Settoon, Randall P; Mossholder, Kevin W

2002-04-01

A model hypothesizing relationship quality and relationship context as antecedents of two complementary forms of interpersonal citizenship behavior (ICB) was tested. Measures with coworkers as the frame of reference were used to collect data from 273 individuals working in 2 service-oriented organizations. As hypothesized, variables reflecting relationship quality were associated with person-focused ICB, as mediated by empathic concern. Also as hypothesized, a relationship context variable, network centrality, exhibited a direct relationship with task-focused ICB. Unexpectedly, network centrality was directly associated with person-focused ICB. and empathic concern was associated with task-focused ICB. The results are discussed, and implications for research and practice are offered.

Regret Expression and Social Learning Increases Delay to Sexual Gratification

PubMed Central

Quisenberry, Amanda J.; Eddy, Celia R.; Patterson, David L.; Franck, Christopher T.; Bickel, Warren K.

2015-01-01

Objective Modification and prevention of risky sexual behavior is important to individuals’ health and public health policy. This study employed a novel sexual discounting task to elucidate the effects of social learning and regret expression on delay to sexual gratification in a behavioral task. Methods Amazon Mechanical Turk Workers were assigned to hear one of three scenarios about a friend who engages in similar sexual behavior. The scenarios included a positive health consequence, a negative health consequence or a negative health consequence with the expression of regret. After reading one scenario, participants were asked to select from 60 images, those with whom they would have casual sex. Of the selected images, participants chose one image each for the person they most and least want to have sex with and person most and least likely to have a sexually transmitted infection. They then answered questions about engaging in unprotected sex now or waiting some delay for condom-protected sex in each partner condition. Results Results indicate that the negative health outcome scenario with regret expression resulted in delayed sexual gratification in the most attractive and least STI partner conditions, whereas in the least attractive and most STI partner conditions the negative health outcome with and without regret resulted in delayed sexual gratification. Conclusions Results suggest that the sexual discounting task is a relevant laboratory measure and the framing of information to include regret expression may be relevant for prevention of risky sexual behavior. PMID:26280349

Skin conductance level reactivity moderates the association between harsh parenting and growth in child externalizing behavior.

PubMed

Erath, Stephen A; El-Sheikh, Mona; Hinnant, J Benjamin; Cummings, E Mark

2011-05-01

Skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) was examined as a moderator of the association between harsh parenting at age 8 years and growth in child externalizing behavior from age 8 to age 10 (N = 251). Mothers and fathers provided reports of harsh parenting and their children's externalizing behavior; children also provided reports of harsh parenting. SCLR was assessed in response to a socioemotional stress task and a problem-solving challenge task. Latent growth modeling revealed that boys with higher harsh parenting in conjunction with lower SCLR exhibited relatively high and stable levels of externalizing behavior during late childhood. Boys with higher harsh parenting and higher SCLR exhibited relatively low to moderate levels of externalizing behavior at age 8, but some results suggested that their externalizing behavior increased over time, approaching the same levels as boys with higher harsh parenting and lower SCLR by age 10. For the most part, girls and boys with lower harsh parenting were given relatively low and stable ratings of externalizing behavior throughout late childhood. Results are discussed from a developmental psychopathology perspective with reference to models of antisocial behavior in childhood. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Skin Conductance Level Reactivity Moderates the Association Between Harsh Parenting and Growth in Child Externalizing Behavior

PubMed Central

Erath, Stephen A.; El-Sheikh, Mona; Hinnant, J. Benjamin; Cummings, E. Mark

2011-01-01

Skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) was examined as a moderator of the association between harsh parenting at age 8 years and growth in child externalizing behavior from age 8 to age 10 (N = 251). Mothers and fathers provided reports of harsh parenting and their children’s externalizing behavior; children also provided reports of harsh parenting. SCLR was assessed in response to a socioemotional stress task and a problem-solving challenge task. Latent growth modeling revealed that boys with higher harsh parenting in conjunction with lower SCLR exhibited relatively high and stable levels of externalizing behavior during late childhood. Boys with higher harsh parenting and higher SCLR exhibited relatively low to moderate levels of externalizing behavior at age 8, but some results suggested that their externalizing behavior increased over time, approaching the same levels as boys with higher harsh parenting and lower SCLR by age 10. For the most part, girls and boys with lower harsh parenting were given relatively low and stable ratings of externalizing behavior throughout late childhood. Results are discussed from a developmental psychopathology perspective with reference to models of antisocial behavior in childhood. PMID:21142369

An investigation of the neural substrates of mind wandering induced by viewing traditional Chinese landscape paintings

PubMed Central

Wang, Tingting; Mo, Lei; Vartanian, Oshin; Cant, Jonathan S.; Cupchik, Gerald

2015-01-01

The present study was conducted to investigate whether the calming effect induced by viewing traditional Chinese landscape paintings would make disengagement from that mental state more difficult, as measured by performance on a cognitive control task. In Experiment 1 we examined the subjective experience of viewing traditional Chinese landscape paintings vs. realistic oil landscape paintings in a behavioral study. Our results confirmed that, as predicted, traditional Chinese landscape paintings induce greater levels of relaxation and mind wandering and lower levels of object-oriented absorption and recognition, compared to realistic oil landscape paintings. In Experiment 2 we used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to explore the behavioral and neural effects of viewing traditional Chinese landscape paintings on a task requiring cognitive control (i.e., the flanker task)—administered immediately following exposure to paintings. Contrary to our prediction, the behavioral data demonstrated that compared to realistic oil landscape paintings, exposure to traditional Chinese landscape paintings had no effect on performance on the flanker task. However, the neural data demonstrated an interaction effect such that there was greater activation in the inferior parietal cortex and the superior frontal gyrus on incongruent compared with congruent flanker trials when participants switched from viewing traditional Chinese landscape paintings to the flanker task than when they switched from realistic oil landscape paintings. These results suggest that switching from traditional Chinese landscape paintings placed greater demands on the brain’s attention and working memory networks during the flanker task than did switching from realistic oil landscape paintings. PMID:25610386

Regional vulnerability of the hippocampus to repeated motor activity deprivation.

PubMed

Faraji, Jamshid; Soltanpour, Nabiollah; Moeeini, Reza; Hosseini, Seyed Abedin; Pakdel, Shiva; Moharrerie, Alireza; Arjang, Kaveh; Soltanpour, Nasrin; Metz, Gerlinde A S

2016-03-15

Spontaneous vertical and horizontal exploratory movements are integral components of rodent behavior. Little is known, however, about the structural and functional consequences of restricted spontaneous exploration. Here, we report two experiments to probe whether restriction in vertical activity (rearing) in rats could induce neuro-hormonal and behavioral disturbances. Rearing movements in rats were deprived for 3h/day for 30 consecutive days by placing the animal into a circular tunnel task. Rats temporarily deprived of rearing behavior showed elevated plasma corticosterone levels but no detectable psychological distress and/or anxiety-related behavior within an elevated plus maze. However, rats emitted a greater number of 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations and spent significantly more time vocalizing than controls when deprived of their rearing behavior. Despite intact spatial performance within wet- and dry-land spatial tasks, rearing-deprived rats also exhibited a significant alteration in search strategies within both spatial tasks along with reduced volume and neuron number in the hippocampal subregion CA2. These data suggest a new approach to test the importance of free exploratory behavior in endocrine and structural manifestations. The results support a central role of the CA2 in spontaneous exploratory behavior and vulnerability to psychological stress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Kids, Candy, Brain and Behavior: Age Differences in Responses to Candy Gains and Losses

PubMed Central

Luking, Katherine R; Luby, Joan; Barch, Deanna M

2014-01-01

The development of reward-related neural systems, from adolescence through adulthood, has received much recent attention in the developmental neuroimaging literature. However, few studies have investigated behavioral and neural responses to both gains and losses in pre-pubertal child populations. To address this gap in the literature, in the present study healthy children aged 7–11 years and young-adults completed an fMRI card-guessing game using candy pieces delivered post-scan as an incentive. Age differences in behavioral and neural responses to candy gains/losses were investigated. Adults and children displayed similar responses to gains, but robust age differences were observed following candy losses within the caudate, thalamus, insula, and hippocampus. Interestingly, when task behavior was included as a factor in post-hoc mediation analyses, activation following loss within the caudate/thalamus related to task behavior and relationships with age were no longer significant. Conversely, relationships between response to loss and age within the hippocampus and insula remained significant even when controlling for behavior, with children showing heightened loss responses within the dorsal/posterior insula. These results suggest that both age and task behavior influence responses within the extended reward circuitry, and that children seem to be more sensitive than adults to loss feedback particularly within the dorsal/posterior insula. PMID:24534632

Sex differences in neural and behavioral signatures of cooperation revealed by fNIRS hyperscanning

PubMed Central

Baker, Joseph M.; Liu, Ning; Cui, Xu; Vrticka, Pascal; Saggar, Manish; Hosseini, S. M. Hadi; Reiss, Allan L.

2016-01-01

Researchers from multiple fields have sought to understand how sex moderates human social behavior. While over 50 years of research has revealed differences in cooperation behavior of males and females, the underlying neural correlates of these sex differences have not been explained. A missing and fundamental element of this puzzle is an understanding of how the sex composition of an interacting dyad influences the brain and behavior during cooperation. Using fNIRS-based hyperscanning in 111 same- and mixed-sex dyads, we identified significant behavioral and neural sex-related differences in association with a computer-based cooperation task. Dyads containing at least one male demonstrated significantly higher behavioral performance than female/female dyads. Individual males and females showed significant activation in the right frontopolar and right inferior prefrontal cortices, although this activation was greater in females compared to males. Female/female dyad’s exhibited significant inter-brain coherence within the right temporal cortex, while significant coherence in male/male dyads occurred in the right inferior prefrontal cortex. Significant coherence was not observed in mixed-sex dyads. Finally, for same-sex dyads only, task-related inter-brain coherence was positively correlated with cooperation task performance. Our results highlight multiple important and previously undetected influences of sex on concurrent neural and behavioral signatures of cooperation. PMID:27270754

On-Task in a Box: An Evaluation of a Package-Ready Intervention for Increasing Levels of On-Task Behavior and Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Brian; Radley, Keith C.; Jenson, William R.; O'Neill, Robert E.

2017-01-01

The present study tested the efficacy of the On-Task in a Box program for increasing on-task behavior and academic accuracy of highly off-task students. Six students in 2nd and 3rd grades were identified by their classroom teacher as highly off-task. Following identification, the students participated in the On-Task in a Box intervention. Results…

Sleep-Dependent Consolidation of Rewarded Behavior Is Diminished in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and a Comorbid Disorder of Social Behavior

PubMed Central

Wiesner, Christian D.; Molzow, Ina; Prehn-Kristensen, Alexander; Baving, Lioba

2017-01-01

Children suffering from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often also display impaired learning and memory. Previous research has documented aberrant reward processing in ADHD as well as impaired sleep-dependent consolidation of declarative memory. We investigated whether sleep also fosters the consolidation of behavior learned by probabilistic reward and whether ADHD patients with a comorbid disorder of social behavior show deficits in this memory domain, too. A group of 17 ADHD patients with comorbid disorders of social behavior aged 8–12 years and healthy controls matched for age, IQ, and handedness took part in the experiment. During the encoding task, children worked on a probabilistic learning task acquiring behavioral preferences for stimuli rewarded most often. After a 12-hr retention interval of either sleep at night or wakefulness during the day, a reversal task was presented where the contingencies were reversed. Consolidation of rewarded behavior is indicated by greater resistance to reversal learning. We found that healthy children consolidate rewarded behavior better during a night of sleep than during a day awake and that the sleep-dependent consolidation of rewarded behavior by trend correlates with non-REM sleep but not with REM sleep. In contrast, children with ADHD and comorbid disorders of social behavior do not show sleep-dependent consolidation of rewarded behavior. Moreover, their consolidation of rewarded behavior does not correlate with sleep. The results indicate that dysfunctional sleep in children suffering from ADHD and disorders of social behavior might be a crucial factor in the consolidation of behavior learned by reward. PMID:28228742

Generating Phenotypical Erroneous Human Behavior to Evaluate Human-automation Interaction Using Model Checking

PubMed Central

Bolton, Matthew L.; Bass, Ellen J.; Siminiceanu, Radu I.

2012-01-01

Breakdowns in complex systems often occur as a result of system elements interacting in unanticipated ways. In systems with human operators, human-automation interaction associated with both normative and erroneous human behavior can contribute to such failures. Model-driven design and analysis techniques provide engineers with formal methods tools and techniques capable of evaluating how human behavior can contribute to system failures. This paper presents a novel method for automatically generating task analytic models encompassing both normative and erroneous human behavior from normative task models. The generated erroneous behavior is capable of replicating Hollnagel’s zero-order phenotypes of erroneous action for omissions, jumps, repetitions, and intrusions. Multiple phenotypical acts can occur in sequence, thus allowing for the generation of higher order phenotypes. The task behavior model pattern capable of generating erroneous behavior can be integrated into a formal system model so that system safety properties can be formally verified with a model checker. This allows analysts to prove that a human-automation interactive system (as represented by the model) will or will not satisfy safety properties with both normative and generated erroneous human behavior. We present benchmarks related to the size of the statespace and verification time of models to show how the erroneous human behavior generation process scales. We demonstrate the method with a case study: the operation of a radiation therapy machine. A potential problem resulting from a generated erroneous human action is discovered. A design intervention is presented which prevents this problem from occurring. We discuss how our method could be used to evaluate larger applications and recommend future paths of development. PMID:23105914

Space and Consequences: The Impact of Different Formal Learning Spaces on Instructor and Student Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brooks, D. Christopher

2012-01-01

This article presents the results of a quasi-experimental research project investigating the impact of two different formal learning spaces--a traditional classroom and a technologically enhanced active learning classroom--on instructor behavior, classroom activities, and levels of on-task student behavior at the University of Minnesota. Using…

Selection of behavioral tasks and development of software for evaluation of Rhesus Monkey behavior during spaceflight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rumbaugh, Duane M.; Washburn, David A.; Richardson, W. K.

1995-01-01

The results of several experiments were disseminated during this semiannual period. This publication and each of these presented papers represent investigations of the continuity in psychological processes between monkeys and humans. Thus, each serves to support the animal model of behavior and performance research.

The Utility of Vignette Judgment Tasks and Their Relationship to Past Behavioral Data.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Lizette; Homer, Andrew

While research examining altruism has relied on subject responses to written vignettes rather than actual altruism-eliciting situations, the relationship between written responses and actual behavior has not been established. To assess the degree to which some classic social/psychological behavior results could be replicated using short, written…

Reduced amygdala-orbitofrontal connectivity during moral judgments in youths with disruptive behavior disorders and psychopathic traits.

PubMed

Marsh, Abigail A; Finger, Elizabeth C; Fowler, Katherine A; Jurkowitz, Ilana T N; Schechter, Julia C; Yu, Henry H; Pine, Daniel S; Blair, R J R

2011-12-30

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate dysfunction in the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex in adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders and psychopathic traits during a moral judgment task. Fourteen adolescents with psychopathic traits and 14 healthy controls were assessed using fMRI while they categorized illegal and legal behaviors in a moral judgment implicit association task. fMRI data were then analyzed using random-effects analysis of variance and functional connectivity. Youths with psychopathic traits showed reduced amygdala activity when making judgments about legal actions and reduced functional connectivity between the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex during task performance. These results suggest that psychopathic traits are associated with amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex dysfunction. This dysfunction may relate to previous findings of disrupted moral judgment in this population. 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of the video game Quizlet on the acquisition of science vocabulary for children with learning disabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyce, Deborah Ann

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the learning video game Quizlet on students with learning disabilities in the science classroom. Specifically this study investigated (a) student academic performance, (b) student on-task behavior, and (c) student satisfaction using the learning video game. Student academic performance was measured in terms of vocabulary acquisition, and student engagement was measured in relation to on-task behaviors. Seven middle school students, three female and four male participated in the study. A single subject design with ABABAB phases and maintenance data collection was utilized. Results show that all students increased their grades in science vocabulary and increased on-task behaviors. A follow-up student satisfaction survey determined that the intervention was acceptable to all students. Additional studies to assess the effects of Quizlet are recommended.

A Human-Robot Co-Manipulation Approach Based on Human Sensorimotor Information.

PubMed

Peternel, Luka; Tsagarakis, Nikos; Ajoudani, Arash

2017-07-01

This paper aims to improve the interaction and coordination between the human and the robot in cooperative execution of complex, powerful, and dynamic tasks. We propose a novel approach that integrates online information about the human motor function and manipulability properties into the hybrid controller of the assistive robot. Through this human-in-the-loop framework, the robot can adapt to the human motor behavior and provide the appropriate assistive response in different phases of the cooperative task. We experimentally evaluate the proposed approach in two human-robot co-manipulation tasks that require specific complementary behavior from the two agents. Results suggest that the proposed technique, which relies on a minimum degree of task-level pre-programming, can achieve an enhanced physical human-robot interaction performance and deliver appropriate level of assistance to the human operator.

Neural Mechanisms Underlying Paradoxical Performance for Monetary Incentives Are Driven by Loss Aversion

PubMed Central

Chib, Vikram S.; De Martino, Benedetto; Shimojo, Shinsuke; O'Doherty, John P.

2012-01-01

Summary Employers often make payment contingent on performance in order to motivate workers. We used fMRI with a novel incentivized skill task to examine the neural processes underlying behavioral responses to performance-based pay. We found that individuals' performance increased with increasing incentives; however, very high incentive levels led to the paradoxical consequence of worse performance. Between initial incentive presentation and task execution, striatal activity rapidly switched between activation and deactivation in response to increasing incentives. Critically, decrements in performance and striatal deactivations were directly predicted by an independent measure of behavioral loss aversion. These results suggest that incentives associated with successful task performance are initially encoded as a potential gain; however, when actually performing a task, individuals encode the potential loss that would arise from failure. PMID:22578508

Ventral Midline Thalamus Is Critical for Hippocampal–Prefrontal Synchrony and Spatial Working Memory

PubMed Central

Hallock, Henry L.; Wang, Arick

2016-01-01

Maintaining behaviorally relevant information in spatial working memory (SWM) requires functional synchrony between the dorsal hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, the mechanism that regulates synchrony between these structures remains unknown. Here, we used a unique dual-task approach to compare hippocampal–prefrontal synchrony while rats switched between an SWM-dependent task and an SWM-independent task within a single behavioral session. We show that task-specific representations in mPFC neuronal populations are accompanied by SWM-specific oscillatory synchrony and directionality between the dorsal hippocampus and mPFC. We then demonstrate that transient inactivation of the reuniens and rhomboid (Re/Rh) nuclei of the ventral midline thalamus abolished only the SWM-specific activity patterns that were seen during dual-task sessions within the hippocampal–prefrontal circuit. These findings demonstrate that Re/Rh facilitate bidirectional communication between the dorsal hippocampus and mPFC during SWM, providing evidence for a causal role of Re/Rh in regulating hippocampal–prefrontal synchrony and SWM-directed behavior. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Hippocampal–prefrontal synchrony has long been thought to be critical for spatial working memory (SWM) and the ventral midline thalamic reuniens and rhomboid nuclei (Re/Rh) have long been considered a potential site for synchronizing the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex. However, the hypothesis that Re/Rh are critical for hippocampal–prefrontal synchrony and SWM has not been tested. We first used a dual-task approach to identify SWM-specific patterns of hippocampal–prefrontal synchrony. We then demonstrated that Re/Rh inactivation concurrently disrupted SWM-specific behavior and the SWM-specific patterns of hippocampal–prefrontal synchrony seen during dual-task performance. These results provide the first direct evidence that Re/Rh contribute to SWM by modulating hippocampal–prefrontal synchrony. PMID:27511010

Cognitive Load in Voice Therapy Carry-Over Exercises.

PubMed

Iwarsson, Jenny; Morris, David Jackson; Balling, Laura Winther

2017-01-01

The cognitive load generated by online speech production may vary with the nature of the speech task. This article examines 3 speech tasks used in voice therapy carry-over exercises, in which a patient is required to adopt and automatize new voice behaviors, ultimately in daily spontaneous communication. Twelve subjects produced speech in 3 conditions: rote speech (weekdays), sentences in a set form, and semispontaneous speech. Subjects simultaneously performed a secondary visual discrimination task for which response times were measured. On completion of each speech task, subjects rated their experience on a questionnaire. Response times from the secondary, visual task were found to be shortest for the rote speech, longer for the semispontaneous speech, and longest for the sentences within the set framework. Principal components derived from the subjective ratings were found to be linked to response times on the secondary visual task. Acoustic measures reflecting fundamental frequency distribution and vocal fold compression varied across the speech tasks. The results indicate that consideration should be given to the selection of speech tasks during the process leading to automation of revised speech behavior and that self-reports may be a reliable index of cognitive load.

Verbal and nonverbal behavior of ability-grouped dyads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, M. Gail; Carter, Glenda

In this study we describe the social interactions of ability-grouped dyads as they constructed knowledge of balance concepts to elucidate the relationship between interactions and conceptual growth. The verbal and nonverbal behaviors of 30 fifth-grade students were recorded as they completed three activities related to balance. These student interactions were examined within a framework of social cognition. For each dyad, characteristics of ability-grouped dyads were identified. Results revealed that high-achieving students effectively used prior experiences, maintained focus on the learning task, and were able to manipulate the equipment effectively to construct knowledge. Low-achieving students exhibited off-task behavior, lacked a metacognitive framework for organizing the learning tasks, centered on irrelevant features of the equipment, and were unable to use language effectively to mediate learning. Within low-high student dyads, high-achieving students typically modeled thinking processes and strategies for manipulating equipment. In addition, they focused the low-achieving students on the components of the tasks while verbally monitoring their progress, thus enabling low students to identify the critical features necessary for concept construction. These results highlighted the differences that students have in the use of language and tools. Low students' inefficient use of tools has implications for the ways science teachers structure lessons and group students for laboratory work.Received: 8 March 1993; Revised: 6 January 1994;

Stress Induces Contextual Blindness in Lotteries and Coordination Games

PubMed Central

Brocas, Isabelle; Carrillo, Juan D.; Kendall, Ryan

2017-01-01

In this paper, we study how stress affects risk taking in three tasks: individual lotteries, Stag Hunt (coordination) games, and Hawk-Dove (anti-coordination) games. Both control and stressed subjects take more risks in all three tasks when the value of the safe option is decreased and in lotteries when the expected gain is increased. Also, subjects take longer to take decisions when stakes are high, when the safe option is less attractive and in the conceptually more difficult Hawk-Dove game. Stress (weakly) increases reaction times in those cases. Finally, our main result is that the behavior of stressed subjects in lotteries, Stag Hunt and Hawk-Dove are all highly predictive of each other (p-value < 0.001 for all three pairwise correlations). Such strong relationship is not present in our control group. Our results illustrate a “contextual blindness” caused by stress. The mathematical and behavioral tensions of Stag Hunt and Hawk-Dove games are axiomatically different, and we should expect different behavior across these games, and also with respect to the individual task. A possible explanation for the highly significant connection across tasks in the stress condition is that stressed subjects habitually rely on one mechanism to make a decision in all contexts whereas unstressed subjects utilize a more cognitively flexible approach. PMID:29321733

Social Insects: A Model System for Network Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charbonneau, Daniel; Blonder, Benjamin; Dornhaus, Anna

Social insect colonies (ants, bees, wasps, and termites) show sophisticated collective problem-solving in the face of variable constraints. Individuals exchange information and materials such as food. The resulting network structure and dynamics can inform us about the mechanisms by which the insects achieve particular collective behaviors and these can be transposed to man-made and social networks. We discuss how network analysis can answer important questions about social insects, such as how effective task allocation or information flow is realized. We put forward the idea that network analysis methods are under-utilized in social insect research, and that they can provide novel ways to view the complexity of collective behavior, particularly if network dynamics are taken into account. To illustrate this, we present an example of network tasks performed by ant workers, linked by instances of workers switching from one task to another. We show how temporal network analysis can propose and test new hypotheses on mechanisms of task allocation, and how adding temporal elements to static networks can drastically change results. We discuss the benefits of using social insects as models for complex systems in general. There are multiple opportunities emergent technologies and analysis methods in facilitating research on social insect network. The potential for interdisciplinary work could significantly advance diverse fields such as behavioral ecology, computer sciences, and engineering.

Rhythm Patterns Interaction - Synchronization Behavior for Human-Robot Joint Action

PubMed Central

Mörtl, Alexander; Lorenz, Tamara; Hirche, Sandra

2014-01-01

Interactive behavior among humans is governed by the dynamics of movement synchronization in a variety of repetitive tasks. This requires the interaction partners to perform for example rhythmic limb swinging or even goal-directed arm movements. Inspired by that essential feature of human interaction, we present a novel concept and design methodology to synthesize goal-directed synchronization behavior for robotic agents in repetitive joint action tasks. The agents’ tasks are described by closed movement trajectories and interpreted as limit cycles, for which instantaneous phase variables are derived based on oscillator theory. Events segmenting the trajectories into multiple primitives are introduced as anchoring points for enhanced synchronization modes. Utilizing both continuous phases and discrete events in a unifying view, we design a continuous dynamical process synchronizing the derived modes. Inverse to the derivation of phases, we also address the generation of goal-directed movements from the behavioral dynamics. The developed concept is implemented to an anthropomorphic robot. For evaluation of the concept an experiment is designed and conducted in which the robot performs a prototypical pick-and-place task jointly with human partners. The effectiveness of the designed behavior is successfully evidenced by objective measures of phase and event synchronization. Feedback gathered from the participants of our exploratory study suggests a subjectively pleasant sense of interaction created by the interactive behavior. The results highlight potential applications of the synchronization concept both in motor coordination among robotic agents and in enhanced social interaction between humanoid agents and humans. PMID:24752212

Spatiotemporal encoding of search strategies by prefrontal neurons.

PubMed

Chiang, Feng-Kuei; Wallis, Joni D

2018-05-08

Working memory is capacity-limited. In everyday life we rarely notice this limitation, in part because we develop behavioral strategies that help mitigate the capacity limitation. How behavioral strategies are mediated at the neural level is unclear, but a likely locus is lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC). Neurons in LPFC play a prominent role in working memory and have been shown to encode behavioral strategies. To examine the role of LPFC in overcoming working-memory limitations, we recorded the activity of LPFC neurons in animals trained to perform a serial self-ordered search task. This task measured the ability to prospectively plan the selection of unchosen spatial search targets while retrospectively tracking which targets were previously visited. We found that individual LPFC neurons encoded the spatial location of the current search target but also encoded the spatial location of targets up to several steps away in the search sequence. Neurons were more likely to encode prospective than retrospective targets. When subjects used a behavioral strategy of stereotyped target selection, mitigating the working-memory requirements of the task, not only did the number of selection errors decrease but there was a significant reduction in the strength of spatial encoding in LFPC. These results show that LPFC neurons have spatiotemporal mnemonic fields, in that their firing rates are modulated both by the spatial location of future selection behaviors and the temporal organization of that behavior. Furthermore, the strength of this tuning can be dynamically modulated by the demands of the task.

Strategic Adaptation to Task Characteristics, Incentives, and Individual Differences in Dual-Tasking

PubMed Central

Janssen, Christian P.; Brumby, Duncan P.

2015-01-01

We investigate how good people are at multitasking by comparing behavior to a prediction of the optimal strategy for dividing attention between two concurrent tasks. In our experiment, 24 participants had to interleave entering digits on a keyboard with controlling a randomly moving cursor with a joystick. The difficulty of the tracking task was systematically varied as a within-subjects factor. Participants were also exposed to different explicit reward functions that varied the relative importance of the tracking task relative to the typing task (between-subjects). Results demonstrate that these changes in task characteristics and monetary incentives, together with individual differences in typing ability, influenced how participants choose to interleave tasks. This change in strategy then affected their performance on each task. A computational cognitive model was used to predict performance for a wide set of alternative strategies for how participants might have possibly interleaved tasks. This allowed for predictions of optimal performance to be derived, given the constraints placed on performance by the task and cognition. A comparison of human behavior with the predicted optimal strategy shows that participants behaved near optimally. Our findings have implications for the design and evaluation of technology for multitasking situations, as consideration should be given to the characteristics of the task, but also to how different users might use technology depending on their individual characteristics and their priorities. PMID:26161851

Prospective memory in context: Moving through a familiar space.

PubMed

Smith, Rebekah E; Hunt, R Reed; Murray, Amy E

2017-02-01

Successful completion of delayed intentions is a common but important aspect of daily behavior. Such behavior requires not only memory for the intended action but also recognition of the opportunity to perform that action, known collectively as prospective memory. The fact that prospective memory tasks occur in the midst of other activities is captured in laboratory tasks by embedding the prospective memory task in an ongoing activity. In many cases the requirement to perform the prospective memory task results in a reduction in ongoing performance relative to when the ongoing task is performed alone. This is referred to as the cost to the ongoing task and reflects the allocation of attentional resources to the prospective memory task. The current study examined the pattern of cost across the ongoing task when the ongoing task provided contextual information that in turn allowed participants to anticipate when target events would occur within the ongoing task. The availability of contextual information reduced ongoing task response times overall, with an increase in response times closer to the target locations (Experiments 1-3). The fourth study, drawing on the Event Segmentation Theory, provided support for the proposal made by the Preparatory Attentional and Memory Processes theory of prospective memory that decisions about the allocation of attention to the prospective memory task are more likely to be made at points of transition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

An experimental study of human pilot's scanning behavior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Washizu, K.; Tanaka, K.; Osawa, T.

1982-01-01

The scanning behavior and the control behavior of the pilot who manually controls the two-variable system, which is the most basic one of multi-variable systems are investigated. Two control tasks which simulate the actual airplane attitude and airspeed control were set up. In order to simulate the change of the situation where the pilot is placed, such as changes of flight phase, mission and others, the subject was requested to vary the weightings, as his control strategy, upon each task. Changes of human control dynamics and his canning properties caused by the modification of the situation were investigated. By making use of the experimental results, the optimal model of the control behavior and the scanning behavior of the pilot in the two-variable system is proposed from the standpoint of making the performance index minimal.

Blocking c-Fos Expression Reveals the Role of Auditory Cortex Plasticity in Sound Frequency Discrimination Learning.

PubMed

de Hoz, Livia; Gierej, Dorota; Lioudyno, Victoria; Jaworski, Jacek; Blazejczyk, Magda; Cruces-Solís, Hugo; Beroun, Anna; Lebitko, Tomasz; Nikolaev, Tomasz; Knapska, Ewelina; Nelken, Israel; Kaczmarek, Leszek

2018-05-01

The behavioral changes that comprise operant learning are associated with plasticity in early sensory cortices as well as with modulation of gene expression, but the connection between the behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular changes is only partially understood. We specifically manipulated c-Fos expression, a hallmark of learning-induced synaptic plasticity, in auditory cortex of adult mice using a novel approach based on RNA interference. Locally blocking c-Fos expression caused a specific behavioral deficit in a sound discrimination task, in parallel with decreased cortical experience-dependent plasticity, without affecting baseline excitability or basic auditory processing. Thus, c-Fos-dependent experience-dependent cortical plasticity is necessary for frequency discrimination in an operant behavioral task. Our results connect behavioral, molecular and physiological changes and demonstrate a role of c-Fos in experience-dependent plasticity and learning.

Beliefs about behavior account for age differences in the correspondence bias.

PubMed

Stanley, Jennifer Tehan; Blanchard-Fields, Fredda

2011-03-01

Older adults tend to exhibit the correspondence bias to a greater extent than young adults. The current study examined whether these age differences are a function of the degree to which an individual subscribes to a lay theory of attitude-behavior consistency. First, participants responded to questions regarding their beliefs about attitude-behavior consistency. Approximately 2 weeks later, 144 (67 young adults and 77 older adults) participants completed the correspondence bias task. As expected, older adults were more biased than young adults. Analyses revealed that the degree to which an individual holds attitude-behavior consistency beliefs in the dishonesty domain accounted for age-related differences in the correspondence bias. The results of this study suggest that age differences in the correspondence bias task are in part driven by older adults holding stronger attitude-behavior consistency beliefs than young adults.

Being Active and Impulsive: The Role of Goals for Action and Inaction in Self-Control.

PubMed

Hepler, Justin; Albarracin, Dolores; McCulloch, Kathleen C; Noguchi, Kenji

2012-12-01

Although self-control often requires behavioral inaction (i.e., not eating a piece of cake), the process of inhibiting impulsive behavior is commonly characterized as cognitively active (i.e., actively exerting self-control). Two experiments examined whether motivation for action or inaction facilitates self-control behavior in the presence of tempting stimuli. Experiment 1 used a delay discounting task to assess the ability to delay gratification with respect to money. Experiment 2 used a Go/No-Go task to assess the ability to inhibit a dominant but incorrect motor response to the words "condom" and "sex". The results demonstrate that goals for inaction promote self-control, whereas goals for action promote impulsive behavior. These findings are discussed in light of recent evidence suggesting that goals for action and inaction modulate physiological resources that promote behavioral execution.

Problem Behavior and Developmental Tasks in Adolescents with Visual Impairment and Sighted Peers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfeiffer, Jens P.; Pinquart, Martin

2013-01-01

This longitudinal study analyzed associations of problem behavior with the attainment of developmental tasks in 133 adolescents with visual impairment and 449 sighted peers. Higher levels of initial problem behavior predicted less progress in the attainment of developmental tasks at the one-year follow-up only in sighted adolescents. This…

Mice plan decision strategies based on previously learned time intervals, locations, and probabilities

PubMed Central

Tosun, Tuğçe; Gür, Ezgi; Balcı, Fuat

2016-01-01

Animals can shape their timed behaviors based on experienced probabilistic relations in a nearly optimal fashion. On the other hand, it is not clear if they adopt these timed decisions by making computations based on previously learnt task parameters (time intervals, locations, and probabilities) or if they gradually develop their decisions based on trial and error. To address this question, we tested mice in the timed-switching task, which required them to anticipate when (after a short or long delay) and at which of the two delay locations a reward would be presented. The probability of short trials differed between test groups in two experiments. Critically, we first trained mice on relevant task parameters by signaling the active trial with a discriminative stimulus and delivered the corresponding reward after the associated delay without any response requirement (without inducing switching behavior). During the test phase, both options were presented simultaneously to characterize the emergence and temporal characteristics of the switching behavior. Mice exhibited timed-switching behavior starting from the first few test trials, and their performance remained stable throughout testing in the majority of the conditions. Furthermore, as the probability of the short trial increased, mice waited longer before switching from the short to long location (experiment 1). These behavioral adjustments were in directions predicted by reward maximization. These results suggest that rather than gradually adjusting their time-dependent choice behavior, mice abruptly adopted temporal decision strategies by directly integrating their previous knowledge of task parameters into their timed behavior, supporting the model-based representational account of temporal risk assessment. PMID:26733674

Stress and decision making: neural correlates of the interaction between stress, executive functions, and decision making under risk.

PubMed

Gathmann, Bettina; Schulte, Frank P; Maderwald, Stefan; Pawlikowski, Mirko; Starcke, Katrin; Schäfer, Lena C; Schöler, Tobias; Wolf, Oliver T; Brand, Matthias

2014-03-01

Stress and additional load on the executive system, produced by a parallel working memory task, impair decision making under risk. However, the combination of stress and a parallel task seems to preserve the decision-making performance [e.g., operationalized by the Game of Dice Task (GDT)] from decreasing, probably by a switch from serial to parallel processing. The question remains how the brain manages such demanding decision-making situations. The current study used a 7-tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system in order to investigate the underlying neural correlates of the interaction between stress (induced by the Trier Social Stress Test), risky decision making (GDT), and a parallel executive task (2-back task) to get a better understanding of those behavioral findings. The results show that on a behavioral level, stressed participants did not show significant differences in task performance. Interestingly, when comparing the stress group (SG) with the control group, the SG showed a greater increase in neural activation in the anterior prefrontal cortex when performing the 2-back task simultaneously with the GDT than when performing each task alone. This brain area is associated with parallel processing. Thus, the results may suggest that in stressful dual-tasking situations, where a decision has to be made when in parallel working memory is demanded, a stronger activation of a brain area associated with parallel processing takes place. The findings are in line with the idea that stress seems to trigger a switch from serial to parallel processing in demanding dual-tasking situations.

The influence of caffeine on sustained attention: an ERP study.

PubMed

Ruijter, J; Lorist, M M; Snel, J; De Ruiter, M B

2000-05-01

The present study investigated the effects of caffeine on sustained attention by measuring concentration and fatigue. Event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral measures were recorded from 12 participants who worked continuously for approximately 10 min in a self-paced reaction task under conditions of both caffeine (250 mg) and placebo. The ERP data revealed more positive frontal P2 and parietal P3 components in the caffeine condition. However, a combination of different indices of the behavioral data did not reveal any effects of caffeine intake. These results suggest that caffeine increases arousal, thereby reducing fatigue, as was observed in the ERP results. A probable explanation for the absence of any effects of caffeine in the behavioral data can be found in the demanding properties of the task that was used, thereby supporting evidence for more pronounced effects of caffeine in suboptimal conditions. In addition, these results appeal for an increase in the use of ERPs in drug research, in order to discover possible effects on the brain which do not necessarily result in behavioral changes.

Driving context influences drivers' decision to engage in visual-manual phone tasks: Evidence from a naturalistic driving study.

PubMed

Tivesten, Emma; Dozza, Marco

2015-06-01

Visual-manual (VM) phone tasks (i.e., texting, dialing, reading) are associated with an increased crash/near-crash risk. This study investigated how the driving context influences drivers' decisions to engage in VM phone tasks in naturalistic driving. Video-recordings of 1,432 car trips were viewed to identify VM phone tasks and passenger presence. Video, vehicle signals, and map data were used to classify driving context (i.e., curvature, other vehicles) before and during the VM phone tasks (N=374). Vehicle signals (i.e., speed, yaw rate, forward radar) were available for all driving. VM phone tasks were more likely to be initiated while standing still, and less likely while driving at high speeds, or when a passenger was present. Lead vehicle presence did not influence how likely it was that a VM phone task was initiated, but the drivers adjusted their task timing to situations when the lead vehicle was increasing speed, resulting in increasing time headway. The drivers adjusted task timing until after making sharp turns and lane change maneuvers. In contrast to previous driving simulator studies, there was no evidence of drivers reducing speed as a consequence of VM phone task engagement. The results show that experienced drivers use information about current and upcoming driving context to decide when to engage in VM phone tasks. However, drivers may fail to sufficiently increase safety margins to allow time to respond to possible unpredictable events (e.g., lead vehicle braking). Advanced driver assistance systems should facilitate and possibly boost drivers' self-regulating behavior. For instance, they might recognize when appropriate adaptive behavior is missing and advise or alert accordingly. The results from this study could also inspire training programs for novice drivers, or locally classify roads in terms of the risk associated with secondary task engagement while driving. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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

Long-term treatment with antioxidants and a program of behavioral enrichment reduces age-dependent impairment in discrimination and reversal learning in beagle dogs.

PubMed

Milgram, Norton W; Head, Elizabeth; Zicker, Steven C; Ikeda-Douglas, Candace; Murphey, Heather; Muggenberg, Bruce A; Siwak, Christina T; Tapp, P Dwight; Lowry, Stephen R; Cotman, Carl W

2004-05-01

The effects of long-term treatment with both antioxidants and a program of behavioral enrichment were studied as part of a longitudinal investigation of cognitive aging in beagle dogs. Baseline performance on a battery of cognitive tests was used to assign 48 aged dogs (9-12 years) into four cognitively equivalent groups, of 12 animals per group: Group CC (control food-control environment), group CE (control food-enriched environment); Group AC (antioxidant fortified food-control environment); Group AE (fortified food-enriched environment). We also tested a group of young dogs fed the control food and a second group fed the fortified food. Both groups of young dogs received a program of behavioral enrichment. To evaluate the effects of the interventions on cognition after 1 year, the dogs were tested on a size discrimination learning task and subsequently on a size discrimination reversal learning task. Both tasks showed age-sensitivity, with old dogs performing more poorly than young dogs. Both tasks were also improved by both the fortified food and the behavioral enrichment. However, in both instances the treatment effects largely reflected improved performance in the combined treatment group. These results suggest that the effectiveness of antioxidants in attenuating age-dependent cognitive decline is dependent on behavioral and environmental experience.

Viral vector-based reversible neuronal inactivation and behavioral manipulation in the macaque monkey

PubMed Central

Nielsen, Kristina J.; Callaway, Edward M.; Krauzlis, Richard J.

2012-01-01

Viral vectors are promising tools for the dissection of neural circuits. In principle, they can manipulate neurons at a level of specificity not otherwise achievable. While many studies have used viral vector-based approaches in the rodent brain, only a few have employed this technique in the non-human primate, despite the importance of this animal model for neuroscience research. Here, we report evidence that a viral vector-based approach can be used to manipulate a monkey's behavior in a task. For this purpose, we used the allatostatin receptor/allatostatin (AlstR/AL) system, which has previously been shown to allow inactivation of neurons in vivo. The AlstR was expressed in neurons in monkey V1 by injection of an adeno-associated virus 1 (AAV1) vector. Two monkeys were trained in a detection task, in which they had to make a saccade to a faint peripheral target. Injection of AL caused a retinotopic deficit in the detection task in one monkey. Specifically, the monkey showed marked impairment for detection targets placed at the visual field location represented at the virus injection site, but not for targets shown elsewhere. We confirmed that these deficits indeed were due to the interaction of AlstR and AL by injecting saline, or AL at a V1 location without AlstR expression. Post-mortem histology confirmed AlstR expression in this monkey. We failed to replicate the behavioral results in a second monkey, as AL injection did not impair the second monkey's performance in the detection task. However, post-mortem histology revealed a very low level of AlstR expression in this monkey. Our results demonstrate that viral vector-based approaches can produce effects strong enough to influence a monkey's performance in a behavioral task, supporting the further development of this approach for studying how neuronal circuits control complex behaviors in non-human primates. PMID:22723770

Delay and probability discounting of sexual and monetary outcomes in individuals with cocaine use disorders and matched controls.

PubMed

Johnson, Matthew W; Johnson, Patrick S; Herrmann, Evan S; Sweeney, Mary M

2015-01-01

Individuals with cocaine use disorders are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, partly due to higher rates of unprotected sex. Recent research suggests delay discounting of condom use is a factor in sexual HIV risk. Delay discounting is a behavioral economic concept describing how delaying an event reduces that event's value or impact on behavior. Probability discounting is a related concept describing how the uncertainty of an event decreases its impact on behavior. Individuals with cocaine use disorders (n = 23) and matched non-cocaine-using controls (n = 24) were compared in decision-making tasks involving hypothetical outcomes: delay discounting of condom-protected sex (Sexual Delay Discounting Task), delay discounting of money, the effect of sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk on likelihood of condom use (Sexual Probability Discounting Task), and probability discounting of money. The Cocaine group discounted delayed condom-protected sex (i.e., were more likely to have unprotected sex vs. wait for a condom) significantly more than controls in two of four Sexual Delay Discounting Task partner conditions. The Cocaine group also discounted delayed money (i.e., preferred smaller immediate amounts over larger delayed amounts) significantly more than controls. In the Sexual Probability Discounting Task, both groups showed sensitivity to STI risk, however the groups did not differ. The Cocaine group did not consistently discount probabilistic money more or less than controls. Steeper discounting of delayed, but not probabilistic, sexual outcomes may contribute to greater rates of sexual HIV risk among individuals with cocaine use disorders. Probability discounting of sexual outcomes may contribute to risk of unprotected sex in both groups. Correlations showed sexual and monetary results were unrelated, for both delay and probability discounting. The results highlight the importance of studying specific behavioral processes (e.g., delay and probability discounting) with respect to specific outcomes (e.g., monetary and sexual) to understand decision making in problematic behavior.

Delay and Probability Discounting of Sexual and Monetary Outcomes in Individuals with Cocaine Use Disorders and Matched Controls

PubMed Central

Johnson, Matthew W.; Johnson, Patrick S.; Herrmann, Evan S.; Sweeney, Mary M.

2015-01-01

Individuals with cocaine use disorders are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, partly due to higher rates of unprotected sex. Recent research suggests delay discounting of condom use is a factor in sexual HIV risk. Delay discounting is a behavioral economic concept describing how delaying an event reduces that event’s value or impact on behavior. Probability discounting is a related concept describing how the uncertainty of an event decreases its impact on behavior. Individuals with cocaine use disorders (n = 23) and matched non-cocaine-using controls (n = 24) were compared in decision-making tasks involving hypothetical outcomes: delay discounting of condom-protected sex (Sexual Delay Discounting Task), delay discounting of money, the effect of sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk on likelihood of condom use (Sexual Probability Discounting Task), and probability discounting of money. The Cocaine group discounted delayed condom-protected sex (i.e., were more likely to have unprotected sex vs. wait for a condom) significantly more than controls in two of four Sexual Delay Discounting Task partner conditions. The Cocaine group also discounted delayed money (i.e., preferred smaller immediate amounts over larger delayed amounts) significantly more than controls. In the Sexual Probability Discounting Task, both groups showed sensitivity to STI risk, however the groups did not differ. The Cocaine group did not consistently discount probabilistic money more or less than controls. Steeper discounting of delayed, but not probabilistic, sexual outcomes may contribute to greater rates of sexual HIV risk among individuals with cocaine use disorders. Probability discounting of sexual outcomes may contribute to risk of unprotected sex in both groups. Correlations showed sexual and monetary results were unrelated, for both delay and probability discounting. The results highlight the importance of studying specific behavioral processes (e.g., delay and probability discounting) with respect to specific outcomes (e.g., monetary and sexual) to understand decision making in problematic behavior. PMID:26017273

Chronic Inhibition, Self-Control and Eating Behavior: Test of a ‘Resource Depletion’ Model

PubMed Central

Hagger, Martin S.; Panetta, Giulia; Leung, Chung-Ming; Wong, Ging Ging; Wang, John C. K.; Chan, Derwin K. C.; Keatley, David A.; Chatzisarantis, Nikos L. D.

2013-01-01

The current research tested the hypothesis that individuals engaged in long-term efforts to limit food intake (e.g., individuals with high eating restraint) would have reduced capacity to regulate eating when self-control resources are limited. In the current research, body mass index (BMI) was used as a proxy for eating restraint based on the assumption that individuals with high BMI would have elevated levels of chronic eating restraint. A preliminary study (Study 1) aimed to provide evidence for the assumed relationship between eating restraint and BMI. Participants (N = 72) categorized into high or normal-range BMI groups completed the eating restraint scale. Consistent with the hypothesis, results revealed significantly higher scores on the weight fluctuation and concern for dieting subscales of the restraint scale among participants in the high BMI group compared to the normal-range BMI group. The main study (Study 2) aimed to test the hypothesized interactive effect of BMI and diminished self-control resources on eating behavior. Participants (N = 83) classified as having high or normal-range BMI were randomly allocated to receive a challenging counting task that depleted self-control resources (ego-depletion condition) or a non-depleting control task (no depletion condition). Participants then engaged in a second task in which required tasting and rating tempting cookies and candies. Amount of food consumed during the taste-and-rate task constituted the behavioral dependent measure. Regression analyses revealed a significant interaction effect of these variables on amount of food eaten in the taste-and-rate task. Individuals with high BMI had reduced capacity to regulate eating under conditions of self-control resource depletion as predicted. The interactive effects of BMI and self-control resource depletion on eating behavior were independent of trait self-control. Results extend knowledge of the role of self-control in regulating eating behavior and provide support for a limited-resource model of self-control. PMID:24146942

Mirror neuron system and observational learning: behavioral and neurophysiological evidence.

PubMed

Lago-Rodriguez, Angel; Lopez-Alonso, Virginia; Fernández-del-Olmo, Miguel

2013-07-01

Three experiments were performed to study observational learning using behavioral, perceptual, and neurophysiological data. Experiment 1 investigated whether observing an execution model, during physical practice of a transitive task that only presented one execution strategy, led to performance improvements compared with physical practice alone. Experiment 2 investigated whether performing an observational learning protocol improves subjects' action perception. In experiment 3 we evaluated whether the type of practice performed determined the activation of the Mirror Neuron System during action observation. Results showed that, compared with physical practice, observing an execution model during a task that only showed one execution strategy does not provide behavioral benefits. However, an observational learning protocol allows subjects to predict more precisely the outcome of the learned task. Finally, intersperse observation of an execution model with physical practice results in changes of primary motor cortex activity during the observation of the motor pattern previously practiced, whereas modulations in the connectivity between primary and non primary motor areas (PMv-M1; PPC-M1) were not affected by the practice protocol performed by the observer. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Disruption of model-based behavior and learning by cocaine self-administration in rats.

PubMed

Wied, Heather M; Jones, Joshua L; Cooch, Nisha K; Berg, Benjamin A; Schoenbaum, Geoffrey

2013-10-01

Addiction is characterized by maladaptive decision-making, in which individuals seem unable to use adverse outcomes to modify their behavior. Adverse outcomes are often infrequent, delayed, and even rare events, especially when compared to the reliable rewarding drug-associated outcomes. As a result, recognizing and using information about their occurrence put a premium on the operation of so-called model-based systems of behavioral control, which allow one to mentally simulate outcomes of different courses of action based on knowledge of the underlying associative structure of the environment. This suggests that addiction may reflect, in part, drug-induced dysfunction in these systems. Here, we tested this hypothesis. This study aimed to test whether cocaine causes deficits in model-based behavior and learning independent of requirements for response inhibition or perception of costs or punishment. We trained rats to self-administer sucrose or cocaine for 2 weeks. Four weeks later, the rats began training on a sensory preconditioning and inferred value blocking task. Like devaluation, normal performance on this task requires representations of the underlying task structure; however, unlike devaluation, it does not require either response inhibition or adapting behavior to reflect aversive outcomes. Rats trained to self-administer cocaine failed to show conditioned responding or blocking to the preconditioned cue. These deficits were not observed in sucrose-trained rats nor did they reflect any changes in responding to cues paired directly with reward. These results imply that cocaine disrupts the operation of neural circuits that mediate model-based behavioral control.

Effects of Resource Availability on Children's Behavior and Conflict Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Enora R.

1996-01-01

Examined the effect of resource availability on dyadic interaction of African American three- to five-year olds in a painting activity conducted under two resource conditions. Limited resources promoted more resource and task conflict, while plentiful resources promoted more nonconflictive social and task interactions. Results underscored the role…

Signal Systems of Lesson Settings and the Task-Related Behavior of Preschool Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kounin, Jacob S.; Gump, Paul V.

1974-01-01

Teachers were videotaped teaching lessons. Lessons were seen as signal systems to participants. These signal systems were characterized along dimensions of continuity, insulation, and intrusiveness. Task involvement was used as the criterion. Results indicate most successful to least successful lessons, based on signal systems. (Author/SE)

A model for integrating elementary neural functions into delayed-response behavior.

PubMed

Gisiger, Thomas; Kerszberg, Michel

2006-04-01

It is well established that various cortical regions can implement a wide array of neural processes, yet the mechanisms which integrate these processes into behavior-producing, brain-scale activity remain elusive. We propose that an important role in this respect might be played by executive structures controlling the traffic of information between the cortical regions involved. To illustrate this hypothesis, we present a neural network model comprising a set of interconnected structures harboring stimulus-related activity (visual representation, working memory, and planning), and a group of executive units with task-related activity patterns that manage the information flowing between them. The resulting dynamics allows the network to perform the dual task of either retaining an image during a delay (delayed-matching to sample task), or recalling from this image another one that has been associated with it during training (delayed-pair association task). The model reproduces behavioral and electrophysiological data gathered on the inferior temporal and prefrontal cortices of primates performing these same tasks. It also makes predictions on how neural activity coding for the recall of the image associated with the sample emerges and becomes prospective during the training phase. The network dynamics proves to be very stable against perturbations, and it exhibits signs of scale-invariant organization and cooperativity. The present network represents a possible neural implementation for active, top-down, prospective memory retrieval in primates. The model suggests that brain activity leading to performance of cognitive tasks might be organized in modular fashion, simple neural functions becoming integrated into more complex behavior by executive structures harbored in prefrontal cortex and/or basal ganglia.

How do we watch images? A case of change detection and quality estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radun, Jenni; Leisti, Tuomas; Virtanen, Toni; Nyman, Göte

2012-01-01

The most common tasks in subjective image estimation are change detection (a detection task) and image quality estimation (a preference task). We examined how the task influences the gaze behavior when comparing detection and preference tasks. The eye movements of 16 naïve observers were recorded with 8 observers in both tasks. The setting was a flicker paradigm, where the observers see a non-manipulated image, a manipulated version of the image and again the non-manipulated image and estimate the difference they perceived in them. The material was photographic material with different image distortions and contents. To examine the spatial distribution of fixations, we defined the regions of interest using a memory task and calculated information entropy to estimate how concentrated the fixations were on the image plane. The quality task was faster and needed fewer fixations and the first eight fixations were more concentrated on certain image areas than the change detection task. The bottom-up influences of the image also caused more variation to the gaze behavior in the quality estimation task than in the change detection task The results show that the quality estimation is faster and the regions of interest are emphasized more on certain images compared with the change detection task that is a scan task where the whole image is always thoroughly examined. In conclusion, in subjective image estimation studies it is important to think about the task.

The impact of angry rumination on anger-primed cognitive control.

PubMed

Lievaart, Marien; Huijding, Jorg; van der Veen, Frederik M; Hovens, Johannes E; Franken, Ingmar H A

2017-03-01

Recent research suggests that angry rumination augments aggressive behavior by depleting self-control resources. Yet, few studies have been conducted to empirically support this proposal. In the present study, we therefore sought to investigate the effects of angry rumination, relative to distraction, on self-reported anger and a behavioral indicator of self-control. Seventy-two participants recalled and imagined an anger-inducing autobiographical memory and were instructed to engage in either angry rumination (n = 37) or distraction (n = 35). Following these emotion regulation instructions, participants performed an affective Go/NoGo task in order to assess behavioral self-control along with several questionnaires to assess anger related constructs. As expected, results revealed that angry rumination augmented anger, whereas anger decreased in the distraction condition. Contrary to predictions, we found no differences between both groups in performance on the affective Go/NoGo task. A potential limitation is we instructed our participants on how to regulate their emotions rather than letting angry rumination occur spontaneously. The findings indicate that whereas angry rumination results in heightened anger, it does not seem to result in lower self-control as measured with a behavioral task that requires cognitive control. More research is needed to test the boundary conditions regarding the role of self-control in understanding rumination-induced aggression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Increased engagement of the cognitive control network associated with music training in children during an fMRI Stroop task

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Playing a musical instrument engages various sensorimotor processes and draws on cognitive capacities collectively termed executive functions. However, while music training is believed to associated with enhancements in certain cognitive and language abilities, studies that have explored the specific relationship between music and executive function have yielded conflicting results. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, we investigated the effects of music training on executive function using fMRI and several behavioral tasks, including the Color-Word Stroop task. Children involved in ongoing music training (N = 14, mean age = 8.67) were compared with two groups of comparable general cognitive abilities and socioeconomic status, one involved in sports (“sports” group, N = 13, mean age = 8.85) and another not involved in music or sports (“control” group, N = 17, mean age = 9.05). During the Color-Word Stroop task, children with music training showed significantly greater bilateral activation in the pre-SMA/SMA, ACC, IFG, and insula in trials that required cognitive control compared to the control group, despite no differences in performance on behavioral measures of executive function. No significant differences in brain activation or in task performance were found between the music and sports groups. The results suggest that systematic extracurricular training, particularly music-based training, is associated with changes in the cognitive control network in the brain even in the absence of changes in behavioral performance. PMID:29084283

Chronic blockade or constitutive deletion of the serotonin transporter reduces operant responding for food reward.

PubMed

Sanders, Amy Cecilia; Hussain, Ali J; Hen, René; Zhuang, Xiaoxi

2007-11-01

The therapeutic effects of chronic selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are well documented, yet the elementary behavioral processes that are affected by such treatment have not been fully investigated. We report here the effects of chronic fluoxetine treatment and genetic deletion of the serotonin transporter (SERT) on food reinforced behavior in three paradigms: the progressive ratio operant task, the concurrent choice operant task, and the Pavlovian-to-Instrumental transfer task. We consistently find that chronic pharmacological blockade or genetic deletion of SERT result in similar behavioral consequences: reduced operant responding for natural reward. This is in line with previous studies reporting declines in operant responding for drugs and intracranial self-stimulation with fluoxetine treatment, suggesting that the effect of SERT blockade can be generalized to different reward types. Detailed analyses of behavioral parameters indicate that this reduction in operant responding affect both goal-directed and non-goal-directed behaviors without affecting the Pavlovian cue-triggered excessive operant responding. In addition, both pharmacological and genetic manipulations reduce locomotor activity in the open field novel environment. Our data contrast with the effect of dopamine in increasing operant responding for natural reward specifically in goal-directed behaviors and in increasing Pavlovian cue-triggered excessive operant responding. Serotonin and dopamine have been proposed to serve opposing functions in motivational processes. Our data suggest that their interactions do not result in simple opponency. The fact that pharmacological blockade and genetic deletion of SERT have similar behavioral consequences reinforces the utility of the SERT null mice for investigation of the mechanisms underlying chronic SSRIs treatment.

Neural mechanisms underlying urgent and evaluative behaviors: An fMRI study on the interaction of automatic and controlled processes.

PubMed

Megías, Alberto; Navas, Juan Francisco; Petrova, Dafina; Cándido, Antonio; Maldonado, Antonio; Garcia-Retamero, Rocio; Catena, Andrés

2015-08-01

Dual-process theories have dominated the study of risk perception and risk-taking over the last two decades. However, there is a lack of objective brain-level evidence supporting the two systems of processing in every-day risky behavior. To address this issue, we propose the dissociation between evaluative and urgent behaviors as evidence of dual processing in risky driving situations. Our findings show a dissociation of evaluative and urgent behavior both at the behavioral and neural level. fMRI data showed an increase of activation in areas implicated in motor programming, emotional processing, and visuomotor integration in urgent behavior compared to evaluative behavior. These results support a more automatic processing of risk in urgent tasks, relying mainly on heuristics and experiential appraisal. The urgent task, which is characterized by strong time pressure and the possibility for negative consequences among others factors, creates a suitable context for the experiential-affective system to guide the decision-making process. Moreover, we observed greater frontal activation in the urgent task, suggesting the participation of cognitive control in safe behaviors. The findings of this research are relevant for the study of the neural mechanisms underlying dual process models in risky perception and decision-making, especially because of their proximity to everyday activities. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Tracking arousal state and mind wandering with pupillometry.

PubMed

Unsworth, Nash; Robison, Matthew K

2018-04-13

In four experiments, the association between arousal state and different mind-wandering states was examined. Participants performed a sustained attention task while pupil responses were continuously recorded. Periodically during the task, participants were presented with thought probes to determine if they were on task or mind wandering. Across the four experiments, the results suggested that in situations that promoted on-task behaviors and focused external attention, mind wandering was associated with lowered arousal, as seen by smaller tonic pupil diameters and smaller phasic pupillary responses. However, in situations that promoted a more internal focus of attention, there were no differences between on-task states and mind wandering in tonic pupil diameter (although differences emerged for phasic pupillary responses), suggesting similar arousal levels. Furthermore, across the four experiments, mind blanking and mind wandering dissociated in terms of whether the situation promoted focused external attention or focused internal attention. These results are broadly consistent with the notion that mind wandering is a heterogeneous construct, with different forms of mind wandering being associated with different arousal states, and suggest that a combination of behavioral and pupillary measures can be used to track these various states.

Task clarification, performance feedback, and social praise: Procedures for improving the customer service of bank tellers

PubMed Central

Crowell, Charles R.; Anderson, D. Chris; Abel, Dawn M.; Sergio, Joseph P.

1988-01-01

Customer service for bank tellers was defined in terms of 11 verbal behavior categories. An audio-recording system was used to track the occurrence of behaviors in these categories for six retail banking tellers. Three behavior management interventions (task clarification, performance feedback, and social praise), applied in sequence, were designed to improve overall teller performance with regard to the behavioral categories targeted. Clarification was accomplished by providing clear delineation of the various target categories, with specific examples of the behaviors in each. Feedback entailed presentation of ongoing verbal and visual information regarding teller performance. Praise consisted of verbal recognition of teller performance by branch managers. Results showed that clarification effects emerged quickly, producing an overall increase in desired behaviors of 12% over baseline. Feedback and praise effects occurred more gradually, resulting in overall increases of 6% and 7%, respectively. A suspension of all procedures led to a decline in overall performance, whereas reinstatement of feedback and praise was again accompanied by performance improvement. These findings extend the generality of behavior management applications and help to distinguish between possible antecedent and consequent effects of performance feedback. PMID:16795713

Switching between univalent task-sets in schizophrenia: ERP evidence of an anticipatory task-set reconfiguration deficit.

PubMed

Karayanidis, Frini; Nicholson, Rebecca; Schall, Ulrich; Meem, Lydia; Fulham, Ross; Michie, Patricia T

2006-10-01

The present study used behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) indices of task-switching to examine whether schizophrenia patients have a specific deficit in anticipatory task-set reconfiguration. Participants switched between univalent tasks in an alternating runs paradigms with blocked response-stimulus interval (RSI) manipulation (150, 300, 600, and 1200ms). Nineteen high functioning people with schizophrenia were compared to controls that were matched for age, gender, education and premorbid IQ estimate. Schizophrenia patients had overall increased RT, but no increase in corrected RT switch cost. In the schizophrenia group, ERPs showed reduced activation of the differential positivity in anticipation of switch trial at the optimal 600ms RSI and reduced activation of the frontal post-stimulus switch negativity at both 600 and 1200ms RSI compared to the control group. Despite no behavioral differences in task switching performance, anticipatory and stimulus-triggered ERP indices of task-switching suggest group differences in processing of switch and repeat trials, especially at longer RSI conditions that for control participants provide opportunity for anticipatory activation of task-set reconfiguration processes. These results are compatible with impaired implementation of endogenously driven processes in schizophrenia and greater reliance on external task cues, especially at long preparation intervals.

Memory Strategies and Retrieval Success in Preschool Children: Relations to Maternal Behavior over Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guler, O. Evren; Larkina, Marina; Kleinknecht, Erica; Bauer, Patricia J.

2010-01-01

We examined how maternal strategic behaviors during a mother-child collaborative sort-recall task of categorically similar items related to children's recall and children's strategic behavior in a sort-recall task that they completed independently. Mother-child dyads participated in the collaborative sort-recall task when children were 40 months…

A Comparison of Self-Monitoring with and without Reinforcement to Improve On-Task Classroom Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Tonya N.; Dacus, Sharon; Bankhead, Jenna; Haupert, Megan; Fuentes, Lisa; Zoch, Tamara; Kang, Soyeon; Attai, Shanna; Lang, Russell

2014-01-01

In this study we analyzed the effects of a self-monitoring and self-monitoring plus reinforcement intervention on classroom behavior. A typically-developing high school student demonstrating difficulty staying on-task during classroom instruction was observed in three classroom settings associated with high levels of off-task behavior. During…

Effects of White Noise on Off-Task Behavior and Academic Responding for Children with ADHD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Andrew; Bradley-Johnson, Sharon; Johnson, C. Merle

2014-01-01

We evaluated the effects of white noise played through headphones on off-task behavior, percentage of items completed, and percentage of items completed correctly for 3 students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Headphones plus white noise were associated with decreases in off-task behavior relative to baseline and…

The Developmental Dynamics of Task-Avoidant Behavior and Math Performance in Kindergarten and Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hirvonen, Riikka; Tolvanen, Asko; Aunola, Kaisa; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2012-01-01

Besides cognitive factors, children's learning at school may be influenced by more dynamic phenomena, such as motivation and achievement-related task-avoidant behavior. The present study examined the developmental dynamics of task-avoidant behavior and math performance from kindergarten to Grade 4. A total of 225 children were tested for their…

Effects of working memory load on visual selective attention: behavioral and electrophysiological evidence.

PubMed

Pratt, Nikki; Willoughby, Adrian; Swick, Diane

2011-01-01

Working memory and attention interact in a way that enables us to focus on relevant items and maintain current goals. The influence of working memory on attention has been noted in several studies using dual task designs. Multitasking increases the demands on working memory and reduces the amount of resources available for cognitive control functions such as resolving stimulus conflict. However, few studies have investigated the temporal activation of the cortex while multitasking. The present study addresses the extent to which working memory load influences early (P1) and late (P300) attention-sensitive event-related potential components using a dual task paradigm. Participants performed an arrow flanker task alone (single task condition) or concurrently with a Sternberg memory task (dual task condition). In the flanker task, participants responded to the direction of a central arrow surrounded by congruent or incongruent arrows. In the dual task condition, participants were presented with a Sternberg task that consisted of either four or seven consonants to remember prior to a short block of flanker trials. Participants were slower and less accurate on incongruent versus congruent trials. Furthermore, accuracy on incongruent trials was reduced in both dual task conditions. Likewise, P300 amplitude to incongruent flanker stimuli decreased when working memory load increased. These findings suggest that interference from incongruent flankers was more difficult to suppress when working memory was taxed. In addition, P1 amplitude was diminished on all flanker trials in the dual task condition. This result indicates that top-down attentional control over early visual processing is diminished by increasing demands on working memory. Both the behavioral and electrophysiological results suggest that working memory is critical in maintaining attentional focus and resolving conflict.

Effects of Working Memory Load on Visual Selective Attention: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence

PubMed Central

Pratt, Nikki; Willoughby, Adrian; Swick, Diane

2011-01-01

Working memory and attention interact in a way that enables us to focus on relevant items and maintain current goals. The influence of working memory on attention has been noted in several studies using dual task designs. Multitasking increases the demands on working memory and reduces the amount of resources available for cognitive control functions such as resolving stimulus conflict. However, few studies have investigated the temporal activation of the cortex while multitasking. The present study addresses the extent to which working memory load influences early (P1) and late (P300) attention-sensitive event-related potential components using a dual task paradigm. Participants performed an arrow flanker task alone (single task condition) or concurrently with a Sternberg memory task (dual task condition). In the flanker task, participants responded to the direction of a central arrow surrounded by congruent or incongruent arrows. In the dual task condition, participants were presented with a Sternberg task that consisted of either four or seven consonants to remember prior to a short block of flanker trials. Participants were slower and less accurate on incongruent versus congruent trials. Furthermore, accuracy on incongruent trials was reduced in both dual task conditions. Likewise, P300 amplitude to incongruent flanker stimuli decreased when working memory load increased. These findings suggest that interference from incongruent flankers was more difficult to suppress when working memory was taxed. In addition, P1 amplitude was diminished on all flanker trials in the dual task condition. This result indicates that top-down attentional control over early visual processing is diminished by increasing demands on working memory. Both the behavioral and electrophysiological results suggest that working memory is critical in maintaining attentional focus and resolving conflict. PMID:21716633

Regret Expression and Social Learning Increases Delay to Sexual Gratification.

PubMed

Quisenberry, Amanda J; Eddy, Celia R; Patterson, David L; Franck, Christopher T; Bickel, Warren K

2015-01-01

Modification and prevention of risky sexual behavior is important to individuals' health and public health policy. This study employed a novel sexual discounting task to elucidate the effects of social learning and regret expression on delay to sexual gratification in a behavioral task. Amazon Mechanical Turk Workers were assigned to hear one of three scenarios about a friend who engages in similar sexual behavior. The scenarios included a positive health consequence, a negative health consequence or a negative health consequence with the expression of regret. After reading one scenario, participants were asked to select from 60 images, those with whom they would have casual sex. Of the selected images, participants chose one image each for the person they most and least want to have sex with and person most and least likely to have a sexually transmitted infection. They then answered questions about engaging in unprotected sex now or waiting some delay for condom-protected sex in each partner condition. Results indicate that the negative health outcome scenario with regret expression resulted in delayed sexual gratification in the most attractive and least STI partner conditions, whereas in the least attractive and most STI partner conditions the negative health outcome with and without regret resulted in delayed sexual gratification. Results suggest that the sexual discounting task is a relevant laboratory measure and the framing of information to include regret expression may be relevant for prevention of risky sexual behavior.

Goal-Directed Drinking Behaviors Can Be Modified through Behavioral Mimicry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shune, Samantha E.; Foster, Kayla A.

2017-01-01

Purpose: This study tested whether behavioral mimicry can alter drinking behavior. It was hypothesized that participants would increase drinking behaviors given increased confederate drinking but not cup touching. Methods: Nineteen healthy adults (M[subscript age] = 20.32 years) completed 2 picture description tasks; during 1 task, a confederate…

False-belief understanding in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Fernandez-Duque, Diego; Baird, Jodie A; Black, Sandra E

2009-05-01

The ability to understand other people's behavior in terms of mental states, such as beliefs, desires, and intentions, is central to social interaction. It has been argued that the interpersonal problems of patients with behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (FTD-b) are due to a dysfunction of that system. We used first- and second-order false-belief tasks to assess theory-of-mind reasoning in a group of patients with FTD-b and a cognitively matched group of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Both patient groups were equally impaired relative to a healthy elderly group in the cognitively demanding second-order false-belief tasks, revealing that cognitive demands are an important factor in false-belief task performance. Both patient groups reached ceiling performance in the first-order false-belief tasks with minimal cognitive demands, despite the striking difference in their social graces. These results suggest that a conceptual deficit in theory of mind-as measured by the false-belief task-is not at the core of the differences between FTD-b and AD.

Contrasting single and multi-component working-memory systems in dual tasking.

PubMed

Nijboer, Menno; Borst, Jelmer; van Rijn, Hedderik; Taatgen, Niels

2016-05-01

Working memory can be a major source of interference in dual tasking. However, there is no consensus on whether this interference is the result of a single working memory bottleneck, or of interactions between different working memory components that together form a complete working-memory system. We report a behavioral and an fMRI dataset in which working memory requirements are manipulated during multitasking. We show that a computational cognitive model that assumes a distributed version of working memory accounts for both behavioral and neuroimaging data better than a model that takes a more centralized approach. The model's working memory consists of an attentional focus, declarative memory, and a subvocalized rehearsal mechanism. Thus, the data and model favor an account where working memory interference in dual tasking is the result of interactions between different resources that together form a working-memory system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Introducing uninteresting tasks to children: a comparison of the effects of rewards and autonomy support.

PubMed

Joussemet, Mireille; Koestner, Richard; Lekes, Natasha; Houlfort, Nathalie

2004-02-01

Two experiments compared rewards and autonomy support as methods to promote children's self-regulation for an uninteresting vigilance task. Dependent measures were ratings of positive affect, perception of the task's value, and free-choice engagement. ANOVA results revealed some positive effects associated with autonomy support, whereas no effect for rewards was found in either study. The outcomes of most interest were correlations between free-choice behavior and self-reported measures of affect and value, reflecting the level of integration in self-regulation. As predicted by self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991, 2000), rewards were associated with behaviors incongruent from affect and value, whereas autonomy support led to integrated self-regulation. This finding was first detected in Study 1 and later replicated in Study 2. Together, these results point to autonomy support as a beneficial alternative to the common use of rewards.

Stochastic abstract policies: generalizing knowledge to improve reinforcement learning.

PubMed

Koga, Marcelo L; Freire, Valdinei; Costa, Anna H R

2015-01-01

Reinforcement learning (RL) enables an agent to learn behavior by acquiring experience through trial-and-error interactions with a dynamic environment. However, knowledge is usually built from scratch and learning to behave may take a long time. Here, we improve the learning performance by leveraging prior knowledge; that is, the learner shows proper behavior from the beginning of a target task, using the knowledge from a set of known, previously solved, source tasks. In this paper, we argue that building stochastic abstract policies that generalize over past experiences is an effective way to provide such improvement and this generalization outperforms the current practice of using a library of policies. We achieve that contributing with a new algorithm, AbsProb-PI-multiple and a framework for transferring knowledge represented as a stochastic abstract policy in new RL tasks. Stochastic abstract policies offer an effective way to encode knowledge because the abstraction they provide not only generalizes solutions but also facilitates extracting the similarities among tasks. We perform experiments in a robotic navigation environment and analyze the agent's behavior throughout the learning process and also assess the transfer ratio for different amounts of source tasks. We compare our method with the transfer of a library of policies, and experiments show that the use of a generalized policy produces better results by more effectively guiding the agent when learning a target task.

The neuronal dynamics underlying cognitive flexibility in set shifting tasks.

PubMed

Stemme, Anja; Deco, Gustavo; Busch, Astrid

2007-12-01

The ability to switch attention from one aspect of an object to another or in other words to switch the "attentional set" as investigated in tasks like the "Wisconsin Card Sorting Test" is commonly referred to as cognitive flexibility. In this work we present a biophysically detailed neurodynamical model which illustrates the neuronal base of the processes related to this cognitive flexibility. For this purpose we conducted behavioral experiments which allow the combined evaluation of different aspects of set shifting tasks: uninstructed set shifts as investigated in Wisconsin-like tasks, effects of stimulus congruency as investigated in Stroop-like tasks and the contribution of working memory as investigated in "Delayed-Match-to-Sample" tasks. The work describes how general experimental findings are usable to design the architecture of a biophysical detailed though minimalistic model with a high orientation on neurobiological findings and how, in turn, the simulations support experimental investigations. The resulting model is able to account for experimental and individual response times and error rates and enables the switch of attention as a system inherent model feature: The switching process suggested by the model is based on the memorization of the visual stimuli and does not require any synaptic learning. The operation of the model thus demonstrates with at least a high probability the neuronal dynamics underlying a key component of human behavior: the ability to adapt behavior according to context requirements--cognitive flexibility.

Electrophysiological Repetition Effects in Persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment depend upon Working Memory Demand.

PubMed

Broster, Lucas S; Jenkins, Shonna L; Holmes, Sarah D; Edwards, Matthew G; Jicha, Gregory A; Jiang, Yang

2018-05-07

Forms of implicit memory, including repetition effects, are preserved relative to explicit memory in clinical Alzheimer's disease. Consequently, cognitive interventions for persons with Alzheimer's disease have been developed that leverage this fact. However, despite the clinical robustness of behavioral repetition effects, altered neural mechanisms of repetition effects are studied as biomarkers of both clinical Alzheimer's disease and pre-morbid Alzheimer's changes in the brain. We hypothesized that the clinical preservation of behavioral repetition effects results in part from concurrent operation of discrete memory systems. We developed two experiments that included probes of emotional repetition effects differing in that one included an embedded working memory task. We found that neural repetition effects manifested in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, the earliest form of clinical Alzheimer's disease, during emotional working memory tasks, but they did not manifest during the task that lacked the embedded working memory manipulation. Specifically, the working memory task evoked neural repetition effects in the P600 time-window, but the same neural mechanism was only minimally implicated in the task without a working memory component. We also found that group differences in behavioral repetition effects were smaller in the experiment with a working memory task. We suggest that cross-domain cognitive challenge can expose "defunct" neural capabilities of individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Mapping the Speech Code: Cortical Responses Linking the Perception and Production of Vowels

PubMed Central

Schuerman, William L.; Meyer, Antje S.; McQueen, James M.

2017-01-01

The acoustic realization of speech is constrained by the physical mechanisms by which it is produced. Yet for speech perception, the degree to which listeners utilize experience derived from speech production has long been debated. In the present study, we examined how sensorimotor adaptation during production may affect perception, and how this relationship may be reflected in early vs. late electrophysiological responses. Participants first performed a baseline speech production task, followed by a vowel categorization task during which EEG responses were recorded. In a subsequent speech production task, half the participants received shifted auditory feedback, leading most to alter their articulations. This was followed by a second, post-training vowel categorization task. We compared changes in vowel production to both behavioral and electrophysiological changes in vowel perception. No differences in phonetic categorization were observed between groups receiving altered or unaltered feedback. However, exploratory analyses revealed correlations between vocal motor behavior and phonetic categorization. EEG analyses revealed correlations between vocal motor behavior and cortical responses in both early and late time windows. These results suggest that participants' recent production behavior influenced subsequent vowel perception. We suggest that the change in perception can be best characterized as a mapping of acoustics onto articulation. PMID:28439232

Can bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) cooperate when solving a novel task?

PubMed

Kuczaj, Stan A; Winship, Kelley A; Eskelinen, Holli C

2015-03-01

Cooperative behavior has been observed in cetacean species in a variety of situations, including foraging, mate acquisition, play, and epimeletic behavior. However, it has proven difficult to demonstrate cooperative behavior among dolphins in more controlled settings. Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in this study were exposed to a task that could most easily be solved if dolphins cooperated. Six dolphins were provided opportunities to solve the task and had to learn to do so without human intervention or training. Two adult males consistently and spontaneously jointly interacted in order to most efficiently open a container that contained fish by pulling on ropes at the ends of the container. Their interaction was viewed as cooperative because each dolphin pulled on their respective ropes in the opposite direction, which resulted in one end of the container opening. The dolphins did not show aggression toward one another while solving the task, and both dolphins consumed the food after the container was opened. They also engaged in synchronous non-aggressive behaviors with the container after the food had been consumed. It is possible that some of the remaining four dolphins would have cooperated, but the two successful dolphins were dominant males and their interest in the apparatus appeared to preclude other animals from participating.

Breaking bad habits by improving executive function in individuals with obesity.

PubMed

Allom, Vanessa; Mullan, Barbara; Smith, Evelyn; Hay, Phillipa; Raman, Jayanthi

2018-04-16

Two primary factors that contribute to obesity are unhealthy eating and sedentary behavior. These behaviors are particularly difficult to change in the long-term because they are often enacted habitually. Cognitive Remediation Therapy has been modified and applied to the treatment of obesity (CRT-O) with preliminary results of a randomized controlled trial demonstrating significant weight loss and improvements in executive function. The objective of this study was to conduct a secondary data analysis of the CRT-O trial to evaluate whether CRT-O reduces unhealthy habits that contribute to obesity via improvements in executive function. Eighty participants with obesity were randomized to CRT-O or control. Measures of executive function (Wisconsin Card Sort Task and Trail Making Task) and unhealthy eating and sedentary behavior habits were administered at baseline, post-intervention and at 3 month follow-up. Participants receiving CRT-O demonstrated improvements in both measures of executive function and reductions in both unhealthy habit outcomes compared to control. Mediation analyses revealed that change in one element of executive function performance (Wisconsin Card Sort Task perseverance errors) mediated the effect of CRT-O on changes in both habit outcomes. These results suggest that the effectiveness of CRT-O may result from the disruption of unhealthy habits made possible by improvements in executive function. In particular, it appears that cognitive flexibility, as measured by the Wisconsin Card Sort task, is a key mechanism in this process. Improving cognitive flexibility may enable individuals to capitalise on interruptions in unhealthy habits by adjusting their behavior in line with their weight loss goals rather than persisting with an unhealthy choice. The RCT was registered with the Australian New Zealand Registry of Clinical Trials (trial id: ACTRN12613000537752 ).

Effects of age and the use of hands-free cellular phones on driving behavior and task performance.

PubMed

Liu, Yung-Ching; Ou, Yang-Kun

2011-12-01

This study used a driving simulator to investigate the effect of using a Bluetooth hands-free cellular phone earpiece on the driving behavior of two age groups. Forty-eight participants (24 aged 20-26 and 24 aged 65-73) were examined to assess their performance on the following divided-attention tasks under 2 driving load conditions (high and low): (1) attempting to maintain the speed limit and (2) using a cellular phone while driving. The length of the call conversation (long vs. short) and the conversational content (complex vs. simple) were manipulated as within-subject independent variables. The driving behavior of the participants, their task reaction times and accuracy, and subjective ratings were collected as dependent variables. The results indicate that under low driving loads, short talk times, and simple conversational content, the driving behavior of the participants showed low variance in the vehicle's mean speed. In contrast, complex conversation had a significantly negative impact on driving behavior. Notably, under a low driving load, motorists' driving behaviors, measured in lateral acceleration, caused significantly smaller variance in complex conversations compared to no call and simple conversations. The use of a hands-free cellular phone affected the performance (acceleration, lane deviation, reaction time, and accuracy) of older drivers significantly more than younger drivers. While performing divided attention tasks, the accuracy of the older drivers was 66.3 percent and that of the younger drivers was 96.3 percent. Although this study did not find a clear impact of cellular phone use on the driving behavior of younger drivers, their divided-attention task reaction times and accuracy were better under no-call than calling conditions. This study indicates that the use of hands-free cellular phones could significantly affect the safety of driving among the older and present risks, although lesser, for younger drivers.

Your Eyes Say "No," but Your Heart Says "Yes": Behavioral and Psychophysiological Indices in Infant Quantitative Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brez, Caitlin C.; Colombo, John

2012-01-01

Behavioral indices (e.g., infant looking) are predominantly used in studies of infant cognition, but psychophysiological measures have been increasingly integrated into common infant paradigms. The current study reports a result in which behavioral measures and physiological measures were both incorporated in a task designed to study infant number…

Integrating the behavioral and neural dynamics of response selection in a dual-task paradigm: a dynamic neural field model of Dux et al. (2009).

PubMed

Buss, Aaron T; Wifall, Tim; Hazeltine, Eliot; Spencer, John P

2014-02-01

People are typically slower when executing two tasks than when only performing a single task. These dual-task costs are initially robust but are reduced with practice. Dux et al. (2009) explored the neural basis of dual-task costs and learning using fMRI. Inferior frontal junction (IFJ) showed a larger hemodynamic response on dual-task trials compared with single-task trial early in learning. As dual-task costs were eliminated, dual-task hemodynamics in IFJ reduced to single-task levels. Dux and colleagues concluded that the reduction of dual-task costs is accomplished through increased efficiency of information processing in IFJ. We present a dynamic field theory of response selection that addresses two questions regarding these results. First, what mechanism leads to the reduction of dual-task costs and associated changes in hemodynamics? We show that a simple Hebbian learning mechanism is able to capture the quantitative details of learning at both the behavioral and neural levels. Second, is efficiency isolated to cognitive control areas such as IFJ, or is it also evident in sensory motor areas? To investigate this, we restrict Hebbian learning to different parts of the neural model. None of the restricted learning models showed the same reductions in dual-task costs as the unrestricted learning model, suggesting that efficiency is distributed across cognitive control and sensory motor processing systems.

Implicit Behavioral Change in Response to Cognitive Tasks in Alzheimer Disease.

PubMed

Bomilcar, Iris; Morris, Robin G; Brown, Richard G; Mograbi, Daniel C

2018-03-01

Lack of awareness about impairments is commonly found in Alzheimer disease (AD), but recent evidence suggests that patients may respond to the experience of illness despite limited awareness. In this study, we explored whether implicit emotional responses to experiences of failure in cognitive tasks would result in longer-term change in behavior. Twenty-two patients with AD were seen 1 week after a previous session in which they performed computer tasks that had been manipulated to be either too difficult (failure condition) or very easy (success condition) for them. At the second session, both types of tasks were set to have medium difficulty and were administered so that the participants decided how long to persist on each task. Task persistence was determined by relative time spent doing the tasks, considering that participants would be more likely to stop performing tasks in which they had experienced failure during the first session. Task persistence in the second session was not affected by performance in the first session. However, when participants' awareness of performance in the first session was taken into account, differences were found in persistence between tasks in the second session. During the second session, participants stopped performing tasks after a sequence of errors. There were no self-reported changes in motivation or enjoyment in response to task failure. These findings suggest that implicit learning of task valence may be compromised in AD, but that initial moments of awareness of performance may influence long-term adaptation in unaware patients.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder: a disorder of pessimal (non-functional) motor behavior.

PubMed

Zor, R; Keren, H; Hermesh, H; Szechtman, H; Mort, J; Eilam, D

2009-10-01

To determine whether in addition to repetitiveness, the motor rituals of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) involve reduced functionality due to numerous and measurable acts that are irrelevant and unnecessary for task completion. Comparing motor rituals of OCD patients with behavior of non-patient control individuals who were instructed to perform the same motor task. Obsessive-compulsive disorder behavior comprises abundant acts that were not performed by the controls. These acts seem unnecessary or even irrelevant for the task that the patients were performing, and therefore are termed 'non-functional'. Non-functional acts comprise some 60% of OCD motor behavior. Moreover, OCD behavior consists of short chains of functional acts bounded by long chains of non-functional acts. The abundance of irrelevant or unnecessary acts in OCD motor rituals represents reduced functionality in terms of task completion, typifying OCD rituals as pessimal behavior (antonym of optimal behavior).

Nucleus accumbens dopamine D2-receptor expressing neurons control behavioral flexibility in a place discrimination task in the IntelliCage.

PubMed

Macpherson, Tom; Morita, Makiko; Wang, Yanyan; Sasaoka, Toshikuni; Sawa, Akira; Hikida, Takatoshi

2016-07-01

Considerable evidence has demonstrated a critical role for the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in the acquisition and flexibility of behavioral strategies. These processes are guided by the activity of two discrete neuron types, dopamine D1- or D2-receptor expressing medium spiny neurons (D1-/D2-MSNs). Here we used the IntelliCage, an automated group-housing experimental cage apparatus, in combination with a reversible neurotransmission blocking technique to examine the role of NAc D1- and D2-MSNs in the acquisition and reversal learning of a place discrimination task. We demonstrated that NAc D1- and D2-MSNs do not mediate the acquisition of the task, but that suppression of activity in D2-MSNs impairs reversal learning and increased perseverative errors. Additionally, global knockout of the dopamine D2L receptor isoform produced a similar behavioral phenotype to D2-MSN-blocked mice. These results suggest that D2L receptors and NAc D2-MSNs act to suppress the influence of previously correct behavioral strategies allowing transfer of behavioral control to new strategies. © 2016 Macpherson et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Goal-Directed Decision Making with Spiking Neurons.

PubMed

Friedrich, Johannes; Lengyel, Máté

2016-02-03

Behavioral and neuroscientific data on reward-based decision making point to a fundamental distinction between habitual and goal-directed action selection. The formation of habits, which requires simple updating of cached values, has been studied in great detail, and the reward prediction error theory of dopamine function has enjoyed prominent success in accounting for its neural bases. In contrast, the neural circuit mechanisms of goal-directed decision making, requiring extended iterative computations to estimate values online, are still unknown. Here we present a spiking neural network that provably solves the difficult online value estimation problem underlying goal-directed decision making in a near-optimal way and reproduces behavioral as well as neurophysiological experimental data on tasks ranging from simple binary choice to sequential decision making. Our model uses local plasticity rules to learn the synaptic weights of a simple neural network to achieve optimal performance and solves one-step decision-making tasks, commonly considered in neuroeconomics, as well as more challenging sequential decision-making tasks within 1 s. These decision times, and their parametric dependence on task parameters, as well as the final choice probabilities match behavioral data, whereas the evolution of neural activities in the network closely mimics neural responses recorded in frontal cortices during the execution of such tasks. Our theory provides a principled framework to understand the neural underpinning of goal-directed decision making and makes novel predictions for sequential decision-making tasks with multiple rewards. Goal-directed actions requiring prospective planning pervade decision making, but their circuit-level mechanisms remain elusive. We show how a model circuit of biologically realistic spiking neurons can solve this computationally challenging problem in a novel way. The synaptic weights of our network can be learned using local plasticity rules such that its dynamics devise a near-optimal plan of action. By systematically comparing our model results to experimental data, we show that it reproduces behavioral decision times and choice probabilities as well as neural responses in a rich set of tasks. Our results thus offer the first biologically realistic account for complex goal-directed decision making at a computational, algorithmic, and implementational level. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/361529-18$15.00/0.

Goal-Directed Decision Making with Spiking Neurons

PubMed Central

Lengyel, Máté

2016-01-01

Behavioral and neuroscientific data on reward-based decision making point to a fundamental distinction between habitual and goal-directed action selection. The formation of habits, which requires simple updating of cached values, has been studied in great detail, and the reward prediction error theory of dopamine function has enjoyed prominent success in accounting for its neural bases. In contrast, the neural circuit mechanisms of goal-directed decision making, requiring extended iterative computations to estimate values online, are still unknown. Here we present a spiking neural network that provably solves the difficult online value estimation problem underlying goal-directed decision making in a near-optimal way and reproduces behavioral as well as neurophysiological experimental data on tasks ranging from simple binary choice to sequential decision making. Our model uses local plasticity rules to learn the synaptic weights of a simple neural network to achieve optimal performance and solves one-step decision-making tasks, commonly considered in neuroeconomics, as well as more challenging sequential decision-making tasks within 1 s. These decision times, and their parametric dependence on task parameters, as well as the final choice probabilities match behavioral data, whereas the evolution of neural activities in the network closely mimics neural responses recorded in frontal cortices during the execution of such tasks. Our theory provides a principled framework to understand the neural underpinning of goal-directed decision making and makes novel predictions for sequential decision-making tasks with multiple rewards. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Goal-directed actions requiring prospective planning pervade decision making, but their circuit-level mechanisms remain elusive. We show how a model circuit of biologically realistic spiking neurons can solve this computationally challenging problem in a novel way. The synaptic weights of our network can be learned using local plasticity rules such that its dynamics devise a near-optimal plan of action. By systematically comparing our model results to experimental data, we show that it reproduces behavioral decision times and choice probabilities as well as neural responses in a rich set of tasks. Our results thus offer the first biologically realistic account for complex goal-directed decision making at a computational, algorithmic, and implementational level. PMID:26843636

Using psychophysics to ask if the brain samples or maximizes

PubMed Central

Acuna, Daniel E.; Berniker, Max; Fernandes, Hugo L.; Kording, Konrad P.

2015-01-01

The two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) task is the workhorse of psychophysics and is used to measure the just-noticeable difference, generally assumed to accurately quantify sensory precision. However, this assumption is not true for all mechanisms of decision making. Here we derive the behavioral predictions for two popular mechanisms, sampling and maximum a posteriori, and examine how they affect the outcome of the 2AFC task. These predictions are used in a combined visual 2AFC and estimation experiment. Our results strongly suggest that subjects use a maximum a posteriori mechanism. Further, our derivations and experimental paradigm establish the already standard 2AFC task as a behavioral tool for measuring how humans make decisions under uncertainty. PMID:25767093

Goal orientation: effects on backing up behavior, performance, efficacy, and commitment in teams.

PubMed

Porter, Christopher O L H

2005-07-01

The author examined the predictive validity of goal orientation in teams on both team process and outcome variables. Results indicate that when mean goal orientation scores were used as a way of describing team members' inputs, learning orientation was related to backing up behavior, efficacy, and commitment. The relationships between performance orientation and efficacy and commitment, however, were more complex and were clarified when task performance was also taken into account. Performance orientation had a negative effect on efficacy when task performance was low and a positive effect on commitment when task performance was high. The implications of these findings for theory and research on goal orientation in teams and team staffing are discussed. Copyright 2005 APA, all rights reserved.

Impact of stimulus uncanniness on speeded response

PubMed Central

Takahashi, Kohske; Fukuda, Haruaki; Samejima, Kazuyuki; Watanabe, Katsumi; Ueda, Kazuhiro

2015-01-01

In the uncanny valley phenomenon, the causes of the feeling of uncanniness as well as the impact of the uncanniness on behavioral performances still remain open. The present study investigated the behavioral effects of stimulus uncanniness, particularly with respect to speeded response. Pictures of fish were used as visual stimuli. Participants engaged in direction discrimination, spatial cueing, and dot-probe tasks. The results showed that pictures rated as strongly uncanny delayed speeded response in the discrimination of the direction of the fish. In the cueing experiment, where a fish served as a task-irrelevant and unpredictable cue for a peripheral target, we again observed that the detection of a target was slowed when the cue was an uncanny fish. Conversely, the dot-probe task suggested that uncanny fish, unlike threatening stimulus, did not capture visual spatial attention. These results suggested that stimulus uncanniness resulted in the delayed response, and importantly this modulation was not mediated by the feelings of threat. PMID:26052297

A continuous time-resolved measure decoded from EEG oscillatory activity predicts working memory task performance.

PubMed

Astrand, Elaine

2018-06-01

Working memory (WM), crucial for successful behavioral performance in most of our everyday activities, holds a central role in goal-directed behavior. As task demands increase, inducing higher WM load, maintaining successful behavioral performance requires the brain to work at the higher end of its capacity. Because it is depending on both external and internal factors, individual WM load likely varies in a continuous fashion. The feasibility to extract such a continuous measure in time that correlates to behavioral performance during a working memory task remains unsolved. Multivariate pattern decoding was used to test whether a decoder constructed from two discrete levels of WM load can generalize to produce a continuous measure that predicts task performance. Specifically, a linear regression with L2-regularization was chosen with input features from EEG oscillatory activity recorded from healthy participants while performing the n-back task, [Formula: see text]. The feasibility to extract a continuous time-resolved measure that correlates positively to trial-by-trial working memory task performance is demonstrated (r  =  0.47, p  <  0.05). It is furthermore shown that this measure allows to predict task performance before action (r  =  0.49, p  <  0.05). We show that the extracted continuous measure enables to study the temporal dynamics of the complex activation pattern of WM encoding during the n-back task. Specifically, temporally precise contributions of different spectral features are observed which extends previous findings of traditional univariate approaches. These results constitute an important contribution towards a wide range of applications in the field of cognitive brain-machine interfaces. Monitoring mental processes related to attention and WM load to reduce the risk of committing errors in high-risk environments could potentially prevent many devastating consequences or using the continuous measure as neurofeedback opens up new possibilities to develop novel rehabilitation techniques for individuals with degraded WM capacity.

Helping and hurting others: Person and situation effects on aggressive and prosocial behavior as assessed by the Tangram task.

PubMed

Saleem, Muniba; Barlett, Christopher P; Anderson, Craig A; Hawkins, Ian

2017-04-01

The Tangram Help/Hurt Task is a laboratory-based measure designed to simultaneously assess helpful and hurtful behavior. Across five studies we provide evidence that further establishes the convergent and discriminant validity of the Tangram Help/Hurt Task. Cross-sectional and meta-analytic evidence finds consistently significant associations between helpful and hurtful scores on the Tangram Task and prosocial and aggressive personality traits. Experimental evidence reveals that situational primes known to induce aggressive and prosocial behavior significantly influence helpful and hurtful scores on the Tangram Help/Hurt Task. Additionally, motivation items in all studies indicate that tangram choices are indeed associated with intent of helping and hurting. We discuss the advantages and limitations of the Tangram Help/Hurt Task relative to established measures of helpful and hurtful behavior. Aggr. Behav. 43:133-146, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Validity of false belief tasks in blind children.

PubMed

Brambring, Michael; Asbrock, Doreen

2010-12-01

Previous studies have reported that congenitally blind children without any additional impairment reveal a developmental delay of at least 4 years in perspective taking based on testing first-order false-belief tasks. These authors interpret this delay as a sign of autism-like behavior. However, the delay may be caused by testing blind children with false-belief tasks that require visual experience. Therefore, the present study gave alternative false-belief tasks based on tactile or auditory experience to 45 congenitally blind 4-10-year-olds and 37 sighted 3-6-year-olds. Results showed criterion performance at 80 months (6; 8 years) in blind children compared with 61 months (5; 1 years) in sighted controls. It is concluded that this 19-month (1; 7 year) difference, which is comparable with delays in other developmental areas, is a developmental delay caused by the fact of congenital blindness rather than a sign of a psychopathological disorder of autism-like behavior.

Response Style Differences in the Inattentive and Combined Subtypes of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Derefinko, Karen J.; Adams, Zachary W.; Milich, Richard; Fillmore, Mark T.; Lorch, Elizabeth P.; Lynam, Donald R.

2008-01-01

This study examined potential differences between the inattentive and combined ADHD subtypes using laboratory tasks assessing behavioral inhibitory processes. Seventy-five children completed two tasks of behavioral inhibition believed to isolate different processes: the cued reaction time task (CRT), a basic inhibition task, and the go/no-go task…

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

PubMed Central

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

2016-01-01

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

Impaired preparatory re-mapping of stimulus-response associations and rule-implementation in schizophrenic patients--the role for differences in early processing.

PubMed

Finke, Mareike; Barceló, Francisco; Garolera, Maite; Cortiñas, Miriam; Garrido, Gemma; Pajares, Marta; Escera, Carles

2011-07-01

An accurate representation of task-set information is needed for successful goal directed behavior. Recent studies point to disturbances in the early processing stages as plausible causes for task-switching deficits in schizophrenia. A task-cueing protocol was administered to a group of schizophrenic patients and compared with a sample of age-matched healthy controls. Patients responded slower and less accurate compared with controls in all conditions. The concurrent recording of event-related brain potentials to contextual cues and target events revealed abnormalities in the early processing of both cue-locked and target-locked N1 potentials. Abnormally enhanced target-locked P2 amplitudes were observed in schizophrenic patients for task-switch trials only, suggesting disrupted stimulus evaluation and memory retrieval processes. The endogenous P3 potentials discriminated between task conditions but without further differences between groups. These results suggest that the observed impairments in task-switching behavior were not specifically related to anticipatory set-shifting, but derived from a deficit in the implementation of task-set representations at target onset in the presence of irrelevant and conflicting information. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evolutionary dynamics of division of labor games with selfish agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jianlei; Li, Qiaoyu; Zhang, Chunyan

2017-11-01

The division of labor is one of the most basic and widely studied aspects of collective behavior in natural systems. Studies of division of labor are concerned with the integration of the individual worker behavior into a colony level task organization and with the question of how the regulation of the division of labor may contribute to the colony efficiency. This paper investigates the evolution of the division of labor with three strategies by employing the evolutionary game theory. Thus, these available strategies are, respectively, strategy A (performing task A), strategy B (performing task B), and strategy D (not performing any task but only free riding others' contributions). And, two typical networks (i.e., BA scale-free network and lattice network) are employed here for describing the interaction structure among agents. The theoretical analysis together with simulation results reveal that the division of labor can evolve and leads to players that differ in their tendency to take on a given task. The conditions under which the division of labor evolves depend on the costs for performing the task, the benefits led by performing the task, and the interaction structures among the players who are involved with division of labor games.

Diminished self-conscious emotional responding in frontotemporal lobar degeneration patients.

PubMed

Sturm, Virginia E; Ascher, Elizabeth A; Miller, Bruce L; Levenson, Robert W

2008-12-01

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a neurodegenerative disease that dramatically alters social and emotional behavior. Recent work has suggested that self-conscious emotions (e.g., embarrassment) may be particularly vulnerable to disruption in this disease. Self-conscious emotions require the ability to monitor the self in relation to others. These abilities are thought to be subserved by brain regions (e.g., medial prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and insula) that are particularly vulnerable to damage in FTLD. This study examined emotional responding (expressive behavior, peripheral physiology, and subjective experience) in 24 FTLD patients and 16 cognitively normal control participants using a karaoke task known to elicit self-conscious emotion reliably and a nonemotional control task (isometric handgrip). Results indicated that FTLD patients showed diminished self-conscious emotional behavior (embarrassment and amusement) and diminished physiological responding while watching themselves singing. No differences were found between patients and controls in the nonemotional control task. These findings offer evidence of marked disruption of self-conscious emotional responding in FTLD. Diminished self-conscious emotional responding likely contributes significantly to social inappropriateness and other behavioral abnormalities in FTLD. 2008 APA, all rights reserved

Diminished Self-Conscious Emotional Responding in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Patients

PubMed Central

Sturm, Virginia E.; Ascher, Elizabeth A.; Miller, Bruce L.; Levenson, Robert W.

2009-01-01

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a neurodegenerative disease that dramatically alters social and emotional behavior. Recent work has suggested that self-conscious emotions (e.g., embarrassment) may be particularly vulnerable to disruption in this disease. Self-conscious emotions require the ability to monitor the self in relation to others. These abilities are thought to be subserved by brain regions (e.g., medial prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and insula) that are particularly vulnerable to damage in FTLD. This study examined emotional responding (expressive behavior, peripheral physiology, and subjective experience) in 24 FTLD patients and 16 cognitively normal control participants using a karaoke task known to elicit self-conscious emotion reliably and a nonemotional control task (isometric handgrip). Results indicated that FTLD patients showed diminished self-conscious emotional behavior (embarrassment and amusement) and diminished physiological responding while watching themselves singing. No differences were found between patients and controls in the nonemotional control task. These findings offer evidence of marked disruption of self-conscious emotional responding in FTLD. Diminished self-conscious emotional responding likely contributes significantly to social inappropriateness and other behavioral abnormalities in FTLD. PMID:19102597

New Uses for Sensitivity Analysis: How Different Movement Tasks Effect Limb Model Parameter Sensitivity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winters, J. M.; Stark, L.

1984-01-01

Original results for a newly developed eight-order nonlinear limb antagonistic muscle model of elbow flexion and extension are presented. A wider variety of sensitivity analysis techniques are used and a systematic protocol is established that shows how the different methods can be used efficiently to complement one another for maximum insight into model sensitivity. It is explicitly shown how the sensitivity of output behaviors to model parameters is a function of the controller input sequence, i.e., of the movement task. When the task is changed (for instance, from an input sequence that results in the usual fast movement task to a slower movement that may also involve external loading, etc.) the set of parameters with high sensitivity will in general also change. Such task-specific use of sensitivity analysis techniques identifies the set of parameters most important for a given task, and even suggests task-specific model reduction possibilities.

Reward Motivation Enhances Task Coding in Frontoparietal Cortex

PubMed Central

Etzel, Joset A.; Cole, Michael W.; Zacks, Jeffrey M.; Kay, Kendrick N.; Braver, Todd S.

2016-01-01

Reward motivation often enhances task performance, but the neural mechanisms underlying such cognitive enhancement remain unclear. Here, we used a multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) approach to test the hypothesis that motivation-related enhancement of cognitive control results from improved encoding and representation of task set information. Participants underwent two fMRI sessions of cued task switching, the first under baseline conditions, and the second with randomly intermixed reward incentive and no-incentive trials. Information about the upcoming task could be successfully decoded from cue-related activation patterns in a set of frontoparietal regions typically associated with task control. More critically, MVPA classifiers trained on the baseline session had significantly higher decoding accuracy on incentive than non-incentive trials, with decoding improvement mediating reward-related enhancement of behavioral performance. These results strongly support the hypothesis that reward motivation enhances cognitive control, by improving the discriminability of task-relevant information coded and maintained in frontoparietal brain regions. PMID:25601237

Task and work performance on Skylab missions 2, 3, and 4: Time and motion study: Experiment M151

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kubis, J. F.; Mclaughlin, E. J.; Jackson, J. M.; Rusnak, R.; Mcbride, G. H.; Saxon, S. V.

1977-01-01

Human task performance was evaluated under weightlessness conditions during long duration space flight in order to study the characteristics of the adaptation function. Results show that despite pronounced variability in training schedules and in initial reaction to the Skylab environment, in-flight task performance was relatively equivalent among Skylab crews, and behavioral performance continued to improve from beginning to end of all missions.

Motivation alters response bias and neural activation patterns in a perceptual decision-making task.

PubMed

Reckless, G E; Bolstad, I; Nakstad, P H; Andreassen, O A; Jensen, J

2013-05-15

Motivation has been demonstrated to affect individuals' response strategies in economic decision-making, however, little is known about how motivation influences perceptual decision-making behavior or its related neural activity. Given the important role motivation plays in shaping our behavior, a better understanding of this relationship is needed. A block-design, continuous performance, perceptual decision-making task where participants were asked to detect a picture of an animal among distractors was used during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The effect of positive and negative motivation on sustained activity within regions of the brain thought to underlie decision-making was examined by altering the monetary contingency associated with the task. In addition, signal detection theory was used to investigate the effect of motivation on detection sensitivity, response bias and response time. While both positive and negative motivation resulted in increased sustained activation in the ventral striatum, fusiform gyrus, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, only negative motivation resulted in the adoption of a more liberal, closer to optimal response bias. This shift toward a liberal response bias correlated with increased activation in the left DLPFC, but did not result in improved task performance. The present findings suggest that motivation alters aspects of the way perceptual decisions are made. Further, this altered response behavior is reflected in a change in left DLPFC activation, a region involved in the computation of perceptual decisions. Copyright © 2013 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Robot Behavior Acquisition Superposition and Composting of Behaviors Learned through Teleoperation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peters, Richard Alan, II

2004-01-01

Superposition of a small set of behaviors, learned via teleoperation, can lead to robust completion of a simple articulated reach-and-grasp task. Results support the hypothesis that a set of learned behaviors can be combined to generate new behaviors of a similar type. This supports the hypothesis that a robot can learn to interact purposefully with its environment through a developmental acquisition of sensory-motor coordination. Teleoperation bootstraps the process by enabling the robot to observe its own sensory responses to actions that lead to specific outcomes. A reach-and-grasp task, learned by an articulated robot through a small number of teleoperated trials, can be performed autonomously with success in the face of significant variations in the environment and perturbations of the goal. Superpositioning was performed using the Verbs and Adverbs algorithm that was developed originally for the graphical animation of articulated characters. Work was performed on Robonaut at NASA-JSC.

The effects of a sportsmanship curriculum intervention on generalized positive social behavior of urban elementary school students

PubMed Central

Sharpe, Tom; Brown, Marty; Crider, Kim

1995-01-01

This study evaluated the effects of an elementary physical education curriculum in which development of positive social skills, including leadership and conflict-resolution behaviors, was the primary focus. A second goal was to determine possible generalization effects beyond the primary intervention setting. Students in two urban elementary physical education classes served as subjects, with a third class used as a comparison. The effects of the curriculum intervention were evaluated in the training setting and in the students' regular education classrooms using a multiple baseline across classrooms design. Results showed (a) an immediate increase in student leadership and independent conflict-resolution behaviors, (b) an increase in percentage of class time devoted to activity participation, and (c) decreases in the frequency of student off-task behavior and percentage of class time that students devoted to organizational tasks. Similar changes in student behavior were also observed in the regular classroom settings. PMID:16795872

A Neurobehavioral Model of Flexible Spatial Language Behaviors

PubMed Central

Lipinski, John; Schneegans, Sebastian; Sandamirskaya, Yulia; Spencer, John P.; Schöner, Gregor

2012-01-01

We propose a neural dynamic model that specifies how low-level visual processes can be integrated with higher level cognition to achieve flexible spatial language behaviors. This model uses real-word visual input that is linked to relational spatial descriptions through a neural mechanism for reference frame transformations. We demonstrate that the system can extract spatial relations from visual scenes, select items based on relational spatial descriptions, and perform reference object selection in a single unified architecture. We further show that the performance of the system is consistent with behavioral data in humans by simulating results from 2 independent empirical studies, 1 spatial term rating task and 1 study of reference object selection behavior. The architecture we present thereby achieves a high degree of task flexibility under realistic stimulus conditions. At the same time, it also provides a detailed neural grounding for complex behavioral and cognitive processes. PMID:21517224

Using Activity Schedules to Increase On-Task Behavior in Children at Risk for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cirelli, Christe A.; Sidener, Tina M.; Reeve, Kenneth F.; Reeve, Sharon A.

2016-01-01

The effects of activity schedules on on-task and on-schedule behavior were assessed with two boys at risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and referred by their public school teachers as having difficulty during independent work time. On-task behavior increased for both participants after two training sessions. Teachers, peers,…

Behavioral Economic Laboratory Research in Tobacco Regulatory Science.

PubMed

Tidey, Jennifer W; Cassidy, Rachel N; Miller, Mollie E; Smith, Tracy T

2016-10-01

Research that can provide a scientific foundation for the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tobacco policy decisions is needed to inform tobacco regulatory policy. One factor that affects the impact of a tobacco product on public health is its intensity of use, which is determined, in part, by its abuse liability or reinforcing efficacy. Behavioral economic tasks have considerable utility for assessing the reinforcing efficacy of current and emerging tobacco products. This paper provides a narrative review of several behavioral economic laboratory tasks and identifies important applications to tobacco regulatory science. Behavioral economic laboratory assessments, including operant self-administration, choice tasks and purchase tasks, can be used generate behavioral economic data on the effect of price and other constraints on tobacco product consumption. These tasks could provide an expedited simulation of the effects of various tobacco control policies across populations of interest to the FDA. Tobacco regulatory research questions that can be addressed with behavioral economic tasks include assessments of the impact of product characteristics on product demand, assessments of the abuse liability of novel and potential modified risk tobacco products (MRTPs), and assessments of the impact of conventional and novel products in vulnerable populations.

Mechanisms of masked evaluative priming: task sets modulate behavioral and electrophysiological priming for picture and words differentially

PubMed Central

Liegel, Nathalie; Zovko, Monika; Wentura, Dirk

2017-01-01

Abstract Research with the evaluative priming paradigm has shown that affective evaluation processes reliably influence cognition and behavior, even when triggered outside awareness. However, the precise mechanisms underlying such subliminal evaluative priming effects, response activation vs semantic processing, are matter of a debate. In this study, we determined the relative contribution of semantic processing and response activation to masked evaluative priming with pictures and words. To this end, we investigated the modulation of masked pictorial vs verbal priming by previously activated perceptual vs semantic task sets and assessed the electrophysiological correlates of priming using event-related potential (ERP) recordings. Behavioral and electrophysiological effects showed a differential modulation of pictorial and verbal subliminal priming by previously activated task sets: Pictorial priming was only observed during the perceptual but not during the semantic task set. Verbal priming, in contrast, was found when either task set was activated. Furthermore, only verbal priming was associated with a modulation of the N400 ERP component, an index of semantic processing, whereas a priming-related modulation of earlier ERPs, indexing visuo-motor S-R activation, was found for both picture and words. The results thus demonstrate that different neuro-cognitive processes contribute to unconscious evaluative priming depending on the stimulus format. PMID:27998994

Applying Behavior-Based Robotics Concepts to Telerobotic Use of Power Tooling

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

Noakes, Mark W; Hamel, Dr. William R.

While it has long been recognized that telerobotics has potential advantages to reduce operator fatigue, to permit lower skilled operators to function as if they had higher skill levels, and to protect tools and manipulators from excessive forces during operation, relatively little laboratory research in telerobotics has actually been implemented in fielded systems. Much of this has to do with the complexity of the implementation and its lack of ability to operate in complex unstructured remote systems environments. One possible solution is to approach the tooling task using an adaptation of behavior-based techniques to facilitate task decomposition to a simplermore » perspective and to provide sensor registration to the task target object in the field. An approach derived from behavior-based concepts has been implemented to provide automated tool operation for a teleoperated manipulator system. The generic approach is adaptable to a wide range of typical remote tools used in hot-cell and decontamination and dismantlement-type operations. Two tasks are used in this work to test the validity of the concept. First, a reciprocating saw is used to cut a pipe. The second task is bolt removal from mockup process equipment. This paper explains the technique, its implementation, and covers experimental data, analysis of results, and suggestions for implementation on fielded systems.« less

Laterality of Grooming and Tool Use in a Group of Captive Bonobos (Pan paniscus).

PubMed

Brand, Colin M; Marchant, Linda F; Boose, Klaree J; White, Frances J; Rood, Tabatha M; Meinelt, Audra

2017-01-01

Humans exhibit population level handedness for the right hand; however, the evolution of this behavioral phenotype is poorly understood. Here, we compared the laterality of a simple task (grooming) and a complex task (tool use) to investigate whether increasing task difficulty elicited individual hand preference among a group of captive bonobos (Pan paniscus). Subjects were 17 bonobos housed at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Laterality of grooming was recorded using group scans; tool use was recorded using all-occurrence sampling. Grooming was characterized as unimanual or bimanual, and both tasks were scored as right-handed or left-handed. Most individuals did not exhibit significant hand preference for unimanual or bimanual (asymmetrical hand use) grooming, although 1 individual was lateralized for each. For the 8 subjects who engaged in termite fishing enough for statistical testing, 7 individuals exhibited significant laterality and strong individual hand preference. Four subjects preferred their left hand, 3 preferred their right, and 1 had no preference. Grooming, a simple behavior, was not lateralized in this group, yet a more complex behavior revealed a strong individual hand preference, and these results are congruent with other recent findings that demonstrate complex tasks elicit hand preference in bonobos. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Opportunity costs of reward delays and the discounting of hypothetical money and cigarettes.

PubMed

Johnson, Patrick S; Herrmann, Evan S; Johnson, Matthew W

2015-01-01

Humans are reported to discount delayed rewards at lower rates than nonhumans. However, nonhumans are studied in tasks that restrict reinforcement during delays, whereas humans are typically studied in tasks that do not restrict reinforcement during delays. In nonhuman tasks, the opportunity cost of restricted reinforcement during delays may increase delay discounting rates. The present within-subjects study used online crowdsourcing (Amazon Mechanical Turk, or MTurk) to assess the discounting of hypothetical delayed money (and cigarettes in smokers) under four hypothetical framing conditions differing in the availability of reinforcement during delays. At one extreme, participants were free to leave their computer without returning, and engage in any behavior during reward delays (modeling typical human tasks). At the opposite extreme, participants were required to stay at their computer and engage in little other behavior during reward delays (modeling typical nonhuman tasks). Discounting rates increased as an orderly function of opportunity cost. Results also indicated predominantly hyperbolic discounting, the "magnitude effect," steeper discounting of cigarettes than money, and positive correlations between discounting rates of these commodities. This is the first study to test the effects of opportunity costs on discounting, and suggests that procedural differences may partially account for observed species differences in discounting. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Absence without leave or leave without absence: Examining the interrelations among mind wandering, metacognition and cognitive control.

PubMed

Drescher, Leonhard Hakon; Van den Bussche, Eva; Desender, Kobe

2018-01-01

Despite the abundance of recent publications about mind wandering (i.e., off-task thought), its interconnection with metacognition and cognitive control has not yet been examined. In the current study, we hypothesized that these three constructs would show clear interrelations. Metacognitive capacity was predicted to correlate positively with cognitive control ability, which in turn was predicted to be positively related to resistance to mind wandering during sustained attention. Moreover, it was expected that participants with good metacognitive capacity would be better at the subjective recognition of behaviorally present mind wandering. Three tasks were used: The Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) to measure mind wandering, a perceptual decision task with confidence ratings to measure metacognitive efficiency, and a conflict task to measure cognitive control. Structural Equation Modelling was used to test the interrelations among the three constructs. As expected, metacognitive efficiency was positively related to cognitive control ability. Surprisingly, there was a negative relation between metacognitive efficiency and the degree to which subjective mind wandering reports tracked the behavioral index of mind wandering. No relation was found between cognitive control and behavioral mind wandering. The results of the current work are the first to shed light on the interrelations among these three constructs.

Absence without leave or leave without absence: Examining the interrelations among mind wandering, metacognition and cognitive control

PubMed Central

Van den Bussche, Eva; Desender, Kobe

2018-01-01

Despite the abundance of recent publications about mind wandering (i.e., off-task thought), its interconnection with metacognition and cognitive control has not yet been examined. In the current study, we hypothesized that these three constructs would show clear interrelations. Metacognitive capacity was predicted to correlate positively with cognitive control ability, which in turn was predicted to be positively related to resistance to mind wandering during sustained attention. Moreover, it was expected that participants with good metacognitive capacity would be better at the subjective recognition of behaviorally present mind wandering. Three tasks were used: The Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) to measure mind wandering, a perceptual decision task with confidence ratings to measure metacognitive efficiency, and a conflict task to measure cognitive control. Structural Equation Modelling was used to test the interrelations among the three constructs. As expected, metacognitive efficiency was positively related to cognitive control ability. Surprisingly, there was a negative relation between metacognitive efficiency and the degree to which subjective mind wandering reports tracked the behavioral index of mind wandering. No relation was found between cognitive control and behavioral mind wandering. The results of the current work are the first to shed light on the interrelations among these three constructs. PMID:29425205

Cognitive Performance and Heart Rate Variability: The Influence of Fitness Level

PubMed Central

Luque-Casado, Antonio; Zabala, Mikel; Morales, Esther; Mateo-March, Manuel; Sanabria, Daniel

2013-01-01

In the present study, we investigated the relation between cognitive performance and heart rate variability as a function of fitness level. We measured the effect of three cognitive tasks (the psychomotor vigilance task, a temporal orienting task, and a duration discrimination task) on the heart rate variability of two groups of participants: a high-fit group and a low-fit group. Two major novel findings emerged from this study. First, the lowest values of heart rate variability were found during performance of the duration discrimination task, compared to the other two tasks. Second, the results showed a decrement in heart rate variability as a function of the time on task, although only in the low-fit group. Moreover, the high-fit group showed overall faster reaction times than the low-fit group in the psychomotor vigilance task, while there were not significant differences in performance between the two groups of participants in the other two cognitive tasks. In sum, our results highlighted the influence of cognitive processing on heart rate variability. Importantly, both behavioral and physiological results suggested that the main benefit obtained as a result of fitness level appeared to be associated with processes involving sustained attention. PMID:23437276

Cognitive and Task Influences on Web Searching Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Kyung-Sun; Allen, Bryce

2002-01-01

Describes results from two independent investigations of college students that were conducted to study the impact of differences in users' cognition and search tasks on Web search activities and outcomes. Topics include cognitive style; problem-solving; and implications for the design and use of the Web and Web search engines. (Author/LRW)

Performance of Healthy Participants on the Iowa Gambling Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steingroever, Helen; Wetzels, Ruud; Horstmann, Annette; Neumann, Jane; Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan

2013-01-01

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994) is often used to assess decision-making deficits in clinical populations. The interpretation of the results hinges on 3 key assumptions: (a) healthy participants learn to prefer the good options over the bad options; (b) healthy participants show homogeneous choice behavior;…

Integration of Smart Board Technology and Effective Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Min, Kathryn; Siegel, Christine

2011-01-01

The proposed paper reports on the results of a study conducted to explore the influence of SMART Board technology on student engagement in and perception of classroom activities. Using momentary time-sampling procedures, this study examined differences in second grade students' on-task and off-task behaviors during 30-minute math and science…

Evaluating the Separate and Combined Effects of Positive and Negative Reinforcement on Task Compliance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bouxsein, Kelly J.; Roane, Henry S.; Harper, Tara

2011-01-01

Positive and negative reinforcement are effective for treating escape-maintained destructive behavior. The current study evaluated the separate and combined effects of these contingencies to increase task compliance. Results showed that a combination of positive and negative reinforcement was most effective for increasing compliance. (Contains 1…

Beyond Behavioral Inhibition: A Computer Avatar Task Designed to Assess Behavioral Inhibition Extends to Harm Avoidance.

PubMed

Allen, Michael Todd; Jameson, Molly M; Myers, Catherine E

2017-01-01

Personality factors such as behavioral inhibition (BI), a temperamental tendency for avoidance in the face of unfamiliar situations, have been identified as risk factors for anxiety disorders. Personality factors are generally identified through self-report inventories. However, this tendency to avoid may affect the accuracy of these self-report inventories. Previously, a computer based task was developed in which the participant guides an on-screen "avatar" through a series of onscreen events; performance on the task could accurately predict participants' BI, measured by a standard paper and pencil questionnaire (Adult Measure of Behavioral Inhibition, or AMBI). Here, we sought to replicate this finding as well as compare performance on the avatar task to another measure related to BI, the harm avoidance (HA) scale of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ). The TPQ includes HA scales as well as scales assessing reward dependence (RD), novelty seeking (NS) and persistence. One hundred and one undergraduates voluntarily completed the avatar task and the paper and pencil inventories in a counter-balanced order. Scores on the avatar task were strongly correlated with BI assessed via the AMBI questionnaire, which replicates prior findings. Females exhibited higher HA scores than males, but did not differ on scores on the avatar task. There was a strong positive relationship between scores on the avatar task and HA scores. One aspect of HA, fear of uncertainty was found to moderately mediate the relationship between AMBI scores and avatar scores. NS had a strong negative relationship with scores on the avatar task, but there was no significant relationship between RD and scores on the avatar task. These findings indicate the effectiveness of the avatar task as a behavioral alternative to self-report measures to assess avoidance. In addition, the use of computer based behavioral tasks are a viable alternative to paper and pencil self-report inventories, particularly when assessing anxiety and avoidance.

Visual Search Elicits the Electrophysiological Marker of Visual Working Memory

PubMed Central

Emrich, Stephen M.; Al-Aidroos, Naseem; Pratt, Jay; Ferber, Susanne

2009-01-01

Background Although limited in capacity, visual working memory (VWM) plays an important role in many aspects of visually-guided behavior. Recent experiments have demonstrated an electrophysiological marker of VWM encoding and maintenance, the contralateral delay activity (CDA), which has been shown in multiple tasks that have both explicit and implicit memory demands. Here, we investigate whether the CDA is evident during visual search, a thoroughly-researched task that is a hallmark of visual attention but has no explicit memory requirements. Methodology/Principal Findings The results demonstrate that the CDA is present during a lateralized search task, and that it is similar in amplitude to the CDA observed in a change-detection task, but peaks slightly later. The changes in CDA amplitude during search were strongly correlated with VWM capacity, as well as with search efficiency. These results were paralleled by behavioral findings showing a strong correlation between VWM capacity and search efficiency. Conclusions/Significance We conclude that the activity observed during visual search was generated by the same neural resources that subserve VWM, and that this activity reflects the maintenance of previously searched distractors. PMID:19956663

Validation of a Behavioral Approach for Measuring Saccades in Parkinson's Disease.

PubMed

Turner, Travis H; Renfroe, Jenna B; Duppstadt-Delambo, Amy; Hinson, Vanessa K

2017-01-01

Speed and control of saccades are related to disease progression and cognitive functioning in Parkinson's disease (PD). Traditional eye-tracking complexities encumber application for individual evaluations and clinical trials. The authors examined psychometric properties of standalone tasks for reflexive prosaccade latency, volitional saccade initiation, and saccade inhibition (antisaccade) in a heterogeneous sample of 65 PD patients. Demographics had minimal impact on task performance. Thirty-day test-retest reliability estimates for behavioral tasks were acceptable and similar to traditional eye tracking. Behavioral tasks demonstrated concurrent validity with traditional eye-tracking measures; discriminant validity was less clear. Saccade initiation and inhibition discriminated PD patients with cognitive impairment. The present findings support further development and use of the behavioral tasks for assessing latency and control of saccades in PD.

Is there a geometric module for spatial orientation? Insights from a rodent navigation model.

PubMed

Sheynikhovich, Denis; Chavarriaga, Ricardo; Strösslin, Thomas; Arleo, Angelo; Gerstner, Wulfram

2009-07-01

Modern psychological theories of spatial cognition postulate the existence of a geometric module for reorientation. This concept is derived from experimental data showing that in rectangular arenas with distinct landmarks in the corners, disoriented rats often make diagonal errors, suggesting their preference for the geometric (arena shape) over the nongeometric (landmarks) cues. Moreover, sensitivity of hippocampal cell firing to changes in the environment layout was taken in support of the geometric module hypothesis. Using a computational model of rat navigation, the authors proposed and tested the alternative hypothesis that the influence of spatial geometry on both behavioral and neuronal levels can be explained by the properties of visual features that constitute local views of the environment. Their modeling results suggest that the pattern of diagonal errors observed in reorientation tasks can be understood by the analysis of sensory information processing that underlies the navigation strategy employed to solve the task. In particular, 2 navigation strategies were considered: (a) a place-based locale strategy that relies on a model of grid and place cells and (b) a stimulus-response taxon strategy that involves direct association of local views with action choices. The authors showed that the application of the 2 strategies in the reorientation tasks results in different patterns of diagonal errors, consistent with behavioral data. These results argue against the geometric module hypothesis by providing a simpler and biologically more plausible explanation for the related experimental data. Moreover, the same model also describes behavioral results in different types of water-maze tasks. Copyright (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

The effects of goal setting on rugby performance.

PubMed

Mellalieu, Stephen D; Hanton, Sheldon; O'Brien, Michael

2006-01-01

Goal-setting effects on selected performance behaviors of 5 collegiate rugby players were assessed over an entire competitive season using self-generated targets and goal-attainment scaling. Results suggest that goal setting was effective for enhancing task-specific on-field behavior in rugby union.

Sex differences in behavioral outcome following neonatal hypoxia ischemia: insights from a clinical meta-analysis and a rodent model of induced hypoxic ischemic brain injury.

PubMed

Smith, Amanda L; Alexander, Michelle; Rosenkrantz, Ted S; Sadek, Mona Lisa; Fitch, R Holly

2014-04-01

Hypoxia ischemia (HI; reduced oxygen and/or blood flow to the brain) is one of the most common injuries among preterm infants and term infants with birth complications. Both populations show cognitive/behavioral deficits, including impairments in sensory, learning/memory, and attention domains. Clinical data suggests a sex difference in HI outcomes, with males exhibiting more severe cognitive/behavioral deficits relative to matched females. Our laboratory has also reported more severe behavioral deficits among male rats with induced HI relative to females with comparable injury (Hill et al., 2011a,b). The current study initially examined published clinical studies from the past 20years where long-term IQ outcome scores for matched groups of male and female premature infants were reported separately (IQ being the most common outcome measure). A meta-analysis revealed a female "advantage," as indicated by significantly better scores on performance and full scale IQ (but not verbal IQ) for premature females. We then utilized a rodent model of neonatal HI injury to assess sham and postnatal day 7 (P7) HI male and female rats on a battery of behavioral tasks. Results showed expected deficits in HI male rats, but also showed task-dependent sex differences, with HI males having significantly larger deficits than HI females on some tasks but equivalent deficits on other tasks. In contrast to behavioral results, post mortem neuropathology associated with HI was comparable across sex. These findings suggest: 1) neonatal female "protection" in some behavioral domains, as indexed by superior outcome following early injury relative to males; and 2) female protection may entail sex-specific plasticity or compensation, rather than a reduction in gross neuropathology. Further exploration of the mechanisms underlying this sex effect could aid in neuroprotection efforts for at-risk neonates in general, and males in particular. Moreover, our current report of comparable anatomical damage coupled with differences in cognitive outcomes (by sex) provides a framework for future studies to examine neural mechanisms underlying sex differences in cognition and behavior in general. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The cold driver: Cold stress while driving results in dangerous behavior.

PubMed

Morris, Drew M; Pilcher, June J

2016-10-01

Cool vehicle cabin temperatures can induce short-term non-hypothermic cold stress. The current study created a cold condition to examine the impact of cold stress on driving behavior. Forty-four participants drove a high-fidelity driving simulator during a thermal neutral or local torso cooled condition. Participants performed additional tasks to assess attention, psychomotor vigilance, and manual dexterity. Skin temperature was significantly lower in the cold condition while internal temperature was unaffected. Participants who had higher subjective ratings of cold followed lead vehicles closer and started to brake later. Participants in the cold condition followed the lead car 22% (0.82s) closer and started braking 20% (2.35s) later when approaching a stop sign during the car-following task. No change in attention, psychomotor vigilance, or dexterity was observed. The current results suggest that cold environmental conditions can contribute to dangerous driving behaviors. Measures of cold perception were also shown to predict changes in driving behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the behavioral characteristics of the mdx mouse model of duchenne muscular dystrophy through operant conditioning procedures.

PubMed

Lewon, Matthew; Peters, Christina M; Van Ry, Pam M; Burkin, Dean J; Hunter, Kenneth W; Hayes, Linda J

2017-09-01

The mdx mouse is an important nonhuman model for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) research. Characterizing the behavioral traits of the strain relative to congenic wild-type (WT) mice may enhance our understanding of the cognitive deficits observed in some humans with DMD and contribute to treatment development and evaluation. In this paper we report the results of a number of experiments comparing the behavior of mdx to WT mice in operant conditioning procedures designed to assess learning and memory. We found that mdx outperformed WT in all learning and memory tasks involving food reinforcement, and this appeared to be related to the differential effects of the food deprivation motivating operation on mdx mice. Conversely, WT outperformed mdx in an escape/avoidance learning task. These results suggest motivational differences between the strains and demonstrate the potential utility of operant conditioning procedures in the assessment of the behavioral characteristics of the mdx mouse. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The impact of facial emotional expressions on behavioral tendencies in females and males

PubMed Central

Seidel, Eva-Maria; Habel, Ute; Kirschner, Michaela; Gur, Ruben C.; Derntl, Birgit

2010-01-01

Emotional faces communicate both the emotional state and behavioral intentions of an individual. They also activate behavioral tendencies in the perceiver, namely approach or avoidance. Here, we compared more automatic motor to more conscious rating responses to happy, sad, angry and disgusted faces in a healthy student sample. Happiness was associated with approach and anger with avoidance. However, behavioral tendencies in response to sadness and disgust were more complex. Sadness produced automatic approach but conscious withdrawal, probably influenced by interpersonal relations or personality. Disgust elicited withdrawal in the rating task whereas no significant tendency emerged in the joystick task, probably driven by expression style. Based on our results it is highly relevant to further explore actual reactions to emotional expressions and to differentiate between automatic and controlled processes since emotional faces are used in various kinds of studies. Moreover, our results highlight the importance of gender of poser effects when applying emotional expressions as stimuli. PMID:20364933

Standards of Evidence for Behavioral Counseling Recommendations.

PubMed

McNellis, Robert J; Ory, Marcia G; Lin, Jennifer S; O'Connor, Elizabeth A

2015-09-01

Behavioral counseling interventions to promote healthy behaviors can significantly reduce leading causes of disease and death. Recommendations for delivery of these interventions in primary care have been and continue to be an important part of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's portfolio of clinical preventive services recommendations. However, primary and secondary research on the effectiveness of behavioral counseling interventions can be more complex than recommendations for screening or use of preventive medications. The nature of behavior change and interventions to promote it can lead to unique challenges. This paper summarizes and expands upon an extensive discussion held at the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's Expert Forum on behavioral counseling interventions held in November 2013. The paper describes the foundational challenges for using behavioral outcomes as evidence to support a Task Force recommendation. The paper discusses research design and reporting characteristics needed by behavioral counseling intervention researchers in order for their research to contribute to the evidentiary basis of a Task Force recommendation. Finally, the paper identifies critical issues that need to be considered by the Task Force and other stakeholders to maintain confidence and credibility in the standards of evidence for behavioral counseling recommendations. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Behavioral Counseling Interventions Expert Forum: Overview and Primer on U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Methods.

PubMed

Curry, Susan J; Whitlock, Evelyn P

2015-09-01

The importance of behavioral counseling as a clinical preventive service derives from the social and economic burden of preventable disease in the U.S., the central role behavioral risk factors play as leading causes of premature morbidity and mortality, and the promise of the healthcare visit as a teachable moment for behavioral counseling support. In November 2013, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force convened an expert forum on behavioral counseling interventions. The forum brought together NIH, CDC, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality leaders, leading behavioral counseling researchers, and members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to discuss issues related to optimizing evidence-based behavioral counseling recommendations. This paper provides an overview of the methods used by the Task Force to develop counseling recommendations. Special focus is on the development and evaluation of evidence from systematic reviews. Assessment of the net benefit of a behavioral counseling intervention, based on the evidence review, determines the recommendation statement and accompanying letter grade. A recent Task Force recommendation on screening and behavioral counseling interventions in primary care to reduce alcohol misuse provides a brief example. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adaptive group coordination and role differentiation.

PubMed

Roberts, Michael E; Goldstone, Robert L

2011-01-01

Many real world situations (potluck dinners, academic departments, sports teams, corporate divisions, committees, seminar classes, etc.) involve actors adjusting their contributions in order to achieve a mutually satisfactory group goal, a win-win result. However, the majority of human group research has involved situations where groups perform poorly because task constraints promote either individual maximization behavior or diffusion of responsibility, and even successful tasks generally involve the propagation of one correct solution through a group. Here we introduce a group task that requires complementary actions among participants in order to reach a shared goal. Without communication, group members submit numbers in an attempt to collectively sum to a randomly selected target number. After receiving group feedback, members adjust their submitted numbers until the target number is reached. For all groups, performance improves with task experience, and group reactivity decreases over rounds. Our empirical results provide evidence for adaptive coordination in human groups, and as the coordination costs increase with group size, large groups adapt through spontaneous role differentiation and self-consistency among members. We suggest several agent-based models with different rules for agent reactions, and we show that the empirical results are best fit by a flexible, adaptive agent strategy in which agents decrease their reactions when the group feedback changes. The task offers a simple experimental platform for studying the general problem of group coordination while maximizing group returns, and we distinguish the task from several games in behavioral game theory.

Impaired risk evaluation in people with Internet gaming disorder: fMRI evidence from a probability discounting task.

PubMed

Lin, Xiao; Zhou, Hongli; Dong, Guangheng; Du, Xiaoxia

2015-01-02

This study examined how Internet gaming disorder (IGD) subjects modulating reward and risk at a neural level under a probability-discounting task with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Behavioral and imaging data were collected from 19 IGD subjects (22.2 ± 3.08 years) and 21 healthy controls (HC, 22.8 ± 3.5 years). Behavior results showed that IGD subjects prefer the probabilistic options to fixed ones and were associated with shorter reaction time, when comparing to HC. The fMRI results revealed that IGD subjects show decreased activation in the inferior frontal gyrus and the precentral gyrus when choosing the probabilistic options than HC. Correlations were also calculated between behavioral performances and brain activities in relevant brain regions. Both of the behavioral performance and fMRI results indicate that people with IGD show impaired risk evaluation, which might be the reason why IGD subjects continue playing online games despite the risks of widely known negative consequence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Differences in cooperative behavior among Damaraland mole rats are consequences of an age-related polyethism

PubMed Central

Zöttl, Markus; Vullioud, Philippe; Mendonça, Rute; Torrents Ticó, Miquel; Gaynor, David; Mitchell, Adam; Clutton-Brock, Tim

2016-01-01

In many cooperative breeders, the contributions of helpers to cooperative activities change with age, resulting in age-related polyethisms. In contrast, some studies of social mole rats (including naked mole rats, Heterocephalus glaber, and Damaraland mole rats, Fukomys damarensis) suggest that individual differences in cooperative behavior are the result of divergent developmental pathways, leading to discrete and permanent functional categories of helpers that resemble the caste systems found in eusocial insects. Here we show that, in Damaraland mole rats, individual contributions to cooperative behavior increase with age and are higher in fast-growing individuals. Individual contributions to different cooperative tasks are intercorrelated and repeatability of cooperative behavior is similar to that found in other cooperatively breeding vertebrates. Our data provide no evidence that nonreproductive individuals show divergent developmental pathways or specialize in particular tasks. Instead of representing a caste system, variation in the behavior of nonreproductive individuals in Damaraland mole rats closely resembles that found in other cooperatively breeding mammals and appears to be a consequence of age-related polyethism. PMID:27588902

Kids, candy, brain and behavior: age differences in responses to candy gains and losses.

PubMed

Luking, Katherine R; Luby, Joan L; Barch, Deanna M

2014-07-01

The development of reward-related neural systems, from adolescence through adulthood, has received much recent attention in the developmental neuroimaging literature. However, few studies have investigated behavioral and neural responses to both gains and losses in pre-pubertal child populations. To address this gap in the literature, in the present study healthy children aged 7-11 years and young-adults completed an fMRI card-guessing game using candy pieces delivered post-scan as an incentive. Age differences in behavioral and neural responses to candy gains/losses were investigated. Adults and children displayed similar responses to gains, but robust age differences were observed following candy losses within the caudate, thalamus, insula, and hippocampus. Interestingly, when task behavior was included as a factor in post hoc mediation analyses, activation following loss within the caudate/thalamus related to task behavior and relationships with age were no longer significant. Conversely, relationships between response to loss and age within the hippocampus and insula remained significant even when controlling for behavior, with children showing heightened loss responses within the dorsal/posterior insula. These results suggest that both age and task behavior influence responses within the extended reward circuitry, and that children seem to be more sensitive than adults to loss feedback particularly within the dorsal/posterior insula. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Multi-agent cooperation rescue algorithm based on influence degree and state prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Yanbin; Ma, Guangfu; Wang, Linlin; Xi, Pengxue

2018-04-01

Aiming at the multi-agent cooperative rescue in disaster, a multi-agent cooperative rescue algorithm based on impact degree and state prediction is proposed. Firstly, based on the influence of the information in the scene on the collaborative task, the influence degree function is used to filter the information. Secondly, using the selected information to predict the state of the system and Agent behavior. Finally, according to the result of the forecast, the cooperative behavior of Agent is guided and improved the efficiency of individual collaboration. The simulation results show that this algorithm can effectively solve the cooperative rescue problem of multi-agent and ensure the efficient completion of the task.

Modeling Search Behaviors during the Acquisition of Expertise in a Sequential Decision-Making Task.

PubMed

Moënne-Loccoz, Cristóbal; Vergara, Rodrigo C; López, Vladimir; Mery, Domingo; Cosmelli, Diego

2017-01-01

Our daily interaction with the world is plagued of situations in which we develop expertise through self-motivated repetition of the same task. In many of these interactions, and especially when dealing with computer and machine interfaces, we must deal with sequences of decisions and actions. For instance, when drawing cash from an ATM machine, choices are presented in a step-by-step fashion and a specific sequence of choices must be performed in order to produce the expected outcome. But, as we become experts in the use of such interfaces, is it possible to identify specific search and learning strategies? And if so, can we use this information to predict future actions? In addition to better understanding the cognitive processes underlying sequential decision making, this could allow building adaptive interfaces that can facilitate interaction at different moments of the learning curve. Here we tackle the question of modeling sequential decision-making behavior in a simple human-computer interface that instantiates a 4-level binary decision tree (BDT) task. We record behavioral data from voluntary participants while they attempt to solve the task. Using a Hidden Markov Model-based approach that capitalizes on the hierarchical structure of behavior, we then model their performance during the interaction. Our results show that partitioning the problem space into a small set of hierarchically related stereotyped strategies can potentially capture a host of individual decision making policies. This allows us to follow how participants learn and develop expertise in the use of the interface. Moreover, using a Mixture of Experts based on these stereotyped strategies, the model is able to predict the behavior of participants that master the task.

Attention toward contexts modulates context-specificity of behavior in human predictive learning: Evidence from the n-back task.

PubMed

Uengoer, Metin; Lucke, Sara; Lachnit, Harald

2018-02-20

According to the attentional theory of context processing (ATCP), learning becomes context specific when acquired under conditions that promote attention toward contextual stimuli regardless of whether attention deployment is guided by learning experience or by other factors unrelated to learning. In one experiment with humans, we investigated whether performance in a predictive learning task can be brought under contextual control by means of a secondary task that was unrelated to predictive learning, but supposed to modulate participants' attention toward contexts. Initially, participants acquired cue-outcome relationships presented in contexts that were each composed of two elements from two dimensions. Acquisition training in the predictive learning task was combined with a one-back task that required participants to match across consecutive trials context elements belonging to one of the two dimensions. During a subsequent test, we observed that acquisition behavior in the predictive learning task was disrupted by changing the acquisition context along the dimension that was relevant for the one-back task, while there was no evidence for context specificity of predictive learning when the acquisition context was changed along the dimension that was irrelevant for the one-back task. Our results support the generality of the principles advocated by ATCP.

Glucocorticoid Regulation of Food-Choice Behavior in Humans: Evidence from Cushing's Syndrome

PubMed Central

Moeller, Scott J.; Couto, Lizette; Cohen, Vanessa; Lalazar, Yelena; Makotkine, Iouri; Williams, Nia; Yehuda, Rachel; Goldstein, Rita Z.; Geer, Eliza B.

2016-01-01

The mechanisms by which glucocorticoids regulate food intake and resulting body mass in humans are not well-understood. One potential mechanism could involve modulation of reward processing, but human stress models examining effects of glucocorticoids on behavior contain important confounds. Here, we studied individuals with Cushing's syndrome, a rare endocrine disorder characterized by chronic excess endogenous glucocorticoids. Twenty-three patients with Cushing's syndrome (13 with active disease; 10 with disease in remission) and 15 controls with a comparably high body mass index (BMI) completed two simulated food-choice tasks (one with “explicit” task contingencies and one with “probabilistic” task contingencies), during which they indicated their objective preference for viewing high calorie food images vs. standardized pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral images. All participants also completed measures of food craving, and approximately half of the participants provided 24-h urine samples for assessment of cortisol and cortisone concentrations. Results showed that on the explicit task (but not the probabilistic task), participants with active Cushing's syndrome made fewer food-related choices than participants with Cushing's syndrome in remission, who in turn made fewer food-related choices than overweight controls. Corroborating this group effect, higher urine cortisone was negatively correlated with food-related choice in the subsample of all participants for whom these data were available. On the probabilistic task, despite a lack of group differences, higher food-related choice correlated with higher state and trait food craving in active Cushing's patients. Taken together, relative to overweight controls, Cushing's patients, particularly those with active disease, displayed a reduced vigor of responding for food rewards that was presumably attributable to glucocorticoid abnormalities. Beyond Cushing's, these results may have relevance for elucidating glucocorticoid contributions to food-seeking behavior, enhancing mechanistic understanding of weight fluctuations associated with oral glucocorticoid therapy and/or chronic stress, and informing the neurobiology of neuropsychiatric conditions marked by abnormal cortisol dynamics (e.g., major depression, Alzheimer's disease). PMID:26903790

Glucocorticoid Regulation of Food-Choice Behavior in Humans: Evidence from Cushing's Syndrome.

PubMed

Moeller, Scott J; Couto, Lizette; Cohen, Vanessa; Lalazar, Yelena; Makotkine, Iouri; Williams, Nia; Yehuda, Rachel; Goldstein, Rita Z; Geer, Eliza B

2016-01-01

The mechanisms by which glucocorticoids regulate food intake and resulting body mass in humans are not well-understood. One potential mechanism could involve modulation of reward processing, but human stress models examining effects of glucocorticoids on behavior contain important confounds. Here, we studied individuals with Cushing's syndrome, a rare endocrine disorder characterized by chronic excess endogenous glucocorticoids. Twenty-three patients with Cushing's syndrome (13 with active disease; 10 with disease in remission) and 15 controls with a comparably high body mass index (BMI) completed two simulated food-choice tasks (one with "explicit" task contingencies and one with "probabilistic" task contingencies), during which they indicated their objective preference for viewing high calorie food images vs. standardized pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral images. All participants also completed measures of food craving, and approximately half of the participants provided 24-h urine samples for assessment of cortisol and cortisone concentrations. Results showed that on the explicit task (but not the probabilistic task), participants with active Cushing's syndrome made fewer food-related choices than participants with Cushing's syndrome in remission, who in turn made fewer food-related choices than overweight controls. Corroborating this group effect, higher urine cortisone was negatively correlated with food-related choice in the subsample of all participants for whom these data were available. On the probabilistic task, despite a lack of group differences, higher food-related choice correlated with higher state and trait food craving in active Cushing's patients. Taken together, relative to overweight controls, Cushing's patients, particularly those with active disease, displayed a reduced vigor of responding for food rewards that was presumably attributable to glucocorticoid abnormalities. Beyond Cushing's, these results may have relevance for elucidating glucocorticoid contributions to food-seeking behavior, enhancing mechanistic understanding of weight fluctuations associated with oral glucocorticoid therapy and/or chronic stress, and informing the neurobiology of neuropsychiatric conditions marked by abnormal cortisol dynamics (e.g., major depression, Alzheimer's disease).

The Effect of iPad Use during Independent Practice for Students with Challenging Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flower, Andrea

2014-01-01

In the classroom, time on-task is critical because it is linked to learning and success. When off-task behaviors occur, substantial learning and instructional time may be lost. Many students with disabilities struggle with remaining on-task, particularly during independent practice periods. Strategies to increase time on-task during classroom…

The Effects of Describing Antecedent Stimuli and Performance Criteria in Task Analysis Instruction for Graphing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tyner, Bryan C.; Fienup, Daniel M.

2016-01-01

Task analyses are ubiquitous to applied behavior analysis interventions, yet little is known about the factors that make them effective. Numerous task analyses have been published in behavior analytic journals for constructing single-subject design graphs; however, learner outcomes using these task analyses may fall short of what could be…

Eye-scan behavior in a flight simulation task as a function of level of training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Comstock, J. R., Jr.; Coates, G. D.; Kirby, R. H.

1985-01-01

The present study explored eye-scan behavior as a function of level of subject training. Oculometric (eye-scan) measures were recorded from each of ten subjects during training trials on a CRT-based flight simulation task. The task developed for the study incorporated subtasks representative of specific activities performed by pilots, but which could be performed at asymptotic levels within relatively short periods of training. Changes in eye-scan behavior were examined as initially untrained subjects developed skill in the task. Eye-scan predictors of performance on the task were found. Examination of eye-scan in proximity to selected task events revealed differences in the distribution of looks at the instruments as a function of level of training.

Complex monitoring performance and the coronary-prone Type A behavior pattern.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1986-03-01

The present study examined the possible relationship of the coronary-prone Type A behavior pattern to performance of a complex monitoring task. The task was designed to functionally simulate the general task characteristics of future, highly automate...

Effects of production training and perception training on lexical tone perception--A behavioral and ERP study.

PubMed

Lu, Shuang; Wayland, Ratree; Kaan, Edith

2015-10-22

The present study recorded both behavioral data and event-related brain potentials to examine the effectiveness of a perception-only training and a perception-plus-production training procedure on the intentional and unintentional perception of lexical tone by native English listeners. In the behavioral task, both the perception-only and the perception-plus-production groups improved on the tone discrimination abilities after the training session. Moreover, the participants in both groups generalized the improvements gained through the trained stimuli to the untrained stimuli. In the ERP task, the Mismatch Negativity was smaller in the post-training task than in the pre-training task. However, the two training groups did not differ in tone processing at the intentional or unintentional level after training. These results suggest that the employment of the motor system does not specifically benefit the tone perceptual skills. Furthermore, the present study investigated whether some tone pairs are more easily confused than others by native English listeners, and whether the order of tone presentation influences non-native tone discrimination. In the behavioral task, Tone2-Tone1 (rising-level) and Tone2-Tone4 (rising-falling) were the most difficult tone pairs, while Tone1-Tone2 and Tone4-Tone2 were the easiest tone pairs, even though they involved the same tone contrasts respectively. In the ERP task, the native English listeners had good discrimination when Tone2 and Tone4 were embedded in strings of Tone1, while poor discrimination when Tone1 was inserted in the context of Tone2 or Tone4. These asymmetries in tone perception might be attributed to the interference of native intonation system and can be altered by training. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of executive function in adolescence: a comparison of traditional and virtual reality tools.

PubMed

Lalonde, Gabrielle; Henry, Mylène; Drouin-Germain, Anne; Nolin, Pierre; Beauchamp, Miriam H

2013-09-30

Paper-pencil type tests are traditionally used in the assessment of executive functions (EF); however, concerns have been raised as to whether these represent actual functioning in everyday life. Virtual reality (VR) environments offer a novel alternative for the assessment of cognitive function and therefore have the potential to enhance the evaluation of EF by presenting individuals with stimuli that come closer to reproducing everyday situations. The aims of this study were to (1) establish which traditional paper-pencil EF tests from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) are associated with performance on a VR-Stroop task and (2) compare D-KEFS tests and the VR-Stroop task in their ability to predict everyday EF and behavior, as measured by the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Thirty-eight typically developing adolescents aged between 13 and 17 years completed the ClinicaVR: Classroom-Stroop, and five D-KEFS subtests (Trail Making, Tower, Twenty Questions, Verbal Fluency and Color-Word Interference). Their parents completed the BRIEF and CBCL questionnaires. The results indicate that performance on the VR-Stroop task correlates with both traditional forms of EF assessment (D-KEFS, BRIEF). In particular, performance on the VR-Stroop task was closely associated with performance on a paper-pencil inhibition task. Furthermore, VR-Stroop performance more accurately reflected everyday behavioral EF than paper-pencil tasks. VR appears to offer an ecological perspective on everyday functioning and could be seen as complementary to traditional tests in the assessment of complex cognitive abilities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neuropsychological correlates of theory of mind in patients with early Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Santangelo, Gabriella; Vitale, Carmine; Trojano, Luigi; Errico, Domenico; Amboni, Marianna; Barbarulo, Anna Maria; Grossi, Dario; Barone, Paolo

2012-01-01

The theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires and intentions different from one's own. The aim of the study was to explore the neuropsychological correlates of theory of mind in patients affected by early Parkinson's disease (PD). Thirty-three PD patients and 33 age-, sex-, and education-matched control subjects underwent the Frontal Assessment Battery, as well as tasks assessing "cognitive" and "affective" theory of mind, and memory abilities; questionnaires evaluating behavioral disorders and quality of life were also administrated. Although the 2 groups did not differ on neuropsychological tasks, PD patients' performance on tasks assessing cognitive and affective theory of mind was significantly worse than controls. Moreover, PD patients had more behavioral disorders and worse quality of life than controls. After covarying for behavioral and quality of life scores, the differences between patients and controls on theory of mind tasks remained significant. "Cognitive" theory of mind was associated with Frontal Assessment Battery score and 2 domains of quality of life scale, whereas "affective" theory of mind scores correlated only with behavioral scales such as the Frontal Behavioral Inventory and Apathy Evaluation Scale. The results demonstrate that both affective and cognitive aspects of theory of mind are simultaneously impaired in early PD and suggest that deficits in the 2 subcomponents of theory of mind may be linked to dysfunction of different frontosubcortical circuitries in early PD. Copyright © 2011 Movement Disorder Society.

Maternal Control and Sensitivity, Child Gender, and Maternal Education in Relation to Children's Behavioral Outcomes in African American Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine S.; Briggs, Rahil D.; McClowry, Sandra G.; Snow, David L.

2009-01-01

This study examined relationships between mother-child interactions and children's behaviors in 119 urban African American mothers and their 6-7 year old children. Interactions during a cooking task and a follow-up child clean-up task were videotaped. Principal components analyses of behaviors during the cooking task yielded two factors in mothers…

Functional Roles of Neural Preparatory Processes in a Cued Stroop Task Revealed by Linking Electrophysiology with Behavioral Performance

PubMed Central

Wang, Chao; Ding, Mingzhou; Kluger, Benzi M.

2015-01-01

It is well established that cuing facilitates behavioral performance and that different aspects of instructional cues evoke specific neural preparatory processes in cued task-switching paradigms. To deduce the functional role of these neural preparatory processes the majority of studies vary aspects of the experimental paradigm and describe how these variations alter markers of neural preparatory processes. Although these studies provide important insights, they also have notable limitations, particularly in terms of understanding the causal or functional relationship of neural markers to cognitive and behavioral processes. In this study, we sought to address these limitations and uncover the functional roles of neural processes by examining how variability in the amplitude of neural preparatory processes predicts behavioral performance to subsequent stimuli. To achieve this objective 16 young adults were recruited to perform a cued Stroop task while their brain activity was measured using high-density electroencephalography. Four temporally overlapping but functionally and topographically distinct cue-triggered event related potentials (ERPs) were identified: 1) A left-frontotemporal negativity (250-700 ms) that was positively associated with word-reading performance; 2) a midline-frontal negativity (450-800 ms) that was positively associated with color-naming and incongruent performance; 3) a left-frontal negativity (450-800 ms) that was positively associated with switch trial performance; and 4) a centroparietal positivity (450-800 ms) that was positively associated with performance for almost all trial types. These results suggest that at least four dissociable cognitive processes are evoked by instructional cues in the present task, including: 1) domain-specific task facilitation; 2) switch-specific task-set reconfiguration; 3) preparation for response conflict; and 4) proactive attentional control. Examining the relationship between ERPs and behavioral performance provides a functional link between neural markers and the cognitive processes they index. PMID:26230662

Use of a Simulated Work Setting to Study Behavior-Based Safety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston, Michael R.; Hayes, Linda J.

2005-01-01

A need exists for a controlled examination of the variables that may affect the results of a behavior-based safety program. These include the rate of risky behaviors and how they relate to a contingent bonus payout (Experiment 1), and the relative amounts of honesty in injury reporting and rule following (Experiment 2). A simple task consisting of…

Pathological Imitative Behavior and Response Preparation in Schizophrenia.

PubMed

Dankinas, Denisas; Melynyte, Sigita; Siurkute, Aldona; Dapsys, Kastytis

2017-08-01

Pathological imitative behavior (ehopraxia) is occasionally observed in schizophrenia patients. However, only a severe form of echopraxia can be detected with the help of a direct observation. Therefore, our goal was to study a latent form of pathological imitative behavior in this disorder, which is indicated by an increase of imitative tendencies. In our study, 14 schizophrenia patients and 15 healthy subjects were employed in two tasks: (a) in an imitative task they had to copy a hand action seen on a screen; (b) in a counter-imitative task they had to make a different movement (which involves an inhibition of prepotent imitative tendency that is impaired in case of pathological imitative behavior). Imitative tendencies were assessed by an interference score - a difference between counter-imitative and imitative response parameters. We also studied a response preparation in both groups by employing precueing probabilistic information. Our results revealed that schizophrenia patients were able to employ probabilistic information to prepare properly not only the imitative, but also the counter-imitative responses, the same as the healthy subjects did. Nevertheless, we detected increased prepotent imitative tendencies in schizophrenia patients, what indicates the latent pathological imitative behavior in case of this disorder. The obtained results suggest that in the case of schizophrenia problems with pathological imitative behavior more likely occurred in executive rather than in the preparatory stage of response. Our findings can help to detect a latent echopraxia in schizophrenia patients that cannot be revealed by direct observation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Identifying optimum performance trade-offs using a cognitively bounded rational analysis model of discretionary task interleaving.

PubMed

Janssen, Christian P; Brumby, Duncan P; Dowell, John; Chater, Nick; Howes, Andrew

2011-01-01

We report the results of a dual-task study in which participants performed a tracking and typing task under various experimental conditions. An objective payoff function was used to provide explicit feedback on how participants should trade off performance between the tasks. Results show that participants' dual-task interleaving strategy was sensitive to changes in the difficulty of the tracking task and resulted in differences in overall task performance. To test the hypothesis that people select strategies that maximize payoff, a Cognitively Bounded Rational Analysis model was developed. This analysis evaluated a variety of dual-task interleaving strategies to identify the optimal strategy for maximizing payoff in each condition. The model predicts that the region of optimum performance is different between experimental conditions. The correspondence between human data and the prediction of the optimal strategy is found to be remarkably high across a number of performance measures. This suggests that participants were honing their behavior to maximize payoff. Limitations are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Reduced mental capacity and behavior of a rider of a bicycle simulator under alcohol stress or under dual task load

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soede, M.

1977-01-01

Experiments were carried out on a bicycle simulator with alcohol administration and a binary choice task in separate sessions, intending to reduce the subject's mental capacity. Before and after such sessions a visual evoked response measurement was done. The subject's performance was analyzed with describing function techniques. The results indicate that the alcohol affects the course-following task as well as the balancing task. The binary choice task is more specifically influencing the course-following task. The dual task shows a more pronounced effect on the recovery of the evoked response. The alcohol is delaying the recovery curve of the evoked response. A tentative explanation can be given which agrees with the performance data.

A Case Study of Positive Behavior Supports-Based Interventions in a Seventh-Grade Urban Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollingshead, Aleksandra; Kroeger, Stephen D.; Altus, Jillian; Trytten, Joyce Brubaker

2016-01-01

Struggling with frequent off-task behavior, a teacher in a midwestern inner-city high school requested assistance in her social studies classroom. A study was designed to investigate if a combination of positive behavior supports-based interventions such as behavior-specific praise and reduced teacher reprimands might improve on-task behavior. A…

The Effects of Goal Setting on Rugby Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mellalieu, Stephen D.; Hanton, Sheldon; O'Brien, Michael

2006-01-01

Goal-setting effects on selected performance behaviors of 5 collegiate rugby players were assessed over an entire competitive season using self-generated targets and goal-attainment scaling. Results suggest that goal setting was effective for enhancing task-specific on-field behavior in rugby union. (Contains 1 figure.)

Of goals and habits: age-related and individual differences in goal-directed decision-making.

PubMed

Eppinger, Ben; Walter, Maik; Heekeren, Hauke R; Li, Shu-Chen

2013-01-01

In this study we investigated age-related and individual differences in habitual (model-free) and goal-directed (model-based) decision-making. Specifically, we were interested in three questions. First, does age affect the balance between model-based and model-free decision mechanisms? Second, are these age-related changes due to age differences in working memory (WM) capacity? Third, can model-based behavior be affected by manipulating the distinctiveness of the reward value of choice options? To answer these questions we used a two-stage Markov decision task in in combination with computational modeling to dissociate model-based and model-free decision mechanisms. To affect model-based behavior in this task we manipulated the distinctiveness of reward probabilities of choice options. The results show age-related deficits in model-based decision-making, which are particularly pronounced if unexpected reward indicates the need for a shift in decision strategy. In this situation younger adults explore the task structure, whereas older adults show perseverative behavior. Consistent with previous findings, these results indicate that older adults have deficits in the representation and updating of expected reward value. We also observed substantial individual differences in model-based behavior. In younger adults high WM capacity is associated with greater model-based behavior and this effect is further elevated when reward probabilities are more distinct. However, in older adults we found no effect of WM capacity. Moreover, age differences in model-based behavior remained statistically significant, even after controlling for WM capacity. Thus, factors other than decline in WM, such as deficits in the in the integration of expected reward value into strategic decisions may contribute to the observed impairments in model-based behavior in older adults.

Of goals and habits: age-related and individual differences in goal-directed decision-making

PubMed Central

Eppinger, Ben; Walter, Maik; Heekeren, Hauke R.; Li, Shu-Chen

2013-01-01

In this study we investigated age-related and individual differences in habitual (model-free) and goal-directed (model-based) decision-making. Specifically, we were interested in three questions. First, does age affect the balance between model-based and model-free decision mechanisms? Second, are these age-related changes due to age differences in working memory (WM) capacity? Third, can model-based behavior be affected by manipulating the distinctiveness of the reward value of choice options? To answer these questions we used a two-stage Markov decision task in in combination with computational modeling to dissociate model-based and model-free decision mechanisms. To affect model-based behavior in this task we manipulated the distinctiveness of reward probabilities of choice options. The results show age-related deficits in model-based decision-making, which are particularly pronounced if unexpected reward indicates the need for a shift in decision strategy. In this situation younger adults explore the task structure, whereas older adults show perseverative behavior. Consistent with previous findings, these results indicate that older adults have deficits in the representation and updating of expected reward value. We also observed substantial individual differences in model-based behavior. In younger adults high WM capacity is associated with greater model-based behavior and this effect is further elevated when reward probabilities are more distinct. However, in older adults we found no effect of WM capacity. Moreover, age differences in model-based behavior remained statistically significant, even after controlling for WM capacity. Thus, factors other than decline in WM, such as deficits in the in the integration of expected reward value into strategic decisions may contribute to the observed impairments in model-based behavior in older adults. PMID:24399925

Consolidating the effects of waking and sleep on motor-sequence learning.

PubMed

Brawn, Timothy P; Fenn, Kimberly M; Nusbaum, Howard C; Margoliash, Daniel

2010-10-20

Sleep is widely believed to play a critical role in memory consolidation. Sleep-dependent consolidation has been studied extensively in humans using an explicit motor-sequence learning paradigm. In this task, performance has been reported to remain stable across wakefulness and improve significantly after sleep, making motor-sequence learning the definitive example of sleep-dependent enhancement. Recent work, however, has shown that enhancement disappears when the task is modified to reduce task-related inhibition that develops over a training session, thus questioning whether sleep actively consolidates motor learning. Here we use the same motor-sequence task to demonstrate sleep-dependent consolidation for motor-sequence learning and explain the discrepancies in results across studies. We show that when training begins in the morning, motor-sequence performance deteriorates across wakefulness and recovers after sleep, whereas performance remains stable across both sleep and subsequent waking with evening training. This pattern of results challenges an influential model of memory consolidation defined by a time-dependent stabilization phase and a sleep-dependent enhancement phase. Moreover, the present results support a new account of the behavioral effects of waking and sleep on explicit motor-sequence learning that is consistent across a wide range of tasks. These observations indicate that current theories of memory consolidation that have been formulated to explain sleep-dependent performance enhancements are insufficient to explain the range of behavioral changes associated with sleep.

An initial study of behavioral addiction symptom severity and demand for indoor tanning.

PubMed

Becirevic, Amel; Reed, Derek D; Amlung, Michael; Murphy, James G; Stapleton, Jerod L; Hillhouse, Joel J

2017-10-01

Indoor tanning remains a popular activity in Western cultures despite a growing body of literature suggesting its link to skin cancer and melanoma. Advances in indoor tanning research have illuminated problematic patterns of its use. With problems such as difficulty quitting, devoting resources toward its use at the expense of healthy activities, and excessive motivation and urges to tan, symptoms of excessive indoor tanning appear consistent with behavioral addiction. The present study bridges the gap between clinical approaches to understanding indoor tanning problems and behavioral economic considerations of unhealthy habits and addiction. Eighty undergraduate females completed both the Behavioral Addiction Indoor Tanning Screener and the Tanning Purchase Task. Results suggest that behavioral economic demand for tanning significantly differs between risk classification groups, providing divergent validity to the Behavioral Addiction Indoor Tanning Screener and offering additional evidence of the sensitivity of the Tanning Purchase Task to differentiating groups according to tanning profiles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Toward quantifying the abuse liability of ultraviolet tanning: A behavioral economic approach to tanning addiction.

PubMed

Reed, Derek D; Kaplan, Brent A; Becirevic, Amel; Roma, Peter G; Hursh, Steven R

2016-07-01

Many adults engage in ultraviolet indoor tanning despite evidence of its association with skin cancer. The constellation of behaviors associated with ultraviolet indoor tanning is analogous to that in other behavioral addictions. Despite a growing literature on ultraviolet indoor tanning as an addiction, there remains no consensus on how to identify ultraviolet indoor tanning addictive tendencies. The purpose of the present study was to translate a behavioral economic task more commonly used in substance abuse to quantify the "abuse liability" of ultraviolet indoor tanning, establish construct validity, and determine convergent validity with the most commonly used diagnostic tools for ultraviolet indoor tanning addiction (i.e., mCAGE and mDSM-IV-TR). We conducted a between-groups study using a novel hypothetical Tanning Purchase Task to quantify intensity and elasticity of ultraviolet indoor tanning demand and permit statistical comparisons with the mCAGE and mDSM-IV-TR. Results suggest that behavioral economic demand is related to ultraviolet indoor tanning addiction status and adequately discriminates between potential addicted individuals from nonaddicted individuals. Moreover, we provide evidence that the Tanning Purchase Task renders behavioral economic indicators that are relevant to public health research. The present findings are limited to two ultraviolet indoor tanning addiction tools and a relatively small sample of high-risk ultraviolet indoor tanning users; however, these pilot data demonstrate the potential for behavioral economic assessment tools as diagnostic and research aids in ultraviolet indoor tanning addiction studies. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Training working memory to improve attentional control in anxiety: A proof-of-principle study using behavioral and electrophysiological measures.

PubMed

Sari, Berna A; Koster, Ernst H W; Pourtois, Gilles; Derakshan, Nazanin

2016-12-01

Trait anxiety is associated with impairments in attentional control and processing efficiency (see Berggren & Derakshan, 2013, for a review). Working memory training using the adaptive dual n-back task has shown to improve attentional control in subclinical depression with transfer effects at the behavioral and neural level on a working memory task (Owens, Koster, & Derakshan, 2013). Here, we examined the beneficial effects of working memory training on attentional control in pre-selected high trait anxious individuals who underwent a three week daily training intervention using the adaptive dual n-back task. Pre and post outcome measures of attentional control were assessed using a Flanker task that included a stress induction and an emotional a Antisaccade task (with angry and neutral faces as target). Resting state EEG (theta/beta ratio) was recorded to as a neural marker of trait attentional control. Our results showed that adaptive working memory training improved attentional control with transfer effects on the Flanker task and resting state EEG, but effects of training on the Antisaccade task were less conclusive. Finally, training related gains were associated with lower levels of trait anxiety at post (vs pre) intervention. Our results demonstrate that adaptive working memory training in anxiety can have beneficial effects on attentional control and cognitive performance that may protect against emotional vulnerability in individuals at risk of developing clinical anxiety. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of hospital unit layout on nurse walking behavior.

PubMed

Yi, Lu; Seo, Hyun-Bo

2012-01-01

To confirm a new method for the research question, "How do different hospital unit layouts affect nurses' walking behavior and distance?" Concern is renewed regarding nurses' long walking distances because of the trend toward larger patient rooms with family areas inside, resulting in a larger overall unit size. Studies have found unit design characteristics that support nurses' efficient walking, but few have done it in units designed for patient- and family-centered care. To examine the effect of unit design on nurses' walking behavior, the authors propose a new method of observing a specific task. The authors observed nurses during the task of medication administration. Contrary to their hypotheses, results showed: (1) Experienced nurses had more unnecessary stops and longer walking distances than new nurses because of interactions; and (2) nurses in the smaller wing of the unit walked more than those in the larger wing of the same unit. The authors posit that the closeness between the nurses' path to the medication supply room and the central nurses' station affected the frequency of interactions and prompted a deviation from the shortest and most efficient path during medication administration. Observing a specific task to identify the effect of unit layout was effective, determining that overall unit shape or unit layout type might not be a good predictor of nurses' walking behavior; instead the characteristics of the path that connects functional spaces such as patient room and medication area might better predict nurses' walking behavior.

Managerial Behaviors of Elementary School Teachers and Student On-Task Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldstein, Jane McCarthy

The classroom management techniques of elementary school teachers were observed to determine their effectiveness in promoting desirable on-task behavior on the part of pupils. Seven approaches to class management were used as a framework for observation--authoritarian, behavior modification, common sense, group process, instructional emphasis,…

Effectiveness of a Play Therapy Intervention on Children's Externalizing and Off-Task Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meany-Walen, Kristin K.; Teeling, Sunny; Davis, Aubrey; Artley, George; Vignovich, Andrea

2017-01-01

Children's externalizing and off-task behaviors are deemed a major concern for elementary teachers and interfere with the classroom learning environment (Abidin & Robinson, 2002; Shillingford-Butler & Theodore, 2013). Children with these behaviors are at risk of falling behind academically and experiencing ongoing behavioral problems…

Benchmarking Ada tasking on tightly coupled multiprocessor architectures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Collard, Philippe; Goforth, Andre; Marquardt, Matthew

1989-01-01

The development of benchmarks and performance measures for parallel Ada tasking is reported with emphasis on the macroscopic behavior of the benchmark across a set of load parameters. The application chosen for the study was the NASREM model for telerobot control, relevant to many NASA missions. The results of the study demonstrate the potential of parallel Ada in accomplishing the task of developing a control system for a system such as the Flight Telerobotic Servicer using the NASREM framework.

The effects of expressivity and flight task on cockpit communication and resource management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, R. S.

1986-01-01

The results of an investigation to develop a methodology for evaluating crew communication behavior on the flight deck and a flight simulator experiment to test the effects of crew member expressivity, as measured by the Personal Attributes Questionnarie, and flight task on crew communication and flight performance are discussed. A methodology for coding and assessing flight crew communication behavior as well as a model for predicting that behavior is advanced. Although not enough crews were found to provide valid statistical tests, the results of the study tend to indicate that crews in which the captain has high expressivity perform better than those whose captain is low in expressivity. There appears to be a strong interaction between captains and first officers along the level of command dimension of communication. The PAQ appears to identify those pilots who offer disagreements and inititate new subjects for discussion.

Modulation of empathy in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex facilitates altruistic behavior: An fNIRS study.

PubMed

Himichi, Toshiyuki; Nomura, Michio

2015-06-01

Previous studies suggest that the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) is involved in modulating empathy. However, it is unclear whether VLPFC activation while an individual empathizes with others is related to subsequent altruistic behavior. In the present study, participants observed two people playing a card game while empathizing with one of them (target person); PFC activation during the task was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). After this task, participants distributed money to the target person. Results showed that activation in the left VLPFC during empathizing with the target person, who lost a small amount of money, was positively correlated with the amount of money distributed; this activation mediated a relationship between norm of restitution toward helping and the amount of distributed money. These results suggest that activation in the left VLPFC during empathizing with others experiencing negative circumstances is associated with altruistic behavior.

The impact of attentional and emotional demands on memory performance in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Fink, Jakob; Hendrikx, Friederike; Stierle, Christian; Stengler, Katarina; Jahn, Ina; Exner, Cornelia

2017-08-01

Lower performance on memory tests in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been repeatedly observed. However, the origins of these performance deficits are not sufficiently explained. In this study we tested if OCD-related extensive focus of attention on thoughts (heightened self-consciousness) could be an explanatory mechanism for lower memory performance. Heightened situational self-consciousness was manipulated by instructing participants to either monitor neutral thoughts or to monitor OCD-related thoughts. We included a Behavioral Avoidance Task based on individual obsessions and compulsions to induce OCD-related thoughts. Participants were asked to perform these monitoring tasks in parallel to a taxing verbal memory task, resulting in learning under divided attention. The two conditions of learning under divided attention were compared to a single-task condition. Twenty-four participants with OCD and 24 healthy controls took part in these three learning conditions. The results indicate that in both groups memory performance deteriorated in the two conditions with divided attention compared to the single task condition. In the OCD-related thought monitoring condition (OTM) self-consciousness and Behavioral Avoidance Task-induced stress and fear were particularly increased and memory performance further deteriorated in the OCD group. This finding highlights an important and underestimated mechanism (personal involvement) which might serve to better understand lower memory performance in OCD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Can You Multitask? Evidence and Limitations of Task Switching and Multitasking in Emergency Medicine.

PubMed

Skaugset, L Melissa; Farrell, Susan; Carney, Michele; Wolff, Margaret; Santen, Sally A; Perry, Marcia; Cico, Stephen John

2016-08-01

Emergency physicians work in a fast-paced environment that is characterized by frequent interruptions and the expectation that they will perform multiple tasks efficiently and without error while maintaining oversight of the entire emergency department. However, there is a lack of definition and understanding of the behaviors that constitute effective task switching and multitasking, as well as how to improve these skills. This article reviews the literature on task switching and multitasking in a variety of disciplines-including cognitive science, human factors engineering, business, and medicine-to define and describe the successful performance of task switching and multitasking in emergency medicine. Multitasking, defined as the performance of two tasks simultaneously, is not possible except when behaviors become completely automatic; instead, physicians rapidly switch between small tasks. This task switching causes disruption in the primary task and may contribute to error. A framework is described to enhance the understanding and practice of these behaviors. Copyright © 2015 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Displaced aggression predicts switching deficits in people with temporal lobe epilepsy.

PubMed

Gul, Amara; Ahmad, Hira

2014-12-01

This study examined the relationship between task-switching abilities and displaced aggression in people with temporal lobe epilepsy (PWE). Participants (35 PWE and 35 healthy controls) performed emotion and gender classification switching tasks. People with temporal lobe epilepsy showed larger switch costs than controls. This result reflected task-switching deficits in PWE. People with temporal lobe epilepsy reported higher anger rumination, revenge planning, and behavioral displaced aggression compared with controls. Displaced aggression was a significant predictor of the task switch costs. It is suggested that displaced aggression is a significant marker of task-switching deficits. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dynamics of task sets: evidence from dense-array event-related potentials.

PubMed

Poulsen, Catherine; Luu, Phan; Davey, Colin; Tucker, Don M

2005-06-01

Prior research suggests that task sets facilitate coherent, goal-directed behavior by providing an internal, contextual frame that biases selection toward context-relevant stimulus attributes and responses. Questions about how task sets are engaged, maintained, and shifted have recently become a major focus of research on executive control processes. We employed dense-array (128-channel) event-related potential (ERP) methodology to examine the dynamics of brain systems engaged during the preparation and implementation of task switching. The EEG was recorded while participants performed letter and digit judgments to pseudorandomly-ordered, univalent (#3, A%) and bivalent (G5) stimulus trials, with the appropriate task cued by a colored rectangle presented 450 ms before target onset. Results revealed spatial and temporal variations in brain activity that could be related to preparatory processes common to both switch and repeat trials, switch-specific control processes engaged to reconfigure and maintain task set under conflict, and visual priming benefits of task repetition. Despite extensive practice and improvement, both behavioral and ERP results indicated that subjects maintained high levels of executive control processing with extended task engagement. The patterns of ERP activity obtained in the present study fit well with functional neuroanatomical models of self-regulation of action. The frontopolar and right-lateralized frontal switch effects obtained in the present study are consistent with the role of these regions in adapting to changing contextual contingencies. In contrast, the centroparietal P3b and N384 effects related to the contextual ambiguity of bivalent trials are consistent with the context monitoring and updating functions associated with the posterior cingulate learning circuit.

Studies of planning behavior of aircraft pilots in normal, abnormal, and emergency situations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johannsen, G.; Rouse, W. B.; Hillmann, K.

1981-01-01

A methodology for the study of human planning behavior in complex dynamic systems is presented and applied to the study of aircraft pilot behavior in normal, abnormal and emergency situations. The method measures the depth of planning, that is the level of detail employed with respect to a specific task, according to responses to a verbal questionnaire, and compares planning depth with variables relating to time, task criticality and the probability of increased task difficulty. In two series of experiments, depth of planning was measured on a five- or ten-point scale during various phases of flight in a HFB-320 simulator under normal flight conditions, abnormal scenarios involving temporary runway closure due to snow removal or temporary CAT-III conditions due to a dense fog, and emergency scenarios involving engine shut-down or hydraulic pressure loss. Results reveal a dichotomy between event-driven and time-driven planning, different effects of automation in abnormal and emergency scenarios and a low correlation between depth of planning and workload or flight performance.

Situational Leadership in Air Traffic Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arvidsson, Marcus; Johansson, Curt R.; Ek, Asa; Akselsson, Roland

2007-01-01

In high-risk environments such as air traffic control, leadership on different levels plays a certain role in establishing, promoting, and maintaining a good safety culture. The current study aimed to investigate how leadership styles, leadership style adaptability, and over and under task leadership behavior differed across situations, operative conditions, leadership structures, and working tasks in an air traffic control setting. Study locations were two air traffic control centers in Sweden with different operational conditions and leadership structures, and an administrative air traffic management unit. Leadership was measured with a questionnaire based on Leader Effectiveness and Adaptability Description (LEAD; Blanchard, Zigarmi & Zigarmi, 2003; Hersey & Blanchard, 1988). The results showed that the situation had strong impact on the leadership in which the leadership behavior was more relationship oriented in Success and Group situations than in Hardship and Individual situations. The leadership adaptability was further superior in Success and Individual situations compared with Hardship and Group situations. Operational conditions, leadership structures and working tasks were, on the other hand, not associated with leadership behavior.

Coordinated Acetylcholine Release in Prefrontal Cortex and Hippocampus Is Associated with Arousal and Reward on Distinct Timescales.

PubMed

Teles-Grilo Ruivo, Leonor M; Baker, Keeley L; Conway, Michael W; Kinsley, Peter J; Gilmour, Gary; Phillips, Keith G; Isaac, John T R; Lowry, John P; Mellor, Jack R

2017-01-24

Cholinergic neurotransmission throughout the neocortex and hippocampus regulates arousal, learning, and attention. However, owing to the poorly characterized timing and location of acetylcholine release, its detailed behavioral functions remain unclear. Using electrochemical biosensors chronically implanted in mice, we made continuous measurements of the spatiotemporal dynamics of acetylcholine release across multiple behavioral states. We found that tonic levels of acetylcholine release were coordinated between the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus and maximal during training on a rewarded working memory task. Tonic release also increased during REM sleep but was contingent on subsequent wakefulness. In contrast, coordinated phasic acetylcholine release occurred only during the memory task and was strongly localized to reward delivery areas without being contingent on trial outcome. These results show that coordinated acetylcholine release between the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus is associated with reward and arousal on distinct timescales, providing dual mechanisms to support learned behavior acquisition during cognitive task performance. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visual scanning behavior and pilot workload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tole, J. R.; Stephens, A. T.; Vivaudou, M.; Ephrath, A. R.; Young, L. R.

1983-01-01

Sophisticated man machine interaction often requires the human operator to perform a stereotyped scan of various instruments in order to monitor and/or control a system. For situations in which this type of stereotyped behavior exists, such as certain phases of instrument flight, scan pattern was shown to be altered by the imposition of simultaneous verbal tasks. A study designed to examine the relationship between pilot visual scan of instruments and mental workload is described. It was found that a verbal loading task of varying difficulty causes pilots to stare at the primary instrument as the difficulty increases and to shed looks at instruments of less importance. The verbal loading task also affected the rank ordering of scanning sequences. By examining the behavior of pilots with widely varying skill levels, it was suggested that these effects occur most strongly at lower skill levels and are less apparent at high skill levels. A graphical interpretation of the hypothetical relationship between skill, workload, and performance is introduced and modelling results are presented to support this interpretation.

Development of a water-escape motivated version of the Stone T-maze for mice

PubMed Central

Pistell, Paul J.; Ingram, Donald K.

2014-01-01

Mice provide a highly valuable resource for investigating learning and memory processes; however, many of the established tasks for evaluating learning and memory were developed for rats. Behaviors of mice in these tasks appear to be driven by different motivational factors, and as a result, they often do not perform reliably on tasks involving rewards traditionally used for rats. Because of difficulties in measuring learning and memory in mice as well as the need to have a task that can reliably measure these behavioral processes, we have developed a mouse version of the Stone T-maze utilizing what appears to be the primary motivation of mice, escape to a safe location. Specifically, we have constructed a task that requires the mouse to wade through water to reach a dark and dry goal box. To escape this aversive environment, the Stone T-maze requires learning the correct sequence of 13 left and right turns to reach the goal box. Through a series of experiments examining a variety of protocols, it was found that mice will reliably perform this task. This task can be used to assess learning and memory without the potential performance confounds that can affect performance of mice in other tasks. We believe this task offers a valuable new tool for evaluating learning and memory in mice not previously available to researchers. PMID:20026250

The effect of a concurrent working memory task and temporal offsets on the integration of auditory and visual speech information.

PubMed

Buchan, Julie N; Munhall, Kevin G

2012-01-01

Audiovisual speech perception is an everyday occurrence of multisensory integration. Conflicting visual speech information can influence the perception of acoustic speech (namely the McGurk effect), and auditory and visual speech are integrated over a rather wide range of temporal offsets. This research examined whether the addition of a concurrent cognitive load task would affect the audiovisual integration in a McGurk speech task and whether the cognitive load task would cause more interference at increasing offsets. The amount of integration was measured by the proportion of responses in incongruent trials that did not correspond to the audio (McGurk response). An eye-tracker was also used to examine whether the amount of temporal offset and the presence of a concurrent cognitive load task would influence gaze behavior. Results from this experiment show a very modest but statistically significant decrease in the number of McGurk responses when subjects also perform a cognitive load task, and that this effect is relatively constant across the various temporal offsets. Participant's gaze behavior was also influenced by the addition of a cognitive load task. Gaze was less centralized on the face, less time was spent looking at the mouth and more time was spent looking at the eyes, when a concurrent cognitive load task was added to the speech task.

Anticipatory Eye Movements in Interleaving Templates of Human Behavior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matessa, Michael

2004-01-01

Performance modeling has been made easier by architectures which package psychological theory for reuse at useful levels of abstraction. CPM-GOMS uses templates of behavior to package at a task level (e.g., mouse move-click, typing) predictions of lower-level cognitive, perceptual, and motor resource use. CPM-GOMS also has a theory for interleaving resource use between templates. One example of interleaving is anticipatory eye movements. This paper describes the use of ACT-Stitch, a framework for translating CPM-GOMS templates and interleaving theory into ACT-R, to model anticipatory eye movements in skilled behavior. The anticipatory eye movements explain performance in a well-practiced perceptual/motor task, and the interleaving theory is supported with results from an eye-tracking experiment.

Impulsive reactions to food-cues predict subsequent food craving.

PubMed

Meule, Adrian; Lutz, Annika P C; Vögele, Claus; Kübler, Andrea

2014-01-01

Low inhibitory control has been associated with overeating and addictive behaviors. Inhibitory control can modulate cue-elicited craving in social or alcohol-dependent drinkers, and trait impulsivity may also play a role in food-cue reactivity. The current study investigated food-cue affected response inhibition and its relationship to food craving using a stop-signal task with pictures of food and neutral stimuli. Participants responded slower to food pictures as compared to neutral pictures. Reaction times in response to food pictures positively predicted scores on the Food Cravings Questionnaire - State (FCQ-S) after the task and particularly scores on its hunger subscale. Lower inhibitory performance in response to food pictures predicted higher FCQ-S scores and particularly those related to a desire for food and lack of control over consumption. Task performance was unrelated to current dieting or other measures of habitual eating behaviors. Results support models on interactive effects of top-down inhibitory control processes and bottom-up hedonic signals in the self-regulation of eating behavior, such that low inhibitory control specifically in response to appetitive stimuli is associated with increased craving, which may ultimately result in overeating. © 2013.

Role of dopamine D2 receptors in optimizing choice strategy in a dynamic and uncertain environment

PubMed Central

Kwak, Shinae; Huh, Namjung; Seo, Ji-Seon; Lee, Jung-Eun; Han, Pyung-Lim; Jung, Min W.

2014-01-01

In order to investigate roles of dopamine receptor subtypes in reward-based learning, we examined choice behavior of dopamine D1 and D2 receptor-knockout (D1R-KO and D2R-KO, respectively) mice in an instrumental learning task with progressively increasing reversal frequency and a dynamic two-armed bandit task. Performance of D2R-KO mice was progressively impaired in the former as the frequency of reversal increased and profoundly impaired in the latter even with prolonged training, whereas D1R-KO mice showed relatively minor performance deficits. Choice behavior in the dynamic two-armed bandit task was well explained by a hybrid model including win-stay-lose-switch and reinforcement learning terms. A model-based analysis revealed increased win-stay, but impaired value updating and decreased value-dependent action selection in D2R-KO mice, which were detrimental to maximizing rewards in the dynamic two-armed bandit task. These results suggest an important role of dopamine D2 receptors in learning from past choice outcomes for rapid adjustment of choice behavior in a dynamic and uncertain environment. PMID:25389395

Blue-Enriched White Light Enhances Physiological Arousal But Not Behavioral Performance during Simulated Driving at Early Night

PubMed Central

Rodríguez-Morilla, Beatriz; Madrid, Juan A.; Molina, Enrique; Correa, Angel

2017-01-01

Vigilance usually deteriorates over prolonged driving at non-optimal times of day. Exposure to blue-enriched light has shown to enhance arousal, leading to behavioral benefits in some cognitive tasks. However, the cognitive effects of long-wavelength light have been less studied and its effects on driving performance remained to be addressed. We tested the effects of a blue-enriched white light (BWL) and a long-wavelength orange light (OL) vs. a control condition of dim light on subjective, physiological and behavioral measures at 21:45 h. Neurobehavioral tests included the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale and subjective mood scale, recording of distal-proximal temperature gradient (DPG, as index of physiological arousal), accuracy in simulated driving and reaction time in the auditory psychomotor vigilance task. The results showed that BWL decreased the DPG (reflecting enhanced arousal), while it did not improve reaction time or driving performance. Instead, blue light produced larger driving errors than OL, while performance in OL was stable along time on task. These data suggest that physiological arousal induced by light does not necessarily imply cognitive improvement. Indeed, excessive arousal might deteriorate accuracy in complex tasks requiring precision, such as driving. PMID:28690558

Robot Acquisition of Active Maps Through Teleoperation and Vector Space Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peters, Richard Alan, II

2003-01-01

The work performed under this contract was in the area of intelligent robotics. The problem being studied was the acquisition of intelligent behaviors by a robot. The method was to acquire action maps that describe tasks as sequences of reflexive behaviors. Action maps (a.k.a. topological maps) are graphs whose nodes represent sensorimotor states and whose edges represent the motor actions that cause the robot to proceed from one state to the next. The maps were acquired by the robot after being teleoperated or otherwise guided by a person through a task several times. During a guided task, the robot records all its sensorimotor signals. The signals from several task trials are partitioned into episodes of static behavior. The corresponding episodes from each trial are averaged to produce a task description as a sequence of characteristic episodes. The sensorimotor states that indicate episode boundaries become the nodes, and the static behaviors, the edges. It was demonstrated that if compound maps are constructed from a set of tasks then the robot can perform new tasks in which it was never explicitly trained.

Probabilistic learning and inference in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Averbeck, Bruno B; Evans, Simon; Chouhan, Viraj; Bristow, Eleanor; Shergill, Sukhwinder S

2011-04-01

Patients with schizophrenia make decisions on the basis of less evidence when required to collect information to make an inference, a behavior often called jumping to conclusions. The underlying basis for this behavior remains controversial. We examined the cognitive processes underpinning this finding by testing subjects on the beads task, which has been used previously to elicit jumping to conclusions behavior, and a stochastic sequence learning task, with a similar decision theoretic structure. During the sequence learning task, subjects had to learn a sequence of button presses, while receiving a noisy feedback on their choices. We fit a Bayesian decision making model to the sequence task and compared model parameters to the choice behavior in the beads task in both patients and healthy subjects. We found that patients did show a jumping to conclusions style; and those who picked early in the beads task tended to learn less from positive feedback in the sequence task. This favours the likelihood of patients selecting early because they have a low threshold for making decisions, and that they make choices on the basis of relatively little evidence. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Exploring the disruptive effects of psychopathy and aggression on group processes and group effectiveness.

PubMed

Baysinger, Michael A; Scherer, Kelly T; LeBreton, James M

2014-01-01

The present research examines the influence of implicit and explicit personality characteristics on group process and effectiveness. Individuals from 112 groups participated in 2 problem-solving tasks and completed measures of group process and effectiveness. Results indicated that groups characterized by higher levels of psychopathy and implicit aggression tended to have more dysfunctional interactions and negative perceptions of the group. In addition, task participation and negative socioemotional behaviors fully mediated the relationship between group personality traits and group commitment and cohesion, and negative socioemotional behaviors fully mediated the relationship between group personality and performance on both tasks. Implications of antisocial traits for group interactions and performance, as well as for future theory and research, are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved

Brain Modularity Mediates the Relation between Task Complexity and Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Fengdan; Yue, Qiuhai; Martin, Randi; Fischer-Baum, Simon; Ramos-Nuã+/-Ez, Aurora; Deem, Michael

Recent work in cognitive neuroscience has focused on analyzing the brain as a network, rather than a collection of independent regions. Prior studies taking this approach have found that individual differences in the degree of modularity of the brain network relate to performance on cognitive tasks. However, inconsistent results concerning the direction of this relationship have been obtained, with some tasks showing better performance as modularity increases, and other tasks showing worse performance. A recent theoretical model suggests that these inconsistencies may be explained on the grounds that high-modularity networks favor performance on simple tasks whereas low-modularity networks favor performance on complex tasks. The current study tests these predictions by relating modularity from resting-state fMRI to performance on a set of behavioral tasks. Complex and simple tasks were defined on the basis of whether they drew on executive attention. Consistent with predictions, we found a negative correlation between individuals' modularity and their performance on the complex tasks but a positive correlation with performance on the simple tasks. The results presented here provide a framework for linking measures of whole brain organization to cognitive processing.

The Effects of a Self-Monitoring and Video Self-Modeling Intervention to Increase On-Task Behavior for Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmitt, Rachel Calkins Oxnard

2009-01-01

Children are diagnosed with AD/HD more often than any other disorder and interventions are needed in schools to increase on-task behavior. Most studies examining on-task behavior are conducted in special education classrooms or clinical laboratories. Previous studies have not combined video self-modeling and self-monitoring as an intervention to…

Influences on Group Productivity 1: Factors Inherent in the Task. A bibliographic Synopsis

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-04-15

organization structure and job attitudes and job behavior . Variables: Structure defined as the positions and parts of k-ganizations and their systematic and...relatively enduring relationship to each other. Attitudes defined in the broadest sense of "opinion concerning some object." Job behavior is...theory specifying the relations among task structure, leadership behavior and group performance. Indeoendent variables: Degree of structure of task (ac

A randomized controlled trial of the impact of a teacher classroom management program on the classroom behavior of children with and without behavior problems.

PubMed

Hutchings, Judy; Martin-Forbes, Pam; Daley, David; Williams, Margiad Elen

2013-10-01

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated the efficacy of the Incredible Years (IY) Teacher Classroom Management (TCM; Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2002) program to assess whether training teachers in IY-TCM principles improve teacher behavior, whether any observed improvements impact pupil behavior classroom-wide, and whether these effects can be demonstrated with children at risk of developing conduct problems. Six intervention and six control classrooms comprising 12 teachers and 107 children (aged 3 to 7years) were recruited. Children were screened for high or low behavior problems using the cut-off points of the teacher-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997). The primary outcome measure was independent classroom observations using the Teacher-Pupil Observation Tool (Martin et al., 2010). Multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to examine the effect of the intervention on teacher, classroom, and child behavior. Results showed a significant reduction in classroom off-task behavior (d=0.53), teacher negatives to target children (d=0.36), target child negatives towards the teacher (d=0.42), and target child off-task behavior (d=0.48). These preliminary results demonstrate the potential impact of IY-TCM on both teacher and child behavior. Copyright © 2013 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantifying Phishing Susceptibility for Detection and Behavior Decisions.

PubMed

Canfield, Casey Inez; Fischhoff, Baruch; Davis, Alex

2016-12-01

We use signal detection theory to measure vulnerability to phishing attacks, including variation in performance across task conditions. Phishing attacks are difficult to prevent with technology alone, as long as technology is operated by people. Those responsible for managing security risks must understand user decision making in order to create and evaluate potential solutions. Using a scenario-based online task, we performed two experiments comparing performance on two tasks: detection, deciding whether an e-mail is phishing, and behavior, deciding what to do with an e-mail. In Experiment 1, we manipulated the order of the tasks and notification of the phishing base rate. In Experiment 2, we varied which task participants performed. In both experiments, despite exhibiting cautious behavior, participants' limited detection ability left them vulnerable to phishing attacks. Greater sensitivity was positively correlated with confidence. Greater willingness to treat e-mails as legitimate was negatively correlated with perceived consequences from their actions and positively correlated with confidence. These patterns were robust across experimental conditions. Phishing-related decisions are sensitive to individuals' detection ability, response bias, confidence, and perception of consequences. Performance differs when people evaluate messages or respond to them but not when their task varies in other ways. Based on these results, potential interventions include providing users with feedback on their abilities and information about the consequences of phishing, perhaps targeting those with the worst performance. Signal detection methods offer system operators quantitative assessments of the impacts of interventions and their residual vulnerability. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

An electrophysiological study of the impact of a Forward Collision Warning System in a simulator driving task.

PubMed

Bueno, Mercedes; Fabrigoule, Colette; Deleurence, Philippe; Ndiaye, Daniel; Fort, Alexandra

2012-08-27

Driver distraction has been identified as the most important contributing factor in rear-end collisions. In this context, Forward Collision Warning Systems (FCWS) have been developed specifically to warn drivers of potential rear-end collisions. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the impact of a surrogate FCWS and of its reliability according to the driver's attentional state by recording both behavioral and electrophysiological data. Participants drove following a lead motorcycle in a simplified simulator with or without a warning system which gave forewarning of the preceding vehicle braking. Participants had to perform this driving task either alone (simple task) or simultaneously with a secondary cognitive task (dual task). Behavioral and electrophysiological data contributed to revealing a positive effect of the warning system. Participants were faster in detecting the brake light when the system was perfect or imperfect, and the time and attentional resources allocation required for processing the target at higher cognitive level were reduced when the system was completely reliable. When both tasks were performed simultaneously, warning effectiveness was considerably affected at both performance and neural levels; however, the analysis of the brain activity revealed fewer differences between distracted and undistracted drivers when using the warning system. These results show that electrophysiological data could be a valuable tool to complement behavioral data and to have a better understanding of how these systems impact the driver. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Do 15-month-old infants understand false beliefs?

PubMed

Onishi, Kristine H; Baillargeon, Renée

2005-04-08

For more than two decades, researchers have argued that young children do not understand mental states such as beliefs. Part of the evidence for this claim comes from preschoolers' failure at verbal tasks that require the understanding that others may hold false beliefs. Here, we used a novel nonverbal task to examine 15-month-old infants' ability to predict an actor's behavior on the basis of her true or false belief about a toy's hiding place. Results were positive, supporting the view that, from a young age, children appeal to mental states--goals, perceptions, and beliefs--to explain the behavior of others.

Will working memory training generalize to improve off-task behavior in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?

PubMed

Green, Chloe T; Long, Debra L; Green, David; Iosif, Ana-Maria; Dixon, J Faye; Miller, Meghan R; Fassbender, Catherine; Schweitzer, Julie B

2012-07-01

Computerized working memory and executive function training programs designed to target specific impairments in executive functioning are becoming increasingly available, yet how well these programs generalize to improve functional deficits in disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), beyond the training context is not well-established. The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which working memory (WM) training in children with ADHD would diminish a core dysfunctional behavior associated with the disorder, "off-task" behavior during academic task performance. The effect of computerized WM training (adaptive) was compared to a placebo condition (nonadaptive) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design in 26 children (18 males; age, 7 to 14 years old) diagnosed with ADHD. Participants completed the training in approximately 25 sessions. The Restricted Academic Situations Task (RAST) observational system was used to assess aspects of off-task behavior during the completion of an academic task. Traditional measures of ADHD symptoms (Conners' Parent Rating Scale) and WM ability (standardized WM tests) were also collected. WM training led to significant reductions in off-task ADHD-associated behavior on the RAST system and improvement on WM tests. There were no significant differences between groups in improvement on parent rating scales. Findings lend insight into the generalizability of the effects of WM training and the relation between deficits in WM and off-task behavioral components of ADHD. These preliminary data suggest WM training may provide a mechanism for indirectly altering academic performance in children with ADHD.

Dorso-Lateral Frontal Cortex of the Ferret Encodes Perceptual Difficulty during Visual Discrimination

PubMed Central

Zhou, Zhe Charles; Yu, Chunxiu; Sellers, Kristin K.; Fröhlich, Flavio

2016-01-01

Visual discrimination requires sensory processing followed by a perceptual decision. Despite a growing understanding of visual areas in this behavior, it is unclear what role top-down signals from prefrontal cortex play, in particular as a function of perceptual difficulty. To address this gap, we investigated how neurons in dorso-lateral frontal cortex (dl-FC) of freely-moving ferrets encode task variables in a two-alternative forced choice visual discrimination task with high- and low-contrast visual input. About two-thirds of all recorded neurons in dl-FC were modulated by at least one of the two task variables, task difficulty and target location. More neurons in dl-FC preferred the hard trials; no such preference bias was found for target location. In individual neurons, this preference for specific task types was limited to brief epochs. Finally, optogenetic stimulation confirmed the functional role of the activity in dl-FC before target touch; suppression of activity in pyramidal neurons with the ArchT silencing opsin resulted in a decrease in reaction time to touch the target but not to retrieve reward. In conclusion, dl-FC activity is differentially recruited for high perceptual difficulty in the freely-moving ferret and the resulting signal may provide top-down behavioral inhibition. PMID:27025995

Dorso-Lateral Frontal Cortex of the Ferret Encodes Perceptual Difficulty during Visual Discrimination.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhe Charles; Yu, Chunxiu; Sellers, Kristin K; Fröhlich, Flavio

2016-03-30

Visual discrimination requires sensory processing followed by a perceptual decision. Despite a growing understanding of visual areas in this behavior, it is unclear what role top-down signals from prefrontal cortex play, in particular as a function of perceptual difficulty. To address this gap, we investigated how neurons in dorso-lateral frontal cortex (dl-FC) of freely-moving ferrets encode task variables in a two-alternative forced choice visual discrimination task with high- and low-contrast visual input. About two-thirds of all recorded neurons in dl-FC were modulated by at least one of the two task variables, task difficulty and target location. More neurons in dl-FC preferred the hard trials; no such preference bias was found for target location. In individual neurons, this preference for specific task types was limited to brief epochs. Finally, optogenetic stimulation confirmed the functional role of the activity in dl-FC before target touch; suppression of activity in pyramidal neurons with the ArchT silencing opsin resulted in a decrease in reaction time to touch the target but not to retrieve reward. In conclusion, dl-FC activity is differentially recruited for high perceptual difficulty in the freely-moving ferret and the resulting signal may provide top-down behavioral inhibition.

Recycling Behavior: A Multidimensional Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meneses, Gonzalo Diaz; Palacio, Asuncion Beerli

2005-01-01

This work centers on the study of consumer recycling roles to examine the sociodemographic and psychographic profile of the distribution of recycling tasks and roles within the household. With this aim in mind, an empirical work was carried out, the results of which suggest that recycling behavior is multidimensional and comprises the undertaking…

Academic Procrastination: Frequency and Cognitive-Behavioral Correlates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solomon, Laura J.; Rothblum, Esther D.

1984-01-01

Investigated the frequency of and reasons for college students' (N=342) procrastination on academic tasks. A high percentage of students reported problems with procrastination. Results indicated that procrastination is not solely a deficit in study habits or time management but involves a complex interaction of behavioral, cognitive, and affective…

Using Clickers to Increase On-Task Behaviors of Middle School Students with Behavior Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xin, Joy F.; Johnson, Mary L.

2015-01-01

This study examined the effect of using a remote device, a Clicker, on the on-task behavior of middle school students with behavior problems. Five students with behavior problems participated in the study. A single-subject research design with ABAB (phase A: baseline 1, phase B: intervention 1, phase A: baseline 2, phase B: intervention 2) phases…

Team structure and regulatory focus: the impact of regulatory fit on team dynamic.

PubMed

Dimotakis, Nikolaos; Davison, Robert B; Hollenbeck, John R

2012-03-01

We report a within-teams experiment testing the effects of fit between team structure and regulatory task demands on task performance and satisfaction through average team member positive affect and helping behaviors. We used a completely crossed repeated-observations design in which 21 teams enacted 2 tasks with different regulatory focus characteristics (prevention and promotion) in 2 organizational structures (functional and divisional), resulting in 84 observations. Results suggested that salient regulatory demands inherent in the task interacted with structure to determine objective and subjective team-level outcomes, such that functional structures were best suited to (i.e., had best fit with) tasks with a prevention regulatory focus and divisional structures were best suited to tasks with a promotion regulatory focus. This contingency finding integrates regulatory focus and structural contingency theories, and extends them to the team level with implications for models of performance, satisfaction, and team dynamics.

Aniracetam restores motivation reduced by satiation in a choice reaction task in aged rats.

PubMed

Nakamura, K; Kurasawa, M

2001-01-01

This study aims to examine the effects of aniracetam on satiation-induced poor performance in a choice reaction task. Aged rats that mastered the task under food restriction stably maintained the task performance for a long period. Satiation by successive free feeding greatly diminished the performance. Satiation resulted in a decreased % correct, increased % omission and prolonged choice reaction time, indicating a reduction in lever response with low choice accuracy and slow responding speed. Repeated administration of aniracetam (30 mg/kg, po, for 14 days) partially recovered the choice accuracy and lever response, but not the responding speed, task-associated motor activity or impulsivity. In addition, aniracetam did not affect the animals' weights. These results indicate that satiation reduces motivation to perform and attain the task. Aniracetam may restore motivation, probably by improving poor behavioral states (daily attentional and vigilance failures), thereby creating the driving force.

Acute effects of a glucose energy drink on behavioral control.

PubMed

Howard, Meagan A; Marczinski, Cecile A

2010-12-01

There has been a dramatic rise in the consumption of glucose energy drinks (e.g., Amp, Monster, and Red Bull) in the past decade, particularly among high school and college students. However, little laboratory research has examined the acute objective and subjective effects of energy drinks. The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effects of a glucose energy drink (Red Bull) on cognitive functioning. Participants (N = 80) were randomly assigned to one of five conditions: 1.8 ml/kg energy drink, 3.6 ml/kg energy drink, 5.4 ml/kg energy drink, placebo beverage, or no drink. Participants completed a well-validated behavioral control task (the cued go/no-go task) and subjective measures of stimulation, sedation, and mental fatigue both before and 30 minutes following beverage administration. The results indicated that compared with the placebo and no drink conditions, the energy drink doses decreased reaction times on the behavioral control task, increased subjective ratings of stimulation and decreased ratings of mental fatigue. Greatest improvements in reaction times and subjective measures were observed with the lowest dose and improvements diminished as the dose increased. The findings suggest that energy drink consumption can improve cognitive performance on a behavioral control task, potentially explaining the dramatic rise in popularity of these controversial new beverages. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

The effects of proportional representation and gender orientation of the task on emergent leadership behavior in mixed-gender work groups.

PubMed

Karakowsky, L; Siegel, J P

1999-08-01

Much of the research that has examined the behavioral consequences of membership in mixed-gender work groups suggests that men are more participative and influential in task-related behavior. Drawing from elements of sociological, structural, and psychological perspectives, this study examined the effects of group gender composition and gender orientation of the group's task on patterns of emergent leadership behavior. Participants were assigned to male-dominated, female-dominated, or balanced-gender groups for the purpose of discussing and generating solutions for two business-related cases--each case emphasized either male-oriented or female-oriented expertise. The findings suggest that the proportional representation of men and women in a work group, along with the gender orientation of the group's task, can significantly influence the level of leadership behavior exhibited in group activity.

Closing-in behavior: Compensation or attraction?

PubMed

Ambron, Elisabetta; Beschin, Nicoletta; Cerrone, Chiara; Della Sala, Sergio

2018-03-01

Closing-in behavior (CIB) defines the abnormal misplacement of the copy performance, positioned very closed to or on the top of the model. This symptom is observed in graphic copying by patients suffering from different neurological diseases, most commonly dementia. The cognitive origins of this behavior are still a matter of investigation, and research of the last 10 years has been focused on exploring 2 main accounts of CIB, the compensation and the attraction hypotheses, providing evidence in both directions. While the first account defines CIB as a compensatory strategy to overcome visuospatial and/or working memory deficits during copying tasks, the attraction hypothesis looks at CIB as primitive default behavior in which attention and action are closely coupled and movements are performed toward the focus of attention. We explored these 2 hypotheses in a sample of patients with and without CIB, and controls in 5 experiments: Experiments 1 and 2 tested the attraction hypothesis and, respectively, the prediction that CIB can be elicited in a noncopying dual task condition loading upon attentional resources or by irrelevant attentional grabbing stimuli. The other experiments investigated the compensation hypothesis manipulating the distance between model and copying space (Experiment 3), the task demand (single or dual task loading on verbal working memory; Experiment 4), the task requirements (copying and tracing) and visual demand (visual copy and memory; Experiment 5). The results support the attraction hypothesis of CIB. CIB reflects an impairment of the attention and action system, rather than a compensatory strategy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Student Achievement and Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior: Hand Raising.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Michael Bryan; Bushell, Donald, Jr.

1987-01-01

Assessed reading achievement of five second-grade girls under two contingencies: (1) teacher contacts were made during on-task behavior; and (2) differential reinforcement of an incompatible behavior (DRI) with teacher contacts contingent on students' hand-raising behavior. Reading achievement and time on task were greater under the on-task…

Group Adlerian Play Therapy with Children with Off-Task Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meany-Walen, Kristin K.; Bullis, Quinn; Kottman, Terry; Dillman Taylor, Dalena

2015-01-01

Children who are off-task in schools struggle with completing their work and engage in disruptive behaviors. Without intervention, these behaviors tend to worsen, putting them at risk for more serious, ongoing problems throughout life. Group counseling provides opportunities for people to practice socially useful behaviors. Using a single case…

A Comparison of the Mystery Motivator and the "Get 'Em On Task" Interventions for Off-Task Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraemer, Elisabeth E.; Davies, Susan C.; Arndt, Kelli Jo; Hunley, Sawyer

2012-01-01

Attending to instruction is a critical behavior for academic success. Many elementary school teachers, however, identify disruptive and inattentive classroom behaviors as key barriers to students' successful educational performance. This study examined the impact of two class-wide positive behavior support programs. The Mystery Motivator and…

Fairness, Teachers' Non-Task Behavior and Alumni Satisfaction: The Influence of Group Commitment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Lara, Pablo Zoghbi Manrique

2008-01-01

Purpose--The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between interactional justice, as a type of organizational justice that reflects the teachers' perceived fairness of supervisor treatment, and their non-task behavior in terms of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and deviant workplace behavior (DWB).…

Behavior Bingo: The Effects of a Culturally Relevant Group Contingency Intervention for Students with EBD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Tai A.; Hawkins, Renee O.; Flowers, Emily M.; Kalra, Hilary D.; Richard, Jessie; Haas, Lauren E.

2018-01-01

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) have difficulty with academic engagement during independent seatwork tasks. The goal of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Behavior Bingo, a novel interdependent group contingency intervention, on the academic engagement, off-task, and disruptive behavior of students with…

A computerized tablet with visual feedback of hand position for functional magnetic resonance imaging

PubMed Central

Karimpoor, Mahta; Tam, Fred; Strother, Stephen C.; Fischer, Corinne E.; Schweizer, Tom A.; Graham, Simon J.

2015-01-01

Neuropsychological tests behavioral tasks that very commonly involve handwriting and drawing are widely used in the clinic to detect abnormal brain function. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) may be useful in increasing the specificity of such tests. However, performing complex pen-and-paper tests during fMRI involves engineering challenges. Previously, we developed an fMRI-compatible, computerized tablet system to address this issue. However, the tablet did not include visual feedback of hand position (VFHP), a human factors component that may be important for fMRI of certain patient populations. A real-time system was thus developed to provide VFHP and integrated with the tablet in an augmented reality display. The effectiveness of the system was initially tested in young healthy adults who performed various handwriting tasks in front of a computer display with and without VFHP. Pilot fMRI of writing tasks were performed by two representative individuals with and without VFHP. Quantitative analysis of the behavioral results indicated improved writing performance with VFHP. The pilot fMRI results suggest that writing with VFHP requires less neural resources compared to the without VFHP condition, to maintain similar behavior. Thus, the tablet system with VFHP is recommended for future fMRI studies involving patients with impaired brain function and where ecologically valid behavior is important. PMID:25859201

Pain in context: Cues predicting a reward decrease fear of movement related pain and avoidance behavior.

PubMed

Claes, Nathalie; Vlaeyen, Johan W S; Crombez, Geert

2016-09-01

Previous research shows that goal-directed behavior might be modulated by cues that predict (dis)similar outcomes. However, the literature investigating this modulation with pain outcomes is scarce. Therefore, this experiment investigated whether environmental cues predicting pain or reward modulate defensive pain responding. Forty-eight healthy participants completed a joystick movement task with two different movement orientations. Performing one movement was associated with a painful stimulus, whereas performance of another movement was associated with reward, i.e. lottery tickets. In a subsequent task, participants learned to associate three different cues withpain, reward, or neither of the two. Next, these cues were integrated in the movement task. This study demonstrates that in general, aversive cues enhance and appetitive cues reduce pain-related fear. Furthermore, we found that incongruence between the outcomes predicted by the movement and the cue results in more oscillatory behavior, i.e., participants were more willing to perform a painful movement when a cue predicting reward was simultaneously presented, and vice versa. Similarly, when given a choice, participants preferred to perform the reward movement, unless there was an incongruence between the outcomes predicted by the movements and cues. Taken together, these results provide experimental evidence that environmental cues are capable of modulating pain-related fear and avoidance behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Studying the effects of dietary body weight-adjusted acute tryptophan depletion on punishment-related behavioral inhibition.

PubMed

Gaber, Tilman J; Dingerkus, Vita L S; Crockett, Molly J; Bubenzer-Busch, Sarah; Helmbold, Katrin; Sánchez, Cristina L; Dahmen, Brigitte; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate; Zepf, Florian D

2015-01-01

Alterations in serotonergic (5-HT) neurotransmission are thought to play a decisive role in affective disorders and impulse control. This study aims to reproduce and extend previous findings on the effects of acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) and subsequently diminished central 5-HT synthesis in a reinforced categorization task using a refined body weight-adjusted depletion protocol. Twenty-four young healthy adults (12 females, mean age [SD]=25.3 [2.1] years) were subjected to a double-blind within-subject crossover design. Each subject was administered both an ATD challenge and a balanced amino acid load (BAL) in two separate sessions in randomized order. Punishment-related behavioral inhibition was assessed using a forced choice go/no-go task that incorporated a variable payoff schedule. Administration of ATD resulted in significant reductions in TRP measured in peripheral blood samples, indicating reductions of TRP influx across the blood-brain barrier and related brain 5-HT synthesis. Overall accuracy and response time performance were improved after ATD administration. The ability to adjust behavioral responses to aversive outcome magnitudes and behavioral adjustments following error contingent punishment remained intact after decreased brain 5-HT synthesis. A previously observed dissociation effect of ATD on punishment-induced inhibition was not observed. Our results suggest that neurodietary challenges with ATD Moja-De have no detrimental effects on task performance and punishment-related inhibition in healthy adults.

Top-down beta oscillatory signaling conveys behavioral context in early visual cortex.

PubMed

Richter, Craig G; Coppola, Richard; Bressler, Steven L

2018-05-03

Top-down modulation of sensory processing is a critical neural mechanism subserving numerous important cognitive roles, one of which may be to inform lower-order sensory systems of the current 'task at hand' by conveying behavioral context to these systems. Accumulating evidence indicates that top-down cortical influences are carried by directed interareal synchronization of oscillatory neuronal populations, with recent results pointing to beta-frequency oscillations as particularly important for top-down processing. However, it remains to be determined if top-down beta-frequency oscillations indeed convey behavioral context. We measured spectral Granger Causality (sGC) using local field potentials recorded from microelectrodes chronically implanted in visual areas V1/V2, V4, and TEO of two rhesus macaque monkeys, and applied multivariate pattern analysis to the spatial patterns of top-down sGC. We decoded behavioral context by discriminating patterns of top-down (V4/TEO-to-V1/V2) beta-peak sGC for two different task rules governing correct responses to identical visual stimuli. The results indicate that top-down directed influences are carried to visual cortex by beta oscillations, and differentiate task demands even before visual stimulus processing. They suggest that top-down beta-frequency oscillatory processes coordinate processing of sensory information by conveying global knowledge states to early levels of the sensory cortical hierarchy independently of bottom-up stimulus-driven processing.

Behavioral and stimulant treatment of hyperactive children: a therapy study with methylphenidate probes in a within-subject design.

PubMed

Pelham, W E; Schnedler, R W; Bologna, N C; Contreras, J A

1980-01-01

Eight hyperactive children were treated with a behavioral intervention focusing on teacher and parent training over a period of 5 months. Three times, before therapy and after 3 weeks and 13 weeks of intervention, children received methylphenidate during 3-week probe periods. Each week in a probe they received either a placebo, .25 mg/kg, or .75 mg/kg methylphenidate. Classroom observation of on-task behavior suggested that effectiveness of the behavioral intervention was between that of the two dosages of medication before therapy. Both dosages resulted in higher levels of on-task behavior when administered after 13 weeks of behavioral intervention than when administered before therapy. Teacher rating data showed equivalent effects of therapy and the low dosage of methylphenidate alone but a stronger effect of the high dose alone; only the high dose resulted in improved behavior after 13 weeks of behavioral intervention. As a group, only when they received the high dose of methylphenidate after 13 weeks of behavioral intervention did children reach the level of appropriate behavior shown by nonhyperactive controls. However, this level was also reached by two children with the low dose and by one child without medication, and it was not reached by one child. The results suggest that the combination of psychostimulant medication and behavior therapy may be more effective in the short-term than either treatment alone for hyperactive children in school settings. In addition, parent ratings and clinic observation of parent-child interactions suggested that children had improved in the home setting, high-lighting the importance of behavioral parent training in the treatment of hyperactivity.

Self-Regulation, Daily Drinking, and Partner Violence in Alcohol Treatment-Seeking Men

PubMed Central

Schumacher, Julie A.; Coffey, Scott F.; Leonard, Kenneth E.; O’Jile, Judith R.; Landy, Noah C.

2014-01-01

This study builds on research identifying deficits in behavioral self-regulation as risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV). It also builds on alcohol administration research identifying these deficits as moderators of the association between acute alcohol consumption and aggression in laboratory paradigms. Participants analyzed were 97 men seeking residential treatment for alcohol dependence who were involved in a current or recent heterosexual relationship of at least one year. Participants completed a self-report measure of impulsivity, neuropsychological tests of executive function, and computerized delay discounting and behavioral inhibition tasks. With the exception of the self-report measure of impulsivity, performance on measures of behavioral self-regulation was not associated with the occurrence or frequency of past year IPV in this sample. Similarly, self-reported impulsivity moderated the association between daily drinking and IPV in multivariate models controlling for daily drug use, but deficits in performance on other measures did not. Performance on a tower task moderated the association between daily drinking and the occurrence of IPV, but contrary to hypotheses, better task performance was associated with greater likelihood of IPV on drinking days. These results suggest that self-perceived impulsivity is a better predictor of IPV in alcohol treatment seeking men than deficits in performance on behavioral measures of delay discounting, behavioral inhibition, and executive function. PMID:23379612

Cognition, personality, and stress in budgerigars, Melopsittacus undulatus.

PubMed

Medina-García, Angela; Jawor, Jodie M; Wright, Timothy F

2017-01-01

To study the fitness effects of individual variation in cognitive traits, it is paramount to understand whether traits such as personality and physiological stress influence cognitive performance. We first tested whether budgerigars showed both consistent personalities and cognitive performance across time and tasks. We tested object and food neophobia, and exploratory behavior. We measured cognitive performance in habituation, ability to solve foraging problems, spatial memory, and seed discrimination tasks. Budgerigars showed consistency in their neophobic tendencies and these tendencies were associated with their exploratory behavior. Birds were also consistent in how they performed in most of the cognitive tasks (temporal consistency), but were not consistent in their performance across tasks (context consistency). Neither corticosterone levels (baseline and stress-induced) showed a significant relationship with either cognitive or personality measures. Neophobic and exploratory tendencies determined the willingness of birds to engage only in the seed discrimination task. Such tendencies also had a significant effect on problem-solving ability. Our results suggest that consistent individual differences in cognitive performance along with consistent differences in personality could determine response to environmental change and therefore have important fitness consequences.

Successful choice behavior is associated with distinct and coherent network states in anterior cingulate cortex

PubMed Central

Lapish, Christopher C.; Durstewitz, Daniel; Chandler, L. Judson; Seamans, Jeremy K.

2008-01-01

Successful decision making requires an ability to monitor contexts, actions, and outcomes. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is thought to be critical for these functions, monitoring and guiding decisions especially in challenging situations involving conflict and errors. A number of different single-unit correlates have been observed in the ACC that reflect the diverse cognitive components involved. Yet how ACC neurons function as an integrated network is poorly understood. Here we show, using advanced population analysis of multiple single-unit recordings from the rat ACC during performance of an ecologically valid decision-making task, that ensembles of neurons move through different coherent and dissociable states as the cognitive requirements of the task change. This organization into distinct network patterns with respect to both firing-rate changes and correlations among units broke down during trials with numerous behavioral errors, especially at choice points of the task. These results point to an underlying functional organization into cell assemblies in the ACC that may monitor choices, outcomes, and task contexts, thus tracking the animal's progression through “task space.” PMID:18708525

A colored petri nets based workload evaluation model and its validation through Multi-Attribute Task Battery-II.

PubMed

Wang, Peng; Fang, Weining; Guo, Beiyuan

2017-04-01

This paper proposed a colored petri nets based workload evaluation model. A formal interpretation of workload was firstly introduced based on the process that reflection of petri nets components to task. A petri net based description of Multiple Resources theory was given by comprehending it from a new angle. A new application of VACP rating scales named V/A-C-P unit, and the definition of colored transitions were proposed to build a model of task process. The calculation of workload mainly has the following four steps: determine token's initial position and values; calculate the weight of directed arcs on the basis of the rules proposed; calculate workload from different transitions, and correct the influence of repetitive behaviors. Verify experiments were carried out based on Multi-Attribute Task Battery-II software. Our results show that there is a strong correlation between the model values and NASA -Task Load Index scores (r=0.9513). In addition, this method can also distinguish behavior characteristics between different people. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Working Memory and Decision-Making Biases in Young Adults With a Family History of Alcoholism: Studies from the Oklahoma Family Health Patterns Project

PubMed Central

Lovallo, William R.; Yechiam, Eldad; Sorocco, Kristen H.; Vincent, Andrea S.; Collins, Frank L.

2008-01-01

Background Alcohol misuse is more common in persons with a family history of alcoholism (FH+) than in those with no such history (FH−). Among FH+, behavioral disinhibition and male sex seem to signal the presence of an increased risk. Methods This study examined cognitive and behavioral characteristics of 175 nonabusing 18- to 30-year-olds, 87 FH+ and 88 FH−, who were further characterized by their degree of behavioral disinhibition using the Sociability scale of the California Personality Inventory. Working memory and decision making were tested using the Stroop Color-Word Test and the Iowa Gambling Task, a simulated card game. Results Persons with a family history of alcoholism who were behaviorally disinhibited displayed significantly greater interference on the Stroop task than the other subgroups. On the Iowa Gambling Task, FH+ males, but not the females, were significantly more attentive to financial gains than other subgroups, and they had greater consistency in their choice behaviors. Conclusions Persons with a family history of alcoholism, in combination with behavioral disinhibition, appears to signal working memory deficits and in combination with male sex indicates an attraction to the rewarding aspects of a risk-taking challenge. These findings are not secondary to heavy exposure to alcohol or other drugs, but instead reflect intrinsic risk-related familial and personal characteristics of the subjects. PMID:16634844

The Influence of Feedback on Task-Switching Performance: A Drift Diffusion Modeling Account.

PubMed

Cohen Hoffing, Russell; Karvelis, Povilas; Rupprechter, Samuel; Seriès, Peggy; Seitz, Aaron R

2018-01-01

Task-switching is an important cognitive skill that facilitates our ability to choose appropriate behavior in a varied and changing environment. Task-switching training studies have sought to improve this ability by practicing switching between multiple tasks. However, an efficacious training paradigm has been difficult to develop in part due to findings that small differences in task parameters influence switching behavior in a non-trivial manner. Here, for the first time we employ the Drift Diffusion Model (DDM) to understand the influence of feedback on task-switching and investigate how drift diffusion parameters change over the course of task switch training. We trained 316 participants on a simple task where they alternated sorting stimuli by color or by shape. Feedback differed in six different ways between subjects groups, ranging from No Feedback (NFB) to a variety of manipulations addressing trial-wise vs. Block Feedback (BFB), rewards vs. punishments, payment bonuses and different payouts depending upon the trial type (switch/non-switch). While overall performance was found to be affected by feedback, no effect of feedback was found on task-switching learning. Drift Diffusion Modeling revealed that the reductions in reaction time (RT) switch cost over the course of training were driven by a continually decreasing decision boundary. Furthermore, feedback effects on RT switch cost were also driven by differences in decision boundary, but not in drift rate. These results reveal that participants systematically modified their task-switching performance without yielding an overall gain in performance.

Behavioral and functional strategies during tool use tasks in bonobos.

PubMed

Bardo, Ameline; Borel, Antony; Meunier, Hélène; Guéry, Jean-Pascal; Pouydebat, Emmanuelle

2016-09-01

Different primate species have developed extensive capacities for grasping and manipulating objects. However, the manual abilities of primates remain poorly known from a dynamic point of view. The aim of the present study was to quantify the functional and behavioral strategies used by captive bonobos (Pan paniscus) during tool use tasks. The study was conducted on eight captive bonobos which we observed during two tool use tasks: food extraction from a large piece of wood and food recovery from a maze. We focused on grasping postures, in-hand movements, the sequences of grasp postures used that have not been studied in bonobos, and the kind of tools selected. Bonobos used a great variety of grasping postures during both tool use tasks. They were capable of in-hand movement, demonstrated complex sequences of contacts, and showed more dynamic manipulation during the maze task than during the extraction task. They arrived on the location of the task with the tool already modified and used different kinds of tools according to the task. We also observed individual manual strategies. Bonobos were thus able to develop in-hand movements similar to humans and chimpanzees, demonstrated dynamic manipulation, and they responded to task constraints by selecting and modifying tools appropriately, usually before they started the tasks. These results show the necessity to quantify object manipulation in different species to better understand their real manual specificities, which is essential to reconstruct the evolution of primate manual abilities. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Classroom attention in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus: the effect of stabilizing serum glucose.

PubMed

Daley, Kelly B; Wodrich, David L; Hasan, Khalid

2006-02-01

To determine whether stabilizing serum glucose, via introduction of an insulin pump, improves classroom attention among children with type-1 diabetes mellitus. Four boys having type-1 diabetes mellitus with unstable serum glucose were observed in their classroom for 10 baseline days. An insulin pump was placed and serum glucose stabilized, and they were then observed again for 10 days. A modified multiple baseline design was used to determine if improved on-task and off-task behavior was associated with better glycemic control. Rating scales and a laboratory measure of attention, measures of secondary interest, were also administered before and after pump introduction, and potential improvement in individuals' scores was evaluated. All boys had apparent improvement in on-task and off-task behavior as observed in their classrooms. Improvements were substantial, averaging 20% in on-task behavior and 34% in off-task behavior. However, no changes were detected on rating scales or laboratory measures. This study offers preliminary evidence that stabilizing serum glucose improves classroom attention, although the effect was detected only by observation of classroom behavior using highly structured techniques. Consequently, use of direct observation techniques may be important in studying the effects of chronic illness on classroom functioning.

Complex network analysis of brain functional connectivity under a multi-step cognitive task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Shi-Min; Chen, Wei; Liu, Dong-Bai; Tang, Ming; Chen, Xun

2017-01-01

Functional brain network has been widely studied to understand the relationship between brain organization and behavior. In this paper, we aim to explore the functional connectivity of brain network under a multi-step cognitive task involving consecutive behaviors, and further understand the effect of behaviors on the brain organization. The functional brain networks are constructed based on a high spatial and temporal resolution fMRI dataset and analyzed via complex network based approach. We find that at voxel level the functional brain network shows robust small-worldness and scale-free characteristics, while its assortativity and rich-club organization are slightly restricted to the order of behaviors performed. More interestingly, the functional connectivity of brain network in activated ROIs strongly correlates with behaviors and is obviously restricted to the order of behaviors performed. These empirical results suggest that the brain organization has the generic properties of small-worldness and scale-free characteristics, and its diverse functional connectivity emerging from activated ROIs is strongly driven by these behavioral activities via the plasticity of brain.

Principles of Work Sample Testing. 3. Construction and Evaluation of Work Sample Tests

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-04-01

with an enphasis on examining alternative explanations for scores), and in some cases evidence of predictive or other criterion-related corre- lations...34 Generalizability in this case is a function of the number of behavioral elements (task elements) in one component task that are also included in one or...evaluation of the results of task per- formance. In either case measurement depends on some form of observa- tion or an observational aid. It is Lnlikely

Modeling the Value of Strategic Actions in the Superior Colliculus

PubMed Central

Thevarajah, Dhushan; Webb, Ryan; Ferrall, Christopher; Dorris, Michael C.

2009-01-01

In learning models of strategic game play, an agent constructs a valuation (action value) over possible future choices as a function of past actions and rewards. Choices are then stochastic functions of these action values. Our goal is to uncover a neural signal that correlates with the action value posited by behavioral learning models. We measured activity from neurons in the superior colliculus (SC), a midbrain region involved in planning saccadic eye movements, while monkeys performed two saccade tasks. In the strategic task, monkeys competed against a computer in a saccade version of the mixed-strategy game ”matching-pennies”. In the instructed task, saccades were elicited through explicit instruction rather than free choices. In both tasks neuronal activity and behavior were shaped by past actions and rewards with more recent events exerting a larger influence. Further, SC activity predicted upcoming choices during the strategic task and upcoming reaction times during the instructed task. Finally, we found that neuronal activity in both tasks correlated with an established learning model, the Experience Weighted Attraction model of action valuation (Camerer and Ho, 1999). Collectively, our results provide evidence that action values hypothesized by learning models are represented in the motor planning regions of the brain in a manner that could be used to select strategic actions. PMID:20161807

Children's Physical Activity and On-Task Behavior Following Active Academic Lessons: 2017 National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education Hally Beth Poindexter Young Scholar Address

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goh, Tan Leng

2017-01-01

Sitting for extended periods of time is detrimental to children's physical health and may cause off-task behavior in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a classroom physical activity (PA) program, TAKE 10!®, on children's PA and on-task behavior. Participants in the program included 137 children from six classes…

A study of the influence of task familiarity on user behaviors and performance with a MeSH term suggestion interface for PubMed bibliographic search.

PubMed

Tang, Muh-Chyun; Liu, Ying-Hsang; Wu, Wan-Ching

2013-09-01

Previous research has shown that information seekers in biomedical domain need more support in formulating their queries. A user study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a metadata based query suggestion interface for PubMed bibliographic search. The study also investigated the impact of search task familiarity on search behaviors and the effectiveness of the interface. A real user, user search request and real system approach was used for the study. Unlike tradition IR evaluation, where assigned tasks were used, the participants were asked to search requests of their own. Forty-four researchers in Health Sciences participated in the evaluation - each conducted two research requests of their own, alternately with the proposed interface and the PubMed baseline. Several performance criteria were measured to assess the potential benefits of the experimental interface, including users' assessment of their original and eventual queries, the perceived usefulness of the interfaces, satisfaction with the search results, and the average relevance score of the saved records. The results show that, when searching for an unfamiliar topic, users were more likely to change their queries, indicating the effect of familiarity on search behaviors. The results also show that the interface scored higher on several of the performance criteria, such as the "goodness" of the queries, perceived usefulness, and user satisfaction. Furthermore, in line with our hypothesis, the proposed interface was relatively more effective when less familiar search requests were attempted. Results indicate that there is a selective compatibility between search familiarity and search interface. One implication of the research for system evaluation is the importance of taking into consideration task familiarity when assessing the effectiveness of interactive IR systems. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mechanisms of masked evaluative priming: task sets modulate behavioral and electrophysiological priming for picture and words differentially.

PubMed

Kiefer, Markus; Liegel, Nathalie; Zovko, Monika; Wentura, Dirk

2017-04-01

Research with the evaluative priming paradigm has shown that affective evaluation processes reliably influence cognition and behavior, even when triggered outside awareness. However, the precise mechanisms underlying such subliminal evaluative priming effects, response activation vs semantic processing, are matter of a debate. In this study, we determined the relative contribution of semantic processing and response activation to masked evaluative priming with pictures and words. To this end, we investigated the modulation of masked pictorial vs verbal priming by previously activated perceptual vs semantic task sets and assessed the electrophysiological correlates of priming using event-related potential (ERP) recordings. Behavioral and electrophysiological effects showed a differential modulation of pictorial and verbal subliminal priming by previously activated task sets: Pictorial priming was only observed during the perceptual but not during the semantic task set. Verbal priming, in contrast, was found when either task set was activated. Furthermore, only verbal priming was associated with a modulation of the N400 ERP component, an index of semantic processing, whereas a priming-related modulation of earlier ERPs, indexing visuo-motor S-R activation, was found for both picture and words. The results thus demonstrate that different neuro-cognitive processes contribute to unconscious evaluative priming depending on the stimulus format. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Sensorimotor synchronization: neurophysiological markers of the asynchrony in a finger-tapping task.

PubMed

Bavassi, Luz; Kamienkowski, Juan E; Sigman, Mariano; Laje, Rodrigo

2017-01-01

Sensorimotor synchronization (SMS) is a form of referential behavior in which an action is coordinated with a predictable external stimulus. The neural bases of the synchronization ability remain unknown, even in the simpler, paradigmatic task of finger tapping to a metronome. In this task the subject is instructed to tap in synchrony with a periodic sequence of brief tones, and the time difference between each response and the corresponding stimulus tone (asynchrony) is recorded. We make a step towards the identification of the neurophysiological markers of SMS by recording high-density EEG event-related potentials and the concurrent behavioral response-stimulus asynchronies during an isochronous paced finger-tapping task. Using principal component analysis, we found an asymmetry between the traces for advanced and delayed responses to the stimulus, in accordance with previous behavioral observations from perturbation studies. We also found that the amplitude of the second component encodes the higher-level percept of asynchrony 100 ms after the current stimulus. Furthermore, its amplitude predicts the asynchrony of the next step, past 300 ms from the previous stimulus, independently of the period length. Moreover, the neurophysiological processing of synchronization errors is performed within a fixed-duration interval after the stimulus. Our results suggest that the correction of a large asynchrony in a periodic task and the recovery of synchrony after a perturbation could be driven by similar neural processes.

Dietary restriction alters fine motor function in rats.

PubMed

Smith, Lori K; Metz, Gerlinde A

2005-08-07

A number of standard behavioral tasks in animal research utilize food rewards for positive reinforcement. In order to enhance the motivation to participate in these tasks, animals are usually placed on a restricted diet. While dietary restriction (DR) has been shown to have beneficial effects on recovery after brain injury, life span and aging processes, it might also represent a stressor. Since stress can influence a broad range of behaviors, the purpose of this study was to assess whether DR may have similar effects on skilled movement. Adult male Long-Evans rats were trained and tested in a skilled reaching task both prior to and during a mild food restriction regimen that maintained their body weights at 90-95% of baseline weight for eight days. The observations revealed that DR decreased reaching success and increased the number of attempts to grasp a single food pellet. The animals appeared to be more frantic when attempting to reach for food pellets, and the time taken to reach for 20 pellets decreased following the onset of DR. A second experiment investigating behaviors that do not require food rewards, including a ladder rung walking task and an open field test, confirmed that rats on DR display deficits in skilled movements and are hyperactive. These findings suggest that results obtained in motor tasks using food rewards need to be interpreted with caution. The findings are discussed with respect to stress associated with DR.

The effect of methylphenidate and rearing environment on behavioral inhibition in adult male rats.

PubMed

Hill, Jade C; Covarrubias, Pablo; Terry, Joel; Sanabria, Federico

2012-01-01

The ability to withhold reinforced responses-behavioral inhibition-is impaired in various psychiatric conditions including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Methodological and analytical limitations have constrained our understanding of the effects of pharmacological and environmental factors on behavioral inhibition. To determine the effects of acute methylphenidate (MPH) administration and rearing conditions (isolated vs. pair-housed) on behavioral inhibition in adult rats. Inhibitory capacity was evaluated using two response-withholding tasks, differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL) and fixed minimum interval (FMI) schedules of reinforcement. Both tasks made sugar pellets contingent on intervals longer than 6 s between consecutive responses. Inferences on inhibitory and timing capacities were drawn from the distribution of withholding times (interresponse times, or IRTs). MPH increased the number of intervals produced in both tasks. Estimates of behavioral inhibition increased with MPH dose in FMI and with social isolation in DRL. Nonetheless, burst responding in DRL and the divergence of DRL data relative to past studies, among other limitations, undermined the reliability of DRL data as the basis for inferences on behavioral inhibition. Inhibitory capacity was more precisely estimated from FMI than from DRL performance. Based on FMI data, MPH, but not a socially enriched environment, appears to improve inhibitory capacity. The highest dose of MPH tested, 8 mg/kg, did not reduce inhibitory capacity but reduced the responsiveness to waiting contingencies. These results support the use of the FMI schedule, complemented with appropriate analytic techniques, for the assessment of behavioral inhibition in animal models.

Neural Pattern Similarity in the Left IFG and Fusiform Is Associated with Novel Word Learning

PubMed Central

Qu, Jing; Qian, Liu; Chen, Chuansheng; Xue, Gui; Li, Huiling; Xie, Peng; Mei, Leilei

2017-01-01

Previous studies have revealed that greater neural pattern similarity across repetitions is associated with better subsequent memory. In this study, we used an artificial language training paradigm and representational similarity analysis to examine whether neural pattern similarity across repetitions before training was associated with post-training behavioral performance. Twenty-four native Chinese speakers were trained to learn a logographic artificial language for 12 days and behavioral performance was recorded using the word naming and picture naming tasks. Participants were scanned while performing a passive viewing task before training, after 4-day training and after 12-day training. Results showed that pattern similarity in the left pars opercularis (PO) and fusiform gyrus (FG) before training was negatively associated with reaction time (RT) in both word naming and picture naming tasks after training. These results suggest that neural pattern similarity is an effective neurofunctional predictor of novel word learning in addition to word memory. PMID:28878640

The rate of transient beta frequency events predicts behavior across tasks and species

PubMed Central

Law, Robert; Tsutsui, Shawn; Moore, Christopher I; Jones, Stephanie R

2017-01-01

Beta oscillations (15-29Hz) are among the most prominent signatures of brain activity. Beta power is predictive of healthy and abnormal behaviors, including perception, attention and motor action. In non-averaged signals, beta can emerge as transient high-power 'events'. As such, functionally relevant differences in averaged power across time and trials can reflect changes in event number, power, duration, and/or frequency span. We show that functionally relevant differences in averaged beta power in primary somatosensory neocortex reflect a difference in the number of high-power beta events per trial, i.e. event rate. Further, beta events occurring close to the stimulus were more likely to impair perception. These results are consistent across detection and attention tasks in human magnetoencephalography, and in local field potentials from mice performing a detection task. These results imply that an increased propensity of beta events predicts the failure to effectively transmit information through specific neocortical representations. PMID:29106374

Estimating endogenous changes in task performance from EEG

PubMed Central

Touryan, Jon; Apker, Gregory; Lance, Brent J.; Kerick, Scott E.; Ries, Anthony J.; McDowell, Kaleb

2014-01-01

Brain wave activity is known to correlate with decrements in behavioral performance as individuals enter states of fatigue, boredom, or low alertness.Many BCI technologies are adversely affected by these changes in user state, limiting their application and constraining their use to relatively short temporal epochs where behavioral performance is likely to be stable. Incorporating a passive BCI that detects when the user is performing poorly at a primary task, and adapts accordingly may prove to increase overall user performance. Here, we explore the potential for extending an established method to generate continuous estimates of behavioral performance from ongoing neural activity; evaluating the extended method by applying it to the original task domain, simulated driving; and generalizing the method by applying it to a BCI-relevant perceptual discrimination task. Specifically, we used EEG log power spectra and sequential forward floating selection (SFFS) to estimate endogenous changes in behavior in both a simulated driving task and a perceptual discrimination task. For the driving task the average correlation coefficient between the actual and estimated lane deviation was 0.37 ± 0.22 (μ ± σ). For the perceptual discrimination task we generated estimates of accuracy, reaction time, and button press duration for each participant. The correlation coefficients between the actual and estimated behavior were similar for these three metrics (accuracy = 0.25 ± 0.37, reaction time = 0.33 ± 0.23, button press duration = 0.36 ± 0.30). These findings illustrate the potential for modeling time-on-task decrements in performance from concurrent measures of neural activity. PMID:24994968

Iowa Gambling Task Performance and Executive Function Predict Low-income Urban Preadolescents’ Risky Behaviors

PubMed Central

Ursache, Alexandra; Raver, C. Cybele

2015-01-01

This study examines preadolescents’ reports of risk-taking as predicted by two different, but related inhibitory control systems involving sensitivity to reward and loss on the one hand, and higher order processing in the context of cognitive conflict, known as executive functioning (EF), on the other. Importantly, this study examines these processes with a sample of inner-city, low-income preadolescents and as such examines the ways in which these processes may be related to risky behaviors as a function of children's levels of both concurrent and chronic exposure to household poverty. As part of a larger longitudinal study, 382 children (ages 9 -11) provided a self-report of risky behaviors and participated in the Iowa Gambling task, assessing bias for infrequent loss (preference for infrequent, high magnitude versus frequent, low magnitude loss) and the Hearts and Flowers task assessing executive functioning. Results demonstrated that a higher bias for infrequent loss was associated with higher risky behaviors for children who demonstrated lower EF. Furthermore, bias for infrequent loss was most strongly associated with higher risk-taking for children facing highest levels of poverty. Implications for early identification and prevention of risk-taking in inner-city preadolescents are discussed. PMID:26412918

Self-perception of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: effects on institutionalized mentally retarded adolescents.

PubMed

Lee, D Y; Syrnyk, R

1977-01-01

Self-perception theory predicts that the introduction of extrinsic rewards for behavior that was intrinsically rewarding may decrease rather than enhance overall motivation. This hypothesis was tested on a group of institutionalized mentally retarded adolescents (34 boys, 10 girls). Intrinsic (high and low task interest) and extrinsic (high- and low-incentive objects) motivation were both manipulated as independent variables, and the dependent variable was task persistence during a free-play period. Results indicated that for a high intrinsically interesting task, the task persistence was greater under the external reward of low- rather than high-incentive value conditions. The opposite trend was revealed for the low intrinsically interesting task. The results provided some evidence that the greater the amount of the reward for an interesting activity, the greater the degree to which the intrinsic interest is undermined.

Impulsive Approach Tendencies towards Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors, but Not Reflective Intentions, Prospectively Predict Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis

PubMed Central

Cheval, Boris; Sarrazin, Philippe; Pelletier, Luc

2014-01-01

Understanding the determinants of non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is crucial, given its extensive health benefits. Some scholars have assumed that a proneness to react differently to environmental cues promoting sedentary versus active behaviors could be responsible for inter-individual differences in NEAT. In line with this reflection and grounded on the Reflective-Impulsive Model, we test the assumption that impulsive processes related to sedentary and physical activity behaviors can prospectively predict NEAT, operationalized as spontaneous effort exerted to maintain low intensity muscle contractions within the release phases of an intermittent maximal isometric contraction task. Participants (n = 91) completed a questionnaire assessing their intentions to adopt physical activity behaviors and a manikin task to assess impulsive approach tendencies towards physical activity behaviors (IAPA) and sedentary behaviors (IASB). Participants were then instructed to perform a maximal handgrip strength task and an intermittent maximal isometric contraction task. As hypothesized, multilevel regression analyses revealed that spontaneous effort was (a) positively predicted by IAPA, (b) negatively predicted by IASB, and (c) was not predicted by physical activity intentions, after controlling for some confounding variables such as age, sex, usual PA level and average force provided during the maximal-contraction phases of the task. These effects remained constant throughout all the phases of the task. This study demonstrated that impulsive processes may play a unique role in predicting spontaneous physical activity behaviors. Theoretically, this finding reinforces the utility of a motivational approach based on dual-process models to explain inter-individual differences in NEAT. Implications for health behavior theories and behavior change interventions are outlined. PMID:25526596

Impulsive approach tendencies towards physical activity and sedentary behaviors, but not reflective intentions, prospectively predict non-exercise activity thermogenesis.

PubMed

Cheval, Boris; Sarrazin, Philippe; Pelletier, Luc

2014-01-01

Understanding the determinants of non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is crucial, given its extensive health benefits. Some scholars have assumed that a proneness to react differently to environmental cues promoting sedentary versus active behaviors could be responsible for inter-individual differences in NEAT. In line with this reflection and grounded on the Reflective-Impulsive Model, we test the assumption that impulsive processes related to sedentary and physical activity behaviors can prospectively predict NEAT, operationalized as spontaneous effort exerted to maintain low intensity muscle contractions within the release phases of an intermittent maximal isometric contraction task. Participants (n = 91) completed a questionnaire assessing their intentions to adopt physical activity behaviors and a manikin task to assess impulsive approach tendencies towards physical activity behaviors (IAPA) and sedentary behaviors (IASB). Participants were then instructed to perform a maximal handgrip strength task and an intermittent maximal isometric contraction task. As hypothesized, multilevel regression analyses revealed that spontaneous effort was (a) positively predicted by IAPA, (b) negatively predicted by IASB, and (c) was not predicted by physical activity intentions, after controlling for some confounding variables such as age, sex, usual PA level and average force provided during the maximal-contraction phases of the task. These effects remained constant throughout all the phases of the task. This study demonstrated that impulsive processes may play a unique role in predicting spontaneous physical activity behaviors. Theoretically, this finding reinforces the utility of a motivational approach based on dual-process models to explain inter-individual differences in NEAT. Implications for health behavior theories and behavior change interventions are outlined.

Redundant arm control in a supervisory and shared control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Backes, Paul G.; Long, Mark K.

1992-01-01

The Extended Task Space Control approach to robotic operations based on manipulator behaviors derived from task requirements is described. No differentiation between redundant and non-redundant robots is made at the task level. The manipulation task behaviors are combined into a single set of motion commands. The manipulator kinematics are used subsequently in mapping motion commands into actuator commands. Extended Task Space Control is applied to a Robotics Research K-1207 seven degree-of-freedom manipulator in a supervisory telerobot system as an example.

Dopamine D1 and D3 Receptors Modulate Heroin-Induced Cognitive Impairment through Opponent Actions in Mice

PubMed Central

Zhu, Yongsheng; Wang, Yunpeng; Wei, Shuguang; Zhang, Hongbo; Yan, Peng; Li, Yunxiao; Qiao, Xiaomeng; Yin, Fangyuan

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Chronic abuse of heroin leads to long-lasting and complicated cognitive impairment. Dopamine receptors are critically involved in the impulsive drug-driven behavior and the altered attention, processing speed, and mental flexibility that are associated with higher relapse rates. However, the effects of the different dopamine receptors and their possible involvement in heroin-induced cognitive impairment remain unclear. Methods: The 5-choice serial reaction time task was used to investigate the profiles of heroin-induced cognitive impairment in mice. The expression levels of dopamine D1- and D2-like receptors in the prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, and caudate-putamen were determined. The effects of dopamine receptors on heroin-induced impulsivity in the 5-choice serial reaction time task were examined by agonist/antagonist treatment on D1 or D3 receptor mutant mice. Results: Systemic heroin administration influences several variables in the 5-choice serial reaction time task, most notably premature responses, a measure of motor impulsivity. These behavioral impairments are associated with increased D1 receptor and decreased D3 receptor mRNA and protein levels in 3 observed brain areas. The heroin-evoked increase in premature responses is mimicked by a D1 agonist and prevented by a D1 antagonist or genetic ablation of the D1 receptor gene. In contrast, a D3 agonist decreases both basal and heroin-evoked premature responses, while genetic ablation of the D3 receptor gene results in increased basal and heroin-evoked premature responses. Conclusions: Heroin-induced impulsive behavior in the 5-choice serial reaction time task is oppositely modulated by D1 and D3 receptor activation. The D1 receptors in the cortical-mesolimbic region play an indispensable role in modulating such behaviors. PMID:27815417

Measuring pilot workload in a moving-base simulator. I Asynchronous secondary choice-reaction task

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kantowitz, B. H.; Hart, S. G.; Bortolussi, M. R.

1983-01-01

The de facto method for measuring airplane pilot workload is based upon subjective ratings. While researchers agree that such subjective data should be bolstered by using objective behavioral measures, results to date have been mixed. No clear objective technique has surfaced as the metric of choice. It is believed that this difficulty is in part due to neglect of theoretical work in psychology that predicts some of the difficulties that are inherent in a futile search for 'the one and only' best secondary task to measure workload. An initial study that used both subjective ratings and an asynchronous choice-reaction secondary task was conducted to determine if such a secondary task could indeed meet the methodological constraints imposed by current theories of attention. Two variants of a flight scenario were combined with two levels of the secondary task. Appropriate single-task control conditions were also included. Results give grounds for cautious optimism but indicate that future research should use synchronous secondary tasks where possible.

An Investigation of Response Generalization across Cleaning and Restocking Behaviors in the Context of Performance Feedback

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeRiso, Anthony; Ludwig, Timothy D.

2012-01-01

The impact of task clarification and performance feedback on cleaning and restocking behaviors on both targeted and nontargeted behaviors was analyzed using an AB multiple baseline design across behaviors. Task clarification was presented on an enlarged poster to the serving staff at a fine dining restaurant. Group performance feedback was…

The Effects of Task Clarification, Feedback, and Goal Setting on Student Advisors' Office Behaviors and Customer Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tittelbach, Danielle; DeAngelis, Maureen; Sturmey, Peter; Alvero, Alicia M.

2007-01-01

This study evaluated the effects of feedback, task clarification and goal-setting on office behaviors and customer service of ten undergraduate participants that served as university advisors. A multiple baseline design was implemented across three target behaviors: client greeting, front-desk behaviors, and punctuality. During intervention the…

Response Blocking with Guided Compliance and Reinforcement for a Habilitative Replacement Behavior: Effects on Public Masturbation and On-Task Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dufrene, Brad A.; Watson, T. Steuart; Weaver, Adam

2005-01-01

There is limited empirical research regarding effective treatment for public masturbation. In the current study, the relative and combined effects of reinforcement of an incompatible habilitative replacement behavior and response blocking with guided compliance on masturbation and on-task behavior were evaluated for a seven year-old…

Methamphetamine, d-amphetamine and p-chloroamphetamine induced neurotoxicity differentially effect impulsive responding on the stop-signal task in rats

PubMed Central

Furlong, Teri M.; Leavitt, Lee S.; Keefe, Kristen A.; Son, Jong-Hyun

2016-01-01

Abused amphetamines, such as d-amphetamine (AMPH) and methamphetamine (METH), are highly addictive and destructive to health and productive lifestyles. The abuse of these drugs is associated with impulsive behavior, which is likely to contribute to addiction. The amphetamines also differentially damage dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) systems, which regulate impulsive behavior; therefore, exposure to these drugs may differentially alter impulsive behavior to effect the progression of addiction. We examined the impact of neurotoxicity induced by three amphetamines on impulsive action using a stop-signal task in rats. Animals were rewarded with a food pellet after lever pressing (i.e. a go trial), unless an auditory cue was presented and withholding lever press gained reward (i.e. a stop trial). Animals were trained on the task and then exposed to a neurotoxic regimen of either AMPH, p-chloroamphetamine (PCA), or METH. These regimens preferentially reduced DA transporter levels in striatum, 5-HT transporter levels in prefrontal cortex, or both, respectively. Assessment of performance on the stop-signal task beginning one week after the treatment revealed that AMPH produced a deficit in go-trial performance, whereas PCA did not alter performance on either trial type. In contrast, METH produced a deficit in stop-trial performance (i.e. impulsive action) but not go-trial performance. These findings suggest that the different neurotoxic consequences of substituted amphetamines are associated with different effects on inhibitory control over behavior. Thus, the course of addiction and maladaptive behavior resulting from exposure to these substances is likely to differ. PMID:26846719

Predicting performance on the Columbia Card Task: effects of personality characteristics, mood, and executive functions.

PubMed

Buelow, Melissa T

2015-04-01

Behavioral measures of risky decision making are frequently used by researchers and clinicians; however, most of these measures are strongly associated with personality characteristics and state mood. The present study sought to examine personality, mood, and executive function predictors of performance on a newer measure of decision making, the Columbia Card Task (CCT). Participants were 489 undergraduate students who completed either the hot or cold version of the CCT as well as measures of state mood, impulsive sensation seeking, behavioral inhibition and activation systems, and executive functions (Wisconsin Card Sort Task; Digit Span). Results indicated that performance on the CCT-cold was predicted by Wisconsin Card Sort Task errors, and Digit Span predicted the CCT-hot. In addition, significant correlations were found between the CCT information use variables and the predictor variables. Implications for the utility of the CCT as a clinical instrument and its relationship with other measures of decision making are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

Periodic Fluctuation of Perceived Duration

PubMed Central

Shima, Shuhei; Murai, Yuki; Yuasa, Kenichi; Hashimoto, Yuki

2018-01-01

In recent years, several studies have reported that the allocation of spatial attention fluctuates periodically. This periodic attention was revealed by measuring behavioral performance as a function of cue-to-target interval in the Posner cueing paradigm. Previous studies reported behavioral oscillations using target detection tasks. Whether the influence of periodic attention extends to cognitively demanding tasks remains unclear. To assess this, we examined the effects of periodic attention on the perception of duration. In the experiment, participants performed a temporal bisection task while a cue was presented with various cue-to-target intervals. Perceived duration fluctuated rhythmically as a function of cue-to-target interval at a group level but not at an individual level when the target was presented on the same side as the attentional cue. The results indicate that the perception of duration is influenced by periodic attention. In other words, periodic attention can influence the performance of cognitively demanding tasks such as the perception of duration. PMID:29755719

Saccade selection when reward probability is dynamically manipulated using Markov chains

PubMed Central

Lovejoy, Lee P.; Krauzlis, Richard J.

2012-01-01

Markov chains (stochastic processes where probabilities are assigned based on the previous outcome) are commonly used to examine the transitions between behavioral states, such as those that occur during foraging or social interactions. However, relatively little is known about how well primates can incorporate knowledge about Markov chains into their behavior. Saccadic eye movements are an example of a simple behavior influenced by information about probability, and thus are good candidates for testing whether subjects can learn Markov chains. In addition, when investigating the influence of probability on saccade target selection, the use of Markov chains could provide an alternative method that avoids confounds present in other task designs. To investigate these possibilities, we evaluated human behavior on a task in which stimulus reward probabilities were assigned using a Markov chain. On each trial, the subject selected one of four identical stimuli by saccade; after selection, feedback indicated the rewarded stimulus. Each session consisted of 200–600 trials, and on some sessions, the reward magnitude varied. On sessions with a uniform reward, subjects (n = 6) learned to select stimuli at a frequency close to reward probability, which is similar to human behavior on matching or probability classification tasks. When informed that a Markov chain assigned reward probabilities, subjects (n = 3) learned to select the greatest reward probability more often, bringing them close to behavior that maximizes reward. On sessions where reward magnitude varied across stimuli, subjects (n = 6) demonstrated preferences for both greater reward probability and greater reward magnitude, resulting in a preference for greater expected value (the product of reward probability and magnitude). These results demonstrate that Markov chains can be used to dynamically assign probabilities that are rapidly exploited by human subjects during saccade target selection. PMID:18330552

Saccade selection when reward probability is dynamically manipulated using Markov chains.

PubMed

Nummela, Samuel U; Lovejoy, Lee P; Krauzlis, Richard J

2008-05-01

Markov chains (stochastic processes where probabilities are assigned based on the previous outcome) are commonly used to examine the transitions between behavioral states, such as those that occur during foraging or social interactions. However, relatively little is known about how well primates can incorporate knowledge about Markov chains into their behavior. Saccadic eye movements are an example of a simple behavior influenced by information about probability, and thus are good candidates for testing whether subjects can learn Markov chains. In addition, when investigating the influence of probability on saccade target selection, the use of Markov chains could provide an alternative method that avoids confounds present in other task designs. To investigate these possibilities, we evaluated human behavior on a task in which stimulus reward probabilities were assigned using a Markov chain. On each trial, the subject selected one of four identical stimuli by saccade; after selection, feedback indicated the rewarded stimulus. Each session consisted of 200-600 trials, and on some sessions, the reward magnitude varied. On sessions with a uniform reward, subjects (n = 6) learned to select stimuli at a frequency close to reward probability, which is similar to human behavior on matching or probability classification tasks. When informed that a Markov chain assigned reward probabilities, subjects (n = 3) learned to select the greatest reward probability more often, bringing them close to behavior that maximizes reward. On sessions where reward magnitude varied across stimuli, subjects (n = 6) demonstrated preferences for both greater reward probability and greater reward magnitude, resulting in a preference for greater expected value (the product of reward probability and magnitude). These results demonstrate that Markov chains can be used to dynamically assign probabilities that are rapidly exploited by human subjects during saccade target selection.

Assessment of Preschooler's Scientific Reasoning in Adult-Child Interactions: What Is the Optimal Context?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meindertsma, Heidi B.; van Dijk, Marijn W. G.; Steenbeek, Henderien W.; van Geert, Paul L. C.

2014-04-01

In educational settings, continuous assessment of the child's level of understanding is necessary to effectively utilize the principles of scaffolding and to create contexts that can advance the scientific reasoning of the child. In this article, we argue that a child's performance is a dynamic notion that is created by all elements in an interaction, including the task. Therefore, we studied preschoolers' levels of scientific reasoning varying different properties of the assessment context. Young children were interviewed about four scientific tasks using one out of four different protocols (varying in the degree of flexibility and adaptiveness) by an adult. In the first study, different task contents resulted in different performance levels. The second study indicated that the most structured protocol elicited the highest maximum level of reasoning in children and the highest percentage of correct predictions. The third study showed differences between the protocols in the adult's verbal behavior. Adaptation in verbal behavior to different children by the adult did not result in higher scientific understanding by the children, whereas a higher degree of task structure did. Combined, the studies emphasize the importance of context, which has implications for assessment and teaching situations.

Can We Fix This? Parent-Child Repair Processes and Preschoolers' Regulatory Skills.

PubMed

Kemp, Christine J; Lunkenheimer, Erika; Albrecht, Erin C; Chen, Deborah

2016-10-01

The repair of difficult parent-child interactions is a marker of healthy functioning in infancy, but less is known about repair processes during early childhood. We used dynamic systems methods to investigate dyadic repair in mothers and their 3-year-old children ( N = 96) and its prediction of children's emotion regulation and behavior problems at a four-month follow-up. Mothers and children completed free play and challenging puzzle tasks. Repair was operationalized as the conditional probability of moving into a dyadic adaptive behavior region after individual or dyadic maladaptive behavior (e.g., child noncompliance, parental criticism). Overall, dyads repaired approximately half their maladaptive behaviors. A greater likelihood of repair during the puzzle task predicted better child emotion regulation and fewer behavior problems in preschool. Results suggest dyadic repair is an important process in early childhood and provide further evidence for the connection between parent-child coregulation and children's developing regulatory capacities. Implications for family-based interventions are discussed.

[Relationships between motivational regulation strategies, motivational factors, and learning behaviors outside the classroom].

PubMed

Umemoto, Takatoyo; Tanaka, Kenshiro

2017-04-01

This study examined the relationships among motivational regulation strategies, motivational factors, and learning behaviors outside the classroom. There are three subtypes of motivational regulation strategies: autonomous regulation strategies, cooperative strategies, and performance-focused strategies. Motivational factors included in the investigation were self-efficacy and task value, while behavioral and emotional engagement and study time were selected as learning behaviors outside the classroom. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 322 undergraduates from two universities. Multiple regression analysis revealed the use of autonomous regulation strategies, and that task value was positively correlated with engagement and study time. Moreover, self-efficacy positively predicted study time. In contrast, the use of performance strategies negatively predicted engagement. The use of cooperative strategies did not predict learning behaviors. These results indicate that motivation, as well as the regulation of motivation, were important for learning outside the classroom. The effects of regulation of motivation and motivation on learning outside the classroom are discussed in light of the current findings.