Perceptual information is important for the meaning of nouns. We present modality exclusivity norms for 485 Dutch nouns rated on visual, auditory, haptic, gustatory, and olfactory associations. We ...found these nouns are highly multimodal. They were rated most dominant in vision, and least in olfaction. A factor analysis identified two main dimensions: one loaded strongly on olfaction and gustation (reflecting joint involvement in flavor), and a second loaded strongly on vision and touch (reflecting joint involvement in manipulable objects). In a second study, we validated the ratings with similarity judgments. As expected, words from the same dominant modality were rated more similar than words from different dominant modalities; but – more importantly – this effect was enhanced when word pairs had high modality strength ratings. We further demonstrated the utility of our ratings by investigating whether perceptual modalities are differentially experienced in space, in a third study. Nouns were categorized into their dominant modality and used in a lexical decision experiment where the spatial position of words was either in proximal or distal space. We found words dominant in olfaction were processed faster in proximal than distal space compared to the other modalities, suggesting olfactory information is mentally simulated as “close” to the body. Finally, we collected ratings of emotion (valence, dominance, and arousal) to assess its role in perceptual space simulation, but the valence did not explain the data. So, words are processed differently depending on their perceptual associations, and strength of association is captured by modality exclusivity ratings.
The hallmark symptoms of social anxiety disorder (SAD) are fear and avoidance of social evaluative situations. Yet, even people without SAD sometimes fear and avoid certain social situations without ...ever developing the disorder. Apart from differences in number and severity, uncertainty abounds about how fear and avoidance of distinct interpersonal and social evaluative situations organize differently in people with and without SAD. Inspired by novel network approaches to psychopathology, we sought to characterize the network structure of fear and avoidance of distinct social evaluative situations among individuals with (
n
= 238) and without SAD (
n
= 232). Although the network structure and node centrality metrics did not differ between the groups, the network for those with SAD was more strongly interconnected than that of people free of the diagnosis. This study is the first to provide evidence that SAD can be conceptualized as a densely interconnected network of fear and avoidance of social situations. Our results are consistent with the network theory of mental disorders that regards networks with strong between-symptom connections as more pathogenic than similar networks with weaker connections. As prior studies indicated that overall network connectivity can predict the course of mental disorders, our findings set the scene for novel indicators of SAD prognosis.
This article proposes that biologically plausible theories of behavior can be constructed by following a method of “phylogenetic refinement,” whereby they are progressively elaborated from simple to ...complex according to phylogenetic data on the sequence of changes that occurred over the course of evolution. It is argued that sufficient data exist to make this approach possible, and that the result can more effectively delineate the true biological categories of neurophysiological mechanisms than do approaches based on definitions of putative functions inherited from psychological traditions. As an example, the approach is used to sketch a theoretical framework of how basic feedback control of interaction with the world was elaborated during vertebrate evolution, to give rise to the functional architecture of the mammalian brain. The results provide a conceptual taxonomy of mechanisms that naturally map to neurophysiological and neuroanatomical data and that offer a context for defining putative functions that, it is argued, are better grounded in biology than are some of the traditional concepts of cognitive science.
Theories of skilled performance that emphasize training history, such as K. Anders Ericsson and colleagues’
deliberate-practice theory
, have received a great deal of recent attention in both the ...scientific literature and the popular press. Twin studies, however, have demonstrated evidence for moderate-to-strong genetic influences on skilled performance. Focusing on musical accomplishment in a sample of over 800 pairs of twins, we found evidence for gene–environment correlation, in the form of a genetic effect on music practice. However, only about one quarter of the genetic effect on music accomplishment was explained by this genetic effect on music practice, suggesting that genetically influenced factors other than practice contribute to individual differences in music accomplishment. We also found evidence for gene–environment interaction, such that genetic effects on music accomplishment were most pronounced among those engaging in music practice, suggesting that genetic potentials for skilled performance are most fully expressed and fostered by practice.
It has been frequently described that older adults subjectively report the vividness of their memories as being as high, or even higher, than young adults, despite poorer objective memory ...performance. Here, we review studies that examined age-related differences in the subjective experience of memory vividness. By examining vividness calibration and resolution, studies using different types of approaches converge to suggest that older adults overestimate the intensity of their vividness ratings relative to young adults, and that they rely on retrieved memory details to a lesser extent to judge vividness. We discuss potential mechanisms underlying these observations. Inflation of memory vividness with regard to the richness of memory content may stem from age-differences in vividness criterion or scale interpretation and psycho-social factors. The reduced reliance on episodic memory details in older adults may stem from age-related differences in how they monitor these details to make their vividness ratings. Considered together, these findings emphasize the importance of examining age-differences in memory vividness using different analytical methods and they provide valuable evidence that the subjective experience of remembering is more than the reactivation of memory content. In this vein, we recommend that future studies explore the links between memory vividness and other subjective memory scales (e.g., ratings of details or memory confidence) in healthy aging and/or other populations, as it could be used as a window to better characterize the cognitive processes that underpin the subjective assessment of the quality of recollected events.
Neural computations are often compared to instrument-measured distance or duration, and such relationships are interpreted by a human observer. However, neural circuits do not depend on human-made ...instruments but perform computations relative to an internally defined rate-of-change. While neuronal correlations with external measures, such as distance or duration, can be observed in spike rates or other measures of neuronal activity, what matters for the brain is how such activity patterns are utilized by downstream neural observers. We suggest that hippocampal operations can be described by the sequential activity of neuronal assemblies and their internally defined rate of change without resorting to the concept of space or time.
Visceral Signals Shape Brain Dynamics and Cognition Azzalini, Damiano; Rebollo, Ignacio; Tallon-Baudry, Catherine
Trends in cognitive sciences,
June 2019, 2019-06-00, 20190601, 2019-06, Letnik:
23, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Most research in cognitive neuroscience explores how external stimuli are processed by the brain. However, the brain also receives input from the internal body. We discuss here how the heart and ...gastrointestinal (GI) tract intrinsically generate their own electrical activity, thereby continuously sending information to the brain. These ongoing ascending signals actively shape brain dynamics at rest, complementing canonical resting-state networks (RSNs). Cardiac signals also influence the processing of external sensory information and the production of spontaneous, internal cognition. These findings are discussed in relation to interpretative frameworks regarding the functional role of visceral inputs. This active field of research offers a unique opportunity to draw new theories blurring the border between cognition, emotion, and consciousness, as well as between mind and body.
Visceral signals automatically contribute to shaping spontaneous large-scale brain dynamics, even when not consciously experienced. To what extent ascending visceral signals can be consciously perceived remains a matter of debate.Neural and behavioral responses to external stimuli can be influenced by temporal contingencies between heartbeats and stimuli.Beyond temporal contingencies, the transient neural response evoked by each heartbeat plays a role in cognitive functions that are usually studied separately, such as emotion, self-related cognition, and also subjective visual perception, calling for new theoretical perspectives.Neural responses to heartbeats may be involved in the generation of the unified viewpoint of consciousness.
Abstract
Much research in cognitive psychology has focused on the tendency to conserve limited cognitive resources. The CRT is the predominant measure of such miserly information processing, and also ...predicts a number of frequently studied decision-making traits (such as belief bias and need for cognition). However, many subjects from common subject populations have already been exposed to the questions, which might add considerable noise to data. Moreover, the CRT has been shown to be confounded with numeracy. To increase the pool of available questions and to try to address numeracy confounds, we developed and tested the CRT-2. CRT-2 questions appear to rely less on numeracy than the original CRT but appear to measure closely related constructs in other respects. Crucially, substantially fewer subjects from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk have been previously exposed to CRT-2 questions. Though our primary purpose was investigating the CRT-2, we also found that belief bias questions appear suitable as an additional source of new items. Implications and remaining measurement challenges are discussed.
COVID-19 has prompted unprecedented government action around the world. We introduce the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), a dataset that addresses the need for continuously ...updated, readily usable and comparable information on policy measures. From 1 January 2020, the data capture government policies related to closure and containment, health and economic policy for more than 180 countries, plus several countries' subnational jurisdictions. Policy responses are recorded on ordinal or continuous scales for 19 policy areas, capturing variation in degree of response. We present two motivating applications of the data, highlighting patterns in the timing of policy adoption and subsequent policy easing and reimposition, and illustrating how the data can be combined with behavioural and epidemiological indicators. This database enables researchers and policymakers to explore the empirical effects of policy responses on the spread of COVID-19 cases and deaths, as well as on economic and social welfare.
PDF
