To understand subjective evaluation of an option, various disciplines have quantified the interaction between reward and effort during decision making, producing an estimate of economic utility, ...namely the subjective ‘goodness’ of an option. However, variables that affect utility of an option also influence the vigor of movements toward that option. For example, expectation of reward increases speed of saccadic eye movements, whereas expectation of effort decreases this speed. These results imply that vigor may serve as a new, real-time metric with which to quantify subjective utility, and that the control of movements may be an implicit reflection of the brain’s economic evaluation of the expected outcome.
Movement vigor is influenced by the magnitude of the reward to be obtained and the effort at stake, suggesting that control of movements is a reflection of the brain’s economic evaluation of the utility of the outcome.
Historically, utility has been identified based on the choices of an individual, an approach that is limited in its ability to assign a numeric measure of relative preference. Vigor may provide a new scale with which to quantify a real-valued measure of utility.
During deliberation between various options, saccade vigor can provide a real-time measure of the ongoing evaluation process, reflecting the current utility of each option.
The basal ganglia, particularly the dorsal striatum, are implicated in the control of both movement vigor and decision making. Altering function of these regions has immediate effects on vigor.
Movement slowing in older adults and individuals with PD may be related to an altered economic evaluation of reward and effort.
Lie detection techniques are frequently used, but most of them have been criticized for the lack of empirical support for their predictive validity and presumed underlying mechanisms. This situation ...has led to increased efforts to unravel the cognitive mechanisms underlying deception and to develop a comprehensive theory of deception. A cognitive approach to deception has reinvigorated interest in reaction time (RT) measures to differentiate lies from truths and to investigate whether lying is more cognitively demanding than truth telling. Here, we provide the results of a meta-analysis of 114 studies (n = 3307) using computerized RT paradigms to assess the cognitive cost of lying. Results revealed a large standardized RT difference, even after correction for publication bias (d = 1.049; 95% CI 0.930; 1.169), with a large heterogeneity amongst effect sizes. Moderator analyses revealed that the RT deception effect was smaller, yet still large, in studies in which participants received instructions to avoid detection. The autobiographical Implicit Association Test produced smaller effects than the Concealed Information Test, the Sheffield Lie Test, and the Differentiation of Deception paradigm. An additional meta-analysis (17 studies, n = 348) showed that, like other deception measures, RT deception measures are susceptible to countermeasures. Whereas our meta-analysis corroborates current cognitive approaches to deception, the observed heterogeneity calls for further research on the boundary conditions of the cognitive cost of deception. RT-based measures of deception may have potential in applied settings, but countermeasures remain an important challenge.
Aerobic Fitness and Cognitive Development Hillman, Charles H; Buck, Sarah M; Themanson, Jason R ...
Developmental psychology,
01/2009, Letnik:
45, Številka:
1
Journal Article
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The relationship between aerobic fitness and executive control was assessed in 38 higher- and lower-fit children (
M
age
= 9.4 years), grouped according to their performance on a field test of ...aerobic capacity. Participants performed a flanker task requiring variable amounts of executive control while event-related brain potential responses and task performance were assessed. Results indicated that higher-fit children performed more accurately across conditions of the flanker task and following commission errors when compared to lower-fit children, whereas no group differences were observed for reaction time. Neuroelectric data indicated that P3 amplitude was larger for higher- compared to lower-fit children across conditions of the flanker task, and higher-fit children exhibited reduced error-related negativity amplitude and increased error positivity amplitude compared to lower-fit children. The data suggest that fitness is associated with better cognitive performance on an executive control task through increased cognitive control, resulting in greater allocation of attentional resources during stimulus encoding and a subsequent reduction in conflict during response selection. The findings differ from those observed in adult populations by indicating a general rather than a selective relationship between aerobic fitness and cognition.
Sustained rate-coded signals encode many types of sensory modalities. Some sensory synapses possess specialized ribbon structures, which tether vesicles, to enable high-frequency signaling. However, ...central synapses lack these structures, yet some can maintain signaling over a wide bandwidth. To analyze the underlying molecular mechanisms, we investigated the function of the active zone core component Bassoon in cerebellar mossy fiber to granule cell synapses. We show that short-term synaptic depression is enhanced in Bassoon knockout mice during sustained high-frequency trains but basal synaptic transmission is unaffected. Fluctuation and quantal analysis as well as quantification with constrained short-term plasticity models revealed that the vesicle reloading rate was halved in the absence of Bassoon. Thus, our data show that the cytomatrix protein Bassoon speeds the reloading of vesicles to release sites at a central excitatory synapse.
► Generation of a transgenic mouse line that lacks Bassoon ► Normal basal transmission at mossy fiber to granule cell synapses in Bassoon mutants ► Enhanced synaptic depression within milliseconds during high-frequency transmission ► Halved rate of vesicle reloading at active zones in Bassoon knockout mice
Hippocampal GABAergic interneurons show diverse molecular and morphological properties. The functional significance of this diversity for information processing is poorly understood. Here we show ...that cholecystokinin (CCK)-expressing interneurons in rat dentate gyrus release GABA in a highly asynchronous manner, in contrast to parvalbumin (PV) interneurons. With a gamma-frequency burst of ten action potentials, the ratio of asynchronous to synchronous release is 3:1 in CCK interneurons but is 1:5 in parvalbumin interneurons. N-type channels trigger synchronous and asynchronous release in CCK interneuron synapses, whereas P/Q-type Ca(2+) channels mediate release at PV interneuron synapses. Effects of Ca(2+) chelators suggest that both a long-lasting presynaptic Ca(2+) transient and a large distance between Ca(2+) source and sensor of exocytosis contribute to the higher ratio of asynchronous to synchronous release in CCK interneuron synapses. Asynchronous release occurs at physiological temperature and with behaviorally relevant stimulation patterns, thus generating long-lasting inhibition in the brain.
Inhibitory local circuits in the olfactory bulb play a critical role in determining the firing patterns of output neurons. However, little is known about the circuitry in the major plexiform layers ...of the olfactory bulb that regulate this output. Here we report the first electrophysiological recordings from Blanes cells, large stellate-shaped interneurons located in the granule cell layer. We find that Blanes cells are GABAergic and generate large I
CAN-mediated afterdepolarizations following bursts of action potentials. Using paired two-photon guided intracellular recordings, we show that Blanes cells have a presumptive axon and monosynaptically inhibit granule cells. Sensory axon stimulation evokes barrages of EPSPs in Blanes cells that trigger long epochs of persistent spiking; this firing mode was reset by hyperpolarizing membrane potential steps. Persistent firing in Blanes cells may represent a novel mechanism for encoding short-term olfactory information through modulation of tonic inhibitory synaptic input onto bulbar neurons.
Abstract Evidence from studies of provocative motion indicates that motion sickness is tightly linked to the disturbances of thermoregulation. The major aim of the current study was to determine ...whether provocative visual stimuli (immersion into the virtual reality simulating rides on a rollercoaster) affect skin temperature that reflects thermoregulatory cutaneous responses, and to test whether such stimuli alter cognitive functions. In 26 healthy young volunteers wearing head-mounted display (Oculus Rift), simulated rides consistently provoked vection and nausea, with a significant difference between the two versions of simulation software (Parrot Coaster and Helix). Basal finger temperature had bimodal distribution, with low-temperature group (n = 8) having values of 23–29 °C, and high-temperature group (n = 18) having values of 32–36 °C. Effects of cybersickness on finger temperature depended on the basal level of this variable: in subjects from former group it raised by 3–4 °C, while in most subjects from the latter group it either did not change or transiently reduced by 1.5–2 °C. There was no correlation between the magnitude of changes in the finger temperature and nausea score at the end of simulated ride. Provocative visual stimulation caused prolongation of simple reaction time by 20–50 ms; this increase closely correlated with the subjective rating of nausea. Lastly, in subjects who experienced pronounced nausea, heart rate was elevated. We conclude that cybersickness is associated with changes in cutaneous thermoregulatory vascular tone; this further supports the idea of a tight link between motion sickness and thermoregulation. Cybersickness-induced prolongation of reaction time raises obvious concerns regarding the safety of this technology.
In the present study, we report the results from a large sample of participants (N = 136), selected based on their EEG quality, to obtain event-related potential (ERP) normative data. All ...participants were tested in Simple Response Task (SRT) and Discriminative Response Task (DRT). A subset of 36 participants was tested also in Passive Vision task. Both pre- and post-stimulus ERPs were analyzed and compared among different tasks. Spatiotemporal patterns of all the observed components were analyzed using source analysis. Beside the well-known ERP components, we also described recently identified prefrontal components: the pre-stimulus prefrontal negativity (pN) associated to proactive cognitive (mainly inhibitory) control within the inferior frontal gyrus (iFg); the post-stimulus prefrontal N1, P1 and P2 (pN1, pP1 and pP2) involved in perceptual and visual-motor awareness (pN1 and pP1), and in stimulus-response mapping and decision-making (pP2) localized within the insular cortex. The large sample of high-quality EEG datasets allowed to identify four additional components: the pre-stimulus visual negativity (vN) originating in extrastriate visual areas and interpreted as a visual readiness activity; the post-stimulus prefrontal N2 and N3 (pN2 and pN3) components interpreted as feedback reactivation of the anterior insular cortex; and the post-stimulus prefrontal P3 (pP3), interpreted as persisting inhibitory activity of the iFg for inhibited trials.
•Normative ERP data were obtained from 136 participants in simple and complex tasks.•The pre- (pN) and post-stimulus (pN1, Pp1, Pp2) components were especially described.•A passive vision task allowed to detect a pre-stimulus occipital vN component.•We showed new ways to study cognition in prefrontal and insular cortex using ERP.
Past research has indicated the significance of Executive Functions (EF) in several sports. According to the cognitive skill transfer hypothesis, training in specific cognitive tasks may have ...beneficial effects on related but untrained tasks. Considering the differing cognitive demands of several sports, differences in EF between sport types were addressed.
EF performances of elite athletes in static, interceptive, and strategic sports were compared using a cross sectional study design.
Austrian elite athletes (N = 184; 110 male/64 female; mean age 23.21 ± 4.48 years) of various sports conducted three tests at the starting point of their sport-psychological consultancy, measuring inhibition and interference control (flanker task), cognitive shifting (adopted flanker task including a second task to shift response reactions) and working memory (2-back task).
MANOVAs for each test indicated differences between sport types: Strategic sports revealed benefits in comparison to static sports in mean reaction times, cognitive shifting and to a certain extent working memory. Discriminant analysis clarified a significant differentiation between these three sport types considering the main scores of all three tests as independent variables.
The results emphasize the role of EF in high-performance sports and demonstrate that athletes differ in EF according to their individual sports. This finding suggests that the development of EF might be favored by the deliberate practice of strategic sports, and/or that EF might play a more prominent role in strategic sports.
•Differences in Executive Functions (EF) between sport types were detected.•184 elite athletes of various sports conducted three tests measuring core EF.•Athletes of strategic sports showed benefits on inhibition and shifting.•Athletes of static sports showed worse EF performances.
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