681 research outputs found
Locus of response slowing resulting from alternationbased processing interference
No full textIn serial reaction time (RT) tasks, performance is strongly influenced by previous events. RT in TrialN is much slower after response changes than response repetitions from Trial N 2 to Trial N 1 when response–stimulus interval is short (I. Jentzsch &H. Leuthold, 2005). The aim of the present study was to investigate themechanisms leading to this slowing by contrasting the idea of a hard bottleneck, postponing all subsequent processing, with a selective prolonging of postperceptual stages. We analyzed the lateralized readiness potential (LRP) and peak latencies of P1, N1, and P300 components in a choice RT task mapping four stimuli to two responses. Alternation-based interference affected the S-LRP interval but neither the LRP-R interval nor the latency of P1, N1, and P300. These findings suggest that, whereas alternation-based conflict originates at response-related stages, postconflict slowing selectively affects central, premotoric processing
ERP correlates of forgetting: an investigation of resource allocation as a potential neural mechanism behind retrieval-induced forgetting
No full textThe present study was aimed at investigating a potential mechanism behind
retrieval-induced forgetting that we have termed resource allocation. Three
experiments were designed around the notion that increasing the number memories
associated with one concept may reduce retrieval-induced forgetting by spreading out
the limited resources available for that concept. In two experiments, we expanded the
standard retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) paradigm by increasing the number of
items in each category and varying the amount of Rp+ and Rp- items. In one of these
experiments, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the
electrophysiological correlates of retrieval-induced forgetting. We then compared
these findings to a standard version of the RIF paradigm as a control experiment. All
three experiments produced significant facilitation effects, but failed to produce
retrieval-induced forgetting. The absence of RIF in the present study, however, when
combined with the imaging data allows us to discern the ERP correlates of selective
retrieval from those of retrieval-induced forgetting. In the discussion, we present our
case against conclusions drawn in other studies about the ERP correlates of RIF, and
suggest that the characteristic frontoparietal components often found in RIF studies
reflect the neural correlates of selective retrieval rather than inhibition
In Sarbiewski's Circle − Albert Ines' Lyric Poetry
No full textAlbert Ines is discussed here as the author of the lyrical poem Lyricorum centuriae (Gdańsk 1655). In the collection there are many religious poems, especially ones taking up Virgin Mary as their subject matter, and hence Ines is described as vates Marianus. Ines' religious poems are bound by a double convention: that of the use of biblical and ancient metaphors; they are also even ”garrulous” because of motives of praise accumulated in a litany-style manner. His reflective poems are more interesting; they are a kind of intellectual-lyric poetry abouding in clever sayings, pointed antitheses, etc. Ines imitates Sarbiewski but being consistent with the rule ”imitari non expilare” he limits himself to only two ”parodies”; and even they are not very typical. The fact that Ines imitates Sarbiewski is also seen in taking up the same subjects in his poems. This similarity is sometimes rather faint so its significance for our interpretation will be limited
Speeding before and slowing after errors:Is it all just strategy?
No full textPeople are usually faster before and slower after committing an error. This finding has traditionally been explained by strategic changes of response criteria to less or more conservative thresholds. This idea has been implemented in current cognitive control frameworks, where it is proposed that high or low levels of processing conflict can dynamically change these response thresholds to achieve optimal performance. However, recent evidence suggests that evaluation of conflict is time consuming and can potentially interfere with subsequent processing [Jentzsch, I., Dudschig, C., 2009. Why do we slow down after an error? Mechanisms underlying the effects of posterror slowing. Quarterly journal of Experimental Psychology, 62, 209-218]. The present study aims to extend this finding by investigating whether similar mechanisms underlie effects of pre-error speeding and posterror slowing and whether the amplitude of the Ne/ERN predicts posterror slowing in the current task setting. The response stimulus interval (RSI) was systematically manipulated. Speed-up in pre-error trials was unaffected by RSI, suggesting that this effect is not the result of strategic, time-consuming control processes. Posterror slowing dramatically increased and performance became more error prone with decreasing RSI, providing further evidence for the idea that error evaluation can produce substantial interference with subsequent trial processing, particularly when there is insufficient time between the error and the subsequent event. importantly, we did not find a positive relationship between the RSI-dependent change in posterror slowing and the Ne/ERN amplitude, questioning a direct link between the amplitude of this component and the amount of subsequent performance adjustments. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</p
Improved effectiveness of performance monitoring in amateur instrumental musicians
No full textThis research was supported by a Wellcome Trust Biomedical Vacation Scholarship to Anahit Mkrtchian and a Vacation Scholarship from the Institute for Behavioural and Neural Sciences to Nayantara Kansal.Here we report a cross-sectional study investigating the influence of instrumental music practice on the ability to monitor for and respond to processing conflicts and performance errors. Behavioural and electrophysiological indicators of response monitoring in amateur musicians with various skill levels were collected using simple conflict tasks. The results show that instrumental musicians are better able than non-musicians to detect conflicts and errors as indicated by systematic increases in the amplitude of the error-related negativity and the N200 with increasing levels of instrumental practice. Also, high levels of musical training were associated with more efficient and less reactive responses after experience of conflicts and errors as indicated by reduced post-error interference and post-conflict processing adjustments. Together, the present findings suggest that playing a musical instrument might improve the ability to monitor our behavior and adjust our responses effectively when needed. As these processes are amongst the first to be affected by cognitive aging, our evidence could promote musical activity as a realistic intervention to slow or even prevent age-related decline in frontal cortex mediated executive functioning.Peer reviewe
Reactive and proactive control adjustments under increased depressive symptoms : insights from the classic and emotional-face Stroop task
No full textThe current research investigated differences in reactive and proactive cognitive control as a function of depressive symptomatology. Three participant groups with varying symptom levels (Beck Depression Inventory–II, BDI–II score) completed both the classic and an emotional-face Stroop task separately under speed and accuracy instructions. All groups made equivalent speed–accuracy trade-offs independent of task, suggesting that proactive adjustments are unaffected by depressive symptoms. Additionally, groups made equivalent reactive control adjustments (Stroop effects, congruency sequence effects) in the classic Stroop task, suggesting that these reactive control adjustments are spared across a wide range of BDI–II scorers. In contrast, the high BDI–II group displayed a selective impairment in the resolution of conflict in the emotional-face Stroop task. Thus, while proactive control and many aspects of reactive control were unaffected by the level of depressive symptoms, specific impairments occurred when current task demands required the trial-to-trial regulation of emotional processing.Peer reviewe
The Story of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz
No full textabstract: The story of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz is one of a woman who defied the odds of her time. Sor Juana was a nun born in the 1600's in Mexico. From an early start, she had an endless passion for knowledge and always strove to learn as much as she could. She went on to become a nun at the Convent of Santa Paula and used her intellect to advocate for women's rights. Though met with opposition, she wrote many poems, letters, and even plays which included her strong push for women's equality. However, the name Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz is almost never mentioned in popular feminist discourse, despite Sor Juana being credited as one of the first feminist authors. This paper works to not only tell the story of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz in detail, but also works to answer the question, "Why do people not know about Sor Juana". By diving into the origins of the Feminist movement in the United States, the dark underbelly of Feminism is uncovered. Primarily, the topic of how racism in feminism has plague the civil rights movement, what damage has been done to people of color because of feminism's history, and how does that pertain to modern day feminism and Sor Juana. By telling her story through both written and visual aids, the voice of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz is no longer silenced but free to tell her tale and move a generation
Mood-dependent changes in cognitive control
No full textThe symptomatology of depression includes affective and cognitive features. As such,
depression has been associated both with maladaptive concern over emotional material, and
also with general impairments in attentional control. In the current thesis, I investigated the
potential influence of such depression-related dysfunctional emotional processing on a range
of cognitive control abilities, using experimental paradigms containing either neutral or
affective stimuli. In contrast to the hypothesis that depressive symptoms are associated with
generally compromised cognitive control, depression-related impairments were not found on
a range of ‘classic' measures of cognitive control, including error-processing (pre-error
speeding, posterror slowing and error-related ERPs), overriding response conflict (colour-word Stroop interference, conflict adaptation) or more sustained control processes (cued-RT
performance, preparatory ERPs, and maintaining long-term speed-accuracy tradeoffs).
Interestingly, however, differences between groups with low and elevated levels of depressive
symptoms emerged during the performance of emotionally valenced tasks. First, an elevated
depressive symptom group showed a reduced ability to resolve emotional conflict arising
between competing affective representations. When compared with spared performance on
the classic Stroop task, this result suggests that depressive symptoms are associated with a
specific impairment in the ability to regulate emotional distraction. Secondly, an ERP related
to advanced preparation in cued-RT tasks (the CNV), but not those associated with early
perceptual processing (P1, N170), was selectively modulated by negative, but not positive,
task-irrelevant emotional distractors presented during the cue-target interval. This pattern of
ERP results supports a late processing locus of affective attentional bias in depression.
Together, the current results propose that control processes which facilitate the regulation of
emotional material (i.e. over emotional sources of distraction) might be selectively affected
by increased depressive symptoms, suggesting that future work should consider affective
variables when investigating executive control processes in depression
The effects of conflict strength and ageing on cognitive control
No full textElectronic redacted version excludes material for which permission has not been granted by the rights holderIn this thesis, I investigated effects of conflict strength and ageing on cognitive control. Conflict strength was manipulated in the Eriksen flanker task using two different approaches: 1. independent variation of flanker and target contrast; 2. manipulation of stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). Reducing flanker contrast relative to target contrast decreased conflict strength, as shown by a reduction in compatibility effects, when contrast conditions were presented in a randomized fashion but not when they were presented block-wise. An SOA of 100 ms did lead to increased compatibility effects compared to SOAs of 0 ms and 200 ms. Effects of conflict appear to be reflected in the N2 component of the ERP. Although priming played a crucial role in the emergence of the sequential adjustment effect, conflict strength also influenced this effect to a certain degree, supporting the claim that sequential adjustments represent an adaptation of cognitive control. Post-error slowing and error-related ERP components, on the other hand, were not affected by the conflict manipulations, suggesting that errors cannot be explained in terms of conflict processing. Effects of ageing on cognitive control were investigated in a group of middle-aged participants. Although physiological indicators of conflict and error processing were compromised in this age group and overall response times were increased, compatibility, sequential adjustment, and post-error slowing effects were of comparable size as in young adults. These findings suggest that participants could successfully compensate for age-related physiological changes at this early stage of ageing. In conclusion, the research presented in this thesis provided important information to extend our knowledge of factors influencing cognitive control processes
From self to social cognition : a new paradigm to study differentiations within the Theory of Mind mechanism and their relation to executive functioning
No full textTheory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and other people. In this thesis, I present a new paradigm, the Self/Other Differentiation task, which was designed to assess ToM abilities – specifically, the ability to attribute belief states to the ‘Self’ and ‘Other’ – in typically developed, healthy adults. By focussing on fully developed ToM abilities, we aimed to increase understanding of how the ToM mechanism is structured and functions in everyday life, and how individual ToM components may differentially relate to executive functioning (EF) abilities. The Self/Other Differentiation task is a computerized false-belief task utilizing a matched- design to allow direct comparison of self-oriented versus other-oriented belief- attribution processes. Using behavioural (response times/error rates) and electrophysiological (EEG) methods, the work presented in this thesis provides evidence of a clear and distinct differentiation in the processing of ‘Self’ versus ‘Other’ perspectives in healthy ToM. We established a key role of perspective-shifting in ToM, which we hypothesize plays a crucial role in day-to-day communications; shifting from the Self-to-Other perspective was significantly harder (longer and more error prone) than shifting from the Other-to-Self perspective, suggesting that the ‘Self’ forms the stem of understanding the ‘Other’. EEG analysis revealed these effects were present across fronto-lateral and occipital-lateral areas of the brain, particularly across the right hemisphere in parietal regions. We provide evidence of these features as universal, core components of the ToM mechanism, with data collected from both Chinese and Western cultures illustrating similar patterns of results. Results regarding the relationship between ToM and EF were mixed, with one study finding that affective EF positively correlates with ToM task performance, whilst non-affective EF does not, and a further two studies finding no such differential relationship. The Self/Other Differentiation task provides the opportunity to establish the features of ‘typical’ ToM processes in healthy adults, to further our understanding of how the mature ToM mechanism functions
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