1,720,963 research outputs found
Interoception and its role in shaping words meaning: behavioral and electrophysiological explorative evidence on the concreteness of Abstract concepts
Get PDFAccording to Embodied theories of language, sensorimotor systems are actively involved in the processing of words meaning. Different studies support this theoretical proposition, showing that modality-specific sensorimotor representations built on actual experiences are reenacted during words processing. While Concrete concepts are thought to rely on reactivation of experiences in exteroceptive modalities; Abstract concepts are thought to reactivate bodily sensations through the interoceptive modality. The main aim of the current thesis is to provide evidence advocating for the prominent role of interoception in embodiment of Abstract concepts, providing additional insight on the body-language coupling adopting behavioral and electrophysiological techniques. In Experiment 1, we compared perceptual strength ratings across languages, explored the importance of interoception in defining Abstract concepts, and addressed its implication for trait measures of empathy and interoceptive sensitivity. Moreover, cluster analysis was conducted with the aim of examining whether perceptual strength ratings could provide a reliable way of distinguishing conceptual categories. In detail, we explored perceptual strength ratings of 40 Abstract and 40 Concrete concepts in Italian, Hebrew, and English native speakers. As far as we are aware of, no previous studies directly compared different languages combining perceptual strength ratings, trait measurements, and clustering analysis. We observed high consistencies between languages for what concerns: 1) pattern of perceptual ratings for Abstract and Concrete concepts for each modality; 2) the importance of interoception in embodiment of Abstract concepts; and 3) the perceptual-based distinction in conceptual categories. In addition, some cross-linguistic differences emerged in relation to the levels in which interoceptive components of concepts influence empathy. In addition, to understand better the contribution of bodily states and interoception to word processing, we further examined the effects of being immersed in a perceptual deprivation chamber aimed at increasing saliency of bodily and internal states on electrophysiological correlates of word processing. To the best of our knowledge no previous studies explored the effect of this kind of manipulation on word processing. Consequently, in Experiment 2, we collected ERPs related to the processing of Abstract and Concrete words, focusing on the N400 and a late N700-like negativity. We hypothesized that the immersion in the perceptual deprivation chamber would reduce the differences between ERPs’ amplitudes for Abstract and Concrete words as an effect of increased interoceptive and decreased exteroceptive saliency. In line with our hypothesis, we observed that: 1) the N400 difference between Abstract and Concrete concepts was reduced in the perceptual deprivation chamber; and 2) Abstract concepts elicited stronger late N700-like negativity in the perceptual deprivation chamber. We suggest that increased attentional focus on internal states would reduce the retrieval of sensorimotor components during Concrete concepts processing and facilitate multimodal imagery processes during Abstract words’ processing. Taken together, the current thesis supports the bidirectional relationship between bodily states and language processing in which words act as cue to the retrieval of perceptual experiences (language-to-body) and the bodily state facilitate the retrieval of multimodal situated representations (body-to-language). Furthermore, the importance of directing attention towards bodily and internal states and the implications of our results on the Abstract-Concrete distinction are discussed. In conclusion, bodily states appear to be involved in word processing even more than previously thought. Future studies aimed at providing deeper understanding of the body-language coupling including additional physiological measures are recommended
Reconstructing the origins of the space-number association: spatial and number-magnitude codes must be used jointly to elicit spatially organised mental number lines
No full textIn a series of five experiments with unimanual Go/No-Go tasks and intermixed Arabic numerical, i.e. numbers lower or higher than 5, and directional targets, i.e. arrows pointing to the left or to the right, we explored whether spatial codes used in isolation inherently evoke the left-to-right representation of number magnitudes, i.e. Space-to-Number congruency effect, and, vice-versa, whether number-magnitude codes used in isolation inherently evoke the conceptual activation of left/right spatial codes, i.e. Number-to-Space congruency effect. In Experiment 1 Go responses were provided based on instructions that activated only magnitude codes, e.g. "push only if the number is lower than 5 and whenever an arrow appears", or only spatial codes, e.g. "push only when an arrow points to the left and whenever a number appears". In Experiments 2-4, the same instructions were combined with the request of responding only to arrows in a specific colour. No fixed association was present between a specific arrow colour and a specific arrow direction. In Experiment 3, the direction of arrow-targets was kept fixed to favour the processing of arrow direction. In Experiment 4, an additional class of No-Go visual stimuli was included to heighten the focus of attention on numerical and directional arrow-targets and, in addition, only numbers 1, 2, 8 and 9 were used to force the contrast between small and large magnitude codes. The results of Experiments 1-4 highlighted no significant or reliable Space-to-Number congruency effect, e.g. faster RTs to numbers lower than 5 when participants attend to arrows pointing to the left, or Number-to-Space congruency effect, e.g. faster RTs to arrows pointing to the left when participants attend to numbers lower than 5. In Experiment 5 we confirmed that when spatial and number magnitude codes are used in conjunction, e.g. " push only when an arrow points left and when a number is lower than 5", a significant Space-to-Number congruency effect is found and we expanded this evidence to Number-to-Space congruency. Split-half testing showed that in Experiment 5 congruency effects were reliable and null-hypothesis significance testing showed that they were different from those found in all other experiments. We conclude that neither space codes used in isolation can elicit a spatial representation of number magnitudes nor number-magnitude codes used in isolation can trigger the activation of spatial codes. Thus, spatial and numerical codes must be used jointly to evoke reliable spatially organised mental number lines
A Scoping Review of Neuromodulation Techniques in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Useful Tool for Clinical Practice?
No full textBackground and Objectives: Neurodegenerative diseases that typically affect the elderly such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and frontotemporal dementia are typically characterised by significant cognitive impairment that worsens significantly over time. To date, viable pharmacological options for the cognitive symptoms in these clinical conditions are lacking. In recent years, various studies have employed neuromodulation techniques to try and contrast patients’ decay. Materials and Methods: We conducted an in-depth literature review of the state-of-the-art of the contribution of these techniques across these neurodegenerative diseases. Results: The present review reports that neuromodulation techniques targeting cognitive impairment do not allow to draw yet any definitive conclusion about their clinical efficacy although preliminary evidence is very encouraging. Conclusions: Further and more robust studies should evaluate the potentialities and limitations of the application of these promising therapeutic tools to neurodegenerative diseases
A Scoping Review of Cognitive Training in Neurodegenerative Diseases via Computerized and Virtual Reality Tools: What We Know So Far
No full textMost prevalent neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis are heterogeneous in their clinical profiles and underlying pathophysiology, although they typically share the presence of cognitive impairment that worsens significantly during the course of the disease. Viable pharmacological options for cognitive symptoms in these clinical conditions are currently lacking. In recent years, several studies have started to apply Computerized Cognitive Training (CCT) and Virtual Reality (VR) tools to try and contrast patients’ cognitive decay over time. However, no in-depth literature review of the contribution of these promising therapeutic options across main neurodegenerative diseases has been conducted yet. The present paper reports the state-of-the-art of CCT and VR studies targeting cognitive impairment in most common neurodegenerative conditions. Our twofold aim is to point out the scientific evidence available so far and to support health professionals to consider these promising therapeutic tools when planning rehabilitative interventions, especially when the access to regular and frequent hospital consultations is not easy to be provided
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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