Word-specific repetition effects revealed by MEG and the implications for lexical access

This magnetoencephalography (MEG) study investigated the early stages of lexical access in reading, with the goal of establishing when initial contact with lexical information takes place. We identified two candidate evoked responses that could reflect this processing stage: the occipitotemporal N170/M170 and the frontocentral P2. Using a repetition priming paradigm in which long and variable lags were used to reduce the predictability of each repetition, we found that (i) repetition of words, but not pseudowords, evoked a differential bilateral frontal response in the 150–250 ms window, (ii) a differential repetition N400m effect was observed between words and pseudowords. We argue that this frontal response, an MEG correlate of the P2 identified in ERP studies, reflects early access to long-term memory representations, which we tentatively characterize as being modality-specific.     

Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined With Virtual Reality Training on Balance in Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized,Controlled, Double-Blind,Clinical Trial

The authors' aim was to investigate the effects of continuous transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with virtual reality training on static and functional balance in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Twenty children with CP (6 girls and 14 boys; M age = 7 years 6 months ± 2 years) were randomly allocated to two groups. The experimental group received active tDCS and the control group received sham stimulation during the 10 sessions of virtual reality mobility training protocols. The children were evaluated on 3 occasions (preintervention, postintervention, and 1-month follow-up). Static balance was evaluated using a force plate under 4 conditions: feet on force plate with (a) eyes open and (b) with eyes closed, and feet on foam mat with (c) eyes open and (d) with eyes closed. Functional balance was evaluated using the Pediatric Balance Scale and the Timed Up and Go Test. The analyses demonstrated statistically significant postintervention and follow-up effects favoring the experimental group over the control group with regard to the Pediatric Balance Scale, Timed Up and Go Test, and area of oscillation of the center of pressure when standing on the force plate with eyes open. The present findings suggest that tDCS can potentiate the effects of virtual reality training on static and functional balance among children with CP.     

The transfer of Crel contextual control (same,opposite, less than,more than) through equivalence relations

According to Relational Frame Theory (RFT) C_rel denotes a contextual stimulus that controls a particular type of relational response (sameness, opposition, comparative, temporal, hierarchical etc.) in a given situation. Previous studies suggest that contextual functions may be indirectly acquired via transfer of function. The present study investigated the transfer of C_rel contextual control through equivalence relations. Experiment 1 evaluated the transfer of C_rel contextual functions for relational responses based on sameness and opposition. Experiment 2 extended these findings by evaluating transfer of function using comparative C_rel stimuli. Both experiments followed a similar sequence of phases. First, abstract forms were established as C_rel stimuli via multiple exemplar training (Phase 1). The contextual cues were then applied to establish arbitrary relations among nonsense words and to test derived relations (Phase 2). After that, equivalence relations involving the original C_rel stimuli and other abstract forms were trained and tested (Phase 3). Transfer of function was evaluated by replacing the directly established C_rel stimuli with their equivalent stimuli in the former experimental tasks (Phases 1 and 2). Results from both experiments suggest that C_rel contextual control may be extended via equivalence relations, allowing other arbitrarily related stimuli to indirectly acquire C_rel functions and regulate behavior by evoking appropriate relational responses in the presence of both previously known and novel stimuli.     

Effects of delay on episodic memory retrieval by children with autism spectrum disorder

Twenty‐seven 6‐ to 15‐year‐old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 32 typically developing (TD) children were questioned about their participation in a set of activities after a 2‐week delay and again after a 2‐month delay using a best practice interview protocol. Interviews were coded for completeness with respect to the gist of the event, the number of narrative details provided, and accuracy. Results indicated that children with ASD did not differ from TD peers on any dimensions of memory after both delays. Specifically, both groups of children provided equivalently complete accounts on both occasions. However, children in both groups provided significantly fewer narrative details about the event in the second interview, and the accuracy rates were lower. The findings indicate that, like TD children, children with ASD can provide meaningful and reliable testimony about an event they personally experienced, but several aspects of their memory reports deteriorate over time.     

Envy and us

Within emotion theory, envy is generally portrayed as an antisocial emotion because the relation between the envier and the rival is thought to be purely antagonistic. This paper resists this view by arguing that envy presupposes a sense of us. First, we claim that hostile envy is triggered by the envier's sense of impotence combined with her perception that an equality principle has been violated. Second, we introduce the notion of “hetero‐induced self‐conscious emotions” by focusing on the paradigmatic cases of being ashamed or proud of somebody else. We describe envy as a hetero‐induced self‐conscious emotion by arguing (a) that the impotence felt by the subject grounds the emotion's self‐reflexivity and (b) that the rival impacts the subject's self‐assessment because the rival is framed by the subject as an in‐group member. Finally, we elaborate on the asset at stake in envy. We contend that this is esteem recognition: The envier covets the esteem that her reference group accords to the rival. Because, in envy, the subject conceives of herself as member of a group to which the other is also understood to belong, we conclude that envy is a social emotion insofar as it presupposes a sense of us.