The relation between action, predictability and temporal contiguity in temporal binding

Previous studies have documented a subjective temporal attraction between actions and their effects. This finding, named intentional binding, is thought to be the result of a cognitive function that links actions to their consequences. Although several studies have tried to outline the necessary and sufficient conditions for intentional binding, a quantitative comparison between the roles of temporal contiguity, predictability and voluntary action and the evaluation of their interactions is difficult due to the high variability of the temporal binding measurements. In the present study, we used a novel methodology to investigate the properties of intentional binding. Subjects judged whether an auditory stimulus, which could either be triggered by a voluntary finger lift or be presented after a visual temporal marker unrelated to any action, was presented synchronously with a reference stimulus. In three experiments, the predictability, the interval between action and consequence and the presence of action itself were manipulated. The results indicate that (1) action is a necessary condition for temporal binding; (2) a fixed interval between the two events is not sufficient to cause the effect and (3) only in the presence of voluntary action do temporal predictability and contiguity play a significant role in modulating the effect.These findings are discussed in the context of the relationship between intentional binding and temporal expectation.     

Semantic processing of crowded stimuli?

Effects of semantic processing of crowded characters were investigated using numbers as stimuli. In an identification task, typical spacing effects in crowding were replicated. Using the same stimuli in a magnitude comparison task, a smaller effect of spacing was observed as well as an effect of response congruency. These effects were replicated in a second experiment with varying stimulus-onset asynchronies. In addition, decreasing performance with increasing onset-asynchrony (so-called type-B masking) for incongruent flankers indicates semantic processing of target and flankers. The data show that semantic processing takes place even in crowded stimuli. This argues strongly against common accounts of crowding in terms of early stimulus-driven impairments of processing.     

Health care responsibility

The general and deep dissatisfaction with the present-day status of health care is of such intensity that one speaks of a health care crisis. What is most disturbing to the physicians is that society directs its accusation mainly at the health care professional for being responsible for this crisis. If we want to abolish the crisis we must try to get a renewed look at its source, i.e., to answer the questions “where did health care go wrong primarily?” and “with whom lies the ultimate responsibility for health care?”. In the following discourse these questions are discussed. Based on the assumption that every human being is a free rational agent the ultimate health care responsibility is assigned to the citizen. Of course, whether such an approach will in fact solve the problems inherent in present-day health systems cannot be predicted.     

Anatomoclinical correlations of the aphasias as defined through computerized tomography: Exceptions

We have studied the frequency of exceptions to classical aphasia localizations in right-handed, literate, adult, native speakers of Italian with focal vascular left-hemisphere lesions, correlating clinical and computerized tomography data. Two hundred sixty-seven subjects were given computerized tomography (CT) examinations; lesions were mapped onto lateral diagrams and the sites of the lesions were defined. Patients were then classified as nonfluent aphasics, fluent aphasics, and nonaphasics. Patients with negative CT scans (n = 10) or only "deep" lesions (n = 50) were not studied for anatomoclinical correlations. Of the remaining 207 patients, 36 presented unexpected findings. There were seven cases of fluent aphasia and "anterior" CT lesions and six cases with nonfluent aphasia and "posterior" CT lesions among them. The significance of these findings is discussed.     

Evidence for Mental-model-based Reasoning: A Comparison of Reasoning with Time and Space Concepts

Johnson-Laird (1983) has argued that spatial reasoning is based on the construction and manipulation of mental models in memory. The present article addresses the question of whether reasoning about time relations is constrained by the same factors as reasoning about spatial relations. An experiment is reported that explored the similarities and the differences in the performance of subjects in comparable spatial and temporal reasoning tasks. The results indicated that, in both the temporal and the spatial content domains, the data were in agreement with the view that subjects solved problems by constructing models in memory rather than with a logical rule conceptualisation of reasoning. An analysis of the premise-reading times on the basis of premise-linking order provided support for an on-line process of mental models construction, and offered an explanation for the finding that spatial problems that did require an inference of transitivity were easier than problems that did not. No essential differences in processing and performance were observed across the two content domains, although in the time domain the correctness data were in agreement with both the mental models theory and the logical rules view. The results are discussed with respect to the mental models theory and the structural characteristics of the problems.     

Examining the response programming function of the Quiet Eye: Do tougher shots need a quieter eye?

Support for the proposition that the Quiet Eye (QE) duration reflects a period of response programming (including task parameterisation) has come from research showing that an increase in task difficulty is associated with increases in QE duration. Here, we build on previous research by manipulating three elements of task difficulty that correspond with different parameters of golf-putting performance; force production, impact quality and target line. Longer QE durations were found for more complex iterations of the task and furthermore, more sensitive analyses of the QE duration suggest that the early QE proportion (prior to movement initiation) is closely related to force production and impact quality. However, these increases in QE do not seem functional in terms of supporting improved performance. Further research is needed to explore QE’s relationship with performance under conditions of increased difficulty.     

Two components in IOR: evidence for response bias and perceptual processing delays using the SAT methodology

Inhibition of return (IOR) occurs when reaction times (RTs) are slowed to respond to a target that appears at a previously attended location. We used the speed-accuracy trade-off (SAT) procedure to obtain conjoint measures of IOR on sensitivity and processing speed by presenting targets at cued and uncued locations. The results showed that IOR is associated with both delays in processing speed and shifts in response criterion. When the target was briefly presented, the results supported a criterion shift account of IOR. However, when the target was presented until response, the evidence indicated that, in addition to a response bias effect, there was an increase in the minimal time required for information about the target to accumulate above chance level. A hybrid account of IOR is suggested that describes effects on both response bias and perceptual processing.     

Cumulative risk disparities in children's neurocognitive functioning: a developmental cascade model

The current longitudinal study examined the role of cumulative social risk on children's theory of mind (ToM) and executive functioning (EF) across early development. Further, we also tested a cascade model of development in which children's social cognition at 18 months was hypothesized to predict ToM and EF at age 4.5 through intermediary language skills at age 3. We then examined whether this developmental mechanism varied as a function of social risk status. Participants were 501 children recruited when they were newborns, at which point eight psychosocial risk factors were assessed and combined into a metric of cumulative social disadvantage. Families were followed up at 18 months, at which point four social‐cognitive skills were assessed using developmentally sensitive tasks: joint attention, empathy, cooperation, and self‐recognition. Language was measured at age 3 using a standardized measure of receptive vocabulary. At age 3 and 4.5, EF and ToM were measured using previously validated tasks. Results showed that there were notable cumulative risk disparities in overall neurocognitive skill development, and these effects became more differentiated over time. Support was also found for a developmental mechanism wherein the effect of social cognition at 18 months on ToM and EF in the preschool period operated specifically through children's receptive language ability at age 3. This pathway functioned similarly for children with both low‐ and high‐risk backgrounds. These results extend previous findings by documenting the role of cumulative social disadvantage on children's neurocognition and the pathways that link key neurocognitive abilities across early development.