Hierarchical organization of a reference system in newborn spontaneous movements

In this paper, we studied spontaneous newborn movements regarding the coordination of the four limbs, arms and legs, from a dynamic perspective. We used the method of recurrence plots to analyse the kinematic data from audiovisual recordings of neonates. We identified temporal and spatial synchronization of the four limbs that resulted in high recurrence patterns of biomechanical reference configurations. Furthermore, we identified transitions between linear and nonlinear epochs in the movement behavior of newborns on different time scales by means of recurrence quantification analysis. Results are discussed in the context of the concept of a structural hierarchy, in which different time scales correspond to hierarchical levels of organization.     

Attachment style,partner communication,and physical well‐being among couples coping with cancer

Attachment styles may influence interpersonal strategies used to cope with stress. We examined links between attachment style, communicative behaviors, and physical well‐being among 166 couples coping with cancer. Results of actor–partner interdependence mediation models indicated that insecure attachment styles were associated with greater self‐report of two different and seemingly contradictory communicative behaviors (disclosure and holding back), which in turn were associated with poorer physical well‐being. These effects were intrapersonal for both patients and spouses, with the exception of anxious attachment and holding back for spouses. They were also interpersonal in that spouse insecure attachment was associated with poorer patient physical well‐being through spouse communication (greater holding back and disclosure). Couple‐based communication interventions to support adjustment should consider attachment style.     

The ontogeny of continuous quantity discrimination in zebrafish larvae (Danio rerio)

Animal Cognition - Several studies have investigated the ontogeny of the capacity to discriminate between discrete numerical information in human and non-human animals. Contrarily, less attention...     

The phenomenology of embodied attention

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences - This paper aims to conceptualize the phenomenology of attentional experience as ‘embodied attention.’ Current psychological research, in...     

Implementing flexibility in automaticity: Evidence from context-specific implicit sequence learning

Attention is often dichotomized into controlled vs. automatic processing, where controlled processing is slow, flexible, and intentional, and automatic processing is fast, inflexible, and unintentional. In contrast to this strict dichotomy, there is mounting evidence for context-specific processes that are engaged rapidly yet are also flexible. In the present study we extend this idea to the domain of implicit learning to examine whether flexibility in automatic processes can be implemented through the reliance on contextual features. Across three experiments we show that participants can learn implicitly two complementary sequences that are associated with distinct contexts, and that transfer of learning when the two contexts are randomly intermixed depends on the distinctiveness of the two contexts. Our results point to the role of context-specific processes in the acquisition and expression of implicit sequence knowledge, and also suggest that episodic details can be represented in sequence knowledge.