Essential kinematic information,athletic experience,and affordance perception for others

The present study investigated the role of different types of movement in affordance perception, as well as the influence of sports experience. Perception of another actor’s maximum vertical jumping height and horizontal long-jumping distance was evaluated for basketball players, soccer players, and nonplayer controls after viewing point-light representations of the actors’ movements. Perceptual reports were more accurate after jumping-related movements (walking and squatting) were viewed than after nonrelated movements (standing and twisting). Vertical jump reports were more accurate than horizontal jump reports. Basketball and soccer players demonstrated higher accuracy than did controls. This research establishes that point-light displays contain essential kinematic information sufficient to support accurate affordance perception, and athletes appear better attuned to kinematic information specifying affordances for others as a result of their sports experience.     

Improving Outcomes for Youth with ADHD: A Conceptual Framework for Combined Neurocognitive and Skill-Based Treatment Approaches

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent and chronic mental health condition that often results in substantial impairments throughout life. Although evidence-based pharmacological and psychosocial treatments exist for ADHD, effects of these treatments are acute, do not typically generalize into non-treated settings, rarely sustain over time, and insufficiently affect key areas of functional impairment (i.e., family, social, and academic functioning) and executive functioning. The limitations of current evidence-based treatments may be due to the inability of these treatments to address underlying neurocognitive deficits that are related to the symptoms of ADHD and associated areas of functional impairment. Although efforts have been made to directly target the underlying neurocognitive deficits of ADHD, extant neurocognitive interventions have shown limited efficacy, possibly due to misspecification of training targets and inadequate potency. We argue herein that despite these limitations, next-generation neurocognitive training programs that more precisely and potently target neurocognitive deficits may lead to optimal outcomes when used in combination with specific skill-based psychosocial treatments for ADHD. We discuss the rationale for such a combined treatment approach, prominent examples of this combined treatment approach for other mental health disorders, and potential combined treatment approaches for pediatric ADHD. Finally, we conclude with directions for future research necessary to develop a combined neurocognitive + skill-based treatment for youth with ADHD.     

Executive process training in young and old adults

There is a growing body of research on the modifiability of executive functions in different stages of life. Previous studies demonstrate robust training effects but limited transfer in younger and particularly in older adults. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether a theoretically derived intervention for executive functioning, addressing several basic processes (updating, shifting, and inhibition), can induce transfer effects in early and late adulthood. Fifty-nine healthy adults, 29 young and 30 older adults, were randomly assigned to either training or no-contact control groups. The training groups received 15 sessions of executive process training for about 45 min/session during 5 weeks. A test battery including a criterion task and near, intermediate, and far transfer tasks was administered before and after training. Results showed pronounced age-equivalent gains on the criterion task. Near transfer was seen to non-trained updating and inhibition tasks for the young and older trained participants. However, only the young adults showed intermediate transfer to two complex working memory tasks. No far transfer effects were seen for either age group. These findings provide additional evidence for age-related constraints in the ability to generalize acquired executive skills, and specifically show that training of multiple executive processes is not sufficient to foster transfer beyond the very near in older adults.     

Manipulation of walnuts to facilitate opening by the great spotted woodpecker (Picoides major): is it tool use?

True tool use has been documented in some bird species, but to our knowledge, it has not been shown in woodpeckers. Here, we investigated the ability of Picoides major to open nuts of Juglans mandshurica by consistently inserting walnuts between tree branches in a specific position that facilitated nut opening. As seen in these birds, we showed that woodpeckers removed 96 % of the nuts of J. mandshurica from experimental seed trays and inserted each nut in a precise position that specifically allowed nut cracking. When we inserted nuts in an alternative position, woodpeckers manipulated and repositioned nuts to allow nut opening. In contrast, when we inserted the nuts in positions preferred for nut opening, woodpeckers did not alter their position and instead opened the nuts. We suggest that the origin of this behavior, as in other forms of tool use, likely requires a higher cognitive ability in these birds.     

Prospective memory in children and chimpanzees

Prospective memory (PM) involves remembering to do something at a specific time in the future. Here, we investigate the beginnings of this ability in young children (3-year-olds; Homo sapiens) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) using an analogous task. Subjects were given a choice between two toys (children) or two food items (chimpanzees). The selected item was delivered immediately, whereas the unselected item was hidden in an opaque container. After completing an ongoing quantity discrimination task, subjects could request the hidden item by asking for it (children) or by pointing to the container and identifying the item on a symbol board (chimpanzees). Children and chimpanzees showed evidence of prospective-like memory in this task, as evidenced by successful retrieval of the item at the end of the task, sometimes spontaneously with no prompting from the experimenter. These findings contribute to our understanding of PM from an ontogenetic and comparative perspective.     

Lamentations 5:21 within the Development of Thomas Aquinas' Theology of the Grace of Conversion

As a case study in Thomas Aquinas' use of Scripture, this article examines his appeals to Lamentations 5:21 over the course of his career, highlighting the ways in which it informs the development of his mature theology of the grace of conversion. These considerations show how key Scripture verses not only inspire the material content of Thomas' theology, but also serve as indispensible formal components for its expression.     

Neural correlates of sensory‐enabling presentation: An fMRI study of image zooming and rotation video effects on online apparel shopping

For experience products, such as apparel, sensory‐enabling presentations that provide a sense of tactile experience have been suggested as an effective strategy to reduce perceived risk and increase the likelihood of a pleasurable shopping experience. Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), we investigated whether sensory‐enabling presentations, specifically, image zooming and rotation videos, would evoke different cognitive and affective brain functions during product evaluation and purchase decision processes. The results suggested that whereas image zooming may evoke more visual perception in the product evaluation process, the rotation view evokes more mental imagery, pleasure, and reward anticipation during the purchase decision process. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Zabarella on Prime Matter and Extension

Philosophia - In his discussion of prime matter in De rebus naturalibus, Jacob Zabarella (1533–1589) defends the position that prime matter is extended. However, it is less clear how he...