Differences in the strength of distractor inhibition do not affect distractor–response bindings

Distractor inhibition and distractor–response binding were investigated in two experiments by analyzing distractor repetition benefits and their interaction with response repetition effects in a sequential-priming paradigm. Distractor repetition benefits were larger for distractors that were incompatible with the to-be-executed response (task-related distractors) than for distractors that were not assigned to a response (neutral distractors), indicating that the strength of distractor inhibition was a function of response interference for the distractors. In contrast, the distractor–response bindings were found to be of equal strength for both task-related and neutral distractors. Thus, differences in the strengths of distractor inhibition did not affect the integration of distractors with responses into event files. Instead, our results suggest that distractor–response binding and distractor inhibition are independent mechanisms that are recruited for the automatization of behavior and action control.     

Timing: A missing key ingredient in typical fMRI studies of emotion

Lindquist et al. provide a compelling summary of the brain bases of the onset of emotion. Their conclusions, however, are constrained by typical fMRI techniques that do not assess a key ingredient in emotional experience - timing. We discuss the importance of timing in theories of emotion as well as the implications of neural temporal dynamics for psychological constructionism.     

Regulatory disorders in early childhood: Correlates in child behavior,parent–child relationship,and parental mental health

According to the guidelines published by the German Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy (2007), regulatory disorders of early childhood are characterized by a symptom triad, including (a) behavioral symptoms such as excessive crying, sleeping, or feeding problems; (b) a disturbed parent–child relationship; and (c) parental psychopathology. On the basis of a clinic–referred sample of 162 children, we examined whether children with and without regulatory symptoms differed in the quality of parent–child relationship and parental mental health, and how often the criteria of the symptom triad were fulfilled in the group of children with regulatory symptoms. In addition, emotional and behavior problems were compared in children with and without regulatory symptoms. Children with regulatory symptoms and children with other psychiatric symptoms did not differ with respect to child–parent relationship quality. However, parents of children with regulatory symptoms scored higher on the Symptom Checklist 90 Items‐Revised (G.H. Franke, 2002 ) than did the other parents. On the Child Behavior Checklist (T.M. Achenbach & L.A. Rescorla, 2000), children with regulatory symptoms tended to show more somatic problems, but they showed significantly less withdrawn behavior than did the other children. Of the 67 children with regulatory symptoms, only 11 (16.4%) fulfilled all three criteria of a regulatory disorder.     

Positivity effect in healthy aging in observational but not active feedback-learning

The present study investigated the impact of healthy aging on the bias to learn from positive or negative performance feedback in observational and active feedback learning. In active learning, a previous study had already shown a negative learning bias in healthy seniors older than 75 years, while no bias was found for younger seniors. However, healthy aging is accompanied by a 'positivity effect', a tendency to primarily attend to stimuli with positive valence. Based on recent findings of dissociable neural mechanisms in active and observational feedback learning, the positivity effect was hypothesized to influence older participants' observational feedback learning in particular. In two separate experiments, groups of young (mean age 27) and older participants (mean age 60 years) completed an observational or active learning task designed to differentially assess positive and negative learning. Older but not younger observational learners showed a significant bias to learn better from positive than negative feedback. In accordance with previous findings, no bias was found for active learning. This pattern of results is discussed in terms of differences in the neural underpinnings of active and observational learning from performance feedback.     

Small and large number discrimination in guppies

Non-verbal numerical behavior in human infants, human adults, and non-human primates appears to be rooted in two distinct mechanisms: a precise system for tracking and comparing small numbers of items simultaneously (up to 3 or 4 items) and an approximate system for estimating numerical magnitude of a group of objects. The most striking evidence that these two mechanisms are distinct comes from the apparent inability of young human infants and non-human primates to compare quantites across the small (<3 or 4)/large (>4) number boundary. We ask whether this distinction is present in lower animal species more distantly related to humans, guppies (Poecilia reticulata). We found that, like human infants and non-human primates, fish succeed at comparisons between large numbers only (5 vs. 10), succeed at comparisons between small numbers only (3 vs. 4), but systematically fail at comparisons that closely span the small/large boundary (3 vs. 5). Furthermore, increasing the distance between the small and large number resulted in successful discriminations (3 vs. 6, 3 vs. 7, and 3 vs. 9). This pattern of successes and failures is similar to those observed in human infants and non-human primates to suggest that the two systems are present and functionally distinct across a wide variety of animal species.     

The learning and motor development transfer process

The aim of this study is to analyze the transference process in motor skill learning. For this purpose, 320 boys and girls, with ages ranging from 3 to 12 years (M= 7.61; SD= 2.61), took part in nine object movement reception drills in which the following variables were cross-examined: the presence-absence of displacement (static or in motion), the corporal segments utilized (hands or arms), the movement direction (right or left), and the moving object (volleyball or tennis ball). The results indicate that what is being transferred is the common factor among them, the ocular-kinesthetic regulating system, which is constructed according to a generalized motor program and a predictive strategy of continuous control. The way that individuals group by levels of skill that represent the developmental levels of the aforementioned regulating system can also be observed. Lastly, the results are discussed, and strategies to improve the learning process in sports and physical education are provided.     

Decrease of prefrontal-posterior EEG coherence: loose control during social-emotional stimulation

In two experiments we aimed to investigate if individual differences in state-dependent decreases or increases of EEG coherence between prefrontal and posterior cortical regions may be indicative of a mechanism modulating the impact social-emotional information has on an individual. Two independent samples were exposed to an emotional stimulation paradigm in which the participants were invited to get involved and sympathize with the persons they were watching (study 1) or listening to (study 2), and who were expressing sadness or anxiety. The two studies yielded consistent results. Higher scores in trait absorption and in the propensity to ruminate were associated with decreased EEG beta coherence during the stimulation, whereas coherence increased in individuals low in absorption or rumination. Coherence changes did not predict to which degree the participants felt infected by the displayed emotions, but in individuals showing decreased prefrontal-posterior coupling during the stimulation, feelings of sadness and anxiety had a greater tendency to persist. The findings suggest that more loose prefrontal-posterior coupling may be related to loosening of control of the prefrontal cortex over incoming social-emotional information and, consequently, to deeper emotional involvement and absorption, whereas increased prefrontal-posterior coupling may be related to strong control, dampening of emotional experience, and not letting oneself become emotionally affected.     

Hemispheric asymmetries and cognitive flexibility: an ERP and sLORETA study

Although functional cerebral asymmetries (FCAs) affect all cognitive domains, their modulation of the efficacy of specific executive functions is largely unexplored. In the present study, we used a lateralized version of the task switching paradigm to investigate the relevance of hemispheric asymmetries for cognitive control processes. Words were tachistoscopically presented in the left (LVF) and right visual half field (RVF). Participants had to categorise the words either based on their initial letters, or according to their word type. On half of the trials the task changed (switch trials) whereas on the other half it stayed the same (repeat trials). ERPs were recorded and the neural sources of the ERPs were reconstructed using standardised low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA). In the word type task, participants were faster on repeat trials when stimuli were presented in the RVF. In contrast, in the initial letter task participants were faster on repeat trials and in general more accurate after stimulus presentation in the LVF. In both tasks, no hemispheric asymmetries in reaction times were observed on switch trials. On the electrophysiological level, we observed a left lateralization of the N1 that was mediated by activation in the left extrastriate cortex as well as a greater positivity of the P3b after stimulus presentation in the RVF compared to the LVF that was mediated by activation in the superior parietal cortex. These results show that FCAs affect the neurophysiological correlates of executive functions related to task switching. The relation of neurophysiological and behavioural asymmetries is mediated by task complexity, with more complex tasks leading to more interhemispheric interaction and smaller left-right differences in behavioural measures. These findings reveal that FCAs are an important modulator of executive functions related to cognitive flexibility.