Posthypnotic suggestion and the modulation of Stroop interference under cycloplegia

Recent data indicate that under a specific posthypnotic suggestion to circumvent reading, highly suggestible subjects successfully eliminated the Stroop interference effect. The present study examined whether an optical explanation (e.g., visual blurring or looking away) could account for this finding. Using cyclopentolate hydrochloride eye drops to pharmacologically prevent visual accommodation in all subjects, behavioral Stroop data were collected from six highly hypnotizables and six less suggestibles using an optical setup that guaranteed either sharply focused or blurred vision. The highly suggestibles performed the Stroop task when naturally vigilant, under posthypnotic suggestion not to read, and while visually blurred; the less suggestibles ran naturally vigilant, while looking away, and while visually blurred. Although visual accommodation was precluded for all subjects, posthypnotic suggestion effectively eliminated Stroop interference and was comparable to looking away in controls. These data strengthen the view that Stroop interference is neither robust nor inevitable and support the hypothesis that posthypnotic suggestion may exert a top-down influence on neural processing.     

Involvement of BDNF receptor TrkB in spatial memory formation

The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are involved in long-term potentiation (LTP), and are phosphorylated by several tyrosine kinases including a Src-family tyrosine kinase Fyn. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin, which also enhances hippocampal synaptic transmission and efficacy by increasing NMDA receptor activity. Here, we show that Fyn is a key molecule linking the BDNF receptor TrkB with NMDA receptors, which play an important role in spatial memory formation in a radial arm maze. Spatial learning induced phosphorylation of TrkB, Fyn, and NR2B, but not NR2A, in the hippocampus. Fyn was coimmunoprecipitated with TrkB and NR2B, and this association was increased in well-trained rats compared with control animals. Continuous intracerebroventricular infusion of PP2, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in rats delayed memory acquisition in the radial arm maze, but PP2-treated animals reached the same level of learning as the controls. The phosphorylation of Fyn and NR2B, but not TrkB, was diminished by PP2 treatment. Our findings suggest the importance of interaction between BDNF/TrkB signaling and NMDA receptors for spatial memory in the hippocampus.     

Visual perspective taking for avatars in a Simon task

In modern digital applications, users often interact with virtual representations of themselves or others, called avatars. We examined how these avatars and their perspectives influence stimulus–response compatibility in a Simon task. Participants responded to light/dark blue stimuli with left/right key presses in the presence of a task-irrelevant avatar. Changes in stimulus–response compatibility were used to quantify changes in the mental representation of the task and perspective taking toward this avatar. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that perspective taking for an avatar occurred in orthogonal stimulus–response mappings, causing a compatibility effect from the avatar’s point of view. In the following two experiments we introduced a larger variety of angular disparities between the participant and avatar. In Experiment 3, the Simon effect with lateralized stimulus positions remained largely unaffected by the avatar, pointing toward an absence of perspective taking. In Experiment 4, after avatar hand movements were added in order to strengthen the participants’ sense of agency over the avatar, a spatial compatibility effect from the avatar’s perspective was observed again, and hints of the selective use of perspective taking on a trial-by-trial basis were found. Overall, the results indicate that users can incorporate the perspective of an avatar into their mental representation of a situation, even when this perspective is unnecessary to complete a task, but that certain contextual requirements have to be met.     

从中德儿童技术创造性跨文化研究结果看性别差异

研究者通过对中德儿童技术创造性跨文化研究结果的综合分析,着重讨论了在差异心理学领域一直十分受人关注的性别差异问题。结果发现,无论是中国儿童还是德国儿童,无论是超常儿童还是常态儿童,性别差异具有基本稳定的趋势,而且,在不同的方面具有不完全一致的表现形式。具体表现为：（１）在数字、图形和实用创造性思维方面,在中国和德国儿童中都没有发现创造性思维方面的性别差异;（２）在心理折叠、学习爱好、技术问题理解和     

Knowledge level learning and the power law: A soar model of skill acquisition in scheduling

Zusammenfassung. Das hier vorgestellte Modell lernt graduell, Planungsaufgaben aus der Klasse der Maschinenbelegungsprobleme (job-shop-scheduling problems) zu lösen. Mit Hilfe des Chunking-Mechanismus von Soar wird episodisches Wissen über die Belegungsreihenfolge von Aufträgen auf Maschinen memoriert. Bei der Entwicklung des Modells wurden zahlreiche qualitative (z. B. Transfereffekte) und quantitative Befunde (z. B. Bearbeitungszeiten) aus einer früheren empirischen Untersuchung berücksichtigt. In einer Validierungsstudie wurden dieselben Aufgaben von 14 Probanden und dem Modell bearbeitet. Die Passung von Simulationsdaten und empirischen Ergebnissen fiel insgesamt gut aus. Allerdings löst das Modell die Aufgaben schneller und zeigt auch einen etwas besseren Lernverlauf als die Probanden. Das Modell liefert eine Erklärung für das Rauschen, das typischerweise bei Bearbeitungszeiten zu beobachten ist: es handelt sich um erworbenes Wissen, das mehr oder weniger gut und auch unterschiedlich häufig auf neue Situationen übertragen wird. Der Lernverlauf der Probanden entspricht nur für aggregierte Daten einer Potenzfunktion (power law). Der vorgestellte Mechanismus zeigt, wie ein symbolisches Modell der Informationsverarbeitung graduelle Verhaltensänderungen generiert und wie der offensichtliche Erwerb allgemeiner Prozeduren ohne explizites Lernen von deklarativen Regeln erfolgen kann. Es wird nahegelegt, daß es sich hier um die Modellierung einer Form impliziten Lernens handelt. Summary. The model presented here gradually learns how to perform a job-shop scheduling task. It uses Soar's chunking mechanism to acquire episodic memories about the order to schedule jobs. The model was based on many qualitative (e.g., transfer effects) and quantitative (e.g., solution time) regularities found in previously collected data. The model was tested with new data where scheduling tasks were given to the model and to 14 subjects. The model generally fit these data with the restrictions that the model performs the task (in simulated time) faster than the subjects, and its performance improves somewhat more quickly than the subjects' performance. The model provides an explanation of the noise typically found in problem solving times - it is the result of learning actual pieces of knowledge that transfer more or less to new situations but rarely by an average amount. Only when the data are averaged (i.e., over subjects) does the smooth power law appear. This mechanism demonstrates how symbolic models can exhibit a gradual change in behavior and how the apparent acquisition of general procedures can be performed without resorting to explicit declarative rule generation. We suggest that this may represent a type of implicit learning.     

The puzzle of language evolution

Linguistics must again concentrate on the evolutionary nature of language, so that language models are more realistic with respect to human natural languages and have a greater explanatory force. Multi-agent systems are proposed as a possible route to develop such evolutionary models and an example is given of a concrete experiment in the origins and evolution of word-meaning based on a multi-agent approach.     

“神医”现象的剖析

当前“神医”并非罕见,他们常施展浑身解数,或给自己戴上自制的各种“高帽”、“大帽”、什么“国标抗癌协会主席;或假借名人、甚或政界要人的提携,多少沾点余光;或让身世充满着曲折离奇的迷露,对于“神医”的泛滥,当务 急是对全民进行破除迷信、崇尚宾教育,提高全慢旗的心理素质。     

透视医疗纠纷——辨析医患双方的权利和义务

发生医疗纠纷的一个重要原因是医患双方各自站在自己的立场上,维护自己的权利而产生的争端。由于我国卫生法制的滞后,患者被作为消费者伸张权利逐步成为趋势。但我国的医疗卫生事业的性质决定患者不能与消费者等同。医患双方应在更好的游戏规则下协调关系,减少纠纷。