Interaction of stimulus and contextual information during reading: Identifying words within sentences

In general, studies on the effects of a sentence context on word identification have focused on how context affects the efficiency of processing a single target word, presented separately from the context. Such studies probably would be incapable of measuring contextual facilitation resulting from cascaded or parallel processing of neighboring words within a sentence. To measure these and other types of facilitation, we presented entire phrases and sentences for subjects to read as fast as possible and to monitor for nonwords. Subjects read at rates representative of natural reading. Experiment 1 demonstrated a large contextual facilitation effect on decision time. Experiment 2 showed that facilitation is caused by specific semantic information and, perhaps to a greater degree, by nonpredictive syntactic information. Experiment 3 showed that the amount of facilitation is greater than could be accounted for by separate contributions from autonomous word level and sentence level processes. These results present difficulties for an autonomous model of reading, but are consistent with interactive models, in which the results of ongoing sentential analyses are combined with stimulus information to identify words.     

Staff-patient relationships and outcomes in schizophrenia: the role of staff attributions

We investigated associations between staff-patient relationships and outcomes in a randomised controlled trial of motivational interventions for drug and alcohol misuse in schizophrenia. Participants were 204 patients and their care co-ordinators. We assessed relationship status (positive versus neutral) and staff attributions of control using Five Minute Speech Samples collected at baseline. We examined associations between this baseline data and symptoms at 12-months follow-up. We found that dyads with positive relationships at baseline had significantly less symptoms at 12-months compared to those dyads with neutral relationships. As predicted, care co-ordinators with positive relationships were less likely to attribute patients' problems as being within their control. The findings highlight the potentially important role of positive staff-patient relationships in outcomes. Our findings are also in line with the hypothesis that staff attributions may contribute to the development of more positive relationships.     

Feature assignment in perception of auditory figure

Because the environment often includes multiple sounds that overlap in time, listeners must segregate a sound of interest (the auditory figure) from other co-occurring sounds (the unattended auditory ground). We conducted a series of experiments to clarify the principles governing the extraction of auditory figures. We distinguish between auditory "objects" (relatively punctate events, such as a dog's bark) and auditory "streams" (sounds involving a pattern over time, such as a galloping rhythm). In Experiments 1 and 2, on each trial 2 sounds-an object (a vowel) and a stream (a series of tones)-were presented with 1 target feature that could be perceptually grouped with either source. In each block of these experiments, listeners were required to attend to 1 of the 2 sounds, and report its perceived category. Across several experimental manipulations, listeners were more likely to allocate the feature to an impoverished object if the result of the grouping was a good, identifiable object. Perception of objects was quite sensitive to feature variation (noise masking), whereas perception of streams was more robust to feature variation. In Experiment 3, the number of sound sources competing for the feature was increased to 3. This produced a shift toward relying more on spatial cues than on the potential contribution of the feature to an object's perceptual quality. The results support a distinction between auditory objects and streams, and provide new information about the way that the auditory world is parsed.     

G(o) activation is required for both appetitive and aversive memory acquisition in Drosophila

Heterotrimeric G(o) is an abundant brain protein required for negatively reinforced short-term associative olfactory memory in Drosophila. G(o) is the only known substrate of the S1 subunit of pertussis toxin (PTX) in fly, and acute expression of PTX within the mushroom body neurons (MB) induces a reversible deficit in associative olfactory memory. We demonstrate here that the induction of PTX within the α/β and γ lobe MB neurons leads to impaired memory acquisition without affecting memory stability. The induction of PTX within these MB neurons also leads to a significant defect in an optimized positively reinforced short-term memory paradigm; however, this PTX-induced learning deficit is noticeably less severe than found with the negatively reinforced paradigm. Both negatively and positively reinforced memory phenotypes are rescued by the constitutive expression of G(o)α transgenes bearing the Cys(351)Ile mutation. Since this mutation renders the G(o) molecule insensitive to PTX, the results isolate the effect of PTX on both forms of olfactory associative learning to the inhibition of the G(o) activation.     

Dynamics of mental activity

Motivated by neuronal modeling, our development of the mathematical foundations of consciousness in [W. Miranker, G. Zuckerman, Mathematical Foundations of Consciousness, J. Appl. Logic (2009)] (M-Z) was characterized by an axiomatic theory for consciousness operators that acted on the collection of all sets. Consciousness itself was modeled as emanating from the action of such operators on the labeled decoration of a graph, the latter set theoretic construct given the characterization of experience. Since mental activity (conscious and unconscious) is a time dependent process, we herein develop a discrete time dependent version of the theory. Specification of the relevant mental dynamics illuminates and expands the development of the mathematical framework in (M-Z) upon which our study of consciousness rests. This framework is an abstraction of neural net modeling.We review the Aczel theory for decorating labeled graphs, in particular that theory's application to the (M-Z) foundations. The relevant neuronal modeling concepts and terminology are also reviewed. A number of examples are presented. Then an extension of our considerations from graphs to multigraphs is made, since the latter represent a more accurate model of neuronal circuit connectivity. The dynamics are crafted for non-well-founded constructs by development of a hierarchy of systems, starting with the McCulloch–Pitts neuronal voltage input–output relations and building to a dynamics for the cognitive notions of memes and themata; these latter corresponding to aspects of decorations of labeled graphs associated with neural networks. We conclude with a summary and discussion of the semantics of the cognitive features of our development: memes, themata, qualia, consciousness operators, awareness field.     

My profile: The ethics of virtual ethnography

This paper advances some specific recommendations for an approach to studying the spaces of online culture that draw on aspects of cultural (anthropological) ethnography. It aims to offer some provocations for researchers setting out to engage sympathetically with online culture, to account for the particular kinds of intimacy these spaces enable. Each online scene or space, whether declared to be a community or not, is organised both by its specific form and by an order of appropriate identity practices associated with that form. At the same time, across these different cultures, modes of belonging mediate these practices which are recognisable across many online communities and formats. While the forms of intimacy developed online are far from consistent, this paper considers how best to engage with the consistencies and variations of online intimacy.     

Anabolic-androgenic steroids: effects on social behavior and baseline heart rate

Examined the effects of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AS) on behavior, baseline heart rate (HR), and stress-induced HR responses. Twenty-four cynomolgus monkeys were assigned to four mixed social groups of both AS and sham control animals. For 2 months, AS-treated monkeys received biweekly injections of testosterone, and, on an identical schedule, the control animals were injected with a sham solution. Behavioral data revealed that AS disrupted the social milieu such that all dominant animals exhibited increases in dominant behavior and subordinates manifested increased submission. These changes returned to pretest levels 8 weeks following termination of the drug intervention. Affiliative behaviors decreased on the part of all animals as a function of AS and, with the exception of play behavior, failed to return to pretest levels after the 8-week period of recovery. AS created an increase in baseline HR, particularly among the dominant animals. Interestingly, the subordinate AS animals experienced a decrease in baseline HR response. AS had no apparent influence on stress-induced HR reactivity.     

Mice with targeted genetic reduction of GABA(A) receptor alpha1 subunits display performance differences in Morris water maze tasks

Recent research has begun to demonstrate that specific subunits of GABA(A) receptors may be involved in the normal expression of specific behaviors. The present research used mice with GABA(A) receptors whose alpha1 subunits contained mutations of serine 270 to histidine and leucine 277 to alanine in the TM2 region. The purpose was an attempt to examine the possible role that this particular subunit may have in learning the spatial and nonspatial version of the Morris water maze task. Mutant animals, compared to controls, displayed elevated levels of pool circling in both the spatial task and the nonspatial task. These results suggested that normal performance of the spatial and nonspatial water maze tasks may be dependent upon a natural alpha1 subunit array.