An oscillatory mechanism for prioritizing salient unattended stimuli

To survive in a complex world, it is important that unattended, but salient, input can still draw one's attention. In this article, we suggest that posterior alpha oscillations (8-13Hz) provide a mechanism for prioritizing and ordering unattended visual input according to 'relevance'. Gamma oscillations (30-100Hz) that are phase-locked to the alpha oscillations keep competing unattended representations apart in time, thus creating a sequence of perceptual cycles. As inhibition gradually lowers within an alpha cycle, the ordered sequence of competing input is activated, producing a temporal phase code for saliency. The proposed mechanism is based on recent experiments indicating that the phase of alpha activity modulates perception and that alpha oscillations are produced by periodic pulses of inhibition.     

Reading the hippocampal code by theta phase-locking

Both the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus are crucial for memory encoding and recall. However, it remains unclear how these brain regions communicate to exchange information. Recent findings using simultaneous recordings from the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of the behaving rat have demonstrated that prefrontal cells' firing is phase-locked to the hippocampal theta rhythm. This suggests that phase synchronization clocked by the theta rhythm could be crucial for the communication between hippocampal and prefrontal regions.     

Can learning potential in schizophrenia be assessed with the standard CVLT‐II? An exploratory study

This study examined the potential of using the regular administration of a common neuropsychological test, the CVLT-II, to assess learning potential in schizophrenia. Based on List A trial 1 performance and the learning slope, a schizophrenia sample was divided into three learning potential groups (non-learners, learners and high-achievers) that differed in the use of learning strategies. High-achievers utilized more semantic clustering than learners and non-learners, and non-learners were less consistent in words recalled than the other two groups. This standard administration approach is a promising, time-saving alternative to the modified tests of learning potential used so far.     

Logical Predictivism

Journal of Philosophical Logic - Motivated by weaknesses with traditional accounts of logical epistemology, considerable attention has been paid recently to the view, known as anti-exceptionalism...     

Assessment of Affect Integration: Validation of the Affect Consciousness Construct

Affect integration, or the capacity to utilize the motivational and signal properties of affect for personal adjustment, is assumed to be an important aspect of psychological health and functioning. Affect integration has been operationalized through the affect consciousness (AC) construct as degrees of awareness, tolerance, nonverbal expression, and conceptual expression of nine discrete affects. A semistructured Affect Consciousness Interview (ACI) and separate Affect Consciousness Scales (ACSs) have been developed to specifically assess these aspects of affect integration. This study explored the construct validity of AC in a Norwegian clinical sample including estimates of reliability and assessment of structure by factor analyses. External validity issues were addressed by examining the relationships between scores on the ACSs and self-rated symptom- and interpersonal problem measures as well as independent, observer-based ratings of personality disorder criteria and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM–IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994).     

A Comparison of Expert Ratings and Self-Assessments of Situation Awareness During a Combat Fatigue Course

The current study compared expert-observer ratings of situation awareness (SA) with subjective self-ratings of SA in Norwegian military academy cadets during a summer combat survival course. The cadets (N?=?30) completed an 8-day combat survival course characterized by sleep and food deprivation, continuous operations, and altered circadian entrainment cues. Results indicated that self-ratings of SA did not correlate consistently with expert-observer SA ratings, and self-ratings were consistently higher than expert-observer ratings. The results are congruent with expected effects of these extreme conditions on cognition and self-awareness, demonstrate a pronounced self-enhancement bias and suggest that subjective measures of SA are not likely to provide valid estimates of SA under extreme conditions.