Role of action observation and action in sequence learning and coding

A complex sequence learning task was used to determine if the type of coding acquired through physical practice (PP), observation of the stimulus (Obs-S), or observation of stimulus and action (Obs-SA) differs between conditions and whether the type of observation influences subsequent learning of the task when physical practice was permitted. Participants in the Obs-S group were permitted to watch the sequentially illuminated stimuli on the screen. In the Obs-SA group participants could see both flexion-extension movements of the model's arm performing the sequence and the sequentially illuminated stimuli on the screen. Participants in the PP group actually performed the 16-element sequence with their dominant right arm. Delayed retention tests and two inter-manual transfer tests were completed following each of two acquisition sessions. First, the data indicated that learning the sequence structure, as revealed by response time per element, occurred similarly irrespective of the initial practice condition. Secondly, the movement sequence appeared to be coded in abstract visual-spatial coordinates resulting in effector-independent performance. Finally, observing the model's action and sequential stimuli allows participants to transfer the perceived aspects of the movement sequence into efficient coordination patterns when additional physical practice is permitted.     

A dual-route perspective on eye movements of dyslexic readers

This study assessed eye movement abnormalities of adolescent dyslexic readers and interpreted the findings by linking the dual-route model of single word reading with the E-Z Reader model of eye movement control during silent sentence reading. A dysfunction of the lexical route was assumed to account for a reduced number of words which received only a single fixation or which were skipped and for the increased number of words with multiple fixations and a marked effect of word length on gaze duration. This pattern was interpreted as a frequent failure of orthographic whole-word recognition (based on orthographic lexicon entries) and on reliance on serial sublexical processing instead. Inefficiency of the lexical route was inferred from prolonged gaze durations for singly fixated words. These findings were related to the E-Z Reader model of eye movement control. Slow activation of word phonology accounted for the low skipping rate of dyslexic readers. Frequent reliance on sublexical decoding was inferred from a tendency to fixate word beginnings and from short forward saccades. Overall, the linkage of the dual-route model of single word reading and a model of eye movement control led to a useful framework for understanding eye movement abnormalities of dyslexic readers.     

How decisions evolve: The temporal dynamics of action selection

To study the process of decision-making under conflict, researchers typically analyze response latency and accuracy. However, these tools provide little evidence regarding how the resolution of conflict unfolds over time. Here, we analyzed the trajectories of mouse movements while participants performed a continuous version of a spatial conflict task (the Simon task). We applied a novel combination of multiple regression analysis and distribution analysis to determine how conflict on the present trial and carry-over from the previous trial affect responding. Response on the previous trial and the degree of conflict on the previous and the current trial all influenced performance, but they did so differently: The previous response influenced the early part of the mouse trajectory, but the degree of previous and current conflict influenced later parts. This suggests that in this task experiencing conflict may not proactively ready the system to handle conflict on the next trial; rather, when conflict is experienced on the subsequent trial the previous compensatory processing may be re-activated more efficiently.     

Meaning-Centered Couples Therapy: Logotherapy and Intimate Relationships

Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy posits that human life has purpose and that human beings are motivated to discover meaning in their lives. This paper’s objective is to present a case for incorporating meaning into couples therapy as a way of enhancing a clinician’s existing approach. Logotherapy is a potentially useful modality, regardless of the clinician’s theoretical orientation, given its collaborative nature and focus on the significance of meaning and values to the human condition. A logotherapeutic approach to couples therapy (i.e., meaning-centered couples therapy) would involve values clarification (individually and collectively) and emphasis on a love that is based on acceptance and self-transcendent growth. Logotherapy techniques are discussed, a composite illustration is presented, and recommendations for research are offered.     

On the temporal organization of facial identity and expression analysis: Inferences from event-related brain potentials

In the present study, behavioral and electrophysiological markers of information processing—the lateralized readiness potential, the N170, and the P300—were recorded in order to assess the functional and temporal organization of facial identity and expression processing. A two-choice go/no-go task was used in which facial expression (happy vs. angry) determined response hand and response execution depended on facial familiarity (familiar vs. unfamiliar). The duration of facial identity and expression processing was manipulated in separate experiments. Together, the present findings in measures of overt and covert response activation indicate that facial identity is analyzed in parallel with, and typically somewhat faster than, facial expression. These data support a parallel model of face perception that assumes partial output from facial identity and expression processes to motor activation processes.     

Quality of Life: Nomadological Insights—A Nomadic Exploration of Quality of Life in Long-Term Conditions

This is a book review of “Quality of Life: Nomadological Insights—A Nomadic Exploration of Quality of Life in Long-Term Conditions” by Monique Lhussier, published by VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, 2009.     

Shift and deviate: Saccades reveal that shifts of covert attention evoked by trained spatial stimuli are obligatory

The premotor theory of attention predicts that motor movements, including manual movements and eye movements, are preceded by an obligatory shift of attention to the location of the planned response. We investigated whether the shifts of attention evoked by trained spatial cues (e.g., Dodd & Wilson, 2009) are obligatory by using an extreme prediction of the premotor theory: If individuals are trained to associate a color cue with a manual movement to the left or right, the shift of attention evoked by the color cue should also influence eye movements in an unrelated task. Participants were trained to associate an irrelevant color cue with left/right space via a training session in which directional responses were made. Experiment 1 showed that, posttraining, vertical saccades deviated in the direction of the trained response, despite the fact that the color cue was irrelevant. Experiment 2 showed that latencies of horizontal saccades were shorter when an eye movement had to be made in the direction of the trained response. These results demonstrate that the shifts of attention evoked by trained stimuli are obligatory, in addition to providing support for the premotor theory and for a connection between the attentional, motor, and oculomotor systems.     

Program Extraction from Normalization Proofs

This paper describes formalizations of Tait's normalization proof for the simply typed λ-calculus in the proof assistants Minlog, Coq and Isabelle/HOL. From the formal proofs programs are machine-extracted that implement variants of the well-known normalization-by-evaluation algorithm. The case study is used to test and compare the program extraction machineries of the three proof assistants in a non-trivial setting.     

The Importance of Culture in Cognitive and Behavioral Practice

The contributions of this special series highlight the importance of culture in cognitive-behavioral therapies. People who grow up in different cultures not only think about different things, but also seem to think differently. In other words, culture seems to shape and determine a person’s way of perceiving and reasoning. Therefore, cognitive-behavioral therapies need to be adapted to the client's cultural background and beliefs. This maximizes the likelihood that treatment strategies that have been found to be effective in one culture are also effective in another culture.