Visual field size necessary for length comparison

Influence of visual field size upon acuity for comparing lengths of two lines was investigated. The visual field was effectively narrowed to any desired size by use of a TV display system. The TV screen presented a portion of the test stimulus, the position of which was controlled by the subject’s eye movement so that his fixation point always coincided with the center of the portion. The test stimulus was composed of two lines arranged horizontally, one of which had a length of 81 mm and the other a slightly different value. Sizes of the narrowed visual field were 20, 40, 70, 100, 150, and 340 mm wide. The comparison acuity dropped rapidly as the visual field was narrowed to and below 70 mm which was about the same extent as one of the two lines. The implication is that our excellent ability for length comparison is only possible when we can observe the whole line at one time.     

A study of visual temporal size contrast

Stimuli exposed successively with an interpolated larger or smaller stimulus (IS) are subject to size-contrast effects to a highly significant degree. While stimuli nearer IS are, in general, more affected than stimuli farther away, there is some indication of paradoxical distance effect (PDE): Stimuli somewhat farther from IS are more affected than those nearest IS. Intermediate IS has a splitting effect in that stimuli above are judged larger, and those below are judged smaller, thus verifying the results with IS below and above the series stimuli. The relation of these results to figural aftereffects is stressed.     

Trait‐Related Concepts Activate Stereotypically Consistent Concepts on the Same Stereotype Dimension,But May not Spread to the Other Stereotype Dimension

Applying the stereotype‐content model, which categorizes stereotypes into two dimensions (warmth and competence), we investigated whether gender‐stereotype‐related concepts activate other concepts on the same dimension and concepts on the other dimension. To test this, we conducted two experiments, both based on the Deese–Roediger–McDermott paradigm. In Experiment 1, we conceptually replicated the results of previous research, which revealed that when trait‐related words are presented to participants, gender‐stereotype‐related concepts induce the later false recognition of stereotypically consistent non‐presented words. Then, in Experiment 2, we revealed that exposure to gender‐stereotype‐related concepts induces the false recognition of non‐presented words relevant to stereotypical concepts on the same dimension, but not those on the other dimension. We conclude by discussing the underlying process of ambivalent stereotype activations, referring to implicit processes and system justification.     

Impaired Interpretation of Others’ Behavior is Associated with Difficulties in Recognizing Pragmatic Language in Patients with Schizophrenia

Much attention has been paid to the pragmatic language function in schizophrenia. This study of Japanese patients with schizophrenia examined the relationship between impaired interpretation of the behaviors of other people in social contexts and the ability to recognize metaphor and irony. We assessed 34 patients with schizophrenia and 34 normal subjects using first- and second-order theory of mind tasks, the Metaphor and Sarcasm Scenario Test, and the Dewey Story Test (which tests the ability to judge others’ social behaviors). We compared the performance between the groups and analyzed correlations between the tasks. All tasks revealed significant deficits in the patients compared with the controls. In the patient group, metaphor comprehension was correlated with the ability to judge normal behaviors, and irony comprehension was correlated with the ability to judge abnormal behaviors, suggesting that deficits of social cognition in schizophrenia include these two types of factors associated with pragmatic language.     

Which is More Relevant for Perceived Happiness,Individual-Level or Area-Level Social Capital? A Multilevel Mediation Analysis

A growing number of studies have addressed how social capital is closely related to an individual’s perceived happiness. However, most happiness studies have focused on individual-level social capital, which is based on an individual’s subjective assessment of social capital gathered from social surveys. Considering that social capital was originally a collective concept, this study distinguished individual- and area-level aspects of social capital and their relationships in terms of their associations with perceived happiness. To this end, we employed multilevel mediation analysis using cross-sectional microdata from a nationwide Internet survey conducted in Japan (N = 9523). We focused on four types of social capital: trust in neighbors, contacts with neighbors, bonding, and bridging. Based on the estimation results, we first confirmed that social capital at both the individual and area levels had a positive association with perceived happiness when using them separately as an independent variable. Second, we found that a substantial portion of the effect of area-level social capital on perceived happiness was mediated by individual-level social capital. This suggests that an individual’s commitment to area-level social capital is required if a large portion of its potential benefits on perceived happiness are to materialize. Furthermore, we observed that the effects of area-level bonding and bridging on their individual-level measures were affected by several individual-level attributes, including personality traits. Overall, the results underscore the need for further investigation into the association between perceived happiness and social capital at different levels.     

Spatial term apprehension with a reference object’s rotation in three-dimensional space

It has been reported that the overall shapes of spatial categorical patterns of projective spatial terms such as above and below are not influenced by the rotation of a reference object on a two-dimensional (2D) upright plane. However, is this also true in three-dimensional (3D) space? This study shows the dynamic aspects of the apprehension of projective spatial terms in 3D space by detailing how the rotation of a reference object with an inherent front influences the apprehension of projective spatial terms on a level plane by mapping their spatial categorical patterns. The experiment was designed to examine how spatial categorical patterns on a level plane changed with the rotation of a reference object with an inherent front in 3D computer graphics space. We manipulated the rotation of a reference object with an inherent front at three levels (0°, 90°, and 180° rotations) and examined how such manipulation changed the overall spatial categorical patterns of four basic Japanese projective spatial terms: mae, ushiro, hidari, and migi (similar to in front of, behind, to the left of, and to the right of in English, respectively). The results show that spatial term apprehension was affected by the rotation of the reference object in 3D space. In particular, rotation influenced the mae–ushiro and hidari–migi systems differently. The results also imply that our understanding of projective spatial terms on a level plane in 3D space is affected dynamically by visual information from 3D cues.     

Enhanced cognitive activity--over and above social or physical activity--is required to protect Alzheimer's mice against cognitive impairment, reduce Abeta deposition, and increase synaptic immunoreactivity

Although social, physical, and cognitive activities have each been suggested to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), epidemiologic studies cannot determine which activity or combination of activities is most important. To address this question, mutant APP transgenic AD mice were reared long-term in one of four housing conditions (impoverished, social, social+physical, or complete enrichment) from 1(1/2) through 9 months of age. Thus, a stepwise layering of social, physical, and enhanced cognitive activity was created. Behavioral evaluation in a full battery of sensorimotor, anxiety, and cognitive tasks was carried out during the final 5 weeks of housing. Only AD mice raised in complete enrichment (i.e., enhanced cognitive activity) showed: (1) protection against cognitive impairment, (2) decreased brain beta-amyloid deposition, and (3) increased hippocampal synaptic immunoreactivity. The protection provided by enhanced cognitive activity spanned multiple cognitive domains (working memory, reference learning, and recognition/identification). Cognitive and neurohistologic benefits of complete enrichment occurred without any changes in blood cytokine or corticosterone levels, suggesting that enrichment-dependent mechanisms do not involve changes in the inflammatory response or stress levels, respectively. These results indicate that the enhanced cognitive activity of complete enrichment is required for cognitive and neurologic benefit to AD mice-physical and/or social activity are insufficient. Thus, our data suggest that humans who emphasize a high lifelong level of cognitive activity (over and above social and physical activities) will attain the maximal environmental protection against AD.     

Neural correlates for learning to read Roman numerals

This study examined the neuronal correlates of reading Roman numerals and the changes that occur with extensive practice. Subjects were scanned by functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) three times the first day of the experiment and once following two to three months of practice. This allowed comparison of brain activations with varying levels of practice on the same day and across the two to three months of training. The results revealed that upon learning that the alphabetical symbols had numeric meaning subjects immediately activated a network of brain areas, many of which have been previously implicated in numerical processing. Subsequent practice led to a change in the pattern of neuronal activity in only a single region of the mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the left hemisphere. Implications of these findings are argued with regard to the prevalent neuronal model for the implementation of elementary numerical abilities.     

Functional imaging of working memory and peripheral endothelial function in middle-aged adults

The current study examined the relationship between a prognostic indicator of vascular health, flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and working memory-related brain activation in healthy middle-aged adults. Forty-two participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while completing a 2-Back working memory task. Brachial artery endothelial-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was assessed using B-mode ultrasound. The relationship between FMD and task-related brain activation in a priori regions of interest was modeled using hierarchical linear regression. Brachial FMD, was significantly related to reduced working memory-related activation in the right superior parietal lobule (β = 0.338, p = 0.027), independent of age, sex, systolic blood pressure, and full scale IQ (F(5, 36) = 2.66, p = 0.038). These data provide preliminary support for the association between a preclinical marker of endothelial dysfunction and cerebral hemodynamic alterations in healthy middle-aged adults. Considering the modifiable nature of endothelial function, additional investigations on the prognostic significance of FMD on future cognitive impairment are warranted.