Syllabic tone articulation influences the identification and use of words during Chinese sentence reading: Evidence from ERP and eye movement recordings

In two experiments, we examined the contribution of articulation-specific features to visual word recognition during the reading of Chinese. In spoken Standard Chinese, a syllable with a full tone can be tone-neutralized through sound weakening and pitch contour change, and there are two types of two-character compound words with respect to their articulation variation. One type requires articulation of a full tone for each constituent character, and the other requires a full- and a neutral-tone articulation for the first and second characters, respectively. Words of these two types with identical first characters were selected and embedded in sentences. Native speakers of Standard Chinese were recruited to read the sentences. In Experiment 1, the individual words of a sentence were presented serially at a fixed pace while event-related potentials were recorded. This resulted in less-negative N100 and anterior N250 amplitudes and in more-negative N400 amplitudes when targets contained a neutral tone. Complete sentences were visible in Experiment 2, and eye movements were recorded while participants read. Analyses of oculomotor activity revealed shorter viewing durations and fewer refixations on—and fewer regressive saccades to—target words when their second syllable was articulated with a neutral rather than a full tone. Together, the results indicate that readers represent articulation-specific word properties, that these representations are routinely activated early during the silent reading of Chinese sentences, and that the representations are also used during later stages of word processing.     

General or specific? The memory–experience gap for individuals diagnosed with a major depressive disorder or a social phobia diagnosis,and individuals without such diagnoses

ABSTRACT

Psychological treatment and assessment necessarily rely on patients’ recall. Yet several empirical studies have documented a gap between memory and real-life experience (i.e., memory–experience gap; MeG). We investigated and compared the MeG of sadness, social anxiety, happiness, and physical activity for participants diagnosed with a major depressive disorder (MDD), a social phobia (SP), and participants without such diagnoses (CG). The study included 118 participants diagnosed with a MDD, 47 with a SP, and 119 CG. Using event-sampling methods (ESM), participants were asked via smartphone to report their experiences throughout a week and then to recall those again retrospectively at the end of the study week. Results indicate significant differences in the MeG with respect to the experience that was salient to them (e.g., MDD group – sadness; SP group – social anxiety; CG group – happiness). Furthermore, all groups showed a MeG for physical activity and, the results indicate significant group differences in the magnitude of the MeGs.

This study demonstrated the presence of a MeG in individuals in a MDD, SP, and CG group and in positive and negative affective experiences. Differential patterns across the samples contribute to a better understanding of this gap and its implications.     

Input-specific long-term potentiation in the rat lateral amygdala of horizontal slices

Long-term potentiation (LTP) at input synapses to the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA) is a candidate mechanism for memory storage during fear learning. Cellular mechanisms of LTP have been nearly exclusively investigated in coronal brain slices. In our experiments, we used a horizontal brain slice preparation of rats that preserved most of the connections to cortical areas and the hippocampus. The stimulation electrodes were located either within the external capsule (EC) or the LA. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanisms of LTP induced either by weak theta burst stimulation (TBS) or strong high frequency stimulation (HFS) using the two different stimulation sites. Whereas both TBS and HFS of afferences running through the LA induced stable LTP, TBS failed to induce LTP of EC-inputs to the LA. The present findings also show that LTP in the LA exhibits vulnerability at different time windows after induction. The time window was dependent on the kind of stimulated afferences. Later LTP becomes resistant to disruption by low frequency stimulation. We could show that both used inputs depended on NMDA receptors for LTP-induction. LTP induced by stimulation of fibers within the LA was not altered by nifedipine (10 microM). In contrast, EC-induced LTP was dependent on L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCC). Finally, we found a higher magnitude of LTP in females using TBS, whereas HFS did not cause gender-specific differences. Our study supports the conclusion that the form of LA-LTP depend on which afferences are activated and what pattern of stimulation is used to induce LTP.     

The impact of letter detection on eye movement patterns during reading: Reconsidering lexical analysis in connected text as a function of task

A comparison was made between reading tasks performed with and without the additional requirement of detecting target letters. At issue was whether eye movement measures are affected by the additional requirement of detection. Global comparisons showed robust effects of task type with longer fixations and fewer word skippings when letter detection was required. Detailed analyses of target words, however, further showed that reading with and without letter detection yielded virtually identical effects of word class and text predictability for word-skipping rate and similar effects for different word viewing duration measures. The overall oculomotor pattern suggested that detection does not substantially shift normal reading movements in response to lexical cues and thereby indicated that detection tasks are informative about word and specifically word class processing in normal reading.     

Memory for word location during reading: Eye movements to previously read words are spatially selective but not precise

In two experiments, readers' use of spatial memory was examined by asking them to determine whether an individually shown probe word had appeared in a previously read sentence (Experiment 1) or had occupied a right or left sentence location (Experiment 2). Under these conditions, eye movements during the classification task were generally directed toward the right, irrespective of the location of the relevant target in the previously read sentence. In two additional experiments, readers' knowledge of prior sentence content was examined either without (Experiment 3) or with (Experiment 4) an explicit instruction to move the eyes to a target word in that sentence. Although regressions into the prior sentence were generally directed toward the target, they rarely reached it. In the absence of accurate spatial memories, readers reached previously read target words in two distinct steps--one that moved the eyes in the general vicinity of the target, and one that homed in on it.     

Defocused attention in depressed mood: evidence from source monitoring

The authors suggest that depressed mood is associated with a defocused mode of attention, allowing irrelevant information to be noticed and processed more than in nondepressed states. Working on a source monitoring task, subclinically depressed college students selected with the Beck Depression Inventory (A. T. Beck, 1967; D. Kammer, 1983) had better memory for irrelevant stimulus aspects than nondepressed control students. However, depressed students' performance on the relevant stimulus aspects was unimpaired. These results are in conflict with a capacity reduction view of depressed mood and support the hypothesized altered, defocused mode, in which attentional resources are more evenly allocated across various aspects of the materials. The results are discussed within the framework of adaptive functions of emotional states.     

Loglinear Rasch models for the analysis of stability and change

Loglinear unidimensional and multidimensional Rasch models are considered for the analysis of repeated observations of polytomous indicators with ordered response categories. Reparameterizations and parameter restrictions are provided which facilitate specification of a variety of hypotheses about latent processes of change. Models of purely quantitative change in latent traits are proposed as well as models including structural change. A conditional likelihood ratio test is presented for the comparison of unidimensional and multiple scales Rasch models. In the context of longitudinal research, this renders possible the statistical test of homogeneity of change against subject-specific change in latent traits. Applications to two empirical data sets illustrate the use of the models.The author is greatly indebted to Ulf Böckenholt, Rolf Langeheine, and several anonymous reviewers for many helpful suggestions.     

Loss of vision during the retinal stabilization of letters

Upper- and lower-case letters of the alphabet were stabilized until loss of vision occurred. Loss of straight-line visibility was the most frequently reported perceptual event. Occasionally, features of letters separated spatially before their loss of visibility. In both instances, loss of visibility often resulted in the perception of a less complex letter. Confidence ratings for each loss of letter visibility indicated that participants were quite certain about perceived fragmentations. In a control experiment, participants were asked to guess how letters would fragment during stabilization. Again, loss of line visibility was the most frequently reported event. However, spatial separation of features was rarely predicted and complex letters were not predicted to fragment into simpler letter forms. Furthermore, the confidence in predicted fragmentation was quite low. These results are consistent with the view that losses of visibility during retinal stabilization constitute a distinct perceptual experience. Fragmentations appear to be determined by the availability of less complex letter forms and by the loss of subletter information, consisting of letter features and information specifying spatial configurations.     

Educational and career aspirations of secondary school students in Grenada following the American intervention

This paper reports a study of educational and occupational aspirations of secondary school students in Grenada following the 1983 American intervention. Questionnaire data were obtained from 729 students attending 7 of the island's 18 secondary schools. A status attainment model containing parental and family characteristics was tested. It was discovered that Grenadian students have exceptionally and unrealistically high aspirations. Although the opportunity structure in Grenada is very limited compared to that in the United States, the island's students have higher levels of aspirations. The status attainment model was not very useful in explaining either educational or occupational aspirations, as the levels of explained variance were less than 5%. The implications of high aspirations and low opportunities for the future of Grenada are discussed.     

Higher frequency of left-breast cancer: a possible explanation

A study of 1027 women with unilateral breast cancer showed that ipsilateral breast cancer was more common before age 45 and contralateral thereafter. The data suggest a possible explanation of the higher incidence of left-breast cancer in American women. A higher percentage of left-handed women developed breast cancer before age 45, but the over-all incidence of unilateral breast cancer was not greater in left-handed women than in right-handed or ambihanded subjects.