Does the character-based dimension of stories impact narrative processing? An event-related potentials (ERPs) study

Cognitive Processing - This event-related potentials (ERPs) study investigated online processes of integration of information relating to characters in narrative comprehension. The final sample...     

Cognitive and neural determinants of response strategy in the dual-solution plus-maze task

Response strategy in the dual-solution plus maze is regarded as a form of stimulus-response learning. In this study, by using an outcome devaluation procedure, we show that it can be based on both action-outcome and stimulus-response habit learning, depending on the amount of training that the animals receive. Furthermore, we show that deactivation of the dorso-medial and the dorso-lateral striatum with Botulinum neurotoxin A, mimicked or abolished, respectively, the effects of practice on the sensitivity of the response strategy to outcome devaluation. These findings have relevant implications for the understanding of the learning mechanisms underlying different overt behaviors in this widely used maze task.     

A Multicriteria Spatial Decision Support System Development for Siting a Landfill in the Province of Torino (Italy)

The present paper proposes a spatial multicriteria approach for supporting Decision‐Makers in the siting process of a Municipal Solid Waste landfill in the Province of Torino (Italy). In particular, the contribution illustrates the development of a Multicriteria‐Spatial Decision Support System based on the integration of Geographic Information Systems and a specific Multicriteria Decision Analysis technique, named Analytic Network Process (ANP). This technique, which represents the generalization of the more well‐known Analytic Hierarchy Process to dependences and feedbacks, is particularly suitable for dealing with complex decision problems which are characterized by inter‐relationships among the elements at stake. The application allows the dependence relationships among the criteria to be assessed, and the relative importance of all the elements that play an influence on the final choice to be evaluated. The purpose of the study is to generate a suitability map of the area under analysis for locating a waste landfill, paying particular attention to the contribution that the spatial ANP offers to sustainability assessments of undesirable facilities. To this end, the simple network structure has been used and both exclusionary and non‐exclusionary criteria have been identified and grouped into clusters. The results are obtained in the form of suitability maps analysed through ilwis 3.3 software (52North, ITC, Enschede, The Netherlands) and have been further verified through a sensitivity analysis with reference to the clusters priorities in order to test the robustness of the proposed model. The main findings of this research have proved that the spatial ANP is a useful tool to help technicians to make their decision process traceable and reliable. Moreover, this approach helps Decision‐Makers to undertake a sound reflection of the siting problem. Finally, the implementation of the spatial ANP technique gives an originality value to the present research because it represents one of the first applications at both the national and international level. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Detecting fakers of the autobiographical IAT

Autobiographical memories might be identified using a variant of the implicit association test (IAT), or the autobiographical IAT (aIAT). The aIAT provides a measure of association between true sentences and sentences describing an autobiographical event. This tool might be used to evaluate whether specific autobiographical information is encoded within the respondent's mind/brain. This paper examines possible problems arising when the aIAT is used as a lie‐detector technique. The results indicate that, when given previous instruction or training with an aIAT, examinees can alter their results and beat the ‘memory‐detector’. However, we have been able to detect successful fakers of aIAT on the basis of their specific response patterns. Our algorithm has the ability to spot the faker in a satisfactory manner. If, as demonstrated here, faking can be detected, then the real autobiographical event might also be identified when the examinee attempts to alter their results. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fantasized recipient-donor relationships following lung transplantations: a qualitative case analysis based on patient narratives

The present study examines the relationships between lung transplant recipients and their unknown, deceased donors. Out of 20 semi-structured interviews, eight narratives, by three female and three male recipients respectively, were identified in which the figure of the donor played a role. These narratives were examined using JAKOB, a qualitative research tool that analyses relational configurations and diagnoses psychodynamic conflicts. Analysis revealed a broad range of varying themes and relationships with equally varying wish and fear themes. All the narrators dealt either explicitly or implicitly with whether and how they are connected to their donors. In five narratives, specific personality traits were attributed to the figure of the donor; in four narratives, latent feelings of guilt concerning the donor's death were expressed. Indeed, the figure of the donor was not always perceived as an independent person, separate from the narrator's self: in two cases, the donor appears as part of the recipient's self, while in another case, the donor is presented as a transitional object for the recipient. The findings of the narrative analysis are discussed within a theoretical model of psychical organ integration.     

Influence of motion on face recognition

The influence of motion information and temporal associations on recognition of non-familiar faces was investigated using two groups which performed a face recognition task. One group was presented with regular temporal sequences of face views designed to produce the impression of motion of the face rotating in depth, the other group with random sequences of the same views. In one condition, participants viewed the sequences of the views in rapid succession with a negligible interstimulus interval (ISI). This condition was characterized by three different presentation times. In another condition, participants were presented a sequence with a 1-sec. ISI among the views. That regular sequences of views with a negligible ISI and a shorter presentation time were hypothesized to give rise to better recognition, related to a stronger impression of face rotation. Analysis of data from 45 participants showed a shorter presentation time was associated with significantly better accuracy on the recognition task; however, differences between performances associated with regular and random sequences were not significant.     

A brief review on the use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) for language imaging studies in human newborns and adults

Upon stimulation, real time maps of cortical hemodynamic responses can be obtained by non-invasive functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) which measures changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin after positioning multiple sources and detectors over the human scalp. The current commercially available transportable fNIRS systems have a time resolution of 1-10 Hz, a depth sensitivity of about 1.5 cm, and a spatial resolution of about 1 cm. The goal of this brief review is to report infants, children and adults fNIRS language studies. Since 1998, 60 studies have been published on cortical activation in the brain’s classic language areas in children/adults as well as newborns using fNIRS instrumentations of different complexity. In addition, the basic principles of fNIRS including features, strengths, advantages, and limitations are summarized in terms that can be understood even by non specialists. Future prospects of fNIRS in the field of language processing imaging are highlighted.     

Temperamental profiles and language development: a replication and an extension

Individual differences in child temperament are associated with individual differences in language development. The present study examined the relationship between temperament and language ability in 109 twenty-four- to 30-month-old children. Parents and day-care teachers completed two questionnaires: the Primo Vocabolario del Bambino (Caselli & Casadio, 1995) and the Questionari Italiani del Temperamento (Axia, 2002). Researchers administered the First Language Test (Axia, 1993) to assess productive and receptive language in each child. Replicating previous research (Usai, Garello, & Viterbori, 2009), day-care teachers identified three temperamental profiles: most of the children fit into the first profile, typical of the Italian population; another profile was made up of easily distractible and not very persistent children, with a poor capacity to modulate motor activity; and the third profile of children were inhibited in new situations. A relationship was found between temperament assessed by day-care teachers and different levels of linguistic competence. In particular, the groups of "inattentive" and "inhibited" children showed poorer lexical and morphological abilities and a more immature vocabulary, characterised by the presence of more primitive components of the lexical repertory compared to the group of "typical" children. Unlike the results from day-care teachers, temperament questionnaires completed by parents revealed a 4-cluster-solution. Also, for parents, the "typical" profile is characterised by the largest vocabulary (productive and receptive) and the most mature semantic production.     

Transient state-dependent fluctuations in anxiety measured using STAI, POMS, PANAS or VAS: a comparative review

Abstract Several psychometric instruments can be used to measure state-dependent variations in anxiety, including the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Profile of Mood States (POMS), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Visual Analog Scales (VAS). Each of these instruments rests on specific theoretical assumptions about the construct of state anxiety, and has been widely used for this purpose in different research domains. However, it remains difficult to determine what may be the specificities of these four instruments, when the goal is to measure transient state-dependent variations in anxiety. In this work, we provide a systematic and comparative literature review of studies which have explored rapid fluctuations (i.e., test-retest intervals not exceeding 24 hours) in state anxiety by means of these specific instruments. Almost 200 studies were eventually included in our review. This comparative review confirms that, despite some disparities and specificities, each of these four instruments provides a reliable measure to capture rapid state-dependent variations in anxiety, although they have been used in non-overlapping research domains or experimental contexts.     

Role of the dorsal hippocampus in object memory load

The dorsal hippocampus is crucial for mammalian spatial memory, but its exact role in item memory is still hotly debated. Recent evidence in humans suggested that the hippocampus might be selectively involved in item short-term memory to deal with an increasing memory load. In this study, we sought to test this hypothesis. To this aim we developed a novel behavioral procedure to study object memory load in mice by progressively increasing the stimulus set size in the spontaneous object recognition task. Using this procedure, we demonstrated that naive mice have a memory span, which is the number of elements they can remember for a short-time interval, of about six objects. Then, we showed that excitotoxic selective lesions of the dorsal hippocampus did not impair novel object discrimination in the condition of low memory load. In contrast, the same lesion impaired novel object discrimination in the high memory load condition, and reduced the object memory span to four objects. These results have important heuristic and clinical implications because they open new perspective toward the understanding of the role of the hippocampus in item memory and in memory span deficits occurring in human pathologies, such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.