视觉工作记忆中基于客体的存储机制：来自ERPs的证据

该研究以简单形状和颜色构成的客体为材料,采用延迟匹配范式,通过记录事件相关电位,以反映工作记忆表征与知觉输入间冲突的N270为指标,就视觉工作记忆中的客体存储机制进行了探讨。结果发现,无关维度特征变化与目标维度特征变化均可诱发N270。该结果表明,视觉工作记忆对客体目标特征进行存储时,无关特征亦自动得到选择加工,支持基于客体的存储说。     

句子语境中汉语词汇歧义消解的ERP研究

采用ERP方法,考察了汉语词汇歧义消解中句子语境作用的时间进程及大脑活动。目标词与句子语境存在一致、不一致、无关控制等3种关系。结果显示:(1)一致与不一致条件下N400的平均波幅均显著低于无关控制条件;(2)SOA为200毫秒时产生的N400平均波幅的幅度显著高于SOA为1000毫秒的条件;(3)N400的平均波幅及潜伏期均表现出左半球显著高于右半球的特点。实验结果支持词汇歧义消解的模块化观点,体现了大脑两半球语言功能的不对称性。     

Big brown dog or brown big dog? An electrophysiological study of semantic constraints on prenominal adjective order

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants read and made acceptability judgments about sentences containing three types of adjective sequences: (1) normal sequences--e.g., Jennifer rode a huge gray elephant; (2) reversed sequences that violate grammatical-semantic constraints on linear order--e.g., *Jennifer rode a gray huge elephant; and (3) contradictory sequences that violate lexical-semantic constraints on compositionality--e.g., *Jennifer rode a small huge elephant. Relative to the control condition, the second adjective elicited a reduced N400 and an enhanced P600 in both the reversal condition and the contradiction condition. We present several alternative accounts of these two effects, but favor an interpretation which treats them as reflecting semantic and syntactic aspects of a temporary reanalysis of the adjective order construction. Furthermore, relative to the control condition, the final noun elicited a robust N400 in the contradiction condition but not in the reversal condition. We suggest that this effect indexes the full registration of the lexical-semantic incompatibility of the two adjectives in the contradiction condition. Finally, we discuss how all of these findings fit into the broader context of recent ERP studies that have reported atypical N400s and robust P600s in response to certain types of semantic anomalies.     

Developmental changes in neural activity to familiar words and gestures

Infants younger than 20 months of age interpret both words and symbolic gestures as object names. Later in development words and gestures take on divergent communicative functions. Here, we examined patterns of brain activity to words and gestures in typically developing infants at 18 and 26 months of age. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during a match/mismatch task. At 18 months, an N400 mismatch effect was observed for pictures preceded by both words and gestures. At 26 months the N400 effect was limited to words. The results provide the first neurobiological evidence showing developmental changes in semantic processing of gestures.     

情绪变化的自动化加工：来自EMMN的启示

人脑如何自动化加工瞬息万变的情绪信息?研究者们在借鉴听觉通道的失匹配负波(mismatch negativity, MMN)研究的基础上, 进一步发展出了表情失匹配负波(expression mismatch negativity, EMMN), 以此作为视觉情绪信息前注意加工的重要指标。与以往的一般视觉线索的视觉失匹配负波(visual mismatch negativity, vMMN)有所区别, EMMN研究专注于人脑如何自动化加工瞬息万变的情绪信息。当前的研究主要探讨了不同类型的面部表情、不同性别、高低流体智力个体的EMMN差异, 以及自闭症、抑郁症、精神分裂症等异常个体EMMN的特点。此外, 从预测编码的角度阐释了EMMN的机制。今后的研究有必要聚焦EMMN在临床诊断和治疗中的应用, 考察不同情绪线索EMMN的特点, 并进一步揭示EMMN的神经机制。     

Children's perceptions of major positive and negative events and factors in single-parent families

A study was designed to tap children's perceptions of the divorce situation as opposed to adults' perceptions of the child's response to the parental divorce. Subjects were 75 boys and 75 girls from mother- and father-headed families. Using an individual structured interview procedure children were encouraged to reconstruct both positive and negative dimensions of their interactions with the custodial parent. Through factor analyses of the contents of interviews four negative and two positive factors involving 20 specific items were identified in the children's perceptual data. Subsequently, chi-square analyses were done to compare differences in girls' and boys' perceptions between and across father- and mother-headed families. Results are discussed in terms of their relationship with the existing literature and their clinical and educational relevance to children, single parents and professionals.     

Occupational values,environments, and levels

The Job Attitude Scale was administered to majors and captains and to upper-middle managers and lower-middle managers of industrial organizations. No significant differences in general intrinsic orientation were found between the majors and the upper-middle managers, or between the captains and the lower-middle managers. The majors and the upper-middle managers were significantly more intrinsically oriented than the captains and the lower-middle managers. The results also showed that the military samples were significantly more concerned with advancement, security, status, and family needs-salarywise-than the civilian samples, while the two civilian groups were significantly more concerned with achievement, supervision, and relations with subordinates than the two military groups. The results were discussed in view of job environment and job level.     

Occupational classification in terms of interest patterns

This study was designed to identify the important clusters of occupational groups identifiable from an analysis of the dimensions accounting for similarity in profile shapes among a set of 28 new vocational interest measures. A total of over 47,000 individuals belonging to 189 particular occupational groups have completed the Strong Vocational Interest Blank and had their data summarized in the form of group profiles. The matrix of 189 occupational group profiles of the 22 SVIB Basic Scales was analyzed by a series of multivariate procedures designed to predict group profiles on the Jackson Vocational Interest Survey (JVIS). Predicted JVIS profiles were obtained using an intercorrelation matrix of 548 males who had completed both the SVIB and the JVIS. Predicted JVIS profiles were subjected to a form of transpose factor analysis to obtain clusters of similar occupations. A total of 23 distinct occupational clusters were obtained, ranging from military officers to salesmen, and were interpreted as representing the major groupings of occupations defined by similar patterns of vocational interest.     

The effects of increasing familiarity on infants' reactions to adult strangers

The influence of the presence and novelty of an adult stranger on the reactions of 12-mo-old infants was investigated. Subjects were placed near their mothers in a room containing a new toy and either the same, a different, or no adult stranger for 8 4-min trials. Results indicated that the Same-Adult Group spent more time near the adult, less time near and touching their mothers, and more time near and touching the toys than the Different-Adult Group. These trends emerged as the trials progressed, and evidenced the Same-Adult Group's growing familiarity with the adult. The No-Adult Group spent less time near or touching their mothers and more time near or touching the toys than the Different-Adult Group, but did not differ from the Same-Adult Group on these responses. The findings suggest that fearful or cautious reactions to adult strangers disappear rapidly as the adult becomes familiar and point to the value of studying the process whereby the infant becomes familiar with new people.