Global coherence in younger and older adults: Influence of cognitive processes and discourse type

The purpose of the present research was to examine the influence of cognitive processes on discourse global coherence ability measured across different discourse tasks and collected from younger (n = 40; 20–39 years) and older (n = 40; 70–87 years) cognitively healthy adults. Study participants produced oral language samples in response to five commonly used discourse elicitation tasks and they were analyzed for maintenance of global coherence. Participants also completed memory and attention measures. Group differences on the global coherence scale were found for only one type of discourse—recounts. Across discourse elicitation tasks the lowest global coherence scores were found for recounts compared to the other discourse elicitation tasks. The influence of cognitive processes on maintenance of global coherence differed for the two age groups. For the younger group, there were no observed significant relationships. For the older group, cognitive measures were related to global coherence of stories and procedures.     

Age-related differences in working memory: ERPs reveal age-related delays in selection- and inhibition-related processes

Faulty inhibition is implicated in age-related working memory decline. ERP signs of selection and inhibition of items in working memory (WM) are, respectively, a cue-locked parietal positivity (～350 ms) and a probe-locked frontal negativity (～520 ms). To determine when in the older age range differences in selective and inhibitory processes might occur, ERPs were recorded in a WM task from 20 young (20–28), 20 young–old (60–70), and 20 old–old (71–82) adults. A 4-digit display was followed by a cue indicating which 2 of 4 digits were relevant. Proactive interference (PI), the reaction time difference between a matching and non-matching to-be-ignored digit was larger, relative to the young, in both older groups. Compared to the young, both the cue- and probe-locked activities were prolonged in the older groups. Although there were no topographic differences among the age groups, the prolonged PI and associated ERPs suggest a relative age-related deficit in inhibition.     

Executive process training in young and old adults

There is a growing body of research on the modifiability of executive functions in different stages of life. Previous studies demonstrate robust training effects but limited transfer in younger and particularly in older adults. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether a theoretically derived intervention for executive functioning, addressing several basic processes (updating, shifting, and inhibition), can induce transfer effects in early and late adulthood. Fifty-nine healthy adults, 29 young and 30 older adults, were randomly assigned to either training or no-contact control groups. The training groups received 15 sessions of executive process training for about 45 min/session during 5 weeks. A test battery including a criterion task and near, intermediate, and far transfer tasks was administered before and after training. Results showed pronounced age-equivalent gains on the criterion task. Near transfer was seen to non-trained updating and inhibition tasks for the young and older trained participants. However, only the young adults showed intermediate transfer to two complex working memory tasks. No far transfer effects were seen for either age group. These findings provide additional evidence for age-related constraints in the ability to generalize acquired executive skills, and specifically show that training of multiple executive processes is not sufficient to foster transfer beyond the very near in older adults.     

Exploring the interplay between sport modality and cognitive function in open- and closed-skill athletes

The degree to which each sport modality relies on cognitive visual skills is hitherto under-researched. This study sought to further understanding of the relationship between sport modality and visual search ability, visual working memory, and reasoning. Ninety-five participants took part in the present study. In order to assess visual search ability, we employed the Visual Search Task. Visual working memory was assessed through the Corsi Block Tapping – Backwards Task. Reasoning abilities were assessed through the Cognitive Reflection Task. Results indicate that visual search skills appear to benefit to a higher extent from open-skill sports when compared to closed-skill sports. It is important to emphasize, however, that this result was associated with a small effect size. Moreover, the present findings indicate that closed-skill athletes do not differ in terms of visual search abilities, working memory, and reasoning abilities when compared to control individuals.     

A unified framework for interpreting a range of motivation-performance phenomena

Effects of motivation on cognition and performance have been found empirically in different fields. However, the relationship between motivation and performance seems complex and multi-faceted. While seemingly inconsistent or incompatible studies and theories of different disciplinary origins exist in this regard, we show that many of them can potentially be synthesized. Simulations within a unifying computational cognitive architecture account for empirical phenomena from different studies, which demonstrate that a mechanistic (computational) account can potentially unify the interpretations of these studies, largely based on utility calculation from intrinsic motives, and allow for further, more detailed explorations.     

Towards autonomous artificial agents with an active self: Modeling sense of control in situated action

In this paper we present a computational modeling account of an active self in artificial agents. In particular we focus on how an agent can be equipped with a sense of control and how it arises in autonomous situated action and, in turn, influences action control. We argue that this requires laying out an embodied cognitive model that combines bottom-up processes (sensorimotor learning and fine-grained adaptation of control) with top-down processes (cognitive processes for strategy selection and decision-making). We present such a conceptual computational architecture based on principles of predictive processing and free energy minimization. Using this general model, we describe how a sense of control can form across the levels of a control hierarchy and how this can support action control in an unpredictable environment. We present an implementation of this model as well as first evaluations in a simulated task scenario, in which an autonomous agent has to cope with un-/predictable situations and experiences corresponding sense of control. We explore different model parameter settings that lead to different ways of combining low-level and high-level action control. The results show the importance of appropriately weighting information in situations where the need for low/high-level action control varies and they demonstrate how the sense of control can facilitate this.     

Understanding Liberals and Conservatives

It is helpful to teach students of religion and theology that it's not just the teachings and practices of a religion that are important, but the way in which these beliefs and practices are handled that's critical, whether in a liberal or a conservative way. Recent work in Cognitive Linguistics has helped pastors and religion teachers introduce this other dimension of their subject in new ways.     

Funciones ejecutivas y sintomatología asociada con los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria

Recent studies agree in that patients with Eating Disorders (ED) suffer from inefficiencies in Executive Functions as a consequence of the disease. In order to determine whether or not such inefficiencies make part of the endophenotype of ED—not that they result as a mere consequence of ED—69 women were evaluated: 23 diagnosed with ED, 23 with symptoms associated to ED and 23 women without any ED or risks for developing them. All participants were administered the Eating Attitude Test (EAT -40), the Interview for Diagnosis of Eating Disorders-IV (IDED -IV), the Tower of London Test and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The results showed inefficiencies in executive functions—specifically in planning and cognitive flexibility for both the analogous symptoms group and the diagnosed ED group. The findings suggest that these alterations could be present prior to the establishment of the ED, and that they can actually constitute a risk factor