The effects of music exposure and own genre preference on conscious and unconscious cognitive processes: a pilot ERP study

Did Beethoven and Mozart have more in common with each other than Clapton and Hendrix? The current research demonstrated the widely reported Mozart Effect as only partly significant. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 16 professional classical and rock musicians during a standard 2 stimulus visual oddball task, while listening to classical and rock music. During the oddball task participants were required to discriminate between an infrequent target stimulus randomly embedded in a train of repetitive background or standard stimuli. Consistent with previous research, the P3 and N2 ERPs were elicited in response to the infrequent target stimuli. Own genre preference resulted in a reduction in amplitude of the P3 for classical musicians exposed to classical music and rock musicians exposed to rock music. Notably, at the pre-attentive stage of processing (N2) beneficial effects of exposure to classical music were observed for both groups of musicians. These data are discussed in terms of short and long-term music benefits on both conscious and unconscious cognitive processes.     

Numerical and non-numerical ordinality processing in children with and without developmental dyscalculia: Evidence from fMRI

Ordinality is – beyond numerical magnitude (i.e., quantity) – an important characteristic of the number system. There is converging empirical evidence that (intra)parietal brain regions mediate number magnitude processing. Furthermore, recent findings suggest that the human intraparietal sulcus (IPS) supports magnitude and ordinality in a domain-general way. However, the latter findings are derived from adult studies and with respect to children (i.e., developing brain systems) both the neural correlates of ordinality processing and the precise role of the IPS (domain-general vs. domain-specific) in ordinality processing are thus far unknown. The present study aims at filling this gap by employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate numerical and non-numerical ordinality knowledge in children with and without developmental dyscalculia. In children (without DD) processing of numerical and non-numerical ordinality alike is supported by (intra)parietal cortex, thus extending the notion of a domain-general (intra)parietal cortex to developing brain systems. Moreover, activation extents in response to numerical ordinality processing differ significantly between children with and without dyscalculia in inferior parietal regions (supramarginal gyrus and IPS).     

Neural correlates of variable working memory load across adult age and skill: dissociative patterns within the fronto-parietal network

We examined neural changes related to variations in working memory load by using an n -back task with three levels and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Younger adults were divided into high- and low-performing groups (Young-High; Young-Low) and compared with older adults. Relative to Young-High, capacity-constraints in working memory were apparent between load 1–2 for the elderly and between load 2–3 for Young-Low. Capacity-constraints in neural activity followed this pattern by showing a monotonically increasing response in parietal cortex and thalamus for Young-High, whereas activity leveled off at 1-back for the elderly and at 2-back for Young-Low. The response in dorsal frontal cortex followed a similar pattern with the addition that the magnitude of activation differed within capacity limitations (Old > Young at 1-back; Young-Low > Young-High at 2-back). These findings indicate that an important determinant of WM capacity is the ability to keep the frontal cortex adequately engaged in relation to current task demands.     

Neurophysiological evidence for categorical perception of color

The aim of this investigation was to examine the time course and the relative contributions of perceptual and post-perceptual processes to categorical perception (CP) of color. A visual oddball task was used with standard and deviant stimuli from same (within-category) or different (between-category) categories, with chromatic separations for within- and between-category stimuli equated in Munsell Hue. CP was found on a behavioral version of the task, with faster RTs and greater accuracy for between- compared to within-category stimuli. On a neurophysiological version of the task, event-related potentials (ERPs) showed earlier latencies for P1 and N1 components at posterior locations to between- relative to within-category deviants, providing novel evidence for early perceptual processes on color CP. Enhanced P2 and P3 waves were also found for between- compared to within-category stimuli, indicating a role for later post-perceptual processes.     

Brain responses to filled gaps

An unresolved issue in the study of sentence comprehension is whether the process of gap-filling is mediated by the construction of empty categories (traces), or whether the parser relates fillers directly to the associated verb's argument structure. We conducted an event-related potentials (ERP) study that used the violation paradigm to examine the time course and spatial distribution of brain responses to ungrammatically filled gaps. The results indicate that the earliest brain response to the violation is an early left anterior negativity (eLAN). This ERP indexes an early phase of pure syntactic structure building, temporally preceding ERPs that reflect semantic integration and argument structure satisfaction. The finding is interpreted as evidence that gap-filling is mediated by structurally predicted empty categories, rather than directly by argument structure operations.     

右侧颞顶联合区及道德加工脑网络的功能连接预测社会性框架效应：来自静息态功能磁共振的证据

社会性框架效应指个体进行社会性决策时, 描述方式(即框架)对其选择倾向的影响。采用“伤害/帮助框架”范式, 本研究在行为上发现了显著的框架效应：被试在伤害框架下比帮助框架下, 更倾向于选择利他选项, 这可能是由于伤害框架凸显了伤害他人的后果及有意性, 从而提高了道德冲突水平。在神经活动上发现(1)静息态下, 右侧颞顶联合区(TPJ)的低频振荡振幅(ALFF)与框架效应强度存在显著正相关; (2)道德加工相关脑区构成的局部脑网络内部的功能连接强度(FC)能够有效预测框架效应强度。本研究首次利用静息态功能连接探讨个体的社会性决策受到语言表述方式影响的神经机制, 为进一步揭示社会决策中的个体差异提供了神经学证据。     

音乐知觉的神经基础：脑成像研究的元分析

本研究根据音乐加工的层级结构, 对现有的脑成像研究进行了元分析, 探讨了音乐知觉的神经基础。具体而言, 对特异于音乐知觉加工的两个层级, 音程分析和结构分析的神经基础进行了分析, 并在此基础上对比了参与两个层级加工的脑区。结果发现, 音程分析主要的激活分布在双侧颞上回和右侧额下回, 在中央前回、角回和脑岛等脑区也有分布。音程分析在颞上回激活最多, 可能表明颞上回为音程分析的核心区域。结构分析激活分布较广, 主要激活颞上回、颞横回和前额叶区域, 此外, 还激活了下顶叶、缘上回和舌回等顶枕区域。结构分析在前额叶激活最多, 可能表明前额叶为结构分析的核心区域。最后, 对比两层级激活的脑区发现, 二者仅在后侧颞上回存在着重合, 而在绝大部分脑区则表现出分离, 这暗示了音程分析和结构分析通过颞上回进行交流, 并负责音乐不同层面的加工。     

不同依恋风格者情绪调节策略的认知神经特点

情绪调节是依恋研究的重要方面。本文依托Gross的情绪调节理论和相关认知神经证据,阐述了三种依恋风格者的情绪调节特点。焦虑型依恋调节负性情绪时存在注意分配的优势和表达抑制的不足;调节正性情绪时还采用了情景选择和情景修正策略。回避型依恋调节两种效价情绪均使用了表达抑制,调节正性情绪时还使用了认知重评。安全型依恋使用认知重评、注意分配和情景修正策略,效价差异不突出。探讨依恋与情绪调节的关系,有利于改善非安全型依恋的情绪调节能力。     

基于神经生理学的疼痛测量

疼痛是一种受多重因素影响的复杂主观感受。临床上,疼痛测量主要依赖于患者的主观评价。然而,这种传统的疼痛测量方法具有多方面的局限。近年来,研究者借助生理记录、脑电和功能磁共振等技术,揭示疼痛的神经生理、心理机制,挖掘与疼痛相关的神经生理指标,进而构建有效、客观和精确的疼痛评价体系。在基础研究和临床实践中,这些技术有望弥补传统疼痛测量方法的不足,从而极大推动疼痛测量及其治疗等相关领域研究的发展。     

基于Think/No-think范式的动机性遗忘研究:行为与脑机制

想/不想范式(Think/No-think,TNT)是基于go/no-go范式提出来的用于研究动机性遗忘过程的实验范式,主要过程是指个体对于记忆的提取抑制可以导致随后该记忆的遗忘。近年来TNT范式的大量行为学研究都一致性地发现记忆提取抑制可以产生负性控制效应,验证了在实验室情境下对动机性遗忘进行研究的可行性。其中,负性控制效应指的是压抑条件的项目相对于基线条件的项目的回忆量有显著降低。关于动机性遗忘发生的神经机制的探讨已积累了大量的研究证据,总结脑电(EEG)和功能核磁共振(f MRI)两个模态的研究,我们提出了动机性遗忘发生的多模态功能网络模型。最后,在该模型的基础上,我们展望了TNT范式未来的研究方向,其中特别注意到同步EEG-f MRI技术的应用有望为我们揭示出记忆提取抑制导致的动机性遗忘发生的动态过程。