Neuronal correlates of decisions to speak and act: Spontaneous emergence and dynamic topographies in a computational model of frontal and temporal areas

The neural mechanisms underlying the spontaneous, stimulus-independent emergence of intentions and decisions to act are poorly understood. Using a neurobiologically realistic model of frontal and temporal areas of the brain, we simulated the learning of perception–action circuits for speech and hand-related actions and subsequently observed their spontaneous behaviour. Noise-driven accumulation of reverberant activity in these circuits leads to their spontaneous ignition and partial-to-full activation, which we interpret, respectively, as model correlates of action intention emergence and action decision-and-execution. Importantly, activity emerged first in higher-association prefrontal and temporal cortices, subsequently spreading to secondary and finally primary sensorimotor model-areas, hence reproducing the dynamics of cortical correlates of voluntary action revealed by readiness-potential and verb-generation experiments. This model for the first time explains the cortical origins and topography of endogenous action decisions, and the natural emergence of functional specialisation in the cortex, as mechanistic consequences of neurobiological principles, anatomical structure and sensorimotor experience.     

Homosexuality as an issue in the psychoanalytic treatment of Lubavitch Chassidim

There is sparse literature on the psychoanalytic treatment of Chassidic Jews. The authors of this article, both secular nonobservant psychoanalysts, have spent over a decade working with Lubavitch Chassidim in the New York area. In the Lubavitch community, the sexes are separated at three years of age, leading to same-sex cohorts from then until marriage. As with all ultra-orthodox religious groups, homosexuality is viewed in Biblical terms as an abomination and yet, not surprisingly, it exists within this community. This article deals with the analysis of homosexual issues that appear in the treatment of both male and female Lubavitch Chassidim. We discuss how homosexuality is manifested, how it is viewed, denied, and rationalized, and the functions it serves in a subculture that is inherently homocentric. The need for parameters in classical technique is discussed as a necessity for successful psychoanalytic work with this population.     

Memory Without Consolidation: Temporal Distinctiveness Explains Retroactive Interference

Is consolidation needed to account for retroactive interference in free recall? Interfering mental activity during the retention interval of a memory task impairs performance, in particular if the interference occurs in temporal proximity to the encoding of the to‐be‐remembered (TBR) information. There are at least two rival theoretical accounts of this temporal gradient of retroactive interference. The cognitive neuroscience literature has suggested neural consolidation is a pivotal factor determining item recall. According to this account, interfering activity interrupts consolidation processes that would otherwise stabilize the memory representations of TBR items post‐encoding. Temporal distinctiveness theory, by contrast, proposes that the retrievability of items depends on their isolation in psychological time. According to this theory, information processed after the encoding of TBR material will reduce the temporal distinctiveness of the TBR information. To test between these accounts, implementations of consolidation were added to the SIMPLE model of memory and learning. We report data from two experiments utilizing a two‐list free recall paradigm. Modeling results imply that SIMPLE was able to model the data and did not benefit from the addition of consolidation. It is concluded that the temporal gradient of retroactive interference cannot be taken as evidence for memory consolidation.     

Variation in working memory capacity and intrusions: Differences in generation or editing?

The current study explored the reason for the relation between individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) and intrusions in free recall. High and low WMC individuals were tested in standard delayed free recall and externalised free recall in which participants recalled everything that came to mind. Additionally, in externalised free recall participants were instructed to press a key for each item that they knew was an intrusion. In delayed free recall, low WMC individuals recalled fewer correct items and more previous list and extralist intrusions than high WMC individuals. In externalised free recall, differences only arose in previous list intrusions. Furthermore, in externalised free recall it was found that low WMC were less likely to identify both types of intrusions than high WMC individuals. It is argued that the reason low WMC individuals recall more intrusions than high WMC in free recall is due to differences in both generation and editing abilities.     

Unravelling intention: Distal intentions increase the subjective sense of agency

Experimental studies investigating the contribution of conscious intention to the generation of a sense of agency for one’s own actions tend to rely upon a narrow definition of intention. Often it is operationalized as the conscious sensation of wanting to move right before movement. Existing results and discussion are therefore missing crucial aspects of intentions, namely intention as the conscious sensation of wanting to move in advance of the movement. In the present experiment we used an intentional binding paradigm, in which we distinguished between immediate (proximal) intention, as usually investigated, and longer standing (distal) intention. The results showed that the binding effect was significantly enhanced for distal intentions compared to proximal intentions, indicating that the former leads to stronger sense of agency. Our finding provides empirical support for a crucial distinction between at least two types of intention when addressing the efficacy of conscious intentions.     

Manipulating number generation: Loud + long = large?

Humans make numerous choices every day and tend to perceive these choices as free. The present study shows how simple free choices are biased by experiencing unrelated auditory information. In two experiments, participants categorized tones according to their intensity on the dimensions volume and duration on the majority of trials. On some trials, however, they were to randomly generate a number, and we found these choices to be influenced by tone intensity. Particularly, if participants were cued toward volume, loud tones clearly biased participants to generate larger numbers. For tone duration, a similar effect only emerged if spatial information was reinforced by the motor context of the task. The findings extend previous findings relating to the ATOM framework (A Theory of Magnitude) by an explicit focus on auditory magnitude processing. As such, they also constrain ATOM by showing that the connections between different magnitude dimensions vary to a considerable degree.     

Practical Tools and Guidelines for Exploring and Fitting Linear and Nonlinear Dynamical Systems Models

A dynamical system is a system of variables that show some regularity in how they evolve over time. Change concepts described in most dynamical systems models are by no means novel to social and behavioral scientists, but most applications of dynamic modeling techniques in these disciplines are grounded on a narrow subset of—typically linear—theories of change. I provide practical guidelines, recommendations, and software code for exploring and fitting dynamical systems models with linear and nonlinear change functions in the context of four illustrative examples. Cautionary notes, challenges, and unresolved issues in utilizing these techniques are discussed.     

Differential Transfer Benefits of Increased Practice for Constant,Blocked, and Serial Practice Schedules

The effects of practice schedule and amount of practice on the development of the generalized motor program (GMP) and on parameter estimation were investigated. Participants (N = 108) practiced the same relative timing but different absolute durations of a multisegment timing task. Practice schedules (constant, blocked, or serial) were crossed with amounts of practice (low and high). Inclusion of a constant practice condition allowed the authors to investigate the variability of practice prediction. Participants practiced the same proportional durations in a serial or a blocked schedule, which enabled the authors to examine contextual interference. A constant practice schedule enhanced GMP performance when task parameters remained the same, but varied practice schedules were beneficial when task parameters changed. A serial as opposed to a blocked practice schedule was superior when the performance of a task governed by a different GMP was required. Increased practice led to a consolidated task representation that was unavailable for updating.     

Embodied free will beliefs: Some effects of physical states on metaphysical opinions

The present research suggests that people’s bodily states affect their beliefs about free will. People with epilepsy and people with panic disorder, which are disorders characterized by a lack of control over one’s body, reported less belief in free will compared to people without such disorders (Study 1). The more intensely people felt sexual desire, physical tiredness, and the urge to urinate, the less they believed in free will (Study 2). Among non-dieters, the more intensely they felt hunger, the less they believed in free will. However, dieters showed a trend in the opposite direction (Study 3).     

Putting the lie on the control condition for moral responsibility

In “Control, Responsibility, and Moral Assessment” Angela Smith defends her nonvoluntarist theory of moral responsibility against the charge that any such view is shallow because it cannot capture the depth of judgments of responsibility. Only voluntarist positions can do this since only voluntarist positions allow for control. I argue that Smith is able to deflect the voluntarists’ criticism, but only with further resources. As a voluntarist, I also concede that Smith’s thesis has force, and I close with a compromise position, one that allows for direct moral responsibility for the nonvoluntary, but also incorporates a reasonable control condition.