Cardiac modulation of startle: Effects on eye blink and higher cognitive processing

Cardiac cycle time has been shown to affect pre-attentive brainstem startle processes, such as the magnitude of acoustically evoked reflexive startle eye blinks. These effects were attributed to baro-afferent feedback mechanisms. However, it remains unclear whether cardiac cycle time plays a role in higher startle-related cognitive processes, as well. Twenty-five volunteers responded first by ’fast as possible’ button pushes (reaction time, RT), and second, rated perceived intensity of 60 acoustic startle stimuli (85, 95, or 105 dB; 50 ms duration; binaural; instantaneous rise time), which were presented either 230 or 530 ms after the R-wave, and eye blink responses were measured by EMG. RT was divided into evaluation and motor response time according to previous research. Increasing stimulus intensity enhanced startle eye blink, intensity ratings, and RT components. Eye blinks and intensity judgments were lower when startle was elicited at a latency of R + 230 ms, but RT components were differentially affected: the evaluative component was attenuated, and the motor component was accelerated when stimuli were presented 230 ms after the R-wave. We conclude that the cardiac cycle affects the attentive processing of acoustic startle stimuli.     

A Model-Based Approach to Understanding Apraxia in Corticobasal Syndrome

Limb apraxia is a neurological disorder of higher cognitive function characterized by an inability to perform purposeful skilled movements and not attributable to an elementary sensorimotor dysfunction or comprehension difficulty. Corticobasal Syndrome (CBS) is an akinetic rigid syndrome with asymmetric onset and progression with at least one basal ganglia feature (rigidity, limb dystonia or myoclonus) and one cortical feature (limb apraxia, alien hand syndrome or cortical sensory loss). Even though limb apraxia is highly prevalent in CBS (70–80%), very few studies have examined the performance of CBS patients on praxis measures in detail. This review aims to (1) briefly summarize the clinical, neuroanatomical and pathological findings in CBS, (2) briefly outline what limb apraxia is and how it is assessed, (3) to comprehensively review the literature on limb apraxia in CBS to date and (4) to briefly summarize the literature on other forms of apraxia, such as limb-kinetic apraxia and buccofacial apraxia. Overall, the goal of the review is to bring a model-based perspective to the findings available in the literature to date on limb apraxia in CBS.     

语文学习困难儿童的工作记忆与加工速度

加工速度和工作记忆反应了不同的认知加工过程,在认知发展研究中,加工速度和工作记忆所起的作用仍存在较大的分歧.采用多因素混合实验设计,在严格控制条件下,比较了语文学习困难和控制组儿童的工作记忆和加工速度.结果发现,与控制组相比,语文学习困难儿童在工作记忆和加工速度方面均存在明显的不足,但加工速度不能解释不同能力组之间的差异,语文学习困难儿童的缺陷在于工作记忆能力的下降.工作记忆的缺陷在于言语工作记忆和中央执行功能的不足,与视空间工作记忆能力无关.语文学习困难既存在一般的工作记忆缺陷(中央执行功能)也存在特定的工作记忆(言语工作记忆)能力的不足.     

眼睛运动如何与记忆相关？

很久以来,人们一直在致力于研究人的眼动与心理活动之间的关系,从而揭示其间的奥妙。众多研究表明,睡眠时的快速眼动（RapidEyeMovements,REM）及其周期对记忆的形成与巩固有重要作用。在清醒状态下,人的眼动就是为了获得视觉信息,如果涉及记忆任务,这就是编码阶段的具体行动。另外,问题解决过程也有眼动参与。总体看来,眼动和记忆之间是一种双向的关系,适当的眼动训练或许能够提高记忆成绩。     

轻度弱智儿童工作记忆、加工速度的实验研究

选取轻度弱智、一般智力以及智力优秀三组共288名小学生作为被试,每个被试接受三种测验,即工作记忆测验、加工速度测验、韦氏儿童智力测验中国修订版,以考察轻度弱智儿童群体在与工作记忆和加工速度相关的认知任务上的反应特征,以及轻度弱智儿童与一般儿童在这些任务上的差异。通过方差分析、聚类分析等统计方法得到以下结果：1．轻度弱智儿童和智力一般儿童在工作记忆和加工速度上有显著差异。2．轻度弱智儿童群体在各基本认知能力中可能存在的缺陷并不平衡,工作记忆较稳定地反映了该群体在智力上的缺陷,但存在一部分在加工速度上体现为正常水平的亚类群体。     

加工速度、自我监控对认知操作的影响

本研究用认知操作的部分内容,探索了青少年在认知操作活动中年龄、自我监控、加工速度对认知操作的影响,研究发现：本研究结果表明,年龄对自我监控有显著的负效应,对认知操作有显著的正效应,自我监控对加工速度有非常显著的正效应,对认知操作有显著的负效应,加工速度对认知操作有显著的负效应。     

学习因素对语义信息加工性质的影响

本研究通过两个行为实验,采用句子核证作业,将SAD技术和范畴学习范式有机地结合起来,对语义信息加工进程以及学习因素在其中的作用进行了考察。实验一研究了熟悉性对语义信息加工的影响。结果表明,高熟悉句的部分信息积累具有离散的趋势;低熟悉句的部分信息积累是连续性的。实验二采用范畴学习。并结合SAD技术的句子核证作业．考察了在学习过程中语义加工性质的变化。结果发现：过度学习比初始学习有更多的部分信息积累,并随信号间隔的延长而逐渐增加;过度学习表现出部分信息积累的离散性变化;初始学习则表现出连续累积的趋势。说明学习确实造成了连续性加工向离散性质的过渡。     

The fast and the female: Gender differences in wellbeing and wage consequences of commute impedance

At equal distance, the impedance created by traffic congestion strongly affects the duration of commute. Extant literature indicates that commute impedance negatively affects wellbeing, distinctly from the distance and the duration of commute. These negative effects are reported to be larger for women. Consequently, workers, especially females, must be willing to accept lower wages if reaching the job location entails fewer traffic congestions and accommodates a speedier commute. Using the Canadian General Social Survey of 2015 and the Census of 2016, the present paper assesses the wellbeing and wage consequences of commute impedance on men and women who drive to work. The study first demonstrates that the negative impact of commute impedance on wellbeing is greater for women. Second, consistent with the greater negative effect of traffic congestion on their wellbeing, women appear to pay a price off their wages, in order to avoid commute impedance. The policy implications are discussed.     

Speed analyses of stimulus equivalence.

The functional substitutability of stimuli in equivalence classes was examined through analyses of the speed of college students'' accurate responding. After training subjects to respond to 18 conditional relations, subjects'' accuracy and speed of accurate responding were compared across trial types (baseline, symmetry, transitivity, and combined transitivity and symmetry) and nodal distance (one- through five-node transitive and combined transitive and symmetric relations). Differences in accuracy across nodal distance and trial type were significant only on the first tests of equivalence, whereas differences in speed were significant even after extended testing. Response speed was inversely related to the number of nodes on which the tested relations were based. Significant differences in response speed were also found across trial types, except between transitivity and combined trials. To determine the generality of these comparisons, three groups of subjects were included: An instructed group was given an instruction that specified the interchangeability of stimuli related through training; a queried group was queried about the basis for test-trial responding: and a standard group was neither instructed nor queried. There were no significant differences among groups. These results suggest the use of response speed and response accuracy to measure the strength of matching relations.