工作记忆中的语音回路对汉语阅读理解的影响

语音回路是工作记忆中一个重要的组成部分,主要负责加工和存储语音信息。采用混合实验设计,以正确数和反应时 为指标,汉语语篇为阅读材料,探讨工作记忆中的语音回路对汉语阅读理解的影响。本研究包括两个实验,实验一采用发音抑制的范式,结合错误干扰考察了语音回路中的发音复述装置对汉语阅读理解的影响;实验二采用无关言语的范式,结合错误干扰考察了语音回路中的语音存储装置对汉语阅读理解的影响。结果表明：(1)通过发音抑制和无关言语的方法证明,语音回路中的发音复述装置和语音存储装置在汉语阅读理解中起着重要作用。(2) 字音和字形都影响汉语的阅读理解,但字形比字音起着更大的作用,而且它们的作用机制也不相同,字音直接进入语音存储装置,而字形要经过字音的转换进入语音存储装置。(3) 词频与语音回路有密切关系,语音回路中的发音复述装置的作用在高频词上有明显的表现。(4) 词频与字形、字音也有密切关系,在低频词的条件下,字形的作用大于字音的作用     

消失文本条件下认知控制的眼动研究

通过考察消失文本条件下的词频效应来探讨影响中文阅读眼动模式的控制因素。实验1发现当读者所注视的双字词在80ms后消失不会影响其正常阅读。实验2在实验1的基础上将材料的呈现时间设置为80ms,结果发现不论是正常阅读还是消失文本条件下均出现了显著的词频效应,结果支持眼动的认知控制模型。     

汉语同形歧义词歧义消解的两半球差异

实验探讨汉语同形歧义词(homographs)歧义消解的过程及大脑两半球的差异。被试为华中科技大学96名大学生,实验采用词汇判断任务。句子语境呈现在被试的视野中央,探测词在SOA(stimulus onset asynchronism)为100毫秒或400毫秒时呈现在左视野或右视野。结果发现,(1)当SOA为100毫秒时,在左视野(右半球)上,与语境一致的同形歧义词的主要意义得到激活,与语境不一致的次要意义也有一定程度的激活。在右视野(左半球)上,只有与语境一致的同形歧义词的主要意义得到激活。(2)当SOA为400毫秒时,在左、右视野(两半球)上,与语境一致的同形歧义词的主要意义和次要意义都得到激活。结果表明,大脑左半球对汉语歧义词的歧义消解具有一定的优势,语境敏感模型可以较好地解释本实验的结果。     

The role of gamma band oscillations and synchrony on rubber hand illusion and crossmodal integration

The rubber hand illusion represents an illusory experience during the mislocalization of own hand when correlated visuotactile stimuli are presented to the actual and fake hands. The visuotactile integration process appears to cause this illusion; the corresponding brain activity was revealed in many studies. In this study, we investigated the effect of the rubber hand illusion on the crossmodal integration process by measuring EEG. The participants who experienced less intensive illusion showed greater congruency effect on reaction time (RT), greater power increase at the parietal zero electrode (Pz) and smaller interelectrode synchrony of the gamma band activity. On the other hand, the participants who experienced more intense illusion showed greater interelectrode synchrony. The results suggested that the gamma band activity in the parietal area reflects the visuotactile integration process and that its synchrony causes the illusory intensity.     

Language encodes geographical information

Population counts and longitude and latitude coordinates were estimated for the 50 largest cities in the United States by computational linguistic techniques and by human participants. The mathematical technique Latent Semantic Analysis applied to newspaper texts produced similarity ratings between the 50 cities that allowed for a multidimensional scaling (MDS) of these cities. MDS coordinates correlated with the actual longitude and latitude of these cities, showing that cities that are located together share similar semantic contexts. This finding was replicated using a first-order co-occurrence algorithm. The computational estimates of geographical location as well as population were akin to human estimates. These findings show that language encodes geographical information that language users in turn may use in their understanding of language and the world.     

Missing the target: A reply to Koehler & Macchi (2009)

Koehler and Macchi 2009 criticize the experiments presented in Newell, Mitchell, and Hayes 2008 as being “virtually irrelevant” to exemplar cuing theory. This reply addresses that interpretation and argues that the experiments dealt with issues at the heart of the theory and provided evidence highly relevant to understand how people think about low‐probability events. The role of the ‘target’ in probabilistic statements is examined, highlighting the need for further theoretical and empirical clarification of the concept. The remaining specific criticisms raised in the commentary are discussed as well. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dietary patterns and intelligence in early and middle childhood

The association between intelligence and diet at 3.5 and 7 years was examined in 591 children of European descent. Approximately half of the children were born small-for-gestational age (birth weight ≤ 10th percentile). The relationship between IQ and diet (measured by food frequency) was investigated using multiple regression analyses. Eating margarine at least daily was associated with significantly lower IQ scores at 3.5 years in the total sample and at 7 years in SGA children. For all children, eating the recommended daily number of breads and cereals was associated with significantly higher IQ scores at 3.5 years, and those who ate fish at least weekly had significantly higher IQ scores at 7 years than those who did not. The consumption of fish, breads and cereals commeasurable with nutritional guidelines may be beneficial to children's cognitive development. In contrast, consuming margarine daily was associated with poorer cognitive functioning. Further research is needed to identify the nutrients that may underlie this association.     

藏语阅读中中央凹词频效应及对副中央凹预视效应的影响

在不同语言文字系统中,对于眼动控制的本质及其发生机制,尤其是阅读过程中注意资源的分配是序列分布还是平行分布的问题,目前仍然存在着争论和分歧。藏语是拼音文字,但它同时又具有汉语的特点,独具语言特色。因此,通过对藏语阅读过程中中央凹词频对副中央凹预视效应影响这一问题的探讨,可以在一种已有研究未曾涉及的文字系统中进一步推动上述争议的解决。本研究采用眼动记录法,设计了两个实验。实验1操纵了中央凹词频(高频、低频),考察藏语阅读中中央凹词的词频效应及词频延迟效应,结果发现,藏语阅读中存在词频效应及词频延迟效应。实验2同时操纵中央凹词频和副中央凹预视词类型,借助边界范式,考察藏语阅读中副中央凹预视效应及中央凹词频对副中央凹预视效应的影响,结果发现,藏语阅读中存在副中央凹预视效应,且与低频中央凹词相比,高频中央凹词对副中央凹预视效应的促进作用更大。两个实验结果表明:(1)藏语阅读中存在显著的词频效应,且表现在词汇加工的整个过程;(2)藏语阅读中存在显著的词频延迟效应,并贯穿于词汇加工的整个过程;(3)藏语阅读中存在显著的副中央凹预视效应,读者能通过副中央凹预视提取到语音和字形信息。藏语阅读中中央凹词...     

Unconscious processing of coarse visual information during anticipatory threat

Rapid detection of threats has been proposed to rely on automatic processing of their coarse visual features. However, it remains unclear whether such a mechanism is restricted to detection of threat cues, or whether it reflects a broader sensitivity to even neutral coarse visual information features during states of threat. We used a backward masking task in which participants discriminated the orientation of subliminally presented low (3 cpd) and high (6 cpd) spatial frequency gratings, under threat (of shock) and safe conditions. Visual awareness of the gratings was assessed objectively using an additional localization task. When participants were unaware of the gratings, above chance and improved discrimination of low-spatial frequency gratings was observed under threat compared to safe trials. These findings demonstrate unconscious processing of neutral coarse visual information during threat state, supporting the view that automatic threat detection may rely on a general facilitation of coarse features irrespective of threat content.