Relating individual differences in internalizing symptoms to emotional attention set-shifting in children

A growing body of evidence points to links between internalizing symptoms and various executive functioning deficits, and especially to inhibition and set-shifting difficulties. However, there is limited developmental research regarding the impact of internalizing symptoms on the shifting function, particularly during middle childhood. The current study investigated attention shifting in a sample of 108 early school age children (7–11 years) using a task-switching paradigm which required participants to alternate between emotional and nonemotional judgments. Results indicated that higher levels of internalizing symptoms (anxiety and depression) had a detrimental effect on performance efficiency (measured by response times) but not on response accuracy. This effect was only observed on emotional (and not on nonemotional) repetition trials and did not affect switching trials; moreover, it was only present when feedback was presented to participants. The findings partially support the predictions of the Attentional Control Theory in a developmental sample and suggest that individual differences in internalizing symptoms play a role in children's ability to flexibly alternate between emotional judgments.     

Investigating the cost to ongoing tasks not associated with prospective memory task requirements

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between prospective memory (PM) and consciousness by examining cost to ongoing activities, with cost assumed to reflect a direction of conscious resources away from the ongoing task in service of the PM task. Ongoing task blocks in which the PM task was relevant or irrelevant were alternated to achieve three aims: determine if cost would persist in irrelevant blocks when relevant and irrelevant blocks were clearly demarcated and irrelevant stimuli were incompatible with the PM task; investigate if costs would be greatest at the start of irrelevant blocks; and determine whether costs would occur when the irrelevant block preceded any relevant blocks. Costs were found in irrelevant blocks and greater cost at the start of the irrelevant blocks suggest the cost may be due in part to participants making decisions about the engagement of conscious resources at transition points.     

心理定势现象的认知神经机制

问题解决活动中的心理定势,是指人们固执地沿用熟悉方案、忽略其他方案的反应倾向。它可能源于人们已经掌握的陈述性知识,也可能源于程序性知识,两类不同来源的心理定势的发生条件和影响效果都不尽相同。然而,过往的研究都没有做出严格区分。本文通过梳理相关研究,描述心理定势现象,解释心理定势是怎么发生的,分析心理定势是在什么条件下发生的、会对心理与行为活动造成什么样的影响,从而评述两种来源的心理定势的认知神经机制,指出尚未解决的科学问题。     

视觉加工的双侧视野优势及其脑机制

等量的视觉任务呈现在双侧视野比仅仅呈现在单侧视野能够获得更好的任务表现, 这被称为双侧视野优势(bilateral field advantage BFA)。BFA产生于两个紧密连接的机制：枕叶视皮层内的竞争性相互作用及背侧额顶叶网络自上而下的注意调控。前者主要发生在V1–V4等与视网膜存在拓扑映射关系的视皮层区, 后者则主要涉及两侧的顶内沟、右侧楔前叶及额眼区。未来的研究可以进一步采用三维立体视觉材料探讨BFA, 考察它与其它视野效应间交互的脑机制, 同时也可尝试解决背侧额顶叶网络的各脑区在系统的功能连接方面尚存的争议。     

视觉工作记忆内容对自上而下注意控制的影响：一项ERP研究

采用视觉搜索范式, 以二维抽象对称图形为材料, 通过记录\16名被试在长短两种时间间隔(ISI)条件和有效、中性、无效三种视觉工作记忆内容条件下的行为反应和事件相关电位(ERPs), 探讨视觉工作记忆内容对自上而下注意控制影响的认知过程和脑机制。结果发现：(1)无论ISI长或短, 有效信息条件(记忆图形与目标所在的背景图形相同)的反应时均显著短于无效信息条件(记忆图形与目标所在的背景图形不同)。(2)有效信息条件下的额区P2波幅显著大于中性信息条件(记忆图形不出现在搜索序列中); 枕区P1、N1波幅和潜伏期在视觉工作记忆内容条件下差异不显著; 短ISI条件下, 有效信息条件下的枕区P300波幅显著大于无效信息条件; 长ISI条件下, 有效信息条件的枕区P300波幅显著小于无效信息条件。表明当目标出现在与记忆内容相匹配的客体中时, 激活了工作记忆中的客体表征, 以自上而下的方式优先捕获注意; 同时ISI变化对此过程起着调节作用。     

社会行为的效价信息对注意捕获的影响：基于帮助和阻碍行为的探讨

采用学习-测验两任务范式,通过3项实验探讨了社会行为的效价信息对注意捕获的影响。在学习阶段,被试观看具有积极效价的帮助行为(某智能体帮助另一智能体爬山)和消极效价的阻碍行为(某智能体阻碍另一智能体爬山),以及与各自运动特性匹配的无社会交互行为,其目的为建立不同智能体颜色与社会行为效价信息的联结关系。在测验阶段,则分别检验社会行为中的施动方(帮助者和阻碍者)颜色和受动方(被帮助者和被阻碍者)颜色的注意捕获效应。结果发现,消极社会行为中施动方颜色和受动方颜色均更容易捕获注意,而积极社会行为效价信息并没有改变联结特征值的注意捕获效应;且相比于受动方,与消极社会行为效价建立联结的施动方颜色的注意捕获效应更强。该结果提示,存在消极社会行为效价驱动的注意捕获,且消极的效价信息与卷入社会行为所有个体的特征建立联结,但该联结中施动方物理特征具有更高的注意优先性。这一发现暗示,声誉信息与对社会交互行为的整体表征可能综合作用于对社会交互事件的注意选择。     

Terror mismanagement: evidence that mortality salience exacerbates attentional bias in social anxiety

Death anxiety is a basic fear underlying a range of psychological conditions, and has been found to increase avoidance in social anxiety. Given that attentional bias is a core feature of social anxiety, the aim of the present study was to examine the impact of mortality salience (MS) on attentional bias in social anxiety. Participants were 36 socially anxious and 37 non-socially anxious individuals, randomly allocated to a MS or control condition. An eye-tracking procedure assessed initial bias towards, and late-stage avoidance of, socially threatening facial expressions. As predicted, socially anxious participants in the MS condition demonstrated significantly more initial bias to social threat than non-socially anxious participants in the MS condition and socially anxious participants in the control condition. However, this effect was not found for late-stage avoidance of social threat. These findings suggest that reminders of death may heighten initial vigilance towards social threat.     

阅读中的“心不在焉”:理论假设和影响因素

人们在阅读时,思维有时会游离到所读内容之外,此时人们的目光虽然还在沿着所读材料移动,但认知加工却游离到一些与任务无关的内容上,这就是所谓阅读中的"心不在焉"。本文总结归纳了阅读中"心不在焉"的三个主要理论假设:执行控制理论、控制失败假说和注意解离假说。分析了阅读中"心不在焉"的三种影响因素:第一,阅读方式,即被试采取朗读或默读的阅读方式以及阅读时是否有时间限制等;第二,阅读材料,即材料难度、阅读兴趣与词汇特征;第三,被试的年龄、元觉察能力和工作记忆容量。最后提出了一些目前阅读中的"心不在焉"研究中存在的问题和未来可能的研究方向,为后续的研究提供一定的启发和借鉴。     

反刍思维与注意脱离损坏的关系及其神经机制

反刍思维是一种重复性的消极思维, 会让个体将注意集中在消极痛苦的事情上。研究表明, 反刍思维和注意脱离损坏虽然是相互独立的概念, 但是二者却存在着密切的联系, 具体表现在注意脱离损坏会预测个体的反刍思维以及反刍思维有关的注意脱损坏可能是受到意识控制的。同时, 反刍思维的类型和自我相关性在反刍思维和注意脱离损坏关系中的作用依然需要进一步探究。另外, 注意脱离有关的训练明显地改善了个体的反刍思维。并且, 杏仁核的过度激活, 前扣带回(anterior cingulate cortex, ACC)对自我相关消极信息的调节异常, 右背外侧前额叶(dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, DLPFC)的活动异常以及与注意有关的脑神经网络的结构和功能的异常可能是反刍思维和注意脱离损坏相互影响的原因。