Experiencing malevolent voices is associated with attentional dysfunction in psychotic patients

Inattention in people with schizophrenia is common. However, there has been little research on the association between inattention and auditory hallucinations. The aim of the study was to investigate how inattention is affected by beliefs about voices as benevolent and malevolent and perceived control of voices. A total of 31 patients who experienced auditory hallucinations and who met the criteria for schizophrenia or other psychosis completed the attention subscale of the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and the Connors’ Continuous Performance Test II (CCPT‐II). The revised Beliefs About Voices Questionnaire (BAVQ‐R) was used to assess malevolent and benevolent beliefs about voices, and severity of auditory hallucinations (the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales; PSYRATS) was used to assess perceived control of voices and frequency of voices. Levels of depression (the Beck Depression Inventory; BDI), anxiety (the Beck Anxiety Inventory; BAI), severity of overall psychiatric symptoms (the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; BPRS), and severity of negative symptoms (SANS) were assessed to control for their potential confounding effects. The relations between the variables were explored with correlations and multiple hierarchical regression analyses. The results indicated that more malevolent, but not more benevolent, beliefs about voices predicted lower levels of attention, independently of general psychiatric symptoms and various other psychotic symptoms such as frequency of and perceived control of voices. These findings suggest an important relationship between malevolent beliefs about voices and levels of inattention. The possible impact of changing beliefs about voices to improve attentional functioning is discussed.     

Relations between 18-month-olds’ gaze pattern and target action performance: A deferred imitation study with eye tracking

Deferred imitation studies are used to assess infants’ declarative memory performance. These studies have found that deferred imitation performance improves with age, which is usually attributed to advancing memory capabilities. Imitation studies, however, are also used to assess infants’ action understanding. In this second research program it has been observed that infants around the age of one year imitate selectively, i.e., they imitate certain kinds of target actions and omit others. In contrast to this, two-year-olds usually imitate the model's exact actions. 18-month-olds imitate more exactly than one-year-olds, but more selectively than two-year-olds, a fact which makes this age group especially interesting, since the processes underlying selective vs. exact imitation are largely debated. The question, for example, if selective attention to certain kinds of target actions accounts for preferential imitation of these actions in young infants is still open. Additionally, relations between memory capabilities and selective imitation processes, as well as their role in shaping 18-month-olds’ neither completely selective, nor completely exact imitation have not been thoroughly investigated yet. The present study, therefore, assessed 18-month-olds’ gaze toward two types of actions (functional vs. arbitrary target actions) and the model's face during target action demonstration, as well as infants’ deferred imitation performance. Although infants’ fixation times to functional target actions were not longer than to arbitrary target actions, they imitated the functional target actions more frequently than the arbitrary ones. This suggests that selective imitation does not rely on selective gaze toward functional target actions during the demonstration phase. In addition, a post hoc analysis of interindividual differences suggested that infants’ attention to the model's social-communicative cues might play an important role in exact imitation, meaning the imitation of both functional and arbitrary target actions.     

Perceptual Integration of Timing and Intensity Variations in the Perception of Musical Accents

The author investigated the detection of timing and intensity variations in tone sequences within the framework of perceptual independence or integration. The participants listened to sequences of tones that contained variations in timing, intensity, or both. Each participant tried to detect variations in the dimension that was declared relevant, which was either timing or intensity. The irrelevant dimension was held constant, or varied in a manner uncorrelated with the relevant dimension, or varied in a correlated manner. When the variations in the 2 dimensions were correlated, the correlation could be either positive (i.e., timing and intensity created accents in the same sequences) or negative (i.e., timing and intensity created accents in different sequences). Uncorrelated variation in the irrelevant dimension interfered with the detection of variations in the relevant dimension. In the case of a positive correlation between the 2 dimensions, the detection of variations was better than it was with the absence of variation in the irrelevant dimension only for participants who attended to timing. In the case of a negative correlation, the effect was the opposite. The results showed that timing and intensity accents were not processed by completely independent channels. Rather, information from the 2 dimensions combined at a late stage of processing.     

听觉中脑声定位的机制

人和动物对声源方位的感知和心理确定建立在神经生理基础之上,得到了大量来自神经细胞电生理研究证据的支持。听中枢神经元可通过比较到达两耳声信号的不同特征和参量来体现其精确的声源定位能力。研究表明,声源定位过程是听觉系统复杂综合作用的结果,听觉中脑核团-下丘在这一过程中起着重要作用,下丘中大量双耳听觉反应神经元可编码声音(源)方位信息,甚至双侧下丘间的联合投射也有可能参与双耳听觉反应的调制。     

听觉条件下词汇获得年龄效应产生机制的初探

通过三个实验考察听觉词汇的获得年龄效应。实验1采用基于语音的词汇判断任务,在错误率上存在词汇获得年龄效应,即早期习得词汇的正确率高于晚期习得词汇;实验2、3分别采用基于字形和语义的词汇判断任务,在反应时上存在词汇获得年龄效应,即早期习得词汇的反应快于晚期习得词汇。结果支持任意映射假说的观点：⒈词汇获得年龄效应产生于音、形、义加工的多个方面;⒉映射程度高低是决定词汇获得年龄效应大小的重要因素。     

内外部线索对不同类型学习判断的影响

以Koriat的线索模型理论为基础,在前人研究的基础上探讨两种学习判断的差异,并进一步考察内外部线索对即时学习判断和延迟学习判断的不同影响。研究结果发现：（1）延迟学习判断的相对准确性显著高于即时学习判断,验证了延迟学习判断效应的存在。（2）不同的线索类型对学习判断的影响不同,学习判断对内部线索更加敏感。（3）相同的线索在不同的学习判断条件下影响不同。（4）即时学习判断条件下的JOL值分布呈现逐渐上升的趋势;延迟学习判断条件下的JOL值分布呈“U”型曲线。     

早期视听整合加工——来自MMN的证据

视听整合是指当呈现的视觉和听觉信号在时间、空间上大致接近时,视觉和听觉系统倾向于整合的加工过程。失匹配负波(Mismatch Negativity,MMN)作为反映大脑早期加工的成分,表征偏差的信息输入与感觉记忆痕迹之间的神经失匹配。以MMN作为探测指标的视听整合加工研究,主要包括MMN在阅读理解中字母和语音、韵律信息、麦格克效应等方面的视听整合加工,以及分析跨通道视听整合相互竞争、相互补充的关系。未来研究需聚焦于其他通道的跨通道整合加工,同时应拓展MMN的诱发范式。     

The impact of smoking cues in antismoking messages among intermittent and light smokers

Objective: Based on the Limited Capacity Model of Motivated Mediated Message Processing, this study explored the effects of smoking cues in antismoking Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on message processing among intermittent/light smokers and nonsmokers.

Method: A 2 (smoking cues: present vs. absent) × 2 (smoking status: smokers vs. nonsmokers) mixed experimental design was conducted. Self-report measures and two physiological measures including skin conductance and heart rate were examined.

Results: Messages with smoking cues generated higher levels of arousal (F = 4.57, p = .04), attention (F = 2.51, p = .04), positive message evaluation (F = 28.70, p < .001) and less intent to smoke (F = 26.60, p < .001). Intermittent and light smokers had much stronger reactions to messages containing tobacco-related visuals, including arousal (F = 4.10, p = .04), perceived ad effectiveness (F = 9.24, p = .03) and intent to smoke (F = 22.98, p < .001).

Implication: The antismoking arguments may have suppressed cue-induced smoking urges, which dampened negative persuasion outcomes. Limitations included the restricted generalisability and the focus on short-term effect. Future research may use a random sample of PSAs with a general population.     

自闭症谱系障碍儿童在多重线索下习得词语的眼动研究

本文利用眼动追踪技术在基线、一致和矛盾3种实验条件下考察感知觉线索和社会性线索在自闭症谱系障碍儿童词语习得中的相对作用。行为数据结果表明, 此类儿童在矛盾条件下选择枯燥物体作为新异词语的所指对象, 这说明社会性线索较之于感知觉线索具有优势作用; 而他们在基线和一致条件下选择有趣物体作为新异词语的所指对象, 且一致条件的词语习得成绩优于基线条件, 这说明社会性线索较之于感知觉线索具有促进作用。眼动数据结果表明, 此类儿童在脸部注视模式和视线追随行为上与普通儿童存在差异。这说明, 虽然社会性线索在此类儿童与普通儿童的词语习得中具有相同的相对作用, 但他们获取社会性信息的方式与普通儿童存在差异。     

Attentional shift by eye gaze requires joint attention: Eye gaze cues are unique to shift attention1

Researchers have demonstrated that attentional shift triggered by gaze direction is reflexive. However, here we show that attentional shift by gaze direction was not always reflexive, but could be modulated by another's perspective. In Experiment 1, a schematic face's line of sight to a peripheral target was obstructed by a vertical barrier located between the face and the target under two conditions. However, the line of sight of the face was clear under another two conditions, in which the barrier was located behind the line of sight by utilizing a depth cue. The gaze cue shifted attention only when the line of sight was not blocked (i.e. joint attention was attained). The arrow cue did not shift attention regardless of the obstruction conditions in Experiment 2. These results suggest that attentional shift by gaze cues, but not arrow cues, involve a higher social cognitive process such as interpretation of the gaze.