Correlates and stability of alternate stimuli in a computer-based measure of inspection time

Inspection time tasks assess the ability to make a simple visual discrimination, typically in milliseconds. Typically, IT stimuli consists of a pi-shaped figure, in which subjects select the side with the significantly longer leg. To prevent storage in iconic memory, a backward mask is then introduced. However, some participants have reported that the mask may cause the shorter leg to appear to lengthen, creating a possible strategy that facilitates performance. As a result, alternative stimuli/masks have been developed; however, these alternative stimuli may be processed differently. This study assessed the cognitive correlates and stability of an alternative stimuli/mask. Results indicated that processing of the stimuli was influenced by an interaction between the complexity of the stimuli and the number of times it was presented. Specifically, the alternative stimulus/mask produced slower processing, particularly at the time of a second administration; however, it contributed an important and unique relationship with speeded, general intelligence.     

Philosophy for Computers: Some Explorations in Philosophical Modeling

Philosophical modeling has a long and distinguished history, but the computer offers new and powerful prospects for the creation and manipulation of models. It seems inevitable that the computer will become a major tool in future philosophical research. Here I offer an overview of explorations in philosophical computer modeling that we in the Group for Logic and Formal Semantics at SUNY Stony Brook have undertaken: explorations regarding (1) the potential emergence of cooperation in a society of egoists, (2) self-reference and paradox in fuzzy logic, (3) a fractal approach to formal systems, and (4) on-going explorations with models for the emergence of communication. The attempt is not to give a detailed report on any of these but to give a bird s-eye view of them all, emphasizing the general form that the models take, the philosophical motivations behind them, and the kinds of philosophical results that they may have to offer.     

动态图像对文本学习的作用研究

本研究通过实验考察了计算机动态图像对文本学习的作用,发现其作用既与学习材料的性质有关,也与评价学习的方法有关。动态图像对具体性文本材料的理解、识记和保持都无明显作用;而对抽象性文本材料的理解有明显帮助,进而促进记忆的保持效果,其作用明显大于印刷品条件静止图像的作用。但对抽象性文本材料中关键词的识记则有明显不利的影响。     

Subcellular interactions between parallel fibre and climbing fibre signals in purkinje cells predict sensitivity of classical conditioning to interstimulus interval

Classical conditioning of the nictitating membrane response requires a specific temporal interval between conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus, and produces an incrase in Protein Kinase C (PKC) activation in Purkinje cells. To evaluate whether biochemical interactions within the Purkinje cell may explain the temporal sensitivity, a model of PKC activation byCa ²⁺, diacylglycerol (DAG), and arachidonic acid (AA) is developed.Ca ²⁺ elevation is due to CF stimulation and IP3 inducedCa ²⁺ release (IICR). DAG andIP ₃ result from PF stimulation, while AA results from phospholipase A2 (PLA ₂). Simulations predict increased PKC activation when PF stimulation precedes CF stimulation by 0.1 to 3 s. The sensitivity of IICR to the temporal relation between PF and CF stimulation, together with the buffering system of Purkinje cells, significantly contribute to the temporal sensitivity.     

Function transfer in human operant experiments: the role of stimulus pairings

Although function transfer often has been studied in complex operant procedures (such as matching to sample), whether operant reinforcement actually produces function transfer in such settings has not been established. The present experiments, with high school students as subjects, suggest that stimulus pairings can promote function transfer in conditions that closely approximate those of matching to sample. In Experiment 1, the subjects showed transfer of operant responding from three geometric figures (C1, C2, C3) to three colored shapes (B1, B2, B3) when the latter were paired with the former. Experiment 2 involved two groups of subjects. In the matching group, subjects matched the colored shapes with the geometric figures; in the yoked group, the shapes were merely paired with the geometric figures, and the schedule of stimulus pairing was yoked to the performance of the subjects in the matching group. Both groups of subjects showed function transfer. Experiment 3 documented function transfer from C stimuli to B stimuli through indirect stimulus pairings (A-B, A-C). In Experiment 4, function transfer was obtained even though the subjects vocalized continuously during the pairing trials, presumably preventing covert verbalization that might mediate transfer effects. Our results are consistent with a Pavlovian account and raise difficulties for current operant theories of function transfer.     

Outcomes of a practical approach for improving conversation skills in adults with autism

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have deficits in conversation skills that can interfere with the development of personal and professional relationships. Further research is needed on efficient interventions for targeting conversation skills in adults with ASD and for evaluating the social validity of the outcomes. In this study, 2 practitioners implemented a 4‐week training program for 5 adults with ASD that combined individualized computer‐based instruction (CBI) and practice with peers to promote the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of conversation skills. Training was associated with improvements in 12 of 13 skills across participants. These findings, along with peer ratings of the participants' conversation skills, suggest that this model is a promising, socially valid approach for improving conversation skills in adults with ASD.     

Equivalence class analysis of responding consistent with the relational frame of opposition

We replicated and extended studies showing that contextual cues for matching stimuli from 2 separate equivalence classes control the same derived relations as contextual cues for opposition frames in RFT studies. We conducted 2 experiments with 6 college students. In Phase 1, they received training in a conditional discrimination AB. Then, they received training for maintaining AB with X1 as context, and for reversing the sample–comparison relations of AB, with X2. In Phase 2, X1 functioned as context for matching same-class stimuli, and X2 functioned as context for matching separate-class stimuli. In Phase 3, X2 controlled the same derived arbitrary relations as cues for opposition frames in RFT studies. This functional equivalence may suggest that X2 functioned as a cue for opposition frames. In Phase 4, participants matched different stimuli with X2 as context, instead of matching most different (opposite) stimuli. In addition, Different, a cue for matching different stimuli, controlled the same derived arbitrary relations as X2. These results are incompatible with X2 being a cue for opposition frames. Contextual control over equivalence and responding by exclusion can explain these outcomes. The implications of these findings for RFT studies on opposition frames are discussed.     

A Model for Predicting Computer Experience from Attitudes Toward Computers

This study examined the relationship between locus of control, two sets of beliefs about computers as electronic performance monitors, general computer attitudes, and computer experience. Results support a model in which computer attitudes mediate the relationship between an individual's locus of control and computer experience and between monitoring beliefs about computers and computer experience.     

人类基因组计划中的计算机科学

叙述了人类基因组计划（HGP）实施过程中计算机科学向基因组学领域的不断渗透及面临的挑战。基因组数据库及网络系统的构建与完善为基因组信息的交流提供了基础,一系列计算机软件的开发和改进简化了HGP这一繁重的劳动。在HGP的推动下,世界各大信息技术公司也加盟到基因组研究中,使生物学中融入了更多的计算机专业技能,有利于引进新的思维模式,开拓新的研究方法。但目前在基因组信息的交流与分析方面,标准化和精确性仍显不足,信息的处理能力也受到计算机存储量和运算速度的制约,这些问题将随着计算机科学的不断发展而逐渐解决。