The representation of multiplication facts: developmental changes in the problem size, five, and tie effects

In this study, we investigated the development of basic effects that have been found in single-digit multiplication arithmetic: the problem size, five, and tie effects. Participants (9-, 10-, and 11-year-olds and adults) performed a production task on simple multiplication. The procedure replicated study [Canadian Journal of Psychology, Vol. 39, pp. 338-366], but the results show that the gradual decrease of the problem size effect ends in sixth grade. We report analyses on raw latencies and state trace analyses that take into account reaction time scaling as a function of age. The results show that 11-year-olds do not differ significantly from adults on any of the three effects. Before 11 years of age, interesting developmental changes occur.     

Contrasting effects of phonological priming in aphasic word production

Two fluent aphasics, IG and GL, performed a phonological priming task in which they repeated an auditory prime then named a target picture. The two patients both had selective deficits in word production: they were at or near ceiling on lexical comprehension tasks, but were significantly impaired in picture naming. IG's naming errors included both semantic and phonemic paraphasias, as well as failures to respond, whereas GL's errors were mainly phonemic and formal paraphasias. The two patients responded very differently to phonological priming: IG's naming was facilitated (both accuracy and speed) only by begin-related primes (e.g. ferry-feather), whereas GL benefited significantly only from end-related primes (e.g. brother-feather), showing no more than a facilitatory trend with begin-related primes. We interpret these results within a two-stage model of word production, in which begin-related and end-related primes are said to operate at different stages. We then discuss implications for models of normal and aphasic word production in general and particularly with respect to sequential aspects of the phonological encoding process.     

Age of acquisition effects in picture naming: evidence for a lexical-semantic competition hypothesis

In many tasks the effects of frequency and age of acquisition (AoA) on reaction latencies are similar in size. However, in picture naming the AoA-effect is often significantly larger than expected on the basis of the frequency-effect. Previous explanations of this frequency-independent AoA-effect have attributed it to the organisation of the semantic system or to the way phonological word forms are stored in the mental lexicon. Using a semantic blocking paradigm, we show that semantic context effects on naming latencies are more pronounced for late-acquired than for early-acquired words. This interaction between AoA and naming context is likely to arise during lexical-semantic encoding, which we put forward as the locus for the frequency-independent AoA-effect.     

Lexical retrieval constrained by sound structure: the role of the left inferior frontal gyrus

Positron emission tomography was used to investigate two competing hypotheses about the role of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in word generation. One proposes a domain-specific organization, with neural activation dependent on the type of information being processed, i.e., surface sound structure or semantic. The other proposes a process-specific organization, with activation dependent on processing demands, such as the amount of selection needed to decide between competing lexical alternatives. In a novel word retrieval task, word reconstruction (WR), subjects generated real words from heard non-words by the substitution of either a vowel or consonant. Both types of lexical retrieval, informed by sound structure alone, produced activation within anterior and posterior left IFG regions. Within these regions there was greater activity for consonant WR, which is more difficult and imposes greater processing demands. These results support a process-specific organization of the anterior left IFG.     

Validation of distinct amnesic and executive type memory deficit in a psychiatric sample based on retrieval performance

Studies of localized brain dysfunctions have revealed connections between patterns of cognitive dysfunction and specific profiles of memory impairment. The amnesic type of memory impairment is defined by deficits in both free recall and recognition memory, whereas the dysexecutive memory impairment is characterized by retrieval deficits, i.e. a disproportional impairment in free recall relative to recognition memory. The present study tests whether classifications of psychiatric patients into recall impaired only (= RO group) and Recall and Recognition impaired (= RR group) correspond to the executive type and amnesic type of memory impairment. The alternative hypothesis is that the two groups merely differ in degree of neuropsychological and psychiatric disturbance. Forty-four subjects impaired on California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) were selected from a larger database of 103 impaired and non-impaired subjects with schizophrenia or recurrent major depression. Subjects were classified into RO and RR groups and compared on measures of memory strategy (recency effect and interference on CVLT), overall neuropsychological function (Stroop Test and WAIS-R similarity) and psychiatric symptom load (positive and negative symptoms). Repeated measures ANOVA showed no effects of group, i.e. the RR group did not perform consistently below the RO group with regard to memory strategy, neuropsychological function or psychiatric symptom load. Two out of three analyses showed group x test interaction, supporting the dissociation of distinct executive and amnesic profiles among psychiatric patients. The RO group was more susceptible to interference but had better recency score than the RR group. The RO had higher negative symptoms while the RR group had higher positive symptoms.     

The Effect of Prominence and Cue Association on Retrieval Processes: A Computational Account

We present a comprehensive empirical evaluation of the ACT‐R–based model of sentence processing developed by Lewis and Vasishth (2005) (LV05). The predictions of the model are compared with the results of a recent meta‐analysis of published reading studies on retrieval interference in reflexive‐/reciprocal‐antecedent and subject–verb dependencies (Jäger, Engelmann, & Vasishth, 2017). The comparison shows that the model has only partial success in explaining the data; and we propose that its prediction space is restricted by oversimplifying assumptions. We then implement a revised model that takes into account differences between individual experimental designs in terms of the prominence of the target and the distractor in memory‐ and context‐dependent cue‐feature associations. The predictions of the original and the revised model are quantitatively compared with the results of the meta‐analysis. Our simulations show that, compared to the original LV05 model, the revised model accounts for the data better. The results suggest that effects of prominence and variable cue‐feature associations need to be considered in the interpretation of existing empirical results and in the design and planning of future experiments. With regard to retrieval interference in sentence processing and to the broader field of psycholinguistic studies, we conclude that well‐specified models in tandem with high‐powered experiments are needed in order to uncover the underlying cognitive processes.     

空间路线学习中的前向测试效应

空间路线信息学习中的前向测试效应及其机制有待检验。研究以虚拟背景下的住宅小区为实验材料, 要求被试学习同一场景4个方向的路线信息(实验1)以及4个不同场景(实验2)的路线信息。结果表明, 在路线1~3的测试中, 同一场景下路线信息相似性高, “隔离”干扰的难度大, 在测试过程中的干扰率高于不同场景的路线信息。在路线4的测试中, 两个实验中测试组的回忆正确率均显著高于重学组, 干扰率则显著低于重学组, 出现了前向测试效应。这些发现表明, 测试可以通过“隔离”来自先前学习信息的前摄干扰来增强后续空间信息的学习。研究结果揭示了空间路线学习中的前向测试效应及其机制, 支持前摄抑制减少理论, 证实了前向测试效应在生活中具有广阔的应用性。     

空间知识记忆和提取的理论模型

对物理空间知识记忆和提取规律的探讨一直是空间认知领域研究中的一个重点和热点。对其进行深入研究,不仅有助于了解人类的空间行为,而且为相关的诸如界面设计、虚拟环境等空间认知应用领域（研究）提供支持。该文从空间记忆的内在参照系理论、坐标系统模型、空间情境模型和位置记忆的空间类属模型4个方面对当前有关物理环境中空间知识记忆和提取的理论或模型进行了回顾并作了初步评价。     

提取方式对相继记忆效应的影响

采用学习－测验（自由回忆和再认）研究范式和事件相关电位方法,研究图形的相继记忆效应（Dm效应）。14名大学生作为研究被试,根据其测验成绩将图片分为记住和未记住两类,对相应编码过程的ERPs进行分析。结果表明：⑴行为上,再认的平均击中率显著高于自由回忆;⑵脑电活动上,在刺激出现后400~700ms编码过程中记住项目的ERPs更正于未记住项目的ERPs;同时两种测验方式Dm效应的脑区分布不同,自由回忆主要分布在额区,再认主要分布在中央区和顶区,且在500~600ms自由回忆有左侧优势。这些结果表明,两种提取方式对Dm效应有不同的影响,这一结果预示自由回忆和再认的编码过程可能有不同的神经生理机制。     

Bio-inspired task-rule retrieval model with auditory sorting test

Cognitive architectures (CAs) are currently used to bring the behavior of computer systems closer to human behavior. One of the main capacities of humans is the ability to plan and make decisions. Thus, part of the human behavior is based on rules associated with the relevant environmental stimuli. Rule management can be divided into six needed processes: rule learning, rule retrieving, rule coding, rule updating, rule reinforcement, and rule changing. A key aspect of rule processing is retrieval, which involves the use of information extracted from memory. This work deals with how rules are stored in coded form in the brain, retrieved and used as the need arises. The proposed model takes inspiration mainly from the processes in the VLPFC and MTL brain areas to extract rules from memory and create a rule-set that is sent to the DLPFC. The DLPFC and VLPFC prefrontal area operations are also described, and a process is proposed to select the appropriate rule and give a response. The experimentation of the implementation of our proposal with different configuration parameters gives rise to different approaches to human behavior in rule retrieval. Our conclusion is that after a virtual entity is endowed with this proposal, it computes in a way similar to human behavior.