整体运动知觉老化的方向不同步性及其总效应

采用随机点阵范式和实验内元分析技术,首次分离水平、垂直、旋转和径向运动形式下两两对立方向的运动一致性阈值,探究整体运动知觉(GMP)老化的方向不同步性及总效应。结果发现:四种运动形式下,老年组阈值均显著高于青年组,且元分析显示两组阈值之差的效应量大于0,表明相对于青年人,老年人的GMP存在显著下降。同时,老年组向右、向下、顺时针和外扩方向的阈值显著高于其对立方向及青年组,表明老年人这些方向的GMP衰退更加严重,提示GMP的老化存在方向不同步性。     

CULTURAL MODELS OF INFANT EMOTIONS AND NEEDS AMONG THE GAMO PEOPLE OF SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

How mothers perceive their infants’ emotions and their subsequent responses are influenced by cultural values and beliefs. Mothers who live in particularly harsh environments may have perceptions about their infants’ emotions that reflect not only cultural values but also constraints of the environment. In this qualitative study, 29 Gamo mothers living in rural Ethiopia were interviewed about perceptions of their infants’ emotions, how they felt about these emotions, and what they believed their infants needed in response. Through constant comparative analysis and thematic coding, several patterns emerged in mothers’ perceptions about their infants’ emotions and what constituted appropriate responses. Mothers said that their infants’ negative emotions were possibly related to illness and that appropriate responses were focused mostly on breastfeeding, complementary food, and needing to be held. Mothers also discussed their work demands and how they conflicted with their desire to respond to their infants; however, many mothers said that they relied on their older children to help. Mothers’ responses were centered on a parenting strategy aimed at promoting infant health and survival, which is consistent with research on parents living in rural environments who subsist by farming and have relatively high risk for infant mortality.     

Enactivism and predictive processing: a non-representational view

This paper starts by considering an argument for thinking that predictive processing (PP) is representational. This argument suggests that the Kullback–Leibler (KL)-divergence provides an accessible measure of misrepresentation, and therefore, a measure of representational content in hierarchical Bayesian inference. The paper then argues that while the KL-divergence is a measure of information, it does not establish a sufficient measure of representational content. We argue that this follows from the fact that the KL-divergence is a measure of relative entropy, which can be shown to be the same as covariance (through a set of additional steps). It is well known that facts about covariance do not entail facts about representational content. So there is no reason to think that the KL-divergence is a measure of (mis-)representational content. This paper thus provides an enactive, non-representational account of Bayesian belief optimisation in hierarchical PP.     

Newborns’ attention is driven by the translational movement

The present study investigated whether 2-day-old newborns are able to discriminate two translating meaningless Point-Light Displays (PLD) videos, in which the shape of one of them changes compared to that of the other along the trajectory, independently from movement kinematics, and if this ability is present both when stimuli differed at the end or at the beginning of the movement. To manipulate the instant in which along the movement the difference between stimuli was evident, and to maintain every unspecific dissimilarity possibly determining the preference, videos were played in a loop either forward or backwards. In Experiment 1, PLD stimuli moved with natural accelerated-decelerated kinematics; in Experiment 2 they moved at constant velocity. Four groups of newborns were submitted to the preferential looking technique experiments. Results showed that newborns looked longer at natural kinematics and that, irrespective of the type of kinematics, they discriminated the two stimuli only when videos were played forward, that is, only when stimuli differed at the end of the movement. These data suggest that, independently from kinematics, movement translational components induce newborns to allocate attention at the end of the observed movement. Given the strict link between attention and eye movements, we suggest that this effect may bootstrap the system and give rise to proactive gaze, the typical gaze behaviour present during executed and observed goal-directed actions.     

The relative value of two options for pigeons depends on their context

It is well known that when humans are given a choice between two options, their preference is affected by the presence of a third. Generally, there is an increase in preference for the option closer to the third. We show that a shift in preference in the direction away from the third option can occur in animals. We gave pigeons a choice between A, reinforcement following 10 pecks and a 0.5‐s delay, and B, reinforcement following 5 pecks and a 1.5‐s delay. Once stable preferences were established, we introduced a third stimulus, less preferred than the other two: C, reinforcement following 20 pecks and a 0.5‐s delay or D, reinforcement following 5 pecks and a 4.5‐s delay. We found that pigeons presented with C showed an increased preference for B, whereas pigeons presented with D showed an increased preference for A. Our results were consistent with the similarity or attentional hypothesis, which suggests that the third option should interfere with the option more similar to it or would draw attention to the less preferred component of the third option and generalize to the option more similar to it. Possible accounts for the differences in outcomes are suggested.     

Arm position influences the activation patterns of trunk muscles during trunk range-of-motion movements

To understand the activation patterns of the trunk musculature, it is also important to consider the implications of adjacent structures such as the upper limbs, and the muscles that act to move the arms. This study investigated the effects of arm positions on the activation patterns and co-activation of the trunk musculature and muscles that move the arm during trunk range-of-motion movements (maximum trunk axial twist, flexion, and lateral bend). Fifteen males and fifteen females, asymptomatic for low back pain, performed maximum trunk range-of-motion movements, with three arm positions for axial twist (loose, crossed, abducted) and two positions for flexion and lateral bend (loose, crossed). Electromyographical data were collected for eight muscles bilaterally, and activation signals were cross-correlated between trunk muscles and the muscles that move the arms (upper trapezius, latissimus dorsi). Results revealed consistently greater muscle co-activation (higher cross-correlation coefficients) between the trunk muscles and upper trapezius for the abducted arm position during maximum trunk axial twist, while results for the latissimus dorsi-trunk pairings were more dependent on the specific trunk muscles (either abdominal or back) and latissimus dorsi muscle (either right or left side), as well as the range-of-motion movement. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of interactions between the upper limbs and trunk, and highlight the influence of arm positions on the trunk musculature. In addition, the comparison of the present results to those of individuals with back or shoulder conditions may ultimately aid in elucidating underlying mechanisms or contributing factors to those conditions.     

Non-Verbal Paradigm for Assessing Individuals for Absolute Pitch

Autistic individuals have been observed to demonstrate high intelligence through musical communication, leading to many empirical studies on this topic. Absolute Pitch (AP) has been a captivating phenomenon for researchers, although there has been disagreement regarding AP percentages among the population and appropriate testing methods for AP. This study analyzed data collected from 118 people, using a pitch matching paradigm designed specifically to be inclusive of those who are likely to have note-naming difficulty due to communication challenges. Thirty-eight participants were autistic individuals, 32% of which were considered to have severe language impairment. Twelve other participants had other developmental disorders. All but 1 of the 38 autistics (97%) demonstrated exceptional and instantaneous pitch matching abilities on piano. Ten of the 12 (83%) with other developmental disorders demonstrated this ability, and approximately half (53%) of neurotypicals were able to exhibit this ability. Our numbers indicate that with a more inclusive paradigm for assessing AP, it may be demonstratable in close to 50% of the population, and near 100% in the autistic population. This testing method represents a neurodiversity-friendly and fully inclusive, non-verbal paradigm for demonstrating AP.     

相对剥夺感:想得、应得、怨愤于未得

相对剥夺感是指与某一标准相比较,个体觉得自己或自己所在群体状况更加糟糕,并产生生气或怨恨的情感反应。相对剥夺感包括个人相对剥夺感和群体相对剥夺感。研究表明,家庭收入、主观社会阶层、内群体认同,以及社会变化的速度和方向等对个人或群体相对剥夺感产生显著影响。相对剥夺感对个体的身心健康和行为,以及群体的态度与行为均具有显著的影响。但是,有关相对剥夺感与公正理论的异同、相对剥夺感的测量、参照对象与比较方式,以及相对剥夺感影响心理与行为的机制等方面还有待深入探讨。     

Perspective taking in referring to objects behind versus in front of an observer: Frames of reference,intraindividual consistency,and response latencies

Speakers of English and German typically adopt the reflection variant of the relative frame of reference (FoR) in order to describe how nonoriented objects that are located in front of them are related to one another. Little is known, however, about how they proceed in dorsal settings, with objects located in their back. In this article, we explore the turn hypothesis, which assumes a (mental) 180° turn of the observer to face the objects, converting the dorsal into a frontal situation, so that the preferred FoR variant for frontal settings can be applied. To elicit spatial references, we used photographs that showed an observer and two objects either in the observer's visual field (frontal condition) or in the observer's back (dorsal condition). The observer was looking either in the same direction as the referencing individual (aligned perspectives) or in the opposite direction (vis-à-vis perspective). Data from two experiments show that while participants do adopt the observer's perspective, their references in dorsal settings are incompatible with the turn hypothesis. Analyses of response latencies indicate additional cognitive costs for establishing a FoR for the very first item in the dorsal condition as compared to the frontal condition, but fast adaption for subsequent items, and high intraindividual consistency in FoR choice in both conditions. Maintaining the assumption that references in dorsal settings should be compatible with the variant of the relative FoR adopted in frontal settings, participants’ references can be explained by assuming a backward projection that gets by without a (mental) turn of the observer.     

Motor Skill Learning and the Development of Visual Perception Processes Supporting Action Identification

This study examined physical training and observational training influences on motor learning and the development of visual discrimination processes. Participants were trained on a bimanual task (relative phase of +90°) defined by a visual training stimulus. There were 2 observational contexts: 1) model-only, watch a learning model, and 2) stimulus-only, watch the visual training stimulus. After 2 d of training, the learning models performed the +90° pattern with reduced error in 2 retention tests. Each observer group showed improvement in performance of the +90° pattern, with the stimulus-only group characterized by a more significant improvement. The learning models and observer groups were characterized by an improvement in visually discriminating 2 features of the trained pattern, relative phase and hand-lead. Overall, physical practice (learning models) established a stronger link between the action and visual discrimination processes compared with the observational contexts. The results show that the processes supporting action production and the visual discrimination of actions are modified in ways specific to the trained action following both physical and observational training.