The behavioral theory of timing: Reinforcer rate determines pacemaker rate

In the behavioral theory of timing, pulses from a hypothetical Poisson pacemaker produce transitions between states that are correlated with adjunctive behavior. The adjunctive behavior serves as a discriminative stimulus for temporal discriminations. The present experiments tested the assumption that the average interpulse time of the pacemaker is proportional to interreinforcer interval. Responses on a left key were reinforced at variable intervals for the first 25 s since the beginning of a 50-s trial, and right-key responses were reinforced at variable intervals during the second 25 s. Psychometric functions relating proportion of right-key responses to time since trial onset, in 5-s intervals across the 50-s trial, were sigmoidal in form. Average interpulse times derived by fitting quantitative predictions from the behavioral theory of timing to obtained psychometric functions decreased when the interreinforcer interval was decreased and increased when the interreinforcer interval was increased, as predicted by the theory. In a second experiment, average interpulse times estimated from trials without reinforcement followed global changes in interreinforcer interval, as predicted by the theory. Changes in temporal discrimination as a function of interreinforcer interval were therefore not influenced by the discrimination of reinforcer occurrence. The present data support the assumption of the behavioral theory of timing that interpulse time is determined by interreinforcer interval.     

人格特征对胃癌发病的影响

使用Ｃ型行为特征问卷、生活事件量表和ＲＢＣ－Ｃ_（３ｂ）Ｒ、ＲＢＣ－ＩＣ、ＲＣＩＡ、ＣＩＣ和Ｃ_３等免疫功能的检测,调查和检测了３０名胃癌患者和５０名健康者。结果表明：（１）胃癌组比健康组在焦虑、抑郁、愤怒内泄、控制等方面得分高,在愤怒外泄、乐观、社会支持等方面得分低;（２）胃癌患者在确诊前８年内有７６％的患者遇到生活事件,在确诊前３年内有６２％的患者遇到生活事件;（３）胃癌组ＲＢＣ－Ｃ_（３ｂ）Ｒ含量低,ＲＣＩＡ含量和ＣＩＣ水平上升。初步结论：胃癌的发生与患者的一些行为特点有关,主要是抑郁并不表达愤怒;生活事件可作为应激源诱发胃癌;其机制可能与免疫功能有关。     

颞叶皮层在灵长类不变性知觉和原型表征中的重要作用

如果要走出人工智能在感知觉领域的困境．就必须认识到人类特有的受生物现实约束的认知特点。综合分析各种证据表明,知觉和客体识别的本质不是分析千差万别的局部特征,而是提取环境中的大范围不变量（早期为拓扑特性检测）,形成并存贮一定原型表征;颞叶皮层在灵长类这种不变性知觉和原型表征中具有重要作用。     

The Matching Law And Amount-dependent Exponential Discounting As Accounts Of Self-control Choice

Studies with humans have found evidence for amount-dependent temporal discounting, that is, that the sensitivity of choice to reinforcer delay varies inversely with reinforcer magnitude. To test whether similar results could be obtained with nonhumans, pigeons were trained on a two-component concurrent-chains procedure in which the durations of food reinforcement in the terminal links were equal within components but unequal between components. Terminal-link schedules were varied over four conditions to allow separate estimates of sensitivity to delay to be obtained for the large and small reinforcer-magnitude components. Although sensitivity to delay was greater in the small-magnitude component for all subjects, the effect was quite small. The difference in sensitivity was generally less than one standard error, and t tests on parameter differences failed to reach significance. Several models for temporal discounting, including an amount-dependent exponential function, were fitted to the data from the first four conditions. The resulting parameter estimates were used to make predictions for a self-control condition in which one terminal link arranged a smaller, less delayed reinforcer and the other arranged a larger, more delayed reinforcer. For all models, predictions were considerably more accurate when sensitivity to delay was the same regardless of reinforcer magnitude. The results support the independence of delay and magnitude as required by a version of the matching law, and provide strong evidence against amount-dependent exponential discounting as an account of self-control choice. A new two-parameter discounting function, consistent with the matching law, is proposed that has wide empirical generality for both human and nonhuman data.     

CAN A DECAY PROCESS EXPLAIN THE TIMING OF CONDITIONED RESPONSES?

To explain time-scale invariant distributions of response latencies, it appears to be necessary to postulate scalar noise in the remembered intervals, against which the subjective measure of the currently elapsing interval is compared. At least in some cases, the observed variability cannot be due to variability in the subjective intervals written to memory; it must come from noise (variability) in the reading of a memory. The Staddon and Higa proposal offers no explanation for the observed variability, and it is unclear what noise assumption would yield the observed variability, given their assumption that intervals are timed by a nonlinear decay process. The decay process cannot plausibly be represented by the logarithmic function, because it begins and ends at infinity. The assumption of any form of nonlinear timing is inconsistent with the most important result of the time-left experiment, which is that the changeover time increases linearly with the comparison-standard difference.     

发展性阅读障碍与知觉加工

近年来许多行为实验和神经生理学实验都发现 ,发展性阅读障碍与基本知觉障碍有关。在视觉领域研究者提出了巨细胞障碍假设 ,这种假设认为阅读障碍者视觉神经系统中的巨细胞障碍导致他们对某种类型的视觉刺激加工存在困难 ,进而影响阅读。在听觉领域研究发现阅读障碍者加工快速、系列、短暂呈现的声音刺激存在障碍。研究者认为阅读障碍者加工快速刺激输入障碍反映了普遍的时间知觉障碍。这方面的研究发展非常迅速 ,理论观点非常明确 ,并且直接与内在的神经机制相联系 ,形成了与传统的“语言障碍”理论迥然不同的“知觉障碍”理论。“知觉障碍”理论综合了行为、认知和神经等多个层次的研究 ,反映了神经科学发展所带来的巨大影响和认知加工模块化理论的渐渐衰退。     

时间信息在情景模型建构中的作用

考察时间信息在情景模型建构中的作用 ,探讨被试能否把一系列相关的事实整合进基于时间组织的情景模型中。实验一、二考察明确的空间信息条件下 ,被试能否把绝对和相对的时间信息整合到情景模型中 ;实验三考察无明确的空间信息条件下 ,被试能否把绝对的时间信息整合到情景模型中。运用扇效应研究的提取干扰技术评定是否出现了整合。 3个实验结果一致表明 ,当几个相关的事实发生在相同的时间段时 ,都发现被试建构了基于时间的情景模型的证据。实验三结果同时也表明 ,无明确的空间信息的条件下 ,阅读材料中时间信息本身足以使被试建构基于时间组织的情景模型。     

回溯式时间记忆特点的实验研究

实验研究在2个月的时间内探索了回溯式时间记忆的特点,实验选取15个影视片断和8个新闻事件,影视片段播放的时间和新闻事件的发生同期,要求被试回忆影视片段和新闻事件的时点、时距和时序。结果表明：（1）在时序上,影视片段时序的准确性高于新闻事件;在时距上,7分钟和15分钟的准确性高于30分钟,7分钟时距倾向于高估,30分钟时距倾向于低估;在时点上,影视片段的准确性高于新闻事件。（2）时点的回溯式记忆受到被试自我卷入程度的影响。（3）回溯式时距估计受到真实时距的长短和延迟时间长短的交互影响。（4）事件序列关系一般倾向于具有网络层次的特征,在无充足思考时间条件下,倾向于具有线形模型的特征。     

珠心算过程的眼动和认知研究

本实验采用眼动技术和实验神经心理学的方法对珠心算的认知过程进行了实验研究。研究发现,在竖式运算时,接受过珠心算训练的儿童与没有接受过珠心算训练的儿童相比其眼动轨迹显著不同;神经心理实验的结果表明,训练组儿童在数学运算能力、数字记忆空间、注意力、大脑功能偏侧化等方面均与非训练组儿童有显著差别。