Modifications of the Poggendorff effect as a function of random dot textures between the verticals

In the present research, we investigated the modification of the strength of the Poggendortf illusion as a function of different densities ofrandom dot textures failing the space between the verticals. The results ofExperiment 1 show that the illusory effect is a nonlinear function ofthe texture parameterr, the ratio of black pixels to white and black pixels, with a minimum forr=0.5, approximately, and a maximum forr=0 andr=1. The results may be interpreted by an analytical model of perceptual space dynamics, in which the effect dependson the amount of interaction between points of different light intensity. A computer simulation performed by applying the analytical model to different values ofr shows a good agreement between the predictions and the experimental data. To test the hypothesis underlying the model, a second experiment was carried out to measure the magnitude of the expansion ofthe space between the verticals as a function of the parameterr. The results are consistent with the hypothesis of the model. The overall data are discussed in terms of their implications on various theories proposed for the Poggeadorff illusion.     

The neural correlates of happiness: A review of PET and fMRI studies using autobiographical recall methods

Although very difficult to define, happiness is becoming a core concept within contemporary psychology and affective neuroscience. In the last two decades, the increased use of neuroimaging techniques has facilitated empirical study of the neural correlates of happiness. This area of research utilizes procedures that induce positive emotion and mood, and autobiographical recall is one of the most widely used and effective approaches. In this article, we review eight positron emission tomography and seven functional magnetic resonance imaging studies that have investigated happiness by using autobiographical recall to induce emotion. Regardless of the neuroimaging technique used, the studies conducted so far have shown that remembering happy events is primarily associated with the activation of many areas, including anterior cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, and insula. Importantly, these areas are also found to be connected with other basic emotions, such as sadness and anger. In the conclusion, we integrate these findings, discussing important limitations of the extant literature and suggesting new research directions.     

Online communities as virtual cognitive niches

Synthese - In this paper we aim at discussing cognitive and epistemic features of online communities, by the use of cognitive niche constructions theories, presenting them as virtual cognitive...     

Perceptual Evidence and Information

Quite recently, Luciano Floridi has put forward the fascinating suggestion that knowledge should be analyzed as special kind of information, in particular as accounted information. As I will try tentatively to show, one important consequence of Floridi’s proposal is that the notion of justification, and of evidence, should play no role in a philosophical understanding of knowledge. In this paper, I shall suggest one potential difficulty with which Floridi’s proposal might be consequently afflicted, yet accept the fundamental suggestion that traditional epistemology should be merrily wedded with the philosophy of information; in particular, I shall plead for the less drastic conclusion, according to which, although knowledge should be taken to entail justification, it is the very notion of evidence—in particular of perceptual evidence—that should be analyzed in information-theoretic terms. By so doing, my principal aim will be to explain away an apparent difficulty—which is preliminary to the preoccupations motivating Floridi’s more ambitious attempt—from which Conee and Feldman’s Evidentialism is apparently afflicted. So, the conclusion that I will try to establish is that the notion of perceptual evidence, once it is appropriately analyzed in information-theoretic terms, should play an important role in our understanding of knowledge.     

Influence of aesthetic perception on visual event-related potentials

The aim of the study was to assess the effects of visual aesthetic perception on event-related potentials (ERPs). Eight subjects assigned an aesthetic judgment (beautiful, neutral, or ugly) and a 10-step beauty estimation to the target stimuli, consisting of famous artistic pictures and geometric shapes. In a further task, the subjects performed a motor response to the previously judged pictures and geometric shapes. ERPs were recorded through 54 scalp electrodes during both tasks. The P3b amplitude was increased during the categorization of the geometric shapes compared to the artistic figures and during the vision of the beautiful targets preceding the motor response. The categorization of the aesthetic qualities of geometrical shapes seems to induce a higher level of attention, while a higher arousal variation was elicited by the recognition of beauty, in any form that was presented.     

Aesthetic value of paintings affects pain thresholds

Pain is modulated by cognitive factors, including attention and emotions. In this study we evaluated the distractive effect of aesthetic appreciation on subjectively rated pain (visual analogue scale;VAS) and multi-channel evoked potentials induced by CO₂ laser stimulation of the left hand in twelve healthy volunteers. Subjects were stimulated by laser in the absence of other external stimulation (baseline condition) and while looking at different paintings they had previously rated as beautiful, neutral or ugly. The view of paintings previously appreciated as beautiful produced lower pain scores and a clear inhibition of the P2 wave amplitude, localized in the anterior cingulate cortex; the inhibition of P2 wave amplitude was lesser or not significant during the presentation of the ugly or neutral paintings, respectively. Dipole source localization analysis of the LEP peaks showed significant changes during different conditions, with a shift from the posterior to the anterior right cingulated cortex while looking at paintings previously rated as beautiful.Our results provide evidence that pain may be modulated at cortical level by the aesthetic content of the distracting stimuli.     

Testing reward-cue attentional salience: Attainment and dynamic changes

A great wealth of studies has investigated the capacity of motivationally relevant stimuli to bias attention, suggesting that reward predicting cues are prioritized even when reward is no longer delivered and when attending to such stimuli is detrimental to reward achievement. Despite multiple procedures have been adopted to unveil the mechanisms whereby reward cues gain attentional salience, some open questions remain. Indeed, mechanisms different from motivation can be responsible for the capture of attention triggered by the reward cue. In addition, we note that at present only a few studies have sought to address whether the cue attractiveness dynamically follows changes in the associated reward value. Investigating how and to what extent the salience of the reward cue is updated when motivation changes, could help shedding light on how reward-cues attain and maintain their capacity to attract attention, and therefore on apparent irrational attentive behaviors.     

Respiration and postural sway: detection of phase synchronizations and interactions

The aim of the central nervous system in upright stance is to control an intrinsically unstable plant. Internal disturbances, such as haemodynamics and respiration, constitute an endogenous threat to equilibrium. The way CNS reacts to those perturbations was studied in this work, through the analysis of summary scores taken from posturographic and pneumographic data. Signals were recorded simultaneously during trials administered on a sample population of healthy young adults, while sitting and standing and at paced and spontaneous uncontrolled breathing. The extraction of posturographic and pneumographic parameters was accompanied by the utilization of techniques for the detection of phase synchronization in bivariate data, and the extraction of an interaction index, the mutual information MI. The effects of the biomechanical condition and respiratory amplitude on MI and summary measures were tested with a two-way ANOVA. Summary scores clearly depend on posture condition. Synchronization between breath and postural sway is always present, depends on both biomechanical condition and respiratory threat, and cannot be reduced to a simple linear relation.     

Social cognition and real-life functioning in patient samples with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome with or without psychosis,compared to a large sample of patients with schizophrenia only and healthy controls

Patients with the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (DS) show an increased risk of developing a psychotic illness lifetime. 22q11.2DS may represent a reliable model for studying the neurobiological underpinnings of schizophrenia. The study of social inference abilities in a genetic condition at high risk for psychosis, like 22q11.2DS, may shed light on the relationships between neurocognitive processes and patients' daily general functioning. The study sample consisted of 1736 participants, divided into four groups: 22q11.2DS patients with diagnosis of psychotic disorder (DEL SCZ, N = 20); 22q11.2DS subjects with no diagnosis of psychosis (DEL, N = 43); patients diagnosed with schizophrenia without 22q11.2DS (SCZ, N = 893); and healthy controls (HC, N = 780). Social cognition was assessed through The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT) and general functioning through the Specific Levels of Functioning (SLoF) scale. We analysed data through regression analysis. The SCZ and DEL groups had similar levels of global functioning; they both had significantly lower SLoF Total scores than HC (p < .001); the DEL SCZ group showed significantly lower scores compared to the other groups (SCZ, p = .004; DEL, p = .003; HC, p < .001). A significant deficit in social cognition was observed in the three clinical groups. In the DEL SCZ and SCZ groups, TASIT scores significantly predicted global functioning (p < .05). Our findings of social cognition deficit in psychosis-prone patients point to the possible future adoption of rehabilitation programmes, like Social Skills Training and Cognitive Remediation, during premorbid stages of psychosis.     

Franco Montagna’s Work on Provability Logic and Many-valued Logic

Franco Montagna, a prominent logician and one of the leaders of the Italian school on Mathematical Logic, passed away on February 18, 2015. We survey some of his results and ideas in the two disciplines he greatly contributed along his career: provability logic and many-valued logic.