Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-07-27
Abstract： The surge in popularity of social media platforms, such as Sina Weibo, has made retweet a significant means of online information dissemination, yet concurrently led to the rampant spread of false information, resulting in frequent network contingencies. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms, influencing factors, and possible interventions for the dissemination of negative information with unknown contexts is imperative. Despite this importance, few studies have examined the role of emotional regulation in curbing the spread of such information from the perspective of individual retweet behavior. This study addresses this gap by conducting two experiments that explore the effects and underlying mechanisms of emotions and emotion regulation strategies, specifically positive cognitive reappraisal (considering positive aspects of the event), on the propagation of such ambiguous information at both behavioral and electrophysiological levels.
Utilizing a mixed factorial design with 2 (Information Type: Neutral vs Negative) × 2 (Regulation Strategy: Positive Cognitive Reappraisal vs Observation), participants were divided into Reappraisal and Observation groups (control group). In the experimental procedure, a fixation point was initially presented, followed by randomly displayed emotionally-laden event images (neutral faces combined with neutral/negative information), which had been pre-assessed. Participants were instructed to either simply immerse themselves in observing the images (Observation group) or to engage in both observation and positive cognitive reappraisal (Reappraisal group), after which they rated their emotional experiences, moral judgments, retweet willingness and retweet behavior. Experiment 1 included 71 participants (mean age 20.16 ± 1.85 years); the Reappraisal group consisted of 35 participants (14 males, 22 females), while the Observation group comprised 36 participants (11 males, 24 females). Experiment 2 involved 44 participants (mean age 20.04 ± 1.83 years), with 22 in each group. Building upon Experiment 1, this second experiment incorporated event-related potentials (ERPs); following the presentation of emotional event images, isolated face stimuli matching the previously viewed information were shown. Participants engaged in reappraisal (Reappraisal group) or reflected on their emotions (Observation group) when viewing these faces, before proceeding to subsequent ratings. During the stages where face presentation, emotional experience, moral judgment, retweet willingness and retweet behavior were scored, EEG data were collected.
Findings revealed that (1) information type significantly influences retweet willingness and behavior, even when the context or cause of the events is unclear to individuals. Specifically, participants exhibited heightened negative emotions and perceived less morality associated with negative information compared to neutral content, leading to a higher inclination to retweet negative information. Notably, when exposed to negative information, participants in the Reappraisal group showed lower levels of negative emotions, more lenient moral judgments, and significantly fewer retweet behaviors compared to those in the Observation group. This suggests that engaging in positive cognitive reappraisal diminishes the negative emotional experience, relaxes moral judgment criteria, and reduces retweet behavior regarding information with unknown contexts. (2) Electroencephalographic findings revealed that positive cognitive reappraisal altered the amplitude of the early posterior negativity (EPN) component in the occipito-temporal region during the processing of information. More precisely, when confronted with negative information, participants in the Reappraisal group exhibited significantly lower EPN amplitudes than their counterparts in the Observation group. Mediation analysis further illuminated that positive cognitive reappraisal reduced participants’ retweet willingness and behavior by decreasing the amplitude of the EPN.
This research pioneers an examination of personal retweet behavior, exploring the influence of emotion regulation strategies on the diffusion of information with unknown contexts. By integrating event-related potential technology, it analytically addressed the neurophysiological characteristics of this effect, filling a theoretical gap in current information transmission research. Moreover, the study offers fresh insights into tackling the spread of false information by providing a novel approach grounded in emotion regulation theory.
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-07-22
Abstract： Aggression, which is a common and remarkably damaging problem, has its roots in stress-responsive systems. Although children display a wide range of individual differences in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis function, numerous initial conditions of stress reactivity may reach the same end state. In other words, both hyper- and hypo-responses to stress tend to induce heightened risks for aggressive behavior. Informed by the concept of equifinality in developmental psychopathology, this study, through its focus on hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) genetic susceptibility, examines the nonlinear (U-shaped) relationship between stress responsiveness and the severity of aggression. Additionally, since it remains unclear whether the equifinality phenomenon is evident in distal behavioral phenotypes or proximal endophenotypes, this study also evaluated, on the basis of “gene–endophenotypes–behavior” framework, a mediated moderation model to examine the effects of the HPA axis genes on aggression, as moderated by the parent–child relationship and mediated by impulsivity. A total of 530 participants (mean age 19.35 ± 1.59 years at Time 1, 53.4% females) completed two assessments at a one-year interval. Data on self-reported aggression, parent–child relationship, and impulsivity were collected, and DNA was extracted from saliva. All of the measures exhibited good reliability. The multilocus genetic profile score (MGPS) was calculated using four polymorphisms within HPA axis–related genes, namely NR3C1 rs41423247, CRHR1 rs110402, COMT rs4680, and BDNF rs6265. For each participant, genotyping of the four HPA axis genes was performed using improved multiplex ligation detection reaction. This was followed by a series of hierarchical regressions that were conducted to examine the U-shaped relationship between MGPS and aggression, and the mediated moderation model. The results revealed a quadratic, U-shaped relationship between the additive genetic risk of HPA and aggression, with both low and high MPGS carriers exhibiting high aggression when exposure to higher levels of parent–child conflict. Nevertheless, parent–child cohesion did not exhibit such moderating effects. Furthermore, the moderating effect was mediated by impulsivity. Similarly, there was a significant quadratic relationship between MGPS and impulsivity when parent–child conflicts were at comparatively high levels, with results displaying a U-shaped relationship (i.e., relatively high or low MGPS-predicted impulsivity). Specifically, impulsivity was a significant risk factor for aggression, with high impulsivity predicting high levels of aggression. These findings inform our understanding of how additive genetic variants in the HPA axis, as well as its response to adversity, is involved in the etiology of aggressive behavior. It is likely that, because of the U-shaped relationship, the association between HPA genetic function and aggression is more complex than what the general perspectives — “the more the genetic risk variants, the higher the likelihood of aggressive behavior.” Moreover, these findings provide support for the phenomenon of equifinality in developmental psychopathology.
Peer Review Status:
Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology Subjects: Computer Science >> Computer Application Technology submitted time 2024-07-21
Abstract： Cognitive modeling involves instantiating theoretical or model-based knowledge of cognitive processes into computational models and validating these theories by fitting behavioral and/or neuroimaging data. It enhances our understanding of human cognition through quantitative analysis and aids in the study of individual differences. Despite the ability of theory-driven computational models to generate simulated data, their complexity makes it difficult to determine the likelihood function, hindering the estimation of model parameters and comparisons between models based on observed data. This challenge is known as the inverse problem of generative modeling, and in response to the dilemma that the likelihood function is impossible or difficult to compute, which in turn gave rise to likelihood-free inference.
likelihood-free inference, a case of simulation-based inference, which uses simulated data to approximate or circumvent the calculation of the likelihood function. This method enables the fitting and evaluation of the model. Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) and Probability Density Approximation (PDA) are two common techniques used in likelihood-free inference. ABC compares simulated data to observed data, while PDA uses a kernel density estimator to approximate the likelihood function. Both methods are powerful tools for model selection and parameter estimation, particularly when the likelihood function is intractable or unknown. However, these methods may suffer from the curse of dimensionality, as the number of model parameters increases, the computational cost and complexity of the simulation-based approaches grow exponentially, which can make the methods impractical for high-dimensional data and models.
Advances in deep learning and neural network technologies have led to the emergence of a new neural simulation-based inference (NSBI). NSBI leverages the power of deep learning to address the limitations of traditional simulation-based methods. NSBI possesses an amortization property, which allows the generation of a large amount of simulated data to be integrated into the training process. Consequently, once the neural network is trained, the inference step can be performed without the need for generating additional simulated data, significantly reducing computational overhead. Furthermore, with the advancement of neural conditional probability density estimation techniques, such as Normalizing Flows, NSBI can easily train models to estimate likelihood functions and posterior distribution functions. Neural posterior estimation methods, which offer a departure from conventional ABC techniques, directly sample from the posterior distribution using input data. Similarly, neural likelihood estimation methods, a substitute for PDA, compute likelihood values by leveraging both input data and prior parameters. These techniques enable the construction of flexible and complex cognitive models, making NSBI a promising approach for likelihood-free inference in high-dimensional settings.
NSBI has gained significant attention in the field of cognitive modeling and has been applied to various scenarios, including likelihood estimation, posterior estimation, and model comparison. For instance, neural likelihood networks such as LANs and MNLE are employed to estimate the likelihood function for intricate cognitive models, with MNLE being particularly adept at handling mixed data types with both continuous and discrete variables. In parameter inference for cognitive models, Bayesflow stands out as a neural posterior network capable of tackling a diverse array of complex models. For model comparison, Evidence Networks and Hierarchical Evidence Networks are utilized, with the Hierarchical variant being well-suited for nested data structures. Tools such as LANs, sbi, and Bayesflow are continuously optimizing the workflow of neural network-based simulation inference. These advancements have enabled NSBI to be applied to large-scale studies involving over a million data points, allowing for the construction of complex models that were previously difficult to build. This approach not only facilitates rapid validation of models and theories but also helps identify flaws and optimize performance, making NSBI a transformative technique with the potential to revolutionize the understanding and analysis of intricate systems.
While these new technologies show promise in cognitive modeling, this paper also discusses their limitations and offers constructive guidance for their use. The paper discusses the trade-offs of neural network training costs and model accuracy, the integration of NSBI methods for comprehensive analysis, and the importance of effective training for reliable models. It also emphasizes the potential for these technologies to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly between neuroscience, cognitive modeling, and other fields, to deepen our understanding of the mind and brain.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-07-19
Abstract： Embodied cognition theories assume that conceptual representations are essentially rooted in modal experiential information. However, abstract concepts that do not refer to entities with a direct sensorimotor connection have challenged these embodied theories. For example, it is still debated whether abstract verb meanings are represented in the sensorimotor system. After screening and analyzing previous studies, the involvement of the motor system in the representations of abstract verbs is believed to be modulated by motor features. Abstract verbs that are learned in conjunction with more motor experiences are more likely to be predominant in motor features and accordingly are grounded much more strongly in the motor system. The present study aimed to explore the causal role of motor features of abstract verbs in their representations in the motor system and provide an explanation for the variance of previous results.
Forty-four participants (6 males) were recruited for Experiment 1; one male participant withdrew for private reasons, and all of his data were removed from the analysis. Experiment 1 lasted four days. On Day 1 and Day 4, pre- and posttests, respectively, were conducted; in these tests, participants were instructed to perform a lexical decision task first inside a 3.0 T Siemens Prisma magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. During scanning, 240 words (including 60 target novel words) were presented in a pseudorandomized sequence within an event-related design. Then, outside the scanner, the same behavioral task with 120 words (including 60 target novel words) was performed on computers with responses collected according to the action‒sentence compatibility paradigm. On Days 2 and 3, participants spent approximately one hour each day learning and memorizing 60 target novel words and their interpretive abstract meanings, which were printed on cards. While learning, participants were asked to perform a specific hand movement toward or away from themselves as required, with the aim of successfully increasing the predominance of motor features associated with the target novel words. The neuroimaging data acquired during the pre- and posttests were preprocessed and analyzed using SPM and DPABI. At the whole-brain level, a 2×2 ANOVA was performed. The two within-subject factors were the testing phase (pretest vs. posttest) and word type (learning vs. nonlearning novel words). We found that for learning novel words, compared with the pretest, there were stronger activations in motor-related brain areas (such as the left precentral gyrus) during the posttest. Furthermore, the scores for motor features associated with learning novel words significantly predicted the degree of neural activation in the motor system (i.e., the right pre- and postcentral gyri, the left precentral gyrus, etc.) in the posttest.
Thirty subjects from Experiment 1 participated in Experiment 2. The subjects were instructed to learn 30 novel words selected from the above 60 target words in a similar way as in Experiment 1. After approximately 30 minutes of learning, the participants performed the lexical decision task while their arm’s electromyographic activities were recorded with a wireless electromyography (EMG) measurement module from BIOPAC. The results showed that processing learning novel words with increased motor features, compared with nonlearning novel words (i.e., the baseline), elicited increased EMG activities in the right extensor digitorum muscle.
In conclusion, the present study confirmed the causal role of motor features in the embodied representations (i.e., representations in the motor system) of abstract verbs. An increase in motor features makes the representations of abstract verbs more dependent on the motor system. Moreover, the processing of abstract verbs with sufficient motor features could elicit motor resonance in the peripheral motor system. These findings provide new evidence and important interpretations for embodied cognition theories.
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-07-14
Abstract： Memory consolidation has traditionally been perceived as a slow process, extending over years, even decades. However, new research indicates that memory can consolidate rapidly when new information is consistent with existing schemas or employs specific encoding methods. Moreover, the influence of sleep and retrieval on memory is believed to be linked to rapid consolidation. This paper reviews studies on rapid memory consolidation and summarizes two potential mechanisms driving this swift process: schema-based learning and repeated reactivation. Future investigations could delve into the role of hippocampus in cortical learning, the significance of interference suppression in memory consolidation, and, by adopting an adaptive perspective on the interplay between fast and slow memory consolidation processes, unravel the nature of rapid memory consolidation as a double-edged sword.
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-07-04
Abstract： Research has demonstrated that making Judgments of Learning (JOLs) has a direct impact on learners’ memory performance, which the phenomenon known as the reactivity effect of JOLs. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. Recognition memory is generally understood to involve both familiarity and recognition processes. This study utilized event-related potentials (ERPs) techniques to focus on how JOLs affect these two processes, aiming to elucidate the mechanisms through which JOLs influence recognition memory./t/nIn Experiment 1, the Remember/Know (R/K) paradigm was employed to explore the effects of JOLs on familiarity and recognition. The results indicated that making JOLs improved participants’ memory performance. Further analysis suggested that JOLs might enhance the recognition process specifically, though behavioral data alone were insufficient to confirm this effect. Consequently, Experiment 2 used ERPs to further investigate the effects of JOLs on familiarity and recognition./t/nExperiment 2 used ERPs to delve deeper into the effects of JOLs on familiarity and recognition. The behavioral results of Experiment 2 were consistent with Experiment 1, showing that JOLs improved recognition memory performance. EEG findings revealed no significant difference in FN400 amplitudes, associated with the familiarity process, between JOL and no-JOL conditions. However, LPC amplitudes, associated with the recognition process, were significantly higher in the JOL condition compared to the no-JOL condition, indicating that JOLs enhance memory by facilitating the recognition process./t/nIn conclusion, this study found that the reactivity effect of JOLs enhances recognition memory by promoting the recognition process.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-07-01
Abstract： Metric structure is the temporal framework of music. It is not only the basis for composers to create music, but also the prerequisite for people to process musical aesthetics, musical emotion and musical meaning. Hence, within the predictive coding framework, the proposed project explores the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the prediction and integration of metric structure, using behavioral experiments and electroencephalogram techniques. Specifically, it includes the following four studies: (1) track the dynamic neural activity during the representation construction of metric structure and the prediction establishment as rhythmic sequences unfold, (2) explore how listeners use prediction errors to update the prediction of metric structure, (3) examine the neural mechanisms underlying the integration of multiple hierarchical metric structure at the phrase level and (4) investigate how listeners integrate nested metric structure according to long-distance dependency at the period level. The above research will reveal the general cognitive mechanism of the processing of musical structure and lay the foundation for the construction of cognitive neural model of music. Simultaneously, the results will provide empirical evidence for music appreciation activities and music aesthetics research, which has potential application prospects in the field of music.
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-06-24
Abstract： The location-specific proportion compatibility (LSPC) effect, as a key index to test cognitive control, using location as a contextual cue to manipulate the proportion of conflict congruent and incongruent trials, shows a larger conflict in location with more congruent trials (MC) compared to that with more incongruent trials (MI). Previous researches have found that LSPC effect can transfer to near MC (NMC) and near MI (NMI) locations with same proportion of congruent and incongruent trials, showing a larger conflict in NMC location than that in NMI location. And the spatial information of stimulus is a prerequisite for this transfer. However, these studies only utilized the stimuli with explicit spatial information (e.g., arrow) to construct conflict, leaving it unclear whether the conflict construced by the stimuli with implicit spatial information (e.g., number) could induce the transfer of LSPC effect. In this study, numeric stimuli (1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9) with implicit spatial information were used to construct conflicts in two experiments. A number parity judgment task was adopted to construct a SNARC conflict in experiment 1 (Experiment 1a: 33 participants; Experiment 1b: 36 participants). Experiment 1a investigated LSPC effect within SNARC conflict by manipulating proportion congruency at two spatial positions. Experiment 1b extended this design to four positions, aiming to replicate Experiment 1a results and examine spatial transfer of the LSPC effect. To enhance the strength of implicit spatial information representation, experiment 2 manipulated proportion congruency at five positions along a diagonal line, using a magnitude comparison task to construct a numerical Flanker conflict (38 participants), expecting to observe LSPC effect and its spatial transfer. In Experiment 1a, the LSPC effect was observed for the first time in SNARC conflict, with a larger conflict in the MC location compared to the MI location. In Experiment 1b, the LSPC effect was replicated. However, there was no spatial transfer of the LSPC effect, showing that the conflict at the NMC location was not significantly larger than that at the NMI location. This lack of spatial transfer might be attributed to relatively weak implicit spatial information representation in the parity judgment task. In Experiment 2, the LSPC effect and its spatial transfer were observed, with a larger conflict effect at the MC/NMC location than at the MI/NMI location. These results indicated the robustness of the LSPC effect across diverse conflict tasks. Furthermore, it identifies that implicit spatial information can facilitate the spatial transfer of the LSPC effect. And the strength of implicit spatial information representation might impact the spatial transfer of the LSPC effect. These findings support the attentional modulation hypothesis that cognitive control plays a significant role in the spatial transfer of LSPC effect. These results highlight the adaptability of cognitive processes across varying contexts, underscoring the role of implicit spatial information in modulating cognitive control mechanisms.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-06-21
Abstract： Faces and gaze direction are essential cues in interpersonal interactions. Examining how infants, especially newborns, process faces and gaze direction enhances our understanding of the origins and development of human social abilities. A review of existing literature shows that neonates (0~28 days old) generally prefer human faces and direct gaze, while infants around 3 months old begin to follow gaze direction. Brain imaging studies have revealed that infants older than 3 months exhibit neural responses to faces and gaze processing similar to those of adults. Future research could further explore neonatal preference for face and direct gaze, as well as gaze following in infants, using various brain imaging techniques, particularly novel magnetoencephalography, to uncover the neural basis of infants’ innate sensitivity to human faces and eye gaze, and the cognitive mechanisms influenced by acquired experience.
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-06-20
Abstract： The self plays a significant role in shaping social interactions, often capturing attention due to an inherent preference for stimuli related to the self. However, the mechanisms that govern attention in this context remain not fully elucidated. Research has suggested that the self holds social salience, potentially underpinning the prioritization of self-related information in attentional processes. Yet, other studies indicate that the self may not bias attention as automatically as physiologically salient stimuli, implying that self-related cues do not influence attention at an early, pre-attentive stage. We hypothesize that the self might enhance the salience of meaning post the initial perceptual phase, rather than affecting spatial prominence at an early stage. The current study is designed to investigate how neutral stimuli linked to an individual’s self impact selective attention processing, thereby illuminating the mechanisms of self-biased attentional processes. We conducted three experiments, each enlisting 24-25 college students. Initially, participants were engaged in an associative learning task, where they associated labels for themselves (’you’), familiar others (’friend’), or strangers (’stranger’) with neutral colors (Experiments 1 and 2) or abstract symbols (Experiment 3). Subsequently, they were tasked with identifying which labels matched the given neutral stimuli. We then employed the dual-rectangle cuing paradigm to distinguish between space-based and object-based attention, with the neutral stimuli serving as the target-irrelevant dimension, allowing us to examine the influence of self-association on selective attention. In addition to behavioral responses, we utilized the Hierarchical Drift Diffusion Model (HDDM) to dissect the decision-making process. Experiment 1 revealed that processing associated with the self primarily affects object-based selective attention. The object-based effect—calculated by the difference between the same and different object conditions—was diminished or absent when targets contained self- or friend-associated stimuli, compared to those with stranger-associated stimuli. However, the space-based effect—determined by the difference between valid and invalid cueing conditions—did not significantly vary among the three social identities. Experiment 2 replicated this finding, even when the associative learning context was different from the cueing task, thereby ruling out the impact of context familiarity. Experiment 3, which used abstract symbols for identity association and colors for task stimuli in the cueing task, did not find a significant effect of self-related information on object-based attention. Further analysis indicated that the influence of self-association on object-based attention was only evident among participants with longer reaction times. These results suggest that the activation of self-representation can be essential for modulating object-based attention. Moreover, the HDDM analysis indicated that the impact of self-related information on object-based selective attention predominantly occurs during the stimulus encoding stage. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that self-associated stimuli, when task-irrelevant, regulate object-based selective attention over space-based selective attention, consistently across varying experimental contexts. This research uncovers a critical distinction between object-based and space-based attention in the realm of self-associated processing, offering new insights into the complex dynamics of attentional mechanisms related to the self. It not only deepens our understanding of the self’s influence on cognitive processes but also paves the way for future explorations in this domain.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-06-17
Abstract： Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by significant and lasting sadness. Previous studies have indicated that cognitive deficits, particularly in cognitive flexibility, are one of the core features of MDD, and the impairment pattern may play a key role in the onset and development of MDD. Cognitive flexibility, as a key component of cognitive function, often manifests as impaired in MDD patients, evidenced by rigid thinking and difficulty in flexibly switching among negative stimuli. Research suggests that cognitive inflexibility to emotional information may underlie the chronicity of negative emotional states in MDD./t/nWhile previous neuropsychological tests and clinical observations have shown that patients with MDD exhibit abnormal cognitive flexibility, behavioral studies have failed to reach a consensus on whether cognitive flexibility is impaired in both non-emotional and emotional stimuli in patients with MDD. It is suggested that integrating more precise neurophysiological measures could offer clearer insights into the mechanisms of cognitive inflexibility in MDD. Given the established link between the theta, alpha and beta bands and cognitive flexibility, the non-phase-locked activities that occur during task switching, which may be ignored in ERPs studies, may hold significant importance. Therefore, it is still necessary to further conceptualize EEG as multi-dimensional time-frequency signals to capture the changes of neural oscillations during task switching. Since time-frequency analysis offers temporal context while analyzing frequency components, the analysis of time-varying signals becomes more intuitive and comprehensible. Therefore, this study aims to employ time-frequency analysis to scrutinize the alterations of ERS/ERD in the theta, alpha and beta bands during both non-emotional and emotional task switching in patients with MDD, and explore the time-frequency characteristics that may indicate cognitive inflexibility in patients with MDD./t/nA demographically matched cohort of 74 MDD patients and 72 healthy control (HC) subjects completed both non-emotional and emotional task switching paradigms, with behavioral and electroencephalogram data being collected simultaneously. Neural oscillation activities of θ, α and β bands were analyzed as indices of brain electrical time-frequency dynamics, with their event‐related synchronization (ERS) or event‐related desynchronization (ERD) analyzed by 2 (group: MDD vs. HC) ×2 (paradigm: non-emotional vs. emotional) ×2 (task: repeat vs. switch) ×4 (region of Interest: frontal, central, parietal, occipital) repeated-measures ANOVA to compare the group differences in power across frequency bands./t/nOur results showed that the MDD group made more errors and took longer to complete the task-switching paradigms compared with the HC group. Specifically, the MDD group had significantly smaller θ-ERS in all regions of interest during non-emotional repeat and switch tasks, and significantly smaller θ-ERS in the frontal and central regions during emotional tasks. Additionally, the energy difference of θ band in the parieto-occipital region was significantly larger during emotional task switching. The MDD group had significantly smaller α-ERD in the non-emotional task switching paradigm, significantly smaller β-ERD in non-emotional repeat task, and significantly smaller β-ERD in both emotional tasks./t/nThe study concludes that patients with MDD exhibits impaired cognitive flexibility in response to both neutral stimuli and negative stimuli. Cognitive inflexibility in response to non-emotional stimuli is associated with less θ-ERS and excessive activity of α-ERD and β-ERD. Similarly, cognitive inflexibility in response to emotional stimuli is associated with less θ-ERS and excessive activity of β-ERD in MDD, with β-ERD emerging as a potentially sensitive biomarker for impaired cognitive flexibility in MDD. This study sheds new light on the understanding of impaired cognitive flexibility in MDD and further clarifies the underlying neural oscillatory mechanism of impaired cognitive flexibility.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-06-12
Abstract： Attention is the orientation and concentration of individuals to specific objects. Basic attentional functions such as alerting, orienting, and executive control, and complex attentional functions such as selective attention and sustained attention have various trajectories of germination, development, and decline. Based on previous studies on attention development, this paper reviewed the lifelong development trajectories of basic and complex attentional functions and suggested that the development of attention roughly includes three stages: the germination period (0–1 year old), the development period (1 year old-adulthood), and the degenerating period (adulthood-old age). Furthermore, this paper emphasized the significance of the cooperation among attentional functions for understanding the development of attention. In specific, complex attentional functions depend on the cooperation of basic attentional functions. Their developmental trajectories also depend on the development of the latter. In the future, longitudinal studies especially in adolescents and studies of the cooperation among attentional functions should be strengthened with high reliability and validity measurement tools sensitive to attention levels. The theory of attentional development would benefit from such studies.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-06-06
Abstract： Objectives: The form analysis system efficiently conceptualizes how object recognition is encoded in a frame-and-fill model. However, little is known about the neural basis of the form system. The present study aimed to narrow this gap using EEG. Methods: Participants were instructed to passively view six types of images: geometric shapes, animal headless bodies, plants, Chinese words, English words, and Greebles. Result: Shared negativity waves in the occipital lobe from 100 ms to 200 ms were observed across the three object domains, including geometric figures, animal bodies, and plants, but not observed in Chinese characters, English words, or Greebles. Conclusion: The form analysis system was engaged with geometries, bodies, and plants, but not with words or faces. These results suggest that stimuli holding the medial axis structure can induce similar negativity waves in the human brain. Our study sheds new light into the human visual system, revealing a form analysis system existed. Understanding the neural patterns of the form analysis system enhances our comprehension of visual object recognition. It could inform advancements not only in human visual cognition research but also in machine visual fields.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-06-05
Abstract： With the expansion of urban scale and the increase of urban road network density, pedestrians need to find their way in different route environments, especially in complex routes. The use of modern assisted navigation devices may help pedestrians better find their way, but the interaction between humans and navigation devices and the presentation of information on different navigation maps may affect actual wayfinding behavior. Therefore, in the face of increasingly complex road traffic, this paper explores how to improve pedestrian wayfinding behavior performance from the perspective of pedestrians. According to embodied cognition and the factors affecting pedestrian wayfinding, this paper uses virtual reality (VR) technology and psychophysical experiments to explore the optimal navigation scheme of pedestrian wayfinding behavior in different routes./t/nIn Experiment 1, a two-factor design was employed: 2 (route difficulty: simple route, complex route) ×2 (interaction mode: active interaction, passive interaction). Firstly, the impact of route difficulty and human-computer interaction mode on pedestrian wayfinding performance was examined. In Experiment 2, a 2 (interaction mode: active interaction, passive interaction) ×2 (map type: fixed map, rotating map) design was implemented across subjects to investigate further methods for enhancing pathfinding performance under different interaction modes in complex routes. Ultimately, the findings from Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 were collectively analyzed, and a navigation strategy aimed at improving wayfinding performance from the perspective of map types was proposed./t/nThe study revealed that the performance of wayfinding and acquisition of spatial knowledge in simple routes surpasses that in complex routes. However, there is no significant difference in route knowledge acquisition between the two types of routes. In the active interaction mode, the performance of wayfinding and acquisition of landmark knowledge in simple routes is significantly higher than that in complex routes. Conversely, in the passive interaction mode, there is no significant difference between the two types of wayfinding performance and route knowledge acquisition. Within complex routes, the passive interaction method can yield better landmark knowledge compared to the active interaction method. On the other hand, within complex routes, the use of a fixed map significantly outperforms a rotating map in terms of wayfinding performance and route knowledge acquisition; however, there is no significant difference between them regarding landmark knowledge acquisition. Furthermore, within complex routes and using passive interaction mode, utilizing fixed maps can notably enhance wayfinding performance and landmark knowledge acquisition compared to unassisted maps./t/nIn summary, this article concludes that route difficulty and interaction mode in the spatial environment significantly impact pedestrians’ pathfinding performance. In simple routes, individuals actively utilize navigation devices to effectively enhance their pathfinding performance, while in complex routes, passive interaction between individuals and navigation devices with the assistance of fixed maps can effectively improve their pathfinding performance. Therefore, incorporating passive interaction with auxiliary fixed maps into complex routes is the optimal navigation strategy for effectively enhancing wayfinding performance.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-06-05
Abstract： According to the dual-system theory of addiction, both substance and behavioral addictions are caused by the interaction between the reflective system represented by the prefrontal cortex and the impulsive system represented by the striatum. However, while most current studies examine the changes in the reflective and impulsive systems of substance and behavioral addictions separately, the overall understanding of these under different tasks remains incomplete. There is a need for further exploration of the commonalities and differences in the neural mechanisms between different types of addictions. Therefore, the current study used meta-analysis to investigate the neural activation patterns of substance and behavioral addictions in three types of tasks: inhibition control, reward processing, and craving induction. Then, contrast analysis was used to evaluate the similarities and differences in neural activation patterns of substance and behavioral addictions in these three tasks. The current study used activation likelihood estimation (ALE) to conduct a meta-analysis of neuroimaging data. The substance addiction included 22 inhibition control tasks, 9 reward processing tasks, and 17 craving induction tasks. The behavioral addiction included 15 inhibition control tasks, 22 reward processing tasks, and 12 craving induction tasks. The meta-analysis was conducted in the standard Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) space, and GingerALE (3.0.2) was used to convert the Talairach coordinates obtained in the studies to MNI coordinates. The probability maps used p < 0.001 (Uncorrected) as threshold. The minimum cluster size was set at 250 mm3. Finally, under the three different tasks, contrast analysis was performed on substance and behavioral addictions. Group similarities and differences were examined using contrast analyses. The threshold for group-contrasts was set to p < 0.01 uncorrected for multiple comparisons with 10000 permutations, and the minimum cluster size was greater than 50mm3. The results found that: (1) In inhibition control tasks, substance addictions and behavioral addictions do not have the same activated brain areas; however, substance addictions exhibit decreased activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, while behavioral addictions show increased activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. (2) In cue-induced craving tasks, both substance addictions and behavioral addictions showed increased activation in the inferior frontal gyrus. (3) In reward processing tasks, substance addictions exhibit stronger activation in the striatum than behavioral addictions. In summary, the current meta-analysis shows that substance addictions and behavioral addictions exhibit differences and similarities in neural mechanisms in the prefrontal cortex and striatum in inhibition control, cue-induced craving, and reward processing tasks. In the striatum system, although substance addiction showed stronger activation increase than behavioral addiction in reward-related tasks, both substance and behavioral addictions showed abnormal activation increase. However, in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, behavioral addiction only showed a substance addiction-like response when induced by addictive cues; in inhibition control, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation decreased in substance addiction, while it increased in behavioral addiction, allowing behavioral addiction to meet task requirements through compensatory activation.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-05-31
Abstract： The development of attentional functions is a fundamental issue of human cognitive development, but the available evidence for its developmental trajectory is inconsistent due to the diversity and low reliability of measurement paradigms. The study examined the development of attentional functions and attentional collaborations in 281 Chinese primary school children (109 girls, 5.98-13.24 years old) using the self-designed High Reliability-Composite Attention Test. Results showed that the executive control continued to develop prior to the age of 10. It further contributed to the linear development of attentional collaborations. Each of these scores exhibited a split-half reliability exceeding 0.82. Therefore, we effectively demonstrated a mechanism for attentional development that revolves around executive control.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-05-29
Abstract： Writing is a complex perceptual-motor process that involves both central cognitive coding and peripheral motor execution. It requires a lot of cognitive resources and is therefore susceptible to physiological aging. Research based on written products has found that older adults always show variations in font size, stroke inversions, reduced smoothness, and increased error rates. Studies on the writing process have revealed that older adults tend to show slower responses, increased pauses, prolonged execution, decreased speed, and uneven pen pressure. Cognitive aging in writing primarily stems from neurodegeneration of the brain, decline of sensory-motor mechanisms, and interference from hormonal changes or bone loss to hand movements. Future research should focus on the synchrony and asynchrony of aging in different writing processes, as well as the universality and specificity of cognitive aging in writing. Meanwhile, research should also be conducted to develop and apply clinical diagnostic criteria for cognitive aging in writing.
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-05-21
Abstract： Over the past decade, there has been a growing trend in investigating sensory processing during human locomotion. However, questions related to multisensory processing while walking remain numerous and not yet well explored. In this theoretical research, we provide a general review of the progress made in human walking-related cognition research based on the development of Mobile EEG, while highlight the lack of focus on multisensory processing. Additionally, we present some interesting findings from animal models related to multisensory processing during locomotion, which contributes to the motivation of a systematic investigation into multisensory processing. Finally, we propose several interesting and practical research questions that future studies should address to gain a better understanding of human cognition.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-05-18
Abstract： Chinese is a writing system widely used by Chinese people worldwide and has many distinct characteristics. Due to its uniqueness, theories and models of alphabetic languages cannot be directly applied to Chinese. Previous Chinese studies lack systematic computational models for lexical and semantic processing. To address this issue, this study first plans to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of previous literature. Next, computational models will be constructed to simulate the processing of Chinese word presented in isolation and during natural reading. The model has the following characteristics: a) it can process both single-character and multi-character words; b) it can simulate orthographic, phonological, and semantic processing of words, as well as their interactions; c) it can simulate the impact of contextual cues on word processing during sentence comprehension. Finally, the assumptions and predictions of the model are planned to be validated in experimental studies. The established model can guide experimental research and has significant theoretical significance. The research findings will help clarify the cognitive mechanisms of Chinese reading and the dynamic process of lexical processing.
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-05-09
Abstract： The effect of difficulty on the font size effect was examined by event-related potentials (ERPs) technique. The results revealed that (1) subjects gave lower judgment of learning (JOLs) values for difficult word pairs compared to simple word pairs; and there was no difference in JOLs values for large fonts compared to small fonts. (2) Font size affects the early stage of encoding (200-300 ms), which induces individuals to process learning items superficially (non-semantic encoding); and difficulty affects the middle and late stage of encoding (450-600 ms), when difficult word pairs induce individuals to process learning items deeply (semantic encoding). (3) Subjects performing JOLs would evoke LPN components in the prefrontal lobe representing the attempted extraction. The above results indicate that the difficulty cue in the encoding stage eliminates the font size effect by inducing individuals to semantically encode items; in the JOLs stage individuals will make attempts to extract, a process in which individuals make accurate JOLs based on semantically encoded information.The results of the present study not only illustrate the electrophysiological mechanisms underlying the generation and elimination of the font size effect, but also provide neural evidence on how to improve the accuracy of JOLs, a metamemory monitoring process provides neural evidence for the accuracy of the process.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
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