The rule expectancy effect on the electrophysiological correlates underlying numerical rule acquisition

Exploring neural oscillations in numerical inductive reasoning: unveiling effects of top-down and bottom-up conflict

Previous research has delved into the brain's response to top-down and bottom-up conflicts in numerical inductive reasoning. However, the specific neural oscillatory patterns associated with these conflict types in numerical inductive reasoning processing have remained elusive. In this study, we employed a number series completion task in which participants had to determine whether a given target number adhered to concealed rules. Three conditions were established: an identity condition (e.g., 13, 13, 13), a perceptual mismatch condition (representing bottom-up conflict, e.g., 13 13 ), and a rule violation condition (representing top-down conflict, e.g., 13 13 14). Our EEG results revealed significant distinctions: rule violation induced more pronounced alpha desynchronization compared to both perceptual mismatch and identity conditions. Conversely, perceptual mismatch was associated with increased theta synchronization in contrast to rule violation and the identity condition. These findings suggest that alpha desynchronization may indicate the integration of rules during top-down conflict, while theta synchronization may function as a mechanism to inhibit bottom-up perceptual interference in numerical inductive reasoning.

The involvement of the semantic neural network in rule identification of mathematical processing

The role of the visuospatial network in mathematical processing has been established, but the involvement of the semantic network in mathematical processing is still poorly understood. The current study utilized a number series completion paradigm with the event-related potential (ERP) technique to examine whether the semantic network supports mathematical processing and to find the corresponding spatiotemporal neural marker. In total, 32 right-handed undergraduate students were recruited and asked to complete the number series completion as well as the arithmetical computation task in which numbers were presented in sequence. The event-related potential and multi-voxel pattern analysis showed that the rule identification process involves more semantic processing when compared with the arithmetical computation processes, and it elicited higher amplitudes for the late negative component (LNC) in left frontal and temporal lobes. These results demonstrated that the semantic network supports the rule identification in mathematical processing, with the LNC acting as the neural marker.

Conflict Adaptation Effect on Numerical Inductive Reasoning: An ERP Study

Conflict adaptation is of particular importance to human information processing, as it assists in efficient responding when confronted with inconsistent information. Past investigators have focused on the role and mechanisms of conflict adaptation effects in cognitive control tasks, but there have been few studies of conflict adaptation effects in numerical inductive reasoning. In this study we adopted identical, perceptual mismatch and rule violation conditions to investigate conflict adaptation in numerical inductive reasoning. Behaviorally, we found shorter response times on trials following our experimental condition, as compared to pre-trials. In our event-related potential (ERP) electroencephalogram (EEG) results, N2 reflected the improvement in processing efficiency of rule violations in numerical inductive reasoning. Thus, these data suggest the presence of a conflict adaptation effect in high-level processing.

ERP Characteristics of Inducing Rule Validity in Number Series Under Time Pressure

A great deal of research has been devoted to examining the neural mechanisms of inductive reasoning. However, the influences of rule validity and time pressure on numerical inductive reasoning remain unclear. In the current study, we aimed to examine the effects of these variables on the time course of rule identification in numerical inductive reasoning. We designed a 3 (task type: valid, invalid, and anomalous) × 2 (time pressure: with time pressure and without time pressure) within-subject experiment based on electroencephalographic event-related potentials (ERP). Behaviorally, we found significant effects of rule validity and time pressure on rule identification. Neurologically, we considered the elicited N200 ERP to reflect conflict detection and found it to be modulated by rule validity but not time pressure. We considered the induced P300 ERP to be primarily related to updating working memory, affected by both rule validity and time pressure. These findings have new implications for better understanding dynamic information processing within numerical inductive reasoning.

Which is better for concept visualization? Shape or spirit similarity: Evidence from event-related potentials

Shape and spirit similarity are two kinds of common artistic modes in concept visualization. The adoption depends on the designers' subjective preference and judgment, which may cause potential risks for semantic communication. This article used pairs of real image-concrete word as the roots, and contrasted four kinds of multimodal mappings such as shape similarity-concrete concept, shape similarity-abstract concept, spirit similarity-concrete concept, and spirit similarity-abstract concept to compare the matching difference through the S1(picture)-S2(word) paradigm. The behavioral results showed that shape similarity had advantages in both matching rate and reaction time over spirit similarity, but the difference was more significant to the concrete word than to the abstract word. The ERPs showed that the N1, P2, and N400 components had alike effects with the behavioral results, but the mappings of spirit similarity-concrete concept elicited the largest positivity of P600, suggesting the complicated mechanisms of semantic integration and concreteness effect in the multimodal mappings. This study proves that the concrete concept should be visualized according to its appearance, not the most striking feature or function; but the visulization of abstract concept shows less difference after a concreteness transition.

Task relevance effect on number/shape conflict detection in the number-matching task: An ERP study

It is debatable whether the task relevance effect on a conflict occurs in the detection or in the inhibition underlying sequential matching. To explore this issue, three types of number pairs, identical (e.g., 12, 12), conserved (e.g., 12, ), and non-conserved (e.g., 12, 15) pairs, were displayed to be judged as perceptually (identical shape condition) or quantitatively (identical value condition) the same. Both error rates and RTs for the three types of number pairs showed different patterns to detect perceptual mismatch in the identical shape condition and number inequivalence in the identical value conditions. The event-related potential (ERP) results showed that increased N200 and N400 as well as decreased P300 were triggered by the conserved and non-conserved pairs in contrast to identical pairs in the identical shape condition and by the non-conserved pairs relative to the conserved and identical pairs in the identical value condition. These results showed that task-relevant mismatches were attended to and detected in both conditions. Therefore, for the task-relevance effect on a conflict, attention is selectively directed to task-relevant features rather than inhibiting task-irrelevant conflict.

Fearful faces modulate cognitive control under varying levels of uncertainty: An event-related potential study

Cognitive control can reduce uncertainty, but few studies have investigated temporal dynamics of the flexible allocation of resources under varying levels of uncertainty. We used a revised majority function task with emotional faces and event-related potentials to investigate this process. The task incorporated different ratios of face orientation to quantify uncertainty. Participants performed slower in high uncertainty than in other levels. Under low uncertainty, participants showed greater amplitudes of frontal N200 and late frontal wave to neutral faces than fearful faces. Parietal P300 amplitudes decreased from low uncertainty to high uncertainty, and fearful faces elicited greater P300 amplitudes than neutral faces under all levels of uncertainty. These results suggest that emotion and uncertainty interacted in the frontal cortex during both early and late stages, while no interaction existed in the parietal cortex during the late stage. The interference of fearful faces is lessened by increasing cognitive control under high uncertainty in the frontal cortex, suggesting that humans possess the ability to flexibly allocate mental resources in the temporal domain. Our findings provide evidence to support the fronto-parietal network hypothesis of cognitive control in a novel perspective of uncertainty.