Modular processes in mind and brain

A practical guide to EEG hyperscanning in joint action research: from motivation to implementation

Developments in cognitive neuroscience have led to the emergence of hyperscanning, the simultaneous measurement of brain activity from multiple people. Hyperscanning is useful for investigating social cognition, including joint action, because of its ability to capture neural processes that occur within and between people as they coordinate actions toward a shared goal. Here, we provide a practical guide for researchers considering using hyperscanning to study joint action and seeking to avoid frequently raised concerns from hyperscanning skeptics. We focus specifically on Electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning, which is widely available and optimally suited for capturing fine-grained temporal dynamics of action coordination. Our guidelines cover questions that are likely to arise when planning a hyperscanning project, ranging from whether hyperscanning is appropriate for answering one's research questions to considerations for study design, dependent variable selection, data analysis and visualization. By following clear guidelines that facilitate careful consideration of the theoretical implications of research design choices and other methodological decisions, joint action researchers can mitigate interpretability issues and maximize the benefits of hyperscanning paradigms.

Functional brain networks in Developmental Topographical Disorientation

Despite a decade-long study on Developmental Topographical Disorientation, the underlying mechanism behind this neurological condition remains unknown. This lifelong selective inability in orientation, which causes these individuals to get lost even in familiar surroundings, is present in the absence of any other neurological disorder or acquired brain damage. Herein, we report an analysis of the functional brain network of individuals with Developmental Topographical Disorientation ($n = 19$) compared against that of healthy controls ($n = 21$), all of whom underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, to identify if and how their underlying functional brain network is altered. While the established resting-state networks (RSNs) are confirmed in both groups, there is, on average, a greater connectivity and connectivity strength, in addition to increased global and local efficiency in the overall functional network of the Developmental Topographical Disorientation group. In particular, there is an enhanced connectivity between some RSNs facilitated through indirect functional paths. We identify a handful of nodes that encode part of these differences. Overall, our findings provide strong evidence that the brain networks of individuals suffering from Developmental Topographical Disorientation are modified by compensatory mechanisms, which might open the door for new diagnostic tools.

Mental association of time and valence

Five experiments investigated the association between time and valence. In the first experiment, participants classified temporal expressions (e.g., past, future) and positively or negatively connotated words (e.g., glorious, nasty) based on temporal reference or valence. They responded slower and made more errors in the mismatched condition (positive/past mapped to one hand, negative/future to the other) compared with the matched condition (positive/future to one hand, negative/past to the other hand). Experiment 2 confirmed the generalization of the match effect to nonspatial responses, while Experiment 3 found no reversal of this effect for left-handers. Overall, the results of the three experiments indicate a robust match effect, associating the past with negative valence and the future with positive valence. Experiment 4 involved rating the valence of time-related words, showing higher ratings for future-related words. Additionally, Experiment 5 employed latent semantic analysis and revealed that linguistic experiences are unlikely to be the source of this time-valence association. An interactive activation model offers a quantitative explanation of the match effect, potentially arising from a favorable perception of the future over the past.

Is it true that negative emotions cause more utilitarian judgements? from the influence of emotion and cognition

ABSTRACTThe affect-as-information (AAI) model proposes that emotions influence the accessibility and value of information (Avramova & Inbar, 2013). Furthermore, according to the dual-process model of moral judgement, emotions and cognition influence moral judgement (Greene, 2007; Greene et al., 2001, 2008); however, there is no direct evidence of a causal chain to support this model's proposition. By using a 3 (emotions: positive vs. neutral vs. negative) × 2 (primed rule: save lives vs. do not kill) between-participants design, we examined two hypotheses in two experiments: supraliminal (Experiment 1) and subliminal (Experiment 2) priming. Our results partially supported the AAI model and confirmed that emotions and cognition independently influence moral judgement. Specifically, the positive emotions group made more utilitarian decisions after being primed with the "save lives" rule and more deontological decisions after being primed with the do not kill rule. However, priming did not affect moral judgement in the negative emotion condition. Further, irrespective of whether priming was done, the negative emotion group mostly made utilitarian decisions. Accordingly, we propose a dynamic dual-process model of moral judgement, that can help clarify how emotion and cognition influence moral judgement.

Mesoscopic architecture enhances communication across the macaque connectome revealing structure-function correspondence in the brain

Analyzing the brain in terms of organizational structures at intermediate scales provides an approach to unravel the complexity arising from interactions between its large number of components. Focusing on a wiring diagram that spans the cortex, basal ganglia, and thalamus of the macaque brain, we identify robust modules in the network that provide a mesoscopic-level description of its topological architecture. Surprisingly, we find that the modular architecture facilitates rapid communication across the network, instead of localizing activity as is typically expected in networks having community organization. By considering processes of diffusive spreading and coordination, we demonstrate that the specific pattern of inter- and intramodular connectivity in the network allows propagation to be even faster than equivalent randomized networks with or without modular structure. This pattern of connectivity is seen at different scales and is conserved across principal cortical divisions, as well as subcortical structures. Furthermore, we find that the physical proximity between areas is insufficient to explain the modular organization, as similar mesoscopic structures can be obtained even after factoring out the effect of distance constraints on the connectivity. By supplementing the topological information about the macaque connectome with physical locations, volumes, and functions of the constituent areas and analyzing this augmented dataset, we reveal a counterintuitive role played by the modular architecture of the brain in promoting global coordination of its activity. It suggests a possible explanation for the ubiquity of modularity in brain networks.

Verifying unfamiliar identities: Effects of processing name and face information in the same identity-matching task

Matching the identity of unfamiliar faces is important in applied identity verification tasks, for example when verifying photo ID at border crossings, in secure access areas, or when issuing identity credentials. In these settings, other biographical details-such as name or date of birth on an identity document-are also often compared to existing records, but the impact of these concurrent checks on decisions has not been examined. Here, we asked participants to sequentially compare name, then face information between an ID card and digital records to detect errors. Across four experiments (combined n = 274), despite being told that mismatches between written name pairs and face image pairs were independent, participants were more likely to say that face images matched when names also matched. Across all experiments, we found that this bias was unaffected by the image quality, suggesting that the source of the bias is somewhat independent of perceptual processes. In a final experiment, we show that this decisional bias was found only for name checks, but not when participants were asked to check ID card expiration dates or unrelated object names. We conclude that the bias arises from processing identity information and propose that it operates at the level of unfamiliar person identity representations. Results are interpreted in the context of theoretical models of face processing, and we discuss applied implications.

Searching beyond the looking glass with sandwich priming

Duñabeitia et al. (NeuroImage 54(4), 3004-3009, 2011) demonstrated that mirror letters induce the same electrophysiological response as canonical letters during the orthographic stage of visual word recognition. However, behavioral evidence in support of such an effect has remained scarce. We hypothesize that the poor reliability of the behavioral data could be due to the lack of sensitivity of the paradigms used in the literature. In Experiment 1 and Experiment 2, we compared conventional and sandwich-masked priming paradigms. Results showed that mirror primes (mirror) produced a significant priming effect on high-frequency words in the case of sandwich priming only. In Experiment 3, we used sandwich priming with a new material set to address a number of concerns regarding prime-target visual overlap. We obtained a graded facilitatory mirror-letter priming effect that acted additively with lexical frequency, thus supporting the idea that it originates in the fast automatic orthographic stage. Given that the graded priming effect provides little support for the idea of the complete preservation of mirror invariance for non-reversal letters, complementary explanations are explored.

The sizable difficulty in matching unfamiliar faces differing only moderately in orientation in depth is a function of image dissimilarity

Attempting to match unfamiliar, highly similar faces at moderate differences in orientation in depth is surprisingly difficult. No neurocomputational account of these costs that addressed the representation of faces by which a face-similarity metric can be derived has been offered. A metric specifying the similarity of the to-be-distinguished faces is required as the rotation costs will be a function of the difficulty in distinguishing the faces. Consequently, rotation costs have typically been described in terms of angle of disparity, rather than the dissimilarity of the faces produced by the rotation. We assessed the effects of orientation disparity in a match-to-sample paradigm of a simultaneous presentation of a triangular display of three faces. Two lower test faces, a matching face and a foil, were always at the same orientation and differed by 0° to 20° from the sample on top. The similarity of the images was scaled by a model based on simple cell tuning, modeled as Gabor wavelets, that correlates almost perfectly with psychophysical similarity. Two measures of face similarity, with approximately additive effects on reaction times, accounted for matching performance: a) the decrease in similarity between the images of the matching and sample faces produced by increases in their orientation disparity, and b) the similarity between the matching face and the selection of a particular foil. The 20° orientation disparity was sufficient to yield a sizeable 301 msec increase in reaction time. An implication of the results is that the activity in V1 produced by viewing a face is fed forward to areas responsible for the individuation of that face.

From Action to Cognition: Neural Reuse, Network Theory and the Emergence of Higher Cognitive Functions

The aim of this article is to discuss the logic and assumptions behind the concept of neural reuse, to explore its biological advantages and to discuss the implications for the cognition of a brain that reuses existing circuits and resources. We first address the requirements that must be fulfilled for neural reuse to be a biologically plausible mechanism. Neural reuse theories generally take a developmental approach and model the brain as a dynamic system composed of highly flexible neural networks. They often argue against domain-specificity and for a distributed, embodied representation of knowledge, which sets them apart from modular theories of mental processes. We provide an example of reuse by proposing how a phylogenetically more modern mental capacity (mental rotation) may appear through the reuse and recombination of existing resources from an older capacity (motor planning). We conclude by putting arguments into context regarding functional modularity, embodied representation, and the current ontology of mental processes.

Connectivity Patterns in the Core Resting-State Networks and Their Influence on Cognition

Introduction: Three prominent resting-state networks (rsNW) (default mode network [DMN], salience network [SN], and central executive network [CEN]) are recognized for their important role in several neuropsychiatric conditions. However, our understanding of their relevance in terms of cognition remains insufficient. Materials and Methods: In response, this study aims at investigating the patterns of different network properties (resting-state activity [RSA] and short- and long-range functional connectivity [FC]) in these three core rsNWs, as well as the dynamics of age-associated changes and their relation to cognitive performance in a sample of healthy controls (N = 74) covering a large age span (20-79 years). Using a whole-network based approach, three measures were calculated from the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data: amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and degree of network centrality (DC). The cognitive test battery covered the following domains: memory, executive functioning, processing speed, attention, and visual perception. Results: For all three fMRI measures (ALFF, ReHo, and DC), the highest values of spontaneous brain activity (ALFF), short- and long-range connectivity (ReHo, DC) were observed in the DMN and the lowest in the SN. Significant age-associated decrease was observed in the DMN for ALFF and DC, and in the SN for ALFF and ReHo. Significant negative partial correlations were observed for working memory and ALFF in all three networks, as well as for additional cognitive parameters and ALFF in CEN. Discussion: Our results show that higher RSA in the three core rsNWs may have an unfavorable effect on cognition. Conversely, the pattern of network properties in healthy subjects included low RSA and FC in the SN. This complements previous research related to the three core rsNW and shows that the chosen approach can provide additional insight into their function.

Delta plots for conflict tasks: An activation-suppression race model

We describe a mathematically simple yet precise model of activation suppression that can explain the negative-going delta plots often observed in standard Simon tasks. The model postulates a race between the identification of the relevant stimulus attribute and the suppression of irrelevant location-based activation, with the irrelevant activation only having an effect if the irrelevant activation is still present at the moment when central processing of the relevant attribute starts. The model can be fitted by maximum likelihood to observed distributions of RTs in congruent and incongruent trials, and it provides good fits to two previously-reported data sets with plausible parameter values. R and MATLAB software for use with the model is provided.

The Discovery and Interpretation of Evidence Accumulation Stages

To improve the understanding of cognitive processing stages, we combined two prominent traditions in cognitive science: evidence accumulation models and stage discovery methods. While evidence accumulation models have been applied to a wide variety of tasks, they are limited to tasks in which decision-making effects can be attributed to a single processing stage. Here, we propose a new method that first uses machine learning to discover processing stages in EEG data and then applies evidence accumulation models to characterize the duration effects in the identified stages. To evaluate this method, we applied it to a previously published associative recognition task (Application 1) and a previously published random dot motion task with a speed-accuracy trade-off manipulation (Application 2). In both applications, the evidence accumulation models accounted better for the data when we first applied the stage-discovery method, and the resulting parameter estimates where generally in line with psychological theories. In addition, in Application 1 the results shed new light on target-foil effects in associative recognition, while in Application 2 the stage discovery method identified an additional stage in the accuracy-focused condition — challenging standard evidence accumulation accounts. We conclude that the new framework provides a powerful new tool to investigate processing stages.

Collective dynamics of neuronal activities in various modular networks

Modularity is a key feature of structural and functional brain networks. However, the association between the structure and function of modular brain networks has not been revealed. We constructed three types of modular cortical networks in vitro and investigated their neuronal activities. The modular networks comprising 4, 3, or 2 modules were constructed using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microstructures fabricated directly on a multi-electrode array (MEA) without transfer. The 4-module network had the strongest modular connectivity, followed by the 3-module and 2-module networks. To investigate how neuronal activities were affected by the modular network structure, spontaneous neuronal activities were recorded on different days in vitro and analyzed based on spike amplitudes, network bursts, and the propagation properties of individual spikes. Different characteristics were observed depending on the network topology and modular connectivity. Moreover, when an electrode was stimulated by biphasic voltage pulses, bursts were elicited for the 4-module network, whereas spikes were elicited for the 3-module and 2-module networks. Direct fabrication of the PDMS microstructures on the MEA without transfer allows microscale construction of modular networks and high-density functional recording; therefore, the technique utilizing the PDMS microstructures can be applied to the systematic study of the dynamics of modular neuronal networks in vitro.

Examining the Perceptual-Cognitive Mechanism of Deceptive Actions in Sports

In several kinds of sports, deceptive actions are used to hinder the anticipation performance of an opponent. During a head fake in basketball, a player turns the head to one side but passes the ball to the other side. A pass with a head fake generates a head-fake effect in the observer, which is characterized by slower and more error-prone responses to the pass direction as compared to passes without a head fake. Whereas the head-fake effect has been replicated several times, the question of its origin with dynamic stimuli has not been answered yet. The present study includes four experiments, which are conducted to examine the perceptual-cognitive mechanism underlying the effect by using the model of dimensional overlap (Kornblum et al., 1990) and the additive factors logic (Sternberg, 1969). Results point to multiple processes contributing to the head-fake effect for dynamic stimuli, which operate not only at a perceptual level but also at a level of response selection.

Computational animal welfare: towards cognitive architecture models of animal sentience, emotion and wellbeing

To understand animal wellbeing, we need to consider subjective phenomena and sentience. This is challenging, since these properties are private and cannot be observed directly. Certain motivations, emotions and related internal states can be inferred in animals through experiments that involve choice, learning, generalization and decision-making. Yet, even though there is significant progress in elucidating the neurobiology of human consciousness, animal consciousness is still a mystery. We propose that computational animal welfare science emerges at the intersection of animal behaviour, welfare and computational cognition. By using ideas from cognitive science, we develop a functional and generic definition of subjective phenomena as any process or state of the organism that exists from the first-person perspective and cannot be isolated from the animal subject. We then outline a general cognitive architecture to model simple forms of subjective processes and sentience. This includes evolutionary adaptation which contains top-down attention modulation, predictive processing and subjective simulation by re-entrant (recursive) computations. Thereafter, we show how this approach uses major characteristics of the subjective experience: elementary self-awareness, global workspace and qualia with unity and continuity. This provides a formal framework for process-based modelling of animal needs, subjective states, sentience and wellbeing.

Cognitive control in number processing: new evidence from task switching

Recently, it was demonstrated that even basic numerical cognition such as the processing of number magnitude is under cognitive control. However, evidence so far primarily came from adaptation effects to stimulus characteristics (e.g., relative frequency of specific stimulus categories). Expanding this approach, we evaluated a possible influence of more active exertion of cognitive control on basic number processing in task switching. Participants had to perform a magnitude comparison task while we manipulated the order of compatible and incompatible input–output modalities (i.e., auditory/vocal input–visual/manual output vs. auditory/visual input–manual/vocal output, respectively) on the trial level, differentiating repeat vs. switch trials. Results indicated that the numerical distance effect but not the problem size effect was increased after a switch in input–output modality compatibility. In sum, these findings substantiate that basic number processing is under cognitive control by providing first evidence that it is influenced by the active exertion of cognitive control as required in task switching.

Unsupervised assessment of cognition in the Healthy Brain Project: Implications for web-based registries of individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease

INTRODUCTION

Web-based platforms are used increasingly to assess cognitive function in unsupervised settings. The utility of cognitive data arising from unsupervised assessments remains unclear. We examined the acceptability, usability, and validity of unsupervised cognitive testing in middle-aged adults enrolled in the Healthy Brain Project.

METHODS

A total of 1594 participants completed unsupervised assessments of the Cogstate Brief Battery. Acceptability was defined by the amount of missing data, and usability by examining error of test performance and the time taken to read task instructions and complete tests (learnability).

RESULTS

Overall, we observed high acceptability (98% complete data) and high usability (95% met criteria for low error rates and high learnability). Test validity was confirmed by observation of expected inverse relationships between performance and increasing test difficulty and age.

CONCLUSION

Consideration of test design paired with acceptability and usability criteria can provide valid indices of cognition in the unsupervised settings used to develop registries of individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Dynamics of attentional focusing in the Eriksen flanker task

Eriksen and Eriksen (Perception & Psychophysics, 16, 143-149, 1974) explained the flanker compatibility effect in terms of response competition. A simplified version of the original flanker task, featuring a 1-to-1 mapping of stimuli onto responses, has become prominent in the literature. Compatible flanker trials present identical items (HHHHH), whereas incompatible trials present different items (HHSHH). The 1-to-1 mapping is potentially problematic because it invites a strategy that people could use to perform the task. Subjects could first determine whether all the items are the same and focus attention on the central target only if they are not. Response times (RTs) would be longer for incompatible trials partly because they require the extra step of focusing attention. We tested this conditional focusing hypothesis by combining a 1-to-1 flanker task with a digit probe detection procedure. In half of the trials, the digit '7' appeared immediately after the response to the flanker display, at the target or a flanker location. Three experiments showed a V-shaped function of RTs to digits across locations that was not modulated by flanker compatibility. These results demonstrate that subjects focused attention on the central target regardless of the same/different configuration of the display, refuting the conditional focusing hypothesis. Our findings support Eriksen and Eriksen's original interpretation of the flanker task.

Exploring Different Types of Inhibition During Bilingual Language Production

Multilinguals have to control their languages constantly to produce accurate verbal output. They have to inhibit possible lexical competitors not only from the target language, but also from non-target languages. Bilinguals' training in inhibiting incongruent or irrelevant information has been used to endorse the so-called bilingual advantage in executive functions, assuming a transfer effect from language inhibition to domain-general inhibitory skills. Recent studies have suggested that language control may rely on language-specific inhibitory control mechanisms. In the present study, unbalanced highly proficient bilinguals completed a rapid naming multi-inhibitory task in two languages. The task assessed three types of inhibitory processes: inhibition of the non-target language, inhibition of lexical competitors, and inhibition of erroneous auditory feedback. The results showed an interaction between lexical competition and erroneous auditory feedback, but no interactions with the inhibition of the non-target language. The results suggested that different subcomponents of language inhibition are involved during bilingual language production.

Dopamine and response selection: an Acute Phenylalanine/Tyrosine Depletion study

The role of dopaminergic system in decision-making is well documented, and evidence suggests that it could play a significant role in response selection processes. The N-40 is a fronto-central event-related potential, generated by the supplementary motor areas (SMAs) and a physiological index of response selection processes. The aim of the present study was to determine whether infraclinical effects of dopamine depletion on response selection processes could be evidenced via alterations of the N-40. We obtained a dopamine depletion in healthy volunteers with the acute phenylalanine and tyrosine depletion (APTD) method which consists in decreasing the availability of dopamine precursors. Subjects realized a Simon task in the APTD condition and in the control condition. When the stimulus was presented on the same side as the required response, the stimulus-response association was congruent and when the stimulus was presented on the opposite side of the required response, the stimulus-response association was incongruent. The N-40 was smaller for congruent associations than for incongruent associations. Moreover, the N-40 was sensitive to the level of dopaminergic activity with a decrease in APTD condition compared to control condition. This modulation of the N-40 by dopaminergic level could not be explained by a global decrease of cerebral electrogenesis, since negativities and positivities indexing the recruitment of the primary motor cortex (anatomically adjacent to the SMA) were unaffected by APTD. The specific sensitivity of N-40 to ATPD supports the model of Keeler et al. (Neuroscience 282:156-175, 2014) according to which the dopaminergic system is involved in response selection.

Three Research Strategies of Neuroscience and the Future of Legal Imaging Evidence

Neuroscientific imaging evidence (NIE) has become an integral part of the criminal justice system in the United States. However, in most legal cases, NIE is submitted and used only to mitigate penalties because the court does not recognize it as substantial evidence, considering its lack of reliability. Nevertheless, we here discuss how neuroscience is expected to improve the use of NIE in the legal system. For this purpose, we classified the efforts of neuroscientists into three research strategies: cognitive subtraction, the data-driven approach, and the brain-manipulation approach. Cognitive subtraction is outdated and problematic; consequently, the court deemed it to be an inadequate approach in terms of legal evidence in 2012. In contrast, the data-driven and brain manipulation approaches, which are state-of-the-art approaches, have overcome the limitations of cognitive subtraction. The data-driven approach brings data science into the field and is benefiting immensely from the development of research platforms that allow automatized collection, analysis, and sharing of data. This broadens the scale of imaging evidence. The brain-manipulation approach uses high-functioning tools that facilitate non-invasive and precise human brain manipulation. These two approaches are expected to have synergistic effects. Neuroscience has strived to improve the evidential reliability of NIE, with considerable success. With the support of cutting-edge technologies, and the progress of these approaches, the evidential status of NIE will be improved and NIE will become an increasingly important part of legal practice.

Congenital prosopagnosia without object agnosia? A literature review

A longstanding controversy concerns the functional organization of high-level vision, and the extent to which the recognition of different classes of visual stimuli engages a single system or multiple independent systems. We examine this in the context of congenital prosopagnosia (CP), a neurodevelopmental disorder in which individuals, without a history of brain damage, are impaired at face recognition. This paper reviews all CP cases from 1976 to 2016, and explores the evidence for the association or dissociation of face and object recognition. Of the 238 CP cases with data permitting a satisfactory evaluation, 80.3% evinced an association between impaired face and object recognition whereas 19.7% evinced a dissociation. We evaluate the strength of the evidence and correlate the face and object recognition behaviour. We consider the implications for theories of functional organization of the visual system, and offer suggestions for further adjudication of the relationship between face and object recognition.

The evolution of intelligence in mammalian carnivores

Although intelligence should theoretically evolve to help animals solve specific types of problems posed by the environment, it is unclear which environmental challenges favour enhanced cognition, or how general intelligence evolves along with domain-specific cognitive abilities. The social intelligence hypothesis posits that big brains and great intelligence have evolved to cope with the labile behaviour of group mates. We have exploited the remarkable convergence in social complexity between cercopithecine primates and spotted hyaenas to test predictions of the social intelligence hypothesis in regard to both cognition and brain size. Behavioural data indicate that there has been considerable convergence between primates and hyaenas with respect to their social cognitive abilities. Moreover, compared with other hyaena species, spotted hyaenas have larger brains and expanded frontal cortex, as predicted by the social intelligence hypothesis. However, broader comparative study suggests that domain-general intelligence in carnivores probably did not evolve in response to selection pressures imposed specifically in the social domain. The cognitive buffer hypothesis, which suggests that general intelligence evolves to help animals cope with novel or changing environments, appears to offer a more robust explanation for general intelligence in carnivores than any hypothesis invoking selection pressures imposed strictly by sociality or foraging demands.

Individuality manifests in the dynamic reconfiguration of large-scale brain networks during movie viewing

Individuality, the uniqueness that distinguishes one person from another, may manifest as diverse rearrangements of functional connectivity during heterogeneous cognitive demands; yet, the neurobiological substrates of individuality, reflected in inter-individual variations of large-scale functional connectivity, have not been fully evidenced. Accordingly, we explored inter-individual variations of functional connectivity dynamics, subnetwork patterns and modular architecture while subjects watched identical video clips designed to induce different arousal levels. How inter-individual variations are manifested in the functional brain networks was examined with respect to four contrasting divisions: edges within the anterior versus posterior part of the brain, edges with versus without corresponding anatomically-defined structural pathways, inter- versus intra-module connections, and rich club edge types. Inter-subject variation in dynamic functional connectivity occurred to a greater degree within edges localized to anterior rather than posterior brain regions, without adhering to structural connectivity, between modules as opposed to within modules, and in weak-tie local edges rather than strong-tie rich-club edges. Arousal level significantly modulates inter-subject variability in functional connectivity, edge patterns, and modularity, and particularly enhances the synchrony of rich-club edges. These results imply that individuality resides in the dynamic reconfiguration of large-scale brain networks in response to a stream of cognitive demands.

The discovery of processing stages: Extension of Sternberg's method

We introduce a method for measuring the number and durations of processing stages from the electroencephalographic signal and apply it to the study of associative recognition. Using an extension of past research that combines multivariate pattern analysis with hidden semi-Markov models, the approach identifies on a trial-by-trial basis where brief sinusoidal peaks (called bumps) are added to the ongoing electroencephalographic signal. We propose that these bumps mark the onset of critical cognitive stages in processing. The results of the analysis can be used to guide the development of detailed process models. Applied to the associative recognition task, the hidden semi-Markov models multivariate pattern analysis method indicates that the effects of associative strength and probe type are localized to a memory retrieval stage and a decision stage. This is in line with a previously developed the adaptive control of thought-rational process model, called ACT-R, of the task. As a test of the generalization of our method we also apply it to a data set on the Sternberg working memory task collected by Jacobs, Hwang, Curran, and Kahana (2006). The analysis generalizes robustly, and localizes the typical set size effect in a late comparison/decision stage. In addition to providing information about the number and durations of stages in associative recognition, our analysis sheds light on the event-related potential components implicated in the study of recognition memory. (PsycINFO Database Record

The evolution of general intelligence

The presence of general intelligence poses a major evolutionary puzzle, which has led to increased interest in its presence in nonhuman animals. The aim of this review is to critically evaluate this question and to explore the implications for current theories about the evolution of cognition. We first review domain-general and domain-specific accounts of human cognition in order to situate attempts to identify general intelligence in nonhuman animals. Recent studies are consistent with the presence of general intelligence in mammals (rodents and primates). However, the interpretation of a psychometric g factor as general intelligence needs to be validated, in particular in primates, and we propose a range of such tests. We then evaluate the implications of general intelligence in nonhuman animals for current theories about its evolution and find support for the cultural intelligence approach, which stresses the critical importance of social inputs during the ontogenetic construction of survival-relevant skills. The presence of general intelligence in nonhumans implies that modular abilities can arise in two ways, primarily through automatic development with fixed content and secondarily through learning and automatization with more variable content. The currently best-supported model, for humans and nonhuman vertebrates alike, thus construes the mind as a mix of skills based on primary and secondary modules. The relative importance of these two components is expected to vary widely among species, and we formulate tests to quantify their strength.

Why a developmental perspective is critical for understanding human cognition

The evidence that Anderson (2014) marshals in support of his theory of neural reuse is persuasive. However, his theoretical framework currently lacks a developmental dimension. We argue that an account of the fundamental aspects of developmental change, as well as the temporal context within which change occurs, would greatly enhance Anderson's theory.

Color-Biased Regions of the Ventral Visual Pathway Lie between Face- and Place-Selective Regions in Humans, as in Macaques

The existence of color-processing regions in the human ventral visual pathway (VVP) has long been known from patient and imaging studies, but their location in the cortex relative to other regions, their selectivity for color compared with other properties (shape and object category), and their relationship to color-processing regions found in nonhuman primates remain unclear. We addressed these questions by scanning 13 subjects with fMRI while they viewed two versions of movie clips (colored, achromatic) of five different object classes (faces, scenes, bodies, objects, scrambled objects). We identified regions in each subject that were selective for color, faces, places, and object shape, and measured responses within these regions to the 10 conditions in independently acquired data. We report two key findings. First, the three previously reported color-biased regions (located within a band running posterior-anterior along the VVP, present in most of our subjects) were sandwiched between face-selective cortex and place-selective cortex, forming parallel bands of face, color, and place selectivity that tracked the fusiform gyrus/collateral sulcus. Second, the posterior color-biased regions showed little or no selectivity for object shape or for particular stimulus categories and showed no interaction of color preference with stimulus category, suggesting that they code color independently of shape or stimulus category; moreover, the shape-biased lateral occipital region showed no significant color bias. These observations mirror results in macaque inferior temporal cortex (Lafer-Sousa and Conway, 2013), and taken together, these results suggest a homology in which the entire tripartite face/color/place system of primates migrated onto the ventral surface in humans over the course of evolution.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

Here we report that color-biased cortex is sandwiched between face-selective and place-selective cortex on the bottom surface of the brain in humans. This face/color/place organization mirrors that seen on the lateral surface of the temporal lobe in macaques, suggesting that the entire tripartite system is homologous between species. This result validates the use of macaques as a model for human vision, making possible more powerful investigations into the connectivity, precise neural codes, and development of this part of the brain. In addition, we find substantial segregation of color from shape selectivity in posterior regions, as observed in macaques, indicating a considerable dissociation of the processing of shape and color in both species.

Recognizing and identifying people: A neuropsychological review

Recognizing people is a classic example of a cognitive function that involves multiple processing stages and parallel routes of information. Neuropsychological data have provided important evidence for models of this process, particularly from case reports; however, the quality and extent of the data varies widely between studies. In this review we first discuss the requirements and logical basis of the types of neuropsychological evidence to support conclusions about the modules in this process. We then survey the adequacy of the current body of reports to address two key issues. First is the question of which cognitive operation generates a sense of familiarity: the current debate revolves around whether familiarity arises in modality-specific recognition units or later amodal processes. Key evidence on this point comes from the search for dissociations between familiarity for faces, voices and names. The second question is whether lesions can differentially affect the abilities to link diverse sources of person information (e.g., face, voice, name, biographic data). Dissociations of these linkages may favor a 'distributed-only' model of the organization of semantic knowledge, whereas a 'person-hub' model would predict uniform impairments of all linkages. While we conclude that there is reasonable evidence for dissociations in name, voice and face familiarity in regards to the first question, the evidence for or against dissociated linkages between information stores in regards to the second question is tenuous at best. We identify deficiencies in the current literature that should motivate and inform the design of future studies.

Concept learning set-size functions for Clark's nutcrackers

Same/Different abstract-concept learning by Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) was tested with novel stimuli following learning of training set expansion (8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, and 1024 picture items). The resulting set-size function was compared to those from rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella), and pigeons (Columba livia). Nutcrackers showed partial concept learning following initial eight-item set learning, unlike the other species (Magnotti, Katz, Wright, & Kelly, 2015). The mean function for the nutcrackers' novel-stimulus transfer increased linearly as a function of the logarithm of training set size, which intersected its baseline function at the 128-item set size. Thus, nutcrackers on average achieved full concept learning (i.e., transfer statistically equivalent to baseline performance) somewhere between set sizes of 64 to 128 items, similar to full concept learning by monkeys. Pigeons required a somewhat larger training set (256 items) for full concept learning, but results from other experiments (initial training and transfer with 32- and 64-item set sizes) suggested carryover effects with smaller set sizes may have artificially prolonged the pigeon's full concept learning. We find it remarkable that these diverse species with very different neural architectures can fully learn this same/different abstract concept, and (at least under some conditions) do so with roughly similar sets sizes (64-128 items) and numbers of training exemplars, despite initial concept learning advantages (nutcrackers), learning disadvantages (pigeons), or increasing baselines (monkeys).

Local-to-remote cortical connectivity in early- and adulthood-onset schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is increasingly thought of as a brain network or connectome disorder and is associated with neurodevelopmental processes. Previous studies have suggested the important role of anatomical distance in developing a connectome with optimized performance regarding both the cost and efficiency of information processing. Distance-related disturbances during development have not been investigated in schizophrenia. To test the distance-related miswiring profiles of connectomes in schizophrenia, we acquired resting-state images from 20 adulthood-onset (AOS) and 26 early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) patients, as well as age-matched healthy controls. All patients were drug naive and had experienced their first psychotic episode. A novel threshold-free surface-based analytic framework was developed to examine local-to-remote functional connectivity profiles in both AOS and EOS patients. We observed consistent increases of local connectivity across both EOS and AOS patients in the right superior frontal gyrus, where the connectivity strength was correlated with a positive syndrome score in AOS patients. In contrast, EOS but not AOS patients exhibited reduced local connectivity within the right postcentral gyrus and the left middle occipital cortex. These regions' remote connectivity with their interhemispheric areas and brain network hubs was altered. Diagnosis-age interactions were detectable for both local and remote connectivity profiles. The functional covariance between local and remote homotopic connectivity was present in typically developing controls, but was absent in EOS patients. These findings suggest that a distance-dependent miswiring pattern may be one of the key neurodevelopmental features of the abnormal connectome organization in schizophrenia.

Disentangling the Role of Cortico-Basal Ganglia Loops in Top-Down and Bottom-Up Visual Attention: An Investigation of Attention Deficits in Parkinson Disease

It is solidly established that top-down (goal-driven) and bottom-up (stimulus-driven) attention mechanisms depend on distributed cortical networks, including prefrontal and frontoparietal regions. On the other hand, it is less clear whether the BG also contribute to one or the other of these mechanisms, or to both. The current study was principally undertaken to clarify this issue. Parkinson disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder primarily affecting the BG, has proven to be an effective model for investigating the contribution of the BG to different brain functions; therefore, we set out to investigate deficits of top-down and bottom-up attention in a selected cohort of PD patients. With this objective in mind, we compared the performance on three computerized tasks of two groups of 12 parkinsonian patients (assessed without any treatment), one otherwise pharmacologically treated and the other also surgically treated, with that of a group of controls. The main behavioral tool for our study was an attentional capture task, which enabled us to tap the competition between top-down and bottom-up mechanisms of visual attention. This task was suitably combined with a choice RT and a simple RT task to isolate any specific deficit of attention from deficits in motor response selection and initiation. In the two groups of patients, we found an equivalent increase of attentional capture but also comparable delays in target selection in the absence of any salient distractor (reflecting impaired top-down mechanisms) and movement initiation compared with controls. In contrast, motor response selection processes appeared to be prolonged only in the operated patients. Our results confirm that the BG are involved in both motor and cognitive domains. Specifically, damage to the BG, as it occurs in PD, leads to a distinct deficit of top-down control of visual attention, and this can account, albeit indirectly, for the enhancement of attentional capture, reflecting weakened ability of top-down mechanisms to antagonize bottom-up control.

Anxiety and speaking in people who stutter: an investigation using the emotional Stroop task

People with anxiety disorders show an attentional bias towards threat or negative emotion words. This exploratory study examined whether people who stutter (PWS), who can be anxious when speaking, show similar bias and whether reactions to threat words also influence speech motor planning and execution. Comparisons were made between 31 PWS and 31 fluent controls in a modified emotional Stroop task where, depending on a visual cue, participants named the colour of threat and neutral words at either a normal or fast articulation rate. In a manual version of the same task participants pressed the corresponding colour button with either a long or short duration. PWS but not controls were slower to respond to threat words than neutral words, however, this emotionality effect was only evident for verbal responding. Emotionality did not interact with speech rate, but the size of the emotionality effect among PWS did correlate with frequency of stuttering. Results suggest PWS show an attentional bias to threat words similar to that found in people with anxiety disorder. In addition, this bias appears to be contingent on engaging the speech production system as a response modality. No evidence was found to indicate that emotional reactivity during the Stroop task constrains or destabilises, perhaps via arousal mechanisms, speech motor adjustment or execution for PWS.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

The reader will be able to: (1) explain the importance of cognitive aspects of anxiety, such as attentional biases, in the possible cause and/or maintenance of anxiety in people who stutter, (2) explain how the emotional Stroop task can be used as a measure of attentional bias to threat information, and (3) evaluate the findings with respect to the relationship between attentional bias to threat information and speech production in people who stutter.

Pathways to similar executive impairment: comparison of schizophrenia patients and healthy aging individuals

Executive impairment is prominent in schizophrenia, in conditions such as Parkinson's disease and dementia and in healthy aging. Identifying processes that critically constrain executive function can advance investigation of their biological basis and treatment planning. Recent findings that elderly healthy individuals showed similar impairment on conditional exclusion task as schizophrenia patients raised the question whether similar processes are impaired. To test this we compared 56 schizophrenia patients, 57 elderly and 77 young healthy individuals on three executive tests: conditional exclusion, abstraction and inhibition and tests of working memory and psychomotor speed. Schizophrenia patients performed worse than elderly healthy on abstraction, inhibition and verbal working memory. They were similarly impaired on Penn Conditional Exclusion Test (PCET) outcome measures but differed in performance characteristics. Schizophrenia patients needed relatively more trials to learn the first PCET category than the second or the third. This correlated with other cognitive impairments, particularly in working memory. Elderly healthy individuals found it most difficult to learn the last category. The two groups showed different error patterns. We propose that schizophrenia patients have particular difficulty in early (probabilistic) learning ("what to do") while aging individuals have selective impairment in executive integration. These constitute distinct targets for customized treatment in the two conditions.

Can quantum probability help analyze the behavior of functional brain networks?

Pothos & Busemeyer (P&B) argue how key concepts of quantum probability, for example, order/context, interference, superposition, and entanglement, can be used in cognitive modeling. Here, we suggest that these concepts can be extended to analyze neurophysiological measurements of cognitive tasks in humans, especially in functional neuroimaging investigations of large-scale brain networks.