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Aashat S, D'Angelo MC, Rosenbaum RS, Ryan JD. Effects of extended practice and unitization on relational memory in older adults and neuropsychological lesion cases. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND COGNITION. SECTION B, AGING, NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2024:1-36. [PMID: 38415694 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2024.2319892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Unitization - the fusion of objects into a single unit through an action/consequence sequence - can mitigate relational memory impairments, but the circumstances under which unitization is effective are unclear. Using transverse patterning (TP), we compared unitization (and its component processes of fusion, motion, and action/consequence) with extended practice on relational learning and transfer in older adults and neuropsychological cases with lesions (to varying extents) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) or hippocampus/medial temporal lobe (HC/MTL). The latter included a person with bilateral HC lesions primarily within the dentate gyrus. For older adults, TP accuracy increased, and transfer benefits were observed, with extended practice and unitization. Broadly, the lesion cases did not benefit from either extended practice or unitization, suggesting the mPFC and dentate gyrus play important roles in relational memory and in unitization. The results suggest that personalized strategy interventions must align with the cognitive and neural profiles of the user.
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Affiliation(s)
- Supreet Aashat
- The Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Toronto, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Maria C D'Angelo
- The Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Toronto, Canada
| | - R Shayna Rosenbaum
- The Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada
| | - Jennifer D Ryan
- The Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Toronto, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
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2
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Gluck MA, Gills JL, Fausto BA, Malin SK, Duberstein PR, Erickson KI, Hu L. Examining the efficacy of a cardio-dance intervention on brain health and the moderating role of ABCA7 in older African Americans: a protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 15:1266423. [PMID: 38076534 PMCID: PMC10710152 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1266423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction African Americans are two to three times more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared to White Americans. Exercise is a lifestyle behavior associated with neuroprotection and decreased AD risk, although most African Americans, especially older adults, perform less than the recommended 150 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise. This article describes the protocol for a Phase III randomized controlled trial that will examine the effects of cardio-dance aerobic exercise on novel AD cognitive and neural markers of hippocampal-dependent function (Aims #1 and #2) and whether exercise-induced neuroprotective benefits may be modulated by an AD genetic risk factor, ABCA7 rs3764650 (Aim #3). We will also explore the effects of exercise on blood-based biomarkers for AD. Methods and analysis This 6-month trial will include 280 African Americans (≥ 60 years), who will be randomly assigned to 3 days/week of either: (1) a moderate-to-vigorous cardio-dance fitness condition or (2) a low-intensity strength, flexibility, and balance condition for 60 min/session. Participants will complete health and behavioral surveys, neuropsychological testing, saliva and venipuncture, aerobic fitness, anthropometrics and resting-state structural and functional neuroimaging at study entry and 6 months. Discussion Results from this investigation will inform future exercise trials and the development of prescribed interventions that aim to reduce the risk of AD in African Americans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A. Gluck
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, NJ, United States
| | - Joshua L. Gills
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, NJ, United States
| | - Bernadette A. Fausto
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, NJ, United States
| | - Steven K. Malin
- Department of Kinesiology and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Paul R. Duberstein
- Department of Health Behavior, Society and Policy, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ, United States
| | | | - Liangyuan Hu
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ, United States
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3
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Balter LJT, Raymond JE. Working memory load impairs transfer learning in human adults. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2023; 87:2138-2145. [PMID: 36705746 PMCID: PMC10457230 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-023-01795-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Transfer of learning refers to successful application of previously acquired knowledge or skills to novel settings. Although working memory (WM) is thought to play a role in transfer learning, direct evidence of the effect of limitations in WM on transfer learning is lacking. To investigate, we used an acquired equivalence paradigm that included tests of association and transfer learning. The effects of imposing an acute WM limitation on young adults was tested (within-subjects design: N = 27 adults; Mage = 24 years) by conducting learning transfer tests concurrent with a secondary task that required carrying a spatial WM load when performing the learned/transfer trial (Load condition) to acutely limit WM resources or no WM load (No-Load condition; WM was unloaded prior to performing the learned/transfer trial). Analyses showed that although success on the transfer trials was high in the No-Load condition, performance dropped to chance in the Load condition. Performance on tests of learned associations remained high in both conditions. These results indicate that transfer of learning depends on access to WM resources and suggest that even healthy young individuals may be affected in their ability to cross-utilize knowledge when cognitive resources become scarce, such as when engaging in two tasks simultaneously (e.g., using satellite navigation while driving).
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonie J T Balter
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Stress Research Institute, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 114 19, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Jane E Raymond
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
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Ulasoglu-Yildiz C, Yildirim Z, Myers CE, Gluck MA, Gurvit H. Altered learning and transfer abilities in Korsakoff's syndrome depending on task complexity. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2023:1-13. [PMID: 37243624 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2023.2217975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) is characterized by episodic memory impairment due to damage to the medial diencephalic structures. Although commonly associated with chronic alcoholism, starvation due to the hunger strike is one of its nonalcoholic causes. Learning the stimulus-response associations and transferring the just-learned associations to novel combinations were previously tested by specific tasks in memory-impaired patients with hippocampal, basal forebrain, and basal ganglia damage. To add to this previous research, we aimed to use the same tasks in a group of patients with hunger strike-related KS presenting a stable isolated amnestic profile. Twelve patients with hunger strike-related KS and matched healthy controls were tested in two tasks varying in task complexity. Each task included two phases: the initial phase is feedback-based learning of (simple vs. complex) stimulus-response associations, and the following phase is transfer generalization (in the presence vs. absence of feedback). On a task involving simple associations, five patients with KS failed to learn the associations, while the other seven patients showed intact learning and transfer. On the other task involving more complex associations, seven patients showed slower learning and failed at transfer generalization, whereas the other five patients failed even at the acquisition phase. These findings of a task-complexity-related impairment on associative learning and transfer represent a distinct pattern from the spared learning but impaired transfer previously observed on these tasks in patients with medial temporal lobe amnesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cigdem Ulasoglu-Yildiz
- Department of Neuroscience, Aziz Sancar Institute of Experimental Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Hulusi Behcet Life Sciences Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Unit, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Zerrin Yildirim
- Department of Neuroscience, Aziz Sancar Institute of Experimental Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Catherine E Myers
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Mark A Gluck
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Hakan Gurvit
- Behavioral Neurology and Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
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5
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Visual consequent stimulus complexity affects performance in audiovisual associative learning. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17793. [PMID: 36272988 PMCID: PMC9587981 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22880-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
In associative learning (AL), cues and/or outcome events are coupled together. AL is typically tested in visual learning paradigms. Recently, our group developed various AL tests based on the Rutgers Acquired Equivalence Test (RAET), both visual and audiovisual, keeping the structure and logic of RAET but with different stimuli. In this study, 55 volunteers were tested in two of our audiovisual tests, SoundFace (SF) and SoundPolygon (SP). The antecedent stimuli in both tests are sounds, and the consequent stimuli are images. The consequents in SF are cartoon faces, while in SP, they are simple geometric shapes. The aim was to test how the complexity of the applied consequent stimuli influences performance regarding the various aspects of learning the tests assess (stimulus pair learning, retrieval, and generalization of the previously learned associations to new but predictable stimulus pairs). In SP, behavioral performance was significantly poorer than in SF, and the reaction times were significantly longer, for all phases of the test. The results suggest that audiovisual associative learning is significantly influenced by the complexity of the consequent stimuli.
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Rosu A, Tót K, Godó G, Kéri S, Nagy A, Eördegh G. Visually guided equivalence learning in borderline personality disorder. Heliyon 2022; 8:e10823. [PMID: 36203892 PMCID: PMC9530487 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The hallmark symptoms of borderline personality disorder are maladaptive behavior and impulsive emotional reactions. However, the condition is occasionally associated with cognitive alterations. Recently, it has been found that the function of the basal ganglia and the hippocampi might also be affected. Hence, deterioration in learning and memory processes associated with these structures is expected. Thus, we sought to investigate visually guided associative learning, a type of conditioning associated with the basal ganglia and the hippocampi, in patients suffering from borderline personality disorder. In this study, the modified Rutgers Acquired Equivalence Test was used to assess associative learning in 23 patients and age-, sex-, and educational level-matched controls. The acquisition phase of the test, which is associated primarily with the frontostriatal loops, was altered in patients with borderline personality disorder: the patients exhibited poor performance in terms of building associations. However, the retrieval and generalization functions, which are primarily associated with the hippocampi and the medial temporal lobes, were not affected. These results corroborate that the basal ganglia are affected in borderline personality disorder. However, maintained retrieval and generalization do not support the assumption that the hippocampi are affected too.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anett Rosu
- Psychiatric Outpatient Care, Hospital of Orosháza, Orosháza, Hungary
| | - Kálmán Tót
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - György Godó
- Psychiatric Outpatient Care, Hospital of Hódmezővásárhely, Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary
| | - Szabolcs Kéri
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Attila Nagy
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
- Corresponding author.
| | - Gabriella Eördegh
- Faculty of Health Sciences and Social Studies, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
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7
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Eördegh G, Tót K, Kelemen A, Kiss Á, Bodosi B, Hegedűs A, Lazsádi A, Hertelendy Á, Kéri S, Nagy A. The influence of stimulus complexity on the effectiveness of visual associative learning. Neuroscience 2022; 487:26-34. [PMID: 35122873 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.01.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Visually guided equivalence learning is a special type of associative learning, which can be evaluated using the Rutgers Acquired Equivalence Test (RAET) among other tests. RAET applies complex stimuli (faces and colored fish) between which the test subjects build associations. The complexity of these stimuli offers the test subject several clues that might ease association learning. To reduce the number of such clues, we developed an equivalence learning test (Polygon), which is structured as RAET but uses simple grayscale geometric shapes instead of faces and colored fish. In this study, we compared the psychophysical performances of the same healthy volunteers in both RAET and Polygon test. Equivalence learning, which is a basal ganglia-associated form of learning, appears to be strongly influenced by the complexity of the visual stimuli. The simple geometric shapes were associated with poor performance as compared to faces and fish. However, the difference in stimulus complexity did not affect performance in the retrieval and transfer parts of the test phase, which are assumed to be mediated by the hippocampi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriella Eördegh
- Faculty of Health Sciences and Social Studies, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Kálmán Tót
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - András Kelemen
- Department of Applied Informatics, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Ádám Kiss
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Balázs Bodosi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - András Hegedűs
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Anna Lazsádi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Ábel Hertelendy
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Szabolcs Kéri
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Attila Nagy
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
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Sinha N, Berg CN, Yassa MA, Gluck MA. Increased dynamic flexibility in the medial temporal lobe network following an exercise intervention mediates generalization of prior learning. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 177:107340. [PMID: 33186745 PMCID: PMC7861122 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2020] [Revised: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Recent work has conceptualized the brain as a network comprised of groups of sub-networks or modules. "Flexibility" of brain network(s) indexes the dynamic reconfiguration of comprising modules. Using novel techniques from dynamic network neuroscience applied to high-resolution resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the present study investigated the effects of an aerobic exercise intervention on the dynamic rearrangement of modular community structure-a measure of neural flexibility-within the medial temporal lobe (MTL) network. The MTL is one of the earliest brain regions impacted by Alzheimer's disease. It is also a major site of neuroplasticity that is sensitive to the effects of exercise. In a two-group non-randomized, repeated measures and matched control design with 34 healthy older adults, we observed an exercise-related increase in flexibility within the MTL network. Furthermore, MTL network flexibility mediated the beneficial effect aerobic exercise had on mnemonic flexibility, as measured by the ability to generalize past learning to novel task demands. Our results suggest that exercise exerts a rehabilitative and protective effect on MTL function, resulting in dynamically evolving networks of regions that interact in complex communication patterns. These reconfigurations may underlie exercise-induced improvements on cognitive measures of generalization, which are sensitive to subtle changes in the MTL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neha Sinha
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, NJ, USA.
| | - Chelsie N Berg
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, NJ, USA.
| | - Michael A Yassa
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
| | - Mark A Gluck
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, NJ, USA.
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9
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Eördegh G, Pertich Á, Tárnok Z, Nagy P, Bodosi B, Giricz Z, Hegedűs O, Merkl D, Nyujtó D, Oláh S, Őze A, Vidomusz R, Nagy A. Impairment of visually guided associative learning in children with Tourette syndrome. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0234724. [PMID: 32544176 PMCID: PMC7297359 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The major symptoms of Tourette syndrome are motor and vocal tics, but Tourette syndrome is occasionally associated with cognitive alterations as well. Although Tourette syndrome does not affect the majority of cognitive functions, some of them improve. There is scarce evidence on the impairment of learning functions in patients with Tourette syndrome. The core symptoms of Tourette syndrome are related to dysfunction of the basal ganglia and the frontostriatal loops. Acquired equivalence learning is a kind of associative learning that is related to the basal ganglia and the hippocampi. The modified Rutgers Acquired Equivalence Test was used in the present study to observe the associative learning function of patients with Tourette syndrome. The cognitive learning task can be divided into two main phases: the acquisition and test phases. The latter is further divided into two parts: retrieval and generalization. The acquisition phase of the associative learning test, which mainly depends on the function of the basal ganglia, was affected in the entire patient group, which included patients with Tourette syndrome with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, autism spectrum disorder, or no comorbidities. Patients with Tourette syndrome performed worse in building associations. However, the retrieval and generalization parts of the test phase, which primarily depend on the function of the hippocampus, were not worsened by Tourette syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriella Eördegh
- Faculty of Health Sciences and Social Studies, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Ákos Pertich
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Zsanett Tárnok
- Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Nagy
- Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Balázs Bodosi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Zsófia Giricz
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Orsolya Hegedűs
- Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dóra Merkl
- Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Diána Nyujtó
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Szabina Oláh
- Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Attila Őze
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Réka Vidomusz
- Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Attila Nagy
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
- * E-mail:
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Mofrad AA, Yazidi A, Hammer HL, Arntzen E. Equivalence Projective Simulation as a Framework for Modeling Formation of Stimulus Equivalence Classes. Neural Comput 2020; 32:912-968. [DOI: 10.1162/neco_a_01274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Stimulus equivalence (SE) and projective simulation (PS) study complex behavior, the former in human subjects and the latter in artificial agents. We apply the PS learning framework for modeling the formation of equivalence classes. For this purpose, we first modify the PS model to accommodate imitating the emergence of equivalence relations. Later, we formulate the SE formation through the matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure. The proposed version of PS model, called the equivalence projective simulation (EPS) model, is able to act within a varying action set and derive new relations without receiving feedback from the environment. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that the field of equivalence theory in behavior analysis has been linked to an artificial agent in a machine learning context. This model has many advantages over existing neural network models. Briefly, our EPS model is not a black box model, but rather a model with the capability of easy interpretation and flexibility for further modifications. To validate the model, some experimental results performed by prominent behavior analysts are simulated. The results confirm that the EPS model is able to reliably simulate and replicate the same behavior as real experiments in various settings, including formation of equivalence relations in typical participants, nonformation of equivalence relations in language-disabled children, and nodal effect in a linear series with nodal distance five. Moreover, through a hypothetical experiment, we discuss the possibility of applying EPS in further equivalence theory research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anis Yazidi
- Department of Computer Science, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo 0167, Norway
| | - Hugo L. Hammer
- Department of Computer Science, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo 0167, Norway
| | - Erik Arntzen
- Department of Behavioral Science, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo 0167, Norway
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11
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Pertich Á, Eördegh G, Németh L, Hegedüs O, Öri D, Puszta A, Nagy P, Kéri S, Nagy A. Maintained Visual-, Auditory-, and Multisensory-Guided Associative Learning Functions in Children With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:571053. [PMID: 33324251 PMCID: PMC7726134 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.571053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensory-guided acquired equivalence learning, a specific kind of non-verbal associative learning, is associated with the frontal cortex-basal ganglia loops and hippocampi, which seem to be involved in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In this study, we asked whether visual-, auditory-, and multisensory-guided associative acquired equivalence learning is affected in children with OCD. The first part of the applied learning paradigm investigated association building between two different sensory stimuli (where feedback was given about the correctness of the choices), a task that critically depends upon the basal ganglia. During the test phases, which primarily depended upon the hippocampi, the earlier learned and hitherto not shown but predictable associations were asked about without feedback. This study involved 31 children diagnosed with OCD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-V) criteria and 31 matched healthy control participants. The children suffering from OCD had the same performance as the control children in all phases of the applied visual-, auditory-, and multisensory-guided associative learning paradigms. Thus, both the acquisition and test phases were not negatively affected by OCD. The reaction times did not differ between the two groups, and the applied medication had no effect on the performances of the OCD patients. Our results support the findings that the structural changes of basal ganglia and hippocampi detected in adult OCD patients are not as pronounced in children, which could be the explanation of the maintained associative equivalence learning functions in children suffering from OCD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ákos Pertich
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Gabriella Eördegh
- Faculty of Health Sciences and Social Studies, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Laura Németh
- Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Orsolya Hegedüs
- Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dorottya Öri
- Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic, Budapest, Hungary
| | - András Puszta
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Péter Nagy
- Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Szabolcs Kéri
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Attila Nagy
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
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12
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Puszta A, Pertich Á, Katona X, Bodosi B, Nyujtó D, Giricz Z, Eördegh G, Nagy A. Power-spectra and cross-frequency coupling changes in visual and Audio-visual acquired equivalence learning. Sci Rep 2019; 9:9444. [PMID: 31263168 PMCID: PMC6603188 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45978-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The three phases of the applied acquired equivalence learning test, i.e. acquisition, retrieval and generalization, investigate the capabilities of humans in associative learning, working memory load and rule-transfer, respectively. Earlier findings denoted the role of different subcortical structures and cortical regions in the visual test. However, there is a lack of information about how multimodal cues modify the EEG-patterns during acquired equivalence learning. To test this we have recorded EEG from 18 healthy volunteers and analyzed the power spectra and the strength of cross-frequency coupling, comparing a unimodal visual-guided and a bimodal, audio-visual-guided paradigm. We found that the changes in the power of the different frequency band oscillations were more critical during the visual paradigm and they showed less synchronized activation compared to the audio-visual paradigm. These findings indicate that multimodal cues require less prominent, but more synchronized cortical contribution, which might be a possible biomarker of forming multimodal associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- András Puszta
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 10, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - Ákos Pertich
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 10, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Xénia Katona
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 10, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Balázs Bodosi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 10, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Diána Nyujtó
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 10, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Zsófia Giricz
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 10, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Gabriella Eördegh
- Department of Oral Biology and Experimental Dental Research, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Szeged, Tisza Lajos krt. 64, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Attila Nagy
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 10, Szeged, Hungary.
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Eördegh G, Őze A, Bodosi B, Puszta A, Pertich Á, Rosu A, Godó G, Nagy A. Multisensory guided associative learning in healthy humans. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0213094. [PMID: 30861023 PMCID: PMC6413907 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Associative learning is a basic cognitive function by which discrete and often different percepts are linked together. The Rutgers Acquired Equivalence Test investigates a specific kind of associative learning, visually guided equivalence learning. The test consists of an acquisition (pair learning) and a test (rule transfer) phase, which are associated primarily with the function of the basal ganglia and the hippocampi, respectively. Earlier studies described that both fundamentally-involved brain structures in the visual associative learning, the basal ganglia and the hippocampi, receive not only visual but also multisensory information. However, no study has investigated whether there is a priority for multisensory guided equivalence learning compared to unimodal ones. Thus we had no data about the modality-dependence or independence of the equivalence learning. In the present study, we have therefore introduced the auditory- and multisensory (audiovisual)-guided equivalence learning paradigms and investigated the performance of 151 healthy volunteers in the visual as well as in the auditory and multisensory paradigms. Our results indicated that visual, auditory and multisensory guided associative learning is similarly effective in healthy humans, which suggest that the acquisition phase is fairly independent from the modality of the stimuli. On the other hand, in the test phase, where participants were presented with acquisitions that were learned earlier and associations that were until then not seen or heard but predictable, the multisensory stimuli elicited the best performance. The test phase, especially its generalization part, seems to be a harder cognitive task, where the multisensory information processing could improve the performance of the participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriella Eördegh
- Department of Operative and Esthetic Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Attila Őze
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Balázs Bodosi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - András Puszta
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Ákos Pertich
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Anett Rosu
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - György Godó
- Csongrád County Health Care Center, Psychiatric Outpatient Care, Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary
| | - Attila Nagy
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
- * E-mail:
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Herszage J, Censor N. Modulation of Learning and Memory: A Shared Framework for Interference and Generalization. Neuroscience 2018; 392:270-280. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Revised: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Puszta A, Katona X, Bodosi B, Pertich Á, Nyujtó D, Braunitzer G, Nagy A. Cortical Power-Density Changes of Different Frequency Bands in Visually Guided Associative Learning: A Human EEG-Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:188. [PMID: 29867412 PMCID: PMC5951962 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The computer-based Rutgers Acquired Equivalence test (RAET) is a widely used paradigm to test the function of subcortical structures in visual associative learning. The test consists of an acquisition (pair learning) and a test (rule transfer) phase, associated with the function of the basal ganglia and the hippocampi, respectively. Obviously, such a complex task also requires cortical involvement. To investigate the activity of different cortical areas during this test, 64-channel EEG recordings were recorded in 24 healthy volunteers. Fast-Fourier and Morlet wavelet convolution analyses were performed on the recordings. The most robust power changes were observed in the theta (4–7 Hz) and gamma (>30 Hz) frequency bands, in which significant power elevation was observed in the vast majority of the subjects, over the parieto-occipital and temporo-parietal areas during the acquisition phase. The involvement of the frontal areas in the acquisition phase was remarkably weaker. No remarkable cortical power elevations were found in the test phase. In fact, the power of the alpha and beta bands was significantly decreased over the parietooccipital areas. We conclude that the initial acquisition of the image pairs requires strong cortical involvement, but once the pairs have been learned, neither retrieval nor generalization requires strong cortical contribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- András Puszta
- Sensorimotor Lab, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Xénia Katona
- Sensorimotor Lab, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Balázs Bodosi
- Sensorimotor Lab, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Ákos Pertich
- Sensorimotor Lab, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Diána Nyujtó
- Sensorimotor Lab, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Gábor Braunitzer
- Laboratory for Perception & Cognition and Clinical Neuroscience (LPCCN), National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions at Nyírő Gyula Hospital, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Attila Nagy
- Sensorimotor Lab, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
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Petok JR, Myers CE, Pa J, Hobel Z, Wharton DM, Medina LD, Casado M, Coppola G, Gluck MA, Ringman JM. Impairment of memory generalization in preclinical autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease mutation carriers. Neurobiol Aging 2018; 65:149-157. [PMID: 29494861 PMCID: PMC5871602 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.01.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2017] [Revised: 01/06/2018] [Accepted: 01/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Fast, inexpensive, and noninvasive identification of Alzheimer's disease (AD) before clinical symptoms emerge would augment our ability to intervene early in the disease. Individuals with fully penetrant genetic mutations causing autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease (ADAD) are essentially certain to develop the disease, providing a unique opportunity to examine biomarkers during the preclinical stage. Using a generalization task that has previously shown to be sensitive to medial temporal lobe pathology, we compared preclinical individuals carrying ADAD mutations to noncarrying kin to determine whether generalization (the ability to transfer previous learning to novel but familiar recombinations) is vulnerable early, before overt cognitive decline. As predicted, results revealed that preclinical ADAD mutation carriers made significantly more errors during generalization than noncarrying kin, despite no differences between groups during learning or retention. This impairment correlated with the left hippocampal volume, particularly in mutation carriers. Such identification of generalization deficits in early ADAD may provide an easily implementable and potentially linguistically and culturally neutral way to identify and track cognition in ADAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica R Petok
- Department of Psychology, Saint Olaf College, Northfield, MN, USA; Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA.
| | - Catherine E Myers
- Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ, USA; Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Judy Pa
- Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Zachary Hobel
- Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - David M Wharton
- Department of Neurology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Luis D Medina
- Department of Neurology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Maria Casado
- Department of Neurology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Giovanni Coppola
- Department of Neurology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Semel Institute of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Mark A Gluck
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - John M Ringman
- Department of Neurology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Moustafa AA, Garami JK, Mahlberg J, Golembieski J, Keri S, Misiak B, Frydecka D. Cognitive function in schizophrenia: conflicting findings and future directions. Rev Neurosci 2018; 27:435-48. [PMID: 26756090 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2015-0060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2015] [Accepted: 11/16/2015] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder with multiple psychopathological domains being affected. Several lines of evidence indicate that cognitive impairment serves as the key component of schizophrenia psychopathology. Although there have been a multitude of cognitive studies in schizophrenia, there are many conflicting results. We reasoned that this could be due to individual differences among the patients (i.e. variation in the severity of positive vs. negative symptoms), different task designs, and/or the administration of different antipsychotics. METHODS We thus review existing data concentrating on these dimensions, specifically in relation to dopamine function. We focus on most commonly used cognitive domains: learning, working memory, and attention. RESULTS We found that the type of cognitive domain under investigation, medication state and type, and severity of positive and negative symptoms can explain the conflicting results in the literature. CONCLUSIONS This review points to future studies investigating individual differences among schizophrenia patients in order to reveal the exact relationship between cognitive function, clinical features, and antipsychotic treatment.
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Braunitzer G, Őze A, Eördegh G, Pihokker A, Rózsa P, Kasik L, Kéri S, Nagy A. The development of acquired equivalence from childhood to adulthood-A cross-sectional study of 265 subjects. PLoS One 2017. [PMID: 28632760 PMCID: PMC5478105 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Acquired equivalence (AE) is a form of feedback-based associative learning where the subject learns that two or more stimuli are equivalent in terms of being mapped onto the same outcomes or responses. While several studies dealt with how various neurological and psychiatric conditions affect performance on AE tasks (typically with small populations), studies dealing with AE in healthy subjects are rare, and no study has ever made an attempt to plot the development of this form of learning from the childhood through adulthood. In a cross-sectional study, we assessed the AE performance of 265 healthy subjects aged 3 to 52 years with the computer-based Rutgers Equivalence Test (Fish-Face Test, FFT). The test assesses three main aspects of AE: the efficiency of pair learning, the efficiency of the retrieval of acquired pairs, and the ability to generalise previous knowledge to a new stimulus that partially overlaps with the previous ones. It has been demonstrated in imaging studies that the initial, pair learning phase of this specific test is dependent on the basal ganglia, while its generalization phase requires the hippocampi. We found that both pair learning and retrieval exhibited development well into adulthood, but generalisation did not, after having reached its adult-like level by the age of 6. We propose that these findings might be explained by the integrative encoding theory that focuses on the parallel dopaminergic midbrain-striatum/midbrain-hippocampus connections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gábor Braunitzer
- Nyírő Gyula Hospital, Laboratory for Perception & Cognition and Clinical Neuroscience, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Attila Őze
- University of Szeged, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Gabriella Eördegh
- University of Szeged, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Operative and Esthetic Dentistry, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Anna Pihokker
- University of Szeged, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Petra Rózsa
- University of Szeged, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology, Szeged, Hungary
| | - László Kasik
- University of Szeged, Faculty of Arts, Institute of Education, Department of Social and Affective Education, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Szabolcs Kéri
- Nyírő Gyula Hospital, Laboratory for Perception & Cognition and Clinical Neuroscience, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Attila Nagy
- University of Szeged, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology, Szeged, Hungary
- * E-mail:
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Huang P, Tan YY, Liu DQ, Herzallah MM, Lapidow E, Wang Y, Zang YF, Gluck MA, Chen SD. Motor-symptom laterality affects acquisition in Parkinson's disease: A cognitive and functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Mov Disord 2017; 32:1047-1055. [PMID: 28712121 DOI: 10.1002/mds.27000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2016] [Revised: 03/01/2017] [Accepted: 03/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Pei Huang
- Department of Neurology and Institute of Neurology; Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; Shanghai China
| | - Yu-Yan Tan
- Department of Neurology and Institute of Neurology; Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; Shanghai China
| | - Dong-Qiang Liu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience; Liaoning Normal University; Dalian China
| | - Mohammad M. Herzallah
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience; Rutgers University; Newark New Jersey USA
- Palestinian Neuroscience Initiative; Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University; Jerusalem Palestine
| | - Elizabeth Lapidow
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience; Rutgers University; Newark New Jersey USA
| | - Ying Wang
- Department of Neurology and Institute of Neurology; Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; Shanghai China
| | - Yu-Feng Zang
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders and the Affiliated Hospital; Hangzhou Normal University; Hangzhou China
| | - Mark A. Gluck
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience; Rutgers University; Newark New Jersey USA
| | - Sheng-Di Chen
- Department of Neurology and Institute of Neurology; Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; Shanghai China
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Foerde K, Steinglass JE. Decreased feedback learning in anorexia nervosa persists after weight restoration. Int J Eat Disord 2017; 50:415-423. [PMID: 28393399 PMCID: PMC5869029 DOI: 10.1002/eat.22709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2016] [Revised: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 03/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a serious disorder, with a mortality rate the highest of any psychiatric illness. It is notoriously challenging to treat and mechanisms of illness are not well understood. Reward system abnormalities have been proposed across theoretical models of the persistence of AN. Feedback learning is an important component of how reward systems shape behavior and we hypothesized that individuals with AN would show poorer learning from feedback. METHODS We administered the acquired equivalence task to measure both learning from incremental feedback and generalization of that learning to novel stimuli. Participants were individuals with AN (n = 36) before and after intensive weight restoration treatment and healthy comparison participants (HC, n = 26) tested twice. Performance was assessed as accuracy during the Learning and Test phases, for both trained and novel stimuli. The relationship between task performance and eating disorder severity at baseline was also assessed. RESULTS Both before and after treatment, individuals with AN showed reduced learning from feedback in the Learning phase (F3,180 = 2.75, p = .048) and lower accuracy during the Test phase (F1,60 = 4.29, p = .043), as compared with HC. Individuals with AN did not differ from HC in accuracy for novel stimuli (F1,60 = 1.04, p = .312), indicating no deficit in generalization. Decreased acquisition of feedback learning was associated with longer illness duration and with greater eating disorder symptom severity at baseline. CONCLUSIONS Individuals with AN show reduced learning from feedback or reinforcement, which may contribute to difficulties in changing maladaptive behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Foerde
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY
| | - Joanna E. Steinglass
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY,Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY
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Arntzen E, Steingrimsdottir HS. Electroencephalography (EEG) in the Study of Equivalence Class Formation. An Explorative Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:58. [PMID: 28377704 PMCID: PMC5359291 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2016] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Teaching arbitrary conditional discriminations and testing for derived relations may be essential for understanding changes in cognitive skills. Such conditional discrimination procedures are often used within stimulus equivalence research. For example, the participant is taught AB and BC relations and tested if emergent relations as BA, CB, AC and CA occur. The purpose of the current explorative experiment was to study stimulus equivalence class formation in older adults with electroencephalography (EEG) recordings as an additional measure. The EEG was used to learn about whether there was an indication of cognitive changes such as those observed in neurocognitive disorders (NCD). The present study included four participants who did conditional discrimination training and testing. The experimental design employed pre-class formation sorting and post-class formation sorting of the stimuli used in the experiment. EEG recordings were conducted before training, after training and after testing. The results showed that two participants formed equivalence classes, one participant failed in one of the three test relations, and one participant failed in two of the three test relations. This fourth participant also failed to sort the stimuli in accordance with the experimenter-defined stimulus equivalence classes during post-class formation sorting. The EEG indicated no cognitive decline in the first three participants but possible mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the fourth participant. The results suggest that equivalence class formation may provide information about cognitive impairments such as those that are likely to occur in the early stages of NCD. The study recommends replications with broader samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Arntzen
- Department of Behavioral Science, Oslo and Akershus University CollegeOslo, Norway
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Myers CE, Rego J, Haber P, Morley K, Beck KD, Hogarth L, Moustafa AA. Learning and generalization from reward and punishment in opioid addiction. Behav Brain Res 2016; 317:122-131. [PMID: 27641323 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.09.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2016] [Revised: 08/24/2016] [Accepted: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
This study adapts a widely-used acquired equivalence paradigm to investigate how opioid-addicted individuals learn from positive and negative feedback, and how they generalize this learning. The opioid-addicted group consisted of 33 participants with a history of heroin dependency currently in a methadone maintenance program; the control group consisted of 32 healthy participants without a history of drug addiction. All participants performed a novel variant of the acquired equivalence task, where they learned to map some stimuli to correct outcomes in order to obtain reward, and to map other stimuli to correct outcomes in order to avoid punishment; some stimuli were implicitly "equivalent" in the sense of being paired with the same outcome. On the initial training phase, both groups performed similarly on learning to obtain reward, but as memory load grew, the control group outperformed the addicted group on learning to avoid punishment. On a subsequent testing phase, the addicted and control groups performed similarly on retention trials involving previously-trained stimulus-outcome pairs, as well as on generalization trials to assess acquired equivalence. Since prior work with acquired equivalence tasks has associated stimulus-outcome learning with the nigrostriatal dopamine system, and generalization with the hippocampal region, the current results are consistent with basal ganglia dysfunction in the opioid-addicted patients. Further, a selective deficit in learning from punishment could contribute to processes by which addicted individuals continue to pursue drug use even at the cost of negative consequences such as loss of income and the opportunity to engage in other life activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine E Myers
- Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ, USA; Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, USA.
| | - Janice Rego
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Paul Haber
- NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Mental Health and Substance Use, Discipline of Addiction Medicine, Central Clinical School, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Kirsten Morley
- NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Mental Health and Substance Use, Discipline of Addiction Medicine, Central Clinical School, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Kevin D Beck
- Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ, USA; Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Lee Hogarth
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Ahmed A Moustafa
- Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ, USA; Marcs Institute for Brain and Behaviour, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Abstract
Introduction Interictal deficits of elementary visuo-cognitive functions are well documented in patients with migraine and are mostly explained in terms of neocortical hyperexcitability. It has been suggested that the basal ganglia and the hippocampi might also be affected in migraine. If so, a deterioration of learning and memory processes related to these structures is expected. Methods A visual learning paradigm thought to be capable of dissociating learning/memory processes mediated by the basal ganglia from processes mediated by the hippocampus (the Rutgers Acquired Equivalence Test) was applied to a group of patients with migraine without aura and to age- and sex-matched controls. Results Patients with migraine showed a significantly poorer performance in both main phases of the test and the deficit in the phase considered to be dependent on the hippocampi was especially marked. Conclusions These results can be interpreted as behavioural support for findings that have suggested the involvement of the basal ganglia and the hippocampi in migraine, but further research is needed to clarify these findings.
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Moustafa AA, Phillips J, Kéri S, Misiak B, Frydecka D. On the Complexity of Brain Disorders: A Symptom-Based Approach. Front Comput Neurosci 2016; 10:16. [PMID: 26941635 PMCID: PMC4763073 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2016.00016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2015] [Accepted: 02/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Mounting evidence shows that brain disorders involve multiple and different neural dysfunctions, including regional brain damage, change to cell structure, chemical imbalance, and/or connectivity loss among different brain regions. Understanding the complexity of brain disorders can help us map these neural dysfunctions to different symptom clusters as well as understand subcategories of different brain disorders. Here, we discuss data on the mapping of symptom clusters to different neural dysfunctions using examples from brain disorders such as major depressive disorder (MDD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In addition, we discuss data on the similarities of symptoms in different disorders. Importantly, computational modeling work may be able to shed light on plausible links between various symptoms and neural damage in brain disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed A Moustafa
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney UniversitySydney, NSW, Australia; Marcs Institute for Brain and Behavior, Western Sydney UniversitySydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Joseph Phillips
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Szabolcs Kéri
- Nyírö Gyula Hospital, National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions Budapest, Hungary
| | - Blazej Misiak
- Department and Clinic of Psychiatry, Wroclaw Medical UniversityWroclaw, Poland; Department of Genetics, Wroclaw Medical UniversityWroclaw, Poland
| | - Dorota Frydecka
- Department and Clinic of Psychiatry, Wroclaw Medical University Wroclaw, Poland
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Khalil R, Abo Elfetoh N, Moftah MZ, Khedr EM. Acquired equivalence associative learning in GTC epileptic patients: experimental and computational study. Front Cell Neurosci 2015; 9:418. [PMID: 26578883 PMCID: PMC4621864 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2015.00418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2014] [Accepted: 10/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous cognitive behavioral studies based on Acquired Equivalence Associative learning Task (AEALT) showed a strong relation between hippocampus and basal ganglia in associative learning. However, experimental behavioral studies of patients with Generalized Tonic Clonic (GTC) epilepsy remained sparse. The aim of the present study is to integrate a classical behavioral cognitive analysis with a computational model approach to investigate cognitive associative learning impairments in patients with GTC epilepsy. We measured the accuracy of associative learning response performance in five GTC epileptic patients and five control subjects by using AEALT, all subjects were matched in age and gender. We ran the task using E-Prime, a neuropsychological software program, and SPSS for data statistical analysis. We tested whether GTC epileptic patients would have different learning performance than normal subjects, based on the degree and the location of impairment either in basal ganglia and/or hippocampus. With the number of patients that was available, our behavioral analysis showed no remarkable differences in learning performance of GTC patients as compared to their control subjects, both in the transfer and acquisition phases. In parallel, our simulation results confirmed strong connection and interaction between hippocampus and basal ganglia in our GTC and their control subjects. Nevertheless, the differences in neural firing rate of the connectionist model and weight update of basal ganglia were not significantly different between GTC and control subjects. Therefore, the behavioral analysis and the simulation data provided the same result, thus indicating that the computational model is likely to predict cognitive outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radwa Khalil
- Department of Cognitive Biology, Otto-von-Guericke Universität Magdeburg, Germany ; Department of Developmental Physiology, Institute of Physiology, Otto-von-Guericke Universität Magdeburg, Germany ; IMN - Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, University of Bordeaux Bordeaux, France
| | - Noha Abo Elfetoh
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University Assiut, Egypt
| | - Marie Z Moftah
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University Alexandria, Egypt
| | - Eman M Khedr
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University Assiut, Egypt
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27
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van Paasschen J, Clare L, Yuen KSL, Woods RT, Evans SJ, Parkinson CH, Rugg MD, Linden DEJ. Cognitive rehabilitation changes memory-related brain activity in people with Alzheimer disease. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 2013; 27:448-59. [PMID: 23369983 DOI: 10.1177/1545968312471902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND People with Alzheimer disease (AD) are capable of new learning when cognitive support is provided, suggesting that there is plasticity even in a degenerating brain. However, it is unclear how a cognition-focused intervention operates on a neural level. OBJECTIVE The present study examined the effects of cognitive rehabilitation (CR) on memory-related brain activation in people with early-stage AD, as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). METHODS A total of 19 participants either received 8 weeks of CR treatment (n = 7) or formed a control group (n = 12). We scanned participants pretreatment and posttreatment while they learned and recognized unfamiliar face-name pairs. RESULTS Following treatment, the CR group showed higher brain activation during recognition of face-name pairs in the left middle and inferior frontal gyri, the left insula, and 2s regions in the right medial parietal cortex. The control group showed decreased activation in these areas during recognition after the intervention period. Neither group showed an activation change during encoding. Behavioral performance on face-name learning did not improve for either group. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that CR may have operated on the process of recognition through partial restoration of function in frontal brain areas that are less compromised in early-stage AD and that physiological markers may be more sensitive indicators of brain plasticity than behavioral performance.
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Máttyássy A, Kéri S, Myers CE, Levy-Gigi E, Gluck MA, Kelemen O. Impaired Generalization of Associative Learning in Patients with Alcohol Dependence After Intermediate-term Abstinence. Alcohol Alcohol 2012; 47:533-7. [DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/ags050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Moustafa AA, Gluck MA. Computational cognitive models of prefrontal-striatal-hippocampal interactions in Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia. Neural Netw 2011; 24:575-91. [PMID: 21411277 DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2011.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2010] [Revised: 01/22/2011] [Accepted: 02/17/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Disruption to different components of the prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia, and hippocampal circuits leads to various psychiatric and neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD) and schizophrenia. Medications used to treat these disorders (such as levodopa, dopamine agonists, antipsychotics, among others) affect the prefrontal-striatal-hippocampal circuits in a complex fashion. We have built models of prefrontal-striatal and striatal-hippocampal interactions which simulate cognitive dysfunction in PD and schizophrenia. In these models, we argue that the basal ganglia is key for stimulus-response learning, the hippocampus for stimulus-stimulus representational learning, and the prefrontal cortex for stimulus selection during learning about multidimensional stimuli. In our models, PD is associated with reduced dopamine levels in the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex. In contrast, the cognitive deficits in schizophrenia are associated primarily with hippocampal dysfunction, while the occurrence of negative symptoms is associated with frontostriatal deficits in a subset of patients. In this paper, we review our past models and provide new simulation results for both PD and schizophrenia. We also describe an extended model that includes simulation of the different functional role of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex, a dissociation we argue is essential for understanding the non-uniform effects of levodopa, dopamine agonists, and antipsychotics on cognition. Motivated by clinical and physiological data, we discuss model limitations and challenges to be addressed in future models of these brain disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed A Moustafa
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, New Jersey 07102, USA.
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Moustafa AA, Keri S, Herzallah MM, Myers CE, Gluck MA. A neural model of hippocampal-striatal interactions in associative learning and transfer generalization in various neurological and psychiatric patients. Brain Cogn 2010; 74:132-44. [PMID: 20728258 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2010.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2010] [Revised: 06/11/2010] [Accepted: 07/28/2010] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Building on our previous neurocomputational models of basal ganglia and hippocampal region function (and their modulation by dopamine and acetylcholine, respectively), we show here how an integration of these models can inform our understanding of the interaction between the basal ganglia and hippocampal region in associative learning and transfer generalization across various patient populations. As a common test bed for exploring interactions between these brain regions and neuromodulators, we focus on the acquired equivalence task, an associative learning paradigm in which stimuli that have been associated with the same outcome acquire a functional similarity such that subsequent generalization between these stimuli increases. This task has been used to test cognitive dysfunction in various patient populations with damages to the hippocampal region and basal ganglia, including studies of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), schizophrenia, basal forebrain amnesia, and hippocampal atrophy. Simulation results show that damage to the hippocampal region-as in patients with hippocampal atrophy (HA), hypoxia, mild Alzheimer's (AD), or schizophrenia-leads to intact associative learning but impaired transfer generalization performance. Moreover, the model demonstrates how PD and anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysm-two very different brain disorders that affect different neural mechanisms-can have similar effects on acquired equivalence performance. In particular, the model shows that simulating a loss of dopamine function in the basal ganglia module (as in PD) leads to slow acquisition learning but intact transfer generalization. Similarly, the model shows that simulating the loss of acetylcholine in the hippocampal region (as in ACoA aneurysm) also results in slower acquisition learning. We argue from this that changes in associative learning of stimulus-action pathways (in the basal ganglia) or changes in the learning of stimulus representations (in the hippocampal region) can have similar functional effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed A Moustafa
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
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