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Zhang Y, Zhou K, Bao P, Liu J. A biologically inspired computational model of human ventral temporal cortex. Neural Netw 2024; 178:106437. [PMID: 38936111 DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2024.106437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Our minds represent miscellaneous objects in the physical world metaphorically in an abstract and complex high-dimensional object space, which is implemented in a two-dimensional surface of the ventral temporal cortex (VTC) with topologically organized object selectivity. Here we investigated principles guiding the topographical organization of object selectivities in the VTC by constructing a hybrid Self-Organizing Map (SOM) model that harnesses a biologically inspired algorithm of wiring cost minimization and adheres to the constraints of the lateral wiring span of human VTC neurons. In a series of in silico experiments with functional brain neuroimaging and neurophysiological single-unit data from humans and non-human primates, the VTC-SOM predicted the topographical structure of fine-scale category-selective regions (face-, tool-, body-, and place-selective regions) and the boundary in large-scale abstract functional maps (animate vs. inanimate, real-word small-size vs. big-size, central vs. peripheral), with no significant loss in functionality (e.g., categorical selectivity and view-invariant representations). In addition, when the same principle was applied to V1 orientation preferences, a pinwheel-like topology emerged, suggesting the model's broad applicability. In summary, our study illustrates that the simple principle of wiring cost minimization, coupled with the appropriate biological constraint of lateral wiring span, is able to implement the high-dimensional object space in a two-dimensional cortical surface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyuan Zhang
- Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain & Intelligence, Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Ke Zhou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
| | - Pinglei Bao
- Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Jia Liu
- Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain & Intelligence, Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
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2
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Walbrin J, Sossounov N, Mahdiani M, Vaz I, Almeida J. Fine-grained knowledge about manipulable objects is well-predicted by contrastive language image pre-training. iScience 2024; 27:110297. [PMID: 39040066 PMCID: PMC11261149 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110297] [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: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Object recognition is an important ability that relies on distinguishing between similar objects (e.g., deciding which utensil(s) to use at different stages of meal preparation). Recent work describes the fine-grained organization of knowledge about manipulable objects via the study of the constituent dimensions that are most relevant to human behavior, for example, vision, manipulation, and function-based properties. A logical extension of this work concerns whether or not these dimensions are uniquely human, or can be approximated by deep learning. Here, we show that behavioral dimensions are generally well-predicted by CLIP-ViT - a multimodal network trained on a large and diverse set of image-text pairs. Moreover, this model outperforms comparison networks pre-trained on smaller, image-only datasets. These results demonstrate the impressive capacity of CLIP-ViT to approximate fine-grained object knowledge. We discuss the possible sources of this benefit relative to other models (e.g., multimodal vs. image-only pre-training, dataset size, architecture).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Walbrin
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Nikita Sossounov
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | | | - Igor Vaz
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Jorge Almeida
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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3
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Lydon EA, Panfil HB, Yako S, Mudar RA. Behavioral and neural measures of semantic conflict monitoring: Findings from a novel picture-word interference task. Brain Res 2024; 1834:148900. [PMID: 38555981 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2024.148900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Conflict monitoring has been studied extensively using experimental paradigms that manipulate perceptual dimensions of stimuli and responses. The picture-word interference (PWI) task has historically been used to examine semantic conflict, but primarily for the purpose of examining lexical retrieval. In this study, we utilized two novel PWI tasks to assess conflict monitoring in the context of semantic conflict. Participants included nineteen young adults (14F, age = 20.79 ± 3.14) who completed two tasks: Animals and Objects. Task and conflict effects were assessed by examining behavioral (reaction time and accuracy) and neurophysiological (oscillations in theta, alpha, and beta band) measures. Results revealed conflict effects within both tasks, but the pattern of findings differed across the two semantic categories. Participants were slower to respond to unmatched versus matched trials on the Objects task only and were less accurate responding to matched versus unmatched trials in the Animals task only. We also observed task differences, with participants responding more accurately on conflict trials for Animals compared to Objects. Differences in neural oscillations were observed, including between-task differences in low beta oscillations and within-task differences in theta, alpha, and low beta. We also observed significant correlations between task performance and standard measures of cognitive control. This work provides new insights into conflict monitoring, highlighting the importance of examining conflict across different semantic categories, especially in the context of animacy. The findings serve as a benchmark to assess conflict monitoring using PWI tasks across populations of varying cognitive ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Lydon
- Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Holly B Panfil
- Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Sharbel Yako
- Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Raksha A Mudar
- Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA.
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4
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Zappa A, Bolger D, Pergandi JM, Fargier R, Mestre D, Frenck-Mestre C. The Neural Correlates of Embodied L2 Learning: Does Embodied L2 Verb Learning Affect Representation and Retention? NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2024; 5:360-384. [PMID: 38911460 PMCID: PMC11192445 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2024]
Abstract
We investigated how naturalistic actions in a highly immersive, multimodal, interactive 3D virtual reality (VR) environment may enhance word encoding by recording EEG in a pre/post-test learning paradigm. While behavior data have shown that coupling word encoding with gestures congruent with word meaning enhances learning, the neural underpinnings of this effect have yet to be elucidated. We coupled EEG recording with VR to examine whether embodied learning improves learning and creates linguistic representations that produce greater motor resonance. Participants learned action verbs in an L2 in two different conditions: specific action (observing and performing congruent actions on virtual objects) and pointing (observing actions and pointing to virtual objects). Pre- and post-training participants performed a match-mismatch task as we measured EEG (variation in the N400 response as a function of match between observed actions and auditory verbs) and a passive listening task while we measured motor activation (mu [8-13 Hz] and beta band [13-30 Hz] desynchronization during auditory verb processing) during verb processing. Contrary to our expectations, post-training results revealed neither semantic nor motor effects in either group when considered independently of learning success. Behavioral results showed a great deal of variability in learning success. When considering performance, low performance learners showed no semantic effect and high performance learners exhibited an N400 effect for mismatch versus match trials post-training, independent of the type of learning. Taken as a whole, our results suggest that embodied processes can play an important role in L2 learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Zappa
- Institute of Neurosciences and Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology at University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Deidre Bolger
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPL, Aix-en-Provence, France
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5
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Tian S, Chen L, Wang X, Li G, Fu Z, Ji Y, Lu J, Wang X, Shan S, Bi Y. Vision matters for shape representation: Evidence from sculpturing and drawing in the blind. Cortex 2024; 174:241-255. [PMID: 38582629 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
Shape is a property that could be perceived by vision and touch, and is classically considered to be supramodal. While there is mounting evidence for the shared cognitive and neural representation space between visual and tactile shape, previous research tended to rely on dissimilarity structures between objects and had not examined the detailed properties of shape representation in the absence of vision. To address this gap, we conducted three explicit object shape knowledge production experiments with congenitally blind and sighted participants, who were asked to produce verbal features, 3D clay models, and 2D drawings of familiar objects with varying levels of tactile exposure, including tools, large nonmanipulable objects, and animals. We found that the absence of visual experience (i.e., in the blind group) led to stronger differences in animals than in tools and large objects, suggesting that direct tactile experience of objects is essential for shape representation when vision is unavailable. For tools with rich tactile/manipulation experiences, the blind produced overall good shapes comparable to the sighted, yet also showed intriguing differences. The blind group had more variations and a systematic bias in the geometric property of tools (making them stubbier than the sighted), indicating that visual experience contributes to aligning internal representations and calibrating overall object configurations, at least for tools. Taken together, the object shape representation reflects the intricate orchestration of vision, touch and language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuang Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Lingjuan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoying Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Guochao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ze Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yufeng Ji
- Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jiahui Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaosha Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Shiguang Shan
- Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yanchao Bi
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China.
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6
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Borovsky A, Peters RE, Cox JI, McRae K. Feats: A database of semantic features for early produced noun concepts. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:3259-3279. [PMID: 38148439 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02242-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
Semantic feature production norms have several desirable characteristics that have supported models of representation and processing in adults. However, several key challenges have limited the use of semantic feature norms in studies of early language acquisition. First, existing norms provide uneven and inconsistent coverage of early-acquired concepts that are typically produced and assessed in children under the age of three, which is a time of tremendous growth of early vocabulary skills. Second, it is difficult to assess the degree to which young children may be familiar with normed features derived from these adult-generated datasets. Third, it has been difficult to adopt standard methods to generate semantic network models of early noun learning. Here, we introduce Feats-a tool that was designed to make headway on these challenges by providing a database, the Language Learning and Meaning Acquisition (LLaMA) lab Noun Norms that extends a widely used set of feature norms McRae et al. Behavior Research Methods 37, 547-559, (2005) to include full coverage of noun concepts on a commonly used early vocabulary assessment. Feats includes several tools to facilitate exploration of features comprising early-acquired nouns, assess the developmental appropriateness of individual features using toddler-accessibility norms, and extract semantic network statistics for individual vocabulary profiles. We provide a tutorial overview of Feats. We additionally validate our approach by presenting an analysis of an overlapping set of concepts collected across prior and new data collection methods. Furthermore, using network graph analyses, we show that the extended set of norms provides novel, reliable results given their enhanced coverage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arielle Borovsky
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47906, USA.
| | | | - Joseph I Cox
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Ken McRae
- Department of Psychology and Brain & Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
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7
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Trumpp NM, Ulrich M, Kiefer M. Experiential grounding of abstract concepts: Processing of abstract mental state concepts engages brain regions involved in mentalizing, automatic speech, and lip movements. Neuroimage 2024; 288:120539. [PMID: 38342187 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024] Open
Abstract
concepts like mental state concepts lack a physical referent, which can be directly perceived. Classical theories therefore claim that abstract concepts require amodal representations detached from experiential brain systems. However, grounded cognition approaches suggest an involvement of modal experiential brain regions in the processing of abstract concepts. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we investigated the relation of the processing of abstract mental state concepts to modal experiential brain systems in a fine-grained fashion. Participants performed lexical decisions on abstract mental state as well as on verbal association concepts as control category. Experiential brain systems related to the processing of mental states, generating verbal associations, automatic speech as well as hand and lip movements were determined by corresponding localizer tasks. Processing of abstract mental state concepts neuroanatomically overlapped with activity patterns associated with processing of mental states, generating verbal associations, automatic speech and lip movements. Hence, mental state concepts activate the mentalizing brain network, complemented by perceptual-motor brain regions involved in simulation of visual or action features associated with social interactions, linguistic brain regions as well as face-motor brain regions recruited for articulation. The present results provide compelling evidence for the rich grounding of abstract mental state concepts in experiential brain systems related to mentalizing, verbal communication and mouth action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie M Trumpp
- Department of Psychiatry, Section for Cognitive Electrophysiology, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, Ulm D-89075, Germany.
| | - Martin Ulrich
- Department of Psychiatry, Section for Cognitive Electrophysiology, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, Ulm D-89075, Germany
| | - Markus Kiefer
- Department of Psychiatry, Section for Cognitive Electrophysiology, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, Ulm D-89075, Germany
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8
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Kabulska Z, Zhuang T, Lingnau A. Overlapping representations of observed actions and action-related features. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26605. [PMID: 38379447 PMCID: PMC10879913 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC) has been shown to capture the representational structure of a smaller range of actions. In the current study, we carried out an fMRI experiment in which we presented human participants with images depicting 100 different actions and used representational similarity analysis (RSA) to determine which brain regions capture the semantic action space established using judgments of action similarity. Moreover, to determine the contribution of a wide range of action-related features to the neural representation of the semantic action space we constructed an action feature model on the basis of ratings of 44 different features. We found that the semantic action space model and the action feature model are best captured by overlapping activation patterns in bilateral LOTC and ventral occipitotemporal cortex (VOTC). An RSA on eight dimensions resulting from principal component analysis carried out on the action feature model revealed partly overlapping representations within bilateral LOTC, VOTC, and the parietal lobe. Our results suggest spatially overlapping representations of the semantic action space of a wide range of actions and the corresponding action-related features. Together, our results add to our understanding of the kind of representations along the LOTC that support action understanding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzanna Kabulska
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Chair of Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity of RegensburgRegensburgGermany
| | - Tonghe Zhuang
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Chair of Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity of RegensburgRegensburgGermany
| | - Angelika Lingnau
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Chair of Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity of RegensburgRegensburgGermany
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9
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Luo X, Li M, Zeng J, Dai Z, Cui Z, Zhu M, Tian M, Wu J, Han Z. Mechanisms underlying category learning in the human ventral occipito-temporal cortex. Neuroimage 2024; 287:120520. [PMID: 38242489 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The human ventral occipito-temporal cortex (VOTC) has evolved into specialized regions that process specific categories, such as words, tools, and animals. The formation of these areas is driven by bottom-up visual and top-down nonvisual experiences. However, the specific mechanisms through which top-down nonvisual experiences modulate category-specific regions in the VOTC are still unknown. To address this question, we conducted a study in which participants were trained for approximately 13 h to associate three sets of novel meaningless figures with different top-down nonvisual features: the wordlike category with word features, the non-wordlike category with nonword features, and the visual familiarity condition with no nonvisual features. Pre- and post-training functional MRI (fMRI) experiments were used to measure brain activity during stimulus presentation. Our results revealed that training induced a categorical preference for the two training categories within the VOTC. Moreover, the locations of two training category-specific regions exhibited a notable overlap. Remarkably, within the overlapping category-specific region, training resulted in a dissociation in activation intensity and pattern between the two training categories. These findings provide important insights into how different nonvisual categorical information is encoded in the human VOTC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangqi Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
| | - Mingyang Li
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China
| | - Jiahong Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
| | - Zhiyun Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
| | - Zhenjiang Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
| | - Minhong Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
| | - Mengxin Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
| | - Jiahao Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
| | - Zaizhu Han
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China.
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10
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Amaral L, Besson G, Caparelli-Dáquer E, Bergström F, Almeida J. Temporal differences and commonalities between hand and tool neural processing. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22270. [PMID: 38097608 PMCID: PMC10721913 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48180-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Object recognition is a complex cognitive process that relies on how the brain organizes object-related information. While spatial principles have been extensively studied, less studied temporal dynamics may also offer valuable insights into this process, particularly when neural processing overlaps for different categories, as it is the case of the categories of hands and tools. Here we focus on the differences and/or similarities between the time-courses of hand and tool processing under electroencephalography (EEG). Using multivariate pattern analysis, we compared, for different time points, classification accuracy for images of hands or tools when compared to images of animals. We show that for particular time intervals (~ 136-156 ms and ~ 252-328 ms), classification accuracy for hands and for tools differs. Furthermore, we show that classifiers trained to differentiate between tools and animals generalize their learning to classification of hand stimuli between ~ 260-320 ms and ~ 376-500 ms after stimulus onset. Classifiers trained to distinguish between hands and animals, on the other hand, were able to extend their learning to the classification of tools at ~ 150 ms. These findings suggest variations in semantic features and domain-specific differences between the two categories, with later-stage similarities potentially related to shared action processing for hands and tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Amaral
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
| | - G Besson
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - E Caparelli-Dáquer
- Laboratory of Electrical Stimulation of the Nervous System (LabEEL), Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - F Bergström
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - J Almeida
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
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11
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Ghazaryan G, van Vliet M, Lammi L, Lindh-Knuutila T, Kivisaari S, Hultén A, Salmelin R. Cortical time-course of evidence accumulation during semantic processing. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1242. [PMID: 38066098 PMCID: PMC10709650 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05611-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Our understanding of the surrounding world and communication with other people are tied to mental representations of concepts. In order for the brain to recognize an object, it must determine which concept to access based on information available from sensory inputs. In this study, we combine magnetoencephalography and machine learning to investigate how concepts are represented and accessed in the brain over time. Using brain responses from a silent picture naming task, we track the dynamics of visual and semantic information processing, and show that the brain gradually accumulates information on different levels before eventually reaching a plateau. The timing of this plateau point varies across individuals and feature models, indicating notable temporal variation in visual object recognition and semantic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gayane Ghazaryan
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076, Aalto, Finland.
| | - Marijn van Vliet
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076, Aalto, Finland
| | - Lotta Lammi
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076, Aalto, Finland
| | - Tiina Lindh-Knuutila
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076, Aalto, Finland
| | - Sasa Kivisaari
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076, Aalto, Finland
| | - Annika Hultén
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076, Aalto, Finland
- Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, Aalto, FI-00076, Finland
| | - Riitta Salmelin
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076, Aalto, Finland
- Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, Aalto, FI-00076, Finland
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12
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Almeida J, Fracasso A, Kristensen S, Valério D, Bergström F, Chakravarthi R, Tal Z, Walbrin J. Neural and behavioral signatures of the multidimensionality of manipulable object processing. Commun Biol 2023; 6:940. [PMID: 37709924 PMCID: PMC10502059 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05323-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding how we recognize objects requires unravelling the variables that govern the way we think about objects and the neural organization of object representations. A tenable hypothesis is that the organization of object knowledge follows key object-related dimensions. Here, we explored, behaviorally and neurally, the multidimensionality of object processing. We focused on within-domain object information as a proxy for the decisions we typically engage in our daily lives - e.g., identifying a hammer in the context of other tools. We extracted object-related dimensions from subjective human judgments on a set of manipulable objects. We show that the extracted dimensions are cognitively interpretable and relevant - i.e., participants are able to consistently label them, and these dimensions can guide object categorization; and are important for the neural organization of knowledge - i.e., they predict neural signals elicited by manipulable objects. This shows that multidimensionality is a hallmark of the organization of manipulable object knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Almeida
- Proaction Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - Alessio Fracasso
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Stephanie Kristensen
- Proaction Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Daniela Valério
- Proaction Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Fredrik Bergström
- Proaction Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | | | - Zohar Tal
- Proaction Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Jonathan Walbrin
- Proaction Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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13
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Kabulska Z, Lingnau A. The cognitive structure underlying the organization of observed actions. Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:1890-1906. [PMID: 35788973 PMCID: PMC10250259 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01894-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In daily life, we frequently encounter actions performed by other people. Here we aimed to examine the key categories and features underlying the organization of a wide range of actions in three behavioral experiments (N = 378 participants). In Experiment 1, we used a multi-arrangement task of 100 different actions. Inverse multidimensional scaling and hierarchical clustering revealed 11 action categories, including Locomotion, Communication, and Aggressive actions. In Experiment 2, we used a feature-listing paradigm to obtain a wide range of action features that were subsequently reduced to 59 key features and used in a rating study (Experiment 3). A direct comparison of the feature ratings obtained in Experiment 3 between actions belonging to the categories identified in Experiment 1 revealed a number of features that appear to be critical for the distinction between these categories, e.g., the features Harm and Noise for the category Aggressive actions, and the features Targeting a person and Contact with others for the category Interaction. Finally, we found that a part of the category-based organization is explained by a combination of weighted features, whereas a significant proportion of variability remained unexplained, suggesting that there are additional sources of information that contribute to the categorization of observed actions. The characterization of action categories and their associated features serves as an important extension of previous studies examining the cognitive structure of actions. Moreover, our results may serve as the basis for future behavioral, neuroimaging and computational modeling studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzanna Kabulska
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Angelika Lingnau
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany.
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14
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Rissman L, Horton L, Goldin-Meadow S. Universal Constraints on Linguistic Event Categories: A Cross-Cultural Study of Child Homesign. Psychol Sci 2023; 34:298-312. [PMID: 36608154 DOI: 10.1177/09567976221140328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Languages carve up conceptual space in varying ways-for example, English uses the verb cut both for cutting with a knife and for cutting with scissors, but other languages use distinct verbs for these events. We asked whether, despite this variability, there are universal constraints on how languages categorize events involving tools (e.g., knife-cutting). We analyzed descriptions of tool events from two groups: (a) 43 hearing adult speakers of English, Spanish, and Chinese and (b) 10 deaf child homesigners ages 3 to 11 (each of whom has created a gestural language without input from a conventional language model) in five different countries (Guatemala, Nicaragua, United States, Taiwan, Turkey). We found alignment across these two groups-events that elicited tool-prominent language among the spoken-language users also elicited tool-prominent language among the homesigners. These results suggest ways of conceptualizing tool events that are so prominent as to constitute a universal constraint on how events are categorized in language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lilia Rissman
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
| | - Laura Horton
- Language Sciences Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison
| | - Susan Goldin-Meadow
- Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago.,Center for Gesture, Sign, and Language, The University of Chicago
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15
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Wang S, Zhang Y, Shi W, Zhang G, Zhang J, Lin N, Zong C. A large dataset of semantic ratings and its computational extension. Sci Data 2023; 10:106. [PMID: 36823158 PMCID: PMC9950052 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-01995-6] [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: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Evidence from psychology and cognitive neuroscience indicates that the human brain's semantic system contains several specific subsystems, each representing a particular dimension of semantic information. Word ratings on these different semantic dimensions can help investigate the behavioral and neural impacts of semantic dimensions on language processes and build computational representations of language meaning according to the semantic space of the human cognitive system. Existing semantic rating databases provide ratings for hundreds to thousands of words, which can hardly support a comprehensive semantic analysis of natural texts or speech. This article reports a large database, the Six Semantic Dimension Database (SSDD), which contains subjective ratings for 17,940 commonly used Chinese words on six major semantic dimensions: vision, motor, socialness, emotion, time, and space. Furthermore, using computational models to learn the mapping relations between subjective ratings and word embeddings, we include the estimated semantic ratings for 1,427,992 Chinese and 1,515,633 English words in the SSDD. The SSDD will aid studies on natural language processing, text analysis, and semantic representation in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaonan Wang
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, CAS, Beijing, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yunhao Zhang
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, CAS, Beijing, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Weiting Shi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioural Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Guangyao Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioural Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jiajun Zhang
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, CAS, Beijing, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Nan Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioural Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Chengqing Zong
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, CAS, Beijing, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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16
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Evaluating the impact of short educational videos on the cortical networks for mathematics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2213430120. [PMID: 36730198 PMCID: PMC9963232 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2213430120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Many teaching websites, such as the Khan Academy, propose vivid videos illustrating a mathematical concept. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we asked whether watching such a video suffices to rapidly change the brain networks for mathematical knowledge. We capitalized on the finding that, when judging the truth of short spoken statements, distinct semantic regions activate depending on whether the statements bear on mathematical knowledge or on other domains of semantic knowledge. Here, participants answered such questions before and after watching a lively 5-min video, which taught them the rudiments of a new domain. During the video, a distinct math-responsive network, comprising anterior intraparietal and inferior temporal nodes, showed intersubject synchrony when viewing mathematics course rather than control courses in biology or law. However, this experience led to minimal subsequent changes in the activity of those domain-specific areas when answering questions on the same topics a few minutes later. All taught facts, whether mathematical or not, led to domain-general repetition enhancement, particularly prominent in the cuneus, posterior cingulate, and posterior parietal cortices. We conclude that short videos do not suffice to induce a meaningful lasting change in the brain's math-responsive network, but merely engage domain-general regions possibly involved in episodic short-term memory.
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17
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del Rocío Hernández-Castañón V, Castillo-Ávila AA, Reyes-Meza V, Bianchi-Berthouze N, Morán AL, Orihuela-Espina F. Effect of the level of task abstraction on the transfer of knowledge from virtual environments in cognitive and motor tasks. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1162744. [PMID: 37143922 PMCID: PMC10152967 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1162744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Virtual environments are increasingly being used for training. It is not fully understood what elements of virtual environments have the most impact and how the virtual training is integrated by the brain on the sought-after skill transference to the real environment. In virtual training, we analyzed how the task level of abstraction modulates the brain activity and the subsequent ability to execute it in the real environment and how this learning generalizes to other tasks. The training of a task under a low level of abstraction should lead to a higher transfer of skills in similar tasks, but the generalization of learning would be compromised, whereas a higher level of abstraction facilitates generalization of learning to different tasks but compromising specific effectiveness. Methods A total of 25 participants were trained and subsequently evaluated on a cognitive and a motor task following four training regimes, considering real vs. virtual training and low vs. high task abstraction. Performance scores, cognitive load, and electroencephalography signals were recorded. Transfer of knowledge was assessed by comparing performance scores in the virtual vs. real environment. Results The performance to transfer the trained skills showed higher scores in the same task under low abstraction, but the ability to generalize the trained skills was manifested by higher scores under high level of abstraction in agreement with our hypothesis. Spatiotemporal analysis of the electroencephalography revealed higher initial demands of brain resources which decreased as skills were acquired. Discussion Our results suggest that task abstraction during virtual training influences how skills are assimilated at the brain level and modulates its manifestation at the behavioral level. We expect this research to provide supporting evidence to improve the design of virtual training tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviana del Rocío Hernández-Castañón
- Department of Computational Sciences, Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica, Puebla, Mexico
- *Correspondence: Viviana del Rocío Hernández-Castañón
| | - Arlem Aleida Castillo-Ávila
- Department of Computational Sciences, Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica, Puebla, Mexico
| | - Verónica Reyes-Meza
- Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | | | - Alberto L. Morán
- Faculty of Sciences, Autonomous University of Baja California, Ensenada, Mexico
| | - Felipe Orihuela-Espina
- Department of Computational Sciences, Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica, Puebla, Mexico
- School of Computer Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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18
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Chen X, Liu X, Parker BJ, Zhen Z, Weiner KS. Functionally and structurally distinct fusiform face area(s) in over 1000 participants. Neuroimage 2023. [PMID: 36427753 DOI: 10.1101/2022.04.08.487562v1.full.pdf] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The fusiform face area (FFA) is a widely studied region causally involved in face perception. Even though cognitive neuroscientists have been studying the FFA for over two decades, answers to foundational questions regarding the function, architecture, and connectivity of the FFA from a large (N>1000) group of participants are still lacking. To fill this gap in knowledge, we quantified these multimodal features of fusiform face-selective regions in 1053 participants in the Human Connectome Project. After manually defining over 4,000 fusiform face-selective regions, we report five main findings. First, 68.76% of hemispheres have two cortically separate regions (pFus-faces/FFA-1 and mFus-faces/FFA-2). Second, in 26.69% of hemispheres, pFus-faces/FFA-1 and mFus-faces/FFA-2 are spatially contiguous, yet are distinct based on functional, architectural, and connectivity metrics. Third, pFus-faces/FFA-1 is more face-selective than mFus-faces/FFA-2, and the two regions have distinct functional connectivity fingerprints. Fourth, pFus-faces/FFA-1 is cortically thinner and more heavily myelinated than mFus-faces/FFA-2. Fifth, face-selective patterns and functional connectivity fingerprints of each region are more similar in monozygotic than dizygotic twins and more so than architectural gradients. As we share our areal definitions with the field, future studies can explore how structural and functional features of these regions will inform theories regarding how visual categories are represented in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiayu Chen
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xingyu Liu
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Benjamin J Parker
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Zonglei Zhen
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
| | - Kevin S Weiner
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States; Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
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19
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Chen X, Liu X, Parker BJ, Zhen Z, Weiner KS. Functionally and structurally distinct fusiform face area(s) in over 1000 participants. Neuroimage 2023; 265:119765. [PMID: 36427753 PMCID: PMC9889174 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 11/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The fusiform face area (FFA) is a widely studied region causally involved in face perception. Even though cognitive neuroscientists have been studying the FFA for over two decades, answers to foundational questions regarding the function, architecture, and connectivity of the FFA from a large (N>1000) group of participants are still lacking. To fill this gap in knowledge, we quantified these multimodal features of fusiform face-selective regions in 1053 participants in the Human Connectome Project. After manually defining over 4,000 fusiform face-selective regions, we report five main findings. First, 68.76% of hemispheres have two cortically separate regions (pFus-faces/FFA-1 and mFus-faces/FFA-2). Second, in 26.69% of hemispheres, pFus-faces/FFA-1 and mFus-faces/FFA-2 are spatially contiguous, yet are distinct based on functional, architectural, and connectivity metrics. Third, pFus-faces/FFA-1 is more face-selective than mFus-faces/FFA-2, and the two regions have distinct functional connectivity fingerprints. Fourth, pFus-faces/FFA-1 is cortically thinner and more heavily myelinated than mFus-faces/FFA-2. Fifth, face-selective patterns and functional connectivity fingerprints of each region are more similar in monozygotic than dizygotic twins and more so than architectural gradients. As we share our areal definitions with the field, future studies can explore how structural and functional features of these regions will inform theories regarding how visual categories are represented in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiayu Chen
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xingyu Liu
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Benjamin J Parker
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Zonglei Zhen
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
| | - Kevin S Weiner
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States; Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
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20
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Conrad BN, Pollack C, Yeo DJ, Price GR. Structural and functional connectivity of the inferior temporal numeral area. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:6152-6170. [PMID: 36587366 PMCID: PMC10183753 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac492] [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: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
A growing body of evidence suggests that in adults, there is a spatially consistent "inferior temporal numeral area" (ITNA) in the occipitotemporal cortex that appears to preferentially process Arabic digits relative to non-numerical symbols and objects. However, very little is known about why the ITNA is spatially segregated from regions that process other orthographic stimuli such as letters, and why it is spatially consistent across individuals. In the present study, we used diffusion-weighted imaging and functional magnetic resonance imaging to contrast structural and functional connectivity between left and right hemisphere ITNAs and a left hemisphere letter-preferring region. We found that the left ITNA had stronger structural and functional connectivity than the letter region to inferior parietal regions involved in numerical magnitude representation and arithmetic. Between hemispheres, the left ITNA showed stronger structural connectivity with the left inferior frontal gyrus (Broca's area), while the right ITNA showed stronger structural connectivity to the ipsilateral inferior parietal cortex and stronger functional coupling with the bilateral IPS. Based on their relative connectivity, our results suggest that the left ITNA may be more readily involved in mapping digits to verbal number representations, while the right ITNA may support the mapping of digits to quantity representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin N Conrad
- Department of Psychology & Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA
| | - Courtney Pollack
- Department of Psychology & Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA
| | - Darren J Yeo
- Department of Psychology & Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA.,Division of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 48 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639818
| | - Gavin R Price
- Department of Psychology & Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Washington Singer Building Perry Road, Exeter, EX4 4QG, United Kingdom
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21
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Banco E, Veronelli L, Briguglio M, Luzzatti C, Vallar G. The Semantic Association Test (SAT): normative data from healthy Italian participants and a validation study in aphasic patients. Neurol Sci 2022; 44:1575-1586. [PMID: 36572752 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-022-06543-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The Semantic Association Test assesses several aspects of Semantic Memory (Categorical, Encyclopedic, Functional, and Visual Encyclopedic associations: CAs, EAs, FAs and VEAs), using a picture-to-picture matching paradigm. Normative data were collected from a group of 329 healthy participants (178 females) with mean 51.1 (range 20-90) years of age and mean 11.89 (range 5-19) years of education. Raw scores of healthy participants, pre-calculated correction factors for age and educational level, and Equivalent Scores are provided. The SAT was validated in a sample of 139 left brain-damaged persons with aphasia (PWA). Both groups (healthy participants and PWA) scored worse in the CA and EA conditions. The performance of the PWA group was overall defective, and global aphasics scored worse than persons with other types of aphasia. However, several PWA did not show impairments in the SAT. Dissociations were also found, with individual PWA showing defective performance confined to a single category. These results present the SAT as a tool that is useful to detect impairments of visual Semantic Memory, providing normative data from healthy participants and a validation study in PWA.
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22
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Ulrich M, Harpaintner M, Trumpp NM, Berger A, Kiefer M. Academic training increases grounding of scientific concepts in experiential brain systems. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:5646-5657. [PMID: 36514124 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Scientific concepts typically transcendent our sensory experiences. Traditional approaches to science education therefore assume a shift towards amodal or verbal knowledge representations during academic training. Grounded cognition approaches, in contrast, predict a maintenance of grounding of the concepts in experiential brain networks or even an increase. To test these competing approaches, the present study investigated the semantic content of scientific psychological concepts and identified the corresponding neural circuits using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in undergraduate psychology students (beginners) and in graduated psychologists (advanced learners). During fMRI scanning, participants were presented with words denoting scientific psychological concepts within a lexical decision task (e.g. "conditioning", "habituation"). The individual semantic property content of each concept was related to brain activity during abstract concept processing. In both beginners and advanced learners, visual and motor properties activated brain regions also involved in perception and action, while mental state properties increased activity in brain regions also recruited by emotional-social scene observation. Only in advanced learners, social constellation properties elicited brain activity overlapping with emotional-social scene observation. In line with grounded cognition approaches, the present results highlight the importance of experiential information for constituting the meaning of abstract scientific concepts during the course of academic training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Ulrich
- Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, Ulm 89075, Germany
| | - Marcel Harpaintner
- Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, Ulm 89075, Germany
| | - Natalie M Trumpp
- Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, Ulm 89075, Germany
| | - Alexander Berger
- Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, Ulm 89075, Germany
| | - Markus Kiefer
- Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, Ulm 89075, Germany
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23
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Relationships Organize Information in Mind and Nature: Empirical Findings of Action–Reaction Relationships (R) in Cognitive and Material Complexity. SYSTEMS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/systems10030071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Diverse phenomena such as feedback, interconnectedness, causality, network dynamics, and complexity are all born from Relationships. They are fundamentally important, as they are transdisciplinary and synonymous with connections, links, edges, and interconnections. The foundation of systems thinking and systems themselves consists of four universals, one of which is action–reaction Relationships. They are also foundational to the consilience of knowledge. This publication gives a formal description of and predictions of action–reaction Relationships (R) or “R-rule”. There are seven original empirical studies presented in this paper. For these seven studies, experiments for the subjects were created on software (unless otherwise noted). The experiments had the subjects complete a task and/or answer a question. The samples are generalizable to a normal distribution of the US population and they vary for each study (ranging from N = 407 to N = 34,398). With high statistical significance the studies support the predictions made by DSRP Theory regarding action–reaction Relationships including its universality as an observable phenomenon in both nature (ontological complexity) and mind (cognitive complexity); mutual dependencies on other universals (i.e., Distinctions, Systems, and Perspectives); role in structural predictions; internal structures and dynamics; efficacy as a metacognitive skill. In conclusion, these data suggest the observable and empirical existence, parallelism (between cognitive and ontological complexity), universality, and efficacy of action–reaction Relationships (R).
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24
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Nickels L, Lampe LF, Mason C, Hameau S. Investigating the influence of semantic factors on word retrieval: Reservations, results and recommendations. Cogn Neuropsychol 2022; 39:113-154. [PMID: 35972430 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2022.2109958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
There is consensus that word retrieval starts with activation of semantic representations. However, in adults without language impairment, relatively little attention has been paid to the effects of the semantic attributes of to-be-retrieved words. This paper, therefore, addresses the question of which item-inherent semantic factors influence word retrieval. Specifically, it reviews the literature on a selection of these factors: imageability, concreteness, number of semantic features, typicality, intercorrelational density, featural distinctiveness, concept distinctiveness, animacy, semantic neighbourhood density, semantic similarity, operativity, valence, and arousal. It highlights several methodological challenges in this field, and has a focus on the insights from studies with people with aphasia where the effects of these variables are more prevalent. The paper concludes that further research simultaneously examining the effects of different semantic factors that are likely to affect lexical co-activation, and the interaction of these variables, would be fruitful, as would suitably scaled computational modelling of these effects in unimpaired language processing and in language impairment. Such research would enable the refinement of theories of semantic processing and word production, and potentially have implications for diagnosis and treatment of semantic and lexical impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyndsey Nickels
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Macquarie Centre for Reading, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Leonie F Lampe
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Catherine Mason
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Macquarie Centre for Reading, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Solène Hameau
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Macquarie Centre for Reading, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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25
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Perspectives Organize Information in Mind and Nature: Empirical Findings of Point-View Perspective (P) in Cognitive and Material Complexity. SYSTEMS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/systems10030052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The importance of perspective-taking crosses disciplines and is foundational to diverse phenomena such as point-of-view, scale, mindset, theory of mind, opinion, belief, empathy, compassion, analysis, and problem solving, etc. This publication gives predictions for and a formal description of point-view Perspectives (P) or the “P-rule”. This makes the P-rule foundational to systems, systems thinking and the consilience of knowledge. It is one of four universals of the organization of information as a whole. This paper presents nine empirical studies in which subjects were asked to complete a task and/or answer a question. The samples vary for each study (ranging from N = 407 to N = 34,398) and are generalizable to a normal distribution of the US population. As was evident in Cabrera, “These studies support—with high statistical significance—the predictions made by DSRP Theory (Distinctions, Systems Relationships, Perspectives) point-view Perspectives including its: universality as an observable phenomenon in both mind (cognitive complexity) and nature (material complexity) (i.e., parallelism); internal structures and dynamics; mutual dependencies on other universals (i.e., Distinctions, Systems, and Relationships); role in structural predictions; and, efficacy as a metacognitive skill”. These data suggest that point-view Perspectives (P) observably and empirically exist, and that universality, efficacy, and parallelism (between cognitive and material complexity) exist as well. The impact of this paper is that it provides empirical evidence for the phenomena of point-view perspective taking (“P-rule”) as a universal pattern/structure of systems thinking, a field in which scholarly debate is often based on invalidated opinioned frameworks; this sets the stage for theory building in the field.
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26
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Systems Organize Information in Mind and Nature: Empirical Findings of Part-Whole Systems (S) in Cognitive and Material Complexity. SYSTEMS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/systems10020044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Part-whole Systems (S) structure is foundational to a diverse array of phenomena such as belonging and containment, networks, statistics, reductionism, holism, etc. and is extremely similar if not synonymous with sets, sorts, groups, combinations and combinatorics, clusters, etc. In Cabrera (1998), part-whole Systems (S) or “S-rule” is established as one of four universals for the organization of information and thus is foundational to systems and systems thinking as well as the consilience of knowledge. In this paper, seven empirical studies are presented in which (unless otherwise noted) subjects completed a task. Ranging from n = 407 to n = 34,398, the sample sizes vary for each study but are generalizeable to a normal distribution of the US population. With high statistical significance, the results of these studies support the predictions made by DSRP Theory regarding part-whole Systems (a.k.a., “S-rule”) including: the universality of S-rule as an observable phenomenon in both mind (cognitive complexity) and nature (ontological complexity) (i.e., parallelism); the internal structures and dynamics of S-rule; S-rule’s mutual dependencies on other universals of DSRP (Distinctions, Systems, Relationships, and Perspectives (i.e., Distinctions, Relationships, and Perspectives); the role S-rule plays in making structural predictions; and, S-rule’s efficacy as a metacognitive skill. In conclusion, these data suggest the observable and empirical existence, universality, efficacy, and parallelism (between cognitive and ontological complexity) of part-whole Systems (S).
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Rybář M, Daly I. Neural decoding of semantic concepts: A systematic literature review. J Neural Eng 2022; 19. [PMID: 35344941 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ac619a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Objective Semantic concepts are coherent entities within our minds. They underpin our thought processes and are a part of the basis for our understanding of the world. Modern neuroscience research is increasingly exploring how individual semantic concepts are encoded within our brains and a number of studies are beginning to reveal key patterns of neural activity that underpin specific concepts. Building upon this basic understanding of the process of semantic neural encoding, neural engineers are beginning to explore tools and methods for semantic decoding: identifying which semantic concepts an individual is focused on at a given moment in time from recordings of their neural activity. In this paper we review the current literature on semantic neural decoding. Approach We conducted this review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Specifically, we assess the eligibility of published peer-reviewed reports via a search of PubMed and Google Scholar. We identify a total of 74 studies in which semantic neural decoding is used to attempt to identify individual semantic concepts from neural activity. Results Our review reveals how modern neuroscientific tools have been developed to allow decoding of individual concepts from a range of neuroimaging modalities. We discuss specific neuroimaging methods, experimental designs, and machine learning pipelines that are employed to aid the decoding of semantic concepts. We quantify the efficacy of semantic decoders by measuring information transfer rates. We also discuss current challenges presented by this research area and present some possible solutions. Finally, we discuss some possible emerging and speculative future directions for this research area. Significance Semantic decoding is a rapidly growing area of research. However, despite its increasingly widespread popularity and use in neuroscientific research this is the first literature review focusing on this topic across neuroimaging modalities and with a focus on quantifying the efficacy of semantic decoders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milan Rybář
- School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
| | - Ian Daly
- University of Essex, School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
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Distinctions Organize Information in Mind and Nature: Empirical Findings of Identity–Other Distinctions (D) in Cognitive and Material Complexity. SYSTEMS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/systems10020041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The transdisciplinary importance of distinctions is well-established as foundational to such diverse phenomena as recognition, identification, individual and social identity, marginalization, externalities, boundaries, concept formation, etc., and synonymous general ideas, such as thingness, concepts, nodes, objects, etc. Cabrera provides a formal description of and predictions for identity–other distinctions (D) or “D-rule” as one of four universals for the organization of information that is foundational to systems and systems thinking, as well as the consilience of knowledge. This paper presents seven empirical studies in which (unless otherwise noted) software was used to create an experiment for subjects to complete a task and/or answer a question. The samples varied for each study (ranging from N = 407 to N = 34,398) and were generalizable to a normal distribution of the US population. These studies support—with high statistical significance—the predictions made by DSRP theory regarding identity–other distinctions including its: universality as an observable phenomenon in both mind (cognitive complexity) and nature (ontological complexity) (i.e., parallelism); internal structures and dynamics; mutual dependencies on other universals (i.e., relationships, systems, and perspectives); role in structural predictions; and efficacy as a metacognitive skill. In conclusion, these data suggest the observable and empirical existence, universality, efficacy, and parallelism (between cognitive and ontological complexity) of identity–other distinctions (D).
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The “Fish Tank” Experiments: Metacognitive Awareness of Distinctions, Systems, Relationships, and Perspectives (DSRP) Significantly Increases Cognitive Complexity. SYSTEMS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/systems10020029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
In the field of systems thinking, there are far too many opinioned frameworks and far too few empirical studies. This could be described as a “gap” in the research but it is more like a dearth in the research. More theory and empirical validation of theory are needed if the field and the phenomenon of systems thinking holds promise and not just popularity. This validation comes in the form of both basic (existential) and applied (efficacy) research studies. This article presents efficacy data for a set of empirical studies of DSRP Theory. According to Cabrera, Cabrera, and Midgley, DSRP Theory has equal or more empirical evidence supporting it than any existing systems theories (including frameworks, which are not theories). Four separate studies show highly statistically relevant findings for the effect of a short (less than one minute) treatment of D, S, R, and P. Subjects’ cognitive complexity and the systemic nature of their thinking increased in all four studies. These findings indicate that even a short treatment in DSRP is effective in increasing systems thinking skills. Based on these results, a longer, more in-depth treatment—such as a one hour or semester long training, such is the norm—would therefore likely garner transformative results and efficacy.
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Abstract
DSRP Theory is now over 25 years old with more empirical evidence supporting it than any other systems thinking framework. Yet, it is often misunderstood and described in ways that are inaccurate. DSRP Theory describes four patterns and their underlying elements—identity (i) and other (o) for Distinctions (D), part (p) and whole (w) for Systems (S), action (a) and reaction (r) for Relationships (R), and point (ρ) and view (v) for Perspectives (P)—that are universal in both cognitive complexity (mind) and material complexity (nature). DSRP Theory provides a basis for systems thinking or cognitive complexity as well as material complexity (systems science). This paper, as a relatively short primer on the theory, provides clarity to those wanting to understand DSRP and its implications.
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Kiefer M, Pielke L, Trumpp NM. Differential temporo-spatial pattern of electrical brain activity during the processing of abstract concepts related to mental states and verbal associations. Neuroimage 2022; 252:119036. [PMID: 35219860 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Refined grounded cognition accounts propose that abstract concepts might be grounded in brain circuits involved in mentalizing. In the present event-related potential (ERP) study, we compared the time course of neural processing in response to semantically predefined abstract mental states and verbal association concepts during a lexical decision task. In addition to scalp ERPs, source estimates of underlying volume brain activity were determined to reveal spatio-temporal clusters of greater electrical brain activity to abstract mental state vs. verbal association concepts, and vice versa. Source estimates suggested early (onset 194 ms), but short-lived enhanced activity (offset 210 ms) to verbal association concepts in left occipital regions. Increased occipital activity might reflect retrieval of visual word form or access to visual conceptual features of associated words. Increased estimated source activity to mental state concepts was obtained in visuo-motor (superior parietal, pre- and postcentral areas) and mentalizing networks (lateral and medial prefrontal areas, insula, precuneus, temporo-parietal junction) with an onset of 212 ms, which extended to later time windows. The time course data indicated two processing phases: An initial conceptual access phase, in which linguistic and modal brain circuits rapidly process features depending on their relevance, and a later conceptual elaboration phase, in which elaborative processing within feature-specific networks further refines the concept. This study confirms the proposal that abstract concepts are based on representations in distinct neural circuits depending on their semantic feature content. The present research also highlights the importance of investigating sets of abstract concepts with a defined semantic content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Kiefer
- Department of Psychiatry, Section for Cognitive Electrophysiology, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, Ulm D-89075, Germany.
| | - Lena Pielke
- Department of Psychiatry, Section for Cognitive Electrophysiology, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, Ulm D-89075, Germany
| | - Natalie M Trumpp
- Department of Psychiatry, Section for Cognitive Electrophysiology, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, Ulm D-89075, Germany
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Bruera A, Poesio M. Exploring the Representations of Individual Entities in the Brain Combining EEG and Distributional Semantics. Front Artif Intell 2022; 5:796793. [PMID: 35280237 PMCID: PMC8905499 DOI: 10.3389/frai.2022.796793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Semantic knowledge about individual entities (i.e., the referents of proper names such as Jacinta Ardern) is fine-grained, episodic, and strongly social in nature, when compared with knowledge about generic entities (the referents of common nouns such as politician). We investigate the semantic representations of individual entities in the brain; and for the first time we approach this question using both neural data, in the form of newly-acquired EEG data, and distributional models of word meaning, employing them to isolate semantic information regarding individual entities in the brain. We ran two sets of analyses. The first set of analyses is only concerned with the evoked responses to individual entities and their categories. We find that it is possible to classify them according to both their coarse and their fine-grained category at appropriate timepoints, but that it is hard to map representational information learned from individuals to their categories. In the second set of analyses, we learn to decode from evoked responses to distributional word vectors. These results indicate that such a mapping can be learnt successfully: this counts not only as a demonstration that representations of individuals can be discriminated in EEG responses, but also as a first brain-based validation of distributional semantic models as representations of individual entities. Finally, in-depth analyses of the decoder performance provide additional evidence that the referents of proper names and categories have little in common when it comes to their representation in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Bruera
- Cognitive Science Research Group, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Abstract
Categorization is the basis of thinking and reasoning. Through the analysis of infants’ gaze, we describe the trajectory through which visual object representations in infancy incrementally match categorical object representations as mapped onto adults’ visual cortex. Using a methodological approach that allows for a comparison of findings obtained with behavioral and brain measures in infants and adults, we identify the transition from visual exploration guided by perceptual salience to an organization of objects by categories, which begins with the animate–inanimate distinction in the first months of life and continues with a spurt of biologically relevant categories (human bodies, nonhuman bodies, nonhuman faces, small natural objects) through the second year of life. Humans make sense of the world by organizing things into categories. When and how does this process begin? We investigated whether real-world object categories that spontaneously emerge in the first months of life match categorical representations of objects in the human visual cortex. Using eye tracking, we measured the differential looking time of 4-, 10-, and 19-mo-olds as they looked at pairs of pictures belonging to eight animate or inanimate categories (human/nonhuman, faces/bodies, real-world size big/small, natural/artificial). Taking infants’ looking times as a measure of similarity, for each age group, we defined a representational space where each object was defined in relation to others of the same or of a different category. This space was compared with hypothesis-based and functional MRI-based models of visual object categorization in the adults’ visual cortex. Analyses across different age groups showed that, as infants grow older, their looking behavior matches neural representations in ever-larger portions of the adult visual cortex, suggesting progressive recruitment and integration of more and more feature spaces distributed over the visual cortex. Moreover, the results characterize infants’ visual categorization as an incremental process with two milestones. Between 4 and 10 mo, visual exploration guided by saliency gives way to an organization according to the animate–inanimate distinction. Between 10 and 19 mo, a category spurt leads toward a mature organization. We propose that these changes underlie the coupling between seeing and thinking in the developing mind.
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Goldenberg J, Bisschop K, D'Alba L, Shawkey MD. The link between body size, colouration and thermoregulation and their integration into ecogeographical rules: a critical appraisal in light of climate change. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Goldenberg
- Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures group, Dept of Biology, Ghent Univ. Ghent Belgium
| | - Karen Bisschop
- Inst. for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Univ. of Amsterdam Amsterdam the Netherlands
- Laboratory of Aquatic Biology, Dept of Biology, KU Leuven KULAK Kortrijk Belgium
| | - Liliana D'Alba
- Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures group, Dept of Biology, Ghent Univ. Ghent Belgium
| | - Matthew D. Shawkey
- Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures group, Dept of Biology, Ghent Univ. Ghent Belgium
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Mifune N. Null results for the steal-framing effect on out-group aggression. Sci Rep 2022; 12:686. [PMID: 35027644 PMCID: PMC8758705 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04729-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Whether intergroup conflict is a necessary condition for the evolution of human prosociality has been a matter of debate. At the center of the debate is the coevolutionary model of parochial altruism—that human cooperation with in-group members has coevolved with aggression toward out-group members. Studies using the intergroup prisoner’s dilemma–maximizing difference game to test the model have repeatedly shown that people do not exhibit out-group aggression, possibly because of an inappropriate operationalization and framing of out-group aggression. The coevolutionary model predicts out-group aggression when the actor understands that it will lead to the in-group’s benefit. However, in the game, such an aspect of out-group aggression that benefits the in-group is typically not well communicated to participants. Thus, this study tested the hypothesis that out-group aggression in the game would be promoted by a framing that emphasizes that attacking out-group members enhances the in-group’s gain. Results of two laboratory experiments with 176 Japanese university students in total showed that such a framing did not promote out-group aggression and individuals invested more money to cooperate with in-group members only, avoiding the strategy of cooperating with in-group members to harm out-group members. These results do not support the coevolutionary model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobuhiro Mifune
- School of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology, 2-22 Eikokuji, Kochi City, Kochi, 780-8515, Japan.
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Mahon BZ. Domain-specific connectivity drives the organization of object knowledge in the brain. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2022; 187:221-244. [PMID: 35964974 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-823493-8.00028-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The goal of this chapter is to review neuropsychological and functional MRI findings that inform a theory of the causes of functional specialization for semantic categories within occipito-temporal cortex-the ventral visual processing pathway. The occipito-temporal pathway supports visual object processing and recognition. The theoretical framework that drives this review considers visual object recognition through the lens of how "downstream" systems interact with the outputs of visual recognition processes. Those downstream processes include conceptual interpretation, grasping and object use, navigating and orienting in an environment, physical reasoning about the world, and inferring future actions and the inner mental states of agents. The core argument of this chapter is that innately constrained connectivity between occipito-temporal areas and other regions of the brain is the basis for the emergence of neural specificity for a limited number of semantic domains in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradford Z Mahon
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
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de Aguiar V, Rofes A. The noun-verb distinction. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2022; 187:245-262. [PMID: 35964975 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-823493-8.00006-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The comparison between nouns and verbs has been a topic of interest for many researchers over the last 50 years. This comparison, and subsequent behavioral and (partly) anatomic dissociation, has allowed researchers to delve into many topics including the behavioral architecture of the language system and its neural correlates, the underlying nature of the linguistic impairment in individuals with different neurologic disorders, the assessment of language treatment protocols, and the proposal of new protocols aimed to protect the language system of individuals undergoing surgery for brain tumors and epilepsy. Specific to the left temporal lobe, classic accounts have shown its relevance for the processing of nouns and less for the processing of verbs. Nonetheless, more recent accounts indicate that different areas in the left temporal lobe can subserve different functions for the processing of both nouns and verbs. In this chapter, we outlined an overview of key findings of the study of nouns and verbs, with a particular focus on the left temporal lobe. This chapter contextualizes the literature on category-specific impairments and neural correlates of nouns and verbs with linguistic and psycholinguistic theories, and provides new ways to investigate and understand the intricacies of this comparison.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vânia de Aguiar
- Center for Language and Cognition Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Department of Neurolinguistics and Language Development, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Adrià Rofes
- Center for Language and Cognition Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Department of Neurolinguistics and Language Development, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
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Derderian KD, Zhou X, Chen L. Category-specific activations depend on imaging mode, task demand, and stimuli modality: An ALE meta-analysis. Neuropsychologia 2021; 161:108002. [PMID: 34450136 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The cortical organization of the semantic network has been examined extensively in neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies; however, after decades of research, several issues remain controversial. A comprehensive and systematic investigation is needed to characterize the consistent patterns of category-specific activations as well as to examine factors that contribute to the varying findings across numerous neuroimaging studies. In this study, we reviewed 113 published papers that reported category-specific activations for living or nonliving concepts from the past two decades. Using the Activation Likelihood Estimate (ALE) method, we characterized the brain regions associated with living and nonliving concepts and revealed how the observed patterns were heavily influenced by methodological factors including imaging mode, task demand, and stimuli modality. Our findings provided the most comprehensive summary of category-specific activations for living and nonliving concepts and critically revealed that these activation patterns are highly contextually dependent. This work advanced our knowledge about the organization of the cortical semantic network and provided important insights into theoretical accounts and future research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Xiaojue Zhou
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California at Irvine, United States
| | - Lang Chen
- Neuroscience Program, Santa Clara University, United States; Department of Psychology, Santa Clara University, United States.
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Mazzuca C, Fini C, Michalland AH, Falcinelli I, Da Rold F, Tummolini L, Borghi AM. From Affordances to Abstract Words: The Flexibility of Sensorimotor Grounding. Brain Sci 2021; 11:1304. [PMID: 34679369 PMCID: PMC8534254 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11101304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The sensorimotor system plays a critical role in several cognitive processes. Here, we review recent studies documenting this interplay at different levels. First, we concentrate on studies that have shown how the sensorimotor system is flexibly involved in interactions with objects. We report evidence demonstrating how social context and situations influence affordance activation, and then focus on tactile and kinesthetic components in body-object interactions. Then, we turn to word use, and review studies that have shown that not only concrete words, but also abstract words are grounded in the sensorimotor system. We report evidence that abstract concepts activate the mouth effector more than concrete concepts, and discuss this effect in light of studies on adults, children, and infants. Finally, we pinpoint possible sensorimotor mechanisms at play in the acquisition and use of abstract concepts. Overall, we show that the involvement of the sensorimotor system is flexibly modulated by context, and that its role can be integrated and flanked by that of other systems such as the linguistic system. We suggest that to unravel the role of the sensorimotor system in cognition, future research should fully explore the complexity of this intricate, and sometimes slippery, relation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Mazzuca
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
| | - Chiara Fini
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Arthur Henri Michalland
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
- Department of Psychology, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier, EPSYLON EA 4556, 34199 Montpellier, France
| | - Ilenia Falcinelli
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
| | - Federico Da Rold
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
| | - Luca Tummolini
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Anna M. Borghi
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), 00185 Rome, Italy
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
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Dantec M, Mantel M, Lafraire J, Rouby C, Bensafi M. On the contribution of the senses to food emotional experience. Food Qual Prefer 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2020.104120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Abstract
Semantic feature production norms are a useful tool for researchers to have empirically collected data about the semantic representations of a particular population. As older adults have been shown to have certain differences in their semantic knowledge organization in comparison with younger adults, it is relevant for them to have their own normative data. Thus we present here the first Spanish semantic feature production norms for older adults. They contain information about the feature composition of 400 concrete concepts. We also provide information about some feature and concept variables as well as comparisons between young and old adults on these variables.
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Zhang G, Xu Y, Zhang M, Wang S, Lin N. The brain network in support of social semantic accumulation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:393-405. [PMID: 33433627 PMCID: PMC7990071 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Some studies have indicated that a specific 'social semantic network' represents the social meanings of words. However, studies of the comprehension of complex materials, such as sentences and narratives, have indicated that the same network supports the online accumulation of connected semantic information. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that this network does not simply represent the social meanings of words but also accumulates connected social meanings from texts. We defined the social semantic network by conducting a meta-analysis of previous studies on social semantic processing and then examined the effects of social semantic accumulation using a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) experiment. Two important findings were obtained. First, the social semantic network showed a stronger social semantic effect in sentence and narrative reading than in word list reading, indicating the amplitude of social semantic activation can be accumulated in the network. Second, the activation of the social semantic network in sentence and narrative reading can be better explained by the holistic social-semantic-richness rating scores of the stimuli than by those of the constitutive words, indicating the social semantic contents can be integrated in the network. These two findings convergently indicate that the social semantic network supports the accumulation of connected social meanings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangyao Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yangwen Xu
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento 38123, Italy.,International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste 34136, Italy
| | - Meimei Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Shaonan Wang
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, CASIA, Beijing 100190, China.,School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Nan Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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Knights E, Mansfield C, Tonin D, Saada J, Smith FW, Rossit S. Hand-Selective Visual Regions Represent How to Grasp 3D Tools: Brain Decoding during Real Actions. J Neurosci 2021; 41:5263-5273. [PMID: 33972399 PMCID: PMC8211542 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0083-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Most neuroimaging experiments that investigate how tools and their actions are represented in the brain use visual paradigms where tools or hands are displayed as 2D images and no real movements are performed. These studies discovered selective visual responses in occipitotemporal and parietal cortices for viewing pictures of hands or tools, which are assumed to reflect action processing, but this has rarely been directly investigated. Here, we examined the responses of independently visually defined category-selective brain areas when participants grasped 3D tools (N = 20; 9 females). Using real-action fMRI and multivoxel pattern analysis, we found that grasp typicality representations (i.e., whether a tool is grasped appropriately for use) were decodable from hand-selective areas in occipitotemporal and parietal cortices, but not from tool-, object-, or body-selective areas, even if partially overlapping. Importantly, these effects were exclusive for actions with tools, but not for biomechanically matched actions with control nontools. In addition, grasp typicality decoding was significantly higher in hand than tool-selective parietal regions. Notably, grasp typicality representations were automatically evoked even when there was no requirement for tool use and participants were naive to object category (tool vs nontools). Finding a specificity for typical tool grasping in hand-selective, rather than tool-selective, regions challenges the long-standing assumption that activation for viewing tool images reflects sensorimotor processing linked to tool manipulation. Instead, our results show that typicality representations for tool grasping are automatically evoked in visual regions specialized for representing the human hand, the primary tool of the brain for interacting with the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan Knights
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom
| | - Courtney Mansfield
- School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Diana Tonin
- School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Janak Saada
- Department of Radiology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich NR4 7UY, United Kingdom
| | - Fraser W Smith
- School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Stéphanie Rossit
- School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
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Intangible features extraction in the processing of abstract concepts: Evidence from picture-word priming. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0251448. [PMID: 33974676 PMCID: PMC8112679 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251448] [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: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the last decade, hypotheses ranging from linguistic symbol processing to embodiment have been formulated to account for the content and mechanisms responsible for the representation of abstract concepts. Results of recent studies have suggested that abstract concepts, just like concrete ones, can benefit from knowledge of real-world situational context, but that they can also be processed based on abstract pictures devoid of such situational features. This paper presents two semantic priming experiments to explore such mechanisms further. The first experiment replicates Kuipers, Jones, and Thierry (2018) in a cross-linguistic setting which shows that abstract concepts can be processed from abstract pictures devoid of tangible features. In the second experiment, we studied extraction mechanisms that come into play when participants are presented with abstract and concrete pictures that provide situational information to illustrate target abstract concepts. We expected this facilitatory effect to be limited to concrete picture primes. Our data analysed with both Bayesian and Frequentist tests showed however that even when presented with tangible situational information, the extraction of features still occurred for abstract pictures. We discuss the implications of this with respect to future avenues for studying the processing of abstract concepts.
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Argiris G, Rumiati RI, Crepaldi D. No fruits without color: Cross-modal priming and EEG reveal different roles for different features across semantic categories. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0234219. [PMID: 33852575 PMCID: PMC8046255 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Category-specific impairments witnessed in patients with semantic deficits have broadly dissociated into natural and artificial kinds. However, how the category of food (more specifically, fruits and vegetables) fits into this distinction has been difficult to interpret, given a pattern of deficit that has inconsistently mapped onto either kind, despite its intuitive membership to the natural domain. The present study explores the effects of a manipulation of a visual sensory (i.e., color) or functional (i.e., orientation) feature on the consequential semantic processing of fruits and vegetables (and tools, by comparison), first at the behavioral and then at the neural level. The categorization of natural (i.e., fruits/vegetables) and artificial (i.e., utensils) entities was investigated via cross-modal priming. Reaction time analysis indicated a reduction in priming for color-modified natural entities and orientation-modified artificial entities. Standard event-related potentials (ERP) analysis was performed, in addition to linear classification. For natural entities, a N400 effect at central channel sites was observed for the color-modified condition compared relative to normal and orientation conditions, with this difference confirmed by classification analysis. Conversely, there was no significant difference between conditions for the artificial category in either analysis. These findings provide strong evidence that color is an integral property to the categorization of fruits/vegetables, thus substantiating the claim that feature-based processing guides as a function of semantic category.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Davide Crepaldi
- International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
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46
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Overlapping but distinct: Distal connectivity dissociates hand and tool processing networks. Cortex 2021; 140:1-13. [PMID: 33901719 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Revised: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The processes and organizational principles of information involved in object recognition have been a subject of intense debate. These research efforts led to the understanding that local computations and feedforward/feedback connections are essential to our representations and their organization. Recent data, however, has demonstrated that distal computations also play a role in how information is locally processed. Here we focus on how long-range connectivity and local functional organization of information are related, by exploring regions that show overlapping category-preferences for two categories and testing whether their connections are related with distal representations in a category-specific way. We used an approach that relates functional connectivity with distal areas to local voxel-wise category-preferences. Specifically, we focused on two areas that show an overlap in category-preferences for tools and hands-the inferior parietal lobule/anterior intraparietal sulcus (IPL/aIPS) and the posterior middle temporal gyrus/lateral occipital temporal cortex (pMTG/LOTC) - and how connectivity from these two areas relate to voxel-wise category-preferences in two ventral temporal regions dedicated to the processing of tools and hands separately-the left medial fusiform gyrus and the fusiform body area respectively-as well as across the brain. We show that the functional connections of the two overlap areas correlate with categorical preferences for each category independently. These results show that regions that process both tools and hands maintain object topography in a category-specific way. This potentially allows for a category-specific flow of information that is pertinent to computing object representations.
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47
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Lupyan G, Zettersten M. Does Vocabulary Help Structure the Mind? MINNESOTA SYMPOSIA ON CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/9781119684527.ch6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
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48
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Huang T, Zhen Z, Liu J. Semantic Relatedness Emerges in Deep Convolutional Neural Networks Designed for Object Recognition. Front Comput Neurosci 2021; 15:625804. [PMID: 33692678 PMCID: PMC7938322 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2021.625804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Human not only can effortlessly recognize objects, but also characterize object categories into semantic concepts with a nested hierarchical structure. One dominant view is that top-down conceptual guidance is necessary to form such hierarchy. Here we challenged this idea by examining whether deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) could learn relations among objects purely based on bottom-up perceptual experience of objects through training for object categorization. Specifically, we explored representational similarity among objects in a typical DCNN (e.g., AlexNet), and found that representations of object categories were organized in a hierarchical fashion, suggesting that the relatedness among objects emerged automatically when learning to recognize them. Critically, the emerged relatedness of objects in the DCNN was highly similar to the WordNet in human, implying that top-down conceptual guidance may not be a prerequisite for human learning the relatedness among objects. In addition, the developmental trajectory of the relatedness among objects during training revealed that the hierarchical structure was constructed in a coarse-to-fine fashion, and evolved into maturity before the establishment of object recognition ability. Finally, the fineness of the relatedness was greatly shaped by the demand of tasks that the DCNN performed, as the higher superordinate level of object classification was, the coarser the hierarchical structure of the relatedness emerged. Taken together, our study provides the first empirical evidence that semantic relatedness of objects emerged as a by-product of object recognition in DCNNs, implying that human may acquire semantic knowledge on objects without explicit top-down conceptual guidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taicheng Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zonglei Zhen
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jia Liu
- Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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Macoir J, Chagnon A, Hudon C, Lavoie M, Wilson MA. TDQ-30-A New Color Picture-Naming Test for the Diagnostic of Mild Anomia: Validation and Normative Data in Quebec French Adults and Elderly. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2021; 36:267-280. [PMID: 31792492 DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acz048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Revised: 07/18/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE A reduction in lexical access is observed in normal aging and a few studies also showed that this ability is affected in individuals with subjective cognitive decline. Lexical access is also affected very early in mild cognitive impairment as well as in major neurocognitive disorders. The detection of word-finding difficulties in the earliest stages of pathological aging is particularly difficult because symptoms are often subtle or mild. Therefore, mild anomia is underdiagnosed, mainly due to the lack of sensitivity of naming tests. In this article, we present the TDQ-30, a new picture-naming test designed to detect mild word-finding deficits in adults and elderly people. METHOD The article comprises three studies aiming at the development of the test (Study 1), the establishment of its validity and reliability (Study 2), and finally, the production of normative data for French-speaking adults and elderly people from Quebec (Study 3). RESULTS The results showed that the TDQ-30 has good convergent validity. Also, the TDQ-30 distinguished the performance of healthy controls from those of participants with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, and post-stroke aphasia. This suggests good discriminant validity. Finally, this study provides normative data computed from a study sample composed of 227 participants aged 50 years and over. CONCLUSIONS The TDQ-30 has the potential to become a valuable picture-naming test for the diagnosis of mild anomia associated with pathological aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joël Macoir
- Département de réadaptation, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, G1V 0A6, Québec (QC), Canada.,Centre de recherche CERVO - Brain Research Centre, G1J 2G3, Québec (QC), Canada
| | - Andréanne Chagnon
- Département de réadaptation, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, G1V 0A6, Québec (QC), Canada
| | - Carol Hudon
- Centre de recherche CERVO - Brain Research Centre, G1J 2G3, Québec (QC), Canada.,École de psychologie, Faculté des sciences sociales, Université Laval, G1V 0A6, Québec (QC), Canada
| | - Monica Lavoie
- Département de réadaptation, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, G1V 0A6, Québec (QC), Canada.,Centre de recherche CERVO - Brain Research Centre, G1J 2G3, Québec (QC), Canada
| | - Maximiliano A Wilson
- Département de réadaptation, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, G1V 0A6, Québec (QC), Canada.,Centre de recherche CERVO - Brain Research Centre, G1J 2G3, Québec (QC), Canada
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50
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Gerlach C, Robotham RJ. Object recognition and visual object agnosia. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2021; 178:155-173. [PMID: 33832675 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-821377-3.00008-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The term visual agnosia is used to refer to recognition disorders that are confined to the visual modality, that are not due to an impairment in sensory functions, and that cannot be explained by other cognitive deficits or by general reduction in intellectual ability. Here, we describe the different types of visual agnosia that have been reported (form agnosia, integrative agnosia, associative agnosia, transformational and orientation agnosia as well as category-specific impairments such as pure alexia and prosopagnosia) and how they relate to the current understanding of visual object recognition. Together with related disorders such as simultanagnosia, texture agnosia, aphantasia, and optic aphasia, these visual perceptual impairments can have severe consequences for those affected. We suggest how in-depth assessment can be carried out to determine the type and the extent of these impairments. In the context of clinical assessment, a step-by-step approach reflecting a posterior to anterior gradient in visual object recognition, from more perceptual to more memory-related processes, is suggested. Individually tailored interventions targeting the identified impairments can be initiated based on the results of the assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Gerlach
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
| | - Ro Julia Robotham
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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