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Cue- versus probe-dependent prefrontal cortex activity during contextual remembering.

Functional neuroimaging comparisons of context and item memory frequently implicate the left prefrontal cortex (PFC) during the recovery of contextually specific memories. However, because cues and probes are often presented simultaneously, this activity could reflect operations involved in planning retrieval or instead reflect later operations dependent upon the memory probes themselves, such as evaluation of probe-evoked recollections. More importantly, planning-related activity, wherein subjects reinstate details outlining the nature of desired remembrances, should occur in response to contextual memory cues even before retrieval probes are available. Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging, we tested this by dissociating cue- from probe-related activity during context memory for pictures. Cues forewarning contextual memory demands yielded more activity than those forewarning item memory in the left lateral precentral gyrus, midline superior frontal gyrus, and right frontopolar cortex. Thus, these anticipatory, cue-based activations indicated whether upcoming probe decisions would require contextually specific memories or not. In contrast, the left dorsolateral/midventrolateral and anterior ventrolateral PFC areas did not show differential activity until the probes were actually presented, demonstrating greater activity for context than for item memory probes. Direct comparison of proximal left PFC regions demonstrated qualitatively different response profiles across cue versus probe periods for lateral precentral versus dorsolateral regions. These results potentially isolate contextual memory-planning-related processes from subsequent processes such as the evaluation of recollections, which are necessarily dependent on individual probe features. They also demonstrate that contextual remembering recruits multiple, functionally distinct PFC processes.

Adult↗

Symmetry cues for matching mirrored objects.

The study explores cues for matching pairs of objects. These objects were arranged into mirror-symmetrical displays and the task was to judge whether a pre-specified 180 degree rotation around the X, Y or Z axis carries one object into the mirror object. For some rotations, the object's mirror symmetry (M) and, for other rotations, the object's point-symmetry (P) could serve as a cue. The matching results suggest that M is a better cue than P, say M > P. Various attempts are made to explain this effect. The most promising one focuses on simplest structural object representations as these capture M and not P. It is furthermore plausible that M captured by reference frames at high hierarchical representation levels, say M1, serves as a better cue than M captured at low levels, say M2. The prediction M1 > M2 > P merely applies to the open surface objects in the experiment. For the closed solid objects in the experiment the expectation is M1 = M2 = P. Both predictions roughly agree with the accuracy and reaction-time data. The results suggest the perceptual relevance of representation cues and, aditionally, that cues stemming from reference frames at higher hierarchical representation levels are more effective than those from lower levels.

Cues↗

Visual search for transparency and opacity: attentional guidance by cue combination?

A series of seven experiments explored search for opaque targets among transparent distractors or vice versa. Static stimuli produced very inefficient search. With moving items, search for an opaque target among transparent distractors was quite efficient while search for transparent targets was less efficient (Experiment 1). Transparent and opaque items differed from each other on the basis of motion cues, luminance cues, and figural cues (e.g., junction type). Motion cues were not sufficient to support efficient search (Experiments 2-5). Violations of the luminance rules of transparency disrupt search (Experiments 3 and 4). Experiment 5 shows that search becomes inefficient if X-junctions are removed. Experiments 6 and 7 show that efficient search survives if X-junctions are occluded. It appears that guidance of attention to an opaque target is guidance based on "cue combination" (M. S. Landy, L. T. Maloney, E. B. Johnston, & M. Young, 1995). Several cues must be present to produce a difference between opaque and transparent surfaces that is adequate to guide attention.

Attention↗

Attentional cueing improves vision restoration therapy in patients with visual field defects.

BACKGROUND: In patients with postgenicular lesions of the visual system, areas of residual vision (ARVs) are the main predictor of recovery induced by vision restoration therapy (VRT). In these partially defective regions, the elevated perceptual thresholds can be acutely reduced by attentional cueing. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether directing attention to ARVs using a visuospatial cue also increases long-term neural plasticity and thus enhances permanent training outcome. METHODS: In a prospective, randomized clinical trial, treatment outcome was compared in patients with postgenicular visual system lesions who received either standard VRT (control group [CG]; n = 10) or VRT with attentional cueing (experimental group [EG]; n = 9). Visual field size was determined before and after a 6-month treatment period using Tubingen Automated Perimetry and computer-based high-resolution perimetry (HRP) and in regular intervals throughout this period by HRP and detection performance in VRT. RESULTS: In the area of the cue, restoration of vision was significantly greater than during VRT without cueing: cued patients showed a much more pronounced shift of the visual field border toward the blind area than that observed in the CG or in uncued regions of the EG. Focusing attention at ARVs during treatment changed topographic and temporal patterns of recovery as compared with uncued regions of the visual field. CONCLUSIONS: Use of a visuospatial cue to focus attention at areas of residual vision amplifies long-term neuronal plasticity. The authors propose that top-down signals preactivate partially damaged areas of V1, thus linking visual and attentional neuronal networks, with the effect of permanently increasing conscious visual perception.

Adult↗

Olfactory cues perceived at the home loft are not essential for the formation of a navigational map in pigeons.

Deflector lofts consist of a 'pinwheel' arrangement of four stationary deflector panels attached to the sides of a cube-shaped cage. These panels are made of wood and Plexiglas and rotate incoming winds in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. When released at a distant site, homing pigeons (Columbia livia) raised in deflector lofts exhibit a shift in orientation relative to controls which corresponds to the clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of winds in their loft, suggesting the involvement of wind-borne olfactory cues in pigeon navigation. As part of a long-term study designed to test whether orientation cues other than odors might also be involved in creating the deflector-loft effect, we carried out experiments in upstate New York, USA, in which deflector lofts were modified to reverse the direction of light reflected from the Plexiglas panels while leaving the rotation of winds unchanged. The results indicate that the orientation of pigeons raised as permanent residents of these altered deflector lofts is not influenced by reflected light cues; i.e. they exhibit the same orientation bias as birds raised in the lofts with normal panels. This is in direct contrast to our previous findings that non-resident pigeons kept in the altered lofts for short periods exhibit a reversal of initial orientation compared to birds from the lofts with normal panels. However, when permanent-resident birds are prevented from having a direct view of the horizon sky by the addition of 'anti-cheating' slats (which prevent the birds from seeing beyond the end of each panel), the deflections are either greatly reduced or eliminated entirely, contrary to the predictions of olfactory navigation models. This disappearance of the deflector-loft effect in the presence of anti-cheating slats suggests that the positions of the deflector panels in the two experimental lofts must be differentially influencing important visual orientation cues reaching the birds housed inside. We believe that these cues are probably derived from polarized skylight emanating from the horizon, and that the obstruction of specific regions of horizon skylight by the deflector panels in the two experimental lofts is responsible for a miscalibration of the pigeon's sun compass. This miscalibration, in turn, generates the orientation bias observed for deflector-loft birds. Our findings force us to conclude that, at least for pigeons raised in New York (and perhaps those from other geographical locations as well), olfactory cues perceived at the home loft do not contribute to the formation of the navigational map.

Animals↗

Experimental tests of prospective remembering: the influence of cue-event frequency on performance.

During recent years there has been an upsurge of interest in the processes underlying success or failure of intentions to perform an action in the future e.g. carry out an errand for a friend. Much of this research focuses on simulating these delayed-intention or prospective-memory tasks in the laboratory. A currently popular variant of these tasks is a repeated-instance event-based one in which the same action should be performed whenever a particular (repeated) event-cue occurs during an ongoing activity (e.g. a word in a running memory test of word recall). We report two experiments that investigated important dimensions of this task design, along which recent experimental tasks differ considerably, and explored their influence on prospective remembering. The results revealed that the variations in the event-cue frequencies explored here did not influence overall performance: relatively high event-cue frequency did not improve prospective remembering. However, performance was lower when event-cues were embedded in a general knowledge test than when a prose-reading task was used. Moreover, when remembering was compared for the first and final set of event-cues there was evidence for improvement over presentations during the general knowledge task and a contrasting decline using the prose task, under high event-cue frequency conditions only. The results have important repercussions for current experimental design and the development of tests of prospective remembering skills in particular population subgroups.

Adult↗

Distractor cueing effects on choice reaction time and their relationship with schizotypal personality.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although usually displaying increased distractibility, schizophrenic patients sometimes show a reduced influence of distractors during selective attention tasks. This study explored whether reduced distractor processing effects can also occur in healthy individuals with high levels of schizotypal personality traits. DESIGN AND METHOD: In all, 36 healthy volunteers completed schizotypal personality scales and a choice reaction time (RT) task in which they responded to the central letter of triads (XMX, YCY), ignoring the flanking distractors. RT increases on low-probability probe trials (YMY, XCX) measured distractor processing ('the distractor cueing effect'). Correlations between schizotypy scores and distractor cueing were evaluated. RESULTS: Healthy participants with high positive schizotypy scores (i.e. those reporting more hallucination-like experiences and delusion-like beliefs) showed smaller distractor cueing effects than those with lower scores. This association was independent of the influence of other schizotypal personality traits (disorganized, negative or asocial schizotypy) and was significant only for right-hand responses. These findings closely parallel the previously reported reduced distractor cueing effect, for right-hand responses, among acute-phase schizophrenic patients. CONCLUSION: Finding reduced distractor cueing effects in healthy participants with high levels of positive schizotypy increases confidence that reduced distractor cueing is a specific feature, rather than a non-specific consequence, of acute-phase schizophrenia.

Adult↗

Cue exposure in the treatment of alcohol dependence: effects on drinking outcome, craving and self-efficacy.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate beneficial effects of cue exposure treatment for alcohol dependence by contrasting it with a well-established treatment approach. We hypothesized that cue exposure treatment is associated with a stronger decline of craving, a stronger increase in self-efficacy and has beneficial effects on drinking behaviour after discharge. DESIGN AND METHODS: Sixty-three patients with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence were recruited from an in-patient alcohol-detoxification facility. Patients were sequentially assigned to either cue exposure or a standard cognitive-behavioural treatment. We assessed self-reports of craving and self-efficacy prior to treatment participation and at the end of treatment. Drinking behaviour was assessed in the 6-month period following discharge. RESULTS: Both treatments were associated with a reduction of self-reported craving and an increase in self-reported measures of self-efficacy. A significant time x treatment interaction indicated a greater increase in self-reported measures of self-efficacy after cue exposure treatment. Measures of drinking behaviour showed clearly that both treatments were efficacious. Relapse rates and drinking-related variables were not significantly different for the two treatments at the 6-month follow-up. There was preliminary evidence that suggests that cue exposure therapy may be more effective for patients with severe alcohol dependence. CONCLUSIONS: With respect to drinking behaviour, cue exposure and standard cognitive-behavioural treatment seem to be equally effective for patients with a moderate severity of alcohol dependence. Further studies are necessary to specify criteria for differential treatment indication.

Alcoholism↗

Anticipatory movement timing using prediction and external cues.

Animals often make anticipatory movements to compensate for slow reaction times. Anticipatory movements can be timed using external, sensory cues, or by an internal prediction of when an event will occur. However, it is unknown whether external or internal cues dominate the anticipatory response when both are present. Smooth pursuit eye movements are generated by a motor system heavily influenced by anticipation. We measured pursuit to determine how its timing was influenced when both a predictable event and a visual cue were present. Monkeys tracked a moving target that appeared at a constant time relative to the onset of a fixation point. At a randomized time before target onset, the fixation point disappeared, creating a temporal "gap" that cued impending target motion. We found that the gap onset cue and prediction of target onset together determined pursuit initiation time. We also investigated whether prediction could override the gap onset cue or vice versa by manipulating target onset and, hence, the duration of time that the animal had to estimate to predict it. When target motion began earlier, the pursuit system relied more on prediction to trigger a movement, whereas the cue was more often used when the target moved later. Pursuit latency in previous trials partially accounted for this behavior. The results suggest that neither internal nor external factors dominate to control the anticipatory response and that the relative contributions vary with stimulus conditions. A model in which neuronal anticipation and fixation signals interact can explain the results.

Animals↗

Effect of a partial report visual cue on information available in tachistoscopic presentations of alphanumeric characters varying in number and type.

The capacity of iconic memory is investigated using a variety of cueing techniques. As an alternative to auditory recall cues, a tachistoscopically presented arrow, with two exposure-fields at different luminances, was employed in a partial report paradigm. Alphanumeric target stimulus arrays varied in number and type. Results with 12 normal adults indicated that subjects recalled fewer items when the target array contained nine elements, as opposed to six, and when the visual cue was presented at a higher luminance. In all cases, numbers appeared easier to recall than letters. In general, subjects had less information available for recall than reported in previous studies employing auditory cues. It is possible that the effects observed are the result of backward masking by the visual cue. Nevertheless, subjects' performance suggests that the visual modality should not necessarily be abandoned for recall cueing.

Adult↗

A comparison between elemental and compound training of cues in retrospective revaluation.

Associative learning theories assume that cue interaction and, specifically, retrospective revaluation occur only when the target cue is previously trained in compound with the to-be-revalued cue. However, there are recent demonstrations of retrospective revaluation in the absence of compound training (e.g., Matute & Pineño, 1998a, 1998b). Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to assume that cue interaction should be stronger when the cues are trained together than when they are trained apart. In two experiments with humans, we directly compared compound and elemental training of cues. The results showed that retrospective revaluation in the elemental condition can be as strong as and, sometimes, stronger than that in the compound condition. This suggests that within-compound associations are not necessary for retrospective revaluation to occur and that these effects can possibly be best understood in the framework of general interference theory.

Association Learning↗

Use of base rates and case cue information in making likelihood estimates.

In five experiments, we investigated college students' use of base rate and case cue information in estimating likelihood. The participants reported that case cues were more important than base rates, except when the case cues were totally uninformative, and made more use of base rate information when the base rates were varied within subjects, rather than between subjects. Estimates were more Bayesian when base rate and case cue information was congruent, rather than contradictory. The nature of the "witness" in case cue information (animate or inanimate) did not affect the use of base rate and case cue information. Multiple trials with feedback led to more accurate estimates; however, this effect was not lasting. The results suggest that when base rate information is made salient by experience (multiple trials and within-subjects variation) or by other manipulations, base rate neglect is minimized.

Adolescent↗

Priming cue encoding by manipulating transition frequency in explicitly cued task switching.

Explicitly cued task switching with multiple cues per task permits three types of transitions: cue repetitions (cue and task repeat), task repetitions (cue changes but task repeats), and task alternations (cue and task change). The difference between task alternations and task repetitions can be interpreted as a switch cost, but its magnitude varies substantially across experiments. We investigated how switch cost is affected by transition frequency (how often subjects repeat and switch tasks) with an experiment in which each transition had a frequency of .70 in separate sessions. Switch cost was smallest when task alternations were frequent and largest when task repetitions were frequent. Mathematical modeling of the data indicated that the different "switch costs" reflected priming of cue encoding for frequent transitions. Interpretations of our findings based on automatic priming from memory retrieval of past transitions and strategic priming from transition expectancies are discussed.

Attention↗

Competition among spatial cues in a naturalistic food-carrying task.

Rats collected nuts from a container in a large arena in four experiments testing how learning about a beacon or cue at a goal interacts with learning about other spatial cues (place learning). Place learning was quick, with little evidence of competition from the beacon (Experiments 1 and 2). Rats trained to approach a beacon regardless of its location were subsequently impaired when the well-learned beacon was removed and other spatial cues identified the location of the goal (Experiment 3). The competition between beacon and place cues reflected learned irrelevance for place cues (Experiment 4). The findings differ from those of some studies of associative interactions between cue and place learning in other paradigms.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

The role of syllabic and orthographic properties of letter cues in solving word fragments.

The present research examined the role of phonological and orthographic properties of cues in mediating the retrieval of words from the mental lexicon. The task required subjects to resolve fragmented words when provided with semantically related cues (e.g., spiteful:---DIC----). Phonological properties of the letter cues were manipulated such that the letters either corresponded to the syllables (e.g., DIC in vindictive) or nonsyllables (NDI) in the word. Orthographic properties of the letter cues were manipulated by selecting letter groups that either co-occurred frequently in the language or did not. In two experiments, results revealed little or no effect of the phonological variable (syllables) but a reliable effect of the orthographic variable (letter-cue frequency). Letter cues with a low frequency of co-occurrence in the language led to better completion of the fragmented words. We interpret these findings as support for models of lexical representation that are based on orthographic properties (e.g., Seidenberg & McClelland, 1989) rather than those based on phonological constraints.

Adult↗

What variety of attention is automatically captured by peripheral cues?

Previous studies have shown that the voluntary allocation of attention to a location in space can influence accuracy in two ways. First, additional processing resources can be allocated to the attended location, leading to an improvement in perceptual quality for objects presented at that location. Second, decision processes can be restricted to information arising from the attended location, which improves accuracy without influencing the perceptual representation. The present study examined the operation of these two attentional mechanisms when nonpredictive peripheral cues were used to capture attention automatically. Experiment 1 showed that, like predictive cues, nonpredictive cues influence accuracy by summoning perceptual resources and also by influencing decision processes. However, both the cues and the targets in this experiment were defined by luminance increments, making it possible that the cuing effects were mediated by a task-controlled attentional set rather than being fully automatic. Experiments 2 and 3 examined this possibility by using luminance-defined cues and color-defined targets; evidence was again obtained for both perceptual-level and decision-level attention effects. The capture of attention by a nonpredictive peripheral cue thus appears to influence both perceptual resource allocation and postperceptual decision processes.

Attention↗

The effects of cue distinctiveness on odor-based context-dependent memory.

The distinctiveness of an ambient odor was examined in relation to its success as a cue in context-dependent memory. Distinctiveness was examined in terms of both cue novelty and contextual appropriateness. Two experiments were conducted in which three different ambient odors that varied in familiarity and contextual appropriateness were manipulated at an incidental word learning encoding session and at a free recall retrieval session 48 h later. Experiment 1 revealed that when a novel ambient odor (osmanthus) was the available context cue, word recall was better than in any other condition. Further, among familiar odor cues, recall was better with a contextually inappropriate odor (peppermint) than with a contextually appropriate odor (clean fresh pine). Experiment 2 confirmed that superior word recall with osmanthus and peppermint depended on the odor cue's being available at both encoding and retrieval, and that the relation of an odor to the situational context is a key factor for predicting its effectiveness as a retrieval cue.

Analysis of Variance↗

Single-cue delay eyeblink conditioning is unrelated to awareness.

We examined the importance of awareness for eyeblink conditioning by directly comparing single-cue delay eyeblink conditioning and single-cue trace eyeblink conditioning. During single-cue delay conditioning, participants who became aware of the stimulus contingencies early in the conditioning session conditioned no better than those who became aware later in the session or did not become aware. Thus, the level of awareness was unrelated to the overall level of conditioning across the session. In contrast, awareness of the stimulus contingencies early in the session predicted the success of single-cue trace conditioning. These data, together with earlier findings, show that awareness is irrelevant to single-cue delay eyeblink conditioning but is critical for single-cue trace eyeblink conditioning. The findings from the present study are related to previous findings for differential (CS+ and CS-) eyeblink conditioning and awareness.

Aged↗