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PubMed1995

Information processing and social competence in chronic schizophrenia.

The relationship between social competence and information processing among individuals with chronic schizophrenia was investigated. Thirty-eight inpatients participated in a role play test of social competence and completed a battery of information-processing tasks. Information processing was found to be significantly related to social competence, even after controlling for patient demographics, chronicity, and symptomatology. Higher global social competence was related to more efficient early information processing on a continuous performance/span of apprehension task. Composite indices of specific social competence (i.e., paralinguistic and nonverbal skills) were related to other aspects of information processing (e.g., reaction time). Implications for behavioral assessment and cognitive rehabilitation are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Differential progression of proprioceptive and visual information processing deficits in Parkinson's disease.

Indirect evidence suggests that patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have deficits not only in motor performance, but also in the processing of sensory information. We investigated the role of sensory information processing in PD patients with a broad range of disease severities and in a group of age-matched controls. Subjects were tested in two conditions: pointing to a remembered visual target in complete darkness (DARK) and in the presence of an illuminated frame with a light attached to the index finger (FRAME). Differences in pointing errors in these two conditions reflect the effect of visual feedback on pointing. PD patients showed significantly larger constant and variable errors than controls in the DARK and FRAME condition. The difference of the variable error in the FRAME and DARK condition decreased as a function of the severity of PD. This indicates that any deficits in the processing of proprioceptive information occur already at very mild symptoms of PD, and that deficits in the use of visual feedback develop progressively in later stages of the disease. These results provide a tool for early diagnosis of PD and shed new light on the functional role of the brain structures that are affected in PD.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

A corporate strategy for the control of information processing.

Although the use of information processing has become widespread, many organizations have developed systems that are basically independent of the firm's strategy. However, the authors in this article argue that the greatest benefits come when information technology is merged with strategy formulation. The article includes examples of how this has been done and presents a framework for top management direction and control of information processing.

Computers↗
PubMed1995

An integrated approach for mobile information processing in hospitals.

Computer-based mobile information processing in hospitals is at a turning point of becoming a substantial and integral part of hospital information systems. Its necessity and potential require a comprehensive systematic approach to support the needs of health care professionals and thus to contribute to high quality patient care and medical research. From the authors' point of view, standardized digital documents could become an appropriate basis for distributed mobile information processing in hospitals. An architecture for the integrated co-operative use of conventional, stationary, and mobile information tools is a major research topic at Heidelberg University. The objective of this paper is to present a departmental prototype design to establish mobile information processing as an integral part of hospital information systems through the use of standardized digital documents.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed2004

Evidence for synergistic modulation of early information processing by nicotinic and muscarinic receptors in humans.

Impairments in early information processing are a hallmark feature of diverse neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Several lines of evidence implicate a dysfunction of the cholinergic system in these disorders, particularly in AD where there is known degeneration in major cholinergic pathways. Inspection time (IT), a measure of early visual information processing speed, has been shown to be sensitive to cholinergic manipulation. The current study employed the IT task to (1) examine the independent roles of nicotinic and muscarinic receptors in modulating information processing and (2) investigate the interaction of nicotinic and muscarinic receptor systems in modulating information processing. Twelve healthy participants completed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study under four drug conditions; (1) placebo, (2) mecamylamine (15 mg; oral), (3) scopolamine (0.4 mg, s.c.), (4) mecamylamine (15 mg) + scopolamine (0.4 mg). IT measures were examined at baseline and 2.5 h post drug administration. Selective blockade of nicotinic receptors with mecamylamine did not significantly impair IT, whereas selective blockade of muscarinic receptors with scopolamine produced a significant but small impairment in IT. Combined blockade of both receptor types with scopolamine and mecamylamine produced a large impairment in IT performance. The results indicate that both nicotinic and muscarinic receptors are involved in modulating IT, and that the two systems may function synergistically to modulate early visual information processing. These findings suggest that functional abnormalities in both nicotinic and muscarinic systems may underlie deficits in early visual information processing seen in disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

A formal analysis of stressor and stress-proneness effects on simple information processing.

This study examined visual information processing under a stressor of recurring loud sound among groups divided according to psychometrically identified stress susceptibility. Formal models of task performance were employed to address several issues concerning stress effects on cognitive functioning. Examined were effects on parallel versus serial processing structure, task-wise processing capacity, strategies of allocating processing resources to task components, and curtailment of processing of relevant task elements. Contrary to prediction, stressor presence generated slightly more rather than less evidence of a parallel versus serial processing structure. There was some suggestion of central-task capacity depletion among more susceptible subjects, in line with certain theoretical positions. Evidence of curtailed exhaustive processing of relevant stimulus items was negative. Most notable was the disruption by stress among susceptible subjects of performance-enhancing strategies of deploying processing resources across the different task components (elements of the visual display and within-trial stages of processing). Such effects have received relatively little attention in this research domain; their investigation is shown to be made tractable, however, through the application of selected formal models of information processing.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alcohol impairs speed of information processing and simple and choice reaction time and differentially impairs higher-order cognitive abilities.

Previous research has demonstrated that alcohol impairs information processing. However, it is unknown whether this impairment is on all stages of information processing, or on the early, rather than on the later, stages of information processing. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the effects of orally administered alcohol on both the early and the later stages of information processing. The present study assessed inspection time (IT), simple reaction time, choice reaction time and cognitive ability (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised) in 16 adult participants in both alcohol and placebo conditions. IT (a measure of the early stages of information processing) was used as a predictor variable in a linear regression to examine whether a disruption of the early stages of information processing accounted for changes in total information processing after alcohol administration. Results indicated that alcohol significantly slowed total information processing, independently of the early stages of information processing.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Effects of d-amphetamine in human models of information processing and inhibitory control.

Although stimulants are generally associated with enhanced information processing, reports of stimulant effects on behavioral functions that rely on inhibitory processes have been inconsistent. The present research tested the joint effects of d-amphetamine on information processing and inhibitory control in healthy adults (N = 22) with no reported history of illicit stimulant use or drug dependence. Information processing was measured by a rapid information processing (RIP) task and inhibitory control was measured using a stop-signal task. Performance was measured in response to 15 mg/70 kg, 7.5 mg/70 kg, and 0 mg/70 mg (placebo) doses of d-amphetamine, administered double-blind in a randomized, within-subjects design. Results showed that d-amphetamine improved information processing in a dose-dependent manner. By contrast, no enhancement of response inhibition was observed. Stimulant effects were also observed in physiological and subjective effects measures. The findings indicate that a stimulant drug can enhance aspects of cognitive functioning without producing a concomitant improvement in inhibitory control of behavior. The findings highlight the complex nature of stimulant effects on human behavior and the utility of performance tasks as models of complex behavioral and cognitive functions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Information processing efficiency in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Reduced information processing efficiency, consequent to impaired neural transmission, has been proposed as underlying various cognitive problems in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This study employed two measures developed from experimental psychology that control for the potential confound of perceptual-motor abnormalities (Salthouse, Babcock, & Shaw, 1991; Sternberg, 1966, 1969) to assess the speed of information processing and working memory capacity in patients with mild to moderate MS. Although patients had significantly more cognitive complaints than neurologically intact matched controls, their performance on standard tests of immediate memory span did not differ from control participants and their word list learning was within normal limits. On the experimental measures, both relapsing-remitting and secondary-progressive patients exhibited significantly slowed information processing speed relative to controls. However, only the secondary-progressive patients had an additional decrement in working memory capacity. Depression, fatigue, or neurologic disability did not account for performance differences on these measures. While speed of information processing may be slowed early in the disease process, deficits in working memory capacity may appear only as there is progression of MS. It is these latter deficits, however, that may underlie the impairment of new learning that patients with MS demonstrate.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Effects of the "beauty is good" stereotype on children's information processing.

The authors tested schematic information processing as a function of attractiveness stereotyping in two studies. An adult experimenter read children (ages 3 to 7 years) eight different stories in which a child narrator encountered two characters who varied in level of attractiveness and displayed positive or negative traits that were either consistent or inconsistent with the "beauty is good" stereotype. Following the story, the experimenter showed each child a photograph of the two characters' faces and asked the child to point to the character who displayed the positive trait. In Experiment 1, children made more errors in identifying female characters with stereotype inconsistent traits but did just the opposite with male characters. Experiment 2 replicated the findings with female characters but found no difference in errors with male characters. The findings have implications for how attractiveness and gender stereotypes affect children's information processing, how attractiveness schemata may be organized, and why physical attractiveness stereotypes are maintained.

Beauty↗
PubMed2000

Stressful events and information processing dispositions moderate the relationship between positive and negative affect: implications for pain patients.

Relationships between positive affect, negative affect, and pain were analyzed as a prospective function of stressful events in a sample of rheumatoid arthritis patients and as a cross-sectional function of an information processing disposition in persons with fibromyalgia. Positive affect and negative affect were statistically separate factors overall in both samples. In addition, negative affect and pain were related across all conditions. However, positive affect and negative affect were more negatively correlated during stressful periods and more negatively correlated for patients who processed information in a more simplistic fashion. Also, positive affect predicted pain during stressful times and did so for patients who processed information more simplistically as well. These data suggest positive affect and negative affect are unique factors whose interrelation and external correlates are not static.

Affect↗
PubMed2004

The interpersonal effects of emotions in negotiations: a motivated information processing approach.

Three experiments tested a motivated information processing account of the interpersonal effects of anger and happiness in negotiations. In Experiment 1, participants received information about the opponent's emotion (anger, happiness, or none) in a computer-mediated negotiation. As predicted, they conceded more to an angry opponent than to a happy one (controls falling in between), but only when they had a low (rather than a high) need for cognitive closure. Experiment 2 similarly showed that participants were only affected by the other's emotion under low rather than high time pressure, because time pressure reduced their degree of information processing. Finally, Experiment 3 showed that negotiators were only influenced by their opponent's emotion if they had low (rather than high) power. These results support the motivated information processing model by showing that negotiators are only affected by their opponent's emotions if they are motivated to consider them.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Intrusive effects of implicitly processed information on explicit memory.

This study described the interference of implicitly processed information on the memory for explicitly processed information. Participants studied a list of words either auditorily or visually under instructions to remember the words (explicit study). They were then visually presented another word list under instructions which facilitate implicit but not explicit processing. Following a distractor task, memory for the explicit study list was tested with either a visual or auditory recognition task that included new words, words from the explicit study list, and words implicitly processed. Analysis indicated participants both failed to recognize words from the explicit study list and falsely recognized words that were implicitly processed as originating from the explicit study list. However, this effect only occurred when the testing modality was visual, thereby matching the modality for the implicitly processed information, regardless of the modality of the explicit study list. This "modality effect" for explicit memory was interpreted as poor source memory for implicitly processed information and in light of the procedures used. as well as illustrating an example of "remembering causing forgetting."

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

A requirements index for information processing in hospitals.

OBJECTIVES: Reference models describing typical information processing requirements in hospitals do not currently exist. This leads to high hospital information system (HIS) management expenses, for example, during tender processes for the acquisition of software application programs. Our aim was, therefore, to develop a comprehensive, lasting, technology-independent, and sufficiently detailed index of requirements for information processing in hospitals in order to reduce respective expenses. METHODS: Two-dozen German experts established an index of requirements for information processing in university hospitals. This was done in a consensus-based, top-down, cyclic manner. Each functional requirement was derived from information processing functions and sub-functions of a hospital. RESULTS: The result is the first official German version of a requirements index, containing 233 functional requirements and 102 function-independent requirements, focusing on German needs. The functional requirements are structured according to the primary care process from admission to discharge and supplemented by requirements for handling patient records, work organization and resource planning, hospital management, research and education. Both the German version and its English translation are available in the Internet. CONCLUSIONS: The index of requirements contains general information processing requirements in hospitals which are formulated independent of information processing tools, or of HIS architectures. It aims at supporting HIS management, especially HIS strategic planning, HIS evaluation, and tender processes. The index can be regarded as a draft, which must, however, be refined according to the specific aims of a particular project. Although focused on German needs, we expect that it can also be useful in other countries. The high amount of interest shown for the index supports its usefulness.

Computer Systems↗
PubMed2003

Selective impairment in effortful information processing in major depression.

Automatic and effortful information processing in depressed patients was investigated by a visual search paradigm, in order to examine dysfunctional effortful processing in depressed patients. Twenty-one patients with major depression, according to the DSM-IV, and with a moderate depression measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale score at >18 participated in the study. The healthy control group was matched for age, gender, and level of education. Half of the trials involved only one type of distractor, and the other half of the trials involved two types of distractors being presented. The results show that the performance of the depressed patients was equal to the control group when the target was easily recognized with only one type of distractor present. However, when target detection required a more difficult and complex attentive search strategy, effortful information processing, the depressed patients needed longer visual search time compared to the controls. Depressed patients seem to have impaired performance on effortful but not automatic information processing.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Animal models for information processing during sleep.

Information provided by external stimuli does reach the brain during sleep, although the amount of information is reduced during sleep compared to wakefulness. The process controlling this reduction is called 'sensory' gating and evidence exists that the underlying neurophysiological processes take place in the thalamus. Furthermore, it is clear that stimuli given during sleep can alter the functional state of the brain. Two factors have been shown to play a crucial role in causing changes in the sleeping brain: the intensity and the relevance of the stimulus. Intensive stimuli arouse the brain, as well as stimuli having a high informational impact on the sleeping person. The arousal threshold for important stimuli is quite low compared to neutral stimuli. A central question in sleep research is whether associative learning, or in other words the formation of new associations between stimuli, can take place in a sleeping brain. It has been shown that simple forms of learning are still possible during sleep. In sleeping rats, it is proven that habituation, an active, simple form of learning not to respond to irrelevant stimuli, can occur. Moreover, there is evidence for the view that more complex associations can be modulated and newly formed during sleep. This is shown by two experimental approaches: an extinction paradigm and a latent inhibition (pre-exposure) paradigm. The presentation of non-reinforced stimuli during sleep causes slower extinction compared to the same presentation of these stimuli during wakefulness. Consistently, the suppressive capacity of a stimulus in the latent inhibition paradigm is less when previously pre-exposed during sleep, as compared to pre-exposure during wakefulness. Thus, while associative learning is not completely blocked during sleep, aspects of association formation are clearly altered. However, animal studies also clearly indicate that complex forms of learning are not possible during sleep. It is hypothesised that this restriction in information processing during sleep is due to the considerable reduction of incoming information by the sleeping brain. This reduction may serve to protect the sleep process.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Information-processing deficits and thought disorder in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this investigation was to study the relationship between information-processing deficits and thought disorder in schizophrenic patients. METHOD: Fifty-two subjects diagnosed with schizophrenia were administered tests of information processing and thought disorder. The information-processing tests included visual backward masking and prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex. Thought disorder was measured with the Magical Ideation Scale, the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, the alogia subscale of the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, and the Ego Impairment Index-human experience variable and its subcomponents derived from the Rorschach. RESULTS: Elevated poor responses on the Ego Impairment Index-human experience variable were significantly correlated with information-processing deficits. In a simultaneous multiple regression, the auditory prepulse inhibition measure was the best predictor of poor responses on the Ego Impairment Index-human experience variable. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest a correlative relationship between information-processing deficits and thought disorder. The relationship is most apparent when highly sensitive measures of both information processing and thought disorder are used. Furthermore, the prediction of poor responses on the Ego Impairment Index-human experience variable by auditory prepulse inhibition is important, since the neural circuitry of prepulse inhibition is known and involves the modulatory influences of the cortical-striatal-pallidal-thalamic circuit. These findings lend support to the hypothesis that information-processing failures are associated with cognitive fragmentation and thought disorder. More speculatively, these results allow us to hypothesize that impairments in part of the cortical-striatal-pallidal-thalamic circuit may lead to thought disorder, as well as prepulse inhibition deficits.

Adult↗