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PubMed2003

Parietal representation of symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude.

The close behavioral parallels between the processing of quantitative information conveyed by symbolic and nonsymbolic stimuli led to the hypothesis that there exists a common cerebral representation of quantity (Dehaene, Dehaene-Lambertz, & Cohen, 1998). The neural basis underlying the encoding of number magnitude has been localized to regions in and around the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) by brain-imaging studies. However, it has never been demonstrated that these same regions are also involved in the quantitative processing of nonsymbolic stimuli. Using functional brain imaging, we explicitly tested the hypothesis of a common substrate. Angles, lines, and two-digit numbers were presented pairwise, one to the left and one to the right of the fixation point. In the three comparison tasks, participants (n = 18) pressed the key on the side of the largest quantity. In the three control tasks, they indicated the side on which dimming occurred. A conjunction analysis between the three subtractions (comparison task-control task) revealed a site in left IPS that is specifically responsive when two stimuli have to be compared quantitatively, irrespective of stimulus format. The results confirm the hypothesis that quantity is represented by a common mechanism for both symbolic and nonsymbolic stimuli in IPS. In addition, the interaction between task and type of stimulus identified a region anterior to the conjunction site, not specific for quantitative processing, but reflecting general processes loaded by number processing.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Fusiform activation to animals is driven by the process, not the stimulus.

Previous studies have found that the lateral posterior fusiform gyri respond more robustly to pictures of animals than pictures of manmade objects and suggested that these regions encode the visual properties characteristic of animals. We suggest that such effects actually reflect processing demands arising when items with similar representations must be finely discriminated. In a positron emission tomography (PET) study of category verification with colored photographs of animals and vehicles, there was robust animal-specific activation in the lateral posterior fusiform gyri when stimuli were categorized at an intermediate level of specificity (e.g., dog or car). However, when the same photographs were categorized at a more specific level (e.g., Labrador or BMW), these regions responded equally strongly to animals and vehicles. We conclude that the lateral posterior fusiform does not encode domain-specific representations of animals or visual properties characteristic of animals. Instead, these regions are strongly activated whenever an item must be discriminated from many close visual or semantic competitors. Apparent category effects arise because, at an intermediate level of specificity, animals have more visual and semantic competitors than do artifacts.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Mental retardation and the acquisition of automatic processing.

The acquisition of automatic processing in persons with and without mental retardation was examined. In Experiment 1, subjects viewed slides of objects to determine whether a pictured object belonged to a designated target category. There was an effect of search set size for both groups that decreased and eventually disappeared with practice. This result reflected the acquisition of automatic processing. Also, evidence of automaticity was observed with less practice for subjects without relative to subjects with mental retardation. In Experiment 2, subjects searched for the presence of a designated target shape in arrays containing two, three, or four shapes. Results were essentially the same. Implications of these results for the development of cognitive skills by persons with mental retardation were discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Maternal supplementation with very-long-chain n-3 fatty acids during pregnancy and lactation augments children's IQ at 4 years of age.

OBJECTIVES: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 n-3) and arachidonic acid (AA; 20:4 n-6) are important for development of the central nervous system in mammals. There is a growth spurt in the human brain during the last trimester of pregnancy and the first postnatal months, with a large increase in the cerebral content of AA and DHA. The fetus and the newborn infant depend on maternal supply of DHA and AA. Our hypothesis was that maternal intake of DHA during pregnancy and lactation is marginal and that high intake of this fatty acid would benefit the child. We examined the effect of supplementing pregnant and lactating women with very-long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs; cod liver oil) on mental development of the children, compared with maternal supplementation with long-chain n-6 PUFAs (corn oil). METHODS: The study was randomized and double-blinded. Pregnant women were recruited in week 18 of pregnancy to take 10 mL of cod liver oil or corn oil until 3 months after delivery. The cod liver oil contained 1183 mg/10 mL DHA, 803 mg/10 mL eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 n-3), and a total of 2494 mg/10 mL summation operator n-3 PUFAs. The corn oil contained 4747 mg/10 mL linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) and 92 mg/10 mL alpha-linolenic acid (18:3 n-3). The amount of fat-soluble vitamins was identical in the 2 oils (117 micro g/mL vitamin A, 1 micro g/mL vitamin D, and 1.4 mg/mL dl-alpha-tocopherol). A total of 590 pregnant women were recruited to the study, and 341 mothers took part in the study until giving birth. All infants of these women were scheduled for assessment of cognitive function at 6 and 9 months of age, and 262 complied with the request. As part of the protocol, 135 subjects from this population were invited for intelligence testing with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) at 4 years of age. Of the 135 invited children, 90 came for assessment. Six children did not complete the examination. The K-ABC is a measure of intelligence and achievement designed for children aged 2.5 years through 12.5 years. This multisubtest battery comprises 4 scales: Sequential Processing, Simultaneous Processing, Achievement (not used in the present study), and Nonverbal Abilities. The Sequential Processing and Simultaneous Processing scales are hypothesized to reflect the child's style of problem solving and information processing. Scores from these 2 scales are combined to form a Mental Processing Composite, which serves as the measure of intelligence in the K-ABC. RESULTS: We received dietary information from 76 infants (41 in the cod liver oil group and 35 in the corn oil group), documenting that all of them were breastfed at 3 months of age. Children who were born to mothers who had taken cod liver oil (n = 48) during pregnancy and lactation scored higher on the Mental Processing Composite of the K-ABC at 4 years of age as compared with children whose mothers had taken corn oil (n = 36; 106.4 [7.4] vs 102.3 [11.3]). The Mental Processing Composite score correlated significantly with head circumference at birth (r = 0.23), but no relation was found with birth weight or gestational length. The children's mental processing scores at 4 years of age correlated significantly with maternal intake of DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid during pregnancy. In a multiple regression model, maternal intake of DHA during pregnancy was the only variable of statistical significance for the children's mental processing scores at 4 years of age. CONCLUSION: Maternal intake of very-long-chain n-3 PUFAs during pregnancy and lactation may be favorable for later mental development of children.

Breast Feeding↗
PubMed1992

Chaotic dynamics in autonomic nervous system activity of a patient during a psychotherapy session.

Chaos theory and nonlinear dynamical modeling have been applied successfully in a variety of scientific fields ranging from the physical sciences to population biology. More recently, investigators have modeled long-term psychological processes by applying this paradigm to subjective measures. Yet, mathematically rigorous dynamical modeling of transient psychodynamic processes remains uncharted. Human behaviors and intrapsychic processes often defy prediction, yet psychodynamic theory views these as fundamentally deterministic. We postulate that a nonlinear dynamical analysis of mental states and mental control processes may help reconcile the paradox that seemingly random mental states are thought ultimately to result from deterministic, rather than stochastic, psychological processes. As an initial empirical approach, we examined spontaneously occurring autonomic activity of a patient during 1 hr of psychotherapy and illustrate that cardiac responses associated with psychologically meaningful events possess nonlinear characteristics indicative of chaos. Such nonlinear analyses may shed light on fundamental issues of psychological functioning.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Knowledge acquisition and information searching strategies in diagnostic decision making.

The effect of three learning procedures on diagnostic information searching strategies was investigated. Undergraduate students acquired an artificial knowledge domain through either a Taxonomic-, Inductive-, or Case-oriented knowledge acquisition procedure. The use of the competing-hypotheses heuristic as a practical strategy to guide decision making in the face of uncertainty, was compared among the three learning conditions and between each condition and a non-learning control group using the method developed by Kern and Doherty (1982) and Wolf et al. (1985). The small instruction intervention had an effect on the diagnostic nature of subjects' information-searching strategies. Subjects in the Inductive-learning condition exhibited a stronger tendency to seek diagnostically worthless information than the other learning conditions. The outcomes are considered relevant to the nature of expertise in decision making, and to the effect of instruction methodologies on the knowledge representations available to diagnostic classification and decision-making processes.

Diagnosis↗
PubMed2005

Principles, processes, and puzzles of social cognition: an introduction for the special issue on social cognitive neuroscience.

This article introduces the special issue of NeuroImage focused on social cognitive neuroscience. Social psychology has a rich history of making sense of the often paradoxical aspects of social cognition and the social world. This article reviews the principles, processes, and puzzles of social cognition and behavior that have been examined by social psychologists for decades. Five principles of social cognition and behavior are reviewed including: (1) the power of the situation over behavior, (2) blindness for situational influences, (3) social perception and self-perception are constructive processes, (4) blindness for the constructed nature of social and self-perception, and (5) self-processes are social. Four processes of social cognition are reviewed including: (1) cognitive architecture; (2) automaticity and control; (3) motivated reasoning; and (4) accessibility, frames, and expectations. Finally, five areas of social cognition that contain enduring puzzles are described including (1) the self, (2) attitudes, (3) reflective social cognition, (4) automatic social cognition, and (5) social motives. In several of the areas of study reviewed, cognitive neuroscience is well positioned to make important contributions to these research traditions either by allowing for new tests of hypotheses or by allowing for unobtrusive measurement of social cognitive processes.

Attitude↗