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How metaphors influence semantic relatedness judgments: the role of the right frontal cortex.

We used event-related fMRI (ER-fMRI) to test the hypothesis that metaphors bias cognitive processing of semantic relatedness towards a search for a wider range of associations. Twelve right-handed male volunteers read a mixture of metaphoric and literal sentences, each sentence being followed by a single word, which could be semantically related or not to the preceding sentence context. We found that judging unrelated words as contextually irrelevant was associated with increased blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in the metaphoric but not in the literal condition. The same region was also activated when subjects endorsed a semantic relation between words and metaphoric sentence primes but not between words and literal sentence primes. We argue that these results are consistent with the notion of semantic open-endedness, whereby figurative statements bias cognitive processing towards a search for a wider range of semantic relationships compared to literal statements, and thus lend further support to the view that coarse semantic coding occurs preferentially in the right hemisphere.

Brain Mapping↗

Event-related potential correlates of judgment categories and detection sensitivity in a visual detection task.

Event-related potentials were recorded from human subjects performing a visual detection task to find correlates of detection performance (d' and beta) in accordance with the theory of signal detection. Two spatial frequencies of square waves shifted horizontally with three shifting-step varieties were presented to the subjects who reported whether or not the waves were perceived to shift. Although three components of N1, P2, and P3 were observed for all of four response categories of hit, miss, false alarm, and correct rejection, only the amplitudes of the P3 component at vertex and parietal sites highly correlated to the detection sensitivity of d'. It was also found that coefficients of correlation between the P3 amplitudes at these sites and observed hit and false alarm rates were highly significant and a d'-extrapolation value reproduced by the normalized P3 amplitudes and the usual d' indicated a highly linear trend. Results suggest that generation of the P3 component is associated with "threshold-modulating" mechanisms which determine detection sensitivity of a task for each perceptual event.

Adult↗

The role of speed lines in subtle direction judgments.

Stimuli moving in slightly different directions trace trajectories that differ slightly in orientation. These different 'speed lines', in principle, could generate responses in orientation mechanisms, and such responses could determine how well we judge subtle direction differences. Alternatively, the ability to judge subtle direction differences could be determined by direction mechanisms rather than by orientation mechanisms. To distinguish between these possibilities we exploited the fact that opposite directions of motion share an orientation: Across trials, participants judged a constant orientation difference between trajectories having either the same or opposite motion signs. The probabilities of the motion signs were also manipulated. When the probabilities were consistent with those typically used to assess fine direction discrimination, direction mechanisms set the limit on performance. In other conditions where orientation mechanisms could have set the limit on performance, responses were neither more precise nor faster than when performance was limited by direction mechanisms.

Cues↗

Women's attractiveness judgments of self-resembling faces change across the menstrual cycle.

Two lines of reasoning predict that women's preferences for people exhibiting cues to kinship will be lower in the follicular phase than in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Women may avoid kinship cues during the follicular phase when they are most fertile due to the costs of inbreeding. Alternatively, women may seek kinship cues during the luteal phase as a byproduct of the benefits of associating with kin during pregnancy, which is also characterized by high progesterone. We find that preferences for facial resemblance, a putative kinship cue, follow this predicted pattern and are positively correlated with estimated progesterone levels based on cycle day. Neither estimated estrogen levels nor conception risk predicted preferences for self-resemblance, and the cyclic shift was stronger for preferences for female faces than male faces. These findings lead to the possibility that this cyclic change in preference for self-resemblance may be a byproduct of a hormonal mechanism for increasing affiliative behavior toward kin during pregnancy rather than a mechanism for preventing inbreeding during fertile periods.

Adolescent↗

Realizing the potential of clinical judgment: a real-time strategy for predicting outcomes and cost for medical inpatients.

PURPOSE: We sought to determine whether illness severity and anticipated level of function, as evaluated at the time of admission, were associated with outcomes and costs of care for patients admitted to the medical service. METHODS: All 1,759 patients admitted to the medical service at a large urban academic medical center between July 1, 1997, and September 30, 1997 (excluding those admitted directly to the intensive care units or for protocol chemotherapy), were evaluated and categorized by the admitting intern by illness severity (not ill, mildly ill, moderately ill, severely ill, or moribund) and anticipated level of function at discharge (excellent, good, fair, or poor) as part of their routine sign-out process. Interns' ratings were always available within 24 to 28 hours of admission. In-hospital mortality, length of stay, cost of hospitalization, and anticipated billing revenue were evaluated. RESULTS: Patients who were more severely ill had significantly greater in-hospital mortality. For example, mortality was 1.1% (11 of 972) among those who were not ill or mildly ill, 3.6% (26 of 724) among those who were moderately ill, and 15% (9 of 60) among those who were severely ill. Illness severity (P = 0.003) and anticipated functional status (P < 0.01) were significant predictors of in-hospital mortality. Illness severity and function were also significant predictors of greater length of stay and greater costs of hospitalization (all P < 0.0001). The 389 patients who were moderately ill with fair or poor anticipated function were associated with the largest cumulative losses (about $330,000 during the 3-month period), whereas the 798 mildly ill patients with good or excellent function were associated with the largest cumulative profits ($550,000). CONCLUSION: Physicians' estimates of patients' illness severity and anticipated function at the time of discharge, as made by interns using a system designed to help them sign out to their colleagues, predict outcomes and costs of hospitalization. Such a system may be useful in developing new approaches to management strategies based on prognosis.

Academic Medical Centers↗

Hemispheric differences in semantic-relatedness judgments.

Subjects judged the semantic relatedness of word pairs presented to the left or right visual field. The word pairs were presented one below the other. On critical trials, the words' referents had a typical spatial relation, with one referent oriented above the other (e.g. ATTIC/BASEMENT). The spatial relation of the words either matched or mismatched the spatial relation of their referents. When presented to the left hemisphere, the match or mismatch did not have an effect. However, there was a reliable mismatch effect for pairs presented to the right hemisphere. The results are interpreted in the context of perceptual theories of mental representation.

Brain↗

Are children moral objectivists? Children's judgments about moral and response-dependent properties.

Researchers working on children's moral understanding maintain that the child's capacity to distinguish morality from convention shows that children regard moral violations as objectively wrong (e.g. Nucci, L. (2001). Education in the moral domain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). However, one traditional way to cast the issue of objectivism is to focus not on conventionality, but on whether moral properties depend on our responses, as with properties like icky and fun. This paper argues that the moral/conventional task is inadequate for assessing whether children regard moral properties as response-dependent. Unfortunately, children's understanding of response-dependent properties has been neglected in recent research. Two experiments are reported showing that children are more likely to treat properties like fun and icky as response-dependent than moral properties like good and bad. Hence, this helps support the claim that children are moral objectivists.

Child↗

Visuospatial judgment and right hemisphere disease.

The performances of patients with stroke-produced unilateral hemispheric lesions on a test requiring the identification of lines were examined in the light of a recent report that contradicted previous observations. The study confirmed the results of earlier studies that patients with lesions of the right hemisphere show a remarkably high frequency of defective performances while those with lesions of the left hemisphere do not. Possible reasons for findings that deviate from this rule are discussed.

Aphasia↗

Evaluation of delayed auditory feedback (DAF) effect: comparison between subjective judgments and objective measures.

The effect of Delayed Auditory Feedback (DAF) on speech duration was evaluated subjectively and measured objectively in 30 subjects (10 normals, 10 nonfluent aphasics and 10 fluent aphasia). The average correlation coefficient between the subjective and objective data was .52 for 180 msec. delay and .46 for 360 msec. delay. Analysis of variance of data derived from the two methods showed the same highly significant differences among groups, delay and tasks. We conclude from these results that both objective and subjective procedures are equally useful in evaluating DAF effect on speech duration, and that both may also be valuable in assessing other types of behavior.

Aphasia↗

Clinical judgment is superior to diagnostic tests in the management of pediatric small bowel injury.

Traumatic solid organ injuries are easily recognizable on computed tomography (CT) scans and usually are treated nonoperatively. Small bowel injuries may be difficult to diagnose and require prompt operation. This study was done to assess the role of clinical examination versus diagnostic tests in evaluating these injuries. The medical records of all pediatric (< or = 18 years old) patients treated at a pediatric trauma center from 1984 to 1995 were reviewed. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS software, with P values of less than .05 considered significant. Small bowel injury occurred in 48 patients (21 blunt, 27 penetrating). Most blunt injuries were automobile-related (11 patients) or attributable to recreational activities (4) or bicycle accidents (2). Penetrating injuries were primarily caused by assaults with guns (21) or knives (4). All conscious patients with small bowel injury had abnormal physical examination findings at the time of presentation. Nineteen patients had generalized peritonitis, and 14 had localized abdominal tenderness. The serum amylase level was abnormal in 2 of 18 cases. Abdominal CT scans were obtained in six patients and showed the injury in only three. Peritoneal lavage (DPL), performed in 10 patients, led to the diagnosis in five. There was no significant difference in the complication rate (30%) between patients operated on immediately because of a diagnostic test result and those operated on later, after a period of clinical observation (P = 1.0, Fisher's Exact test). Associated injuries were common (60%) among both blunt and penetrating cases. In this nonoperative era of pediatric trauma care, small bowel injury is best diagnosed clinically. The physical examination is 100% sensitive in the conscious patient, and specificity is achieved by serial examination. Serum amylase, CT scan, and DPL are not reliable diagnostic tests to exclude these injuries. Patients can be observed until physical findings suggest bowel injury without increased morbidity. Associated injuries are common; thus, patients are best treated where multidisciplinary support is available.

Adolescent↗