Central Cognitive Processes Research Articles

Testing the role of extended thinking in predicting craving and problematic social network sites use

Background and aimsProblematic Social Network Sites Use (PSNSU) mirrors substance use disorders with regard to symptoms (e.g., diminished control). Recent theoretical advances in the addiction research field recognize a central role of affective and cognitive processes in the development of addictive behaviors. For example, the metacognitive model of addictive behaviors sustains that cognitive processes like extended thinking, disruption in metacognitive monitoring, and thought suppression are associated with addictive behaviors leading to increased craving. The current study aims to test the mediating role of extended thinking (i.e., worry, rumination, and desire thinking) in the relationship between psychological distress and PSNSU.MethodsA community sample of 548 individuals (F = 68.5%, Mage= 29.29 ± 12.04 years) completed an online survey. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was utilized to analyze the relationships among the variables under study.ResultsThe assessed structural model adequately fits the data, accounting for 89% of PSNSU variance. Psychological distress predicted PSNSU through the mediation of desire thinking and rumination and the serial mediation of (i) worry and craving (ii) desire thinking and craving The model is gender invariant.ConclusionsThe current findings provide preliminary evidence for the role of extended thinking in PSNSU. Worry, rumination and desire thinking may be central cognitive processes in eliciting craving and PSNSU for individuals who experience psychological distress.

Developmental Changes in Executive Control: Investigating Dual-Task Interference During Motor and Central Cognitive Processing with the Overlapping Task Paradigm

ABSTRACT Previous studies demonstrated that dual-task impairments are higher in children than in young adults. A previous study systematically assessed the sources of these larger dual-task impairments by identifying age-related differences in capacity limitations during dual-task processing. Capacity limitations in central cognitive processes were present in both age groups, while perceptual capacity limitations were larger in children than in young adults. However, the literature lacks further confirmations and explanations for increased dual-task impairments in children. Moreover, this previous study was not informative regarding age-related differences in potential capacity limitations during central cognitive processing in relation to limitations during motor processing. Therefore, in a German context, the present study investigated children (N = 32) and young adults (N = 32) by combining visual (Task 1) and auditory (Task 2) sensorimotor tasks, separated by a varying stimulus onset asynchrony, in dual tasks of the psychological refractory period (PRP) type. Performance differences were assessed by manipulations of task difficulty in Task 1. The results replicated the finding of increased dual-task impairments in children compared with young adults. Furthermore, the manipulations in the PRP dual task resulted in similar effects in both age groups. Thus, these findings confirmed the presence of capacity limitations during central cognitive processing, while there were no processing limitations in motor processing between children and young adults.

Visuo-Cognitive Phenotypes in Early Multiple Sclerosis: A Multisystem Model of Visual Processing

Background: Cognitive impairment can emerge in the earliest stages of multiple sclerosis (MS), with heterogeneity in cognitive deficits often hindering symptom identification and management. Sensory–motor dysfunction, such as visual processing impairment, is also common in early disease and can impact neuropsychological task performance in MS. However, cognitive phenotype research in MS does not currently consider the relationship between early cognitive changes and visual processing impairment. Objectives: This study explored the relationship between cognition and visual processing in early MS by adopting a three-system model of afferent sensory, central cognitive and efferent ocular motor visual processing to identify distinct visuo-cognitive phenotypes. Methods: Patients with clinically isolated syndrome and relapsing–remitting MS underwent neuro-ophthalmic, ocular motor and neuropsychological evaluation to assess each visual processing system. The factor structure of ocular motor variables was examined using exploratory factor analysis, and phenotypes were identified using latent profile analysis. Results: Analyses revealed three ocular-motor constructs (cognitive control, cognitive processing speed and basic visual processing) and four visuo-cognitive phenotypes (early visual changes, efferent-cognitive, cognitive control and afferent-processing speed). While the efferent-cognitive phenotype was present in significantly older patients than was the early visual changes phenotype, there were no other demographic differences between phenotypes. The efferent-cognitive and cognitive control phenotypes had poorer performance on the Symbol Digit Modalities Test compared to that of other phenotypes; however, no other differences in performance were detected. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that distinct visual processing deficits in early MS may differentially impact cognition, which is not captured using standard neuropsychological evaluation. Further research may facilitate improved symptom identification and intervention in early disease.

The Application of the Metacognitive Model of Desire Thinking and Craving in Problematic Social Networking Sites Use

Cognitive models of addictive behaviours have highlighted the central role of Desire Thinking (DT) – a conscious and voluntary cognitive process orienting to prefigure images and information about a positive target-related experience – in increasing craving and maintaining addictive behaviors. The metacognitive model of DT and craving posits that metacognition plays a central role in understanding dysregulation in DT. The current study aims to test the role of metacognitions about DT, DT, and craving in the relationship between Fear of Missing Out (FoMo), boredom proneness, negative emotional reactivity and Problematic Social Network Sites Use (PSNSU). A sample of 529 participants (Mage= 32.45 ± 13.33; F = 62.9%) completed an online survey. The hypothesised model produced an adequate fit to the data and accounted for 86% of PSNSU variance. FoMO predicted positive metacognitions about DT (PMDT), which predicted DT that, in association with craving, predicted PSNSU. Boredom proneness positively predicted PSNSU directly and indirectly through the serial mediation of PMDT, DT, and craving. A direct path between negative emotional reactivity and PSNSU was found. The current findings provide preliminary evidence for applying the metacognitive model of DT and craving in PSNSU. PMDT and DT may be central cognitive processes in craving and PSNSU for individuals who experience boredom proneness and FoMo.

Resisting Visual, Phonological, and Semantic Interference - Same or Different Processes? A Focused Mini-Review.

The unitary nature of resistance to interference (RI) processes remains a strongly debated question: are they central cognitive processes or are they specific to the stimulus domains on which they operate? This focused mini-review examines behavioral, neuropsychological and neuroimaging evidence for and against domain-general RI processes, by distinguishing visual, verbal phonological and verbal semantic domains. Behavioral studies highlighted overall low associations between RI capacity across domains. Neuropsychological studies mainly report dissociations for RI abilities between the three domains. Neuroimaging studies highlight a left vs. right hemisphere distinction for verbal vs. visual RI, with furthermore distinct neural processes supporting phonological versus semantic RI in the left inferior frontal gyrus. While overall results appear to support the hypothesis of domain-specific RI processes, we discuss a number of methodological caveats that ask for caution in the interpretation of existing studies.

Cortical Brain Perfusion and Cognitive Event Related Potentials in Patients with Psychomotor Retardation in Late Onset Depression.

Late onset depression is characterised by pronounced cognitive impairment, more somatic complaints and psychomotor retardation. Psychomotor slowing may be due to impairment in either motor or cognitive domain. Electrophysiology may be particularly convenient as a tool in studies of psychomotor retardation, as it can separate central cognitive processing from the motor processing. In this study we compared event related potentials (ERP) in the two groups of patients with late onset depression and psychomotor slowing as measured by reaction time (RT): a group of patients with lower RT was compared to a group with a higher RT. Twenty patients with late onset depression were included in the study after they had reached remission. Four weeks after reaching remission patients were reevaluated clinically using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Mini Mental State Examination, and with a computer version of the Stroop task. ERP, accuracy and RTs were simultaneously recorded. Both groups of patients aditionaly underwent a perfusion SPECT imaging. There were no differences between the short and long RT groups of patients in amplitudes of the late positive Stroop related potentials. The group of patients with longer RTs showed significant hyperperfusion in precentral gyrus, parietal regions, cuneus and hypoperfusion within insular, frontal, temporal and limbic (parahyppocampal gyrus and anterior cingulate) cortices, as well as cerebellum. We found no ERP differences between the two groups suggesting that although patients may differ on psychomotor retardation measured as RT, their cognitive abilities may be quite similar. Perfusion SPECT imaging however revealed a significant difference between them. This may be due to a process of compensation and applying different strategies to cope with cognitive impairment in the two groups.

Neural Support for Contributions of Utility and Narrative Processing of Evidence in Juror Decision Making.

Efforts to explain complex human decisions have focused on competing theories emphasizing utility and narrative mechanisms. These are difficult to distinguish using behavior alone. Both narrative and utility theories have been proposed to explain juror decisions, which are among the most consequential complex decisions made in a modern society. Here, we asked jury-eligible male and female subjects to rate the strength of a series of criminal cases while recording the resulting patterns of brain activation. We compared patterns of brain activation associated with evidence accumulation to patterns of brain activation derived from a large neuroimaging database to look for signatures of the cognitive processes associated with different models of juror decision-making. Evidence accumulation correlated with multiple narrative processes, including reading and recall. Of the cognitive processes traditionally viewed as components of utility, activation patterns associated with uncertainty, but not value, were more active with stronger evidence. Independent of utility and narrative, activations linked to reasoning and relational logic also correlated with increasing evidence. Hierarchical modeling of cognitive processes associated with evidence accumulation supported a more prominent role for narrative in weighing evidence in complex decisions. However, utility processes were also associated with evidence accumulation. These complementary findings support an emerging view that integrates utility and narrative processes in complex decisions.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The last decade has seen a sharply increased interest in narrative as a central cognitive process in human decision-making and as an important factor in the evolution of human societies. However, the roles of narrative versus utility models of decision-making remain hotly debated. While available models frequently produce similar behavioral predictions, they rely on different cognitive processes and so their roles can be separated using the right neural tests. Here, we use brain imaging during mock juror decisions to show that cognitive processes associated with narrative, and to a lesser extent utility, were engaged while subjects evaluated evidence. These results are consistent with interactions between narrative and utility processes during complex decision-making.

The cognitive workload of air pistol shooters on the aiming task

Background: Pupil dilations of the eye are known to correspond to central cognitive processes. Pupil size variations have been used for many years as a window on the mind, and various pupillary features have been associated with a number of cognitive processes Aim: The aim of this study is to examine levels of cognitive workload that occur during the aiming task of air-pistol shooting athletes according to the change that takes place in the pupils. Methods: Eight right-handed skilled male shooters (4 elite and 4 novice) were recruited in this study. A total of 320 shots - 160 dry (unscored) shots and 160 live (scored) shots - were recorded with a mobile eye-tracking device. The obtained pupil data were subjected to biometric analysis. The athletes’ pupil sizes were determined with the independent samples t-test according to whether the shot made was scored or unscored and whether the athletes were elite or novice. The athletes’ pupil size values at the beginning and end of the shot were obtained using the paired samples t-test. Results: On completion of the shot, the sport shooters’ pupils dilated on average by 2.85 mm at a rate of 32.5% compared to the situation at shot onset. Moreover, novice shooters’ pupils dilated more when firing scored shots than when firing unscored shots. According to the research results, it can be said that sports shooters engage in intensive cognitive processes while aiming and trigger pulling immediately before firing the shot. Novice shooters engage in more intensive cognitive processes when firing scored shots than when firing unscored shots. Conclusion: According to the results of the research, it can be said that in the sport of air pistol shooting, giving priority to dry (unscored) shooting training can contribute positively to the development of novice athletes’ aiming task skills and cognitive load capacity. Keywords: Cognitive workload, cognitive processes, eye tracking, air pistol, shooting

Coming together: Embodied and pre‐reflective interaction in The Plague

AbstractAlbert Camus’s The Plague has often been investigated as a moral deliberation on humans’ responsibilities in the face of a deadly threat, be it as an allegory of World War Two or in a more general fashion. In this article, I argue that by looking at the pre‐reflective and embodied aspects of the interaction between the protagonists, the novel can be read in a new light. Seen from the perspective of contemporary cognitive science, especially what is known as “enactivism,” I argue that central cognitive and interactive processes in the novel seem to be running below the level of explicit dialogue. Thus, we can understand the moral process of The Plague more accurately if we take into account new insights into the important role that the body, our surroundings, and the interaction itself play when humans come together and interact. Finally, I argue that an analysis of The Plague should pay special attention to how Rieux, the narrator and main protagonist, operationalizes these embodied and pre‐reflective mechanisms through his use of narrative techniques.

Central Cognitive Processing Speed Is an Early Marker of Huntington's Disease Onset.

Several studies have suggested that cognitive processing speed may be useful for assessing early cognitive change in premanifest Huntington's disease (HD); however, current measures lack the ability to control for the effects of motor dysfunction commonly found in HD. The Computerized Test of Information Processing (CTiP) is a rapidly administered computerized tool that allows for the examination of central cognitive processing speed by using motor-corrected scores to account for motor dysfunction. To examine central cognitive processing speed as an early marker of HD onset using the CTiP. The CTiP and other measures were administered to 102 HD gene carriers and 55 healthy adults (HA). Gene carriers included presymptomatic HD (pre-HD; n = 33), prodromal HD (pro-HD; ie, individuals close to disease onset; n = 23), and mild-moderate HD (HD; n = 46). The HD group performed significantly slower than all other groups (HA, pre-HD, and pro-HD) on most subtests (Ps < .05). Moreover, the pro-HD group performed significantly slower than the HA group on both motor-corrected subtests (Ps < 0.05). Effect sizes associated with significant group differences between the pro-HD and HA groups on motor-corrected CTiP subtests (d = 0.73 and 0.84) were similar to effect sizes associated with group differences on the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (d = .82) and other traditional cognitive assessments (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, d = .75; Mini-Mental State Examination, d = .84). The CTiP may be a useful marker of deficits in central cognitive processing speed in individuals close to manifest onset of HD.

Assessing the Effect of Training on the Cognition and Brain of Older Adults: Protocol for a Three-Arm Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial (ACTOP).

BackgroundTo prevent age-related cognitive impairment, many intervention programs offer exercises targeting different central cognitive processes. However, the effects of different process-based training programs are rarely compared within equivalent experimental designs.ObjectiveUsing a randomized double-blind controlled trial, this project aims to examine and compare the impact of 2 process-based interventions, inhibition and updating, on the cognition and brain of older adults.MethodsA total of 90 healthy older adults were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 training conditions: (1) inhibition (Stroop-like exercises), (2) updating (N-back-type exercises), and (3) control active (quiz game exercise). Training was provided in 12 half-hour sessions over 4 weeks. First, the performance gain observed will be measured on the trained tasks. We will then determine the extent of transfer of gain on (1) untrained tasks that rely on the same cognitive process, (2) complex working memory (WM) measurements hypothesized to involve 1 of the 2 trained processes, and (3) virtual reality tasks that were designed to mimic real-life situations that require WM. We will assess whether training increases cortical volume given that the volume of the cortex is determined by cortical area and thickness in regions known to be involved in WM or changes task-related brain activation patterns measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Dose effects will be examined by measuring outcomes at different time points during training. We will also determine whether individual characteristics moderate the effect of training on cognitive and cerebral outcomes. Finally, we will evaluate whether training reduces the age-related deficit on transfer and brain outcomes, by comparing study participants to a group of 30 younger adults.ResultsThe project was funded in January 2017; enrollment began in October 2017 and data collection was completed in April 2019. Data analysis has begun in June 2020 and the first results should be published by the end of 2020 or early 2021.ConclusionsThe results of this study will help understand the relative efficacy of 2 attentional control interventions on the cognition and the brain of older adults, as well as the moderating role of individual characteristics on training efficiency and transfer.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03532113; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03532113International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/20430

Sinking In: The Peripheral Baldwinisation of Human Cognition.

The Baldwin effect is a hypothetical process in which a learned response to environmental change evolves a genetic basis. Modelling has shown that the Baldwin effect offers a plausible and elegant explanation for the emergence of complex behavioural traits, but there is little direct empirical evidence for its occurrence. We highlight experimental evidence of the Baldwin effect and argue that it acts preferentially on peripheral rather than on central cognitive processes. Careful scrutiny of research on taste-aversion and fear learning, language, and imitation indicates that their efficiency depends on adaptively specialised input and output processes: analogues of scanner and printer interfaces that feed information to core inference processes and structure their behavioural expression.

Fine Spike Timing in Hippocampal-Prefrontal Ensembles Predicts Poor Encoding and Underlies Behavioral Performance in Healthy and Malformed Brains.

Spatial working memory (SWM) is a central cognitive process during which the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) encode and maintain spatial information for subsequent decision-making. This occurs in the context of ongoing computations relating to spatial position, recall of long-term memory, attention, among many others. To establish how intermittently presented information is integrated with ongoing computations we recorded single units, simultaneously in hippocampus and PFC, in control rats and those with a brain malformation during performance of an SWM task. Neurons that encode intermittent task parameters are also well modulated in time and incorporated into a functional network across regions. Neurons from animals with cortical malformation are poorly modulated in time, less likely to encode task parameters, and less likely to be integrated into a functional network. Our results implicate a model in which ongoing oscillatory coordination among neurons in the hippocampal-PFC network describes a functional network that is poised to receive sensory inputs that are then integrated and multiplexed as working memory. The background temporal modulation is systematically altered in disease, but the relationship between these dynamics and behaviorally relevant firing is maintained, thereby providing potential targets for stimulation-based therapies.

Working memory is not a natural kind and cannot explain central cognition

Working memory is a foundational construct of cognitive psychology, where it is thought to be a capacity that enables us to keep information in mind and to use that information to support goal directed behavior. Philosophers have recently employed working memory to explain central cognitive processes, from consciousness to reasoning. In this paper, I show that working memory cannot meet even a minimal account of natural kindhood, as the functions of maintenance and manipulation of information that tie working memory models and theories together do not have a coherent or univocal realizer in the brain. As such, working memory cannot explain central cognition. Rather, I argue that working memory merely redescribes its target phenomenon, and in doing so it obfuscates relevant distinctions amongst the many ways that brains like ours retain and transform information in the service of cognition. While this project ultimately erodes the explanatory role that working memory has played in our understanding of cognition, it simultaneously prompts us to evaluate the function of natural kinds within cognitive science, and signals the need for a productive pessimism to frame our future study of cognitive categories.

Central Cognitive Processing Speed Is an Early Marker of Huntington’s Disease Onset (884)

Central Cognitive Processing Speed Is an Early Marker of Huntington’s Disease Onset (884)

Challenging Weak Central Coherence: A Brief Exploration of Neurological Evidence from Visual Processing and Linguistic Studies in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Previous theories have attempted to locate the root cause of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in terms of a typical central cognitive processes. However, the field of neuroscience is increasingly finding structural and functional differences between autistic and neuro-typical individuals using neuro-imaging technology which either support or challenge earlier cognitive theories. One main area upon which this research has focused is in visuospatial processing, with specific attention to the notion of “weak central coherence” (WCC), which refers to the tendency of individuals with ASD to be unable to interpret “global” information while hyper-focusing on local information. The current paper offers a brief review of findings from selected studies in order to explore available research that challenges the “deficit” characterization of a WCC theory as opposed to a “superiority” characterization of a strong local coherence.

Differentiating cognitive or motor dimensions associated with the perception of fall-related self-efficacy in Parkinson\u2019s disease

In Parkinson’s disease (PD), concurrent declines in cognitive and motor domain function can severely limit an individual’s ability to conduct daily tasks. Current diagnostic methods, however, lack precision in differentiating domain-specific contributions of cognitive or motor impairments based on a patients’ clinical manifestation. Fear of falling (FOF) is a common clinical manifestation among the elderly, in which both cognitive and motor impairments can lead to significant barriers to a patients’ physical and social activities. The present study evaluated whether a set of analytical and machine-learning approaches could be used to help delineate boundary conditions and separate cognitive and motor contributions to a patient’s own perception of self-efficacy and FOF. Cognitive and motor clinical scores, in conjunction with FOF, were collected from 57 Parkinson’s patients during a multi-center rehabilitation intervention trial. Statistical methodology was used to extract a subset of uncorrelated cognitive and motor components associated with cognitive and motor predictors, which were then used to independently identify and visualize cognitive and motor dimensions associated with FOF. We found that a central cognitive process, extracted from tests of executive, attentional, and visuoperceptive function, was a unique and significant independent cognitive predictor of FOF in PD. In addition, we provide evidence that the approaches described here may be used to computationally discern specific types of FOF based on separable cognitive or motor models. Our results are consistent with a contemporary model that the deterioration of a central cognitive mechanism that modulates self-efficacy also plays a critical role in FOF in PD.

Attentional modulation of desensitization to odor

Subjective and behavioral responsiveness to odor diminishes during prolonged exposure. The precise mechanisms underlying olfactory desensitization are not fully understood, but previous studies indicate that the phenomenon may be modulated by central-cognitive processes. The present study investigated the effect of attention on perceived intensity during exposure to a pleasant odor. A within-subjects design was utilized with 19 participants attending 2 sessions. During each session, participants continuously rated their perceived intensity of a 10-minute exposure to a pleasant fragrance administered using an olfactometer. An auditory oddball task was implemented to manipulate the focus of attention in each session. Participants were instructed to either direct their attention toward the sounds, but still to rate odor, or to focus entirely on rating the odor. Analysis revealed three 50-second time windows with significantly lower mean intensity ratings during the distraction condition. Curve fitting of the data disclosed a linear function of desensitization in the focused attention condition compared with an exponential decay function during distraction condition, indicating an increased rate of initial desensitization when attention is distracted away from the odor. In the focused-attention condition, perceived intensity demonstrated a regular pattern of odor sensitivity occurring at approximately 1−2 minutes intervals following initial desensitization. Spectral analysis of low-frequency oscillations confirmed the presence of augmented spectral power in this frequency range during focused relative to distracted conditions. The findings demonstrate for the first time modulation of odor desensitization specifically by attentional factors, exemplifying the relevance of top-down control for ongoing perception of odor.

Central cognitive processing speed is an early marker of Huntington’s disease (HD) onset (P2.012)

Central cognitive processing speed is an early marker of Huntington’s disease (HD) onset (P2.012)

The relationship between baseline pupil size and intelligence

Pupil dilations of the eye are known to correspond to central cognitive processes. However, the relationship between pupil size and individual differences in cognitive ability is not as well studied. A peculiar finding that has cropped up in this research is that those high on cognitive ability have a larger pupil size, even during a passive baseline condition. Yet these findings were incidental and lacked a clear explanation. Therefore, in the present series of studies we systematically investigated whether pupil size during a passive baseline is associated with individual differences in working memory capacity and fluid intelligence. Across three studies we consistently found that baseline pupil size is, in fact, related to cognitive ability. We showed that this relationship could not be explained by differences in mental effort, and that the effect of working memory capacity and fluid intelligence on pupil size persisted even after 23 sessions and taking into account the effect of novelty or familiarity with the environment. We also accounted for potential confounding variables such as; age, ethnicity, and drug substances. Lastly, we found that it is fluid intelligence, more so than working memory capacity, which is related to baseline pupil size. In order to provide an explanation and suggestions for future research, we also consider our findings in the context of the underlying neural mechanisms involved.