Cognitive Research Research Articles

The body says it all: Non-verbal indicators of choice awareness

Abstract Recent cognitive science research suggests that occasional “blindness” to choice manipulations indicates a lack of awareness in choice making. This claim is based on participants’ tendency not to detect choice manipulations and the similarity between their justifications for choices they made and those they were tricked into believing they made. Using a cognitive-semiotic framework, we argue that such conclusions underestimate the embodied, intersubjective nature of human meaning-making. We support this by investigating choice awareness beyond language to include non-verbal behavior. Forty-one participants were asked to choose from pairs of photographs of human faces the one they found most attractive and then to justify their choices, without knowing that for some of the trials they were asked to justify a choice that they had not made. Verbal responses were categorized as (i) non-manipulated, (ii) detected manipulated, and (iii) undetected manipulated trials. Bodily expressions, assessed using five different Categories of Bodily Expression (CBE): Adaptors, Torso, Head, Face and Hand expressions, revealed differences in: (a) duration, (b) rates of occurrence and (c) variety of the CBEs across trials. Thus, even when manipulations were not verbally detected, participants took longer to assess choices, showed increased bodily expressions, and engaged more body parts in undetected manipulations compared to non-manipulated choice trials. This suggests a degree of awareness to the choice manipulation, even if pre-reflective, manifested in participants’ bodily expressions.

Evaluation of consumer-grade wireless EEG systems for brain-computer interface applications.

With the growing popularity of consumer-grade electroencephalogram (EEG) devices for health, entertainment, and cognitive research, assessing their signal quality is essential. In this study, we evaluated four consumer-grade wireless and dry-electrode EEG systems widely used for brain-computer interface (BCI) research and applications, comparing them with a research-grade system. We designed an EEG phantom method that reproduced µV-level amplitude EEG signals and evaluated the five devices based on their spectral responses, temporal patterns of event-related potential (ERP), and spectral patterns of resting-state EEG. We discovered that the consumer-grade devices had limited bandwidth compared with the research-grade device. A late component (e.g., P300) was detectable in the consumer-grade devices, but the overall ERP temporal pattern was distorted. Only one device showed an ERP temporal pattern comparable to that of the research-grade device. On the other hand, we confirmed that the activation of the alpha rhythm was observable in all devices. The results provide valuable insights for researchers and developers when it comes to selecting suitable EEG devices for BCI research and applications.

A combined DTI-fMRI approach for optimizing the delineation of posteromedial versus anterolateral entorhinal cortex.

In the entorhinal cortex (EC), attempts have been made to identify the human homologue regions of the medial (MEC) and lateral (LEC) subregions using either functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). However, there are still discrepancies between entorhinal subdivisions depending on the choice of connectivity seed regions and the imaging modality used. While DTI can be used to follow the white matter tracts of the brain, fMRI can identify functionally connected brain regions. In this study, we used both DTI and resting-state fMRI in 103 healthy adults to investigate both structural and functional connectivity between the EC and associated cortical brain regions. Differential connectivity with these regions was then used to predict the locations of the human homologues of MEC and LEC. Our results from combining DTI and fMRI support a subdivision into posteromedial (pmEC) and anterolateral (alEC) EC and reveal a confined border between the pmEC and alEC. Furthermore, the EC subregions obtained by either imaging modality showed similar distinct whole-brain connectivity profiles. Optimizing the delineation of the human homologues of MEC and LEC with a combined, cross-validated DTI-fMRI approach allows to define a likely border between the two subdivisions and has implications for both cognitive and translational neuroscience research.

A General DNA-Like Hybrid Symbiosis Framework: An EEG Cognitive Recognition Method.

In electroencephalogram (EEG) cognitive recognition research, the combined use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) and spiking neural networks (SNNs) plays an important role to realize different categories of recognition tasks. However, most of the existing studies focus on the unidirectional interaction between an ANN and a SNN, which may be overly dependent on the performance of ANNs or SNNs. Inspired by the symbiosis phenomenon in nature, in this study, we propose a general DNA-like Hybrid Symbiosis (DNA-HS) framework, which enables mutual learning between the ANN and the SNN generated by this ANN through parametric genetic algorithm and bidirectional interaction mechanism to enhance the optimization ability of the model parameters, resulting in a significant improvement of the performance of the DNA-HS framework in all aspects. By comparing with seven typical EEG cognitive recognition models, the performance of the seven hybrid network frameworks constructed using this method on different EEG-based cognitive recognition tasks are all improved to different degrees, verifying the effectiveness of the proposed method. This unified hybrid network framework similar to the DNA structure is expected to open up a new approach and form a new research paradigm for EEG-based cognitive recognition task.

Schema Representation, Semantic Network Construction and Construal of the English Direction Preposition “To” and “Toward(s)”

For a long time, prepositions have been a class of words that have attracted the attention of scholars. However, from the perspectives of Structural Linguistics, Transformational-generative Linguistics, and Functional Linguistics, different scholars have emphasized the collocation of prepositions with other parts of speech to form a conventional linguistic unit, but have not studied the prepositions themselves. So far, most studies on English prepositions from the perspective of cognitive linguistics have focused on the prepositions with obvious spatial conceptual meaning. Still, there has not been sufficient cognitive research for some prepositions without spatial conceptual meaning. Therefore, this article selects the direction prepositions “to” and “toward(s),” from the perspective of cognitive linguistics, using category theory, schema theory, and construal theory, and combining the metaphor and metonymy to extend the meaning, to analyze and distinguish, finally construct schema representation, semantic network and construal of the English direction preposition “to” and “toward(s)”.

Interrupted learning across the lifespan

Continued learning opportunities are important for adaptation across the lifespan. Interrupted learning (e.g., “summer slide”) is a known, critical issue for childhood education. This perspective piece proposes that adulthood could be a period of prolonged interrupted learning with reduced learning opportunities, despite the known importance of lifelong learning. This idea goes beyond calls for healthy older adults to lead an active life to maintain cognitive abilities and to maintain basic functional skills by highlighting important lifespan circumstances that may hinder or facilitate adaptation in new and changing environments. We explore how research on interrupted learning in childhood could be applied to later adulthood and how changes in learning are viewed differently for children and adults. In addition, research on increasing abilities during childhood generally focuses on specific skills (e.g., reading, math), whereas cognitive aging research focuses on more general cognitive abilities related to attention and memory. Finally, given that interrupted learning occurs unevenly across different ages, abilities, and resources, more can be investigated in terms of who interrupted learning affects across the lifespan, and the neural underpinnings of interrupted learning. Acknowledging and addressing interrupted learning across the lifespan may promote long-term thriving and avoid preventable deficits and decline.

Correction: The illusion of understanding: AI’s role in cognitive psychology research

Correction: The illusion of understanding: AI’s role in cognitive psychology research

Chronic Corticosterone Administration-Induced Mood Disorders in Laboratory Rodents: Features, Mechanisms, and Research Perspectives

Mood disorders mainly affect the patient’s daily life, lead to suffering and disability, increase the incidence rate of many medical illnesses, and even cause a trend of suicide. The glucocorticoid (GC)-mediated hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) negative feedback regulation plays a key role in neuropsychiatric disorders. The balance of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR)/glucocorticoid receptor (GR) level contributes to maintaining the homeostasis of the neuroendocrine system. Consistently, a chronic excess of GC can also lead to HPA axis dysfunction, triggering anxiety, depression, memory loss, and cognitive impairment. The animal model induced by chronic corticosterone (CORT) administration has been widely adopted because of its simple replication and strong stability. This review summarizes the behavioral changes and underlying mechanisms of chronic CORT administration-induced animal models, including neuroinflammatory response, pyroptosis, oxidative stress, neuroplasticity, and apoptosis. Notably, CORT administration at different doses and cycles can destroy the balance of the MR/GR ratio to make dose-dependent effects of CORT on the central nervous system (CNS). This work aims to offer an overview of the topic and recommendations for future cognitive function research.

A framework for a low-cost system of automated gate control in assays of spatial cognition in fishes.

Automation of experimental setups is a promising direction in behavioral research because it can facilitate the acquisition of data while increasing its repeatability and reliability. For example, research in spatial cognition can benefit from automated control by systematic manipulation of sensory cues and more efficient execution of training procedures. However, commercial solutions are often costly, restricted to specific platforms, and mainly focused on the automation of data acquisition, stimulus presentation, and reward delivery. Animal welfare considerations as well as experimental demands may require automating the access of an animal or animals to the experimental arena. Here, we provide and test a low-cost, versatile Raspberry Pi-based solution for such use cases. We provide four application scenarios of varying complexities, based on our research of spatial orientation and navigation in weakly electric fish, with step-by-step protocols for the control of gates in the experimental setups. This easy-to-implement, platform-independent approach can be adapted to various experimental needs, including closed-loop as well as field experiments. As such, it can contribute to the optimization and standardization of experiments in a variety of species, thereby enhancing the comparability of data.

Forgetting without complete erasure

Under the Cognitive Commitment, cognitive linguists aim to characterize the fundamental principles of human language in a way that is consistent with insights from other fields, such as philosophy, psychology, or neuroscience. While cognitive linguistic research has indeed proceeded in line with what is known about cognition, one area of research has not been consulted very closely. Namely, insights from memory engram research have rarely been considered, despite their obvious relevance to usage-based accounts of language learning and use. One reason behind the neglect is that “the gap between the behaviour of neurons and that of people was deemed too wide to bridge.” (Divjak 2019: 104) Engrams will be discussed at some length in this paper, but as a first approximation, they can be thought of as networks of neurons activated while a piece of information is processed in the brain. An engram is the physical substrate underlying that piece of information.

Naturalistic Eye Movement Tasks in Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review.

Eye tracking assessments in the laboratory have previously highlighted clear differences in eye movements between Parkinson's disease (PD) and healthy aging. However, laboratory-based eye movement tasks are artificial and limit the ecological validity of observed results. Eye movement tasks utilizing more naturalistic scenarios may provide more accurate insight into cognitive function but research in this area is limited. This systematic review aims to ascertain what naturalistic tasks have revealed about oculomotor deficits in PD and what this information may help us understand about the underlying sensorimotor and cognitive processes. Adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, a literature search of PsycInfo, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted using predetermined search terms. Articles including both individuals with PD and healthy older adults completing eye tracking tasks involving naturalistic eye movements (e.g., reading, video-watching, unrestricted visual search) or naturalistic stimuli were included. After screening, 30 studies were identified as matching the inclusion criteria. Results revealed consistent findings across tasks, including longer fixation durations and smaller saccadic amplitudes in PD compared to healthy aging. However, inconsistencies in the literature and a lack of standardization in tasks limit interpretation of these results. Naturalistic eye movement tasks highlight some consistent differences in eye movements between people with PD and healthy aging. However, future research should expand the current literature in this area and strive towards standardization of naturalistic tasks that can preferably be conducted remotely.

Weathering words: a virtual reality study of environmental influence on reading dynamics.

Reading is a fundamental cognitive activity that is influenced by both textual and external environmental factors, although the latter has been less thoroughly explored. This study aims to examine the impact of environmental visual conditions on reading performance using Virtual Reality (VR) technology. We conducted two experiments to assess the effects of visual contrast and simulated weather conditions on reading dynamics. In Experiment 1, we measured single-word recognition speed using a lexical decision task under different visual contrasts and weather conditions. In Experiment 2, we assessed reading dynamics during a sentence reading task, analyzing how visual contrast and simulated sunny versus rainy weather conditions affected reading behavior, particularly focusing on reading speed and eye fixations. In Experiment 1, high visual contrast, particularly under sunny conditions, significantly enhanced single-word recognition speed, indicating a notable influence of environmental visual conditions. In Experiment 2, visual contrast had minimal effect on sentence reading; however, sunny weather facilitated faster reading times, while rainy scenarios increased the number of eye fixations. These findings suggest that environmental factors, such as weather conditions, can significantly affect reading behavior. The study contributes to the understanding of key environmental influences on reading in everyday life contexts and has implications for the ergonomic design of reading materials, especially for outdoor settings and VR environments. Additionally, the integration of controlled stimuli within VR increases the ecological validity of reading research, underscoring the potential of VR as a powerful tool for cognitive research.

Cognitive Aspects of Translation: The Latest Research in Psycholinguistics and Cognitive Science

The study of the cognitive aspect of translation opens up new possibilities for understanding and analysing the translation process through the prism of cognitive science. By analysing the cognitive processes that take place in the translator's brain while performing translation, it is possible to reveal various aspects of this complex and multifaceted process. The purpose of this article is to conduct a literature review of cognition-oriented translation studies in order to contribute to the development of the science of translation studies. The method included the analysis of related literature from the scientific databases Scopus and Google Scholar. As a result of this study, advanced theoretical models were put forward and developed to reveal the so-called “black box” of the translator, which is considered a key aspect in understanding the cognitive processes of translation. These theoretical approaches aimed to uncover the internal mechanism and strategies used by the translator when performing translation in order to reveal and analyse how these processes occur in the translator's brain. Conclusions – the research focused on translation processes has great potential, as it uses the latest theoretical models and research methods from related cognitive disciplines such as cognitive psychology, cognitive linguistics, neurophysiology and computational linguistics. The paper attempts to identify challenges in cognitive translation research in order to contribute to a broader understanding of the cognitive aspects of translation and to help address key challenges in this area.

Editors’ Introduction: Connectivity and Diversity in Music Cognition

Scholarly interest in the context of music listening and its influence on music cognition and connection is flourishing after decades of a predominantly individualistic approach. This article introduces a special issue that explores research on the theme of connectivity and diversity in music cognition research arising from the ICMPC16-ESCOM11 conference. The conference itself, held online during the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, transcended national borders, bringing together researchers and practitioners from multiple continents in a digital context. In this introduction, we set the scene for this topic as it related to the conference. The included papers are the outcome of workshops held as part of the conference. The first paper in the special issue explores the use of embodied consciousness as part of pedagogical strategies to help music performers connect with embodied memories that can support their understanding of the work they are performing. The second paper considers uses of music in the early stages of motherhood, including a comparison between the active choice to regularly sing or listen to music and its perceived effects for the mother and her infant. The papers and associated commentaries offer a window into the rich research theme of connectivity and diversity that is likely to be influential over the years to come.

Representing and solving spatial problems

ABSTRACT Everyday life unfolds in both space and time, with our spatial experiences playing a central role in our interactions with the world. To grasp human cognition, it s essential to understand how we perceive spatial relationships and tackle spatio-temporal challenges. Over the past few decades, research in spatial cognition has made significant strides, particularly in developing computational methods for knowledge representation and reasoning. This special issue explores various approaches to formalizing, implementing, and automating solutions for spatial problems. In this introduction, we provide a current literature review to contextualize the three contributions featured in this issue.

Differential Hemodynamic Responses to Motor and Tactile Imagery: Insights from Multichannel fNIRS Mapping.

Tactile and motor imagery are crucial components of sensorimotor functioning and cognitive neuroscience research, yet the neural mechanisms of tactile imagery remain underexplored compared to motor imagery. This study employs multichannel functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) combined with image reconstruction techniques to investigate the neural hemodynamics associated with tactile (TI) and motor imagery (MI). In a study of 15 healthy participants, we found that MI elicited significantly greater hemodynamic responses (HRs) in the precentral area compared to TI, suggesting the involvement of different cortical areas involved in two different types of sensorimotor mental imagery. Concurrently, the HRs in S1 and parietal areas exhibited comparable patterns in both TI and MI. During MI, both motor and somatosensory areas demonstrated comparable HRs. However, in TI, somatosensory activation was observed to be more pronounced. Our results highlight the distinctive neural profiles of motor versus tactile imagery and indicate fNIRS technique to be sensitive for this. This distinction is significant for fundamental understanding of sensorimotor integration and for developing advanced neurotechnologies, including imagery-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that can differentiate between different types of mental imagery.

Two different mirror neuron pathways for social and non-social actions? A meta-analysis of fMRI studies.

Mirror neurons (MNs) represent a class of neurons that are activated when performing or observing the same action. Given their role in social cognition and previous research in patients with psychiatric disorders, we proposed that the human MN system (MNS) might display different pathways for social and non-social actions. To examine this hypothesis, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of 174 published human functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Our findings confirmed the proposed hypothesis. Our results demonstrated that the non-social MN pathway exhibited a more classical pattern of frontoparietal activation, whereas the social MN pathway was activated less in the parietal lobe but more in the frontal lobe, limbic lobe, and sublobar regions. Additionally, our findings revealed a modulatory role of the effector (i.e. face and hands) within this framework: some areas exhibited effector-independent activation, while others did not. This novel subdivision provides valuable theoretical support for further investigations into the neural mechanisms underlying the MNS and its related disorders.

The Bilingual Dual-path model

Abstract Experimental research has yielded many important psycholinguistic findings in bi-/multilingualism. However, cognitive computational models of sentence processing were limited to the single-language case until recently. In this methodological review, we discuss cognitive modelling work that uses the Bilingual Dual-path model to simulate experimental research on bilingual sentence production, processing, and development. As a detailed example of such work, we then report on new simulations conducted with the model. Finally, we suggest directions for future cognitive modelling research using this model.

Women's military service in Poland in the perspective of recruiting women to the Military University of Technology

Abstract: Since 1999, Poland has become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance. The aftermath of this event was that women were allowed to serve in all military positions. At the same time, military academies gave women the opportunity to study on terms previously available only to men. The forerunner in this area was the Military University of Technology (WAT), which not only was the first to open the Academy to female cadets, but also educated the largest number of female officers. The existing research gap regarding the process of transformation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in the context of educating a highly qualified officer corps, taking into account fundamental changes in ensuring women have access to all officer positions, required an analysis of the process of recruitment and education of women for military service by the largest military university in Poland. Now, after 20 years of training, it is possible to evaluate this process, which became the purpose of this article. The question of how the number of women at the WAT changed in the process of recruitment and enrollment was adopted as a research problem. The intention of the Authors is not only to identify existing trends, but also to highlight the distinguished role of the Military University of Technology in this area. It was assumed (research hypothesis) that not only the interest of women in military studies is increasing, but also the number of women choosing technical education is increasing, as well. The article uses research methods in relation to the cognitive and praxeological research problem: systematic literature review, quantitative methods and qualitative methods, comparative methods, concretization, and formalization methods. The research conducted clearly indicates an upward trend in women's interest not only in military studies, but also in studying at the Academy in general. Although some fluctuations over a period of more than 20 years are noticeable, they are due to economic, demographic, or political factors. Nevertheless, the article clearly shows the significant role of the Military Academy of Technology in educating female officers and thus meeting the requirements of a modern, professional army.

Validating the CogSleep Screener in older adults at a memory and cognition clinic.

While sleep disturbances are prevalent in older people and are linked with poor health and cognitive outcomes, screening for the range of sleep disturbances is inefficient and therefore not ideal nor routine in memory and cognition clinic settings. We aimed to develop and validate a new brief self-report questionnaire for easy use within memory and cognition clinics. The design for this study was cross-sectional. Older adults (aged ≥50 in Sydney, Australia) were recruited from a memory and cognition research clinic. Participants (N = 402, mean age 67.3 years, range 50-86, 63.6% female) completed a comprehensive medical, neuropsychological, and mental health assessment, alongside self-report instruments, including existing sleep questionnaires and a new 10-item sleep questionnaire, the CogSleep Screener. We examined the factor structure, convergent validity, internal consistency, and discriminant validity of this novel questionnaire. Using exploratory principal component analysis, a 3-factor solution was generated highlighting the factors of Insomnia, Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Symptoms and Daytime Sleepiness. Each factor was significantly correlated with currently used sleep questionnaires for each subdomain (all Spearman rho >0.3, all p < 0.001), suggesting good convergent validity. Internal consistency was also good (Cronbach's α = 0.73). Receiver operating characteristic curves showed good discriminative ability between participants with and without sleep disturbances (all area under curve >0.7, all p < 0.01). The CogSleep Screener has good psychometric properties in older to elderly adults attending a memory and cognition clinic. The instrument has the potential to be used in memory clinics and other clinical settings to provide quick and accurate screening of sleep disturbances.