Cognitive Adaptation Research Articles

Changing the Type of Predicate as a Means of Cognitive Adaptation in Translation

The linguistic worldview is a reflection of the national cognitive worldview. ‘Worldview’ is often defined as a way of perceiving the surrounding reality, yet the way people perceive their personal inner world also reflects their national self-identification. It is difficult to compare how people of different nations experience emotions and perceive such experiences because these processes are not available for direct observation and objective assessment. The most complete representation of the way a person experiences a particular emotion can be found in fiction. Contrastive analysis of how this process is reflected in different languages can be based on a comparison of a literary text with its translation into another language, since, in this case, both texts present the same character in the same situations that cause certain emotions. To exclude the influence of the translator’s personality, in our analysis we have used three different translations of selected passages from Dostoevsky’s The Idiot. A quantitative analysis of the means employed by the translators shows that representation of emotions in English does indeed reflect the way of perceiving the world that is typical of the national linguistic worldview as a whole. In all the three English texts, state predicates prevail over ac-tion predicates, and predicatively used adjectival words prevail over those used attributively. It means that emotional states are mostly perceived by English speakers as something that, while not permanent or inherent to a person, is, at the same time, static: less a process than a result of that process. In contrast, native speakers of Russian perceive emotional states as actions, and the Russian text reveals no inclination toward perceiving emotional states as personal characteristics, whether temporary or permanent. All these regularities are statistical and not absolute, which means that they reflect usage and not the linguistic norm, and, thus, the change of predicates in translation should be regarded as a way of cognitive adaptation rather than a structural transformation.

Exercised state of mind: A perspective on ageing, cerebral blood flow and cognition.

Exercised state of mind: A perspective on ageing, cerebral blood flow and cognition.

Habit-Formation as a Mechanism of Action in Cognitive Adaptation Training

Habit-Formation as a Mechanism of Action in Cognitive Adaptation Training

Effects of Exercise Interventions on Cognitive Adaptations for Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE: Old adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are at high risk for developing dementia. Exercise is a promising intervention for cognitive decline. This study evaluated the effects of exercise interventions on cognitive adaptation for older adults with MCI and attempted to identify which specific modality of exercise is more effective.METHODS: National Assembly library, Research information sharing service, Google scholar databases from 1 January 2010 to 31 Oct 2020 were utilized for searching articles related to research purpose. Meta-analysis was conducted with Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 2.0 using the fixed-effect model for the available data without significant heterogeneity, or the random-effect model was used if appropriate.RESULTS:Through meta-analysis in 13 studies, the combination of aerobic and resistance movements significantly improved cognitive ability and showed that intervention in a particular week and time is of paramount importance to improving cognitive function.CONCLUSIONS: The Combination of aerobic and resistance exercise led to an improvement in cognitive ability and had a positive effect with a middle effect size on cognitive function in older adults with MCI.

March Mammal Madness and the power of narrative in science outreach.

March Mammal Madness is a science outreach project that, over the course of several weeks in March, reaches hundreds of thousands of people in the United States every year. We combine four approaches to science outreach - gamification, social media platforms, community event(s), and creative products - to run a simulated tournament in which 64 animals compete to become the tournament champion. While the encounters between the animals are hypothetical, the outcomes rely on empirical evidence from the scientific literature. Players select their favored combatants beforehand, and during the tournament scientists translate the academic literature into gripping "play-by-play" narration on social media. To date ~1100 scholarly works, covering almost 400 taxa, have been transformed into science stories. March Mammal Madness is most typically used by high-school educators teaching life sciences, and we estimate that our materials reached ~1% of high-school students in the United States in 2019. Here we document the intentional design, public engagement, and magnitude of reach of the project. We further explain how human psychological and cognitive adaptations for shared experiences, social learning, narrative, and imagery contribute to the widespread use of March Mammal Madness.

Maternal Resources, Pregnancy Concerns, and Biological Factors Associated to Birth Weight and Psychological Health.

Cognitive maternal adaptation during pregnancy may influence biological variables, maternal psychological, and neonatal health. We hypothesized that pregnant women with numerous general resources and less negative emotions would have a better coping with a positive influence on neonatal birth weight and maternal psychological health. The study included 131 healthy pregnant women. A blood sample was obtained in the first trimester to assess biological variables (polyphenols, hematological and biochemical parameters). Psychological variables (negative affect, anxiety, optimism, resilience, family–work conflicts, pregnancy concerns, general resources, and life satisfaction) were evaluated at several time points along gestation, and birth weight was recorded. Hierarchical linear regression models were used to associate the above parameters with maternal psychological outcome at the end of gestation (depression, resilience, and optimism) and neonatal outcome (birth weight). Maternal depression was associated with leukocytes (β = 0.08 ± 0.03, p-value = 0.003), cholesterol (β = 0.01 ± 0.002, p-value = 0.026), and pregnancy concerns (β = 0.31 ± 0.09, p-value = 0.001). Maternal resilience was associated with leukocytes (β = −0.14 ± 0.09, p-value = 0.010) and life satisfaction (β = 0.82 ± 0.08, p-value = 0.001), and maternal optimism was associated with polyphenol levels (β = 0.002 ± 0.001, p-value = 0.018) and life satisfaction (β = 0.49 ± 0.04, p-value = 0.001). Birth weight was associated with maternal resilience (β = 370.2 ± 97.0, p-value = 0.001), red blood cells (β = 480.3 ± 144.4, p-value = 0.001), and life satisfaction (β = 423.3 ± 32.6, p-value = 0.001). We found associations between maternal psychological, blood variables, and birth weight and maternal depression. This study reveals the relevance of psychological health during pregnancy for maternal and neonatal outcome, and it emphasizes the need to consider it in preventive policies in the obstetric field.

Error-Related Cognitive Control and Behavioral Adaptation Mechanisms in the Context of Motor Functioning and Anxiety.

Motor proficiency reflects the ability to perform precise and coordinated movements in different contexts. Previous research suggests that different profiles of motor proficiency may be associated with different cognitive functioning characteristics thus suggesting an interaction between cognitive and motor processes. The current study investigated this interaction in the general population of healthy adults with different profiles of motor proficiency by focusing on error-related cognitive control and behavioral adaptation mechanisms. In addition, the impact of these processes was assessed in terms of trait anxiety and worries. Forty healthy adults were divided into high and low motor proficiency groups based on an assessment of their motor skills. Using electroencephalography during a flanker task, error-related negativity (ERN) was measured as the neural indicator of cognitive control. Post-error slowing (PES) was measured to represent behavioral adaptation. Participants also completed an anxiety assessment questionnaire. Participants in the high motor proficiency group achieved better task accuracy and showed relatively enhanced cognitive control through increased ERN. Contrastingly, individuals in the lower motor proficiency group achieved poorer accuracy whilst showing some evidence of compensation through increased PES. Trait anxiety reflecting general worries was found to be correlated with motor functioning, but the study could not provide evidence that this was related to cognitive or behavioral control mechanisms. The interaction between cognitive and motor processes observed in this study is unique for healthy and sub-clinical populations and provides a baseline for the interpretation of similar investigations in individuals with motor disorders.

Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to Ecological Changes, Social Behaviour and Human Intergroup Tolerance 300,000 to 30,000 BP

Archaeological evidence suggests that important shifts were taking place in the character of human social behaviours 300,000 to 30,000 years ago. New artefact types appear and are disseminated with greater frequency. Transfers of both raw materials and finished artefacts take place over increasing distances, implying larger scales of regional mobility and more frequent and friendlier interactions between different communities. Whilst these changes occur during a period of increasing environmental variability, the relationship between ecological changes and transformations in social behaviours is elusive. Here, we explore a possible theoretical approach and methodology for understanding how ecological contexts can influence selection pressures acting on intergroup social behaviours. We focus on the relative advantages and disadvantages of intergroup tolerance in different ecological contexts using agent-based modelling (ABM). We assess the relative costs and benefits of different ‘tolerance’ levels in between-group interactions on survival and resource exploitation in different environments. The results enable us to infer a potential relationship between ecological changes and proposed changes in between-group behavioural dynamics. We conclude that increasingly harsh environments may have driven changes in hormonal and emotional responses in humans leading to increasing intergroup tolerance, i.e. transformations in social behaviour associated with ‘self-domestication’. We argue that changes in intergroup tolerance is a more parsimonious explanation for the emergence of what has been seen as ‘modern human behaviour’ than changes in hard aspects of cognition or other factors such as cognitive adaptability or population size.

On the Moral Functions of Language

Previous comparisons of language and morality have taken a cognitively internalist (i.e., within-minds) perspective. We take a socially externalist (i.e., between-minds) perspective, viewing both language and morality as forms of social action. During human evolution, social cognitive adaptations for cooperation evolved, including cooperative communication (social acts to mentally coordinate with others for common goals) and social normativity (social acts to regulate cooperative social relationships). As human cooperation scaled up in complexity, cooperative communication and social normativity scaled up as well, leading to the development of culturally elaborated forms of language and morality. Language facilitates all aspects of morality and is even necessary for certain aspects. Humans use language to (1) initiate, (2) preserve, (3) revise, and (4) act on morality in ways such as forming joint commitments, teaching norms, modifying social realities, and engaging in moral reason-giving.

Army-ant following in Neotropical birds: A review and prospectus

Abstract Army-ants (particularly swarm-raiding species Eciton burchellii and Labidus praedator) are keystone predators in Neotropical forests. Hundreds of associated species from diverse taxa depend on them for survival, the most conspicuous of which are the ant-following birds. These birds forage on cryptic arthropods and vertebrates as they attempt to escape raiding army-ants. Despite capturing the attention of tropical biologists for centuries, research on ant-following birds has been largely limited to natural history observations until more recently. Here, we argue that this complex system provides unique and underappreciated opportunities for testing hypotheses in 5 main areas of interest: (1) competitive interactions among attendant birds, (2) cognitive and behavioral adaptations for locating swarms, (3) evolution of ant-following behavior, (4) biogeography of ant-following behavior, and (5) conservation of ant-following birds. For each research area, we review the current state of knowledge and make suggestions for fruitful research avenues that we believe will help address important questions in the fields of ecology, evolution, and behavior.

Endogenous Eye Blinking Rate to Support Human–Automation Interaction for E-Learning Multimedia Content Specification

As intelligent systems demand for human–automation interaction increases, the need for learners’ cognitive traits adaptation in adaptive educational hypermedia systems (AEHS) has dramatically increased. AEHS utilize learners’ cognitive processes to attain fair human–automation interaction for their adaptive processes. However, obtaining accurate cognitive trait for the AEHS adaptation process has been a challenge due to the fact that it is difficult to determine what extent such traits can comprehend system functionalities. Hence, this study has explored correlation among learners’ pupil size dilation, learners’ reading time and endogenous blinking rate when using AEHS so as to enable cognitive load estimation in support of AEHS adaptive process. An eye-tracking sensor was used and the study found correlation among learners’ pupil size dilation, reading time and learners’ endogenous blinking rate. Thus, the results show that endogenous blinking rate, pupil size and reading time are not only AEHS reliable parameters for cognitive load measurement but can also support human–automation interaction at large.

Neuroscience, Psychomotor and Exercise Sciences in Military Air Force

To challenge the great opportunities, to explore the fatigue, the limits, the stress of a human being. Develop new fitness, training, cognitive programs for particular environments or specialist roles such as air forces or astronauts. find out how to improve decision-making, deep skills and bring out the hidden potential within a military, special forces man or war veteran. The aim of this study was to extrapolate, through scientific evidence and previous work on the effects of microgravity, on the role of neuroscience, physical exercise and psychomotor skills. Through verbal and non-verbal language, tonic-emotional communication, one is able to help the person in his uniqueness, exploiting the communicative, emotional and motor potential of the latter which, remained latent, led him to isolation; therefore trying to develop a harmonious relationship with himself and with the world. I hope that this work can provide food for thought with respect to the essential need of each individual to be satisfied. They must take into account and take a “look” into the needs, desires and potential of the individual. Within this thesis, the theory and practice of this science has been briefly described, its application, in the specific case, in the isolation of the special forces, in the cognitive and postural adaptation capacity of the military air force. described the techniques, such as Psychocontact and the motor-muscular relaxation methods that I have mostly used in this path, still in progress. I conclude my thesis with personal considerations on this experience that involved me personally, no longer looking only with the eyes of a rehabilitation therapist, but with those of a professional, of a health scientist whose training is based on a egodynamic conception, centered on the subject in its entirety and in its complexity.) Through this new science, I was able to appreciate my inner change, which opened up new perspectives to help the person; no longer patient, but as a person understood in his uniqueness and identity. Furthermore, I was able to find a notable change in the subject in its becoming and in the reality that surrounds it. There is, of course, still a lot of work to be done and this little dissertation only wants to enrich or eventually fill where classical medicine fails to reach; always to meet and help the person. I hope that this science and methodology can continue to expand more and more in the world and that it can continue to have a social and dignified role in society.

Editorial Comment: On the Possibilities of AI, Performance Studies, and Digital Cohabitation

Editorial Comment:On the Possibilities of AI, Performance Studies, and Digital Cohabitation Sean Metzger Over the three years that I initially conceived and eventually edited this special issue, I have become convinced of the pressing need to think through the intersections of performance studies and artificial intelligence (AI). Many factors shape this belief, but they might be summarized in a relatively succinct formulation: Code is performative, and interfaces are theatrical; the elaborations of these claims reveal the shifting of both human and machine ontologies as the networks we inhabit proliferate. To a large extent, the constituent essays in this volume complicate and extend such ideas. The following editorial grounds these elaborations and provides one pathway for viewing their collective charge. Scholars of digital media have established the performativity of computer code.1 For example, Lisa Nakamura has pointed to the performative acts that occur as users create avatars in virtual environments.2 N. Katherine Hayles has explored performativity to account for how computational theory might shift the linguistic framework of this concept provided by J. L. Austin: Computational theory treats computer languages as if they were, in Austin's terms, performative utterances. Although material changes do take place when computers process code (magnetic polarities are changed on a disk), it is the act of attaching significance to these physical changes that constitutes computation as such. … Whereas in performative utterances saying is doing because the action performed is symbolic in nature and does not require physical action in the world, at the basic level of computation doing is saying because physical actions also have a symbolic dimension that corresponds directly to computation.3 From a related perspective, Wendy Chun refers to code as "an inhumanly perfect 'performative' uttered by no one. Unlike any other law or performative utterance, code almost always does what it says because it needs no human acknowledgment."4 Code within this context generally denotes steps or commands for a computer to execute. Coding pertains to, but is not limited to, AI, which relies on sophisticated algorithms. A high-performance algorithm generally refers to any complex formula that "optimally organizes the intake of input and the production of output."5 AI's processes of decision-making often remain unknown, a black box. The ways such algorithms [End Page xiii] increasingly structure our lives have become ever more vexing, leading to what Safiya Noble has called "algorithmic oppression" as "fundamental to the operating system of the web" in her writing on search engines.6 In Noble's research, the results of algorithmic search processes yielded disturbing presentations of bodies for consumption; put otherwise, the histrionic display of Black women on porn sites substituted one vision of femininity for the one that Noble sought (specifically, material that might be interesting to some of the youth in her family). Typing "black girls" in a search engine in 2010 produced unexpected iterations of ostensibly Black womanhood. This example demonstrates both the performative nature of the algorithm and also points to the theatricality of the interface. Broadly speaking, discussions about computers often use "screen" as shorthand for the specific structure called the graphic user interface (GUI). However, as Johanna Drucker has explained, such usage eschews the complexities of human–computer interaction (HCI) that involve keyboards and the like used for "remediating common tasks as formal instructions coded into a plan of menus or buttons."7 Automated interfaces involve aural, visual, and tactile sensory modalities.8 As technology advanced, "graphical icons … no longer just looked like objects; they could also mimic the behavior of the things they resembled."9 Many implications follow from this statement, but Drucker offers one illustration relevant to theatricality in particular: "The GUI is a mediating scrim, a boundary space in which we interact with an abstraction of computation … neither the file folders nor the other objects in the screen space are things; they are icons that represent behaviors and actions we want to perform … and they interpellate a user through disciplinary and scopic regimes."10 She further explains that the GUI effects a "constitutive exchange" that involves "cognitive adaptation and change" through which the interface facilitates "individual and collective subject formation."11 Drucker does not mention theatre studies or...

Адаптація студентів-першокурсників до умов навчання у закладах вищої освіти

The problem of adaptation of first-year students is a topical issue of higher education institutions. Adaptation of students is a rather complex and long process that lasts during all years of study in a higher education institution, but the most important and problematic period is the period of study in the first year. One of the important criteria for the adaptation of freshmen to the conditions of stay and the learning process in higher education is their health. The stronger the health of students, the more successful their adaptation. The article presents the deteriorating health of first-year students; interpretation of the concept of «adaptation»; various forms (types) of adaptation of student's youth are considered; factors influencing the adaptation process; difficulties in adapting freshmen. Independent physical education and sports in extracurricular time contribute to the more successful adaptation of freshmen to the learning process. The article considers the most common forms of independent physical education classes among students. Adaptation takes place during all years of study, but the most important and problematic period is the period of study in the first year. Admission to free economic education is determined by changes in the living conditions of students, leads to the destruction of previously developed habits, skills, values ​​of former high school students, partial or complete loss of relationships with former classmates and more. There are several (types) of forms of adaptation: formal adaptation, refers to the cognitive and informational adaptation of students to the new environment, to the structure of higher education, to the requirements and their obligations; social adaptation – the process of internal integration of groups of first-year students and the integration of these groups with the student environment as a whole; didactic adaptation, concerns the preparation of students for new forms and methods of educational work in higher education.

Cognitive Habitat, Strategy Ecosystem: A Predictive Model of Emergence for Cognitive and Computer Science

Cognitive research has found people are sometimes adept and sometimes inept at handling complexity. Complexity is a key concept in much of cognitive science, yet the field has scarcely incorporated any of the work in complexity theory. Complexity theory may generally be too abstract to easily apply to human cognition studies. Here, the problem is addressed by considering complexity through constructing a model of epistemic emergence, Cognitive-Habitat Strategy-Ecosystem, (CHSE) to act as an overarching framework into which different conceptions of complexity and cognition can be integrated, describing how they will interact to affect cognition in complex systems. This model provides value both at the micro level, by generating specific predictions, and at the macro level, through hypothesizing interactions between other cognitive theories such as cognitive load and adaptation from failure. We detail the model’s assumptions, functionality, and possible ways to measure variables.

Mediating role of post-traumatic growth in the relationship between inadequate disaster recovery and mental health outcomes: long-term evidence from the Wenchuan earthquake

ABSTRACT Background: The mental health outcomes from disasters have aroused great concern worldwide, yet few studies incorporate a long-term disaster recovery perspective. Evidence has also emerged about the importance of the social determinants of mental health, but aspects of recovery including disruptions to livelihoods and social networks remain relatively understudied. Objective: This study utilizes cognitive adaptation theory to examine the long-term relationship between inadequate disaster recovery and mental health outcomes while considering domains of post-traumatic growth (PTG) as mediators. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1369 adult survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Correlation analyses and multivariable regression analyses examined the association between inadequate disaster recovery and mental health outcomes, while parallel multiple mediator models and structural equation model explored the mediating role of PTG among these relationships. Results: 52.2% and 8.1% of the respondents reported inadequate recovery on livelihood and social ties, respectively. Inadequate disaster recovery was associated with higher levels of PTSD and depressive symptoms, and this association was partially mediated by PTG. Lower reported PTG on the interpersonal relationship and new possibilities domains mediated the association between inadequate livelihood recovery on PTSD and depressive symptom severity, and enhanced personal strength mediated the association between inadequate social ties recovery on these symptoms. Conclusion: Enhancing disaster recovery is essential for mental health protection, and PTG may be a valuable starting point in cognitive therapy to protect against stress responses after trauma.

Localization of conceptual information in intercultural dialogue

This paper deals with one aspect of mitigating barriers to communication that arise from misunderstandings of the conceptual meanings of national-specific lexical units in the context of university education. The localization of the conceptual information is recognized as a means of such mitigation. The objective of the article is to prove the possibility of applying the term and procedures of localization to the linguistic and cultural interpretation of the conceptual national specific vocabulary for the intercultural dialogue. Whatever the substantive or socio-ethical goals of intercultural dialogue, its purpose is to develop the cognitive system of its participants. Each producer of a dialogue builds its own trajectory of knowledge actualization, relying on its inherent mental and cultural experience, which has been transmitted or formed in contact with the environment, especially in the educational domain. The dialogue becomes a medium of perception, cognition, comprehension, and cognitive adaptation of the cultural and semantic information which is carried by the word-concept, i.e. the problem of localization of conceptual information within another language and culture will be solved. The methodological principle of the research was a combination of cognitive approach to conceptual vocabulary understanding with hermeneutic and linguistic and cultural analysis. To get a better idea of localization in the article, as a methodological technique during the deployment of intercultural dialogue, the author proposes some national-specific linguistic units from the poem “Aeneid” by Ivan Kotlarevsky. Such units form conceptual information and can be part of the dialogue system in various disciplines at Tunisian language institutions of higher education. Specific examples illustrate, as a result, the theoretical assertion that there is a need to study in depth the conceptual information that helps reduce disruptions in the “communicant-communicant” relationship and avoid breaking the communication line in a dialogue.

Formation of functional literacy of primary school students through the development of speech activity

The article considers the problem of the formation of functional literacy of a primary school student through the development of speech activity. The relevance of the issue of the formation of functional literacy of students is repeatedly touched upon in legal acts in the field of education, which clearly indicate is importance among the younger generation in the education of a competitive personality that meets modern requirements. Based on a theoretical analysis of the ideas and views of foreign and domestic scientists, the author determins the constituent components in the structure of the concept of a functionally competent person. It reveals in a board sense the definition of the term “speech activity”. Summarizes the nature of the types of speech activity: listening, speaking, reading and writing. She notes that the study of subjects frim the educational field “Language and Literature” is of geat importance in the formation of the functional literate personality of students in the educational process of primary school, while the update educational content, through cross-cutting topics, contributes to the development of cognitive abilities, self-esteem, critical thinking, and adaptation to the environment

Deprivation and threat as developmental mediators in the relation between early life socioeconomic status and executive functioning outcomes in early childhood

There has been a shift in the study of childhood adversity towards a focus on dimensions of adversity as opposed to a focus on cumulative risk or specific adversities. The Dimensional Model of Adversity and Psychopathology (DMAP) proposes deprivation and threat as core dimensions of childhood adversity. Previous work using DMAP has found links between deprivation and cognitive development and threat and emotional development in adolescence, but few studies have applied this framework to a poverty context, in which children are at heightened risk for adversity experiences, and none have examined outcomes in early childhood. We use data from the Family Life Project (n = 1292) to examine deprivation and threat at child age 24 months as developmental mediators in the association between socioeconomic status (SES) measured at 15 months and executive functions (EF) measured at 48 months. In a multiple mediation model, lower SES was related to higher deprivation and threat. Deprivation was negatively associated with EF, and threat was not associated with EF. Deprivation fully mediated association between SES and EF. These results expand previous work using the DMAP and point to new directions in understanding children’s cognitive adaptations to adversity.

A systematic review of the published literature on interventions to improve personal self-care for people with severe mental health problems

IntroductionPeople with severe mental health problems often struggle to manage everyday tasks such as personal hygiene, housework, shopping, cooking and budgeting. These functional problems result in self-neglect and are associated with specific cognitive impairments and poor outcomes. Despite their importance, little guidance is available for practitioners in how to address these problems.MethodWe conducted a systematic review of the research literature published since 1990 on the effectiveness of interventions that aim to assist people with severe mental health problems to manage their personal self-care. We searched six major electronic databases and followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidance in the conduct of the review and reporting of results.ResultsOur search identified 2808 papers of which only eight met our inclusion criteria. The included papers comprised six randomised controlled trials and two ‘pre-post’ studies reporting on evaluations of five different interventions. We used narrative synthesis to summarise our findings. The strongest evidence was for cognitive adaptation training, comprising environmental supports provided in the home that address the functional problems arising from specific cognitive impairments.ConclusionThe paucity of research into interventions to assist personal self-care for people with severe mental health problems is surprising. More research in this area is urgently needed.