Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective Research Articles

Constructive Memory and Conscious Experience.

Episodic memory relies on constructive processes that support simulating novel future events by flexibly recombining elements of past experiences, and that can also give rise to memory errors. In recent studies, we have developed methods to characterize the cognitive and neural processes that support conscious experiences linked to this process of episodic recombination, both when people simulate novel future events and commit recombination-related memory errors. In this Perspective, we summarize recent studies that illustrate these phenomena, and discuss broader implications for characterizing the basis of conscious experiences associated with constructive memory from a cognitive neuroscience perspective.

Generalized anxiety disorder and selective attention: An unsuccessful replication of Yiend et al., (2015) in a student population

ABSTRACT Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder that is believed to affect attention (Stein, M. B., & Sareen, J. (2015). Generalized anxiety disorder. New England Journal of Medicine, 373(21), 2059–2068. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMcp1502514; Yiend, J., Mathews, A., Burns, T., Dutton, K., Fernández-Martín, A., Georgiou, G. A., Luckie, M., Rose, A., Russo, R., & Fox, E. (2015). Mechanisms of selective attention in generalized anxiety disorder. Clinical Psychological Science, 3(5), 758–771. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702614545216). Previous literature has found that selective attention is changed when someone perceives threatening stimuli, such as an angry face, and that those with anxiety disorders, may have a heightened or delayed response to threatening stimuli (Richards, H. J., Benson, V., Donnelly, N., & Hadwin, J. A. (2014). Exploring the function of selective attention and hypervigilance for threat in anxiety. Clinical Psychology Review, 34(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.10.006; Stevens, C., & Bavelier, D. (2012). The role of selective attention on academic foundations: A cognitive neuroscience perspective. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2, S30–S48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2011.11.001), which may alter how fast a presented task is completed (Yiend et al., 2015). The present study aimed to reproduce findings by Yiend et al. (2015), which identified an unexpected pattern in those with GAD: faster disengagement from angry faces compared to positive (happy, neutral) faces. The present study recruited a larger (nonclinical) sample from a student population to achieve greater statistical power. None of the findings reported by Yiend and colleagues (Experiment 1; 2015) were replicated in a student sample. The implications are discussed.

The neurocomputational signature of decision-making for unfair offers in females under acute psychological stress

Stress is a crucial factor affecting social decision-making. However, its impacts on the behavioral and neural processes of females’ unfairness decision-making remain unclear. Combining computational modeling and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), this study attempted to illuminate the neurocomputational signature of unfairness decision-making in females. We also considered the effect of trait stress coping styles. Forty-four healthy young females (20.98 ± 2.89 years) were randomly assigned to the stress group (n = 21) and the control group (n = 23). Acute psychosocial stress was induced by the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and participants then completed the one-shot ultimatum game (UG) as responders. The results showed that acute psychosocial stress reduced the adaptability to fairness and lead to more random decision-making responses. Moreover, in the stress group, a high level of negative coping style predicted more deterministic decision. fNIRS results showed that stress led to an increase of oxy-hemoglobin (HbO) peak in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ), while decreased the activation of left middle temporal gyrus (lMTG) when presented the moderately unfair (MU) offers. This signified more involvement of the mentalization and the inhibition of moral processing. Moreover, individuals with higher negative coping scores showed more deterministic decision behaviors under stress. Taken together, our study emphasizes the role of acute psychosocial stress in affecting females’ unfairness decision-making mechanisms in social interactions, and provides evidences for the “tend and befriend” pattern based on a cognitive neuroscience perspective.

The neural correlates of perceived social support and its relationship to psychological well-being.

Perceived social support is considered to play a significant role in promoting individuals' health and well-being, and yet the neural correlates of perceived social support were not fully understood. An exploration of the neural correlates of individual differences in the SPS can help us to gain more comprehensive understanding about the neural correlates of perceived social support. What's more, our study will explore the relationship among perceived social support, brain regions, and psychological well-being, which may provide new insights into the neural correlates underlying the relationship between perceived social support and psychological well-being from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience. Herein, we used the Social Provisions Scale to assess individuals' perceived social support, and magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure the gray matter (GM) volume of the whole brain. What's more, we also measured psychological well-being using the Psychological Well-Being Scale, and mediation analysis was used to explore the relationship among perceived social support, brain regions, and psychological well-being. The voxel-based morphometry analysis of the whole brain revealed that perceived social support was positively correlated with GM volume of the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG). The finding indicated that a person with greater GM volume in the left MTG perceived more social support. More importantly, the left MTG GM volume observed above was also associated with psychological well-being, and the link between the two was mediated by perceived social support. These results revealed the importance of MTG for perceived social support and psychological well-being, and also suggested that perceived social support might explain the relationship between MTG and psychological well-being.

Research on measuring happiness

People have been exploring happiness through various "tools", "processes" and "objects" to uncover the mystery of happiness. But few people have measured happiness quantitatively. In this article, I will analyze the reasons why happiness cannot be measured from the perspective of the "tools", "processes" and "objects" of happiness measurement, and highlight the shortcomings of current happiness measurement. I hope this study will help us identify the barriers we need to overcome when measuring happiness. Of course, there are a number of limitations in this paper, such as the lack of discussion of happiness measurement from a cognitive neuroscience perspective and the lack of discussion of the use of multiple methods to measure happiness (the combination of daily reconstruction and glucocorticoid testing, etc.). Although happiness cannot yet be measured, it is clearly something we value very much and it is worth our effort to learn more about it.

Cognitive neuroscience perspective on memory: overview and summary.

This paper explores memory from a cognitive neuroscience perspective and examines associated neural mechanisms. It examines the different types of memory: working, declarative, and non-declarative, and the brain regions involved in each type. The paper highlights the role of different brain regions, such as the prefrontal cortex in working memory and the hippocampus in declarative memory. The paper also examines the mechanisms that underlie the formation and consolidation of memory, including the importance of sleep in the consolidation of memory and the role of the hippocampus in linking new memories to existing cognitive schemata. The paper highlights two types of memory consolidation processes: cellular consolidation and system consolidation. Cellular consolidation is the process of stabilizing information by strengthening synaptic connections. System consolidation models suggest that memories are initially stored in the hippocampus and are gradually consolidated into the neocortex over time. The consolidation process involves a hippocampal-neocortical binding process incorporating newly acquired information into existing cognitive schemata. The paper highlights the role of the medial temporal lobe and its involvement in autobiographical memory. Further, the paper discusses the relationship between episodic and semantic memory and the role of the hippocampus. Finally, the paper underscores the need for further research into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying non-declarative memory, particularly conditioning. Overall, the paper provides a comprehensive overview from a cognitive neuroscience perspective of the different processes involved in memory consolidation of different types of memory.

Hippocampus links perceived social support with self-esteem

ABSTRACT Self-esteem is an important psychological resource with adaptive values, and numerous investigations have revealed that self-esteem is influenced by perceived social support. However, the potential neural basis linking perceived social support with self-esteem remains unclear. Therefore, we used voxel-based morphometry to explore whether the hippocampus and amygdala function as the neuroanatomical basis linking perceived social support with self-esteem in a cohort of 243 young healthy adults (128 women; mean age 22.64 years, standard deviation 1.01 years). The Social Provisions Scale and Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale were used for the survey. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure the gray matter volume of the hippocampus and amygdala. Correlation analysis revealed that those who perceived more social support had higher self-esteem. Notably, mediation analysis showed that hippocampal gray matter volume linked perceived social support with self-esteem. Our study suggests that the hippocampus plays a primary, but not exclusive, role in linking perceived social support with self-esteem, which provides a novel explanation for how perceived social support affects self-esteem from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience.

Systems Thinking in an era of climate change: Does cognitive neuroscience hold the key to improving environmental decision making? A perspective on Climate-Smart Agriculture.

Systems Thinking (ST) can be defined as a mental construct that recognises patterns and connections in a particular complex system to make the "best decision" possible. In the field of sustainable agriculture and climate change, higher degrees of ST are assumed to be associated with more successful adaptation strategies under changing conditions, and "better" environmental decision making in a number of environmental and cultural settings. Future climate change scenarios highlight the negative effects on agricultural productivity worldwide, particularly in low-income countries (LICs) situated in the Global South. Alongside this, current measures of ST are limited by their reliance on recall, and are prone to possible measurement errors. Using Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), as an example case study, in this article we explore: (i) ST from a social science perspective; (ii) cognitive neuroscience tools that could be used to explore ST abilities in the context of LICs; (iii) an exploration of the possible correlates of systems thinking: observational learning, prospective thinking/memory and the theory of planned behaviour and (iv) a proposed theory of change highlighting the integration of social science frameworks and a cognitive neuroscience perspective. We find, recent advancements in the field of cognitive neuroscience such as Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) provide exciting potential to explore previously hidden forms of cognition, especially in a low-income country/field setting; improving our understanding of environmental decision-making and the ability to more accurately test more complex hypotheses where access to laboratory studies is severely limited. We highlight that ST may correlate with other key aspects involved in environmental decision-making and posit motivating farmers via specific brain networks would: (a) enhance understanding of CSA practices (e.g., via the frontoparietal network extending from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to the parietal cortex (PC) a control hub involved in ST and observational learning) such as tailoring training towards developing improved ST abilities among farmers and involving observational learning more explicitly and (b) motivate farmers to use such practices [e.g., via the network between the DLPFC and nucleus accumbens (NAc)] which mediates reward processing and motivation by focussing on a reward/emotion to engage farmers. Finally, our proposed interdisciplinary theory of change can be used as a starting point to encourage discussion and guide future research in this space.

Research on Early Childhood Bilingual Education in China from the Perspective of Cognitive Neuroscience

With the rapid development of globalization and the world economy, English, as the universal language, plays a pivotal role in the international political, economic and cultural fields. English non-native speakers are paying more and more attention to popularizing English education as an important part of basic education, and English learning is also showing a trend of becoming younger and younger. However, the early childhood language acquisition process is influenced and controlled by various complex factors, including acquisition age, acquisition methods, family ecological environment and socio-cultural factors. At present, the early childhood bilingual education in China is booming, but due to the mentality of most parents and the immaturity and incompleteness of various conditions, combined with the lack of scientific theoretical basis and empirical research on early childhood bilingual learning, the bilingual education in early childhood There have been many problems in the development process. In recent years, the development of brain development in the field of cognitive neuroscience has made important progress, prompting people to continuously explore how to more effectively promote early childhood language development and bilingual ability. Starting from the concept of bilingual education, this paper expounds the latest research results of early childhood bilingual ability development and brain development, the current situation, existing problems and development path of bilingual education for preschool children in China, and provides a large number of parents, educators and educational decision-making departments. Useful lessons are learned from experience.

The functions of sleep: A cognitive neuroscience perspective

This Special Feature explores the various purposes served by sleep, describing current attempts to understand how the many functions of sleep are instantiated in neural circuits and cognitive structures. Our feature reflects current experts' opinions about, and insights into, the dynamic processes of sleep. In the last few decades, technological advances have supported the updated view that sleep plays an active role in both cognition and health. However, these roles are far from understood. This collection of articles evaluates the dynamic nature of sleep, how it evolves across the lifespan, becomes a competitive arena for memory systems through the influence of the autonomic system, supports the consolidation and integration of new memories, and how lucid dreams might originate. This set of papers highlights new approaches and insights that will lay the groundwork to eventually understand the full range of functions supported by sleep.

Shallow and Deep Processing – An Integrated Cognitive Architecture for Foreign Language Learning

Abstract This article aims to present an architecture for the integration of shallow and deep processing techniques in the context of foreign language learning. Since the concept of “levels of processing” has been originally proposed by Craik and Lockhart in 1972, specialized literature has been constantly tried to replicate this cognitive-based architecture in order to find its applications to different domains. In an endeavor to fill the existing gap in the literature that attempts to “marry” language learning and psycholinguistics, this study offers an added cognitive neuroscience perspective to the understanding of shallow and deep processing encoding mechanisms that facilitate effective language learning. Starting from a brief theoretical report of the role of cognitive processes activated for the acquisition and learning of a foreign language, this study will propose some integrated pedagogical suggestions for promoting learners’ effective processing of L2 data in the classroom.

Socioeconomic status and reading outcomes: Neurobiological and behavioral correlates.

In this chapter, we examine reading outcomes and socioeconomic status (SES) using a developmental cognitive and educational neuroscience perspective. Our focus is on reading achievement and intervention outcomes for students from lower SES backgrounds who struggle with reading. Socioeconomic disadvantage is a specific type of vulnerability students experience, which is often narrowly defined based on parental income, education level, and/or occupational prestige. However, implications of socioeconomic status extend broadly to a suite of areas relevant for reading outcomes including a student's access to resources, experiences, language exposure, academic outcomes, and psychological correlates. Underlying this constellation of factors are brain systems supporting the processing of oral and written language as well as stress-related factors. We review the implications of SES and reading achievement, and their intersectionality, for the science and practice of reading instruction.

The “double-edged sword” effect of competence frustration and intervention strategies: Behavioral and cognitive neuroscience perspectives

<p id="p00005">Competence frustration refers to the feelings of inadequacy or failure. A growing number of the new generation of knowledge workers are experiencing short-term or long-term competence frustration. After their experience of competence frustration, what is going on the knowledge worker’s motivation in the subsequent task. If the experience of competence frustration has a positive effect on the subsequent work, how can we reinforce it? The experience of competence frustration makes negative consequences, how can we avoid or restore it? Existing researches fails to clearly answer these questions. Based on the self-determination theory, this study is intended to uncover the intertemporal effect of competence frustration on one’s autonomy motivation by integrating different approaches (e.g., behavioral experiment, cognitive neuroscience experiment and field experiment). In addition, this study will test the effectiveness of intervention strategies from both the organizational and individual perspectives. Specifically, this study employs four sub-studies to explore the "double-edged sword" effect and intervention strategies of competence frustration. First, we examine the intertemporal effect of short-term competence frustration on one’s autonomy motivation. Second, we explore the intertemporal effect of long-term competence frustration on one’s autonomy motivation. Thirdly, we construct respective intervention strategies of competence frustration, and explore the validity of intervention strategies such as developmental feedback, autonomous support, and achievement goal orientation through three ERP experiments. Fourthly, we test the effectiveness of intervention strategies in management practice. <br/>This study has important theoretical significance. Firstly, we explore the dynamic influence of basic psychological needs frustration, which may effectively extend the research scope of self-determination theory. Secondly, we examine the effect of perceived (short-term and long-term) competence frustration on one’s autonomy motivation in a subsequent task, expanding the research on antecedent variables of autonomy motivation. Thirdly, this study comprehensively examines the validity of intervention strategies, such as developmental feedback, autonomous support and achievement goal orientation, providing a new perspective for the recovery mechanism of competence frustration. Finally, we adopt cognitive neuroscience indexes to measure one’s autonomy motivation objectively and real-time in the process of participating tasks, which overcomes the shortages of traditional measurement methods and responds to calls for adopting cognitive neuroscience on motivation. Furthermore, our study extends the research of motivation from behavioral level to cognitive neuroscience level. <br/>In addition, the findings of the present study have practical significance for competence frustration management. Firstly, it helps managers to realize that sometimes employees are more brave and sometimes depressed. Scientific intervention of employees' competence frustration can improve their autonomy motivation, which will be conducive to improve enterprise performance. Secondly, we test the validity of intervention strategies through field experiments, which will further provide effective strategies for managers to scientifically manage the competence frustration of the new generation knowledge workers. Furthermore, for employees, they should actively find and create opportunities to satisfy their sense of competence in subsequent tasks if they experience short-term competence frustration, and pay attention to cultivate their own mastery goal orientation. It will help them to get more and more brave and avoid depression after setbacks, so as to boost their autonomy motivation.

How do medical students understand disease behaviors? Evidence from event-related potentials

To investigate how medical students process Western medicine (WM) terms vs . traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) terms and how this is impacted by analogical priming from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience. The experiments were designed as a 2 (TCM terms vs . WM terms) × 2 (correct terms vs . incorrect terms) × 2 (analogical priming task vs . non-priming task) scheme. A total of 26 medical students completed a non-priming judgment task and an analogical priming judgment task on medical terms. During the tasks, the participants were asked to make correct/incorrect judgments on WM terms and TCM terms, and their behavioral data and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Behaviorally, the response speed and accuracy of WM terms were higher than those of TCM terms (both P < .001), indicating a prominent concreteness effect. Analogical priming shortened the response time to medical terms ( P < .001), and the response time to TCM terms was shortened more significantly ( P = .001). For ERPs, WM terms induced a larger P200 (an early positive ERP component), a smaller N400 (a negative ERP component), and a higher late positive ERP component, indicating superiority of attention adjustment, smaller-scale semantic activation, and a higher cost of late semantic analysis and integration. However, the analogical priming eliminated the difference between WM and TCM terms in P200 and N400 while maintaining it in the LPC. This suggests that WM terms are sensitive to analogical attention adjustment, and TCM terms are susceptible to analogical semantic integration. Our findings suggest that WM and TCM disease behavior terms may initially differ in concreteness or the use of a verbal-linguistic system. Analogy is more conducive to understanding TCM terms. This research provides important neuroscientific evidence of the difference in thinking between TCM and WM.

Novel Approaches and Cognitive Neuroscience Perspectives on False Memory and Deception.

The DRM (Deese–Roediger–McDermott) paradigm produces robust false memories of non-presented critical words. After studying a thematic word list (e.g., bed, rest, and pillow) participants falsely remember the critical item “sleep.” We report two false memory experiments. Study One introduces a novel use of the lexical decision task (LDT) to prime critical words. Participants see two letter-strings and make timed responses indicating whether they are both words. The word pairs Night-Bed and Dream-Thweeb both prime “sleep” but only one pair contains two words. Our primary purpose is to introduce this new methodology via two pilot experiments. The results, considered preliminary, are promising as they indicate that participants were as likely to recognize critical words (false memories) and presented words (true memories) just as when studying thematic lists. Study Two actually employs the standard DRM lists so that semantic priming is in play there as well. The second study, however, uses functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure activity in the prefrontal cortex during a DRM task which includes a deception phase where participants intentionally lie about critical lures. False and true memories occurred at high levels and activated many of the same brain regions but, compared to true memories, cortical activity was higher for false memories and lies. Accuracy findings are accompanied by confidence and reaction time results. Both investigations suggest that it is difficult to distinguish accurate from inaccurate memories. We explain results in terms of activation-monitoring theory and Fuzzy Trace Theory. We provide real world implications and suggest extending the present research to varying age groups and special populations. A nagging question has not been satisfactorily answered: Could neural pathways exist that signal the presence of false memories and lies? Answering this question will require imaging experiments that focus on regions of distinction such as the anterior prefrontal cortex.

Micro-foundations of strategic decision-making in family business organisations: A cognitive neuroscience perspective

Emotion significantly affects strategic decision-making by entrepreneurs in family business organisations. This paper proposes a cognitive framework of strategic decision-making that emphasises the importance of emotion, based on a micro-foundational perspective: that is, an integrated hierarchy of cognitive processes underlying entrepreneurs' strategic decision-making and the interactions with external affective events. Previous studies that used traditional behavioural methodologies are reviewed with reference to the proposed cognitive framework to highlight importance of understanding effect of emotion-cognition interactions on entrepreneurs’ strategic decision-making process. New techniques using biological, physiological, and neuroscientific tools are then introduced as complementary methods for this line of research. Finally, future research directions are discussed with a focus on implicit cognitive processing, complex emotions, and cognitive interventions.

Is There a Difference in Brain Functional Connectivity between Chinese Coal Mine Workers Who Have Engaged in Unsafe Behavior and Those Who Have Not?

(1) Background: As a world-recognized high-risk occupation, coal mine workers need various cognitive functions to process the surrounding information to cope with a large number of perceived hazards or risks. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the connection between coal mine workers’ neural activity and unsafe behavior from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience. This study explored the functional brain connectivity of coal mine workers who have engaged in unsafe behaviors (EUB) and those who have not (NUB). (2) Methods: Based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a total of 106 workers from the Hongliulin coal mine of Shaanxi North Mining Group, one of the largest modern coal mines in China, completed the test. Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient (COR) analysis, brain network analysis, and two-sample t-test were used to investigate the difference in brain functional connectivity between the two groups. (3) Results: The results showed that there were significant differences in functional brain connectivity between EUB and NUB among the frontopolar area (p = 0.002325), orbitofrontal area (p = 0.02102), and pars triangularis Broca’s area (p = 0.02888). Small-world properties existed in the brain networks of both groups, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex had significant differences in clustering coefficient (p = 0.0004), nodal efficiency (p = 0.0384), and nodal local efficiency (p = 0.0004). (4) Conclusions: This study is the first application of fNIRS to the field of coal mine safety. The fNIRS brain functional connectivity analysis is a feasible method to investigate the neuropsychological mechanism of unsafe behavior in coal mine workers in the view of brain science.

Neurobiological mechanisms underlying memory bias : from an integrative perspective of cognitive psychology, neuroendocrinology, and neuroscience

Neurobiological mechanisms underlying memory bias : from an integrative perspective of cognitive psychology, neuroendocrinology, and neuroscience

Driving Behavior Based on Big Data Analysis and EEG Data Analysis

In recent years, as the number of automobiles in my country has increased year by year, the number of automobile accidents and casualties and the direct economic losses caused by them are very high. How to improve the level of road safety has become an important research content in the field of transportation. Driving a car is a complex activity involving perception, judgment, decision-making and manipulation, and requires the brain to coordinate and guide the driver’s driving functions. EEG signals can reflect the driver’s psychophysiological state, and then represent the driver’s perception activities. The application of EEG data analysis in driving behavior research explains the mechanism of driving behavior from a new perspective of cognitive neuroscience and brings new solutions to traffic safety problems. Driving behavior research is the main research content in the field of road safety. Recognizing and predicting the state of driving behavior is very important for the development of intelligent driving assistance systems and the improvement of road safety. This paper analyzes the EEG data while driving based on big data analysis. Firstly, the literature research method is used to summarize the EEG data analysis process and the research significance, and then the driver’s EEG data is analyzed and researched through simulated driving experiments. The relationship between its parameters and driving behavior. Experimental results show that the front area and buffer area have a strong correlation with all variables of driving behavior, especially the correlation with acceleration and forward time is about 35%. In addition, compared with other driving behavior variables, time zone has the strongest correlation with speed, about 56%. Approximately 46% of the samples are beta waves that are significantly related to driving behavior. In addition, alpha waves account for about 20% of the total number of samples, while the correlation between delta waves and driving behavior is the weakest, accounting for only about 10% of the total number of samples.

HEBB'S THEORY OF LEARNING IN COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE

Donald Hebb who is the founder of theory of learning behavior from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience based on the cell assembly. Where he explained the occurrence of learning through the Hebb's synapse, which explained the mechanism of interaction and connection between synaptic cells, and the activity that occurs between them to produce learning and related thinking and memory. Also, how the induce that occurs between the cell assembly in the Hebb's synapse has a significant role to understand learning and associated skills, abilities and behavior. Therefore, this theory in the field of education and psychology was employed in the mechanism of long-term Potentiation (LTP) to interpret the occurrence of learning in terms of cognitive neuroscience. Keywords: Cognitive Neuroscience, Theory, Hebb, Learning, Teaching, Brain, Neuron