Domain-general Cognitive Mechanisms Research Articles

Manual Rhythmic Sequencing Skills in Children With Childhood Apraxia of Speech.

Rhythm is one procedural mechanism that underlies language and motor skill acquisition and has been implicated in children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). The purpose of this study is to investigate manual rhythmic sequencing skills in children with a history of or current CAS (hx/CAS) compared to children with typical development (TD). Thirty-eight children (18 with hx/CAS, 20 with TD), ages 5;0-12;8 (years;months), from across the United States participated in an online study. Participants imitated two rhythms in two different conditions, clapping and tapping. We assessed overall accuracy, mean number of beats, pause marking, and rhythmic sequence variability using the Mann-Whitney U test. Effect sizes were calculated to examine the influence of coordinative complexity on performance. Compared to children with TD, children with hx/CAS marked fewer trials with a pause in both conditions of the easier rhythm and showed lower overall accuracy and more variable rhythmic sequences in both rhythms and conditions. The mean number of beats produced by children with hx/CAS and children with TD did not differ in three out of four rhythms/conditions. Unlike children with TD, children with hx/CAS showed little improvement from clapping to tapping across most dependent measures; reducing coordination demands did not improve performance in children with hx/CAS. We found that children with hx/CAS show manual rhythmic deficits that are similar to the deficits they display in speech. These findings provide support for a domain-general cognitive mechanisms account of the rhythmic deficits observed across linguistic and nonlinguistic tasks in children with hx/CAS. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.24052821.

Visuo-Spatial Working Memory and Mathematical Skills in Children: A Network Analysis Study

Visuo-spatial working memory is one of the main domain-general cognitive mechanisms underlying mathematical abilities and their development in children. However, if visuo-spatial working memory involves different processes and components, then the term 'mathematics' refers to a broad concept that includes multiple domains and skills. The aim of this present study was to investigate the relationship between different visuo-spatial working memory components and several mathematical abilities in a sample of third- to fifth-grade Italian children. To assess the relationships between different visuo-spatial working memory components and different mathematical abilities, we relied on Network Analysis (NA). Results indicate that some but not all visuo-spatial working memory components are associated with some mathematical abilities.

Fish can infer relations between colour cues in a non-social learning task.

Transitive inference (TI) describes the ability to infer relationships between stimuli that have never been seen together before. Social cichlids can use TI in a social setting where observers assess dominance status after witnessing contests between different dyads of conspecifics. If cognitive processes are domain-general, animals should use abilities evolved in a social context also in a non-social context. Therefore, if TI is domain-general in fish, social fish should also be able to use TI in non-social tasks. Here we tested whether the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher can infer transitive relationships between artificial stimuli in a non-social context. We used an associative learning paradigm where the fish received a food reward when correctly solving a colour discrimination task. Eleven of 12 subjects chose the predicted outcome for TI in the first test trial and five subjects performed with 100% accuracy in six successive test trials. We found no evidence that the fish solved the TI task by value transfer. Our findings show that fish also use TI in non-social tasks with artificial stimuli, thus generalizing past results reported in a social context and hinting toward a domain-general cognitive mechanism.

Are control processes domain-general? A replication of 'To adapt or not to adapt? The question of domain-general cognitive control' (Kan et al. 2013).

Conflict and conflict adaptation are well-studied phenomena in experimental psychology. Standard tasks investigating causes and outcomes of conflict during information processing include the Stroop, the Flanker and the Simon task. Interestingly, recent research efforts have moved toward investigating whether conflict in one task domain influences information processing in another task domain, typically referred to as cross-task conflict adaptation. These transfer effects are of central importance for theories about our cognitive architecture, as they are interpreted as pointing towards domain-general cognitive mechanisms. Given the importance of these cross-task transfer effects, the current paper targets at replicating one of the key findings. Specifically, Kan et al. (Kan et al. 2013 Cognition 129, 637–651) showed that reading syntactically ambiguous sentences result in processing adjustments in subsequent Stroop trials. This result is in line with the idea that conflict monitoring works in a domain overarching manner. The present paper presents two replication studies: (i) exact replication: identical sentence-reading task intermixed with stimulus-based Stroop task and (ii) conceptual replication: identical sentence-reading task intermixed with response-based Stroop task. Power calculations were based on the original paper. Both experiments were pre-registered. Despite the experiments being closely designed according to the original study, there was no evidence supporting the hypothesis regarding cross-domain conflict adaptation.

Kindergarten domain-specific and domain-general cognitive precursors of hierarchical mathematical development: A longitudinal study.

This study examined cognitive precursors of hierarchical mathematical development. Six-year-old children (n = 258) were assessed on number skills, cognitive skills, and arithmetic 1 year prior to school entry. Skills in advanced arithmetic and advanced mathematics were assessed in Grades 3 and 6, respectively. Path analyses were computed and provided longitudinal evidence for a hierarchy of mathematics. During development, the reliance on prior skills at lower, most proximal levels becomes increasingly important in order to acquire and succeed at later and higher levels of mathematics. The study extends the Fuchs et al. (2010b) model as the mechanisms underlying 3 different hierarchical levels of mathematics all involve an interplay between domain-specific number abilities (i.e., sequence knowledge, digit comparison) and general cognitive abilities (i.e., logical reasoning, phonological awareness, working memory). The constellation of domain-specific number and domain-general cognitive mechanisms subserving mathematics at different hierarchical levels showed a high degree of similarity. However, the importance of number abilities decreases during development, whereas the importance of general cognitive abilities remains approximately equal across levels of mathematical learning. Early symbolic number skills (i.e., counting sequence knowledge, digit comparison) are subserved by general cognitive mechanisms such as working memory, phonological awareness, and rapid automatic naming processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

Modelling Me, Modelling You: the Autistic Self

The stereotype of autism spectrum conditions (ASC or ‘autism’) focuses on the social and communicative elements of the diagnostic criteria. In this review, we step back from autism as a social and communicative disorder and focus on the autistic self. The autistic self is a key component of the condition which has nevertheless received comparatively little attention. We provide a taxonomy for experimental paradigms in the cognitive sciences that aim to address questions related to the self. We articulate reasons based on domain-general cognitive mechanisms, autobiography and historical conceptions for why the self might differ in ASC. We conclude with elucidating the implications of a predictive processing account of autism on conceptualising the autistic self and how this fits with existing literature, with a focus on context sensitivity, model complexity, learning, integration, active inference and precision. This opens up large scope for future research on unique differences in the autistic self, which could be extended as a framework for understanding the condition as a whole in a new and unified way.

Dissociating top-down and bottom-up temporal attention in Down syndrome: A neurocostructive perspective

Recent studies suggest that both top-down and bottom-up temporal orienting (TO) of attention are established early and show stable trajectories in typical development. Yet, no evidence is available about atypical development of TO. In the present study, we first investigate the interplay between top-down and bottom-up temporal attention mechanisms in Down Syndrome (DS). Children and adolescents with DS (n = 33) and typically developing individuals matched to children with DS by either chronological (TD-CA; n = 33) or mental age (TD-MA; n = 31) performed a simple cued reaction time designed to assess top-down (endogenous TO) and bottom-up (foreperiod and sequential effect) temporal attention. Mean task accuracy was on average lower and more variable in the DS group than controls and it was predicted by both verbal and non-verbal ability. A subsample of “high-performing” children, showing comparable task speed and higher accuracy (≥65%), was then extracted from each group to test the presence of top-down and bottom-up temporal attention while limiting possible floor effects and overly slow responding. While the control groups showed both top-down and bottom-up TO effects, only the latter were present in DS group. Consistent with a neuroconstructivist account, this study identifies an atypical domain-general cognitive mechanism, temporal orienting of attention, that may constrain the build-up of domain-specific skills in DS, and is for investigation in other atypically developing groups.

The effect of memory training on children with learning difficulty

BackgroundLearning is a step by step process that relies on successful completion of individual learning activities for accumulation of knowledge. Failure of working memory (auditory and visual memory) can lead to inattentive behavior. The end result is frequently lost learning opportunities and so slow rates of educational progress.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to adapt and apply the ‘no-glamour memory’ training program to suit the Egyptian learning disabled children to outline a program for training and test its effectiveness.Patients and MethodsThis study was conducted on 20 school-age children complaining of learning difficulty and memory problems who were attending the Unit of Phoniatrics, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Alexandria Main University Hospitals. All children were assessed using the protocol of assessment of learning difficulties and memory deficits and were reevaluated after a period of 3–6 months of training.ResultsIn the present study, there was significant improvement of the studied group in the different tests such as Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale, childhood attention and adjustment survey, Arabic dyslexia assessment test, and test of memory and learning 2nd ed., after therapy.ConclusionMemory training can have an effect on domain-general cognitive mechanisms; thus, these results benefit multiple areas of cognition and learning.

Cognitive mechanisms underlying the relation between nonsymbolic and symbolic magnitude processing and their relation to math

Recent studies suggest that the relation between nonsymbolic magnitude processing skills and math competence is mediated by symbolic number processing. However, less is known about whether mapping between nonsymbolic and symbolic magnitude representations also mediates that relation, and whether the mediating role of symbolic number processing is explained by domain-general executive functions. Therefore, the current study examines whether symbolic comparison, mixed-format comparison, and executive function each mediate the relation between nonsymbolic magnitude processing and math. Furthermore, we investigate whether the relation between nonsymbolic and symbolic magnitude comparison is mediated by mapping between the formats and/or domain-general executive functions. Results indicate that symbolic processing mediates the relation between nonsymbolic processing and math, even after controlling for multiple components of executive function, which were also significant mediators. Cross-format comparison (i.e. mapping), on the other hand, did not mediate the relation between nonsymbolic comparison and math, but did mediate the relation between nonsymbolic and symbolic magnitude processing, even after controlling for executive function, which also mediated that relation. Taken together, our results suggest that both domain-specific and domain-general cognitive mechanisms account for the link between nonsymbolic and symbolic magnitude processing and their relation to math.

Top-Down Modulation on the Perception and Categorization of Identical Pitch Contours in Speech and Music.

Whether pitch in language and music is governed by domain-specific or domain-general cognitive mechanisms is contentiously debated. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether mechanisms governing pitch contour perception operate differently when pitch information is interpreted as either speech or music. By modulating listening mode, this study aspired to demonstrate that pitch contour perception relies on domain-specific cognitive mechanisms, which are regulated by top–down influences from language and music. Three groups of participants (Mandarin speakers, Dutch speaking non-musicians, and Dutch musicians) were exposed to identical pitch contours, and tested on their ability to identify these contours in a language and musical context. Stimuli consisted of disyllabic words spoken in Mandarin, and melodic tonal analogs, embedded in a linguistic and melodic carrier phrase, respectively. Participants classified identical pitch contours as significantly different depending on listening mode. Top–down influences from language appeared to alter the perception of pitch contour in speakers of Mandarin. This was not the case for non-musician speakers of Dutch. Moreover, this effect was lacking in Dutch speaking musicians. The classification patterns of pitch contours in language and music seem to suggest that domain-specific categorization is modulated by top–down influences from language and music.

Observed bodies generate object-based spatial codes

Contemporary studies of spatial and social cognition frequently use human figures as stimuli. The interpretation of such studies may be complicated by spatial compatibility effects that emerge when researchers employ spatial responses, and participants spontaneously code spatial relationships about an observed body. Yet, the nature of these spatial codes – whether they are location- or object-based, and coded from the perspective of the observer or the figure – has not been determined. Here, we investigated this issue by exploring spatial compatibility effects arising for objects held by a visually presented whole-bodied schematic human figure. In three experiments, participants responded to the colour of the object held in the figure's left or right hand, using left or right key presses. Left-right compatibility effects were found relative to the participant's egocentric perspective, rather than the figure's. These effects occurred even when the figure was rotated by 90° to the left or to the right, and the coloured objects were aligned with the participant's midline. These findings are consistent with spontaneous spatial coding from the participant's perspective and relative to the normal upright orientation of the body. This evidence for object-based spatial coding implies that the domain general cognitive mechanisms that result in spatial compatibility effects may contribute to certain spatial perspective-taking and social cognition phenomena.

Submentalizing: I Am Not Really Reading Your Mind

The nativist view of mentalizing—the view that humans have an inherent capacity to think about the mental states of others—has been recently reinvigorated by reports that adults and infants automatically represent mental states—that they engage in implicit mentalizing. In this article, I take a close look at the strongest evidence of implicit mentalizing in adults, which suggests that people automatically represent what others see, intend, and believe. I argue that although these experiments have been ingeniously designed and carefully implemented, they do not provide evidence of implicit mentalizing because their results could be due instead to submentalizing—domain-general cognitive mechanisms that simulate the effects of mentalizing in social contexts. These include the processes that mediate involuntary attentional orienting, spatial coding of response locations, object-centered spatial coding of stimulus locations, retroactive interference, and distraction. If my analysis is correct, it suggests that the same domain-general processes can provide a fast and efficient alternative to mentalizing in everyday life, allowing people to navigate a wide range of social situations without thinking about mental states. Thus, submentalizing could be both a substrate and a substitute for mentalizing.

Shifting the Prototype: Experience with Faces Influences Affective and Attractiveness Preferences

While some researchers have suggested that preferences for attractive faces are the result of a domain-specific beauty detection module, others argue these preferences develop based on averages of stimuli through a domain-general learning mechanism. We tested whether cognitive and perceptual mechanisms sensitive to experience underlie facial preferences by familiarizing participants with human, chimpanzee, or morphed faces (60%-chimp/40%-human). Results indicated that participants familiarized with human-chimp morphs showed greater zygomaticus major activity, a physiological correlate of positive affect (Study 1), and higher explicit attractiveness ratings (Study 2) to faces morphed to some degree with chimpanzees. These results demonstrate that experience shifts attractiveness preferences away from the normative average, and suggest that a domain-general cognitive mechanism better accounts for facial preferences than a domain-specific innate beauty-detector.

An Integrative Evolutionary Perspective on Ethnicity

This paper integrates several different but mutually consistent evolutionary approaches to ethnicity: genetic similarity theory, social identity theory, individualism/collectivism, an evolved racial/ethnic human kinds module, and rational choice mechanisms relying on domain general cognitive mechanisms. These theories are consistent with each other, and together they illustrate the interplay of evolved cognitive and motivational systems with mechanisms of rational choice that are able to choose adaptive strategies in uncertain, novel environments.

Constraints on the computational component vs. grammar in the lexicon: a discussion of Bates & Goodman.

In The emergence of language, it is argued that much of what generative linguistics has characterized as ‘rules’ in fact can be derived from domain- general cognitive mechanisms. One example of this perspective is Bates & Goodman's contribution ‘On the emergence of grammar in the lexicon’, which Sabbagh & Gelman say offers ‘…a series of compelling arguments detailing how development and early acquisition shape the subsequent acquisition of new information.’ The thrust of the argument presented by Bates & Goodman is that there is no need to posit the existence of an independent grammar domain, because grammar can be reduced to the lexicon, which in Bates & Goodman's account, can be acquired using general purpose mechanisms. One of several major arguments in favour of this position presented by the authors is that grammar and vocabulary grow at the same rates in child speech. Thus, the authors argue that the development of the lexicon and grammar correlate because there is no grammar outside of the lexicon.