Feature Binding Research Articles

Modern Approaches in Domestic Psychology: Unity in Diversity

A brief result of the analysis of modern approaches undertaken within the framework of the collective monograph “Scientific approaches in modern domestic psychology” (M., 2023) is presented. 27 chapters (of different approaches) were divided into general psychological (developing within psychological science), general scientific approaches in psychology (interdisciplinary, resource, environmental, network, etc.), specific psychological in the field of psychology (personality psychology, social psychology, speech psychology, professional activities, etc.) and scientific approaches in applied psychology. Four options for comparisons are considered: the possibility of integration (V.A. Mazilov, V.A. Yanchuk) or comparison of scientific approaches (E.A. Sergienko, A.V. Yurevich). Based on the analysis, guidelines were proposed in an attempt to present the space of psychological science as differentiated by different approaches, and interconnected through the openness of borders and the flexibility of conceptual structures. The leading concepts, specifying concepts, methodological principles and leading methods of approaches are identified. all four groups demonstrate interconnections and complementarities in the understanding of nature, multidetermination of the psyche, and the ability to solve new and complex problems on their basis. Many approaches incorporate concepts and principles of other approaches in psychology. General scientific approaches have generated not only new concepts in psychology (interdisciplinarity, psychological resources), but also new methodological principles. I would like to emphasize that the analysis demonstrated a significant expansion of the methodological principles of psychological sciences, which are explicit not only in general psychological and general scientific, but also specific scientific approaches. The principles of interdisciplinarity, uncertainty, anticipation, subjectivity, evolution, multi-determination and self-development were justified, along with confirmation of the principles of systematicity, the unity of consciousness and activity, the unity of being and consciousness. But even the principles traditional for psychology are filled with new content, excluding determinism, which fetters a person by universal laws, and indeterminism, where a person is lost in infinite degrees of freedom. The author’s approach to the analysis of scientific approaches in psychology is an attempt to compare them and highlight trends in the development of methodology, which involves discussions and discussions, new solutions, new analysis possibilities, which is necessary for the development of our science and the implementation of the idea of the opponent circle.

Neighbors’ Perceptions of University Engaged “Research”

We investigate community members’ perceptions of their engagement with university researchers’ engaged research conducted in their neighborhoods. Analyzing interviews, first, we find perceptions are not simply developed from singular experiences, personal experiences, or even research experiences. Most interviewees did not, or could not, clearly distinguish engaged research from other university activities. They also regarded the university as a monolith. Second, perceptions were related to broad narratives that endure over time and differed by neighborhood and by racialized group. This implies that university engagement in communities should seek to understand current and historical relationships while setting clear expectations with community members.

My turn or yours? Me-you-distinction in feature-based action planning.

Binding accounts propose that action planning involves temporarily binding codes of the action's unique features, such as its location and duration. Such binding becomes evident when another action (B) is initiated while maintaining the Action Plan A. Action B is usually impaired if it partially overlaps with the planned Action A (as opposed to full or no feature overlap). In Experiment 1, in which participants bimanually operated two keys, we replicated these partial overlap costs. In Experiment 2, two participants sat side by side, each handling one key. We tested whether Action B would be affected by duration overlap with the planned Action A of another person similarly as by duration overlap with a planned Action A of the participant's other hand. Here, we found no partial overlap costs. However, in Experiment 3, proposing a common reward yielded partial overlap costs. This suggests that in joint action planning, another person's action plan can impact own actions through feature binding, but only with sufficient incentives to corepresent the other's actions (i.e., when goal achievement depends on both participants' performance). This furthers the understanding of how we represent other people's yet-to-be-executed action plans alongside our own. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Differential EEG Markers of Selective Attention and Feature Binding in Visual Search

Differential EEG Markers of Selective Attention and Feature Binding in Visual Search

Temporal Feature Binding: Attention Mechanisms and Individual Differences

Temporal Feature Binding: Attention Mechanisms and Individual Differences

Action plan discarding leads to unbinding of action features.

Action planning can be construed as the temporary binding of action features to form a representation known as an action file. This file is distinct from other possible, but currently not required actions of the behavioral repertoire. To further this action file approach, we investigated what happens with an initially planned action, which however, is discarded before execution. In two experiments we found consistent evidence for a quick unbinding of action features with discarding. Other possible mechanisms that action discarding might invoke, be it the paradox strengthening of a discarded action plan, the selective suppression of the otherwise intact plan, or the global suppression of all subsequent action, were not or at least less consistently supported. These findings provide a novel perspective on inhibitory action control, which we discuss with respect to its applications to other instances of such inhibitory control as studied in multitasking, stop-signal, directed forgetting, or response-reprogramming paradigms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

“New Creation:” Grace and Experiences of a Renewed Nature

In everyday life, one encounters many experiences of affliction that, for whatever reason, nature (ours or others’) cannot resolve. Yet, when nature’s finite resources are exhausted and hope seems in vain, humans often experience extra-ordinary moments of renewal and resolution—breakthroughs, remissions, insights, and conversions. We experience these moments in our natural existence; yet, we feel they cannot originate, cannot be attributed to nature alone. Rather, these experiences, called “graces” in Christianity, are attributed to a divine power acting in us. How do we come to describe these experiences in this way? Is it possible to formulate a general theory of these experiences as “graces”? Is there an “experience” of grace in general, a “state of grace”, which serves as ground and unifying experience for the “graces” we receive? Working from the Catholic theological point of view, this paper examines such experiences of affliction and renewal, as well as the basic Catholic framework schematizing them as found in the Bible and Catholic religious writings. In doing so, this paper highlights the theme of impossibility (absolutely or in context) underlying each experience, and broadly categorizes them as happening within three regions of human life: the external, ethical sphere, the interior self-relationship, and the vertical relationship to the Divine. In dialogue with theologians and phenomenological thinkers, general formulations of the experiences are placed within their respective spheres, and certain problems in the identification or interpretation of these experiences are identified. The paper then explores how the experience of a “New Creation” can serve not only as a label for the totality of these experiences, but also as a totalizing and overarching ground-experience of “grace” and an interpretive hermeneutic for graces in general. As a result, a graced moment of total personal “rebirth” or “recreation”, prevenient with respect to any personal co-operation or experiences of grace as grace, is identified as a potential ground for all other graces considered. Finally, this paper considers some potential implications of this account of grace for both Catholic thought and Phenomenology more generally.

The Scholar-Fighter: Chang Nai-zhou and His Book on Martial Art

The article explores the theoretical foundations, practical techniques and social context of the martial art school created in the late 18th century by Chang Naizhou, a native of Henan рrov. An educated man, Chang left a detailed description of the principles and methods of his school. The legacy of Chang Naizhou and the emergence of a large number of enthusiasts of martial arts among the educated elite of society indicates the formation in Qing China a new synthesis of elite and popular culture, which combined the traditions of Confucianism, Taoist and Buddhist selfcultivation and the folklore motifs. A stratum of professional fighters emerged, closely integrated both with the local society and its paramilitary formations (self-defense units, sworn brotherhoods, associations of participants in temple festivals, schools of martial arts, etc.) and the ruling elite of the empire and its military administration. At the heart of Chang Naizhou's method is the concept of configurations of force (shi 势), which are created by the action of the vital energy of the organism (so-called qi 气) and in turn strengthen and direct this action. The primary substrate of this energy is the so-called "centered qi", which in the spiritual-somatic practice of martial arts generates a great variety of properties and qualities of life experience and makes possible the unity of consciousness and physical body. The force in this case is the result of an interaction of the polar elements of Being. Chang Naizhou introduces many original concepts and techniques of martial art, but his outlook is determined by the common arsenal of Chinese tradition. Thus, his school reflected the nature of the whole Chinese civilization: the diversity of forms rooted in a comprehensive structural unity.

Demonstration that sublinear dendrites enable linearly non-separable computations

Theory predicts that nonlinear summation of synaptic potentials within dendrites allows neurons to perform linearly non-separable computations (LNSCs). Using Boolean analysis approaches, we predicted that both supralinear and sublinear synaptic summation could allow single neurons to implement a type of LNSC, the feature binding problem (FBP), which does not require inhibition contrary to the exclusive-or function (XOR). Notably, sublinear dendritic operations enable LNSCs when scattered synaptic activation generates increased somatic spike output. However, experimental demonstrations of scatter-sensitive neuronal computations have not yet been described. Using glutamate uncaging onto cerebellar molecular layer interneurons, we show that scattered synaptic-like activation of dendrites evoked larger compound EPSPs than clustered synaptic activation, generating a higher output spiking probability. Moreover, we also demonstrate that single interneurons can indeed implement the FBP. Using a biophysical model to explore the conditions in which a neuron might be expected to implement the FBP, we establish that sublinear summation is necessary but not sufficient. Other parameters such as the relative sublinearity, the EPSP size, depolarization amplitude relative to action potential threshold, and voltage fluctuations all influence whether the FBP can be performed. Since sublinear synaptic summation is a property of passive dendrites, we expect that many different neuron types can implement LNSCs.

Feature binding is slow: Temporal integration explains apparent ultrafast binding.

Visual perception involves binding of distinct features into a unified percept. Although traditional theories link feature binding to time-consuming recurrent processes, Holcombe and Cavanagh (2001) demonstrated ultrafast, early binding of features that belong to the same object. The task required binding of orientation and luminance within an exceptionally short presentation time. However, because visual stimuli were presented over multiple presentation cycles, their findings can alternatively be explained by temporal integration over the extended stimulus sequence. Here, we conducted three experiments manipulating the number of presentation cycles. If early binding occurs, one extremely short cycle should be sufficient for feature integration. Conversely, late binding theories predict that successful binding requires substantial time and improves with additional presentation cycles. Our findings indicate that task-relevant binding of features from the same object occurs slowly, supporting late binding theories.

Unraveling the binding problem in working memory: insights from the hierarchical binding model.

The binding problem is a crucial issue in the study of working memory (WM) and remains a central topic of debate among various WM models. Over the past decade, we have explored feature binding within WM, guided by the Hierarchical Binding Model (HBM). This model suggests that WM binding occurs in two stages: an initial implicit binding involving rapid, coarse feature processing, followed by explicit binding where focused attention refines these features via a reentry process. We found that implicit binding is closely related to the attentional processing of features during the perceptual stage. Basic features that can be rapidly and coarsely processed in parallel through spread attention are involuntarily extracted into WM along with the target features, forming a rough bound representation. For explicit binding, we examined the role of attention in retaining explicit binding in WM, emphasizing the unique role of reentry in the HBM. Our findings indicate that WM binding requires additional object attention through the reentry process. These results demonstrate that both implicit and explicit bindings are integral to WM and that the HBM is effective in elucidating the binding mechanisms within WM.

Evidence Against Effects of Cultural Group and Prior Knowledge on Feature Binding in Working Memory.

Feature binding is the process of integrating features, such as colour and shape, into object representations. A persistent question in the literature concerning whether feature binding is an automatic or resource-demanding process may depend on unitisation, that is, whether the to-be-bound information is intrinsic (belonging to) or extrinsic (contextual). Given extensive evidence showing that Easterners may process information more holistically than Westerners, such cultural differences may be useful to understand the fundamental processes of feature binding in visual working memory (WM). Accordingly, we recruited British and Chinese participants to complete a visual WM task wherein to-be-remembered colours were integrated within (i.e., intrinsic binding) or as backgrounds (i.e., extrinsic binding) of to-be-remembered shapes (Experiments 1 and 2). Experiment 2 further investigated the role of prior knowledge in long-term memory to facilitate feature binding in WM. During retrieval, participants decided among three probes: a target, a lure (i.e., recombination of the presented features), and a new colour/shape. Hierarchical Bayesian multinomial processing tree models were fit to the data to estimate parameters representing binding and item memory. The current results suggest that intrinsic and extrinsic binding memory are similar between the two cultural groups, with no prior knowledge benefits for either intrinsic or extrinsic binding for either cultural group. This result conflicts with the Analytic and Holistic framework and suggests that there are no cultural differences or prior knowledge benefits in feature binding.

Transforming Classrooms with Indian Educational Psychology - A new approach to learning

This research explores the transformative potential of Indian Educational Psychology (IEP) within modern educational contexts, emphasizing its roots in ancient Indian wisdom and traditions. IEP views consciousness as fundamental encompassing the unity of absolute existence, consciousness and joy (saccidānanda) contrasting with Western psychology's focus on neuro-physiological processes. It acknowledges various levels of non-physical existence and inner worlds, accessible through introspection and intuitive knowledge. This perspective underscores the importance of self-realization, self-discipline and moral values such as truthfulness, non-violence, and compassion integrated into educational practices through storytelling and experiential learning.

Structural superlubricity at homogenous interface of penta-graphene

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals layered materials have been widely used as lubricant. Penta-graphene (PG), a 2D carbon allotrope exclusively composed of irregular carbon pentagons has recently been predicted to have superlubricating property. In the present study, by combining the molecular dynamics simulation and first-principles calculations, we investigated the frictional property of PG in both commensurate and incommensurate contacts. Our calculations show the ultra-low friction at the interface of relatively rotated bilayer PG with twist angles of more than 10° away from the commensurate configuration. Meanwhile, our calculations demonstrate the isotropy of the ultra-low friction at the interface of incommensurate contact, in contrast to the anisotropic of the commensurate contacting interface. Additionally, the evolution of friction force and the fluctuation of potential energy along sliding path correlate closely with the interface’s structure. The energetics and charge density explain the difference between the friction at the interfaces of the commensurate and incommensurate contacts. Not only that, we found the correlation between the intrinsic structural feature and interlayer binding energy. Importantly, our findings on the retainment of the ultra-low friction under work conditions indicates that the superlubricating state of PG has good practical adaptability.

The nature of nonduality: The epistemic implications of meditative and psychedelic experiences

AbstractIn Jylkkä's (Philosophy and Psychedelics: Frameworks for Exceptional Experience, Bloomsbury Academic, New York, 2022) Mary on Acid: Experiences of unity and the epistemic gap, the author contends that psychedelic experience, by inducing unitary—nondual—experiences of subject–object dissolution, brings to light the epistemic gap between unitary knowledge, constituted by experience, and relational knowledge, distinct from experience. Jylkkä draws a connection between the nondual experience as occasioned through psychedelic usage, and Buddhist contemplative practices. While Jylkkä's attempt to establish a dialogue between analytic philosophy, Buddhism and the science of psychedelics is laudable, we contend that more rigorous attention is required to characterizing nondual experience, the forms of experience occasioned by psychedelic use, and whether they truly constitute parallel to states cultivated through Buddhist practice traditions. While such parallelism may speak to a deeper unification, such a claim requires substantiation to avoid the perennialist eliding of the varied and rich engagement with nonduality across completive traditions. This article highlights the internal tensions that exist surrounding the nature of the nondual as elucidated across Indo‐Tibetan traditions, dangers of decontextualizing states induced through culturally embedded contemplative practices including the underrecognized epistemic function of ceremonial ethnomedicine usage in generating Indigenous metaphysics; and the under acknowledged potential of psychedelic substances for attenuating introspective bias in first‐person phenomenological inquiry.

Identifying the nature of episodic memory deficits in Major Depressive Disorder using a Real-World What-Where-When task

ABSTRACT Deficits in episodic memory have been reported in various psychiatric conditions, including Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Many widely used episodic memory tests do not have the ability to distinguish between impaired memory of separate components of a real-life event (e.g., what happened, where it happened and when), and impaired binding of such real-life features. To address this issue, a naturalistic, real-world What-Where-When memory task was employed to assess the nature of episodic memory impairments in MDD. A validation study established that the task is sensitive to age-related episodic memory changes, and that intentional encoding does not invalidate the task. The main study then compared the performance of patients with depression and control participants on the intentionally encoded WWW task. Patients with MDD presented an overall episodic memory impairment arising from deficits in object memory and the ability to bind objects to temporal context. Taken together, our study confirms the episodic memory impairment in MDD, by providing evidence of deficient object memory and reduced ability to bind temporal context to objects in patients. Our naturalistic WWW task presents a promising approach for thorough identification of the nature of episodic memory impairments, under a real-world environment, in various conditions, including MDD.

N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor-Antibody Encephalitis Impairs Maintenance of Attention to Items in Working Memory.

NMDA receptors (NMDARs) may be crucial to working memory (WM). Computational models predict that they sustain neural firing and produce associative memory, which may underpin maintaining and binding information, respectively. We test this in patients with antibodies to NMDAR (n = 10, female) and compare them with healthy control participants (n = 55, 20 male, 35 female). Patients were tested after recovery with a task that separates two aspects of WM: sustaining attention and feature binding. Participants had to remember two colored arrows. Then attention was directed to one of them. After a variable delay, they reported the direction of either the same arrow (congruent cue) or of the other arrow (incongruent cue). We asked how congruency affected recall precision and measured types of error. Patients had difficulty in both sustaining attention to an item over time and feature binding. Controls were less precise after longer delays and incongruent cues. In contrast, patients did not benefit from congruent cues at longer delays [group × congruency (long condition); p = 0.041], indicating they could not sustain attention. Additionally, patients reported the wrong item (misbinding errors) more than controls after congruent cues [group × delay (congruent condition), main effect of group; p ≤ 0.001]. Our results suggest NMDARs are critical for both maintaining attention and feature binding.

Revisiting literary magazines through typographic aesthetics: The case of Planodion (1986–2012)

This article is concerned with the twofold identity of the literary magazine: as a material object, endowed with specific visual and tactile characteristics, and as a textual medium, active in the intellectual sphere. Moving beyond the traditional dichotomy between form and content and following a phenomenological approach, I examine the literary magazine as a multi-layered structure whose visual features (illustration, binding, vignettes and margins) work along its seemingly invisible aspects (form and content of text). I focus on Planodion magazine (1986–2012) and employing the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, I attempt to conceive the literary magazine as a living body, an expressive space capable of accommodating divergent experiences and meanings. Inquiring into the typographic aesthetics of the literary magazine, I also probe the boundaries separating discourse and image, and query their supposed autonomy.

‘I am safer in Hong Kong’: Transimperial entanglements in Filipino nationalist explorations

Abstract Between 1907 and 1914, Filipino lawyer, journalist, and nationalist Vicente Sotto found in Hong Kong a sanctuary from the clutches of the Americans. The city also provided him with a space in which to explore alternative ideas for both his own development and the future of the Philippine Islands beyond the confines of pan-Asianism and anti-imperialism. Using Sotto’s experience in Hong Kong as a point of access, this article demonstrates modern Asia’s anti-imperial era as a product of transimperial ‘connectivities’ and ‘ruptures’ wherein new political affinities were forged between like-minded Asians, while interstitial imperial spaces between colony and metropole carved space for radical, yet nuanced and inconsistent, visions of national independence to materialize—at the expense of abutting empires. It serves to decentralize the role of empire, conflating instead the activities of local, colonial, and imperial actors as a singular experience that shaped modern Asia’s revolutionary decades.

Basic components of a personal resource determining a personified subject of activity: The impact on university students’ academic achievement

Introduction. The article reveals the problem of predicting university students’ academic success. The goal of the research is to determine the basic components of a personal resource that characterize a personified subject of activity, and empirically measure their impact on the academic success of a university student. Materials and Methods. Scientific analysis follows the resource and activity approaches based on S. L. Rubinstein and A. N. Leontiev’s methodological principle of the unity of consciousness and activity. The research methods include theoretical and methodological analysis of scholarly literature, assessment techniques, regression analysis, and methods of mathematical statistics, generalization and classification. Results. The main research results include the identification of basic meaningful components of a personal resource in correlation with the components of personification, which, according to the authors, can be considered as predictors of a successful, personified individual. Their influence on the academic achievement of university students has been empirically identified. It has been established that the components of personal resources have different degrees of influence on university students’ academic achievement. Conclusions. Researchers include a wide range of factors in the structure of a personal resource. The authors identified the basic components representing a personal resource, taking into account the structure of a personalized personality. It has been established that these components of personal resource can be considered as psychological predictors that determine the success of a university student in professional and educational activities. A comprehensive diagnostic study showed varying degrees of influence of the identified components on academic performance of university students.