Contingent Feedback Research Articles

Wearable Technology to Support Early Child Language Experiences: What's Important to Parents and Clinicians?

Emerging research evidence has demonstrated the potential for digital tools, such as automated language processing technology, to support parent-child interactions. Making use of digital tools can aid measurement of parent interaction metrics, additionally, providing contingent feedback to parents based on their language metrics can facilitate positive changes in their everyday input to their young children. Product innovation aside, there is a distinct lack of understanding about how best to integrate real-world, user design needs and preferences to improve deployment of technologies into routine clinical interventions. The present study explored salient requirements of a wearable language tracking device from the users' perspectives. Mothers of young children and clinicians with experience working in paediatric settings completed a written questionnaire and rated the importance of specific functions and features of a child-worn, language tracking device on a 10-point Likert scale. There was strong rating consensus across the participants that comfort, reliability and the provision of clear and useful results were of greater importance. The need for the wearable language tracking device to 'blend in' with different types of clothing was rated as less important. The extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model was employed as a framework for addressing these importance ratings in this population of interest. This study highlighted the need to consider user-focused service design. Addressing user's preferences could facilitate greater technology adoption which ultimately enriches the language experiences for young children.

Neural responses to action contingency error in different cortical areas are attributable to forward prediction or sensory processing

The contingency of sensory feedback to one’s actions is essential for the sense of agency, and experimental violation of this contingency is a standard paradigm in the neuroscience of self-awareness and schizophrenia. However, neural responses to this violation have arbitrarily been interpreted either as activation of the system generating forward prediction (agency-error account) or decreased suppression of processing of predictable input (prediction-error account). In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, the regions responsive to auditory contingency errors were examined if they exhibited responses to an isolated auditory stimulus and to passive-contingency delay, which the prediction-error account expects. These responses were observed only in the auditory association cortex in the right superior temporal gyrus. Several multimodal and motor-association cortices did not exhibit these responses, suggesting their relevance to the agency-error account. Thus, we formulated the coexistence and dissociation of two accounts in neural contingency-error responses.

Young children’s contingent interactions with a touchscreen influence their memory for spatial and narrative content

ABSTRACT Young children have difficulty learning from two-dimensional (2D) sources (e.g., television). One reason for this may be that 2D media lacks the contingent feedback present in social interactions. Touchscreens can provide contingent, reciprocal responses in the absence of a social partner, and thus may have the potential to overcome the challenges of learning by viewing. We assessed 30- to 48-month-old children’s memory for eBook content and traced objects after interactive or observational touchscreen exposure. The degree of interactivity with the touchscreen varied by three conditions of (1) close-mapping in which the touchscreen input corresponded closely with the output, (2) far-mapping, and (3) watching a screen recording. Children who watched the screen recording did best on delayed object recognition for traced objects, whereas results for the eBook material revealed a condition by gender by age (months) interaction. Girls’ memory for eBook material improved with increasing age after interacting via near- or far-mapping. Results are discussed in terms of gender and age differences in executive functioning and the capacity of cognitive load, and the limitations of contingent interactions.

A novel process-based approach to improve resilience: Effects of computerized mouse-based (gaze)contingent attention training (MCAT) on reappraisal and rumination

Stress dysregulation is a transdiagnostic marker of emotional disorders, related to biases in attention toward negative information. We adapted a computerized process-based training targeting these attention mechanisms through mouse-based contingency responses and examined its effects on reappraisal and rumination. Forty-one participants were randomly assigned to either a control or an active training condition of mouse-based contingent attention training (MCAT). Participants in the active condition were instructed to allocate attention toward positive words to generate positive interpretations, by using attention regulation while receiving contingent feedback on their attention to emotional words. Participants in the control condition freely generated interpretations without receiving contingent feedback. Transfer to reappraisal and state rumination was evaluated by administering an emotion regulation paradigm before and after the training. Mouse-based attention estimations showed a high degree of congruency with real eye/gaze-based attention estimations, as measured with eye-tracking performed in parallel. Furthermore, active MCAT resulted in several beneficial effects, including: 1) a higher attention toward positive over negative information; 2) an improved reappraisal ability to down-regulate negative emotions, and 3) a larger state rumination reduction in comparison to the control group. Our findings supports MCAT as a promising way to monitor and train attention, being an innovative instrument for online interventions aimed to improve stress regulation and resilience.

Contingent biofeedback outperforms other methods to enhance the accuracy of cardiac interoception: A comparison of short interventions

Background and objectivesDeviations in interoception might contribute to the development and maintenance of mental disorders. The improvement of interoceptive accuracy (IA) is desirable but assessment and training methods remain controversial. For instance, it was assumed that performance increases in heartbeat counting paradigms after cardiac feedback were due to an improvement of knowledge with regard to heart rate rather than due to an actual improvement in IA. MethodsHere, we examined effects of contingent cardiac feedback training, non-contingent cardiac feedback, mindfulness practice, and a waiting period with external attentional focus on IA. 100 healthy participants underwent a mental tracking paradigm before and after 20 min of training or waiting. ResultsResults revealed a significant increase of IA in the contingent feedback condition (d = 1.21, p ≤ .001) and no significant changes after non-contingent feedback, mindfulness practice or waiting (d ≤ 0.37; p ≥ .06). Furthermore, IA increase was significantly higher after the contingent feedback training compared to all other conditions, including non-contingent feedback. LimitationsFuture studies need to replicate these findings in clinical samples and examine time dependent effects. ConclusionsThe results provide evidence for the trainability of heartbeat perception. IA improvements may reduce the symptom burden in people suffering from mental disorders and psychophysiological conditions that have been linked to lower interoceptive accuracy such as depression, somatic symptom disorder, chronic pain, and functional somatic syndromes. Consequently, exploration of biofeedback training procedures shall be continued with the aim of identifying relevant mediators of beneficial effects and future implementation in clinical practice.

Increased cognitive load enables unlearning in procedural category learning.

Interventions for drug abuse and other maladaptive habitual behaviors may yield temporary success but are often fragile and relapse is common. This implies that current interventions do not erase or substantially modify the representations that support the underlying addictive behavior-that is, they do not cause true unlearning. One example of an intervention that fails to induce true unlearning comes from Crossley, Ashby, and Maddox (2013, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General), who reported that a sudden shift to random feedback did not cause unlearning of category knowledge obtained through procedural systems, and they also reported results suggesting that this failure is because random feedback is noncontingent on behavior. These results imply the existence of a mechanism that (a) estimates feedback contingency and (b) protects procedural learning from modification when feedback contingency is low (i.e., during random feedback). This article reports the results of an experiment in which increasing cognitive load via an explicit dual task during the random feedback period facilitated unlearning. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that the mechanism that protects procedural learning when feedback contingency is low depends on executive function. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Using iPad-mediated recordings to offer contingent feedback and introduce pre-service teachers to the epistemology of the teaching practice

The current study investigates the role of iPad-mediated recordings as culturally enacted artifacts in generating affordances for constructive feedback on pre-service teachers teaching practice, self-reflection, and evaluation and enacting a path to guide pre-service teachers in becoming part of the epistemology of the teaching practice. A group of Swedish pre-service teachers embarked on a teaching practice placement in Tanzanian elementary schools where they documented their teaching practicum experience using iPad minis. Pre-service teachers then selected specific parts of the videos and uploaded the content on the university’s Moodle VLE site. The recorded sessions formed the primary mechanisms through which an experienced instructor offered pre-service teachers constructive feedback. Specific guidelines and training on the four indicated lesson elements that pre-service teachers needed to upload were provided prior to this practical teaching experience. Results indicate that the feedback strategies focused primarily on pre-service teachers’ planning and actual teaching practice.

Electrophysiological brain indices of risk behavior modification induced by contingent feedback

The main aim of this research was to study the effects of response feedback on risk behavior and the neural and cognitive mechanisms involved, as a function of the feedback contingency. Sixty drivers were randomly assigned to one of three feedback groups: contingent, non-contingent and no feedback. The participants' task consisted of braking or not when confronted with a set of risky driving situations, while their electroencephalographic activity was continuously recorded. We observed that contingent feedback, as opposed to non-contingent feedback, promoted changes in the response bias towards safer decisions. This behavioral modification implied a higher demand on cognitive control, reflected in a larger amplitude of the N400 component. Moreover, the contingent feedback, being predictable and entailing more informative value, gave rise to smaller SPN and larger FRN scores when compared with non-contingent feedback. Taken together, these findings provide a new and complex insight into the neurophysiological basis of the influence of feedback contingency on the processing of decision-making under risk. We suggest that response feedback, when contingent upon the risky behavior, appears to improve the functionality of the brain mechanisms involved in decision-making and can be a powerful tool for reducing the tendency to choose risky options in risk-prone individuals.

Control of Alpha Rhythm (8–13 Hz) Using Neurofeedback

Alpha is a prominent rhythm occurring between 8 and 13 Hz in brain signals that is often linked to a relaxed mental state. Some studies have shown that individuals can learn to control their own alpha rhythm if provided with a contingent feedback. However, investigations till date in alpha neurofeedback have provided contrasting views regarding the enhancement of alpha power. In this review, we discuss various aspects of this controversy and highlight some issues with past approaches of neurofeedback driven alpha enhancement. In particular, we discuss possible modifications in future investigations which would address some of the concerns.

A Cognitive Modeling Approach to Strategy Formation in Dynamic Decision Making.

Decision-making is a high-level cognitive process based on cognitive processes like perception, attention, and memory. Real-life situations require series of decisions to be made, with each decision depending on previous feedback from a potentially changing environment. To gain a better understanding of the underlying processes of dynamic decision-making, we applied the method of cognitive modeling on a complex rule-based category learning task. Here, participants first needed to identify the conjunction of two rules that defined a target category and later adapt to a reversal of feedback contingencies. We developed an ACT-R model for the core aspects of this dynamic decision-making task. An important aim of our model was that it provides a general account of how such tasks are solved and, with minor changes, is applicable to other stimulus materials. The model was implemented as a mixture of an exemplar-based and a rule-based approach which incorporates perceptual-motor and metacognitive aspects as well. The model solves the categorization task by first trying out one-feature strategies and then, as a result of repeated negative feedback, switching to two-feature strategies. Overall, this model solves the task in a similar way as participants do, including generally successful initial learning as well as reversal learning after the change of feedback contingencies. Moreover, the fact that not all participants were successful in the two learning phases is also reflected in the modeling data. However, we found a larger variance and a lower overall performance of the modeling data as compared to the human data which may relate to perceptual preferences or additional knowledge and rules applied by the participants. In a next step, these aspects could be implemented in the model for a better overall fit. In view of the large interindividual differences in decision performance between participants, additional information about the underlying cognitive processes from behavioral, psychobiological and neurophysiological data may help to optimize future applications of this model such that it can be transferred to other domains of comparable dynamic decision tasks.

Learned control of inter-hemispheric connectivity: Effects on bimanual motor performance

Bimanual movements involve the interactions between both primary motor cortices. These interactions are assumed to involve phase-locked oscillatory brain activity referred to as inter-hemispheric functional coupling. So far, inter-hemispheric functional coupling has been investigated as a function of motor performance. These studies report mostly a negative correlation between the performance in motor tasks and the strength of functional coupling. However, correlation might not reflect a causal relationship. To overcome this limitation, we opted for an alternative approach by manipulating the strength of inter-hemispheric functional coupling and assessing bimanual motor performance as a dependent variable. We hypothesize that an increase/decrease of functional coupling deteriorates/facilitates motor performance in an out-of-phase bimanual finger-tapping task. Healthy individuals were trained to volitionally regulate functional coupling in an operant conditioning paradigm using real-time magnetoencephalography neurofeedback. During operant conditioning, two discriminative stimuli were associated with upregulation and downregulation of functional coupling. Effects of training were assessed by comparing motor performance prior to (pre-test) and after the training (post-test). Participants receiving contingent feedback learned to upregulate and downregulate functional coupling. Comparing motor performance, as indexed by the ratio of tapping speed for upregulation versus downregulation trials, no change was found in the control group between pre- and post-test. In contrast, the group receiving contingent feedback evidenced a significant decrease of the ratio implicating lower tapping speed with stronger functional coupling. Results point toward a causal role of inter-hemispheric functional coupling for the performance in bimanual tasks. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4353-4369, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Vocal Learning via Social Reinforcement by Infant Marmoset Monkeys

For over half a century now, primate vocalizations have been thought to undergo little or no experience-dependent acoustic changes during development [1]. If any changes are apparent, then they are routinely (and quite reasonably) attributed to the passive consequences of growth. Indeed, previous experiments on squirrel monkeys and macaque monkeys showed that social isolation [2, 3], deafness [2], cross-fostering [4] and parental absence [5] have little or no effect on vocal development. Here, we explicitly test in marmoset monkeys-a very vocal and cooperatively breeding species [6]-whether the transformation of immature into mature contact calls by infants is influenced by contingent parental vocal feedback. Using a closed-loop design, we experimentally provided more versus less contingent vocal feedback to twin infant marmoset monkeys over their first 2months of life, the interval during which their contact calls transform from noisy, immature calls to tonal adult-like "phee" calls [7, 8]. Infants who received more contingent feedback had a faster rate of vocal development, producing mature-sounding contact calls earlier than the other twin. The differential rate of vocal development was not linked to genetics, perinatal experience, or body growth; nor did the amount of contingency influence the overall rate of spontaneous vocal production. Thus, we provide the first experimental evidence for production-related vocal learning during the development of a nonhuman primate.

Characteristics of brief sticky mittens training that lead to increases in object exploration

The onset of independent prehension marks the beginning of infants’ direct interaction with the physical world. The success infants have in contacting objects with their hands and arms can have both visual and auditory consequences; objects may move and collide with other objects or fall onto table surfaces. Seeing and hearing these events could have important consequences for infants’ learning about objects and their subsequent behavior toward objects. The current research assessed the effects of brief object manipulation experiences and how a specific characteristic of training, auditory feedback produced by hard plastic toys colliding with a tabletop surface, affects pre-reaching infants’ subsequent object exploration. In Experiment 1, infants participated in either active “sticky” mittens training or passive “nonsticky” mittens training with a set of toys; before and after this experience, infants explored a teether. Results showed that infants participating in active training increased looking toward and sustained touching of the teether from pre- to post-training, whereas infants receiving passive training decreased their looking toward and touching of the teether following training. To investigate whether infants’ exploration behaviors were related to the amount of auditory feedback produced by the objects during training, in Experiment 2 data were collected from infants who received active sticky mittens training that had either more or less auditory feedback potential. Results showed more robust increases in infants’ exploratory activity from pre- to post-training in the more auditory feedback condition compared with infants’ exploratory activity in the less auditory feedback condition. These findings support the idea that active control of objects, including experiencing contingent feedback through multiple sensory modalities, promotes the development of object exploration during early infancy.

Proprioceptive Feedback Facilitates Motor Imagery-Related Operant Learning of Sensorimotor β-Band Modulation

Motor imagery (MI) activates the sensorimotor system independent of actual movements and might be facilitated by neurofeedback. Knowledge on the interaction between feedback modality and the involved frequency bands during MI-related brain self-regulation is still scarce. Previous studies compared the cortical activity during the MI task with concurrent feedback (MI with feedback condition) to cortical activity during the relaxation task where no feedback was provided (relaxation without feedback condition). The observed differences might, therefore, be related to either the task or the feedback. A proper comparison would necessitate studying a relaxation condition with feedback and a MI task condition without feedback as well. Right-handed healthy subjects performed two tasks, i.e., MI and relaxation, in alternating order. Each of the tasks (MI vs. relaxation) was studied with and without feedback. The respective event-driven oscillatory activity, i.e., sensorimotor desynchronization (during MI) or synchronization (during relaxation), was rewarded with contingent feedback. Importantly, feedback onset was delayed to study the task-related cortical activity in the absence of feedback provision during the delay period. The reward modality was alternated every 15 trials between proprioceptive and visual feedback. Proprioceptive input was superior to visual input to increase the range of task-related spectral perturbations in the α- and β-band, and was necessary to consistently achieve MI-related sensorimotor desynchronization (ERD) significantly below baseline. These effects occurred in task periods without feedback as well. The increased accuracy and duration of learned brain self-regulation achieved in the proprioceptive condition was specific to the β-band. MI-related operant learning of brain self-regulation is facilitated by proprioceptive feedback and mediated in the sensorimotor β-band.

Opposite effects of feedback contingency on the process of risky decisions-making

The main aim of this study was to look into the effect of feedback contingency on decision making in complex risky situations, using a driving context. Participants had to decide braking or not in a set of risky traffic situations. After the response, a negative non-contingent or contingent feedback was used. The results highlight the importance of feedback contingency upon safer decision making in risky contexts, as they showed how a contingent feedback led to faster and safer responses than a control group without any feedback; whereas a non-contingent one gives rise to slower responses and, more importantly, an enhanced risk-taking behavior that could be the cause of undesirable effects on road safety. The feedback effect was even more evident in the appearance of an opposite response bias as a function of contingency and enhanced by learning. These results accord with the theoretical accounts based upon the feedback influence on the threshold level of decision making. Moreover, the effects of feedback may be explained by new proposals focusing on the importance of attentional factors as well as of the mental models people build to react in complex risky scenarios, as a product of feedback and learning. Finally, this research may increase our understanding of the role of feedback in the process of learning safer behavior in complex risky situations.

The Effect of Content Feedback and Reading Strategies on Reading Comprehension: Extroverted and Introverted Learners

The current study aims to consider the effectiveness of content feedback (CF) along with reading strategies on L2 learners' reading comprehension ability based on the extrovert/introvert personality type. So, 35 pre-intermediate learners studying in a private language institute in Chaloos, Mazandaran, Iran participated in the study and were divided into experimental groups and control one. In order to answer the research question regarding the effectiveness of utilizing content feedback and reading strategies, eight treatment sessions were applied and the pre- post- and delayed post- tests were analyzed through SPSS software (version 20). The results revealed the positive effect of CF on the learners’ reading comprehension ability and also the extroverted learners outperformed the introverted ones. In order to mention the implication side, the study suggests that teaching reading skill by using effective strategies along with content feedback can improve the learners’ reading comprehension ability.

Gesture Use in 14-Month-Old Toddlers With Hearing Loss and Their Mothers' Responses.

This study examined the gesture use of 14-month-old toddlers with hearing loss (HL) and mothers' responses to children's early gesture use. Comparisons were made to symbolic language and to dyads in which the toddler had normal hearing (NH). Participants were 25 mother-toddler dyads in which the child had HL and a socioeconomic-status matched group of 23 mother-toddler dyads in which the child had NH. Thirty-minute mother-child interactions were video-recorded, transcribed for spoken language, sign, and gesture use, and coded for maternal responses to children's gestures. Mothers also reported on children's gestural and spoken language abilities. Toddlers with HL used gesture similarly to their peers with NH, but demonstrated delays in spoken language. Spoken language and gesture were not significantly related for either group. Hearing levels were related to spoken language, but not gesture for the HL group. Maternal and child gesture were only related for signing mothers. Mothers of children with HL were more likely than their counterparts to provide no response to children's gestures. Although toddlers' gesture abilities remain intact in the presence of HL, mothers were not maximally responsive to those gestures and thus should be coached to increase their provision of contingent feedback.

Randomized trial of technology-assisted self-monitoring of blood glucose by low-income seniors: improved glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) has been recommended for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This trial tested an automated self-management monitor (ASMM) that reminds patients to perform SMBG, provides feedback on results of SMBG, and action tips for improved self-management. This delayed-start trial randomized participants to using the ASMM immediately (IG), or following a delay of 6months (DG). Glycated hemoglobin (HgbA1c) level and survey data was collected at home visits every 3months. 44 diabetic men and women, mean age 70, completed the 12-month trial. Baseline HgbA1c was 8.1%±1.0, dropping to 7.3±1.0 by 9months, with a 3-month lag in the DG (F=3.56, p=0.004). Decrease in HgbA1c was significantly correlated to increased frequency of SMBG, R=0.588, p<0.01. Providing older diabetics with objective immediate contingent feedback resulted in more frequent SMBG that correlated with better glycemic control. This type of technology may provide real-time feedback not only to patient users, but to the health care system, allowing better integration of provider recommendations with patient-centered action.

Reinforcement learning of self-regulated sensorimotor β-oscillations improves motor performance

Self-regulation of sensorimotor oscillations is currently researched in neurorehabilitation, e.g. for priming subsequent physiotherapy in stroke patients, and may be modulated by neurofeedback or transcranial brain stimulation. It has still to be demonstrated, however, whether and under which training conditions such brain self-regulation could also result in motor gains.Thirty-two right-handed, healthy subjects participated in a three-day intervention during which they performed 462 trials of kinesthetic motor-imagery while a brain–robot interface (BRI) turned event-related β-band desynchronization of the left sensorimotor cortex into the opening of the right hand by a robotic orthosis. Different training conditions were compared in a parallel-group design: (i) adaptive classifier thresholding and contingent feedback, (ii) adaptive classifier thresholding and non-contingent feedback, (iii) non-adaptive classifier thresholding and contingent feedback, and (iv) non-adaptive classifier thresholding and non-contingent feedback. We studied the task-related cortical physiology with electroencephalography and the behavioral performance in a subsequent isometric motor task.Contingent neurofeedback and adaptive classifier thresholding were critical for learning brain self-regulation which, in turn, led to behavioral gains after the intervention. The acquired skill for sustained sensorimotor β-desynchronization correlated significantly with subsequent motor improvement. Operant learning of brain self-regulation with a BRI may offer a therapeutic perspective for severely affected stroke patients lacking residual hand function.

Delays in Human-Computer Interaction and Their Effects on Brain Activity.

The temporal contingency of feedback is an essential requirement of successful human-computer interactions. The timing of feedback not only affects the behavior of a user but is also accompanied by changes in psychophysiology and neural activity. In three fMRI experiments we systematically studied the impact of delayed feedback on brain activity while subjects performed an auditory categorization task. In the first fMRI experiment, we analyzed the effects of rare and thus unexpected delays of different delay duration on brain activity. In the second experiment, we investigated if users can adapt to frequent delays. Therefore, delays were presented as often as immediate feedback. In a third experiment, the influence of interaction outage was analyzed by measuring the effect of infrequent omissions of feedback on brain activity. The results show that unexpected delays in feedback presentation compared to immediate feedback stronger activate inter alia bilateral the anterior insular cortex, the posterior medial frontal cortex, the left inferior parietal lobule and the right inferior frontal junction. The strength of this activation increases with the duration of the delay. Thus, delays interrupt the course of an interaction and trigger an orienting response that in turn activates brain regions of action control. If delays occur frequently, users can adapt, delays become expectable, and the brain activity in the observed network diminishes over the course of the interaction. However, introducing rare omissions of expected feedback reduces the system’s trustworthiness which leads to an increase in brain activity not only in response to such omissions but also following frequently occurring and thus expected delays.