Higher Cognitive Abilities Research Articles

Humans and Goats: Improving Knowledge for a Better Relationship.

Simple SummaryA good relationship between humans (e.g., farmers, owners) and farm animals is vital for the well-being of both parties: on the one hand, people are satisfied with their work, which becomes less stressful and more profitable, and may receive social benefits in terms of education or animal-assisted therapy; on the other hand, animals are rewarded by the presence of humans and are not afraid of them. Goats have high cognitive and communicative abilities towards humans: recognising these abilities helps humans to work properly on the quality of this relationship that is built from the first hours of the goat kids’ life, thanks to frequent and positive contacts (e.g., stroking, talking in a calm voice). Improving the quality of this relationship is an investment in the future of livestock farming and meets public demands for ethical and sustainable production. This review outlines the characteristics and predisposing factors for the establishment of a good human–goat relationship and for its evaluation.There is consensus that the quality of the human–animal relationship (HAR) is relevant to guarantee appropriate levels of animal welfare. Given the impact that HAR may have on both goats and human beings, the aim of the present review is to elucidate: (1) how humans and goats communicate; (2) which are the factors affecting human–goat interactions; (3) how we can measure the quality of this relationship. The systematic review led to the selection of 58 relevant articles. Effective human–goat communication takes place by means of visual, tactile and auditory stimuli and, to a less extent, via olfactory and gustative stimuli. Goats have well-developed socio-cognitive abilities and rely on humans to get relevant information. A deep knowledge of goats’ communication means and socio-cognitive abilities may greatly help improving the human–goat relationship. Management practices (e.g., rearing methods, amount and quality of interactions), as well as genetic selection for suitable individual traits, may contribute to improving HAR. Several measures to assess the quality of HAR have been validated, including avoidance in the pen and at the feeding rack and latency to first contact. Finally, farmers’ attitudes and empathy with goats, as well as their motivation to work with animals, should be improved through appropriate training.

Effectiveness of Augmented Reality-Based Learning Media for Engineering-Physics Teaching

This study aimed to determine the effect of augmented reality-based learning media and cognitive ability as well as their interaction on student learning outcomes in engineering-physics teaching. The results of the study revealed that augmented reality-based learning media improved student learning outcomes for activity-centered models and exploratory tutorial models. Furthermore, cognitive ability had a positive effect on learning outcomes, and the learning outcomes of students with high cognitive abilities were better than those of students with low cognitive abilities. Augmented reality-based learning media developed by an exploratory tutorial model proved effective for all students, while those developed by an activity-centered model was effective only for students who had high cognitive abilities.

The Place of Gender Stereotypes in the Network of Cognitive Abilities, Self-Perceived Ability and Intrinsic Value of School in School Children Depending on Sex and Preferences in STEM.

Adolescents face many barriers on the path towards a STEM profession, especially girls. We examine the gender stereotypes, cognitive abilities, self-perceived ability and intrinsic values of 546 Russian school children from 12 to 17 years old by sex and STEM preferences. In our sample, STEM students compared to no-STEM have higher cognitive abilities, intrinsic motivation towards math and science, are more confident in their math abilities and perceive math as being easier. Boys scored higher in science, math and overall academic self-efficacy, intrinsic learning motivation and math’s importance for future careers. Meanwhile, girls displayed higher levels of gender stereotypes related to STEM and lower self-efficacy in math. A network analysis was conducted to identify the structure of psychological traits and the position of the stem-related stereotypes among them. The analysis arrived at substantially different results when adolescents were grouped by sex or preference towards STEM. It also demonstrated that gender stereotypes are connected with cognitive abilities, with a stronger link in the no-STEM group. Such stereotypes play a more important role for girls than boys and, jointly with the general self-efficacy of cognitive and academic abilities, are associated with the factors that distinguish groups of adolescents in their future careers.

Migraine and epilepsy: Social cognition skills in pediatric population.

The goal of the present study was to comparatively analyze Social Cognition skills in a pediatric population diagnosed with Migraine or Epilepsy, compared to Typically Developing children (TD). The secondary aim was to relate Social Cognition skills with other migraine- or epilepsy-related variables and with executive and cognitive functions. In our cross-sectional observational study 119 children and adolescents (aged 6-16) with Migraine or Focal Epilepsy and 61 TD peers were recruited. Both the clinical groups and TD peers performed a neuropsychological evaluation through standardized test to assess Theory of Mind (TM), Emotion Recognition through facial expression (ER), executive function and non-verbal cognitive abilities. Children and adolescents with Migraine or Focal Epilepsy showed comparable scores between each other, however their scores were significantly lower than their TD peers, in both ER and TM. Social Cognition skills were significantly related to executive functions. Our study suggests that some chronic neurological conditions in childhood, such as Migraine and Epilepsy, may be associated with difficulties in Social Cognition skills, and that these difficulties may be related to a deficit in executive functions. The relationship between these two higher cognitive abilities should be further explored in future studies. Our results also suggest the importance of monitoring cognitive abilities in pediatric patients with Migraine or Epilepsy, in order to detect early impairment and ensure the necessary support.

Diffusion MRI Connections in the Octopus Brain.

Using high angle resolution diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (HARDI) with fiber tractography analysis we map out a meso-scale connectome of the Octopus bimaculoides brain. The brain of this cephalopod has a qualitatively different organization than that of vertebrates, yet it exhibits complex behavior, an elaborate sensory system and high cognitive abilities. Over the last 60 years wide ranging and detailed studies of octopus brain anatomy have been undertaken, including classical histological sectioning/staining, electron microscopy and neuronal tract tracing with injected dyes. These studies have elucidated many neuronal connections within and among anatomical structures. Diffusion MRI based tractography utilizes a qualitatively different method of tracing connections within the brain and offers facile three-dimensional images of anatomy and connections that can be quantitatively analyzed. Twenty-five separate lobes of the brain were segmented in the 3D MR images of each of three samples, including all five sub-structures in the vertical lobe. These parcellations were used to assay fiber tracings between lobes. The connectivity matrix constructed from diffusion MRI data was largely in agreement with that assembled from earlier studies. The one major difference was that connections between the vertical lobe and more basal supra-esophageal structures present in the literature were not found by MRI. In all, 92 connections between the 25 different lobes were noted by diffusion MRI: 53 between supra-esophageal lobes and 26 between the optic lobes and other structures. These represent the beginnings of a mesoscale connectome of the octopus brain.

Precursors of self-regulation in infants at elevated likelihood for autism spectrum disorder.

Research concerning temperament in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has suggested a consistent profile of low positive affect, high negative affect, and low regulation (Visser etal., 2016). One area receiving less attention is individual differences among children diagnosed with ASD. The primary objective of this study was to use a person-centered approach to explore heterogeneity of early temperament precursors of regulation in a large sample of infants with elevated familial likelihood of ASD. Early precursors of regulation included temperament assessed at 6, 12, and 24months whereas outcome measures were diagnosis of ASD, cognitive ability and adaptive behavior at 36 months. Participants included 176 low-likelihood and 473 elevated-likelihood infants, 129 of whom were diagnosed with ASD at 3years. Results supported a three-profile solution: a well-regulated profile (high positive affect and high attentional focus and shifting), a low attention focus profile (higher attentional shifting compared to attentional focus), and a low attention shifting profile (higher attentional focus compared to attentional shifting). A higher proportion of children diagnosed with ASD were classified into the low attention shifting profile. Furthermore, children with the well-regulated profile were differentiated from the other profiles by a pattern of higher social competence and lower dysregulation whereas children with the low attention focus profile were distinguished from the other profiles by higher cognitive ability at 3years. The findings indicate that the combination of early positive affect with attention measures may provide an enhanced tool for prediction of self-regulation and later outcomes.

Is cognitive ability a factor in explaining differences in physiological and psychological stress responses?

IntroductionDetermining differences and patterns in responses might help to understand over-excitability of students with high cognitive ability (SHCA) and to design treatments for helping them in controlling stress.MethodsA comparative research method was used with three different instruments. The data were analyzed by t-test and Welch’s F-test.ResultsThe SHCA reported significantly higher frequencies of psychological stress responses whereas they expressed significantly lower frequencies of physiological stress responses than their counterparts.ConclusionsThese findings might lead to a discussion about the factors determining differences in the responses given by students with high cognitive ability under stress conditions.

Type 1 diabetes, cognitive ability and incidence of cardiovascular disease and death over 60years of follow-up time in men.

AimsThere are few cohorts of type 1 diabetes that follow individuals over more than half a century in terms of health outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine associations between type 1 diabetes, diagnosed before age 18, and long‐term morbidity and mortality, and to investigate whether cognitive ability plays a role in long‐term morbidity and mortality risk.MethodsIn a Swedish cohort, 120 men with type 1 diabetes and 469 without type 1 diabetes were followed between 18 and 77 years of age as regards morbidity and mortality outcomes, and impact of cognitive ability at military conscription for the outcomes. In Cox regression analyses and Kaplan‐Meier analyses with log‐rank tests, associations between diabetes and cognitive ability respectively, and outcomes (mortality, cardiovascular morbidity and diabetes complications) were investigated.ResultsMen with type 1 diabetes suffered from dramatically higher mortality (HR 4.62, 95% CI: 3.56–5.60), cardiovascular mortality (HR 5.60, 95% CI: 3.27–9.57), and cardiovascular events (HR 3.97, 95% CI: 2.79–5.64) compared to men without diabetes. Higher cognitive ability at military conscription was associated with lower mortality in men without diabetes, but was not associated with any outcome in men with diabetes.ConclusionsIn this historical cohort study with 60 years of follow‐up time and a less effective treatment of diabetes than today, mortality rates and cardiovascular outcomes were high for men with type 1 diabetes. Morbidity or mortality did not differ between those that had low to normal or high cognitive ability among men with type 1 diabetes.

PISA Achievement in Sweden From the Perspective of Both Individual Data and Aggregated Cross-Country Data

This study set out to analyze Swedish 15-year-olds’ PISA performance in 2015 and to lesser extent 2018 by using a combination of individual data (2015) and aggregated cross-country data for 2015 and 2018, inclusive of 31 OECD countries. At the within-country and individual level, native Swedish students who took the PISA test in 2015 outperformed first- and second-generation migrants. Moreover, the latent socioeconomic variable “number of books at home” was associated with higher PISA math achievement. Ambition was positively associated with PISA math scores, wheres worry was negatively associated with PISA math. At the cross-country level, GDP per capita was associated with higher PISA scores but ethnic homogeneity was not. IQ scores, PIAAC scores for teachers, and teacher salaries were also moderately correlated with PISA math achievement. This indicates that a country with high cognitive ability levels, as well as cognitively competent and well-paid teachers are likely to perform better in large-scale international assessments such as PISA.

Cognitive ability, financial literacy, and narrow bracketing in time-preference elicitation

We study the role of cognitive ability and financial literacy for inter-temporal decision-making using an adapted version of the Convex Time Budget Protocol. We document heterogeneity in choice-patterns and estimated parameters at the individual-level: Subjects with higher cognitive ability and financial literacy are more likely to make patient inter-temporal choices, to allocate the entire budget to a single payment-date, and to allocate the entire budget to corner choices as interest rates increase. At the same time, financial literacy is uncorrelated with choice consistency and estimated individual error parameters, suggesting these results are not driven by a reduction in random noise among high ability respondents. These results may serve as suggestive evidence for inter-temporal arbitrage among high ability respondents, thereby revealing a potential confound in time-preference elicitation tasks relying on time-dated monetary rewards.

Paradoxical association between chronotype and academic achievement: eveningness reduces academic achievement through sleep disturbance and daytime sleepiness.

There are conflicting reports about the association between chronotype and academic achievement. Eveningness persons tend to have lower academic achievement, but have higher cognitive abilities. We hypothesized that sleep disturbance and daytime sleepiness, which are known to affect academic achievement, will interact with this association. To investigate the association, a sleep survey and covariance structure analysis was performed on high-school students. Among a total of 344 first-year high-school students, 294 students validly completed the questionnaire. The association between the recent change in their academic achievement, chronotype, daytime sleepiness, and sleep disturbance were analyzed. A simple comparison demonstrated that not chronotype but sleep disturbance and excessive daytime sleepiness were significant associated factors. Chronotype affects academic achievement through sleep disturbance and daytime sleepiness. Chronotype did not have a significant total effect on the reduction in academic achievement, whereas morningness had a significant direct effect and a significant indirect inverse effect through better sleep and less daytime sleepiness. This model accounted for 13.0% of the variance of the reduction in academic achievement. When discussing the association between chronotype and academic achievement, the effect of sleep disturbance and daytime sleepiness should be considered. Reducing sleep disturbance and daytime sleepiness with consideration to the chronotype of each person would be beneficial for the improvement of academic achievement.

Insights into insect cognition through mirror-induced behaviour in paper wasps

Abstract Mirror studies have uncovered evidence for self-awareness in several non-human animals; however, this approach has not been extended to invertebrates. Here, we examined mirror responses of Polistes paper wasps, insects with high social cognitive abilities. We used a highly replicated design, exposing wasps to mirror self-recognition (MSR) test stimuli (mirror, facial marking) and several control stimuli (non-reflective surfaces, invisible marks, and sham marks). We found that nest-founding queen wasps respond to mirrors with increases in antennation and touching over non-reflective surfaces. Visible marks also resulted in more exploratory behaviours (antennating and touching the mirror), but decreases in self-directed behaviours typically used as indicators of MSR. While this experiment does not support the notion that wasps possess self-awareness, it shows that wasps respond to subtle alterations in their visual environment and appearance with exploratory behaviour. This work thus increases our understanding of insects’ cognitive abilities, suggesting high levels of perceptual richness.

High uric acid induced hippocampal mitochondrial dysfunction and cognitive impairment involving intramitochondrial NF-κB inhibitor α/nuclear factor-κB pathway.

Epidemiological research has indicated that hyperuricemia may impair cognitive ability; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The present study thus investigated the possible mechanism underlying hyperuricemia-related cognitive impairment. Using hyperuricemic rats and high uric acid (UA) intracerebroventricularly treated mice, the current study elucidated whether and how high UA impaired cognitive ability and hippocampal mitochondrial bioenergetic function. Hyperuricemia induced UA uptake by hippocampal mitochondria, which impaired cognitive ability and disrupted the bioenergetic function of hippocampal mitochondria, indicated by reduced ATP production and decreased cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity. Mechanistically, excess UA might trigger intramitochondrial NF-κB inhibitor α (IκBα)/nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway to downregulate the subunit III of COX (COXIII). The results provided new insights into the mechanism underlying hyperuricemia-related cognitive decline.

Measurement invariance of a neuropsychological battery across urban and rural older adults in Costa Rica

This study evaluated the measurement invariance of a neuropsychological battery across rural and urban older adults from Costa Rica. Rural and urban older adults (N = 295) from the Epidemiology and Development of Alzheimer’s Disease (EDAD) study in Costa Rica were assessed. The baseline factor model for the EDAD neuropsychological measures was identified with nine neuropsychological measures and three cognitive constructs: Verbal Memory, Spatial Reasoning, and Cognitive Flexibility. Measurement and structural invariance were established, and, then, group comparisons of the latent cognitive factors were conducted to explore regional disparities. The findings showed that most of the neuropsychological tests in EDAD can be directly compared across the groups, allowing for cognitive constructs comparisons. The rural sample showed a disadvantage in the Spatial Reasoning and Cognitive Flexibility abilities. When age and education were included in the models, differences between the regions disappeared. Having more years of education was associated with higher cognitive abilities, with a larger effect for the rural group. Norms for Costa Rican older adults should consider age and education adjustments. This study contributes to the growing area of measurement invariance in neuropsychological assessment as it highlights the importance of examining the comparability of assessment measures across different cultural groups.

Remote Microphone Systems Can Improve Listening-in-Noise Accuracy and Listening Effort for Youth With Autism.

This study examined whether remote microphone (RM) systems improved listening-in-noise performance in youth with autism. We explored effects of RM system use on both listening-in-noise accuracy and listening effort in a well-characterized sample of participants with autism. We hypothesized that listening-in-noise accuracy would be enhanced and listening effort reduced, on average, when participants used the RM system. Furthermore, we predicted that effects of RM system use on listening-in-noise accuracy and listening effort would vary according to participant characteristics. Specifically, we hypothesized that participants who were chronologically older, had greater nonverbal cognitive and language ability, displayed fewer features of autism, and presented with more typical sensory and multisensory profiles might exhibit greater benefits of RM system use than participants who were younger, had less nonverbal cognitive or language ability, displayed more features of autism, and presented with greater sensory and multisensory disruptions. We implemented a within-subjects design to investigate our hypotheses, wherein 32 youth with autism completed listening-in-noise testing with and without an RM system. Listening-in-noise accuracy and listening effort were evaluated simultaneously using a dual-task paradigm for stimuli varying in complexity (i.e., syllable-, word-, sentence-, and passage-level). In addition, several putative moderators of RM system effects (i.e., sensory and multisensory function, language, nonverbal cognition, and broader features of autism) on outcomes of interest were evaluated. Overall, RM system use resulted in higher listening-in-noise accuracy in youth with autism compared with no RM system use. The observed benefits were all large in magnitude, although the benefits on average were greater for more complex stimuli (e.g., key words embedded in sentences) and relatively smaller for less complex stimuli (e.g., syllables). Notably, none of the putative moderators significantly influenced the effects of the RM system on listening-in-noise accuracy, indicating that RM system benefits did not vary according to any of the participant characteristics assessed. On average, RM system use did not have an effect on listening effort across all youth with autism compared with no RM system use but instead yielded effects that varied according to participant profile. Specifically, moderated effects indicated that RM system use was associated with increased listening effort for youth who had (a) average to below-average nonverbal cognitive ability, (b) below-average language ability, and (c) reduced audiovisual integration. RM system use was also associated with decreased listening effort for youth with very high nonverbal cognitive ability. This study extends prior work by showing that RM systems have the potential to boost listening-in-noise accuracy for youth with autism. However, this boost in accuracy was coupled with increased listening effort, as indexed by longer reaction times while using an RM system, for some youth with autism, perhaps suggesting greater engagement in the listening-in-noise tasks when using the RM system for youth who had lower cognitive abilities, were less linguistically able, and/or have difficulty integrating seen and heard speech. These findings have important implications for clinical practice, suggesting RM system use in classrooms could potentially improve listening-in-noise performance for some youth with autism.

Higher Cognitive Abilities in Birds: A Comparative Evolutionary Analysis

Higher Cognitive Abilities in Birds: A Comparative Evolutionary Analysis

Factors influencing fake news rebuttal acceptance during the COVID-19 pandemic and the moderating effect of cognitive ability

Fake news is spreading rapidly on social media and poses a serious threat to the COVID-19 outbreak response. This study thus aims to reveal the factors influencing the acceptance of fake news rebuttals on Sina Weibo. Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), we used text mining and the econometrics method to investigate the relationships among the central route (rebuttal's information readability and argument quality), peripheral route (rebuttal's source credibility, including authority and influence), and rebuttal acceptance, as well as the moderating effect of receiver's cognitive ability on these relationships. Our findings suggest that source authority had a negative effect on rebuttal acceptance, while source influence had a positive effect. Second, both information readability and argument quality had positive effects on rebuttal acceptance. In addition, individuals with low cognitive abilities relied more on source credibility and argument quality to accept rebuttals, while individuals with high cognitive abilities relied more on information readability. This study can provide decision support for practitioners to establish more effective fake news rebuttal strategies; it is especially valuable to reduce the negative impact of fake news related to major public health emergencies and safeguard the implementation of anti-epidemic strategies.

Greater Adolescent Cognitive Ability Is Linked to Lower Risk of Cognitive Impairment in Later Life

There have been few investigations of the role that adolescent cognitive ability plays in predicting later-life cognitive impairment, and the mechanisms, such greater life course educational exposure, that might underlie these connections. This knowledge gap is due, in part, to a lack of cohorts with early-life cognitive assessment who are followed to later adulthood. We capitalized on data from the 1960 Project Talent (PT) high school cohort (n>360,000) and two recent follow-ups, the Project Talent Twin & Sibling (PTTS; n=2,491 in 2014) Study and the Project Talent Aging Study (PTAS; n=6,421 in 2018), to examine these potential links. In 1960, ability was assessed in multiple cognitive domains (e.g., general aptitude, quantitative, reasoning). Participants/proxies reporting 2 or more symptoms of cognitive impairment in 2018 on the AD8 Dementia Screener were classified as having a positive screen. Binary logistic generalized estimating equations with race, sex, and adolescent family SES covariates, indicated that in multiple cognitive domains, higher ability in adolescence predicted lower odds of a positive AD8 screen in later life (ORs of 0.80 - 0.85). The effects were only slightly attenuated with inclusion of life course educational attainment. Sibling models found a similar pattern of associations and effect sizes, indicating that the association is not attributable to shared family and genetic background. These findings indicate that higher cognitive ability as indicated by better performance in multiple cognitive domains in adolescence may be protective against cognitive impairment five decades later and life course educational attainment only partially mediates this association.

IQ in Young Adulthood and Depressive Symptoms Over the Retirement Transition

Retirement can be a challenging life transition for mental health. Higher levels of IQ in young adulthood have been shown to be advantageous for different outcomes later in life such as quality of life and well-being. However, it remains unclear whether possessing higher cognitive abilities in early life also favors individuals’ mental health when facing challenges related to the retirement transition. In this study, we therefore investigated the relationship between IQ in young adulthood and depressive symptoms over the retirement transition. We used data of six waves from the longitudinal population-based HEalth, Aging and Retirement in Sweden (HEARTS) study, as well as data on IQ in young adulthood from conscription. In a piecewise structural equation model, we modelled trajectories of depressive symptoms (measured by the CES-D scale) before and after retirement and in relation to young adulthood IQ (n = 1722 men). Results indicated an average decrease in depressive symptoms over the retirement transition for this sample of men. Higher childhood IQ was associated with further reduction in post-retirement depressive symptoms while controlling for education, retirement age, and memory ability and cardiovascular health at baseline. Our findings support the conclusion that higher IQ in young adulthood may act as a protective factor for mental health in the retirement transition. Individuals with higher IQ in young adulthood may have acquired coping strategies throughout their life-course, which they can apply when handling challenges related to retiring.

Socioeconomic and cognitive roots of trait anxiety in young adults.

In 54 participants (41% women) from the Czech arm of the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood, a national birth cohort with prospectively collected data from their birth until young adulthood, we aimed to study the association between early-life socioeconomic deprivation (ELSD), cognitive ability in adolescence, trait anxiety and resting state functional connectivity of the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) in young adulthood. We found that ELSD was associated with lower cognitive ability in adolescence (at age 13) as well as higher trait anxiety in young adulthood (at age 23/24). Higher cognitive ability in adolescence predicted lower trait anxiety in young adulthood. Resting state functional connectivity between the right LPFC and a cluster of voxels including left precentral gyrus, left postcentral gyrus and superior frontal gyrus mediated the relationship between lower cognitive ability in adolescence and higher trait anxiety in young adulthood. These findings indicate that lower cognitive ability and higher trait anxiety may be both consequences of socioeconomic deprivation in early life. The recruitment of the right LPFC may be the underlying mechanism, through which higher cognitive ability may ameliorate trait anxiety.