Internal Manipulation Research Articles

Maintenance and manipulation of somatosensory information in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex.

Neuroimaging studies of working memory (WM) suggest that prefrontal cortex may assist sustained maintenance, but also internal manipulation, of stimulus representations in lower-level areas. A different line of research in the somatosensory domain indicates that neuronal activity in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) may also represent specific memory contents in itself, however leaving open to what extent top-down control on lower-level areas is exerted, or how internal manipulation processes are implemented. We used functional imaging and connectivity analysis to study static maintenance and internal manipulation of tactile working memory contents after physically identical stimulation conditions, in human subjects. While both tasks recruited similar subareas in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in VLPFC, static maintenance of the tactile information was additionally characterized by increased functional coupling between IFG and primary somatosensory cortex. Independently, during internal manipulation, a quantitative representation of the task-relevant information was evident in IFG itself, even in the absence of physical stimulation. Together, these findings demonstrate the functional diversity of activity within VLPFC according to different working memory demands, and underline the role of IFG as a core region in sensory WM processing.

Design for layer jump in optical disc drives using internal state manipulation

Layer jump operation is a vertical seek operation of an actuator between adjacent data layers in an optical disc. As a number of the data layers are raised for high capacity data, the layer jump gradually gains importance for fast playing and recording. Therefore, a systematic design methodology for the layer jump is required to guarantee layer pull-in stability and robustness of model uncertainty. In this paper, a layer jump strategy is proposed for minimizing transient motion and overcoming the effect of model uncertainty by estimating the current velocity of the actuator. The proposed algorithm has been implemented in a system-on-chip for a multi-layered Bluray disc drive. The experimental results show the notable performance of the proposed algorithm.

Decision processes of a suicide bomber—the economics and psychology of attacking and defecting

This paper provides a theoretical analysis of suicide attacks and defection. First, decision processes of potential attackers are examined from an economist’s perspective. The results are then applied to insights from behavioural economics and psychology. We derive conditions under which agents decide to become suicide bombers—or to announce an attack and defect later. Taking account of hyperbolic discounting we show why the decision to commit a suicide attack can be time-inconsistent and what internal manipulation mechanisms (arising from cognitive dissonance and terror management) and external manipulation mechanisms (employed by terrorist organizations and governments) might prevent or foster time-inconsistency.

Influencing expert judgment: Attributions of crime causality

Purpose. The present research aimed to investigate the effects of attribution on expert clinical judgment in comparison to semi‐experts and laypeople. Two research questions were addressed. First, would experts be less subject to attributional manipulations, in terms of their perceived ratings of dangerousness, than would semi‐experts or laypeople? Second, would experts be less subject to attributional manipulations, in terms of their assessments of offender responsibility, than would semi‐experts or laypeople? Method. A 3×3×2 mixed groups design was implemented. Participants read nine crime scenarios that had been internally or externally manipulated. For each scenario, participants were asked to rate offender dangerousness, offender responsibility, and the seriousness of the crime and to suggest a suitable sentence length. Targeted recruitment was employed, yielding 12 experts, 21 semi‐experts, and 22 laypeople. Results. Offenders were considered to be more responsible for their actions and more dangerous to others in the internal manipulations than in the external ones across all crime types and by all levels of expertise. Findings indicate that semi‐experts are less subject to the influence of attributional manipulations than both experts and laypeople. Marked similarities in the pattern of expert and lay person judgments can be observed from the present analyses. Conclusions. The current findings lend support to previous research in the area in that similarities between expert and lay person judgment were observed. However, through expanding and clarifying the levels of expertise investigated, the current findings highlight the need for greater research into the distinct ‘semi‐expert’ group.

Grounding Procedural and Declarative Knowledge in Sensorimotor Anticipation

We propose a view of embodied representations that is alternative to both symbolic/linguistic approaches and purely sensorimotor views of cognition, and can account for procedural and declarative knowledge manipulation. In accordance with recent evidence in cognitive neuroscience and psychology, we argue that anticipatory and simulative mechanisms, which arose during evolution for action control and not for cognition, determined the first form of representational content and were exapted for increasingly sophisticated cognitive uses. In particular, procedural and declarative forms of knowledge can be explained, respectively, in terms of on-line sensorimotor anticipation and off-line simulations of potential actions, which can give access to tacit knowledge and make it explicit. That is, mechanisms that evolved for the on-line prediction of the consequences of one's own actions (i.e. forward models) determine a (procedural) form of representation, and became exapted for off-line use. They can therefore be used to produce (declarative) knowledge of the world, by running a simulation of the action that would produce the relevant information. We conclude by discussing how embodied representations afford a form of internal manipulation that can be described as internalized situated action.

Salience of working-memory maintenance and manipulation deficits in schizophrenia

Encoding and maintenance of information in working memory, followed by internal manipulation of that information for planning adaptive behavior, are two key components of working-memory systems. Both processes have been reported to be impaired in schizophrenia, but few studies have directly compared the relative severity of these abnormalities, or the degree to which manipulation deficits might be secondary to alterations in maintenance processes. Clinically stable schizophrenia patients (n=25) and a demographically similar healthy comparison group (n=24) were administered a verbal span task with three levels of working-memory load. Maintenance was assessed using sequential position questions. Manipulation processes were assessed by requiring comparison of the relative sequential position of test items, which entailed simultaneous serial search strategies regarding item order. Both groups showed reduced accuracy and increased reaction time for manipulation compared with maintenance processing. There were significant patient impairments across working-memory loads. There was no differential deficit in manipulation processing, and effect sizes of relative deficit in the patient group were higher for maintenance than manipulation processing. The strong correlation for maintenance and manipulation deficits suggest that impairments in the ability to internally manipulate information stored in working-memory systems are not greater than alterations in the encoding and maintaining of information in working memory and that disturbances in maintenance processing may contribute to deficits in higher-order working-memory operations.

Mental Rotation of Hands in HIV Infection: Neuropsychological Evidence of Dysfunction in Fronto-Striato-Parietal Networks

Mental Rotation of Hands in HIV Infection: Neuropsychological Evidence of Dysfunction in Fronto-Striato-Parietal Networks

Track jump scheme using internal state manipulation in optical disc drives

Track jump control is a random access strategy applied to short distance movement less than 10 tracks. The most common track jump scheme is a bang-bang control of a kick and brake manner. In a conventional track jump scheme, a track-following controller is turned off during kick and brake periods, and restarted at a target track for track pull-in. The inevitable controller switching is accompanied by undesirable transient response due to non-zero initial condition, and overshoot in the transient response is a crucial factor regarding track pull-in stability. In this paper, a new track jump control scheme without controller switching is proposed for enhancing track jump stability. Instead of control switching, internal states of a track-following controller are artificially manipulated for kick and brake actions in a digital control environment. Experimental results are provided in comparison with conventional track jumps.

Retaliatory Aggression and the Effects of Point of View and Blood in Violent Video Games

In this study, an experimental design was utilized to test, first, the effect of a violent game versus a no game control on physical and verbal aggression and retaliatory aggression against a confederate. In addition, the effects of two internal video game manipulations were explored. Overall, those in the violent game condition were more verbally and physically aggressive than those in the no game condition. In terms of internal game features, third-person play with the blood on, especially when combined with aggressive cognitions and to some extent, hostile affect, encouraged more aggressive outcomes.

The Constructive Value of Overconfidence

Abstract The main argument of this paper is that overconfidence is underrated and can have constructive value in situations in which people tend to display a hyperbolic discounting of future utility. By artificially raising the estimation of future rewards, overconfidence can offset the inhibitory effects of exaggerated preference for present rewards, thus producing greater incentive, greater perseverance, resolute performance, and consequently higher achievements. Examples of this effect are situations of negotiation, improved recovery rates from serious disease, and situations of violent confrontation or war. Because overconfidence can lead to positive outcomes, there is at times an incentive to manipulate the facts perceived by the decision maker in order to build up confidence and increase the efficiency of the decision. These manipulations are a branch of the general theory of non-cooperative games with non-perfect information. We particularly draw attention to internal manipulations, such as selective memory, deliberate forgetfulness, and calculated inadvertence. In light of the constructive value of overconfidence, we regard these common mental practices as possibly rational and beneficial. It follows that under some circumstances, and in particular where the assumption of calculated risk should be encouraged and the chilling effect of over-deterrence should be eschewed, a systematically erroneous assessment of risk is a key to optimal behavior. Therefore, we criticize the common supposition that an overconfident person should be deemed negligent even if his overconfidence proves useful. We further object to the common view that an intended manipulation of memory necessarily entails recklessness. For similar reasons, we argue that the law of complicity should acknowledge friendship and love as countervailing the need to combat crime, inasmuch as friendship and love are instrumental to self-esteem.

The Constructive Value of Overconfidence

Overconfidence is a psychologically-generated distortion of perception consisting of an inflated estimation of one's future success. Because both economics and law usually encourage accurate and calculated estimates of risk, overconfidence is regarded to be detrimental to human judgment and it is denounced as a vice. When an assumption of risk is subsequently realized, the presence of overconfidence is thought to prove that the assumption of risk was ex ante unwarranted. The main argument of this paper is that overconfidence is underrated. Overconfidence can have constructive value in a variety of situations in which people tend to display a hyperbolic discounting of future utility, which produces in turn inconsistencies in their preferences over time. Intuitively, by artificially raising the estimation of future rewards overconfidence can be instrumental if it offsets the inhibitory effects of exaggerated preference of present rewards. Thus it can produce greater incentive, greater perseverance, resolute performance, and consequently higher achievements. Examples of this effect are found in situations of negotiation, in the improved recovery rate from serious disease and in situations of violent confrontation or wars. Because overconfidence can lead to positive outcomes, there is at times an incentive to manipulate the facts perceived by the decision maker in order to build up his confidence and increase the efficiency of the decision. These manipulations are a branch of the general theory of non-cooperative games with non-perfect information. We particularly draw attention to internal manipulations, performed by the same player between two points in time, where the former concerns the latter. These manipulations consist in constructive self-deceit and include, inter alia, selective memory, deliberate forgetfulness, and calculated inadvertence. In light of the constructive value of overconfidence, we regard these common mental practices as possibly rational and beneficial. It follows that under some circumstances, and in particular where the assumption of calculated risk should be encouraged and the chilling effect of over-deterrence should be eschewed, a systematically erroneous assessment of the risk is a key to optimal behavior. Therefore, we criticize the common supposition, according to which an overconfident person should be deemed negligent even if his overconfidence proves useful. We further object to the common view, according to which an intended manipulation of memory should necessarily entail recklessness. For similar reasons, we argue that the law of complicity should acknowledge friendship and love as countervailing the need to combat crime, inasmuch as friendship and love are instrumental to self-esteem.

Team mental models in action: a practice-based perspective

The concept of team mental models (TMMs) has much to offer the study of design teams. However, I argue that care needs to be taken in how the concept is applied because existing studies of TMMs tend to draw upon problematic assumptions from conventional cognitive psychology. These encourage a focus on cognition as a mainly individual, passive, and disembodied affair involving the rule-bound internal manipulation of symbols that is ill-suited to understanding the thoroughly social, dynamic, and emergent character of knowing in design teams. After outlining the main weaknesses of the cognitive tradition, I suggest a practice-based approach as a more secure position from which to study the role of TMMs in action. This reframing of the TMM concept has important implications not only for the existing cognitive-orientated literature on team dynamics but also for practice-based approaches which, to their detriment, have tended to avoid any reference to the role of cognitive frameworks in interpreting and guiding social action.

Performance Assessment of Plantwide Control Systems of Industrial Processes

Performance assessment of control systems has been receiving growing attention in the recent past to improve operability and profit margins of the process. However, such studies, and also the tools available to carry out such studies, from the plantwide perspective are rather limited. In this regard, a new dynamic performance index, called dynamic disturbance sensitivity (DDS) is proposed in this paper. It is then used to assess the performance of three plantwide control (PWC) structures (CS1, CS2, and CS3) for an industrially important petrochemical process, namely, the hydrodealkylation (HDA) of toluene to produce benzene. The three control structures are distinctly different from the throughput manipulator standpoint: CS1 uses an internal manipulator (e.g., reactor temperature), CS2 uses a fixed-feed control strategy, and CS3 uses an on-demand control strategy to control throughput; consequently, the rest of the control structure decisions are significantly different. By analyzing the results from rig...

Le caractère social du langage et de la pensée

Summary I argue that (i) language is a social phenomenon and that (ii) thoughts take place in a linguistic medium of representation. Davidson's private language (“idiolectic”) approach to communication is reviewed and criticised in sections 2 and 3, respectively. It is shown that Dretske's recent definition of thought is not narrow enough to exclude algorithmic symbol manipulations done by computers from being thoughts. The difference between mere algorithmic symbol manipulation and thought is to be found in the human ability to infer the truth value of certain self-referential representations such as Godel sentences (sections 4 and 5). Section 4 also contains an argument to the effect that only universal linguistic systems allow for the construction of such decidable self-referential representations and are, therefore, the only appropriate media of thought. Some speculations on the relation between thought and internal symbol manipulation follow. The whole issue discussed in this essay indicates that some form of externalism is required to account for thought.

Selective internal manipulation of a single molecule by scanning tunneling microscopy

We have studied the adsorption of the polyaromatic molecule 1,4"-paratriphenyldimethylacetone, which we have nicknamed Trima. The originality of this linear molecule is that it was designed and synthesized to have two functionalities. First, chemisorb itself to the surface by its two ends rather like a bridge. Second, the central part of the molecule could then be rotated by injecting electrons with the tip of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The length of the molecule corresponds exactly to the spacing between five dimers in a row on the Si(100)-2 x 1 surface. We found that the molecule adsorbs as expected on the clean silicon surface by using complementary STM and synchrotron radiation studies. Manipulation of individual molecules with the STM tip showed selective internal modifications that were highly voltage dependent. These manipulations were found to be compatible with an electronic excitation of the pi-pi* transition of the molecule.

Simple and rapid method to isolate and culture follicular papillae from human scalp hair follicles.

Study of the involvement of the hair follicle papilla in hair growth regulation was greatly facilitated by the isolation and cultivation of this tiny cluster of fibroblast-like cells in the rat vibrissae and in the human hair follicle. While isolation of the hair follicle papilla from the former is relatively straightforward, the current method to isolate the much smaller human hair follicle requires significant skill. Thus, the routine initiation of primary cultures of human scalp hair follicle papilla cells requires significant training, time, and commitment. In an attempt to simplify hair follicle papilla cell culture methodology for new laboratory personnel, we have made significant refinements to the current method. Our method requires only two simple manipulations to isolate hair follicle papilla from intact isolated hair follicles. This very rapid and easy method isolates clean and intact hair follicle papillae. Together with their attachment via scratching to the growth surface, the isolation and cultivation of this important hair follicle component can now be achieved easily by the laboratory newcomer. The method relies for its simplicity on the removal of the hair follicle papilla from the outside of the intact hair follicle rather than via internal manipulations from within the hair follicle.

Naltrexone Administration Attenuates Surgery-Induced Immune Alterations in Rats

Surgery is a commonly performed procedure which produces substantial alterations in immune function in both humans and animals. To better understand the mechanism of surgery-induced immunomodulation, the present study investigated the effect of the opioid antagonist naltrexone on surgery-induced immune alterations in rats. Based on previous investigations in our laboratory, rats underwent a 6-cm laparotomy with no internal manipulation and immunological assessments were completed 24 h following the surgical procedure. Naltrexone was administered at the time of surgery and every 4 h thereafter until immune assessment. Results showed that naltrexone attenuated the surgery-induced decrease in natural killer cell cytotoxicity, B-cell proliferation, T-cell proliferation, and production of the cytokine IFN-gamma. These results are among the first to show that pharmacological antagonism of opioid receptors can prevent deleterious immune changes in the postoperative state, suggesting a detrimental role of the endogenous opioids in surgical procedures.

Comparison of Cognitive Model Uses in Intelligent Training Systems

Cognitive models are human performance models that represent human knowledge and internal information manipulation processes. Many uses of cognitive models in training systems have been proposed in the literature, but actual applications have lagged behind, and comparative assessments are rare. To fill this gap, experiences in applying cognitive models in several different intelligent tutoring/training systems are reviewed and compared. All the applications were developed using the same cognitive modeling framework (COGNET) and software (iGEN™). The models fall into two main categories: expert performance models, used for tracing knowledge and actions, and instructional agents, used to predict, observe, and diagnose trainee use of specific knowledge sets and skills. Comparisons focus on the model development process and the efficacy of the resulting system. A set of preliminary conclusions on the selection and development of cognitive models in training systems is offered.

Involvement of the rat prefrontal cortex in cognitive functions: A central role for the prelimbic area

In this brief review, we address the cognitive functions of a subregion of the rat frontal cortex, the prelimbic cortex. Growing evidence suggests that the prelimbic cortex is involved in working memory, defined as the temporary storage of information required for its internal manipulation. However, several factors appear to modulate the extent to which prelimbic damage impairs performance in delayed tasks. These factors, which contribute to the overall difficulty of the task, are related to the attentional requirement of the task and to the response selection mechanisms that underlie correct performance. Impairments induced by prelimbic cortical damage are increased when the task requires the rat to consistently focus its attention on the detection of external events and when the learning rule countradicts either spontaneously used or previously learned strategies. This overall pattern of deficit suggests that the prelimbic cortex is not a pure working memory system. Rather, it subtends a wide range of processes that are required for solving difficult problems. Together with anatomical evidence, the existence of functional similarities between the prelimbic cortex of the rat and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of primates suggests some homology between these regions across species. Therefore, the rat prelimbic cortex appears to provide a valuable model system for studying the precursors of higher level cognitive processes in nonhuman and human primates.

A client-centered ecological approach

Rehabilitation ergonomics is an area of scientific study and professional practice that has its roots in health care. Rehabilitation ergonomics is the study of the relationship between the functional limitations and abilities of a person with a disability and the demands of a valued job within the context of a work environment for the purpose of matching that person to that job. Rehabilitation ergonomists are health care professionals who utilize knowledge of functional limitations, work demands, and individual characteristics to optimize the safe work capacity of injured workers and to reduce the incidence and severity of the injury or illness of healthy workers. For many years, occupational therapists and physical therapists in the United States have provided ergonomic services to individuals who have workrelevant functional limitations as a result of work injuries and of disease processes such as polio, coronary artery disease, stroke, and arthritis as well as age-related changes in functional capacity. The focus of the rehabilitation ergonomist is on the person ('the client') within the context of the job and the work environment. This clientcentered approach is consistent with that of noted ergonomist Paul Branton's 'person-centered ergonomics.' Branton (1987) defined ergonomics as 'the systematic study of the reality of limitations to interaction between humans and their work environment and with each other at work.' He distinguishes this theoretic or research approach to ergonomics from the applied approach in that the latter includes 'the application of that reality to design and use of all kinds of artefact.' As Nachreiner (1993) pointed out, Branton argued that work and working conditions should be designed for real persons having goals and objectives who are behaving purposively. For Branton, it was not sufficient to regard man as a biological being with anthropometric measures, muscular strength or certain kinds of information processing capacities, but as a person with unique characteristics who is acting purposively. He argued that 'purposivity, as internal manipulation of the (near) future, explains observed phenomena better than the usual models which regress to causative factors of the past.' Branton's person-centered approach to ergonomics takes as its central point the need to accommodate the human attributes which the person brings to the system. In contrast with traditional ergonomics' emphasis on design for the modal worker, the rehabilitation ergonomist designs a particular job and a particular work environment for a particular individual. As with person-centered ergonomics, the goal of rehabilitation ergonomics is to create supportive, dynamic environments which enable individuals to work at their most safe and effective levels (Oborne et aI., 1993). Branton's approach has created controversy. It