Mental Representations Research Articles

Mapping the Role of Therapeutic Alliance in Speech and Language Therapy to the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System

Purpose: The purpose of this clinical focus article is to highlight the significance of the therapeutic alliance (TA) and how it relates to speech and language therapy practice. We define the components of the TA through the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System (RTSS) framework in an effort to increase clinician understanding and implementation of the components of TA. Method: With the introduction of the RTSS, there have been ongoing efforts to increase specificity in describing and outlining rehabilitation treatments to better understand, research, and translate knowledge across the field. However, the inclusion of representations and volitional ingredients is often missing from current literature or limited to certain patient populations. We map the ingredients of the TA as intentional clinician actions to provide increased specification of volition components, with the goal of shaping and enhancing the patients' mental representations and offer insights for direct application in clinical practice. Conclusions: Ongoing efforts to educate and train speech-language pathologists on the invaluable contribution of mental representations and TA are imperative. Embedding this education within the RTSS framework may serve to underscore its equal contribution to the patient experience and associated outcomes. Ongoing research and efforts to further delineate volitional ingredients into therapeutic practice is essential to maximize patient engagement and outcomes.

Lost in space(s): Multimodal neuroimaging of disorientation along the Alzheimer's disease continuum.

Orientation is a fundamental cognitive faculty and the bedrock of the neurologic examination. Orientation is defined as the alignment between an individual's internal representation and the external world in the spatial, temporal, and social domains. While spatial disorientation is a recognized hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), little is known about disorientation beyond space in AD. This study aimed to explore disorientation in spatial, temporal, and social domains along the AD continuum. Fifty-one participants along the AD continuum performed an ecological orientation task in the spatial, temporal, and social domains while undergoing functional MRI. Disorientation in AD followed a three-way association between orientation domain, brain region, and disease stage. Specifically, patients with early amnestic mild cognitive impairment exhibited spatio-temporal disorientation and reduced brain activity in temporoparietal regions, while patients with AD dementia showed additional social disorientation and reduced brain activity in frontoparietal regions. Furthermore, patterns of hypoactivation overlapped different subnetworks of the default mode network, patterns of fluorodeoxyglucose hypometabolism, and cortical atrophy characteristic of AD. Our results suggest that AD may encompass a disorder of orientation, characterized by a biphasic process manifesting as early spatio-temporal and late social disorientation. As such, disorientation may offer a unique window into the clinicopathological progression of AD. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Despite extensive research into Alzheimer's disease (AD), its core cognitive deficit remains a matter of debate. In this study, we investigated whether orientation, defined as the ability to align internal representations with the external world in spatial, temporal, and social domains, constitutes a core cognitive deficit in AD. To do so, we used PET-fMRI imaging to collect behavioral, functional, and metabolic data from 51 participants along the AD continuum. Our findings suggest that AD may constitute a disorder of orientation, characterized by an early spatio-temporal disorientation and followed by late social disorientation, manifesting in task-evoked and neurodegenerative changes. We propose that a profile of disorientation across multiple domains offers a unique window into the progression of AD and as such could greatly benefit disease diagnosis, monitoring, and evaluation of treatment response.

A matter of precision? Scene imagery in individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder.

The ability to create mental representations of scenes is essential for remembering, predicting, and imagining. In individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) this ability may be impaired. Considering that autistic characteristics such as weak central coherence or reduced communication abilities may disadvantage autistic participants in traditional imagery tasks, this study attempted to use a novel task design to measure the ability of scene imagery. Thirty high-functioning adults with ASD and 27 non-autistic matched control adults were asked to describe imagined fictitious scenes using two types of scene imagery tasks. In a free imagery task, participants were asked to imagine a scene based on a given keyword. In a guided imagery task, participants had to imagine a scene based on a detailed description of the scene. Additionally, narrative abilities were assessed using the Narrative Scoring Scheme. Statistical analyses revealed no group effects in the free and guided imagery of fictional scenes. Participants with ASD performed worse than control participants in the narrative task. Narrative abilities correlated positively with performance in both imagery tasks in the ASD group only. Hence, individuals with ASD seem to show as good imagery abilities as non-autistic individuals. The results are discussed in the light of the differences between imagery and imagination and possible gender differences.

Splitting Into "Us and Them" in Bulgaria: Examples of Repeated Collective Defense Mechanisms During Social Unrest—a Compulsion to Repeat

Abstract: The article explains the concept of splitting as a group's defense mechanism that becomes repeatable observed action during social unrest. Using two examples of protests that demonstrate counterproductive repetitions of mental interpretation, the article explains how splitting reinforces the cognitive formation of "us and them," which becomes a polarized stance of "friends and enemies." It also contributes to the area of large-group psychology by explaining a group's compulsion to repeat. The examples from Bulgaria present mental and behavioral similarities that lead to three questions: (a) if repeated cycles from history can be considered as compulsion to repeat rather than unlearned lessons, (b) if so-what explains it, and (c) if events interpreted and experienced in the same way can explain a collective compulsion to repeat over a period of time. The article uses Vamik Volkan' s theory of "us and them" supported by Carl Schmitt's "friends and enemies." Both explain how a group forms a mental representation of events through splitting that manifests as a form of street violence. Furthermore, Melanie Klein's concept of the paranoid-schizoid position is applied to a large group when explaining the reasons why splitting occurs in the first place. The exploration of the two examples demonstrates that a large group can unconsciously repeat their mental interpretations and perform identical collective behavior as a defense operation during the same pressurized social situations.

Disentangling inhibition and prediction in negation processing

Negation as a universal feature of human language is used effortlessly in everyday communication. However, experimental research has shown that the comprehension of negated sentences seems to require additional cognitive resources compared to affirmative sentences. Many studies investigating the processing of negation report longer reading and reaction times for negative compared to affirmative sentences and many studies report a Polarity by Truth interaction: false affirmative sentences lead to longer response times and larger N400 event-related potentials (ERPs) than true affirmative sentences, whereas the pattern is reversed for negative sentences where it is the true sentence that elicits longer reaction times and higher N400 ERPs compared to false negative sentences. These interactions have been discussed in the light of lexical associations, predictability, and the need to construct two subsequent mental representations. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that the comprehension of negated sentences seems to make use of neural resources that are typically involved in cognitive control and inhibitory mechanisms. As both processes have been associated with two different and temporally overlapping ERP components (the N400 and the P300), we focus on studies with high temporal resolution. We discuss linguistic aspects of negation, such as semantic similarity and contextual invariance of negation. We furthermore discuss the role of the verb as well as the position of the negative marker with respect to the verb, and their respective relevance for predictive and inhibitory mechanisms in negated sentences.

Harmony in transition: Exploring the perception-production relationship in sound change

This study investigates the perception-production dynamics of [æ] and [e] in an ongoing merger in Asante Twi’s Advanced Tongue Root (ATR) harmony system. Traditional descriptions state that [-ATR] /a/ is realized as [+ATR] [æ] before [+ATR] vowels /i, u, o/. Yet, recent acoustic evidence points to an ongoing sound change in different Twi-speaking communities: in contrast to traditional (rural/suburban) Twi speakers, urban speakers raise and merge [æ] with phonemic /e/ before /i, u/, a change that is more advanced in men and younger speakers (Kpogo, 2023). The present study aims to ascertain whether merger in production correlates with perceptual merger among the same participants in Kpogo (2023). Data from a forced-choice identification task suggests that the presence of a perceptual merger is associated with the participant’s locality. Traditional participants consistently identified [æ] and [e] correctly, suggesting separate mental representations for these vowels. Conversely, urban participants often perceived [æ] as [e], suggesting less distinct representations influenced by their own production. Concerning the perception-production relationship, evidence of a link was observed across localities but, crucially, not within each locality. This study contributes to theoretical discussions on the perception-production relationship during sound change, hinting at a co-evolving link between the two modalities.

Trait inferences from the “big two” produce gendered expectations of facial features

Prescriptive stereotypes based on, respectively, agency and communality reflect how people expect men and women to behave. Deviating from such prescriptions limits opportunities for men and women in ways that reinforce traditional gender roles. In the current work, we examine whether people have expectations of gendered facial features based on agentic and communal descriptions of targets and if these expectations extend to who people think is best suited for workplace tasks. Across five experiments, people expected more facial masculinity for targets paired with agentic relative to communal traits (Experiments 1, 2a-b) and workplace behaviors (Experiments 3a-b). This expectation effect emerged when gendered facial features (e.g., more masculinized and feminized versions of face identities) were manipulated across (Experiment 1) and within (Experiments 2a-b, 3a-b) gender, regardless of whether traits were explicitly stated (Experiments 1, 2a-b, 3a) or inferred (Experiment 3b), and regardless of trait valence. When people made decisions about two same-gender faces, the gender of those faces accentuated trait effects. More masculine male (relative to female) faces were consistently expected more for agentic traits and workplace tasks, but consistently expected less for communal traits and workplace tasks (Experiments 2a, 3a-b). We then conceptually replicated expectation effects by showing that mental representations of agentic and communal faces appear correspondingly gendered (Experiment 4). Finally, we provide exploratory analyses showing that expectation effects may differentially vary by perceiver gender across contexts. These findings illustrate a non-verbal route by which people make decisions based on gender stereotypes that have wide-ranging implications for workplace behavior.

Task-driven neural network models predict neural dynamics of proprioception

Proprioception tells the brain the state of the body based on distributed sensory neurons. Yet, the principles that govern proprioceptive processing are poorly understood. Here, we employ a task-driven modeling approach to investigate the neural code of proprioceptive neurons in cuneate nucleus (CN) and somatosensory cortex area 2 (S1). We simulated muscle spindle signals through musculoskeletal modeling and generated a large-scale movement repertoire to train neural networks based on 16 hypotheses, each representing different computational goals. We found that the emerging, task-optimized internal representations generalize from synthetic data to predict neural dynamics in CN and S1 of primates. Computational tasks that aim to predict the limb position and velocity were the best at predicting the neural activity in both areas. Since task optimization develops representations that better predict neural activity during active than passive movements, we postulate that neural activity in the CN and S1 is top-down modulated during goal-directed movements.

What methods are used to examine representation of mental ill-health on social media? A systematic review

There has been an increasing number of papers which explore the representation of mental health on social media using various social media platforms and methodologies. It is timely to review methodologies employed in this growing body of research in order to understand their strengths and weaknesses. This systematic literature review provides a comprehensive overview and evaluation of the methods used to investigate the representation of mental ill-health on social media, shedding light on the current state of this field. Seven databases were searched with keywords related to social media, mental health, and aspects of representation (e.g., trivialisation or stigma). Of the 36 studies which met inclusion criteria, the most frequently selected social media platforms for data collection were Twitter (n = 22, 61.1%), Sina Weibo (n = 5, 13.9%) and YouTube (n = 4, 11.1%). The vast majority of studies analysed social media data using manual content analysis (n = 24, 66.7%), with limited studies employing more contemporary data analysis techniques, such as machine learning (n = 5, 13.9%). Few studies analysed visual data (n = 7, 19.4%). To enable a more complete understanding of mental ill-health representation on social media, further research is needed focussing on popular and influential image and video-based platforms, moving beyond text-based data like Twitter. Future research in this field should also employ a combination of both manual and computer-assisted approaches for analysis.

Shape configuration of mental target representation as a holistic measure in a 3D real world pointing test for spatial orientation

Shape configuration of mental target representation as a holistic measure in a 3D real world pointing test for spatial orientation

Shared Mental Models and Collaborative Activities: a Comparison of Research Approaches

Introduction. In domestic science, the activity approach has received great development, in which joint activities were described in sufficient detail, as part of the study of collective activity. On the other hand, the concept of mental representation has been developed in cognitive psychology. However, there are practically no studies in which the concepts of domestic scientists would be compared with the concepts of mental and general mental models that are widely known in foreign psychology.Objective. Analyze and compare research approaches to the formation of common mental models and the formation of joint activities.Concept and characteristics of mental models. Foreign researchers consider mental models as internal (mental) images of the external world, which can be represented by internal images, knowledge, ideas about specific or generalized situations, systems of the surrounding world. For a person to function optimally in the world, it is important that their mental models are sufficiently complex and accurate.Shared mental models. Research interest in shared mental models arose from the need to find ways to improve the performance of work teams. Essentially, it is the shared cognitive representation of team members about tasks, goals, conditions, other members and their behavior. The most important characteristic of shared mental models is similarity, which is important to ensure. Research in this area has shown that a high degree of similarity together with a high degree of accuracy can lead to high production results. A comparison of scientific ideas about common mental models and joint activities showed that: 1) similarity can be correlated with the unity of the group meaning-forming context; 2) the process of integrating individual mental models into a common one is correlated with the process of forming joint mental activity and achieving semantic resonance, 3) communication in creating a common mental model with subject-subject interaction and the second stratum of relationships in the team.Discussion. Comparing research approaches from different paradigms can have a significant positive impact on the development of scientific knowledge. The importance of this is emphasized by the fact that today the development of the concepts of a common mental model and joint activity proceed in almost parallel paths without mutual citation, despite similar scientific subjects.

The impact of instructional support via generative learning strategies on the perception of visual authenticity, learning outcomes, and satisfaction in AR-based learning

Augmented reality (AR) presents significant opportunities for creating authentic learning environments by accurately mirroring real-world objects, contexts, and tasks. The visual fidelity of AR content, seamlessly integrated into the real world, contributes to its perceived authenticity. Despite acknowledging AR’s positive impact on learning, scant research explores specific learning strategies within an AR context, and there’s a lack of studies linking perceived visual authenticity to these strategies. This study addresses these gaps by surveying learners using AR technology to study the human cardiovascular system, exploring perceived visual authenticity, learning outcomes, and satisfaction. Learners used either (1) AR with the self-explanation learning strategy, (2) AR with the drawing learning strategy, or (3) AR only. Analysis of variance and correlation was used for data analysis. Results indicated no significant differences in perceived visual authenticity and satisfaction among the learning strategy groups. However, groups employing learning strategies showed superior learning outcomes compared to the AR-only group. Crucially, the self-explanation learning strategy significantly enhanced knowledge gain compared to drawing and AR-only groups, indicating that self-explanation, together with the visual input from the AR-learning environment, fosters a more coherent mental representation. This increased learning efficacy was achieved while maintaining a consistent perception of visual authenticity and satisfaction with the learning material. These findings expand the current landscape of AR research by moving beyond media comparison studies.

Creativity and Decision Making in Giftedness

Creativity is the ability to re-experience mental representations and is the basis of intuitive thinking when constructing images prior to the elaboration of an action plan. Creativity is thought to be related to orbitofrontal functions that govern decision making, such as inhibitory control, risk–benefit evaluation and acceptance of limits and rules, given that these processes prepare one against possible scenarios. Objective: In this study, the relationship between creativity and decision making is investigated to understand the needs of gifted students. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out with gifted students (IQ mean = 133) aged 8–10 years old (n = 25). Instruments: Creative Imagination Test (PIC) and subtests of the Neuropsychological Battery of Executive Functions and Frontal Lobes (BANFE-2) were employed. Analysis: A Spearman correlation analysis was conducted between the normalized BANFE-2 scores and the percentiles of PIC. Results: Moderate correlations were found between creative/narrative flexibility and decision making/risk percentage (r = 0.432, p ≤ 0.05) and decision making/response-effectiveness (r = 0.426, p ≤ 0.05), as well as between graphic creativity/shadow and color with decision making/response-effectiveness (r = 0.452, p ≤ 0.05) and inhibition (r = 0.673, p ≤ 0.01); moderate negative correlations were found between inhibition and graphic creativity/title (r = −0.570, p ≤ 0.05) and general graphic creativity (r = −0.489, p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: Creativity in students with intellectual giftedness is favored by a relationship with orbitofrontal functions. Analysis of risk situations and effective decision making increase narrative creation and diminished inhibition allows for greater creative graphic production.

Internal representations of the canonical real-world distance of objects.

In the real world, every object has its canonical distance from observers. For example, airplanes are usually far away from us, whereas eyeglasses are close to us. Do we have an internal representation of the canonical real-world distance of objects in our cognitive system? If we do, does the canonical distance influence the perceived size of an object? Here, we conducted two experiments to address these questions. In Experiment 1, we first asked participants to rate the canonical distance of objects. Participants gave consistent ratings to each object. Then, pairs of object images were presented one by one in a trial, and participants were asked to rate the distance of the second object (i.e., a priming paradigm). We found that the rating of the perceived distance of the target object was modulated by the canonical real-world distance of the prime. In Experiment 2, participants were asked to judge the perceived size of canonically near or far objects that were presented at the converging end (i.e., far location) or the opening end (i.e., near location) of a background image with converging lines. We found that regardless of the presentation location, participants perceived the canonically near object as smaller than the canonically far object even though their retinal and real-world sizes were matched. In all, our results suggest that we have an internal representation of the canonical real-world distance of objects, which affects the perceived distance of subsequent objects and the perceived size of the objects themselves.

Cerebellar interpositus nucleus exhibits time-dependent errors and predictive responses

Learning is a functional state of the brain that should be understood as a continuous process, rather than being restricted to the very moment of its acquisition, storage, or retrieval. The cerebellum operates by comparing predicted states with actual states, learning from errors, and updating its internal representation to minimize errors. In this regard, we studied cerebellar interpositus nucleus (IPn) functional capabilities by recording its unitary activity in behaving rabbits during an associative learning task: the classical conditioning of eyelid responses. We recorded IPn neurons in rabbits during classical eyeblink conditioning using a delay paradigm. We found that IPn neurons reduce error signals across conditioning sessions, simultaneously increasing and transmitting spikes before the onset of the unconditioned stimulus. Thus, IPn neurons generate predictions that optimize in time and shape the conditioned eyeblink response. Our results are consistent with the idea that the cerebellum works under Bayesian rules updating the weights using the previous history.

Sensor based Dance Coherent Action Generation Model using Deep Learning Framework

Dance Coherent Action Generation is a popular research task in recent years to generate movements and actions for computer-generated characters in a simulated environment. It is sometimes referred to as "Motion Synthesis". Motion synthesis algorithms are used to generate physically believable, visually compelling, and contextually appropriate movement using motion sensors. The Dance Coherent Action Generation Model (DCAM) is a generative framework for producing aesthetically pleasing movements using deep learning from small amounts of data. By learning an internal representation of motion dynamics, DCAM can synthesize long sequences of movements in which coherent patterns can be created through latent space interpolation. This framework provides a mechanism for varying the amplitude of the generated motion, allowing further realistic thinking and expression. The proposed model obtained 93.79% accuracy, 93.79% precision, 97.75% recall and 92.92% F1 score. DCAM exploits the balance between imitation and creativity by enabling the production of novel outputs from limited input data and can be trained in an unsupervised manner or fine-tuned with sparse supervision. Furthermore, the framework is easily extended to handle multiple layers of abstraction and can be further personalized to a particular type of movement, enabling the generation of highly individualized outputs.

Internal Representations Are Prioritized by Frontoparietal Theta Connectivity and Suppressed by alpha Oscillation Dynamics: Evidence from Concurrent Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation EEG and Invasive EEG.

Control over internal representations requires the prioritization of relevant information and suppression of irrelevant information. The frontoparietal network exhibits prominent neural oscillations during these distinct cognitive processes. Yet, the causal role of this network-scale activity is unclear. Here, we targeted theta-frequency frontoparietal coherence and dynamic alpha oscillations in the posterior parietal cortex using online rhythmic transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in women and men while they prioritized or suppressed internally maintained working memory (WM) representations. Using concurrent high-density EEG, we provided evidence that we acutely drove the targeted neural oscillation and TMS improved WM capacity only when the evoked activity corresponded with the desired cognitive process. To suppress an internal representation, we increased the amplitude of lateralized alpha oscillations in the posterior parietal cortex contralateral to the irrelevant visual field. For prioritization, we found that TMS to the prefrontal cortex increased theta-frequency connectivity in the prefrontoparietal network contralateral to the relevant visual field. To understand the spatial specificity of these effects, we administered the WM task to participants with implanted electrodes. We found that theta connectivity during prioritization was directed from the lateral prefrontal to the superior posterior parietal cortex. Together, these findings provide causal evidence in support of a model where a frontoparietal theta network prioritizes internally maintained representations and alpha oscillations in the posterior parietal cortex suppress irrelevant representations.

Beyond Words: A Psychoanalytic Inquiry into Silence and Trauma in the Novel 'The Silent Patient' by Alex Michaelides

This research was conducted on a comprehensive psychoanalytic inquiry of Alex Michaelides' novel 'The Silent Patient,' focusing on unraveling the intricacies of silence and trauma within the narrative. The study meticulously analyzes the protagonist Alicia Berenson's deliberate choice of silence as a profound form of communication, transcending simplistic victimhood narratives. Employing a qualitative approach, the research delves into the psychological landscape of the characters, with a specific focus on the evolution of Alicia's character. The socio-cultural and historical contexts, particularly within a psychiatric institution, are examined to understand the external factors shaping the characters' experiences. Through thematic exploration, the study identifies recurring motifs such as suppressed personal narratives and the transformative potential of self-discovery. This research contributes to the discourse on mental health representation, emphasizing the enduring relevance of psychoanalytic theory in illuminating the complexities of the human psyche within literary exploration.

Литературный жанр в сознании читателя: эмпирический подход

From a cognitive point of view, literary genres do not exist regardless of their perception; they should be embodied in the reader’s mind. The purpose of cognitive genre study is to consider genre as a form of mental representation. According to our hypothesis, this representation combines figurative and propositional ways of encoding information. There is no doubt that the reconstruction of the mental representation of the genre in the mind of the reader requires an experimental study. This article publishes the results of a pilot experiment conducted among university students of pedagogical specialties of the Faculty of Psychological, Pedagogical and Special Education of Saratov University and school students of Saratov. The experimental data show that the representation of the genre in the mind of the reader can be based on the cluster model which suggests that the readers define a number of features by which they identify the genre. The prototype model of the genre is no less relevant: belonging of a particular work to a particular genre is determined in the mind of the reader by its similarity with the best genre model – a standard (or a prototype). The number of such standards is not very large. As a rule, this status is acquired by works that are included in the school literary canon. In the reader’s mind, genre classes are not formations with clear boundaries; rather, they are more likely to be built on the principle of “family resemblance”. The cognitive model of a genre in the mind of the reader has certain features of a field. Conducting cognitive genre research, i.e. identifying ways of representing the genre in the mind of a reader requires the development of a special questionnaire that takes into account the level of the ordinary (naive) reader who is not a philologist.

Arm cooling selectively impacts sensorimotor control.

The benefits of cold have long been recognized in sport and medicine. However, it also brings costs, which have more rarely been investigated, notably in terms of sensorimotor control. We hypothesized that, in addition to peripheral effects, cold slows down the processing of proprioceptive cues, which has an impact on both feedback and feedforward control. We therefore compared the performances of participants whose right arm had been immersed in either cold water (arm temperature: 14°C) or lukewarm water (arm temperature: 34°C). In experiment 1, we administered a Fitts's pointing task and performed a kinematic analysis to determine whether sensorimotor control processes were affected by the cold. Results revealed 1) modifications in late kinematic parameters, suggesting changes in the use of proprioceptive feedback, and 2) modifications in early kinematic parameters, suggesting changes in action representations and/or feedforward processes. To explore our hypothesis further, we ran a second experiment in which no physical movement was involved, and thus no peripheral effects. Participants were administrated a hand laterality task, known to involve implicit motor imagery and assess the internal representation of the hand. They were shown left- and right-hand images randomly displayed in different orientations in the picture plane and had to identify as quickly and as accurately as possible whether each image was of the left hand or the right hand. Results revealed slower responses and more errors when participants had to mentally rotate the cooled hand in the extreme orientation of 160°, further suggesting the impact of cold on action representations.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We investigated how arm cooling modulates sensorimotor representations and sensorimotor control. Arm cooling induced changes in early kinematic parameters of pointing, suggesting an impact on feedforward processes or hand representation. Arm cooling induced changes in late kinematic parameters of pointing, suggesting an impact on feedback processes. Arm cooling also affected performance on a hand laterality task, suggesting that action representations were modified.