Icons play a critical role in human–machine interaction scenarios such as autonomous driving. Although icons can effectively overcome language barriers, existing research on icon design for such contexts remains limited. In particular, icon classification methods lack consistency, and prior studies often focus on preference or attention while overlooking underlying cognitive mechanisms. Grounded in cognitive load theory, this study classifies icons based on visual features and investigates their effects on recognition and memory using an electroencephalography-based rapid interaction experiment. Data were collected from 43 participants to compare recognizability and memory load across different icon categories. Results show that visual features do not significantly influence recognition accuracy but have a significant effect on memory load. Specifically, line-based icons perform better under low memory load conditions, whereas plane-based icons demonstrate advantages in high memory load tasks. These findings provide empirical guidance for icon design in automotive user interface.

The rapid expansion of edge-cloud infrastructures and latency-sensitive Internet of Things (IoT) applications has intensified the challenge of intelligent task offloading in dynamic and resource-constrained environments. This paper presents an Adaptive and Intelligent Customized Deep Q-Network (AICDQN), a novel reinforcement learning-based framework for real-time, priority-aware task scheduling in mobile edge computing systems. The proposed model formulates task offloading as a Markov Decision Process (MDP) and integrates a hybrid Gated Recurrent Unit-Long Short-Term Memory (GRU-LSTM) load prediction module to forecast workload fluctuations and task urgency trends. This foresight enables a Dynamic Dueling Double Deep Q-Network [Formula: see text] agent to make informed offloading decisions across local, edge, and cloud tiers. The system models compute nodes using priority-aware M/M/1, M/M/c and M/M/∞ queuing systems, enabling delay-sensitive and queue-aware decision-making. A dynamic priority scoring function integrates task urgency, deadline proximity, and node-level queue saturation, ensuring real-time tasks are prioritized effectively. Furthermore, an energy-aware scheduling policy proactively transitions underutilized servers into low-power states without compromising performance. Extensive simulations demonstrate that AICDQN achieves up to 33.39% reduction in delay, 57.74% improvement in energy efficiency, and 81.25% reduction in task drop rate compared with existing offloading algorithms, including Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG), Distributed Dynamic Task Offloading (DDTO-DRL), Potential Game based Offloading Algorithm (PGOA), and the User-Level Online Offloading Framework (ULOOF). These results validate AICDQN as a scalable and adaptive solution for next-generation edge-cloud systems requiring efficient, intelligent, and energy-constrained task offloading.

ABSTRACT Most studies of visuospatial short-term memory (VSSTM) rely on simplified tasks performed on vertical screens. In this study, we examine VSSTM in a more naturalistic three-dimensional context, using goal-directed throwing toward stimuli projected on the floor. Across four experiments, participants memorized spatial locations under different demands involving serial order, item–location binding, and memory load. We developed a method to dissociate spatial localization errors from transposition errors, allowing their independent contribution to performance to be quantified. When both order and location of sequentially presented targets had to be recalled, throwing accuracy followed an inverted U-shaped serial position curve, largely driven by order-related errors. Reducing spatial uncertainty during recall selectively decreased transposition errors, revealing an interaction between spatial and sequential processes. Removing serial requirements markedly reduced spatial error and improved performance for recent items. When stimuli were presented simultaneously and memory load was varied, both spatial and transposition errors increased with load, diverging from each other from three items onward. Together, these results provide behavioral evidence for multiple, separable sources of error in VSSTM and introduce a methodological framework to decompose visuomotor performance into distinct cognitive components, consistent with probabilistic models of working memory.

OCR: OmniNet-Fusion: A hybrid attention-based CNN-RNN model for multi-omics integration in precision cancer drug response prediction.

Background/Objectives: Choline plays an important role in maintaining normal cellular function and overall physiology. Endogenous choline availability depends on the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine via the phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) pathway. Expression of PEMT is influenced by estrogen, as its promoter contains multiple estrogen-responsive elements that enhance enzyme activity. How a low estrogenic condition like menopause influences choline's effect on the brain is not yet fully understood. Methods: In this pilot study, 20 women participated in two study days, with 1650 mg of oral choline bitartrate or a matching placebo administered three hours before a functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI scans were collected on each study day while subjects performed an N-back working memory task. Results: In this pilot study, no differences in working memory performance were observed, but decreased activation was found for the choline compared to the placebo during the 2-back compared to 0-back conditions in regions of the right temporal lobe (p < 0.001 voxel-level threshold, and p-FDR < 0.05 cluster-size threshold). When we seeded the right planum temporale to examine its functional connectivity with the rest of the brain, we found that choline modulated a large portion of the working memory network during the difficult memory load condition. Conclusions: These results in this pilot study illustrate the effect of choline on working memory-related brain activation and functional connectivity in postmenopausal women. We propose that choline may increase brain functional efficiency in low estrogenic conditions like menopause, but further studies are needed.

Predictable words are processed more quickly than unpredictable words during reading, but how this predictability effect is modulated by working memory (WM) limitations is unclear. Two preregistered experiments tested whether the availability of visuospatial WM resources affects reading measures that are sensitive to predictability (gaze duration and skipping probability in Experiment 1, and self-paced reading time in Experiment 2) in native English speakers. The analyses of all measures revealed main effects of predictability and WM load. Their interaction was significant in Experiment 2 but not in Experiment 1. A follow-up analysis on relative reading times in Experiment 2 revealed main effects of predictability and WM load but no interaction between the two, replicating Experiment 1. The apparent interaction in Experiment 2 was likely due to the WM load speeding the overall reading times and masking the predictability effect. Taken together, these findings demonstrate a robust effect of predictability under a cognitively demanding task and suggest that visuospatial WM resources are not necessary for computing probabilities of upcoming words during reading.

BackgroundAthletes who play interactive sports are required to effectively process information under high cognitive loads. A growing body of research has shown that cognitive loading impairs athletes' supraliminal information processing, but few studies have focused on effects on subliminal processing. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that an increase in cognitive load impairs athletes' subliminal processing and its neural characteristics.MethodsThirty national-level table tennis athletes (15 males; mean age 20.47 years) performed a dual-task paradigm (experimental), in which an N-back task was combined with a masked priming task. Subliminal priming effects were calculated using behavioral and electroencephalographic data to reflect subliminal processing levels.ResultsThe behavioral observations showed a significant decrease in the subliminal priming effect (i.e., response time) with increasing memory load (p = 0.001, = 0.40). The electrophysiological results showed significant decreases in the subliminal priming effect for the P3 amplitude (p = 0.01, = 0.26) and the pre-stimulus alpha power (p < 0.01, = 0.26) with increasing memory load, and a negative correlation between differences in these parameters under different load conditions (p < 0.01).ConclusionsThe study findings suggest that the cognitive load impairs athletes' subliminal processing by consuming the available resource capacity. This study, performed with athletes with strong subliminal processing abilities, not only highlights the importance of athletes incorporating cognitive load into their daily training to enhance their competitive performance (e.g., adding memory tasks during sports training), but also deepens our understanding of the relationship between attention resources and subliminal processing. Additionally, the small sample size and the restriction to national-level table tennis players, both of which significantly constrain the generalizability of the results.

This study analyzes and designs a bilingual Android Augmented Reality (AR) platform to support the digital preservation of Cirebon Glass Paintings. The development uses Unity and AR Core with a human-centered design approach. A total of 30 participants (n=30) evaluated usability and performance. 3D assets were produced using photogrammetry with an optimized polygon budget of ≤25,000 triangles per object. Model compression applied Draco and KTX2 to reduce memory load. Benchmark testing was conducted on Snapdragon 720G class devices. Experimental results show that the platform achieved a stable performance of ≥30 FPS (mean = 32.6 FPS) and low tracking error (RMSE = 1.8–2.3 cm) under indoor lighting. Usability testing yielded a mean System Usability Scale (SUS) score of 81.4 ± 6.2, indicating excellent user acceptance. Compared with existing AR heritage applications, this research provides a reproducible pipeline for AR-based cultural digitization with performance guarantees on mid-range smartphones. The findings imply that optimized AR asset workflows can enhance public interaction with intangible cultural heritage such as Cirebon Glass Paintings. Limitations include restricted device testing and the need for more complex ecotourism content integration in future development.

Individuals with schizophrenia often exhibit language abnormalities and impairments in Theory of Mind (ToM). These difficulties may stem from underlying cognitive processes such as a tendency to jump to conclusions (JTC), making decisions without sufficient external evidence, and disruptions in circular inference, which can produce atypical beliefs, impaired probabilistic decision-making, and heightened perceptions of visual ambiguity. However, it remains unclear whether similar impairments occur in healthy individuals who display non-clinical schizotypal personality traits. The present study examined JTC through inference generation and its association with schizotypal traits. A total of 532 participants completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief Revised (SPQ-BR) and were audio-recorded while narrating a nine-frame comic strip. A between-subjects working memory (WM) manipulation was used to assess the effect of cognitive load. Inference generation was evaluated by independent raters who manually annotated the speech transcripts. WM load reliably increased the number of inferred events produced, whereas schizotypal traits alone were not significantly associated with inferred events. Instead, WM load moderated this relationship: disorganized traits predicted more inferred events only under WM load. For visual events, disorganized traits demonstrated a quadratic association, and WM load again moderated this pattern, with quadratic effects emerging only when WM load was absent. Overall, WM load played a central role in shaping how disorganized schizotypal traits related to both inferred and visual event production. These findings indicate that increased JTC tendencies can emerge even in the absence of clinically significant schizophrenia symptoms and that disorganized traits may contribute to disruptions in circular inference mechanisms. The results also underscore the utility of analyzing speech production as a method for investigating inference generation in future research.

Working memory (WM), the active retention of information over short periods, is a fundamental cognitive function, yet its underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. In rodents, cue-selective "time cells" fire at specific timepoints after a WM memory cue, collectively forming sequences that encode cue-memory and elapsed time, providing a temporal code for maintaining information across time intervals. Whether similar dynamics support WM in the human brain is unknown. Here, we analyzed intracranial single-neuron recordings from medial frontal and medial temporal regions of patients performing a WM task. We found time cells with temporally tuned activation during WM maintenance, collectively forming robust sequences that tiled a delay period. Time-cell coordination in the hippocampus predicted successful WM maintenance, whereas in the pre-supplementary motor area it reflected memory load. Furthermore, we identified distributed cue-selective time cells that encoded both the identity of a memorandum and elapsed maintenance time, providing a temporally structured mnemonic code that complements persistent firing of concept cells. Together, these findings establish time-cell sequences as a conserved neural mechanism supporting human working memory.

While distributed cortical areas represent working memory contents, their necessity for memory maintenance has been questioned. Here, we examined the differential effects of maintaining multiple items on the neural information across cortical regions. In each trial of the fMRI experiment, participants (n = 81) had to memorize two items, each either an orientation or a pure pitch, for 13.8 s and continuously recalled the target after the delay. We kept the overall working memory load constant, but varied the sensory modality of each item to vary the effective visual load. We find significant information for orientations in visual, parietal, and frontal areas. We show that increasing visual load decreased behavioural recall performance and orientation-specific information in visual cortex. Parietal areas were affected only early in the delay, whilst frontal representations were unaffected by load. Simulations show that this drop in decodable information is best interpreted as a drop in mnemonic information represented by multivoxel patterns. Our results provide evidence for shared labour of visual cortices, where maintaining two versus one orientation leads to a loss in representational fidelity, and anterior cortices, where multiple items could be represented in a more robust but less precise format.

Background/objectivesEffective motor performance in sport depends on the dynamic interaction between cognitive and physiological systems. However, it remains unclear how the temporal spacing between training sessions influences this interaction. This study examined the effects of the Time Interval Between Synchronous and Asynchronous Sessions (TIBSAS) on motor control and working memory in highly trained youth football players.MethodsFifty-seven adolescent athletes (12.1 ± 0.9 years) participated in a randomized crossover design involving three interval conditions between training sessions: (1) no delay, (2) 6–12 h delay, and (3) 12–24 h delay. Motor performance was evaluated using a 15 m ball-dribbling test, and cognitive performance was assessed using the Sternberg working memory task. Data were analyzed with one-way repeated-measures ANOVA with Bonferroni correction.ResultsTIBSAS had significant impacts on both motor and cognitive performance. The 12–24 h interval (COND 3) produced considerably quicker dribbling times (3.60 ± 0.16 s) in comparison to COND 1 (3.96 ± 0.21 s, p < 0.001) and COND 2 (4.07 ± 0.23 s, p < 0.001), exhibiting a substantial effect size (η2 = 0.50). Cognitive performance exhibited analogous enhancements, with COND 3 indicating significantly quicker reaction times for both one-item (733.74 ± 13.08 ms vs. 777.15 ± 41.91 ms, p < 0.001) and three-item memory loads (982.00 ± 40.19 ms vs. 1,022.30 ± 33.10 ms, p = 0.005). There were no significant differences in the five-item memory load.ConclusionAn optimal spacing of 12–24 h between training sessions enhances both motor execution and cognitive processing, suggesting improved integration of perceptual and executive systems in young athletes. These findings highlight the importance of time-dependent consolidation mechanisms in sport performance and offer practical guidance for designing cognitively informed training schedules.

Executive function can be defined as the combination of goal representation in working memory and the inhibition of goal-irrelevant responses. This paper comprises two complementary studies that assess these core components of executive function orthogonally and examine their correlation with ASD and ADHD traits in the general population. Both studies utilized a paradigm with two tasks, each assessing working memory and one type of inhibitory control concurrently: the modified flanker task, which measured working memory and interference control, and the modified spatial conflict task, which measured working memory and response inhibition. The aim was to explore the main effects of memory and inhibitory load in each task, investigate potential over-additive interactions between executive function components, and examine the correlations between autistic and ADHD traits and task performance. Each study involved 100 neurotypical adult participants. In Study 1, results showed that reaction time in the flanker task was significantly influenced by demands on both working memory and inhibitory control, whereas in the spatial conflict task only the inhibitory manipulation produced the expected effect. Study 2 introduced modifications that revealed effects on reaction time in the spatial conflict task due to both memory and congruency load. The flanker task demonstrated memory effects in reaction time, but congruency effects were only evident under low memory conditions. No interactions between executive function components in an over-additive way were observed in either Study 1 or Study 2. Bayesian linear regression and correlation analyses found evidence against any meaningful correlations between the size of the congruency or memory effect, computed for any dependent variable and ASC or ADHD traits in both studies.

Executive function can be defined as the combination of goal representation in working memory and the inhibition of goal-irrelevant responses. This paper comprises two complementary studies that assess these core components of executive function orthogonally and examine their correlation with ASD and ADHD traits in the general population. Both studies utilized a paradigm with two tasks, each assessing working memory and one type of inhibitory control concurrently: the modified flanker task, which measured working memory and interference control, and the modified spatial conflict task, which measured working memory and response inhibition. The aim was to explore the main effects of memory and inhibitory load in each task, investigate potential over-additive interactions between executive function components, and examine the correlations between autistic and ADHD traits and task performance. Each study involved 100 neurotypical adult participants. In Study 1, results showed that reaction time in the flanker task was significantly influenced by demands on both working memory and inhibitory control, whereas in the spatial conflict task only the inhibitory manipulation produced the expected effect. Study 2 introduced modifications that revealed effects on reaction time in the spatial conflict task due to both memory and congruency load. The flanker task demonstrated memory effects in reaction time, but congruency effects were only evident under low memory conditions. No interactions between executive function components in an over-additive way were observed in either Study 1 or Study 2. Bayesian linear regression and correlation analyses found evidence against any meaningful correlations between the size of the congruency or memory effect, computed for any dependent variable and ASC or ADHD traits in both studies.

Analyzes the psychophysiological and cognitive mechanisms that influence the stress of students studying in the "Emergency Medical Care" cycles. The pedagogical significance of such processes as HPA-axis activation, cortisol dynamics, attentional bias, memory load, and amygdala–prefrontal cortex interaction in emergency decision-making is revealed. The results of the study suggest scientifically based approaches to stress management, proper organization of simulation training, and development of clinical thinking in the process of medical education.

A novel constitutive model under various cyclic loading protocols with large strain ranges considering strain memory effect and loading history dependence

When visual representations of molecules ( e.g. , skeletal formula) must be decoded to process a task ( e.g. , determine the absolute configuration of a molecule) and the corresponding schemas are not yet sufficiently automated, paper–pencil format notes may help select relevant information, organize it appropriately, and integrate knowledge without exceeding the working memory capacity (encoding and external storage). This article examines the extent to which task difficulty and invested mental effort differ for digital and paper–pencil-based tasks on the topic of chirality (RQ1) and the extent to which note-taking impacts students’ working memory load when working on paper–pencil-based chirality tasks (RQ2). The dataset is based on the responses of 80 students from Germany who completed 19 chirality task tandems (each consisting of one digital and one paper–pencil-based task) and rated their invested mental effort for each task. Item response theory analyses, group comparisons, and moderation analyses were conducted. Paper–pencil-based chirality tasks were found to be significantly easier than digital chirality tasks, and students invested significantly less mental effort in completing the paper–pencil-based chirality tasks (RQ1). Students who took notes in the paper–pencil format were found to be more capable of solving chirality tasks in both formats. Both groups invested a comparable amount of mental effort. A moderation analysis revealed that when note-taking was low, the relationship between invested mental effort and the probability of solving the task was strongest. For the note-takers, the relationship between the invested mental effort and the probability of solving the task decreased as the number of notes increased (RQ2). The results indicate that notes as external storage are relevant for processing tasks requiring handling representation. As the digital format does not offer comparable options for taking notes, notes represent a subject-specific format difference.

This PRISMA-compliant systematic literature review examines how cognitive and affective factors mediate the interrelationship between reading comprehension and problem-solving skills in high school mathematics, identifying optimal instructional strategies to enhance student outcomes. Ten quasi-experimental studies (2018– 2025; total n=1,485) from diverse contexts (USA, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Spain, Turkey, Pakistan, etc.) were synthesized. Cognitive mechanisms, particularly Schema-Based Instruction (SBI) and metacognitive scaffolds, reduce working memory load by 25–35% and boost word problem accuracy (ES=0.89–1.11) via structural schema activation. Affective moderators—math anxiety (r=-0.42) and intrinsic motivation (r=0.51)—significantly influence engagement, with Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL) and Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) alleviating anxiety (19% reduction) and elevating persistence (34% gains). Integrated designs outperform isolated approaches, with experimental groups surpassing controls by 32–41%. Findings advocate holistic pedagogies merging cognitive scaffolding and emotional regulation for equitable, scalable improvements in mathematical reasoning. Limitations include short-term designs and cultural variances; future RCTs should explore longitudinal and digital enhancements. This review informs evidence-based reforms, bridging reading comprehension to adaptive problem-solving.

Working memory training (WMT) is one of the most widely studied areas in cognitive training. A central concern in WMT research is the transferability of training effects, which remains a topic of ongoing debate. Recently, an executive n-back paradigm, which increases the manipulation of working memory load, has been proposed as a more suitable approach to assess working memory. In the present study, we examined whether executive n-back training, compared to traditional n-back training, led to broader transfer effects across cognitive tasks. Over six daily sessions, participants completed either the executive n-back task or the traditional n-back task. The findings demonstrated that executive n-back training transferred to the Operation Span task, which also measures working memory but differs structurally from the n-back task, and to the task switching, which assesses cognitive flexibility. Furthermore, these transfer effects persisted even after a 3-month interval. These findings suggest that the executive n-back task is more effective than the traditional n-back task. Moreover, this research sheds light on the potential applications of executive n-back training in enhancing cognitive functions more generally, highlighting its utility in both clinical and educational settings where cognitive flexibility and working memory improvements are critical.

Athletic hurdles, as a high-complexity perceptual-motor task, relies on the deep synergy between perceptual and motor systems for skill internalization. Traditional training methods have limitations in motor skill feedback, and virtual reality technology provides a new paradigm for perceptual-motor fitness research through multimodal interaction. However, the dynamic mechanism of the perceptual-action dual pathway (epiphenomenal cognitive pathway and implicit automation pathway) on the internalization of hurdling skills in VR environments has not yet been clarified, which hinders the precise optimization of VR training systems. This study aims to break through the venue limitation, reduce the learning risk of high-risk maneuvers, and provide a new path for teaching complex skills. Method: 1) Literature method. We searched the relevant literature through China Knowledge Network, Web of Science, and Wanfang Database, and organized and summarized the relevant literature with the keywords. 2) Experimental method. Thirty-two college students specializing in track and field hurdles were selected as research subjects, who were randomly divided into an adaptive VR group (experimental group) and a traditional VR control group, and the degree of skill internalization was assessed using a dual-task paradigm. 3) Mathematical and statistical methods. Using Excel 2019 statistical data, SPSS Statistics 25.0 statistical software. 1) The experimental group showed a significant improvement after training: a reduction in the temporal error of the hurdling maneuver (P &lt; 0.001) and a reduction in the dual-task reaction time(P=0.003). 2) Perceptual fitness affects skill internalization through two pathways: 1. The episodic pathway: via working memory load reduction; 2. The implicit pathway: via functional reorganization of the cerebellar-basal ganglia loop. 3) The control group showed only limited improvement in the epiphenomenal pathway dimension(P &gt; 0.05). This study reveals that perceptual-motor adaptability in VR environments facilitates the internalization of hurdling skills through a dual-path mechanism: the episodic path optimizes the cognitive representation of movement strategies, and the implicit path accelerates the cortical-cerebellar encoding of automated movement patterns. The findings provide a theoretical framework for building an intelligent VR training system and confirm the significant advantages of dynamic adaptive VR in complex motor skill training.