Neurocognitive Theory Research Articles

The Influence of Music Training on Language Processing Skills in Adolescents in South Korea

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of music training on language processing skills in adolescents in South Korea. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study on the influence of music training on language processing skills in adolescents in South Korea revealed significant positive correlations between music education and language processing abilities. Adolescents who received music training demonstrated enhanced linguistic skills, including vocabulary acquisition and syntactic comprehension, compared to their peers without musical instruction. The findings suggest that musical training may contribute to cognitive advantages in language development during adolescence. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Neurocognitive theory of music, transfer of learning theory & socio-cultural theory may be used to anchor future studies on the influence of music training on language processing skills in adolescents in South Korea. Advocate for the integration of structured music education programs in South Korean schools, emphasizing its potential benefits for language development. Advocate for policies that support the inclusion of music education as a core component of the curriculum, highlighting its role in fostering holistic cognitive development and academic achievement.

The effects of play stimulation on cognitive capacities of chickens

Play is a widespread phenomenon in the animal kingdom with observations from all vertebrate classes. The adaptive value of this behaviour, however, remains unclear. In the past century, numerous theories have been put forward, ranging from releasing surplus energy to training species-specific behaviours. However, none of these theories can fully explain the functions of play. A recent neurocognitive theory suggests that play allows the brain to encounter many different and surprising situations that provide it with opportunities to learn about the environment and form predictions about it. This theory has, however, to our knowledge, previously not been experimentally tested. To start exploring the connection between play and cognition, we compared the cognitive capacities of White Leghorn chicks that were stimulated to play in the first five weeks of their lives with chicks that did not receive any play stimulation. More specifically, we wanted to test the connection between specific types of play and cognitive domains. To achieve this, we designed two play treatments: object players that were provided with a variety of toys during their treatment, and social players that were released into an arena with plenty of space and conspecifics, as this has previously been shown to trigger social play. Subsequently, all three treatments (control, object players, social players) were tested in a cognitive test battery consisting of two experiments targeting the social domain and two targeting the physical domain. We found no improvement of cognitive capacities in either play treatment group compared to control subjects, though the social play treatment appears to have affected some behavioural variables recorded during the cognitive tests. Chicks that had played socially were in general bolder, more explorative and had more access to resources in the tests. This might subsequently allow them to exploit their environment more efficiently, which could in turn affect their welfare as they might be more resilient to stress and have more access to resources. More studies will be needed to assess the long-term effects of play on cognitive capacities and welfare of chickens.

Dhaniya's Anger in Premchand's Godan: Emotion System Activation and Affective Marxism

This essay focuses on the anger of Dhaniya, the female protagonist of Premchand's Godan. Rather than approaching it as a specifically feminist anger, it sees it more broadly as the anger of the oppressed, which signals hope that the conditions of oppression will change. Premchand is influenced by Karl Marx, and uses narrative emotion to tell the (Indian) story of labor and capital; this essay puts Panksepp's neurocognitive theory of anger in conversation with Marxist political theory, demonstrating how Marx's thoughts on systemic economic injustices can elucidate the “social context” in which emotion systems (such as RAGE, PLAY, and CARE) are activated.

A neurocognitive theory of flexible emotion control: The role of the lateral frontal pole in emotion regulation.

Emotion regulation is essential to survive in a world full of challenges with rapidly changing contextual demands. The ability to flexibly shift between different emotional control strategies is critical to successfully deal with these demands. Recently, decision neuroscience has shown the importance of monitoring alternative control strategies. However, this insight has not been incorporated into current neurocognitive models of emotional control. Here, we integrate insights from decision and affective sciences into a novel viewpoint on emotion control, the Flexible Emotion Control Theory (FECT). This theory explains how an individual can flexibly change emotion-regulatory behavior to adapt to varying goals and contextual demands. Crucially, FECT proposes that rapid switching between alternative emotional control strategies requires concurrent evaluation of current as well as alternative (unchosen) options. The neural implementation of FECT relies on the involvement of distinct prefrontal structures, including the lateral frontal pole (FPl) and its connections with other cortical (prefrontal, parietal, motor) and subcortical systems. This novel account of emotion control integrates insights from decision sciences, clinical research, as well as meta-analytic evidence for the consistent FPl involvement during emotional control when monitoring of alternative emotional control strategies is required. Moreover, it provides novel, neurocognitively grounded starting points for interventions to improve emotion control in affective disorders, such as anxiety and aggression.

The relationship between dreaming and autonoetic consciousness: The neurocognitive theory of dreaming gains in explanatory power by drawing upon the multistate hierarchical model of consciousness.

The relationship between dreaming and autonoetic consciousness: The neurocognitive theory of dreaming gains in explanatory power by drawing upon the multistate hierarchical model of consciousness.

Asthenia, mental fatigue and cognitive dysfunction

Conditions associated with asthenia are usually characterized by increased fatigue, impaired activities of daily living and decreased productivity. In clinical practice it is important to distinguish between idiopathic chronic fatigue (primary or functional asthenia) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Fatigue can also be classified by neuromuscular and/or cognitive and mental fatigue. The article discusses the neuroanatomical basis and focuses on the neurocognitive theory of pathological fatigue. In addition the relationship between mental stress, fatigue and cognitive impairments such as subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are also discussed. We discuss the rationale that for treatment of asthenic conditions accompanied by cognitive dysfunction it is justified to use combination therapy - fonturacetam and a preparation containing nicotinoyl-GABA and Ginkgo Biloba.

Reimagining Imagia. Neurocognitive Theory of Image Revisited With the Consciousness Studies Perspective

Imagia. Towards a neurocognitive theory of image (Francuz, 2013) defines art perception as a synthesis between acts of perception and visual imagination limited by attentional constraints. The majority of empirical evidence the author referred to in the book focuses on visual processing, attention, and aesthetic judgements. Nevertheless, other mechanisms involved in the subjective experience formation undoubtedly also plays a role in the perception of art. Thus, it seems worth complementing the fundaments of the neurocognitive theory of image with consciousness literature. The research in this domain often reminds us that we see much more than is presented. Our conscious perception is modified, extended, and enriched due to multiple mechanisms, such as prediction, integration, or learning. Here, I review selected examples of work from the consciousness literature to illustrate this claim. Furthermore, I discuss this work in the context of art perception. Finally, I reconstruct the model proposed by Francuz and offer its extension that accounts for the aspects covered by the original work and those addressed in this paper.

Current Perspectives on the Assessment and Management of Gait Disorders in Parkinson's Disease.

Gait dysfunction is a key defining feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD), and is associated with symptoms of freezing and an increased risk of falls. In this narrative review, we cover the putative mechanisms of gait dysfunction in PD, the assessment of gait abnormalities, and the management of symptoms caused by the inherent difficulty in walking. Our understanding of the causes of gait problems in PD has progressed in recent times, moving from neurocognitive theory to correlates of affected neuronal pathways. In particular, this can be shown to correspond with abnormalities in responses to dual-task paradigms and dysfunction in cholinergic signaling. Great progress has been made in the sophistication and precision of gait assessment; however, it has firmly remained in the research domain. There is significant momentum behind wearable technologies that can be used by patients in their own environment, acting as digital biomarkers that can not only reflect progression but also independently discriminate PD from non-PD individuals. The treatment of gait dysfunction has historically relied on physical therapies and training combined with a view to mitigating the impact of such consequences as falls. Pharmacological therapies that are the mainstay of treatment in PD have tended to address symptoms like bradykinesia; however, optimization of dopaminergic therapies likely has a positive effect on quality of gait. Other targets have been assessed with the goal of improving gait, of which medications that improve cholinergic signaling appear most promising. Neuromodulation techniques are increasingly used in the form of deep-brain stimulation; however, standard targets, such as the globus pallidus interna, have a modest effect on gait. Considerable benefit has been seen through targeting the pedunculopontine nucleus, and a dual-target approach may be warranted. Stimulation of the spinal cord and brain through direct or magnetic approaches has been assessed, but requires further evidence.

Dreaming, Mind-Wandering, and Hypnotic Dreams.

Hobson's AIM theory offers a general framework for thinking about states of consciousness like wakefulness, REM dreaming and NREM mentations in terms of a state space defined by the dimensions of the level of brain activity, the source of input, and the type of neurochemical modulation. This account inspired theoretical models of other altered states of consciousness—including hypnosis—claiming that studying REM dreaming can advance our understanding of these phenomena as well. However, recent developments showed that hypnosis is not a sleep like stage, and that the REM-centric attitude toward dreaming is mistaken. At the same time, the advancement of the neuro-cognitive theory claiming that dreaming and mind-wandering are on a continuum both underlain by default-mode network activity called many aspects of the AIM theory into question. Our aim in this paper is to show that certain hypnotic states—hypnotic dreams (experiences that subjects have in a hypnotic state as a result of an explicit suggestion to have a dream)—can, nevertheless, be highly relevant for the neuro-cognitive theory, and that their comparison with dreaming and mind-wandering has the potential to advance the field in unexpected ways.

Efficacy of a Computer-Based Learning Program in Children With Developmental Dyscalculia. What Influences Individual Responsiveness?

This study presents the evaluation of a computer-based learning program for children with developmental dyscalculia and focuses on factors affecting individual responsiveness. The adaptive training program Calcularis 2.0 has been developed according to current neuro-cognitive theory of numerical cognition. It aims to automatize number representations, supports the formation and access to the mental number line and trains arithmetic operations as well as arithmetic fact knowledge in expanding number ranges. Sixty-seven children with developmental dyscalculia from second to fifth grade (mean age 8.96 years) were randomly assigned to one of two groups (Calcularis group, waiting control group). Training duration comprised a minimum of 42 training sessions à 20 min within a maximum period of 13 weeks. Compared to the waiting control group, children of the Calcularis group demonstrated a higher benefit in arithmetic operations and number line estimation. These improvements were shown to be stable after a 3-months post training interval. In addition, this study examines which predictors accounted for training improvements. Results indicate that this self-directed training was especially beneficial for children with low math anxiety scores and without an additional reading and/or spelling disorder. In conclusion, Calcularis 2.0 supports children with developmental dyscalculia to improve their arithmetical abilities and their mental number line representation. However, it is relevant to further adapt the setting to the individual circumstances.

Abstraction: An alternative neurocognitive account of recognition, prediction, and decision making.

Gilead et al. offer a thoughtful and much-needed treatment of abstraction. However, it fails to build on an extensive literature on abstraction, representational diversity, neurocognition, and psychopathology that provides important constraints and alternative evidence-based conceptions. We draw on conceptions in software engineering, socio-technical systems engineering, and a neurocognitive theory with abstract representations of gist at its core, fuzzy-trace theory.

The neurocognitive theory of dreams at age 20: An assessment and a comparison with four other theories of dreaming.

The neurocognitive theory of dreams at age 20: An assessment and a comparison with four other theories of dreaming.

Decision-making of patients with major depressive disorder in the framework of action control

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) experience dysfunctional emotional states and cognitive impairments, leading to behavioural, social, and functional issues. Neurocognitive theory proposes that the initiation and maintenance of MDD is primarily the result of a deficit of action control which in turn would lead to decision-making impairments.Methods: We assessed 27 medicated outpatients with MDD who were demographically matched with 16 healthy participants on decision-making (DM) processes (Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and Reversal Learning Task (RLT)), clinical variables (depressive symptoms and self-efficacy), and volition (Lille Apathy Rating Scale).Results: Patients with MDD displayed deficits on the IGT but not on the RLT. Correlational analysis of patients with MDD revealed no significant associations between IGT or RLT performance and volition, depressive symptom severity, and self-efficacy. However, differences on the IGT between patients with MDD and controls became non-significant when controlling for the variance of these scores.Conclusions: MDD appears to have an impact on dynamic DM processes, while basic processes are preserved. Limitations as well as directions for future research are discussed with regard to the neurocognitive model of depression.

Neurocognitive Patterning and the Creation of Fantasy: Neil Gaiman’s Use of Kipling and Calvino in The Ocean at the End of the Lane

ABSTRACTMost neurocognitive theory applied to literature attempts to explain how literature affects readers and influences their brains. Only a few critics have started to explore what traces of neurocognitive patterning are exhibited in the literature. This study started with Neil Gaiman’s Ocean at the End of the Lane and looked at its use of several Kipling and Calvino texts, but it found that those sources also exhibited neurocognitive patterns—very different patterns despite similar situations. Hence, I triangulate among the texts and theory, trying to see what bicameral values can illuminate in literature and, more specifically, the creation of fantasy.

Housed Memories: Spatial and Temporal Portrayals in Virginia Woolf’s The Voyage Out

Neurocognitive research has confirmed that people perceive and remember the “rooms of their own” similarly to their own bodies. These psychological discoveries yield important new insights into the oeuvre of Virginia Woolf, an avid diarist, flâneuse and experimenter, preoccupied with gendered memory and space available to women in the early 20th century. While there exists an important and growing body of work on Woolf’s interest into women’s emancipation and politics of space, the gendered connection between spatial and temporal aspects of her works remains a little researched area, particularly in the context of neurocognitive theory of memory. This paper argues that in The Voyage Out the representations of the protagonist, Rachel Vinrace, are structured around the processes of autobiographical remembering and spatial perception, as her private rooms serve as loci of her memory and identity. It is then possible to interpret Rachel’s rooms as her spatial portraits, which perceived by other characters tell their inhabitant’s life story. A similar role could be attributed to the autobiographical memory, which preserves their owner’s temporal portrayals in particular moments of her life.

Child first language and adult second language are both tied to general-purpose learning systems

Do the mechanisms underlying language in fact serve general-purpose functions that preexist this uniquely human capacity? To address this contentious and empirically challenging issue, we systematically tested the predictions of a well-studied neurocognitive theory of language motivated by evolutionary principles. Multiple metaanalyses were performed to examine predicted links between language and two general-purpose learning systems, declarative and procedural memory. The results tied lexical abilities to learning only in declarative memory, while grammar was linked to learning in both systems in both child first language and adult second language, in specific ways. In second language learners, grammar was associated with only declarative memory at lower language experience, but with only procedural memory at higher experience. The findings yielded large effect sizes and held consistently across languages, language families, linguistic structures, and tasks, underscoring their reliability and validity. The results, which met the predicted pattern, provide comprehensive evidence that language is tied to general-purpose systems both in children acquiring their native language and adults learning an additional language. Crucially, if language learning relies on these systems, then our extensive knowledge of the systems from animal and human studies may also apply to this domain, leading to predictions that might be unwarranted in the more circumscribed study of language. Thus, by demonstrating a role for these systems in language, the findings simultaneously lay a foundation for potentially important advances in the study of this critical domain.

Dreaming of the Kardashians: Media Content in the Dreams of US College Students

AbstractThe neurocognitive theory of dreaming posits that there is a specific neural network for dreaming and that dream content is continuous with a dreamer's waking concerns. This article extends this model of dreaming by arguing that the continuity principle applies not only to intrapsychic states; dream content also frequently indexes significant shifts in the cultural atmosphere. A prominent but understudied exemplar of such indices is the appearance of media content in dreams. This article underscores such media content as an area worthy of anthropological scrutiny and focuses on celebrity dreams among US college students as a site for theorizing the imbrication of dreaming, self, and culture. It is argued that celebrity dreams index recent and dramatic shifts in media ecologies (including embodied engagement with smartphones and formative encounters with reality television) as well as middle‐class young women's interiorized struggles over the expectations and exhortations associated with mounting a neoliberal and feminine public self.

Adaptation of the Arizona Cognitive Task Battery for use with the Ts65Dn mouse model (Mus musculus) of Down syndrome.

We propose and validate a clear strategy to efficiently and comprehensively characterize neurobehavioral deficits in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome. This novel approach uses neurocognitive theory to design and select behavioral tasks that test specific hypotheses concerning the results of Down syndrome. In this article, we model the Arizona Cognitive Task Battery, used to study human populations with Down syndrome, in Ts65Dn mice. We observed specific deficits for spatial memory, impaired long-term memory for visual objects, acquisition and reversal of motor responses, reduced motor dexterity, and impaired adaptive function as measured by nesting and anxiety tasks. The Ts65Dn mice showed intact temporal ordering, novelty detection, and visual object recognition with short delays. These results phenocopy the performance of participants with Down syndrome on the Arizona Cognitive Task Battery. This approach extends the utility of mouse models of Down syndrome by integrating the expertise of clinical neurology and cognitive neuroscience into the mouse behavioral laboratory. Further, by directly emphasizing the reciprocal translation of research between human disease states and the associated mouse models, we demonstrate that it is possible for both groups to mutually inform each other's research to more efficiently generate hypotheses and elucidate treatment strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record

Dual-memory neural networks for modeling cognitive activities of humans via wearable sensors

Wearable devices, such as smart glasses and watches, allow for continuous recording of everyday life in a real world over an extended period of time or lifelong. This possibility helps better understand the cognitive behavior of humans in real life as well as build human-aware intelligent agents for practical purposes. However, modeling the human cognitive activity from wearable-sensor data stream is challenging because learning new information often results in loss of previously acquired information, causing a problem known as catastrophic forgetting. Here we propose a deep-learning neural network architecture that resolves the catastrophic forgetting problem. Based on the neurocognitive theory of the complementary learning systems of the neocortex and hippocampus, we introduce a dual memory architecture (DMA) that, on one hand, slowly acquires the structured knowledge representations and, on the other hand, rapidly learns the specifics of individual experiences. The DMA system learns continuously through incremental feature adaptation and weight transfer. We evaluate the performance on two real-life datasets, the CIFAR-10 image-stream dataset and the 46-day Lifelog dataset collected from Google Glass, showing that the proposed model outperforms other online learning methods.

Hierarchical Agglomerative Cluster Analysis as a Trial Method Revealing Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) Subtypes

Background: There is increasing evidence that children with DCD have been classified into distinguishable ‘subtypes’ mainly based on perceptual-motor, fine and gross motor skills. Previous research efforts define and describe in detail subgroups of DCD using the methods of cluster analysis. The hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis seems to be an effective statistical method to identify homogeneous subtypes in the developmental disorder literature. Methods: The present study investigated the nature of possible cognitive-motor profiles of DCD using clustering methods. Dependent variables were selected on the basis of the characteristics of children with DCD and the specific difficulties observed in cognitive- motor domain according to the DCD literature. For the purpose of the study we adopted “PASS” neurocognitive theory (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Successive) and the norm-referenced Cognitive Assessment System. Results: Based on this hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis six (6) statistical sub-groups emerged with number of participants ranged from 5-43 students with or without DCD. Internal and external validity of the clustering solution was controlled by different clustering methods (Wards method analysis, Complete Linkage method, Centroid method, K-Means iterative partitioning method and split-sample replication), as well as other parametric methods (MANOVA, ANOVA and discriminant analyses). Conclusions: Future research examining the impact of DCD classification is warranted and it could be apply for other developmental disorders. The impact of different DCD profiles may provide larger benefits for alternative and effective instructional methods and early intervention programs in order to avoid motor learning disabilities and low academic achievement.