Cognitive Process Model Research Articles

Situating Cognition within the Virtual World

Cognitive architectures and virtual environments have a long history of use within the cognitive science community. Few studies, however, have sought to combine the use of these technologies to support computational studies into embodied, extended, situated and distributed (EESD) cognition. Here, we explore the extent to which the ACT-R cognitive architecture and the Unity game engine can be used for these purposes. A range of issues are discussed including the respective responsibilities that the cognitive architecture and game engine have for the implementation of specific processes, the extent to which the representational and computational capabilities of cognitive architectures are suited to the modeling of EESD cognitive systems, and the extent to which the kind of embodiment seen in the case of so-called ‘embodied virtual agents’ resembles that seen in the case of real-world bio-cognitive systems. These issues are likely to inform the focus of future research efforts concerning the integrative use of virtual environments and cognitive architectures for the computational modeling and simulation of EESD cognitive processes.

2P1-S07 認知情報処理モデルに基づくタブレット用高次脳機能簡易検査アプリケーションの開発

2P1-S07 認知情報処理モデルに基づくタブレット用高次脳機能簡易検査アプリケーションの開発

Does deception always require cognitive control?

Event Abstract Back to Event Does deception always require cognitive control? Justyna Sarzynska1, Marcel Falkiewicz2* and Edward Necka1, 3 1 University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Poland 2 Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Poland 3 Jagiellonian University, Poland Background Contemporary models of cognitive processes associated with deception consistently assume that production of deceptive responses is associated with inhibition of honest ones. This assumption is based on results of behavioral and neuroimaging experiments, which utilize heavily criticized 'instructed lying' paradigms as tools to study deception. These experiments show increased RTs for deceptive responses, as well as increased brain activity in brain regions related to cognitive control, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). In this study we challenge this view based on a novel paradigm, in which subjects are free to choose whether they want to lie. Methods During Speed-Dating Task (SDT), participants respond to yes/no questions belonging to different categories, asked by different dates. After each response they receive feedback informing whether the response is consistent with the current date's attitude or not. The attitudes of the dates are stereotypical and easy to infer after a few feedbacks. The goal is to give responses which will lead to a real date. Half of the questions were consistent with both the subject's and date's attitudes, the other half was inconsistent. Results There was a negative correlation between the fraction of deceptive responses and the RT increase associated with them. The RTs for deceptive responses for subjects who were consistently adaptive did not differ from honest responses. The same pattern of brain activity difference was observed in dorsal ACC, right frontal pole and right orbitofrontal cortex. Conclusions Results suggest that deceptive responses do not always require additional cognitive processing. One example of such situation is a predictable social situation in which subjects use a 'consistent strategy'. Consistent strategy is understood as responding in line with the the other person's attitudes. Keywords: adaptation, deception, inhibition, social interaction, functional MRI Conference: XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 27 Jul - 31 Jul, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Topic: Emotional and Social Processes Citation: Sarzynska J, Falkiewicz M and Necka E (2015). Does deception always require cognitive control?. Conference Abstract: XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.217.00394 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 19 Feb 2015; Published Online: 24 Apr 2015. * Correspondence: Mr. Marcel Falkiewicz, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland, mfalkiewicz@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Justyna Sarzynska Marcel Falkiewicz Edward Necka Google Justyna Sarzynska Marcel Falkiewicz Edward Necka Google Scholar Justyna Sarzynska Marcel Falkiewicz Edward Necka PubMed Justyna Sarzynska Marcel Falkiewicz Edward Necka Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Optogenetic dissection of medial prefrontal cortex circuitry.

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is critically involved in numerous cognitive functions, including attention, inhibitory control, habit formation, working memory and long-term memory. Moreover, through its dense interconnectivity with subcortical regions (e.g., thalamus, striatum, amygdala and hippocampus), the mPFC is thought to exert top-down executive control over the processing of aversive and appetitive stimuli. Because the mPFC has been implicated in the processing of a wide range of cognitive and emotional stimuli, it is thought to function as a central hub in the brain circuitry mediating symptoms of psychiatric disorders. New optogenetics technology enables anatomical and functional dissection of mPFC circuitry with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. This provides important novel insights in the contribution of specific neuronal subpopulations and their connectivity to mPFC function in health and disease states. In this review, we present the current knowledge obtained with optogenetic methods concerning mPFC function and dysfunction and integrate this with findings from traditional intervention approaches used to investigate the mPFC circuitry in animal models of cognitive processing and psychiatric disorders.

When the brain takes a break: a model-based analysis of mind wandering.

Mind wandering is an ubiquitous phenomenon in everyday life. In the cognitive neurosciences, mind wandering has been associated with several distinct neural processes, most notably increased activity in the default mode network (DMN), suppressed activity within the anti-correlated (task-positive) network (ACN), and changes in neuromodulation. By using an integrative multimodal approach combining machine-learning techniques with modeling of latent cognitive processes, we show that mind wandering in humans is characterized by inefficiencies in executive control (task-monitoring) processes. This failure is predicted by a single-trial signature of (co)activations in the DMN, ACN, and neuromodulation, and accompanied by a decreased rate of evidence accumulation and response thresholds in the cognitive model.

A Study on the Cognitive Scoring Process Model in the Writing Assessment

A Study on the Cognitive Scoring Process Model in the Writing Assessment

Can cognitive science create a cognitive economics?

Cognitive science can intersect with economics in at least three productive ways: by providing richer models of individual behaviour for use in economic analysis; by drawing from economic theory in order to model distributed cognition; and jointly to create more powerful ‘rational’ models of cognitive processes and social interaction. There is the prospect of moving from behavioural economics to a genuinely cognitive economics.

Hierarchical Heteroclinics in Dynamical Model of Cognitive Processes: Chunking

Combining the results of brain imaging and nonlinear dynamics provides a new hierarchical vision of brain network functionality that is helpful in understanding the relationship of the network to different mental tasks. Using these ideas it is possible to build adequate models for the description and prediction of different cognitive activities in which the number of variables is usually small enough for analysis. The dynamical images of different mental processes depend on their temporal organization and, as a rule, cannot be just simple attractors since cognition is characterized by transient dynamics. The mathematical image for a robust transient is a stable heteroclinic channel consisting of a chain of saddles connected by unstable separatrices. We focus here on hierarchical chunking dynamics that can represent several cognitive activities. Chunking is the dynamical phenomenon that means dividing a long information chain into shorter items. Chunking is known to be important in many processes of perception, learning, memory and cognition. We prove that in the phase space of the model that describes chunking there exists a new mathematical object — heteroclinic sequence of heteroclinic cycles — using the technique of slow–fast approximations. This new object serves as a skeleton of motions reflecting sequential features of hierarchical chunking dynamics and is an adequate image of the chunking processing.

Designing a role structure to engage students in computer-supported collaborative learning

This study investigates the design of a role structure to engage undergraduate students in collaborative knowledge construction. A total of 72 students of an Instructional Design course were divided into 12 small groups, among which six roles of Starter, Supporter, Arguer, Questioner, Challenger, and Timer were assigned respectively. Group discussions of eight learning themes were recorded, which included approximately 1500 lines of messages. Taking group discussion as the unit of analysis, a two-dimensional coding scheme was developed to discover the extent to which the designed role structure facilitated the modeling of the group cognitive processes. The findings suggest that the role structure design supports the students in collaborative problem solving by modeling the joint collaborative activities and group cognitive processes. Therefore, mapping the designed roles of related cognitive components in a group discussion may develop group cognition in a collective problem-solving process.

Mindfulness Contextualized: An Integration of Buddhist and Neuropsychological Approaches to Cognition

A significant limiting factor in the current mindfulness literature is that while core concepts have been incorporated into Western psychology, they appear in a decontextualized manner. This causes construct validity issues as evidenced by vastly diverging definitions of key terms. In this paper, a behavioral scientist and Buddhist monk collaborate to help address this limitation. We begin with an in-depth and accessible review of Buddhist psychology from a particular Tibetan tradition. This review covers descriptive models of core cognitive processes as well as the prescriptive mind training approach designed to refine these processes. Instead of attempting to transfer these Buddhist constructs to Western psychology piecemeal, however, we then highlight important higher-order parallels between the two disciplines. These parallels clarify the cognitive underpinnings of enlightenment and how enlightenment differs from conventional modes of stimulus processing. We close by offering a contextualized definition of mindfulness that integrates both Buddhist and Western accounts of the phenomenon.

A Study of Knowledge Construction and Mechanism of Cognitive Processing of Tibetan-Chinese Bilingual Pre-Service Teachers’

This study was based on cognitive characteristics and cognitive style of teachers in Tibet, using the questionnaire survey and other methods, carried on the investigation to many preservice teachers in Tibet, and on the basis of the theory and technology of knowledge management, explored the mechanism of Tibetan-Chinese bilingual pre-service teachers’ knowledge construction and the cognitive processing model.

Cognitive Process Model of Astronaut Decision Making during Lunar Landing

The addition of a cognitive process model with other subsystem models would greatly aid conceptual design by allowing mission designers to fully explore the impact of different function allocations. This paper presents the development of a cognitive process model of astronaut decision making during the selection of a final landing site. The model is based on empirical data collected from an experiment conducted with members of NASA’s Astronaut Office. Inputs to the model include sensor data, expected landing area, and a sensor operation alert. The model outputs chosen landing site coordinates and decision time and can also provide information regarding the cues that factored into this decision.

Hereditarily predisposed diseases of joints. A structure of the tactics for their understanding

The article describes a model of the diagnostic cognitive process; more precisely, this is tactics as a method and a technique for achieving the goal, a stage on the way from the special methodology of realization of the theory to directly diagnosing hereditarily predisposed diseases of joints. The role and features of the criterion of multifactoriality are elucidated. Peculiarities in the assessment of different hereditarily predisposed syndromes at stages of their clinical realization are described. The authors built a system of sense assessment of treatment results.

A computational modeling of student cognitive processes in science education

The purpose of this paper is to explain and document the creation of a computational model in the form of an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) capable of simulating student cognition. Specifically, the model simulates students' cognition as they complete activities within a science classroom. This study also seeks to examine the effects, as evidenced in the ANN, of an intervention designed to develop increased levels of critical thinking related to science skills. This model is based on the identification of cognitive attributes and integration of two advanced measurement frameworks: cognitive diagnostics and Item Response Theory. Both frameworks examine student response patterns, providing initial inputs for the ANN portion of the model. Once initial task response patterns are identified, they are parameterized and presented to the ANN. The ANN within this study is the foundational component of a computational model based upon the interaction of multiple, connected, adaptive processing elements know as cognitive attributes. These cognitive attributes process student responses to cognitive tasks within science tasks. Using the Student Task and Cognition Model (STAC-M), the study authors simulated a cognitive training intervention using a randomized control trial design of 100,000 students. Results of the simulation suggest that it is possible to increase levels of student success using a targeted cognitive attribute approach and that computational modeling provides a means to test educational theory for future education research. The paper also discusses limitations of the use of this computational model within education and the possible future directions for educators and researchers.

Affective and cognitive empathy and social quality of life in schizophrenia: A comparison between a parallel process model and an integrative meditation model

Two alternative models of impaired cognitive and affective processing that may underlie reduced social quality of life (SQoL) of persons with schizophrenia, were examined. According to the parallel process model, impaired cognitive empathy and affective empathy make relatively independent contributions to the symptoms of schizophrenia and to the consequent reduction in SQoL. According to the integrative mediation model, the symptoms of schizophrenia and the reduction in SQoL associated with these symptoms are the products of a process by which impairments of cognitive empathy are contingent on impairments of affective empathy. 90 persons with schizophrenia were assessed for SQoL, symptoms and cognitive and affective empathy. Results support the integrative mediation model only for cognitive empathy and negative psychiatric symptoms. Only the negative links between cognitive empathy and negative symptoms served to mediate the positive relation between affective empathy and SQoL. Positive symptoms had a limited negative impact on SQoL and did not play a role in the paths that linked affective empathy to SQoL. Age had a statistically significant and negative indirect relationship to SQoL. Results are consistent with recent approach that distinguish between cognitive and affective empathy and specify how these two processes are integrated.

Assessing executive function using a computer game: computational modeling of cognitive processes.

Early and reliable detection of cognitive decline is one of the most important challenges of current healthcare. In this project, we developed an approach whereby a frequently played computer game can be used to assess a variety of cognitive processes and estimate the results of the pen-and-paper trail making test (TMT)--known to measure executive function, as well as visual pattern recognition, speed of processing, working memory, and set-switching ability. We developed a computational model of the TMT based on a decomposition of the test into several independent processes, each characterized by a set of parameters that can be estimated from play of a computer game designed to resemble the TMT. An empirical evaluation of the model suggests that it is possible to use the game data to estimate the parameters of the underlying cognitive processes and using the values of the parameters to estimate the TMT performance. Cognitive measures and trends in these measures can be used to identify individuals for further assessment, to provide a mechanism for improving the early detection of neurological problems, and to provide feedback and monitoring for cognitive interventions in the home.

What is computational phonology?

Computational phonology is not one thing. Rather, it is an umbrella term which may refer to work on formal language theory, computer-implemented models of cognitive processes, and corpus methods derived from the literature on natural language processing (NLP). This article gives an overview of these distinct areas, identifying commonalities and differences in the goals of each area, as well as highlighting recent results of interest. The overview is necessarily brief and subjective. Broadly speaking, it is argued that learning is a pervasive theme in these areas, but the core questions and concerns vary too much to define a coherent field. Computational phonologists are more united by a shared body of formal knowledge than they are by a shared sense of what the important questions are.

Expressive writing and posttraumatic growth: An Internet-based study.

This study examined the effects of Internet-based expressive writing on posttraumatic growth. Expressive (n = 14) and control writing (n = 10) participants wrote for 15 min on 3 occasions spaced 3 days apart. Measures of intrusive and avoidant thoughts and posttraumatic growth were administered at baseline and 2- and 8-week postintervention follow-ups. Results showed that posttraumatic growth significantly increased from baseline to 8-week follow-up in the expressive writing group, while there was no significant change in levels of posttraumatic growth in the control group. Intrusive and avoidant cognitions did not differ between writing groups. Analyses of language use showed that greater use of insight words was associated with an increase in posttraumatic growth. Findings are consistent with cognitive processing models of expressive writing and have implications for Internet-administered expressive writing.

Cancer conversations in context: naturalistic observation of couples coping with breast cancer.

This study explored the feasibility and potentials of a naturalistic observation approach to studying dyadic coping in everyday life. Specifically, it examined the natural context and content of the spontaneous cancer conversations of couples coping with cancer, and how they relate to patients' and spouses' psychological adjustment. Women with breast cancer (N = 56) and their spouses wore the electronically activated recorder (EAR), an unobtrusive observation method that periodically records snippets of ambient sounds, over one weekend to observe the couples' cancer conversations in their natural context. Both patients and spouses completed self-reported measures of psychological adjustment at baseline and at a 2-month follow-up. Cancer was a topic of approximately 5% of couples' conversations. Cancer conversations occurred more often within the couple than with friends and family, and they were more often informational than emotional or supportive. Consistent with research on the social cognitive processing model (Lepore & Revenson, 2007), spouses' engagement in emotional disclosure and informational conversation with patients predicted better patient adjustment. This first naturalistic observation study of dyadic coping revealed that the EAR method can be implemented with high compliance and relatively low obtrusiveness within the sensitive context of couples coping with cancer, and having a spouse who discussed cancer in an emotional or informational way predicted better patient adjustment. As a complement to in-lab and other momentary assessment methods, a naturalistic observation approach with a method such as the EAR can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the role that communication processes play in coping with cancer.

The influence of dispositional mindfulness on safety behaviors: A dual process perspective

Based on the dual process model of human cognition, this study investigated the influence of dispositional mindfulness on operators’ safety behaviors and its boundary conditions. In a sample of 212 nuclear power plant control room operators, it was found that both safety compliance and safety participation behaviors were positively influenced by dispositional mindfulness as measured by the 14-item Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory. This effect was still positive after controlling for age, intelligence, work experience and conscientiousness. Moreover, two boundary conditions were identified: the impact of dispositional mindfulness of safety behaviors was stronger among operators who were either more experienced or more intelligent. Theoretically, the framework we used to understand the benefit of mindfulness on safety behaviors has been proved to be useful. Practically, it provides a new and valid criterion that could be used in operators’ selection and training program to improve organizational safety.