Temporal Organization Of Behavior Research Articles

Past outcomes and time flexibly exert joint control over midsession reversal performance in the rat

In a midsession reversal task, subjects choose between two stimuli on every trial; only responses to one stimulus are reinforced. Halfway throughout the session, contingencies are reversed: previously reinforced responses are now extinguished and vice versa. Both, the outcome of the previous trial and the time elapsed since the beginning of the session, may predict the availability of reinforcement and determine choice. Thus, this task has typically been used to study cognitive flexibility and the temporal organization of behavior. This study assessed how past outcomes and time interact for behavioral control when each cue predicts the availability of reinforcement to a different extent. Eight rats were trained in four variations of the midsession reversal task differing in the reliability of outcomes and time as predictors of the reinforced response. We manipulated the reliability of the outcomes by providing either continuous or partial reinforcement, and the reliability of time by fixing the moment of reversal (middle of the session) or making the reversal unpredictable (semi-random trial). Results suggest that behavioral control alternates between outcomes and time according to the relative reliability of each cue. Model simulations show that outcomes and time may jointly determine behavior, and that momentary reinforcement rate may determine their relative influence.

On the Phylogenesis of Executive Functions and Their Connection with Language Evolution.

T term Executive Functions (EFs; also executive control or cognitive control) refers to the higher order cognitive processes involved in the regulation of goal-oriented actions in complex contexts and non-routine situations (Gilbert and Burgess, 2008). EFs are crucial for the temporal organization of purposive behaviors, language and reasoning (Fuster, 2008). There is no single taxonomy of EFs that scholars generally agree upon (Jurado and Rosselli, 2007). The various models proposed in the literature suggest that EFs capacities entail several key components, including flexibility, planning, monitoring, working memory, and inhibition (Ardila, 2008). Although a dynamic and flexible network involving several cortical and subcortical brain regions mediates EFs, there is a consensus that their main neural substrate is the prefrontal cortex (PFC) (Fuster, 2008). Specifically, the dorsolateral region of PFC is generally involved in classic EFs such as planning, problem-solving and some working memory operations, whereas the orbitofrontal region is more closely associated with the regulation of emotions and social behavior. Neuroscientific (Barkley, 2001) and comparative (Hills, 2011; Volter and Call, 2014) studies have dealt with the issue of the evolution of EFs. The evolution of EFs for the later PFC regions and their connections with language origins has been the subject of particular interest (Risberg, 2006). Some studies have suggested that the emergence of EFs occurred recently in the evolution of Homo sapiens (Ardila, 2008; Coolidge and Wynn, 2009). According to Coolidge and Wynn (2009) and Wynn and Coolidge (2007), modern humans evolved an enhanced working memory capacity that fostered EFs 32,000 years ago, enabling complex contingency planning, abstract reasoning and innovation. Ardila (2008) has proposed that EFs appeared 150,000 years ago in connection with the advent of language grammar. According to Ardila (2016), the temporal organization of behavior (the core function of EFs) comes from the perception of actions that is correlated with the grammatical ability to use verbs and represent these actions: Temporality means “before” and “after,” that is, something that changes, or develops or moves, that is, an action. (…) the “perception of actions” would represent a single preadaptation both for grammatical language and for meta-cognitive executive functions (Ardila, 2016, p. 2). In this paper, I advocate a different scenario for the phylogenesis of EFs and their connection with language evolution. By reviewing studies coming from Evolutionary Cognitive Archaeology (ECA), I suggest that EFs evolved in the context of toolmaking before the appearance of Homo sapiens. By virtue of this, I treat the issue of the relationship between EFs and language evolution in a different manner to the models that assigned a prominent role to grammar. I hypothesize that language could have had a narrative origin and that the study of the evolution of EFs together with the investigation of the role of EFs in language processing can corroborate this hypothesis.

The Evolutionary Concept of "Preadaptation" Applied to Cognitive Neurosciences.

The Evolutionary Concept of "Preadaptation" Applied to Cognitive Neurosciences.

Cell Assembly Dynamics of Sparsely-Connected Inhibitory Networks: A Simple Model for the Collective Activity of Striatal Projection Neurons.

Striatal projection neurons form a sparsely-connected inhibitory network, and this arrangement may be essential for the appropriate temporal organization of behavior. Here we show that a simplified, sparse inhibitory network of Leaky-Integrate-and-Fire neurons can reproduce some key features of striatal population activity, as observed in brain slices. In particular we develop a new metric to determine the conditions under which sparse inhibitory networks form anti-correlated cell assemblies with time-varying activity of individual cells. We find that under these conditions the network displays an input-specific sequence of cell assembly switching, that effectively discriminates similar inputs. Our results support the proposal that GABAergic connections between striatal projection neurons allow stimulus-selective, temporally-extended sequential activation of cell assemblies. Furthermore, we help to show how altered intrastriatal GABAergic signaling may produce aberrant network-level information processing in disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.

Pet-1 Deficiency Alters the Circadian Clock and Its Temporal Organization of Behavior

The serotonin and circadian systems are two important interactive regulatory networks in the mammalian brain that regulate behavior and physiology in ways that are known to impact human mental health. Previous work on the interaction between these two systems suggests that serotonin modulates photic input to the central circadian clock (the suprachiasmatic nuclei; SCN) from the retina and serves as a signal for locomotor activity, novelty, and arousal to shift the SCN clock, but effects of disruption of serotonergic signaling from the raphe nuclei on circadian behavior and on SCN function are not fully characterized. In this study, we examined the effects on diurnal and circadian behavior, and on ex vivo molecular rhythms of the SCN, of genetic deficiency in Pet-1, an ETS transcription factor that is necessary to establish and maintain the serotonergic phenotype of raphe neurons. Pet-1−/− mice exhibit loss of rhythmic behavioral coherence and an extended daily activity duration, as well as changes in the molecular rhythms expressed by the clock, such that ex vivo SCN from Pet-1− /− mice exhibit period lengthening and sex-dependent changes in rhythmic amplitude. Together, our results indicate that Pet-1 regulation of raphe neuron serotonin phenotype contributes to the period, precision and light/dark partitioning of locomotor behavioral rhythms by the circadian clock through direct actions on the SCN clock itself, as well as through non-clock effects.

Individual differences in self-attributed mindfulness levels are related to the experience of time and cognitive self-control

The objective of this correlational study was to investigate how dispositional mindfulness is related to the experience of time as operationalized by the assessment of the time perspectives, impulsiveness, and duration judgment tasks. A sample of students (N=63) completed self-report measures of mindfulness (FMI, CHIME), the time perspectives (ZTPI), impulsiveness (BIS), conducted psychophysical tasks of (a) auditory duration discrimination in the milliseconds range, (b) visual duration reproduction in the multiple-second range, and performed an attention task, the Attention Network Test. Being more mindful in daily life was related to less impulsiveness, better emotional handling of the past, and a more pronounced future perspective. Mindfulness was also related to more accurate timing in the milliseconds and multiple-seconds range but not to attentional control. These findings suggest a close association between dispositional mindfulness with the temporal organization of behaviour and the perception of time.

Mindfulness and the Experience of Time

Personal reports from experienced meditators exist on how subjective time slows down in meditation practice as well as in everyday life. However, hardly any empirical work exists regarding this exceptional experience. In discussing cognitive and neural models of time perception, I want to show how the subjective passage of time and the perception of duration are modified by functional states of mindfulness, i.e., by attention regulation, body awareness, and emotion regulation. Results of two empirical studies will be presented: (1) in a cross-sectional study with students, we investigated how dispositional mindfulness is related to the experience of time. Being more mindful in daily life was related to less impulsiveness, better emotional handling of the past, and a more pronounced future perspective. Mindfulness was also related to more accurate timing in the milliseconds and multiple-seconds range but not to attentional control. (2) In a further cross-sectional study, we investigated whether experienced mindfulness meditation practitioners showed different time perception than matched controls. Overall, the reported findings suggest a close association between mindfulness, the temporal organization of behavior, i.e. more pronounced freedom from time constraints, and the perception of time.

The Relationship Between Attitude Toward Time and the Presence of Meaning in Life

The presented study was concerned with the relation between attitude toward time and the presence of meaning in life. Attitude toward time consists of temporal orientation and perception of time expressed through temporal metaphors. A group of 120 respondents took part in the study. They represented two groups: high school students in their final year, in the adolescence period (N = 60, mean age = 18), and university students in their final year, in the young adulthood period (N = 60, mean age = 24); both groups may be regarded as being at the turning point of their life, with important decisions concerning their future to be made. It was expected that the more positive attitude toward time was, the higher the experience of meaning in life would be. It was also hypothesized that the dimensions of attitude toward time would be determinants of the presence of meaning in life. To verify those assumptions, correlation and regression analyses were computed. As predicted, the more extended the time perspective was, the higher meaning in life people experienced. There was also a positive correlation between meaning in life and temporal organization of behavior (telicity, planning, detailness, and use of time). Furthermore, the perception of time as friendly correlated positively with meaning in life, and the perception of time as hostile revealed the opposite pattern. Some differences were also found regarding correlations with age. Young adults experienced greater meaning in life; their time perspective was more extended and better organized. Adolescents suffered from greater pressure of time and perceived their time in a more negative way than young adults did. The most significant predictors of the presence of meaning in life were low pressure of time, low hostile time, and high friendly time.

Plasticity in the temporal organization of behaviour in the limpet Cellana grata

The behaviour of intertidal consumers is often tightly constrained to tidal movements, although activity patterns can vary within these constraints. Spatio-temporal variability in behaviour of a limpet, Cellana grata, was analysed over different tidal conditions (spring and neap tides) and during different times of the year (one summer and one winter) at sites in Hong Kong. Activity was generally dictated by tidal movements, being concentrated when animals were awash. Plasticity in behaviour was observed, with some limpets anticipating activity during the summer period and delaying activity during winter time. Limpets were active for a time equal, or slightly less, than time awash. As the time awash exceeded ~14–16 h, however, activity duration decreased. Within this general pattern, tidal variation as well as variation among times of the year was noted, with the lowest dependence on time awash being recorded during winter neap tides. Limpets showed a slight preference for being active during nighttime, which was particularly evident when animals were emersed during the summer period. Although the basic activity in C. grata is constrained to a specific temporal window, this limpet is able to modulate its foraging strategies and resting height, according to local, daily changes in environmental conditions.

The frontal lobe in cognition: we need a new paradigm

Event Abstract Back to Event The frontal lobe in cognition: we need a new paradigm Joaquin Fuster1* 1 University of California Los Angeles, United States It is increasingly obvious that the prevailing cognitive models of the frontal lobe are outliving their usefulness. The allocation of separate frontal modules to distinct cognitive functions is no longer tenable, because no "double dissociation"-by structure and cognitive function--has been unambiguously demonstrated in the frontal lobe. Instead, data from many sources are obliging us to adopt network models that uphold a relational, connectionist, and probabilistic (Bayesian) code in the structure and dynamics of the frontal lobe. Any such model must take into account the evolutionary origin, pre-adaptive nature, and interdependence of all its functions. The cognit model offers a plausible empirical approach congruent with those assumptions. This model is based on two largely neglected Jacksonian principles: (1) The same frontal areas that represent an action are in charge of its coordination; (2) The executive representations in frontal cortex are hierarchically organized, with motor cortex at the bottom and prefrontal cortex at the top. The cognit is a unit of knowledge or memory. It consists in a distributed network of cortical neurons synaptically associated by experience. The experience of the species formed, in the coures of evolution, the low-level networks of motor cortex (phyletic memory), whereas that of the individual forms, in the course of life, the executive cognits of premotor and prefrontal cortex. These represent complex and abstract actions, some with a future perspective. Frontal cognits are widely distributed and interact with perceptual cognits of posterior cortex in the perception/action cycle, the cybernetic flow of information processing that governs the adaptation of the organism to its environment. The executive functions of the frontal lobe, all with a future perspective (planning, working memory, decision-making, etc.) emerge from those interactions in the temporal organization of behavior, language, and reasoning, which is the overarching function of the lateral prefrontal cortex. Keywords: Attention, cognit, Cognition, Memory, Prefrontal Cortex Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Keynote Lecture Topic: Keynote Lectures Citation: Fuster J (2011). The frontal lobe in cognition: we need a new paradigm. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00001 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: 02 Nov 2011; Published Online: 08 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Joaquin Fuster, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States, joaquinf@ucla.edu 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 Joaquin Fuster Google Joaquin Fuster Google Scholar Joaquin Fuster PubMed Joaquin Fuster 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.

Neonatal Medial Frontal Cortex Lesions Disrupt Circadian Activity Patterns

The medial frontal cortex (MFC) is involved in the temporal organization of behaviour. It receives timing information from the master circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), and exhibits daily oscillations in gene expression itself. In this study, we evaluate various properties of circadian rhythms of locomotor activity following neonatal or adult MFC aspiration lesions. Mice with neonatal lesions were more active during the day than mice with adult lesions and less active during the early night than both mice with adult lesions and control mice. Compared to controls, mice with neonatal lesions exhibited smaller phase delays to an early-night light pulse and marginally larger phase advances to a late-night light pulse. Mice with adult lesions did not differ from controls on either measure. The results suggest that the timing of behaviour is determined by an interaction between the MFC and the SCN and that injury early in life has a significant effect on the ability of animals to organize such behaviours.

Upper processing stages of the perception–action cycle

The neural substrate for behavioral, cognitive and linguistic actions is hierarchically organized in the cortex of the frontal lobe. In their methodologically impeccable study, Koechlin et al. reveal the neural dynamics of the frontal hierarchy in behavioral action. Progressively higher areas control the performance of actions requiring the integration of progressively more complex and temporally dispersed information. The study substantiates the crucial role of the prefrontal cortex in the temporal organization of behavior.

Restricted Feeding Schedules Modulate Free-running Drinking Activity in Malnourished Rats

Low protein malnourished rats held in 12 : 12 light-dark conditions exhibit two bouts of drinking activity, which resemble a “splitting” pattern. These findings have suggested a weak coupling force between the light-(LEO) and the food-entrainable oscillators (FEO). Food restriction to a few hours daily exerts a strong entraining influence on FEO and allows to uncouple both oscillators. To further understand the coupling relation between LEO and FEO, we evaluated the influence of restricted feeding schedules (RFS) on the circadian rhythm of drinking behavior in malnourished rats and their controls. Adult rats were entrained to RFS with a low protein or a regular chow diet in a counterbalanced design. All groups developed drinking anticipatory activity (FAA) to meal time, with similar intensity and onset time. RFS produced lengthening in the period of LEO’s free-running rhythm and this effect was significant in MAL rats. Behavioral patterns in control as well as malnourished rats entrained with regular chow indicated independence between LEO and FEO. In contrast, 60% of MAL rats entrained with the low protein diet exhibited phase control by meal time on LEO’s free-running. Present data indicate that low protein diets may induce enhanced potency of food as an entraining signal and produce a change in the coupling force between both oscillators, promoting that LEO couples to the FEO. In such conditions FEO seems to override the influence of LEO on the temporal organization of behavior and imposes its phase on the free-running component.

Toward an Etiology of Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Neurodevelopmental Approach

This article elaborates on Putnam's “discrete behavioral states” model of dissociative identity disorder (Putnam, 1997) by proposing the involvement of the orbitalfrontal cortex in the development of DID and suggesting a potential neurodevelopmental mechanism responsible for the development of multiple representations of self. The proposed “orbitalfrontal” model integrates and elaborates on theory and research from four domains: the neurobiology of the orbitalfrontal cortex and its protective inhibitory role in the temporal organization of behavior, the development of emotion regulation, the development of the self, and experience-dependent reorganizing neocortical processes. The hypothesis being proposed is that the experience-dependent maturation of the orbitalfrontal cortex in early abusive environments, characterized by discontinuity in dyadic socioaffective interactions between the infant and the caregiver, may be responsible for a pattern of lateral inhibition between conflicting subsets of self-representations which are normally integrated into a unified self. The basic idea is that the discontinuity in the early caretaking environment is manifested in the discontinuity in the organization of the developing child's self.

Prefrontal neurons in networks of executive memory

The neuronal networks of the frontal lobe that represent motor or executive memories are probably the same networks that cooperate with other cerebral structures in the temporal organization of behavior. The prefrontal cortex, at the top of the perception-action cycle, plays a critical role in the mediation of contingencies of action across time, an essential aspect of temporal organization. That role of cross-temporal mediation is based on the interplay of two short-term cognitive functions: one retrospective, of short-term active perceptual memory, and the other prospective, of attentive set (or active motor memory). Both appear represented in the neuronal populations of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. At least one of the mechanisms for the retention of active memory of either kind seems to be the reentry of excitability through recurrent cortical circuits. With those two complementary and temporally symmetrical cognitive functions of active memory for the sensory past and for the motor future, the prefrontal cortex seems to secure the temporal closure at the top of the perception-action cycle.

Role of pseudorabies virus Us9, a type II membrane protein, in infection of tissue culture cells and the rat nervous system.

The protein product of the pseudorabies virus (PRV) Us9 gene is a phosphorylated, type II membrane protein that is inserted into virion envelopes and accumulates in the trans-Golgi network. It is among a linked group of three envelope protein genes in the unique short region of the PRV genome which are absent from the attenuated Bartha strain. We found that two different Us9 null mutants exhibited no obvious phenotype after infection of PK15 cells in culture. Unlike those of gE and gI null mutants, the plaque size of Us9 null mutants on Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells was indistinguishable from that of wild-type virus. However, both of the Us9 null mutants exhibited a defect in anterograde spread in the visual and cortical circuitry of the rat. The visual system defect was characterized by restricted infection of a functionally distinct subset of visual projections involved in the temporal organization of behavior, whereas decreased anterograde spread of virus to the cortical projection targets was characteristic of animals receiving direct injections of virus into the cortex. Spread of virus through retrograde pathways in the brain was not compromised by a Us9 deletion. The virulence of the Us9 null mutants, as measured by time to death and appearance of symptoms of infection, also was reduced after their injection into the eye, but not after cortical injection. Through sequence analysis, construction of revertants, measurement of gE and gI protein synthesis in the Us9 null mutants, and mixed-infection studies of rats, we conclude that the restricted-spread phenotype after infection of the rat nervous system reflects the loss of Us9 and is not an indirect effect of the Us9 mutations on expression of glycoproteins gE and gI. Therefore, at least three viral envelope proteins, Us9, gE, and gI, function together to promote efficient anterograde transneuronal infection by PRV in the rat central nervous system.

The construct validity of the Tower of LondonDX as a measure of the executive functioning of ADHD children.

Currently, there are a limited number of measures that have been developed to assess childhood executive planning and problem-solving abilities. The present study represents ongoing efforts to determine the psychometric properties of the newly developed Tower of London Drexel (TOLDX), a measure of executive functions. Specifically, the construct-related validity of the TOLDX was investigated with a sample of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children (N = 129), 7 to 15 years of age. The performance of the children on a neuropsychological battery of measures sensitive to executive abilities, psychometric intelligence, and memory was subjected to maximum-likelihood factor analysis. A four-factor solution was extracted that best fit the selected variables. The TOLDX was found to produce the highest loading on an Executive Planning/Inhibition factor comprised of other executive measures. The Executive Planning/Inhibition measure was separate from factors of Executive Concept Formation/Flexibility, Psychometric Intelligence, and Memory. Moreover, the two executive factors were found to be correlated (r = .42) suggesting that each assesses, to varying degrees, related executive dimensions. The neuropsychological construct structure of the TOLDX is discussed in relationship with the temporal organization of behavior and frontal lobe functioning.

Cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease.

Neuropsychological investigations of patients with Parkinson's disease have shown specific impairments even in the early stages of the disease, which include deficit of behavioural regulation in sorting or planning tasks, defective use of memory stores, and impaired manipulation of internal representation of visuospatial stimuli. These deficits, reported in a disease which predominantly involves subcortical structures, have drawn attention to a potential role of the basal ganglia in cognitive processes. Given the modulatory role of the basal ganglia, these disorders might result from more fundamental deficits concerning the allocation of attentional resources, the temporal organization of behaviour, the maintenance of representations in working memory or the self-elaboration of internal strategies, all of which resemble dysfunctions of processes that are commonly considered to be controlled by the frontal lobes. This suggests a functional continuity or complementarity between the basal ganglia and association areas of the prefrontal cortex. The recent description in primates of segregated loops that interconnect discrete regions of the caudate nucleus to the dorsolateral and orbitofrontal regions of the prefrontal cortex via the thalamus may give some support to this hypothesis. Alternatively, degeneration of the ascending cholinergic and catecholaminergic neuronal systems may contribute, at least in part, to the occurrence of this frontal-lobe-like symptomatology associated with Parkinson's disease.

Relationship between the striatal regulation of the temporal organization of behavior and the state of beta-adrenergic mechanisms.

Bilateral damage to the corpus striatum in rats was accompanied by changes in the rhythmic structure of swimming and the dynamics of daily movement activity. Dorsal, but not ventral striatectomy, reversed the effects of the beta-adrenoblocker propranolol on the temporal organization of behavior in the animals. It is likely that the dorsal striatum is extensively dependent on the state of beta-adrenergic innervation.

The domain of supervisory processes and temporal organization of behaviour.

The possibility that the supervisory system of Norman & Shallice (1986) can be fractionated into different subprocesses is discussed. It is argued that confronting a novel situation effectively requires a variety of different types of process. It is then argued that evidence of separability of different processes may be obtained by the observation of very low correlations across patients on more than one measure on each of which frontal patients show a performance deficit. Examples of this are provided by examining the Hayling sentence completion and the Brixton spatial anticipation tasks. Finally, differential localization of the subprocesses and hence the conclusion that they are separable is discussed with respect to the localization of monitoring and verification processes in memory.