Integrative action in the fronto-parietal network: A cure for a scattered mind

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Reza Naghavi ◽  
Lars Nyberg

AbstractA large body of evidence supports the idea that a common fronto-parietal network is activated across a range of diverse cognitive functions. Jung & Haier's (J&H's) review demonstrates a very similar pattern of activity, which correlates with individual differences in intelligence. We propose that these converging lines of evidence are best interpreted as a general role of the fronto-parietal network in integration and control.

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shani Folschweiller ◽  
Jonas-Frederic Sauer

Respiration paces brain oscillations and the firing of individual neurons, revealing a profound impact of rhythmic breathing on brain activity. Intriguingly, respiration-driven entrainment of neural activity occurs in a variety of cortical areas, including those involved in higher cognitive functions such as associative neocortical regions and the hippocampus. Here we review recent findings of respiration-entrained brain activity with a particular focus on emotional cognition. We summarize studies from different brain areas involved in emotional behavior such as fear, despair, and motivation, and compile findings of respiration-driven activities across species. Furthermore, we discuss the proposed cellular and network mechanisms by which cortical circuits are entrained by respiration. The emerging synthesis from a large body of literature suggests that the impact of respiration on brain function is widespread across the brain and highly relevant for distinct cognitive functions. These intricate links between respiration and cognitive processes call for mechanistic studies of the role of rhythmic breathing as a timing signal for brain activity.


1977 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
James B. Lane

Difficulties in assessing individual differences in vividness and control of mental imagery hinder understanding of the role of imagery in various phenomena. This study examined the relationships among the Gordon test of imagery control, the Betts questionnaire on imagery vividness, and a research questionnaire on control of imagery developed for this study. The research questionnaire demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency and scores were more widely distributed than were those on the Gordon test. Correlations among the instruments ranged from .47 to .57, suggesting that vividness and control of imagery are not clearly differentiated in practice. Discussion of these results suggests that further empirical work is needed to establish the differential validity of the two constructs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 1781-1796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian D Colley ◽  
Peter E Keller ◽  
Andrea R Halpern

Sensorimotor synchronisation (SMS) is prevalent and readily studied in musical settings, as most people are able to perceive and synchronise with a beat (e.g., by finger tapping). We took an individual differences approach to understanding SMS to real music characterised by expressive timing (i.e., fluctuating beat regularity). Given the dynamic nature of SMS, we hypothesised that individual differences in working memory and auditory imagery—both fluid cognitive processes—would predict SMS at two levels: (1) mean absolute asynchrony (a measure of synchronisation error) and (2) anticipatory timing (i.e., predicting, rather than reacting to beat intervals). In Experiment 1, participants completed two working memory tasks, four auditory imagery tasks, and an SMS-tapping task. Hierarchical regression models were used to predict SMS performance, with results showing dissociations among imagery types in relation to mean absolute asynchrony, and evidence of a role for working memory in anticipatory timing. In Experiment 2, a new sample of participants completed an expressive timing perception task to examine the role of imagery in perception without action. Results suggest that imagery vividness is important for perceiving and control is important for synchronising with irregular but ecologically valid musical time series. Working memory is implicated in synchronising by anticipating events in the series.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Arceneaux

AbstractIntuitions guide decision-making, and looking to the evolutionary history of humans illuminates why some behavioral responses are more intuitive than others. Yet a place remains for cognitive processes to second-guess intuitive responses – that is, to be reflective – and individual differences abound in automatic, intuitive processing as well.


Author(s):  
R. F. Zeigel ◽  
W. Munyon

In continuing studies on the role of viruses in biochemical transformation, Dr. Munyon has succeeded in isolating a highly infectious human herpes virus. Fluids of buccal pustular lesions from Sasha Munyon (10 mo. old) uiere introduced into monolayer sheets of human embryonic lung (HEL) cell cultures propagated in Eagles’ medium containing 5% calf serum. After 18 hours the cells exhibited a dramatic C.P.E. (intranuclear vacuoles, peripheral patching of chromatin, intracytoplasmic inclusions). Control HEL cells failed to reflect similar changes. Infected and control HEL cells were scraped from plastic flasks at 18 hrs. of incubation and centrifuged at 1200 × g for 15 min. Resultant cell packs uiere fixed in Dalton's chrome osmium, and post-fixed in aqueous uranyl acetate. Figure 1 illustrates typical hexagonal herpes-type nucleocapsids within the intranuclear virogenic regions. The nucleocapsids are approximately 100 nm in diameter. Nuclear membrane “translocation” (budding) uias observed.


2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Botella ◽  
María José Contreras ◽  
Pei-Chun Shih ◽  
Víctor Rubio

Summary: Deterioration in performance associated with decreased ability to sustain attention may be found in long and tedious task sessions. The necessity for assessing a number of psychological dimensions in a single session often demands “short” tests capable of assessing individual differences in abilities such as vigilance and maintenance of high performance levels. In the present paper two tasks were selected as candidates for playing this role, the Abbreviated Vigilance Task (AVT) by Temple, Warm, Dember, LaGrange and Matthews (1996) and the Continuous Attention Test (CAT) by Tiplady (1992) . However, when applied to a sample of 829 candidates in a job-selection process for air-traffic controllers, neither of them showed discriminative capacity. In a second study, an extended version of the CAT was applied to a similar sample of 667 subjects, but also proved incapable of properly detecting individual differences. In short, at least in a selection context such as that studied here, neither of the tasks appeared appropriate for playing the role of a “short” test for discriminating individual differences in performance deterioration in sustained attention.


2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-118
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Howard ◽  
Roger A. Kerin

The name similarity effect is the tendency to like people, places, and things with names similar to our own. Although many researchers have examined name similarity effects on preferences and behavior, no research to date has examined whether individual differences exist in susceptibility to those effects. This research reports the results of two experiments that examine the role of self-monitoring in moderating name similarity effects. In the first experiment, name similarity effects on brand attitude and purchase intentions were found to be stronger for respondents high, rather than low, in self-monitoring. In the second experiment, the interactive effect observed in the first study was found to be especially true in a public (vs. private) usage context. These findings are consistent with theoretical expectations of name similarity effects as an expression of egotism manifested in the image and impression management concerns of high self-monitors.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey H. Kahn ◽  
Daniel W. Cox ◽  
A. Myfanwy Bakker ◽  
Julia I. O’Loughlin ◽  
Agnieszka M. Kotlarczyk

Abstract. The benefits of talking with others about unpleasant emotions have been thoroughly investigated, but individual differences in distress disclosure tendencies have not been adequately integrated within theoretical models of emotion. The purpose of this laboratory research was to determine whether distress disclosure tendencies stem from differences in emotional reactivity or differences in emotion regulation. After completing measures of distress disclosure tendencies, social desirability, and positive and negative affect, 84 participants (74% women) were video recorded while viewing a sadness-inducing film clip. Participants completed post-film measures of affect and were then interviewed about their reactions to the film; these interviews were audio recorded for later coding and computerized text analysis. Distress disclosure tendencies were not predictive of the subjective experience of emotion, but they were positively related to facial expressions of sadness and happiness. Distress disclosure tendencies also predicted judges’ ratings of the verbal disclosure of emotion during the interview, but self-reported disclosure and use of positive and negative emotion words were not associated with distress disclosure tendencies. The authors present implications of this research for integrating individual differences in distress disclosure with models of emotion.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart S. Miller ◽  
Jericho M. Hockett ◽  
Conor J. O'Dea ◽  
Derrick F. Till ◽  
Donald A. Saucier

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