Cognitive Capacity Limits in Anxiety and Depression: Can they be increased?

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazanin Derakhshan
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-94
Author(s):  
Kyle Perkins ◽  
Xuan Jiang

In this position paper, we advocate that advancements made in other disciplinary areas such as neurolinguistics should be included into contemporary reading comprehension courses and programs.  We present findings from neurobiology of reading that suggest explanation of certain reading behaviors: (1) the differences between reading disability and typically developing readers; (2) an inverted U-shaped function that reflects the fact that learning to read is associated with increased activation (the rising part of the inverted U) and activation decreases are associated with familiarity, experience, and expertise (the falling part of the inverted U); (3) and, the identification of reading networks.  As potential pedagogical implications of neuroimaging studies to reading, a list of sentence structures is proposed as an example to further relate reading comprehension to cognitive capacity limits. 


Daedalus ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 144 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Earl K. Miller ◽  
Timothy J. Buschman

Why can your brain store a lifetime of experiences but process only a few thoughts at once? In this article we discuss “cognitive capacity” (the number of items that can be held “in mind” simultaneously) and suggest that the limit is inherent to processing based on oscillatory brain rhythms, or “brain waves,” which may regulate neural communication. Neurons that “hum” together temporarily “wire” together, allowing the brain to form and re-form networks on the fly, which may explain a hallmark of intelligence and cognition: mental flexibility. But this comes at a cost; only a small number of thoughts can fit into each wave. This explains why you should never talk on a mobile phone when driving.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.G. Garner ◽  
M.I. Garrido ◽  
P.E. Dux

AbstractHumans show striking limitations in information processing when multitasking, yet can modify these limits with practice. Such limitations have been linked to a frontal-parietal network, but recent models of decision-making implicate a striatal-cortical network. We adjudicated these accounts by investigating the circuitry underpinning multitasking in 100 individuals and the plasticity caused by practice. We observed that multitasking costs, and their practice induced remediation, are best explained by modulations in information transfer between the striatum and the cortical areas that represent stimulus-response mappings. Specifically, our results support the view that multitasking stems at least in part from taxation in information sharing between the putamen and pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA). Moreover, we propose that modulations to information transfer between these two regions leads to practice-induced improvements in multitasking.Significance statementHumans show striking limitations in information processing when multitasking, yet can modify these limits with practice. Such limitations have been linked to a frontal-parietal network, but recent models of decision-making implicate a striatal-cortical network. We adjudicated these accounts by investigating the circuitry underpinning multitasking in 100 individuals and the plasticity caused by practice. Our results support the view that multitasking stems at least in part from taxation in information sharing between the putamen and pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA). We therefore show that models of cognitive capacity limits must consider how subcortical and cortical structures interface to produce cognitive behaviours, and we propose a novel neurophysiological substrate of multitasking limitations.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven M Frankland ◽  
Taylor Webb ◽  
Jonathan D. Cohen

In one of the most influential articles in cognitive science, George Miller (1956) describes his “persecution” by similarities in three cognitive capacity-limits: the number of items that can be held in short-term memory, the number of stimuli that can be ordinally ranked, and the number of items in a visual display that can be quickly and accurately reported. Although Miller wondered whether these limits owe to a common source, he ultimately concluded that the likeness was coincidental. Here, we challenge that conclusion. Cognitive systems face a tradeoff between maximizing the number of possibilities they can represent (maximizing entropy), and precisely fitting the data observed thus far (minimizing energy). Equipping a cognitive system with an inductive bias to maximize entropy on different timescales enables one of the hallmarks of cognitive function— efficient generalization— but leads to the limits in information processing that haunted Miller.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 660-672
Author(s):  
Suzanne H. Kimball ◽  
Toby Hamilton ◽  
Erin Benear ◽  
Jonathan Baldwin

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the emotional tone and verbal behavior of social media users who self-identified as having tinnitus and/or hyperacusis that caused self-described negative consequences on daily life or health. Research Design and Method An explanatory mixed-methods design was utilized. Two hundred “initial” and 200 “reply” Facebook posts were collected from members of a tinnitus group and a hyperacusis group. Data were analyzed via the LIWC 2015 software program and compared to typical bloggers. As this was an explanatory mixed-methods study, we used qualitative thematic analyses to explain, interpret, and illustrate the quantitative results. Results Overall, quantitative results indicated lower overall emotional tone for all categories (tinnitus and hyperacusis, initial and reply), which was mostly influenced by higher negative emotion. Higher levels of authenticity or truth were found in the hyperacusis sample but not in the tinnitus sample. Lower levels of clout (social standing) were indicated in all groups, and a lower level of analytical thinking style (concepts and complex categories rather than narratives) was found in the hyperacusis sample. Additional analysis of the language indicated higher levels of sadness and anxiety in all groups and lower levels of anger, particularly for initial replies. These data support prior findings indicating higher levels of anxiety and depression in this patient population based on the actual words in blog posts and not from self-report questionnaires. Qualitative results identified 3 major themes from both the tinnitus and hyperacusis texts: suffering, negative emotional tone, and coping strategies. Conclusions Results from this study suggest support for the predominant clinical view that patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis have higher levels of anxiety and depression than the general population. The extent of the suffering described and patterns of coping strategies suggest clinical practice patterns and the need for research in implementing improved practice plans.


2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 119-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martine Bouvard ◽  
Anne Denis ◽  
Jean-Luc Roulin

This article investigates the psychometric properties of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS). A group of 704 adolescents completed the questionnaires in their classrooms. This study examines potential confirmatory factor analysis factor models of the RCADS as well as the relationships between the RCADS and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders-Revised (SCARED-R). A subsample of 595 adolescents also completed an anxiety questionnaire (Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised, FSSC-R) and a depression questionnaire (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, CES-D). Confirmatory factor analysis of the RCADS suggests that the 6-factor model reasonably fits the data. All subscales were positively intercorrelated, with rs varying between .48 (generalized anxiety disorder-major depression disorder) and .65 (generalized anxiety disorder-social phobia/obsessive-compulsive disorder). The RCADS total score and all the RCADS scales were found to have good internal consistency (> .70). The correlations between the RCADS subscales and their SCARED-R counterparts are generally substantial. Convergent validity was found with the FSSC-R and the CES-D. The study included normal adolescents aged 10 to 19. Therefore, the findings cannot be extended to children under 10, nor to a clinical population. Altogether, the French version of the RCADS showed reasonable psychometric properties.


2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Schirmer ◽  
Anja Mehnert ◽  
Angela Scherwath ◽  
Barbara Schleimer ◽  
Frank Schulz-Kindermann ◽  
...  

Die in mehreren Studien gefundenen kognitiven Störungen bei Tumorpatienten nach Chemotherapie werden zumeist mit der Zytostatikaneurotoxizität assoziiert. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird der Zusammenhang von Angst, Depression und Posttraumatischer Belastungsstörung mit der kognitiven Leistungsfähigkeit bei Frauen mit Mammakarzinom untersucht. Insgesamt wurden 76 Brustkrebspatientinnen fünf Jahre nach Abschluss der onkologischen Behandlung mit neuropsychologischen Testverfahren sowie mit der Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale – Deutsche Version (HADS-D) und der Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist – Civilian Version (PCL-C) untersucht: 23 nach Standard- und 24 nach Hochdosistherapie sowie 29 nach Brustoperation und Strahlentherapie als Vergleichsgruppe. Signifikante Zusammenhänge sind vor allem zwischen kognitiven Funktionen und Intrusionssymptomen einer Posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung (PTBS) festzustellen. Bei Patientinnen nach Standardtherapie weisen Intrusionen der PTBS einen moderaten Zusammenhang mit der globalen kognitiven Beeinträchtigung auf. Die Ergebnisse der Studie deuten auf multidimensionale Einfluss- und moderierende Faktoren bei der Entwicklung kognitiver Defizite bei Brustkrebspatientinnen nach onkologischer Therapie hin.


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