A large-scale analysis of task switching practice effects across the lifespan

An important feature of human cognition is the ability to flexibly and efficiently adapt behavior in response to continuously changing contextual demands. We leverage a large-scale dataset from Lumosity, an online cognitive-training platform, to investigate how cognitive processes involved in cued switching between tasks are affected by level of task practice across the adult lifespan. We develop a computational account of task switching that specifies the temporal dynamics of activating task-relevant representations and inhibiting task-irrelevant representations and how they vary with extended task practice across a number of age groups. Practice modulates the level of activation of the task-relevant representation and improves the rate at which this information becomes available, but has little effect on the task-irrelevant representation. While long-term practice improves performance across all age groups, it has a greater effect on older adults. Indeed, extensive task practice can make older individuals functionally similar to less-practiced younger individuals, especially for cognitive measures that focus on the rate at which task-relevant information becomes available.

Download Full-text

Patterns of COVID-19 pandemic dynamics following deployment of a broad national immunization program

10.1101/2021.02.08.21251325 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Hagai Rossman ◽

Smadar Shilo ◽

Tomer Meir ◽

Malka Gorfine ◽

Uri Shalit ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Vaccination Campaign ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Age Groups ◽

Real Life ◽

Population Level ◽

Older Individuals ◽

The Real ◽

Younger Age ◽

Life Impact

AbstractStudies on the real-life impact of the BNT162b2 vaccine, recently authorized for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), are urgently needed. Here, we analysed the temporal dynamics of the number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalization in Israel following a rapid vaccination campaign initiated on December 20th, 2020. We conducted a retrospective descriptive analysis of data originating from the Israeli Ministry of Health (MOH) from March 2020 to February 2021. In order to distill the possible effect of the vaccinations from other factors, including a third lockdown imposed in Israel on January 2021, we compared the time-dependent changes in number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations between (1) individuals aged 60 years and older, eligible to receive the vaccine earlier, and younger age groups; (2) the latest lockdown (which was imposed in parallel to the vaccine rollout) versus the previous lockdown, imposed on September 2020; (3) early-vaccinated cities compared to late-vaccinated cities; and (4) early-vaccinated geographical statistical areas (GSAs) compared to late-vaccinated GSAs. In mid-January, the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalization started to decline, with a larger and earlier decrease among older individuals, followed by younger age groups, by the order in which they were prioritized for vaccination. This fast and early decline in older individuals was more evident in early-vaccinated compared to late-vaccinated cities. Such a pattern was not observed in the previous lockdown. Our analysis demonstrates evidence for the real-life impact of a national vaccination campaign in Israel on the pandemic dynamics. We believe that our findings have major public health implications in the struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic, including the public ’s perception of the need for and benefit of nationwide vaccination campaigns. More studies aimed at assessing the effectiveness and impact of vaccination both on the individual and on the population level, with longer followup, are needed.

Download Full-text

Task practice differentially modulates task-switching performance across the adult lifespan

Acta Psychologica ◽

10.1016/j.actpsy.2011.09.004 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 139 (1) ◽

pp. 124-136 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Lisa R. Whitson ◽

Frini Karayanidis ◽

Patricia T. Michie

Keyword(s):

Task Switching ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Switching Performance ◽

Task Practice

Download Full-text

Spatiotemporal Integrity and Spontaneous Nonlinear Dynamic Properties of the Salience Network Revealed by Human Intracranial Electrophysiology: A Multicohort Replication

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhaa111 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (10) ◽

pp. 5309-5321 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anup Das ◽

Vinod Menon

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Functional Organization ◽

Dynamic Properties ◽

Critical Role ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Human Cognition ◽

Salience Network ◽

Temporal Properties ◽

Nonlinear Dynamic Properties

Abstract The salience network (SN) plays a critical role in cognitive control and adaptive human behaviors, but its electrophysiological foundations and millisecond timescale dynamic temporal properties are poorly understood. Here, we use invasive intracranial EEG (iEEG) from multiple cohorts to investigate the neurophysiological underpinnings of the SN and identify dynamic temporal properties that distinguish it from the default mode network (DMN) and dorsolateral frontal–parietal network (FPN), two other large-scale brain networks that play important roles in human cognition. iEEG analysis of network interactions revealed that the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex, which together anchor the SN, had stronger intranetwork interactions with each other than cross-network interactions with the DMN and FPN. Analysis of directionality of information flow between the SN, DMN, and FPN revealed causal outflow hubs in the SN consistent with its role in fast temporal switching of network interactions. Analysis of regional iEEG temporal fluctuations revealed faster temporal dynamics and higher entropy of neural activity within the SN, compared to the DMN and FPN. Critically, these results were replicated across multiple cohorts. Our findings provide new insights into the neurophysiological basis of the SN, and more broadly, foundational mechanisms underlying the large-scale functional organization of the human brain.

Download Full-text

Neural mechanisms supporting emotional and self-relevant information processing and encoding in older and younger adults

10.31219/osf.io/6bmv3 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Ryan T Daley ◽

Holly J Bowen ◽

Eric C Fields ◽

Katelyn Parisi ◽

Angela Gutchess ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Age Groups ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Future Research ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Cognitive Domains ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Neutral Information ◽

Referential Processing

Emotion and self-referential processing can both enhance memory, but whether they do so via common mechanisms across the adult lifespan remains underexplored. To fill this gap, the current study directly compared, within the same fMRI paradigm, the encoding of emotionally salient and self-referential information in older adults and younger adults. Behavioral results replicated the typical patterns of better memory for emotional than neutral information and for self-referential than non-self-referential materials; these memory enhancements were present for younger and older adults. In neural activity, young and older adults showed similar modulation by emotion, but there were substantial age differences in the way self-referential processing affected neural recruitment. Contrary to our hypothesis, we also found little evidence for overlap in the neural mechanisms engaged for emotional and self-referential processing. These results reveal that – just as in cognitive domains – older adults can show similar performance to younger adults in socioemotional domains even though the two age groups engage distinct mechanisms. These findings demonstrate the need for future research that delves into the neural mechanisms supporting older adults’ memory benefits for socioemotional material.

Download Full-text

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Human Cognition

Physiology ◽

10.1152/physiologyonline.1999.14.5.206 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 206-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Christoph M. Michel ◽

Margitta Seeck ◽

Theodor Landis

Keyword(s):

Neural Network ◽

Human Brain ◽

Time Resolution ◽

Large Scale ◽

Evoked Potential ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Spatiotemporal Analysis ◽

Spatiotemporal Dynamics ◽

Human Cognition ◽

Process Information

It is still largely unknown how the complex cortical neural network of the human brain can process information so rapidly. Multichannel evoked potential recordings with millisecond time resolution and spatiotemporal analysis methods now allow us to address this question and to unravel the temporal dynamics of the large-scale neurocognitive networks.

Download Full-text

Immigrant Youth in Germany

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040/a000154 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 158-168 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Emily Frankenberg ◽

Katharina Kupper ◽

Ruth Wagner ◽

Stephan Bongard

Keyword(s):

School System ◽

Large Scale ◽

Age Groups ◽

Well Being ◽

Ethnic Discrimination ◽

Emotional And Behavioral Problems ◽

Sociocultural Adaptation ◽

Age Related ◽

German School ◽

Transcultural Adaptation

This paper reviews research on young migrants in Germany. Particular attention is given to the question of how Germany’s history of migration, immigration policies, and public attitude toward migrants influence the transcultural adaptation of children and adolescents from different ethnic backgrounds. We combine past research with the results of new empirical studies in order to shed light on migrants’ psychological and sociocultural adaptation. Studies comparing young migrants and their German peers in terms of psychological well-being, life satisfaction, and mental health outcome suggest higher rates of emotional and behavioral problems among migrants of most age groups. With regard to adolescent populations between the ages of 14 and 17 years, however, the existence of differences between migrants and natives appears to be less clear. Research has also yielded inconsistent findings regarding the time trajectory of transcultural adaptation among adolescents. The coincidence of acculturation and age-related change is discussed as a possible source of these inconsistencies. Further, we provide an overview of risk and protective factors such as conflicting role expectations and ethnic discrimination, which may cause heightened vulnerability to adverse adaptation outcomes in some groups. Large-scale studies have repeatedly shown migrants of all age groups to be less successful within the German school system, indicating poor sociocultural adaptation. Possible explanations, such as the idiosyncrasies of the German school system, are presented. Our own studies contribute to the understanding of young migrants’ adaptation process by showing that it is their orientation to German culture, rather than the acculturation strategy of integration, that leads to the most positive psychological and sociocultural outcomes. The paper concludes by discussing implications for future cross-cultural research on young migrants and by suggesting recommendations for multicultural policies.

Download Full-text

Effects of Monetary Incentives on Task Switching

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000146 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 59 (4) ◽

pp. 216-226 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Thomas Kleinsorge ◽

Gerhard Rinkenauer

Keyword(s):

Task Switching ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Reward Processing ◽

General Level ◽

Monetary Incentives ◽

Switch Costs ◽

Expectancy Effect ◽

Reward Expectancy ◽

Trial Basis

In two experiments, effects of incentives on task switching were investigated. Incentives were provided as a monetary bonus. In both experiments, the availability of a bonus varied on a trial-to-trial basis. The main difference between the experiments relates to the association of incentives to individual tasks. In Experiment 1, the association of incentives to individual tasks was fixed. Under these conditions, the effect of incentives was largely due to reward expectancy. Switch costs were reduced to statistical insignificance. This was true even with the task that was not associated with a bonus. In Experiment 2, there was a variable association of incentives to individual tasks. Under these conditions, the reward expectancy effect was bound to conditions with a well-established bonus-task association. In conditions in which the bonus-task association was not established in advance, enhanced performance of the bonus task was accompanied by performance decrements with the task that was not associated with a bonus. Reward expectancy affected mainly the general level of performance. The outcome of this study may also inform recently suggested neurobiological accounts about the temporal dynamics of reward processing.

Download Full-text

Age Advantages of Emotional Experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic are Robust, but Diminished Compared to Pre-pandemic Conditions

10.31234/osf.io/h2fsq ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Rui Sun ◽

Disa Sauter

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Large Scale ◽

Negative Emotion ◽

Emotional Experience ◽

Negative Emotions ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Selection Strategies ◽

Scale Test ◽

Prolonged Stress

Getting old is generally seen as unappealing, yet aging confers considerable advantages in several psychological domains (North & Fiske, 2015). In particular, older adults are better off emotionally than younger adults, with aging associated with the so-called “age advantages,” that is, more positive and less negative emotional experiences (Carstensen et al., 2011). Although the age advantages are well established, it is less clear whether they occur under conditions of prolonged stress. In a recent study, Carstensen et al (2020) demonstrated that the age advantages persist during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that older adults are able to utilise cognitive and behavioural strategies to ameliorate even sustained stress. Here, we build on Carstensen and colleagues’ work with two studies. In Study 1, we provide a large-scale test of the robustness of Carstensen and colleagues’ finding that older individuals experience more positive and less negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We measured positive and negative emotions along with age information in 23,629 participants in 63 countries in April-May 2020. In Study 2, we provide a comparison of the age advantages using representative samples collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We demonstrate that older people experience less negative emotion than younger people during the prolonged stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the advantage of older adults was diminished during the pandemic, pointing to a likely role of older adults use of situation selection strategies (Charles, 2010).

Download Full-text

Global soil moisture data derived through machine learning trained with in-situ measurements

Scientific Data ◽

10.1038/s41597-021-00964-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sungmin O. ◽

Rene Orth

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Soil Moisture ◽

Large Scale ◽

Short Term Memory ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Soil Moisture Data ◽

Wide Range ◽

Global Soil

AbstractWhile soil moisture information is essential for a wide range of hydrologic and climate applications, spatially-continuous soil moisture data is only available from satellite observations or model simulations. Here we present a global, long-term dataset of soil moisture derived through machine learning trained with in-situ measurements, SoMo.ml. We train a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to extrapolate daily soil moisture dynamics in space and in time, based on in-situ data collected from more than 1,000 stations across the globe. SoMo.ml provides multi-layer soil moisture data (0–10 cm, 10–30 cm, and 30–50 cm) at 0.25° spatial and daily temporal resolution over the period 2000–2019. The performance of the resulting dataset is evaluated through cross validation and inter-comparison with existing soil moisture datasets. SoMo.ml performs especially well in terms of temporal dynamics, making it particularly useful for applications requiring time-varying soil moisture, such as anomaly detection and memory analyses. SoMo.ml complements the existing suite of modelled and satellite-based datasets given its distinct derivation, to support large-scale hydrological, meteorological, and ecological analyses.

Download Full-text

Comparison of Different Analytical Methods for the On-Site Analysis of Traces at Clandestine Drug Laboratories

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11093754 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 3754

Author(s):

René Reiss ◽

Frank Hauser ◽

Sven Ehlert ◽

Michael Pütz ◽

Ralf Zimmermann

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Ambient Pressure ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Information Value ◽

Site Analysis ◽

Complex Information ◽

Skilled Operator ◽

Validation Parameters ◽

Clandestine Laboratories ◽

To Receive

While fast and reliable analytical results are crucial for first responders to make adequate decisions, these can be difficult to establish, especially at large-scale clandestine laboratories. To overcome this issue, multiple techniques at different levels of complexity are available. In addition to the level of complexity their information value differs as well. Within this publication, a comparison between three techniques that can be applied for on-site analysis is performed. These techniques range from ones with a simple yes or no response to sophisticated ones that allows to receive complex information about a sample. The three evaluated techniques are immunoassay drug tests representing easy to handle and fast to explain systems, ion mobility spectrometry as state-of-the-art equipment that needs training and experience prior to use and ambient pressure laser desorption with the need for a highly skilled operator as possible future technique that is currently under development. In addition to the measurement of validation parameters, real case samples are investigated to obtain practically relevant information about the capabilities and limitations of these techniques for on-site operations. Results demonstrate that in general all techniques deliver valid results, but the bandwidth of information widely varies between the investigated techniques.

Download Full-text