scholarly journals Motivated semantic control: Exploring the effects of extrinsic reward and self‐reference on semantic retrieval in semantic aphasia

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas E. Souter ◽  
Sara Stampacchia ◽  
Glyn Hallam ◽  
Hannah Thompson ◽  
Jonathan Smallwood ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Edward Souter ◽  
Sara Stampacchia ◽  
Glyn Hallam ◽  
Hannah Thompson ◽  
Jonathan Smallwood ◽  
...  

Recent insights show increased motivation can benefit executive control, but this effect has not been explored in relation to semantic cognition. Patients with deficits of controlled semantic retrieval in the context of semantic aphasia (SA) after stroke may benefit from this approach since their deficits tend to be accompanied by deficits of cognitive control. We assessed the effect of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in healthy controls and semantic aphasia patients. Experiment 1 manipulated extrinsic reward using high or low levels of points for correct responses during a semantic association task. Experiment 2 manipulated the intrinsic value of items using self-reference; allocating pictures of items to the participant ('self') or researcher ('other') in a shopping game before people retrieved their semantic associations. These experiments revealed that patients, but not controls, showed better performance when given an extrinsic reward, consistent with the view that increased external motivation may help to ameliorate patients' semantic control deficits. However, while self-reference was associated with better episodic memory, there was no effect on semantic retrieval. We conclude that semantic control deficits can be reduced when extrinsic rewards are anticipated; this enhanced motivational state is expected to support proactive control, for example, through the maintenance of task representations. It may be possible to harness this modulatory impact of reward to combat the control demands of semantic tasks in SA patients.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Friedman ◽  
Ray Johnson

A cardinal feature of aging is a decline in episodic memory (EM). Nevertheless, there is evidence that some older adults may be able to “compensate” for failures in recollection-based processing by recruiting brain regions and cognitive processes not normally recruited by the young. We review the evidence suggesting that age-related declines in EM performance and recollection-related brain activity (left-parietal EM effect; LPEM) are due to altered processing at encoding. We describe results from our laboratory on differences in encoding- and retrieval-related activity between young and older adults. We then show that, relative to the young, in older adults brain activity at encoding is reduced over a brain region believed to be crucial for successful semantic elaboration in a 400–1,400-ms interval (left inferior prefrontal cortex, LIPFC; Johnson, Nessler, & Friedman, 2013 ; Nessler, Friedman, Johnson, & Bersick, 2007 ; Nessler, Johnson, Bersick, & Friedman, 2006 ). This reduced brain activity is associated with diminished subsequent recognition-memory performance and the LPEM at retrieval. We provide evidence for this premise by demonstrating that disrupting encoding-related processes during this 400–1,400-ms interval in young adults affords causal support for the hypothesis that the reduction over LIPFC during encoding produces the hallmarks of an age-related EM deficit: normal semantic retrieval at encoding, reduced subsequent episodic recognition accuracy, free recall, and the LPEM. Finally, we show that the reduced LPEM in young adults is associated with “additional” brain activity over similar brain areas as those activated when older adults show deficient retrieval. Hence, rather than supporting the compensation hypothesis, these data are more consistent with the scaffolding hypothesis, in which the recruitment of additional cognitive processes is an adaptive response across the life span in the face of momentary increases in task demand due to poorly-encoded episodic memories.


2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Gross ◽  
Thomas R. Herzog ◽  
Senez Rodriguez-Carbonier ◽  
Mary Harmon ◽  
Natalie Kay ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
pp. 030-050
Author(s):  
J.V. Rogushina ◽  

Problems associated with the improve ment of information retrieval for open environment are considered and the need for it’s semantization is grounded. Thecurrent state and prospects of development of semantic search engines that are focused on the Web information resources processing are analysed, the criteria for the classification of such systems are reviewed. In this analysis the significant attention is paid to the semantic search use of ontologies that contain knowledge about the subject area and the search users. The sources of ontological knowledge and methods of their processing for the improvement of the search procedures are considered. Examples of semantic search systems that use structured query languages (eg, SPARQL), lists of keywords and queries in natural language are proposed. Such criteria for the classification of semantic search engines like architecture, coupling, transparency, user context, modification requests, ontology structure, etc. are considered. Different ways of support of semantic and otology based modification of user queries that improve the completeness and accuracy of the search are analyzed. On base of analysis of the properties of existing semantic search engines in terms of these criteria, the areas for further improvement of these systems are selected: the development of metasearch systems, semantic modification of user requests, the determination of an user-acceptable transparency level of the search procedures, flexibility of domain knowledge management tools, increasing productivity and scalability. In addition, the development of means of semantic Web search needs in use of some external knowledge base which contains knowledge about the domain of user information needs, and in providing the users with the ability to independent selection of knowledge that is used in the search process. There is necessary to take into account the history of user interaction with the retrieval system and the search context for personalization of the query results and their ordering in accordance with the user information needs. All these aspects were taken into account in the design and implementation of semantic search engine "MAIPS" that is based on an ontological model of users and resources cooperation into the Web.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-35
Author(s):  
Jana Kesselová

Abstract The study focuses on the process of being aware of own I in children acquiring Slovak language at an early age and living in a Slovak family. The aim of the research is to understand the process of acquiring the means by which children refer to themselves in the interaction with an adult person. The research uses the qualitative longitudinal method of individual case study. A child’s speech is researched from the very first occurrence of a self-reference mean in 16th month up to the upper limit of early age (36th month) and all that is based on audio-visual records transcripts. The following are researched: (a) succession of self-reference means acquisition in early childhood, (b) function of self-reference linguistic means, (c) process of child’s self-awareness. The results obtained based on the linguistic data in Slovak language are compared with the results of similarly focused researches in English, French, Polish, Russian and Bulgarian language. The research reveals some constants in the development of self-reference instruments that can be observed throughout various language-cultural environments. The research is a part of solutions within the grant project VEGA 1/0099/16 Personal and Social Deixis in Slovak Language.


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