scholarly journals Which animal is big? Aging-related effects on the controlled retrieval of information

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ettore Ambrosini ◽  
Francesca Peressotti ◽  
Marisa Gennari ◽  
Silvia Benavides ◽  
Maria Montefinese
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Semantic Representation ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Verification Task ◽  
Target Feature ◽  
Use Of Knowledge ◽  
Semantic Significance

The efficient use of knowledge requires semantic control processes to retrieve context-relevant information. So far, it is well established that semantic knowledge, as measured with vocabulary tests, do not decline in aging. Yet, it is still unclear if controlled retrieval -the context-driven retrieval of very specific aspects of semantic knowledge- declines in aging, following the same fate of other forms of cognitive control. Here, we tackled this issue by comparing the performance of younger and older native Italian speakers during a semantic feature verification task. To manipulate the control demands, we parametrically varied the semantic significance, a measure of the salience of the target feature for the cue concept. As compared to their young counterparts, older adults showed a greater performance disruption (in terms of reaction times) as the significance value of the target feature decreased. This result suggests that older people have difficulties in regulating the activation within semantic representation, such that they fail to handle non-dominant (or weakly activated) yet task-relevant semantic information.

scholarly journals Recruitment of representational components of the semantic system distinguishes successful from unsuccessful access to complex factual knowledge

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Ubaldi ◽  
Giuseppe Rabini ◽  
Scott L Fairhall
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Semantic Representation ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Spatial Knowledge ◽  
Factual Knowledge ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Knowledge Domains ◽  
Semantic Access

Our ability to effectively retrieve complex semantic knowledge meaningfully impacts our daily lives, yet the interactions between semantic control and semantic representational systems that underly successful access and transient failures in access remain only partially understood. In this fMRI study, we contrast activation during successful semantic access, unsuccessful semantic access due to transient access-failures (i.e., "tip-of-the-tongue", "feeling-of-knowing"), and trials where the semantic knowledge was not possessed. Twenty-four participants were presented 240 trivia-based questions relating to person, place, object or scholastic knowledge-domains. Whole brain analyses of the recall event indicate comparable recruitment of prefrontal semantic control systems during successful and unsuccessful semantic access and greater activation in representational systems in successful access. Region-of-interest analysis of domain-selective areas showed that successful access was generally associated with increased responses for both preferred and non-preferred stimuli, with the exception of place-selective regions (PPA, TOS and RSC). Both whole brain and Region-of-interest analysis showed the particular recruitment of place-selective regions during unsuccessful attempts at semantic access, for all stimulus domains. Collectively, these results suggest that prefrontal semantic control systems and classical spatial-knowledge-selective regions work together to locate relevant information and that access to complex knowledge results in a broadening of semantic representation to include regions selective for other knowledge domains.

scholarly journals Knowledge guides attention to goal-relevant information in older adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maverick E. Smith ◽  
Lester C. Loschky ◽  
Heather R. Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Free Recall ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Attention And Memory ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Age Related

AbstractHow does viewers’ knowledge guide their attention while they watch everyday events, how does it affect their memory, and does it change with age? Older adults have diminished episodic memory for everyday events, but intact semantic knowledge. Indeed, research suggests that older adults may rely on their semantic memory to offset impairments in episodic memory, and when relevant knowledge is lacking, older adults’ memory can suffer. Yet, the mechanism by which prior knowledge guides attentional selection when watching dynamic activity is unclear. To address this, we studied the influence of knowledge on attention and memory for everyday events in young and older adults by tracking their eyes while they watched videos. The videos depicted activities that older adults perform more frequently than young adults (balancing a checkbook, planting flowers) or activities that young adults perform more frequently than older adults (installing a printer, setting up a video game). Participants completed free recall, recognition, and order memory tests after each video. We found age-related memory deficits when older adults had little knowledge of the activities, but memory did not differ between age groups when older adults had relevant knowledge and experience with the activities. Critically, results showed that knowledge influenced where viewers fixated when watching the videos. Older adults fixated less goal-relevant information compared to young adults when watching young adult activities, but they fixated goal-relevant information similarly to young adults, when watching more older adult activities. Finally, results showed that fixating goal-relevant information predicted free recall of the everyday activities for both age groups. Thus, older adults may use relevant knowledge to more effectively infer the goals of actors, which guides their attention to goal-relevant actions, thus improving their episodic memory for everyday activities.

Differential Cued-Stroop Performance in Cognitively Asymptomatic Older Adults with Biomarker-Identified Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease: A Pilot Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 820-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Van Patten ◽  
Anne M. Fagan ◽  
David A.S. Kaufman
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Stroop Task ◽  
Coefficient Of Variation ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Preclinical Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers ◽  
Accuracy Rates

Background: There exists a need for more sensitive measures capable of detecting subtle cognitive decline due to Alzheimer's disease. Objective: To advance the literature in Alzheimer’s disease by demonstrating that performance on a cued-Stroop task is impacted by preclinical Alzheimer's disease neuropathology. Method: Twenty-nine cognitively asymptomatic older adults completed a computerized, cued-Stroop task in which accuracy rates and intraindividual variability in reaction times were the outcomes of interest. Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of Aβ42 and tau were measured and participants were then grouped according to a published p-tau/Aβ42 cutoff reflecting risk for Alzheimer’s disease (preclinical Alzheimer's disease = 14; control = 15). Results: ANOVAs indicated that accuracy rates did not differ between the groups but 4-second delay incongruent color-naming Stroop coefficient of variation reaction times were higher in the preclinical Alzheimer’s disease group compared to the control group, reflecting increased within-person variability. Moreover, partial correlations showed no relationships between cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers and accuracy rates. However, increases in coefficient of variation reaction times correlated with decreased Aβ42 and increases in p-tau and the p-tau/Aβ42 ratio. Conclusion: Results supported the ability of the computerized, cued-Stroop task to detect subtle Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology using a small cohort of cognitively asymptomatic older adults. The ongoing measurement of cued-Stroop coefficient of variation reaction times has both scientific and clinical utility in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease.

scholarly journals Detection of tactile inputs in the rat vibrissa pathway

2012 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas R. Ollerenshaw ◽  
Bilal A. Bari ◽  
Daniel C. Millard ◽  
Lauren E. Orr ◽  
Qi Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Response Probability ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Relative Strength ◽  
Spatiotemporal Representation ◽  
Induced Motion ◽  
Electrophysiological Findings

The rapid detection of sensory inputs is crucial for survival. Sensory detection explicitly requires the integration of incoming sensory information and the ability to distinguish between relevant information and ongoing neural activity. In this study, head-fixed rats were trained to detect the presence of a brief deflection of their whiskers resulting from a focused puff of air. The animals showed a monotonic increase in response probability and a decrease in reaction time with increased stimulus strength. High-speed video analysis of whisker motion revealed that animals were more likely to detect the stimulus during periods of reduced self-induced motion of the whiskers, thereby allowing the stimulus-induced whisker motion to exceed the ongoing noise. In parallel, we used voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) imaging of barrel cortex in anesthetized rats receiving the same stimulus set as those in the behavioral portion of this study to assess candidate codes that make use of the full spatiotemporal representation and to compare variability in the trial-by-trial nature of the cortical response and the corresponding variability in the behavioral response. By application of an accumulating evidence framework to the population cortical activity measured in separate animals, a strong correspondence was made between the behavioral output and the neural signaling, in terms of both the response probabilities and the reaction times. Taken together, the results here provide evidence for detection performance that is strongly reliant on the relative strength of signal versus noise, with strong correspondence between behavior and parallel electrophysiological findings.

scholarly journals Poor coherence in older people's speech is explained by impaired semantic and executive processes

eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Hoffman ◽  
Ekaterina Loginova ◽  
Asatta Russell
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Computational Method ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Executive Processes ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The World ◽  
Selection Of

The ability to speak coherently is essential for effective communication but declines with age: older people more frequently produce tangential, off-topic speech. The cognitive factors underpinning this decline are poorly understood. We predicted that maintaining coherence relies on effective regulation of activated semantic knowledge about the world, and particularly on the selection of currently relevant semantic representations to drive speech production. To test this, we collected 840 speech samples along with measures of executive and semantic ability from 60 young and older adults, using a novel computational method to quantify coherence. Semantic selection ability predicted coherence, as did level of semantic knowledge and a measure of domain-general executive ability. These factors fully accounted for the age-related coherence deficit. Our results indicate that maintaining coherence in speech becomes more challenging as people age because they accumulate more knowledge but are less able to effectively regulate how it is activated and used.

scholarly journals From survey to semantic representation for Cultural Heritage: the 3D modeling of recurring architectural elements

ACTA IMEKO ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Valeria Croce ◽  
Gabriella Caroti ◽  
Andrea Piemonte ◽  
Marco Giorgio Bevilacqua
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Semantic Representation ◽  
Laser Scanner ◽  
3D Models ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Documentary Sources ◽  
Building Components ◽  
Integrated Programs ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Historical Sites

The digitization of Cultural Heritage paves the way for new approaches to surveying and restitution of historical sites. With a view to the management of integrated programs of documentation and conservation, the research is now focusing on the creation of information systems where to link the digital representation of a building to semantic knowledge. With reference to the emblematic case study of the Calci Charterhouse, also known as Pisa Charterhouse, this contribution illustrates an approach to be followed in the transition from 3D survey information, derived from laser scanner and photogrammetric techniques, to the creation of semantically enriched 3D models. The proposed approach is based on the recognition -segmentation and classification- of elements on the original raw point cloud, and on the manual mapping of NURBS elements on it. For this shape recognition process, reference to architectural treatises and vocabularies of classical architecture is a key step. The created building components are finally imported in a H-BIM environment, where they are enriched with semantic information related to historical knowledge, documentary sources and restoration activities.

Semantic Representation and Naming in Young Children

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 332-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karla K. McGregor ◽  
Rena M. Friedman ◽  
Renée M. Reilly ◽  
Robyn M. Newman
Keyword(s):  
Picture Naming ◽  
Semantic Representation ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Visual Complexity ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Object Representations ◽  
Semantic Representations ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Retrieval Failure ◽  
Age Appropriate

Children's semantic representations and semantic naming errors were the focus of this study. In Experiment 1, 25 normally developing children (mean age=5 years 4 months) named, drew, and defined 20 age-appropriate objects. The results suggested that functional and physical properties are core aspects of object representations in the semantic lexicon and that these representations are often organized and accessed according to a taxonomic hierarchy. Results of a new procedure, comparative picture naming/picture drawing, suggested that the degree of knowledge in the semantic lexicon makes words more or less vulner-able to retrieval failure. Most semantic naming errors were associated with limited semantic knowledge, manifested as either lexical gaps or fragile representations. Comparison of definitions for correctly named and semantically misnamed objects provided converging evidence for this conclusion. In Experiment 2, involving 16 normally developing children (mean age=5 years 5 months), the comparative picture naming/picture drawing results were replicated with a stimulus set that allowed a priori matching of the visual complexity of items drawn from correct and semantic error pools. Discussion focuses on the dynamic nature of semantic representations and the relation between semantic representation and naming during a period of slow mapping. The value of comparative picture naming/ picture drawing as a new method for exploring children's semantic representa-tions is emphasized.

The Korean Size/Weight Attribute Test: A Semantic Knowledge Test for Korean Older Adults and Brain-Imaging Evidence

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongjoon Yoo ◽  
Seong A. Shin ◽  
Soowon Park ◽  
Ji-Hye Lee ◽  
Jung-Hae Youn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Brain Imaging ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Test

Thematic object pairs produce stronger and faster perceptual grouping than taxonomic pairs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Nah ◽  
Joy Geng
Keyword(s):  
Visual Processing ◽  
Perceptual Grouping ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Perceptual Unit ◽  
Critical Difference ◽  
Common Event ◽  
Taxonomic Relationships ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Fundamental Units

While objects are fundamental units of vision that convey meaning, how different types of semantic knowledge affect perception is not fully understood. In contrast, the concept literature divides semantic information into taxonomic and thematic types. Taxonomic relationships reflect categorization by similarities (e.g., dog – wolf); thematic groups are based on complementary relationships shared within a common event (e.g., swimsuit – goggles; pool). A critical difference between these two information types is that thematic relationships are learned from the experienced co-occurrence of objects whereas taxonomic relationships are learned abstractly. In two studies, we test the hypothesis that visual processing of thematically related objects is more rapid because they serve as mutual visual primes and form a perceptual unit. The results demonstrate that learned co-occurrence not only shapes semantic knowledge, but also affects low level visual processing, revealing a link between how information is acquired (e.g., experienced vs. unobserved) and how it modulates perception.

scholarly journals Phonetics and Ambiguity Comprehension Gated Attention Network for Humor Recognition

Complexity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaochao Fan ◽  
Hongfei Lin ◽  
Liang Yang ◽  
Yufeng Diao ◽  
Chen Shen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Semantic Representation ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Attention Network ◽  
Phonetic Information ◽  
The Neural Network ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Public Datasets

Humor refers to the quality of being amusing. With the development of artificial intelligence, humor recognition is attracting a lot of research attention. Although phonetics and ambiguity have been introduced by previous studies, existing recognition methods still lack suitable feature design for neural networks. In this paper, we illustrate that phonetics structure and ambiguity associated with confusing words need to be learned for their own representations via the neural network. Then, we propose the Phonetics and Ambiguity Comprehension Gated Attention network (PACGA) to learn phonetic structures and semantic representation for humor recognition. The PACGA model can well represent phonetic information and semantic information with ambiguous words, which is of great benefit to humor recognition. Experimental results on two public datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our model.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document