scholarly journals A Theoretical Framework for a Hybrid View of the N400

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf Naumann ◽  
Wiebke Petersen

In this study, we present a novel theoretical account of the N400 event-related potential (ERP) component. Hybrid views interpret this ERP component in terms of two cognitive operations: (i) access of information, which is related to predictions (predictability component), and (ii) integration of information, which is related to plausibility (plausibility component). Though there is an empirical evidence for this view, what has been left open so far is how these two operations can be defined. In our approach, both components are related to categorization. The critical word and the argument position it is related to are associated with categories that have a graded structure. This graded structure is defined in terms of weights both on attributes and values of features belonging to a category. The weights, in turn, are defined using probability distributions. The predictability component is defined in terms of the information gain with respect to non mismatched features between the two categories. The plausibility component is defined as the difference in the degree of typicality between the two categories. Finally, the N400 amplitude is defined as a function of both components.

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 172988142199958
Author(s):  
Larkin Folsom ◽  
Masahiro Ono ◽  
Kyohei Otsu ◽  
Hyoshin Park

Mission-critical exploration of uncertain environments requires reliable and robust mechanisms for achieving information gain. Typical measures of information gain such as Shannon entropy and KL divergence are unable to distinguish between different bimodal probability distributions or introduce bias toward one mode of a bimodal probability distribution. The use of a standard deviation (SD) metric reduces bias while retaining the ability to distinguish between higher and lower risk distributions. Areas of high SD can be safely explored through observation with an autonomous Mars Helicopter allowing safer and faster path plans for ground-based rovers. First, this study presents a single-agent information-theoretic utility-based path planning method for a highly correlated uncertain environment. Then, an information-theoretic two-stage multiagent rapidly exploring random tree framework is presented, which guides Mars helicopter through regions of high SD to reduce uncertainty for the rover. In a Monte Carlo simulation, we compare our information-theoretic framework with a rover-only approach and a naive approach, in which the helicopter scouts ahead of the rover along its planned path. Finally, the model is demonstrated in a case study on the Jezero region of Mars. Results show that the information-theoretic helicopter improves the travel time for the rover on average when compared with the rover alone or with the helicopter scouting ahead along the rover’s initially planned route.


10.37236/7302 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Brandfonbrener ◽  
Pat Devlin ◽  
Netanel Friedenberg ◽  
Yuxuan Ke ◽  
Steffen Marcus ◽  
...  

We give necessary and sufficient conditions under which the Jacobian of a graph is generated by a divisor that is the difference of two vertices. This answers a question posed by Becker and Glass and allows us to prove various other propositions about the order of divisors that are the difference of two vertices. We conclude with some conjectures about these divisors on random graphs and support them with empirical evidence.


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-106
Author(s):  
ÅSHILD NÆSS

Formal models of syntax typically accord the structural position external to the verb's domain a privileged status in the overall syntactic makeup of a language, either by assuming that external arguments are always S or A, or by linking external argument position to syntactic pivothood. This paper demonstrates that the Oceanic language Äiwoo has an ergative verb phrase – i.e. A as the VP-internal argument and S/O as external arguments – but no corresponding S/O pivot. That is, the ergative structure of the verb phrase in Äiwoo does not entail any syntactically privileged status of the VP-external arguments; rather, it is simply a by-product of various diachronic developments. This situation shows that what has traditionally been perceived as fundamental differences in grammatical organisation – the difference between an accusative and an ergative pattern of VP structure – need not in fact be associated with any broader differences in syntactic or pragmatic structure. More importantly, it goes against the assumption that it is possible to assign universal functions to syntactic configurations. Instead, it can be seen as providing support for the view argued for by Evans & Levinson (2009: 444) that ‘most linguistic diversity is the product of historical cultural evolution operating on relatively independent traits’.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-321
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Moro ◽  
Marcelo Auday

We focus on the debate on the external validity of lab results in the area of experimental economics. More specifically, we focus on Colin Camerer’s and John List’s views, who postulate opposite positions on the issue. The problem is that they partially analyze the same empirical evidence and draw from it opposite conclusions. The goal of this work is to analyze such empirical evidence to try to explain the difference in interpretation of results. We argue that the dispute in interpretations can be expressed in terms of difference of criteria used to determine external validity. From our analysis we propose the formulation of different types of external validity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-27
Author(s):  
Janet H. Murray

With the advent of mass consumer virtual reality (VR) headsets and controllers in the second decade of the 20th century, some experts have predicted we are on a path toward losing the distinction between the real and the virtual. These predictions overstate the empirical evidence for the effects of VR; ignore its technical limitations; take for granted highly speculative claims about the nature of consciousness; and, most fundamentally, lose sight of the continuities between VR and other representational media. This article argues against thinking of VR as a magical technology for creating seamless illusions. Instead it situates VR as an emerging medium within an evolving community that is beginning to develop the media conventions to support sustained interaction and immersion. The future of VR is not an inevitable and delusional metaverse but a medium of representation that will always require our active creation of belief.


1965 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 531-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morton H. Kleban

Forty-three Sprague-Dawley and 43 Wistar rats were given reward training for 40 trials in a Y-maze. On the next 20 trials, control groups were continued under the same training procedure, and 50% shock trials were introduced in the training of the remaining rats. For the extinction training, the reward was shifted to the opposite arm and 50% shock was continued for the no-delay and 30-sec. delay shock groups. The most significant results were that in the 30-sec. delay groups, the delay helped the Sprague-Dawley rats reverse in a minimum number of trials, whereas the Wistar rats showed strong indications of response stereotypy. The findings with respect to the Sprague-Dawley rats supported the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of delay in overcoming response persistence and the findings on the Wistar rats supported the empirical evidence on omission in punishment. The difference in response to punishment between the two albino strains emphasizes the need for experimental study of strain factors. Experiments should be repeated with several animal strains to remedy over-generalization from single strains and to help elaborate our understanding of the interaction present between punishment and strains.


Author(s):  
Yanjun Zhang ◽  
Tingting Xia ◽  
Mian Li

Abstract Various types of uncertainties, such as parameter uncertainty, model uncertainty, metamodeling uncertainty may lead to low robustness. Parameter uncertainty can be either epistemic or aleatory in physical systems, which have been widely represented by intervals and probability distributions respectively. Model uncertainty is formally defined as the difference between the true value of the real-world process and the code output of the simulation model at the same value of inputs. Additionally, metamodeling uncertainty is introduced due to the usage of metamodels. To reduce the effects of uncertainties, robust optimization (RO) algorithms have been developed to obtain solutions being not only optimal but also less sensitive to uncertainties. Based on how parameter uncertainty is modeled, there are two categories of RO approaches: interval-based and probability-based. In real-world engineering problems, both interval and probabilistic parameter uncertainties are likely to exist simultaneously in a single problem. However, few works have considered mixed interval and probabilistic parameter uncertainties together with other types of uncertainties. In this work, a general RO framework is proposed to deal with mixed interval and probabilistic parameter uncertainties, model uncertainty, and metamodeling uncertainty simultaneously in design optimization problems using the intervals-of-statistics approaches. The consideration of multiple types of uncertainties will improve the robustness of optimal designs and reduce the risk of inappropriate decision-making, low robustness and low reliability in engineering design. Two test examples are utilized to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed RO approach.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 237-248
Author(s):  
Maojin Liang ◽  
Jiahao Liu ◽  
Yuexin Cai ◽  
Fei Zhao ◽  
Suijun Chen ◽  
...  

Objective: The present study investigated the characteristics of visual processing in the auditory-associated cortex in adults with hearing loss using event-related potentials. Methods: Ten subjects with bilateral postlingual hearing loss were recruited. Ten age- and sex-matched normal-hearing subjects were included as controls. Visual (“sound” and “non-sound” photos)-evoked potentials were performed. The P170 response in the occipital area as well as N1 and N2 responses in FC3 and FC4 were analyzed. Results: Adults with hearing loss had higher P170 amplitudes, significantly higher N2 amplitudes, and shorter N2 latency in response to “sound” and “non-sound” photo stimuli at both FC3 and FC4, with the exception of the N2 amplitude which responded to “sound” photo stimuli at FC3. Further topographic mapping analysis revealed that patients had a large difference in response to “sound” and “non-sound” photos in the right frontotemporal area, starting from approximately 200 to 400 ms. Localization of source showed the difference to be located in the middle frontal gyrus region (BA10) at around 266 ms. Conclusions: The significantly stronger responses to visual stimuli indicate enhanced visual processing in the auditory-associated cortex in adults with hearing loss, which may be attributed to cortical visual reorganization involving the right frontotemporal cortex.


2009 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-283
Author(s):  

AbstractIt may be argued that current lexica provide "translation values" for most of the nuances that can be expressed by. However, these resources provide very little or no criteria for establishing when a translation value x, y or z should be opted for. Descriptions of the most typical use of or the difference between and in other linguistic works are also not substantiated by means of empirical evidence. In this study the syntax and semantics of each instance of is investigated, and the most prototypical patterns of use are described and compared with those of. It is established that, although the two lexemes are sometimes near-synonyms, the former is prototypically a conjunctive adverb and the latter a focus particle. As far as the semantic potential of is concerned, five semantic-pragmatic polysemically-related categories (the most typical which are labelled as "noteworthy addition" and "affirmation) are distinguished, as well as the syntactic constructions and translation values that could be associated with each category of use.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianping Yang ◽  
Wanwan Xia ◽  
Taizhong Hu

The relation between extropy and variational distance is studied in this paper. We determine the distribution which attains the minimum or maximum extropy among these distributions within a given variation distance from any given probability distribution, obtain the tightest upper bound on the difference of extropies of any two probability distributions subject to the variational distance constraint, and establish an analytic formula for the confidence interval of an extropy. Such a study parallels to that of Ho and Yeung [3] concerning entropy. However, the proofs of the main results in this paper are different from those in Ho and Yeung [3]. In fact, our arguments can simplify several proofs in Ho and Yeung [3].


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