Action Enhances Predicted Touch

It is widely believed that predicted tactile action outcomes are perceptually attenuated. The present experiments determined whether predictive mechanisms necessarily generate attenuation or, instead, can enhance perception—as typically observed in sensory cognition domains outside of action. We manipulated probabilistic expectations in a paradigm often used to demonstrate tactile attenuation. Adult participants produced actions and subsequently rated the intensity of forces on a static finger. Experiment 1 confirmed previous findings that action outcomes are perceived less intensely than passive stimulation but demonstrated more intense perception when active finger stimulation was removed. Experiments 2 and 3 manipulated prediction explicitly and found that expected touch during action is perceived more intensely than unexpected touch. Computational modeling suggested that expectations increase the gain afforded to expected tactile signals. These findings challenge a central tenet of prominent motor control theories and demonstrate that sensorimotor predictions do not exhibit a qualitatively distinct influence on tactile perception.

21. Integrated theories of crime

This chapter assesses how crime can be explained in ways that integrate ideas from more than one theory. Integrated theories have merged ideas, explanations, and arguments from more than one theory within a school of theories and even across different schools, thus they may also be called multi-factor or hybrid theories. The chapter begins with an exploration of integrated positivist theories, which can be divided into two main groups: sociobiological theories and social control theories. It then moves on to examine integrated risk factor theories, which can also be divided into two main groups: artefactual risk factor theories and enhanced pathways risk factor theories. The chapter concludes by revisiting the role, context, and influence of integrated theories in the evolution of theories in criminology.

Reviewing Minimalist Theories of Control and a Brief Look at Romanian Control

"Reviewing Minimalist Theories of Control and a Brief Look at Romanian Control. The phenomenon of control is a long-discussed topic within the enterprise of generative grammar. Multiple theories were composed and dismissed along with the advancement of the module, and with the development of the Minimalist program, more recent theories on control came to surface. The present article provides a review of two minimalist theories of control: the Movement Theory of Control and the Agree Model of Obligatory Control. A synopsis of one applied model of the MTC on Romanian data is also part of the paper, as is a brief commentary on the structure of Romanian control, namely an exploration of the tension between subjunctive and infinitive control complements. Keywords: control theories, minimalist program, Romanian control, Agree Model of Control, Movement Theory of Control "

Gauging Gait Disorders with a Method Inspired by Motor Control Theories: A Pilot Study in Friedreich’s Ataxia

To date, it has been challenging for clinicians and researchers alike to use the multiple outcome measures available to create a meaningful clinical picture and perform effective longitudinal follow-up. It has been found that instrumented gait analysis can provide information associated with a patient’s performance and help to remedy the shortcomings of the currently available outcome measures. The goal of this methodological article is to set the background and justify a new outcome measure inspired by the motor control theories to analyze gait using spatiotemporal parameters. The method is applied in a population of individuals living with Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA), a neurodegenerative disease. The sample population consisted of 19 subjects, 11 to 65 years of age with FRDA, who either ambulated independently, with a cane, or with a rollator. Three scores based on the distance from healthy normative data were used: Organization Score, Variability Score, and an overall measurement, the Global Ambulation Score. The scores were then compared to the Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) Gait Score (SARA-GS), a clinical scale currently being used for gait analysis in FRDA. Organization Scores demonstrated a longitudinal deterioration in the gait characteristics from independent ambulators to those who ambulated with a rollator. Variability Scores mostly reflected dynamic instability, which became greater as the requirement of an ambulation aid or the switch from a cane to a rollator was imminent. The global value given by the Global Ambulation Score, which takes into consideration both the Organization Score, the Variability Score, and the level of assistive device, demonstrated a logarithmic relationship with the SARA-GS. Overall, these results highlight that both components introduced should be analyzed concurrently and suggest that the Global Ambulation Score may be a valuable outcome measure for longitudinal disease progression.