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Air Traffic Controllers' (ATCos) mental workload is likely to remain the specific greatest functional limitation on the capacity of the Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. Developing computational models to monitor mental workload and task complexity is essential for enabling ATCOs and ATM systems to adapt to varying task demands. Most methodologies have computed task complexity based on basic parameters such as air-traffic density; however, literature research has shown that it also depends on many other factors. In this paper, we present a study in which we explored the possibility of predicting task complexity and performance through mental workload measurements of participants performing an ATM task in an air-traffic control simulator. Our findings suggest that mental workload measurements better predict poor performance and high task complexity peaks than other established factors. This underscores their potential for research into how different ATM factors affect task complexity. Understanding the role and the weight of these factors in the overall task complexity confronted by ATCos constitutes one of the biggest challenges currently faced by the ATM sphere and would significantly contribute to the safety of our sky. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air Traffic Controllers’ (ATCos) mental workload is likely to remain the specific greatest functional limitation on the capacity of the Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. Developing computational models to monitor mental workload and task complexity is essential for enabling ATCOs and ATM systems to adapt to varying task demands. Most methodologies have computed task complexity based on basic parameters such as air-traffic density; however, literature research has shown that it also depends on many other factors. In this paper, we present a study in which we explored the possibility of predicting task complexity and performance through mental workload measurements of participants performing an ATM task in an air-traffic control simulator. Our findings suggest that mental workload measurements better predict poor performance and high task complexity peaks than other established factors. This underscores their potential for research into how different ATM factors affect task complexity. Understanding the role and the weight of these factors in the overall task complexity confronted by ATCos constitutes one of the biggest challenges currently faced by the ATM sphere and would significantly contribute to the safety of our sky.

Neuropsychology is the study of behavioural and cognitive deficits in patients with brain lesions, comparing task performance between healthy controls and those with brain damage to infer the link between brain anatomy and behaviour. The discipline’s three most popular tools – association, dissociation, and double dissociation studies – have yielded a vast amount of valuable experimental and clinical insight for neuroscience’s understanding of the brain-behaviour connection. Here, specific contributions from each type of study are discussed in relation to the diagnosis and treatment of three neuropsychological impairments – Bálint’s syndrome, visual form agnosia, and aphasia. The inherent limitations of neuropsychology as a discipline are considered, including the problem of low generalizability, the debatable fractionation assumption, poor temporal resolution and its relative obsoleteness in comparison to contemporary brain imaging techniques. It is concluded that the combined approach of converging traditional neuropsychological techniques with modern neuroimaging methods, is most efficient at providing insight on brain function and localisation, leading to brain-behaviour conclusions that would be impossible to discover using solely patient studies.

Neuropsychology is the study of behavioural and cognitive deficits in patients with brain lesions, comparing task performance between healthy controls and those with brain damage to infer the link between brain anatomy and behaviour. The discipline's three most popular tools - association, dissociation, and double dissociation studies - have yielded a vast amount of valuable experimental and clinical insight for neuroscience's understanding of the brain-behaviour connection. Here, specific contributions from each type of study are discussed in relation to the diagnosis and treatment of three neuropsychological impairments - Bálint's syndrome, visual form agnosia, and aphasia. The inherent limitations of neuropsychology as a discipline are considered, including the problem of low generalizability, the debatable fractionation assumption, poor temporal resolution and its relative obsoleteness in comparison to contemporary brain imaging techniques. It is concluded that the combined approach of converging traditional neuropsychological techniques with modern neuroimaging methods, is most efficient at providing insight on brain function and localisation, leading to brain-behaviour conclusions that would be impossible to discover using solely patient studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The backbone of cognitive neuropsychology is the observation of (double) dissociations in performance between patients, suggesting some degree of independence between cognitive processes (domain specificity). In comparison, observations of associations between disorders/deficits have been deemed less evidential in neuropsychological theorizing about cognitive architecture. The reason is that associations can reflect damage to independent cognitive processes that happen to be mediated by structures commonly affected by the same brain disorder rather than damage to a shared (domain-general) mechanism. Here we demonstrate that it is in principle possible to discriminate between these alternatives by means of a procedure involving large unbiased samples. We exemplify the procedure in the context of developmental prosopagnosia (DP), but the procedure is in principle applicable to all neuropsychological deficits/disorders. A simulation of the procedure on a dataset yields estimates of dissociations/associations that are well in line with existing DP-studies, and also suggests that seemingly selective disorders can reflect damage to both domain-general and domain-specific cognitive processes. However, the simulation also highlights some limitations that should be considered if the procedure is to be applied prospectively. The main advantage of the procedure is that allows for examination of both associations and dissociations in the same sample. Hence, it may help even the balance in the use of associations and dissociations as grounds for neuropsychological theorizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) refers to a cluster of involuntary phenomena related to playing videogames, including sensory and cognitive intrusions, transient changes in perception and self-agency. The Game Transfer Phenomena Scale (GTPS) has been used to measure the frequency of GTP with respect to five factors. The present study aimed to validate an instrument for assessing the multiple dimensions of GTP (GTP-MDS) that helps clarify the distinction between GTP experiences. GTP were contextualized onto the spectrum of intrusive cognitions, perceptual distortions, and dissociations. The relationship between GTP, involuntary phenomena without game content (INVWG) in terms of, e.g., hallucinations and perceptual distortions, and gamebiased perceptions (GBPA), as well as the positive and negative impact of GTP and level of distress were also examined. The data were collected using a survey (N = 1,301, male 83.4%, mean age = 28.14). Separate confirmatory factor analyses of the dimensions of “inner intrusions/misperceptions,” “outer intrusions/distortions,” and “dissociations/mix-ups” produced acceptable fit indices. The findings show that phenomena manifesting as internal experiences are more common, while those manifesting as externalized intrusions are less common. Correlations between the GTP dimensions, INVWG, and GBPA, such as the insertion of game elements in thoughts, perceptions, and dreams, supported convergent validity. The correlations between the GTP dimensions and hours played supported criterion validity. Distress was correlated with outer intrusions and dissociations/mix-ups, but not with inner intrusions. Taken together, these results support the validity and reliability of the proposed assessment of GTP constructs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) refers to a cluster of involuntary phenomena related to playing videogames, including sensory and cognitive intrusions, transient changes in perception and self-agency. The Game Transfer Phenomena Scale (GTPS) has been used to measure the frequency of GTP with respect to five factors. The present study aimed to validate an instrument for assessing the multiple dimensions of GTP (GTP-MDS) that helps clarify the distinction between GTP experiences. GTP were contextualized onto the spectrum of intrusive cognitions, perceptual distortions, and dissociations. The relationship between GTP, involuntary phenomena without game content (INVWG) in terms of, e.g., hallucinations and perceptual distortions, and game-biased perceptions (GBPA), as well as the positive and negative impact of GTP and level of distress were also examined. The data were collected using a survey (N = 1,301, male 83.4%, mean age = 28.14). Separate confirmatory factor analyses of the dimensions of “inner intrusions/misperceptions,” “outer intrusions/distortions,” and “dissociations/mix-ups” produced acceptable fit indices. The findings show that phenomena manifesting as internal experiences are more common, while those manifesting as externalized intrusions are less common. Correlations between the GTP dimensions, INVWG, and GBPA, such as the insertion of game elements in thoughts, perceptions, and dreams, supported convergent validity. The correlations between the GTP dimensions and hours played supported criterion validity. Distress was correlated with outer intrusions and dissociations/mix-ups, but not with inner intrusions. Taken together, these results support the validity and reliability of the proposed assessment of GTP constructs.

Background: Bodily self-disturbances are highly salient to the phenomenology of schizophrenia (SZ) but difficult to quantify owing to the subjective nature of these experiences that challenge verbal descriptions. The Benson et al. [PsyCh J. 2019 Mar;8(1):110–21] Body Disturbances Inventory (B-BODI) provides visual aids to help participants access the frequency, distressfulness, and vividness of subjective self-experiences with good reliability and validity in North American samples. However, the concept of the self and, accordingly, the conceptualization of self-disorders are influenced by culture. Therefore, we examined self-disturbances in individuals with SZ and control (CO) participants in 2 distinct cultures. Methods: B-BODI was administered to South Korean and North American participants, with and without SZ. Severity of symptoms in diagnosed individuals with SZ and schizotypy in CO was assessed. We also assessed perceived social isolation and mood in all participants. Results: Endorsement and frequency of bodily self-disturbances in SZ were similar in both cultures. In contrast, there were significant cultural differences in the degree of distress and vividness of self-disturbances. Bodily self-disturbances were experienced as more vivid and distressing to Americans than Koreans, regardless of diagnosis. For both cultures, B-BODI scores were associated with positive, but not negative, symptoms in SZ. For CO, elevated schizotypy was associated with B-BODI scores. Mood and loneliness were not associated with B-BODI scores. Conclusion: SZ reported overall increased levels of bodily self-disturbances compared with CO, regardless of culture. However, there were cultural differences in one's emotional reaction to these experiences. Americans were more distressed by self-disturbances and experienced them more vividly than Koreans. These findings suggest that Americans may be less accepting of anomalous bodily self-experiences relative to Koreans. Last, B-BODI appears to be a useful tool for future cross-cultural studies of SZ phenomenology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that instrumental training can encourage the formation of binary associations between the representations of the elements present at the time of learning, that is, between the discriminative stimulus and the instrumental response (the S-R association), between the stimulus and outcome (the S-O association), and between the response and outcome (the R-O association). Studies with rats have used transfer procedures to explore the effects of discriminative extinction (i.e., extinction that is carried out in the presence of the discriminative stimuli) on these three binary associations. Thus, a reduction in the response rate of the extinguished response (R) can be detected in situations involving a different discriminative stimulus that was associated with the same outcome, and to unextinguished responses controlled by the discriminative stimulus (S) and associated with the outcome (O). These transfer effects suggest that R-O and S-O associations remain active after extinction in nonhuman animals. We carried out an experiment to explore these postextinction transfer effects in humans using a within-subject design. Contrary to nonhuman reports, the S--O association was affected by discriminative extinction, suggesting differences in the associative structure of instrumental conditioning in human and nonhuman animals that should be considered by those therapeutic strategies based in nonhuman animal research aimed to reduce unhealthy instrumental behaviours in human beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the time‐dependent quantum wave packet method, the photoassociation (PA) processes of He + H+→ HeH+ and He + D+→ HeD+, driven by the sin2‐shaped femtosecond laser pulse in the electronic ground state, including multiphoton transitions and dissociations, are investigated for a wide range of initial collision momenta spanning from 1 to 4 a.u. (or for the collision energy roughly in the ranges of 0.009∼0.148 eV and 0.006∼0.089 eV for HeH+ and HeD+ systems, respectively). It is found that, at some collision momenta, multiphoton transitions to deeply bound states are inevitable to occur and can greatly decrease the PA probability of the target state that selected is the vibrational state v = 6. For the dissociation process, the higher‐order (two‐ and three‐photon) dissociations, measured from the target state, tend to be significant at relative high collision energies, which implies that above‐threshold dissociations may also be an important loss mechanism in the PA process. In addition, it is also shown that the higher‐order dissociation is much stronger for HeH+ systems than that for HeD+ systems at a given collision momentum, and could be enhanced by the strong transitions among deeply bound states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bodner and Richardson-Champion (2007) found a dissociative effect of test context on binary remember/ know judgments about a critical set of details from a film sequence. Details of medium difficulty were more likely to be judged "recollected" when preceded by a set of difficult details than a set of easy details, but were similarly likely to be judged "familiar." Using the same paradigm, we replicated this dissociation when participants independently rated recollection and familiarity. Our finding represents the first evidence that independent recollection/familiarity ratings can be dissociated. In contrast, previous studies using independent ratings have yielded parallel effects of variables that produce dissociative effects with binary judgments. Our discussion considers potential causes of this dissociation, whether test context influenced discrimination or response bias, and implications for interpreting subjective recognition experiences. Demonstrations that test context can affect recollection reports also have implications for designing and conducting eyewitness interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug resistant epilepsy is one of the most complex, multifactorial and polygenic neurological syndrome. Besides its dynamicity and variability, it still provides us with a model to study brain-behavior relationship, giving cues on the anatomy and functional representation of brain function. Given that onset zone of focal epileptic seizures often affects different anatomical areas, cortical but limited to one hemisphere, this condition also let us study the functional differences of the left and right cerebral hemispheres. One lateralized function in the human brain is emotional prosody, and it can be a useful ictal sign offering hints on the location of the epileptogenic zone. Besides its importance for effective communication, prosody is not considered an eloquent domain, making resective surgery on its neural correlates feasible. We performed an Electronic databases search (Medline and PsychINFO) from inception to July 2017 for studies about prosody in epilepsy. The search terms included “epilepsy,” “seizure,” “emotional prosody,” and “vocal affect.” This review focus on emotional prosody processing in epilepsy as it can give hints regarding plastic functional changes following seizures (preoperatively), resection (post operatively), and also as an ictal sign enabling the assessment of dynamic brain networks. Moreover, it is argued that such reorganization can help to preserve the expression and reception of emotional prosody as a central skill to develop appropriate social interactions.

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Since Freud and his co-author Breuer spoke of dissociation in 1895, a scientific paradigm was painstakingly established in the field of unconscious cognition. This is the dissociation paradigm. However, recent critical analysis of the many and various reported dissociations reveals their blurred, or unveridical, character. Moreover, we remain ignorant with respect to the ways cognitive phenomena transition from consciousness to an unconscious mode (or the reverse). This hinders us from filling in the puzzle of the unified mind. We conclude that we have reached a Kuhnian crisis in the field of unconscious cognition, and we predict that new models, incorporating partly the relevant findings of the dissociation paradigm—but also of dynamic psychology—, will soon be established. We further predict that some of these models will be largely based on the pairs representation-process and analog-digital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug resistant epilepsy is one of the most complex, multifactorial and polygenic neurological syndrome. Besides its dynamicity and variability, it still provides us with a model to study brain-behavior relationship, giving cues on the anatomy and functional representation of brain function. Given that onset zone of focal epileptic seizures often affects different anatomical areas, cortical but limited to one hemisphere, this condition also let us study the functional differences of the left and right cerebral hemispheres. One lateralized function in the human brain is emotional prosody, and it can be a useful ictal sign offering hints on the location of the epileptogenic zone. Besides its importance for effective communication, prosody is not considered an eloquent domain, making resective surgery on its neural correlates feasible. We performed an Electronic databases search (Medline and PsychINFO) from inception to July 2017 for studies about prosody in epilepsy. The search terms included "epilepsy," "seizure," "emotional prosody," and "vocal affect." This review focus on emotional prosody processing in epilepsy as it can give hints regarding plastic functional changes following seizures (preoperatively), resection (post operatively), and also as an ictal sign enabling the assessment of dynamic brain networks. Moreover, it is argued that such reorganization can help to preserve the expression and reception of emotional prosody as a central skill to develop appropriate social interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In complex real life situations, memories for temporal and spatial information are naturally linked since sequential events coincide in time and space. Whether this connection is inseparable or instead whether these processes are functionally dissociable was investigated in this patient study. Methods: Spatial object-location and temporal order memory tasks were administered to 36 stroke patients and 44 healthy control participants. Results: On group level, patients with a stroke in the left hemisphere performed worse on temporal order memory, compared to the control participants. On individual level, using a multiple case-study approach, a clear pattern of dissociations was found between memory for temporal and for spatial features. Conclusions: These findings indicate that location and temporal order memory contain functionally separable processes. This adds to our understanding of how context information is processed in human memory. (JINS, 2017, 23, 421–430) [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Dissociation is a common reaction subsequent to childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and has been identified as a risk factor for child psychopathology. There is also evidence that mentalization contributes to resilience in the context of abuse. However, at this stage little is known regarding the relationship between mentalization and dissociation, and their respective contributions to psychopathology. The aim of this study was to examine pathways from CSA to depressive symptoms, externalizing behaviour difficulties and sexualized behaviour through mentalization and dissociation. These pathways were examined in a sample of 168 mother-child dyads, including 74 dyads where children (aged 7–12) had histories of sexual abuse. Maternal mentalization was assessed using the Parent Development Interview-Revised and children’s mentalization was assessed using the Child Reflective Functioning Scale. Children completed the Child Depression Inventory and parents completed the Child Dissociative Checklist, the Child Behavior Checklist and the Child Sexual Behavior Inventory. Direct and indirect paths from CSA to child psychopathology via children’s mentalization and dissociation were examined using Mplus. Distinct paths from abuse to psychopathology were identified. Child mentalization partially mediated the relationship between CSA and depressive symptoms. The effects of CSA on externalizing symptoms and sexualized behaviour difficulties were sequentially mediated through mentalization and dissociation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Does an observed dissociation in a single patient suffice to rule out a cognitive model that has been confirmed in multiple studies including hundreds of observations? This matter is currently being discussed in the field of cognitive neuropsychology, where prominent researchers have recently questioned the value of single-case studies. Instead, these researchers advocate the case-series approach as the preferred method. The debate concerning the preferred approach to studying patients is linked to two competing models of word processing. The present article summarizes the central points of the debate along with its most prominent protagonists and empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An enhanced partition model is proposed for the distribution of 4 - nitrophenol between polar quasi-immiscible solvents (water and 1-octanol). Monitoring both phases over an extend wavelengths range (200–450 nm), the presence of 4-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenolate species in the aqueous and organic layers was emphasized. A genetic algorithm has been used to minimize the sum of squared residuals model-experiment using the non-linear equations system model resulted from mass and charge balances. Thus, improved values for the thermodynamic constants associated to partition, dissociation and dimerization equilibria occurring in both phases were found: 1-octanol dissociation constant in the aqueous phase, K Ow = 3.2 × 10 −13 mol∙L − 1 , 4-nitrophenol dissociation constant in aqueous phase, K Φ w = 1.45 × 10 −8 mol∙L − 1 , water dissociation constant in the organic phase, K wo = 3.5 × 10 −16 mol∙L −1 , 1-octanol dissociation constant in the organic phase, K Oo = 1.1 × 10 −16 mol∙L −1 , 4-nitrophenol dissociation constant in organic phase, K Φ o = 2.9 × 10 −10 mol∙L −1 , 1-octanol dimerization constant in the organic phase, K Do = 3 × 10 −9 L∙mol −1 and 4-nitrophenol dimerization constant in organic phase, K D Φ = 1.4 × 10 −8 L∙mol −1 . Although the logarithms of calculated partition coefficients are rather similar to the values reported in the literature, in the 1.86–2.07 range, the collected experimental evidence demonstrates that the process had been oversimplified and the polar characteristics of the organic solvent had been neglected in the former studies. The enhanced partition model emphasized the nonlinear dependency of the partition coefficient upon the analyte concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The arithmetical skills in two children with Turner’s syndrome (TS), each the focus of a case study, were analysed in whole numbers and other number scales that have not been systematically explored previously, fractions, decimals, percentages, and negative numbers. The intention was to identify the fractionation of arithmetical skills. The two girls with TS showed dissociations of arithmetical skill in the calculation system of whole numbers that support its modular organization. Fractionation of skills was observed in some components of the other number scales, suggesting an analogous organization within these scales. The operational specificity of impairment within number scales but not others argued against a unitary arithmetical system but rather for autonomous operational scales within distinct number scales. A general model of arithmetic is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the intratest scatter (variability) on standardized tests of expressive language by preschool age children who do (CWS) and do not stutter (CWNS). Method: Participants were 40 preschool-age CWS and 46 same-age CWNS. Between-group comparisons of intratest scatter were made based on participants’ responses to the Expressive subtest of the Test of Early Language Development, Third Edition (TELD–Exp; Hresko, Reid, & Hamill, 1999) and the Expressive Vocabulary Test, Second Edition (EVT–2; Williams, 2007). Within-group correlational analyses between intratest scatter and stuttering frequency and severity were also conducted for the CWS. Results: For the CWS, categorical scatter on the EVT–2 was positively correlated with their stuttering frequency. No significant between-group differences in intratest scatter were found on the TELD–Exp or the EVT–2. Conclusion: Consistent with earlier findings, variability in speech-language performance appears to be related to CWS’ stuttering, a finding taken to suggest that an underlying cognitive–linguistic variable (e.g., cognitive load) may be common to both variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discipline of cognitive neuropsychology has been important for informing theories of cognition and describing the nature of acquired cognitive disorders, but its applicability in a developmental context has been questioned. Here, we revisit this issue, asking whether the cognitive neuropsychological approach can be helpful for exploring the nature and causes of developmental disorders and, if so, how. We outline the key features of the cognitive neuropsychological approach, and then consider how some of the major challenges to this approach from a developmental perspective might be met. In doing so, we distinguish between challenges to the methods of cognitive neuropsychology and those facing its deeper conceptual underpinnings. We conclude that the detailed investigation of patterns of both associations and dissociations, and across both developmental and acquired cases, can assist in describing the cognitive deficits within developmental disorders and in delineating possible causal pathways to their acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivationally unconscious (M-unconscious) states are unconsciousstates that can directly motivate a subject’s behavior and whose unconsciouscharacter typically results from a form of repression. The basicargument for M-unconscious states claims that they provide the bestexplanation to some seemingly non rational behaviors, like akrasia,impulsivity or apparent self-deception. This basic argument has beenchallenged on theoretical, empirical and conceptual grounds. Drawingon recent works on apparent self-deception and on the ‘cognitiveunconscious’ I assess those objections. I argue that (i) even if thereis a good theoretical argument for its existence, (ii) most empiricalvindications of the M-unconscious miss their target. (iii) As for theconceptual objections, they compel us to modify the classical pictureof the M-unconscious. I conclude that M-unconscious states and processesmust be affective states and processes that the subject reallyfeels and experiences —and which are in this sense conscious— eventhough they are not, or not well, cognitively accessible to him. Dualprocess psychology and the literature on cold-hot empathy gaps partlysupport the existence of such M-unconscious states.

This study examined how men accounted for their violent behaviours against their intimate female partners. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 men from three men’s groups in Johannesburg, South Africa. All the men self-reported that they had committed acts of intimate partner violence previously, and the majority were from low-income, township settings. Dissociations, justifications and confessions featured as the predominant accounting forms that worked to transform participants’ subject positions from the ‘violent abuser’ to the ‘legitimately violent partner’ and even to the ‘changed man’. Attention is accorded to how gender ideologies and heteropatriarchal discourses legitimating male violence against women were reinforced, yet were at times challenged within their talk and through rhetorical devices. In line with a poststructuralist reading, the study highlights the complexities underpinning men’s varied meanings of violence. On the one hand, it reveals the agentic shifting of identities. On the other, it highlights the social discourses that are embedded in men’s talk and therefore inscribed into male subjectivities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this commentary, though acknowledging that a case-series approach in neuropsychology is not always possible, we set out a series of considerations that in our view make this approach generally superior to single-case study. We argue that case-series designs are crucial for theory-testing, assessment of computational models, evaluation of inter-patient variation (including selection criteria, patient homogeneity/heterogeneity, premorbid individual differences, etc.) and to establish solid foundations for the interpretation of behavioural dissociations and associations. We conclude by suggesting that, alongside other neuroscience techniques, case-series cognitive neuropsychology provides a crucial contribution to the future of clinical and cognitive neuroscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When participants must classify their recognition experiences as remembering or knowing, variables often have dissociative effects on the two judgments. In contrast, when participants independently rate recollection and familiarity only parallel effects have been reported. To investigate this discrepancy we compared the effects of masked priming at test (Experiment 1), and levels-of-processing (LOP) at study (Experiment 2), on recollection and familiarity using both binary judgment and independent-rating methods. With binary judgments, repetition priming selectively increased familiarity, and deeper LOP increased recollection but decreased familiarity. Independent ratings were positively correlated, and priming and LOP both increased recollection and familiarity. This pattern occurred even when each rating was made by a separate group to prevent rating cross-contamination. Thus, how recognition experiences are measured can influence whether dissociations between recollection and familiarity are found. Our findings have implications for the measurement of recognition experiences and for current accounts of recognition memory. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sternberg (2011) elegantly formalizes how certain sets of hypotheses, specifically modularity and pure or composite measures, imply certain patterns of behavioural and neuroimaging data. Experimentalists are often interested in the converse, however: whether certain patterns of data distinguish certain hypotheses, specifically whether more than one module is involved. In this case, there is a striking reversal of the relative value of the data patterns that Sternberg considers. Foremost, the example of additive effects of two factors on one composite measure becomes noninformative for this converse question. Indeed, as soon as one allows for nonlinear measurement functions and nonlinear module processes, even a cross-over interaction between two factors is noninformative in this respect. Rather, one requires more than one measure, from which certain data patterns do provide strong evidence for multiple modules, assuming only that the measurement functions are monotonic. If two measures are not monotonically related to each other across the levels of one or more experimental factors, then one has evidence for more than one module (i.e., more than one nonmonotonic transform). Two special cases of this are illustrated here: a “reversed association” between two measures across three levels of a single factor, and Sternberg's example of selective effects of two factors on two measures. Fortunately, functional neuroimaging methods normally do provide multiple measures over space (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI) and/or time (e.g., electroencephalography, EEG). Thus to the extent that brain modules imply mind modules (i.e., separate processors imply separate processes), the performance data offered by functional neuroimaging are likely to be more powerful in revealing modules than are the single behavioural measures (such as accuracy or reaction time, RT) traditionally considered in psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In neuropsychological single-case studies, it is not uncommon for researchers to compare the scores of two single cases. Classical (and Bayesian) statistical methods are developed for such problems, which, unlike existing methods, refer the scores of the two single cases to a control sample. These methods allow researchers to compare two cases' scores, with or without allowing for the effects of covariates. The methods provide a hypothesis test (one- or two-tailed), point and interval estimates of the effect size of the difference, and point and interval estimates of the percentage of pairs of controls that will exhibit larger differences than the cases. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the statistical theory underlying the methods is sound and that the methods are robust in the face of departures from normality. The methods have been implemented in computer programs, and these are described and made available (to download, go to http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~psy086/dept/Compare_Two_Cases.htm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Corballis [Corballis, M. C. (2009). Comparing a single case with a control sample: Refinements and extensions. Neuropsychologia] offers an interesting position paper on statistical inference in single-case studies. The following points arise: (1) Testing whether we can reject the null hypothesis that a patient''s score is an observation from the population of control scores can be a legitimate aim for single-case researchers, not just clinicians. (2) Counter to the claim made by Corballis [Corballis, M. C. (2009). Comparing a single case with a control sample: Refinements and extensions. Neuropsychologia], Crawford and Howell''s [Crawford, J. R., & Howell, D. C. (1998). Comparing an individual''s test score against norms derived from small samples. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 12, 482–486] method does test whether we can reject the above null hypothesis. (3) In all but the most unusual of circumstances Crawford and Howell''s method can also safely be used to test whether the mean of a notional patient population is lower than that of a control population, should neuropsychologists wish to construe the test in this way. (4) In contrast, the method proposed by Corballis is not legitimate for either of these purposes because it fails to allow for uncertainty over the control mean (as a result Type I errors will not be under control). (5) The use of a mixed ANOVA design to compare a case to controls (with or without the adjustment proposed by Corballis) is beset with problems but these can be overcome using alternative methods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article presents a sobering view of the discipline of cognitive neuropsychology as practiced over the last three or four decades. Our judgment is that, although the study of abnormal cognition resulting from brain injury or disease in previously normal adults has produced a catalogue of fascinating and highly selective deficits, it has yielded relatively little advance in understanding how the brain accomplishes its cognitive business. We question the wisdom of the following three “choices” in mainstream cognitive neuropsychology: (a) single-case methodology, (b) dissociation between functions as the most important source of evidence, and (c) a central goal of diagramming the functional architecture of cognition rather than specifying how its components work. These choices may all stem from an excessive commitment to strict and fine-grained modularity. Although different brain regions are undoubtedly specialized for different functions, we argue that parallel and interactive processing is a better assumption about cognitive processing. The essential goal of specifying representations and processes can, we claim, be significantly assisted by computational modeling which, by its very nature, requires such specification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Proper name anomia and proper name sparing are unusual disorders characterized by a selective inability, or sparing, to retrieve proper names as opposed to common names. They may eventually demonstrate that these two categories of names are independently processed in the brain at the semantic or lexical/orthographic level. Yet, differences in patient assessment make comparison between cases difficult to interpret and raise alternative explanations to those dissociations, such as that they may be accounted for by the level of difficulty of test stimuli. We describe two individuals, of identical age, gender and cultural background, with a complementary pattern of impairment of name retrieval following a left hemisphere stroke. ACB had an aphasic disorder with impaired naming, sparing proper names, while JFJ had normal language abilities and semantic knowledge about people, but a marked anomia for people''s names. Patients were studied using the same material, thus overcoming methodological constraints pointed to previous work. These cases provide evidence of a double dissociation between proper and common names at the lexical access level. In addition, JFJ had a normal ability to retrieve historical and religious names suggesting that either these names are less difficult to retrieve or that they may segregate within the proper name lexicon. Lesion of the left temporal pole was also dissociated. It was damaged in ACB but spared in JFJ, contradicting its crucial role in proper name processing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Caramazza et al. [Caramazza, A., Chialant, D., Capasso, R., & Miceli, G. (2000). Separable processing of consonants and vowels. Nature, 403(6768), 428–430.] report two patients who exhibit a double dissociation between consonants and vowels in speech production. The patterning of this double dissociation cannot be explained by appealing to sub-phonemic distinctions, such as sonority level or damage to specific phonological features. They argue that consonant/vowel status is an autonomous level of representation. Monaghan and Shillcock [Monaghan, P., & Shillcock, R. (2003). Connectionist modelling of the separable processing of consonants and vowels. Brain and Language, 86(1), 83–98.] present computational models which supposedly exhibit a similar double dissociation. They contend that these models can explain the patient data, without appeal to such supra-phonemic distinctions as consonant/vowel status. Here we argue that their claim fails to meet two necessary criteria. Their models do not fit the pattern of the patient data, either quantitatively or qualitatively. Furthermore, the motivation for these models is unclear beyond just being an attempt to explain this specific phenomenon. We conclude that these models, in their current form, do not provide an alternative explanation to the representation of consonants and vowels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

After repeated associations between two events, E1 and E2, responses to E2 can be facilitated either because participants consciously expect E2 to occur after E1 or because E1 automatically activates the response to E2, or because of both. In this article, the authors report on 4 experiments designed to pit the influence of these 2 factors against each other. The authors found that the fastest responses to a target in a reaction time paradigm occurred when automatic activation was highest and conscious expectancy lowest. These results, when considered together with previous findings indicating that, under most conditions, the relation between expectancy and reaction times is in the opposite direction, are indicative of a reversed association—an interaction pattern that J. C. Dunn and K. Kirsner (1988) demonstrated to be the only one that unambiguously points to the involvement of independent processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously demonstrated that changing the apparent extent of a target's apparent motion-in-depth, by manipulating pictorial depth cues in the surrounding, affected perceptual judgements and manual pursuit to the same extent. Here, we investigated whether a different manipulation of the extent of motion (expanding and contracting the object itself) also has the same effect on both tasks. Objects were presented that changed in size as they moved on an elliptical path. The size was related to the object's position in the sagittal plane, suggesting additional motion in depth; therefore the illusion was expected to affect sagittal measures for both perception and action. We measured manual tracking and perceptual judgements of the lateral and sagittal extents of the object's elliptical trajectories. A significant correlation was found across subjects between the effect of the illusion on the perceptual and the motor task. As expected, the illusion only had a significant influence on the sagittal dimension. The size of this illusory effect was equal for perception and action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

describe two aphasic patients, with impaired processing of vowels and consonants, respectively. The impairments could not be captured according to the sonority hierarchy or in terms of a feature level analysis. Caramazza et al. claim that this dissociation demonstrates separate representation of the categories of vowels and consonants in speech processing. We present two connectionist models of the management of phonological representations. The models spontaneously develop separable processing of vowels and consonants. The models have two hidden layers and are given as input vowels and consonants represented in terms of their phonological distinctive features. The first model is presented with feature bundles one at a time and the hidden layers have to combine their output to reproduce a unified copy of the feature bundle. In the second model a “fine-coded” layer receives information about feature bundles in isolation, and a “coarse-coded” layer receives information about each feature bundle in the context of the prior and subsequent feature bundle. Coarse-coding facilitated processing of vowels and fine-coding processing of consonants. These models show that separable processing of vowels and consonants is an emergent effect of modular processors operating on feature-based representations. We argue that it is not necessary to postulate an independent level of representation for the consonant/vowel distinction, separate from phonological distinctive features. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Schacter et al. (1990) found support for a functional dissociation between visual and auditory priming effects in a letter-by-letter reader. Their conclusions were based on the perceptual representation systems framework, suggesting that visual priming is mediated by a visual word form system separate from an auditory word form system responsible for auditory priming. This article focuses on visual and auditory priming effects exhibited by poor readers with phonological or surface subtypes of reading disability. The phonological type of reading disability was defined as an impairment in phonological word decoding, whereas the surface type of reading disability was defined as an impairment in orthographic word decoding. The results demonstrated a double dissociation, such that poor readers with a surface type of reading disability produced more auditory than visual priming, whereas poor readers with a phonological type of reading disability showed more visual than auditory priming. The majority of children with reading disabilities showed weaknesses in both orthographic and phonological word decoding and, importantly, low levels of priming effects for both visually and auditorily presented materials. Finally, age-matched normal readers showed significant priming effects for both visual and auditory presented words. These findings support the assumption that both orthographic and phonological skills can be simultaneously impaired and that a dual-route model for the acquisition of word decoding skills might be the most appropriate framework to describe different subtypes of reading disabilities. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]