工作记忆的负荷影响心理旋转任务中的性别差异

目的:探讨心理旋转任务中的性别差异是否受工作记忆的负荷的影响。方法:采用先后呈现提示刺激和目标刺激的范式,任务分为三种:1.无效提示的数字旋转;2.有效提示的数字旋转;3.有效提示的PMA图形旋转。结果:重复测量的方差分析表明:对无效提示的数字旋转任务,男性和女性之间的反应时和正确率都无差异;对有效提示的数字旋转任务,男性和女性之间的正确率无差异,而反应时的差异边缘显著;对有效提示的PMA图形旋转任务,男性和女性之间的正确率无差异,而反应时有显著差异。结论:工作记忆的负荷可能会影响心理旋转任务中的性别差异。     

初中学生人格类型对心理旋转能力性别差异的影响

目的:考察初中学生心理旋转能力性别差异、典型A型和B型人格被试心理旋转能力状况,及人格类型与心理旋转能力性别差异的关系。方法:采用标准心理旋转能力测验和A型人格问卷调查了260名初中一年级至三年级被试,并对人格类型对心理旋转性别差异的影响进行方差分析。结果:心理旋转能力性别差异具有跨年级(初一至初三)的一致性(初一:男4.618±0.504,女3.400±0.536;初二:男7.389±0.400,女5.30±0.416;初三:男6.207±0.546,女4.286±0.534;F=12.586,P=0.000);(2)A型人格被试心理旋转能力高于B型人格被试(6.09±0.42/4.71±0.425;F=5.320,P=0.023);(3)A型人格被试性别差异显著(男7.259±0.583,女4.920±0.606;F=7.77,P=0.006),而B型人格被试性别差异不显著(男5.269±0.553,女4.255±0.646;F=2.26;P=0.136),人格类型是影响心理旋转能力性别差异因素之一。结论:尽管心理旋转能力存在显著的性别差异,但这种差异受众多因素影响。     

我国农业系统可持续发展协调度分析

农业系统可持续协调发展作为一种发展理念已成为共识,受到我国政府高度重视。采用2004—2015年我国农业生产面板数据,运用熵值法、探索性空间数据分析等方法分析我国农业系统可持续发展协调度情况。研究结果表明:(1)2004—2015年我国各省(市、自治区)农业各子系统可持续能力之间协调度处于不稳定变动态势,且其协调度值较低。(2)从协调度分布来看,协调度处于"比较协调"和"协调"的省(市、自治区)主要分布在我国的东部和东南部地区,其余大多数省(市、自治区)农业各子系统可持续能力之间的协调度处于"不协调"。(3)从空间自相关性来看,各省(市、自治区)农业各子系统可持续能力之间协调度呈正的全局自相关性且相关程度逐渐增大,而大多数省(市、自治区)农业各子系统可持续能力之间协调度的局部自相关性不显著,且其农业各子系统可持续能力之间协调度空间极化不明显,处于较低水平均衡状态。从时空维度、空间相关性方面分析农业各子系统可持续能力之间协调度,为提高我国农业系统可持续发展水平提供政策建议。     

视觉中文词汇识别的整体优先效应和词内核证原则:来自ERPs的证据

目的:以视觉的汉语真假双字词为材料,用词汇判断任务考察词汇加工过程与表征的关系.方法:记录了16名被试者的行为数据和ERPs数据.结果:①真词的反应时间显著短于假词.②真词和假词均诱发了明显的N1、P2、N2、P3、N400、P600成分.③假词的N2波幅显著大于真词;假词的P3波幅、潜伏期显著小于真词.④假词的N400波幅显著小于真词,假词减真词的差异波波幅表现出显著的半球效应,左半球大于右半球.⑤假词的P600潜伏期显著长于真词.结论:N2、P3成分分别反映了词汇认知加工早期对心理表征的匹配和评价、注意的分配;N400、P600成分分别反映了词汇认知加工晚期词素之间的语义冲突和词素之间语义、句法等关系的整合.研究结果证明了中文双字词识别的整体优先效应和词内核证原则,支持了词汇后加工的观点,为假词反应时长于真词提供了电生理证据.     

听觉选择性注意的可塑性及其神经机制研究

本文旨在研究音乐训练是否能增强基于音高和空间位置的听觉选择性注意力,以及音乐训练对听觉可塑性的神经机制.听觉感知实验中,受试者根据音高差异或空间位置差异,选择两个同时播放的数字之一.听觉认知实验在安静和噪声环境中播放频率分辨率不同的复合音,记录受试者听觉脑干频率跟随响应(frequency-following responses,FFRs).本文提出分析FFR的四种方法,即包络相关频率跟随响应(envelope-related frequency-following response,FFRENV)的短时锁相值、瞬时相位差极性图、相位差均值矢量以及时间细节结构相关频率跟随响应(temporal-fine-structure-related frequency-following response,FFRTFS)的幅度谱信噪比.实验结果表明,在完成基于音高的任务时,受过音乐训练的受试者准确率更高、反应时间更短.外界噪声不影响两组人群在基频(fundamental frequency,F0)的神经元锁相能力,但是显著降低了谐波处的神经元锁相能力.受过音乐训练的受试者的神经元在基频处的锁相能力和谐波处抗噪能力均增强,且其FFRTFS幅度谱信噪比与基于音高的行为学准确率呈正相关.因此,受过音乐训练的受试者其音高选择性注意感知能力的提高取决于认知神经能力的增强,经过音乐训练后,F0处FFRENV的锁相能力、谐波处FFRTFS的抗噪和持续锁相能力以及谐波处FFRTFS幅度谱信噪比均明显增强.音乐训练对听觉选择性注意具有显著的可塑性.     

运动执行前认知成分的脑成像研究及实验范式

对运动任务的准备包含着一定的认知加工过程,这些运动执行前的认知成分涉及到相应的脑神经机制,它们可能彼此独立,有时则相互重叠。本文拟对相关领域的脑成像研究及其实验范式进行综述。     

整体表象与局部表象的产生及其性别差异

目的:探索整体表象和局部表象的产生及其性别差异。方法:被试在足够的时间内习得20幅动物图片,主试根据每幅图片提出一个整体表象问题和一个局部表象问题并以文字形式呈现在电脑屏幕上,通过被试自主按键反应记录整体表象和局部表象产生的时间。46名大学生参加了该实验,男女各半,平均年龄为23.5(男24,女23)。结果:(1)整体表象与局部表象产生之间存在显著差异,产生整体表象明显快于局部表象;(2)在表象产生上存在显著的性别差异,女性产生表象的速度显著快于男性。(3)产生的表象类型与性别之间存在明显的交互作用,女生与男生对整体表象的产生无显著性差异,而对于局部表象的产生,则女生明显快于男生。结论:整体与局部表象的产生是由不同的加工过程完成并因性别不同表现出显著的差异。     

双侧杏仁核注射降钙素基因相关肽对小鼠学习记忆的作用

本研究旨在探讨外源性给予杏仁核中央核区不同浓度的降钙素基因相关肽(calcitonin gene-related peptide,CGRP)对小鼠认知和学习记忆的影响。将30日龄C57BL/6J小鼠随机分为空白对照组、手术对照组、200 ng CGRP组、400 ng CGRP组和800 ng CGRP组,每组10只。外源性给予双侧杏仁核中央核区不同浓度的CGRP后,用旷场实验检测各组小鼠认知功能,用新物体认知实验和Morris水迷宫实验检测各组小鼠学习记忆能力。旷场实验结果显示,与空白对照组相比,800 ng CGRP组小鼠的水平运动得分显著增加。新物体认知实验结果显示,与空白对照组相比,400 ng CGRP组的认知指数显著提高。Morris水迷宫实验结果显示,与空白对照组比较,400和800 ng CGRP组小鼠的潜伏期均显著缩短,穿越平台的次数显著增加;与200 ng CGRP组比较,400和800 ng CGRP组小鼠寻找平台的潜伏期均明显缩短。以上结果提示,双侧杏仁核注射CGRP可剂量依赖性促进小鼠非空间和空间学习记忆功能。     

实验时间对老年Sprague-Dawley大鼠认知行为的影响

为了探明老年Sprague-Dawley(SD)大鼠的学习记忆能力是否受到实验时间的影响,我们将老年SD大鼠随机分为两组:一组在上午(8:00~11:00)进行行为学实验(上午组,AM组),另一组则在下午(15:00~18:00)进行行为学实验(下午组,PM组)。结果显示,在开场实验中,PM组的活动量显著高于AM组;此外,在Morris水迷宫任务的训练阶段,PM组比AM组表现出更好的空间学习记忆能力,而且在检测(probe-test)过程中,PM组也表现出更强的空间记忆能力;而在新异个体识别(social discrimination)行为实验中,两组大鼠没有表现出显著性差异。以上结果表明,实验时间是老年SD大鼠在水迷宫任务中表现的影响因素,但并不是新异个体识别任务的影响因素。提示实验时间对老年大鼠不同的学习记忆任务具有不同的影响。     

缺血性脑血管病患者认知功能分析

目的:探讨缺血性脑血管病患者认知功能。方法:将60例缺血性脑血管病患者依据卒中风险评分量表评分,分为轻危组20例、中危组22例、高危组18例;应用蒙特利尔量表进行认知功能评定。结果:(1)高危组与低危组在视空间和执行功能、注意力、计算力、抽象概括能力、命名、记忆、时间定向方面有显著性差异(P<0.05);中危组与低危组比较在视空间和执行功能、注意力、计算力、抽象概括能力、记忆各方面有显著性差异(P<0.05);视空间、命名、计算、语言、时间定向各方面中危组较高危组有显著性差异(P<0.05)。(2)各项认知功能评分与血管因素进行相关分析,年龄、TIA或脑卒中、高血压与MOCA各项评分呈负相关。结论:缺血性脑血管病患者随着危险因素增多,其认知功能障碍越显著。     

Iterative Fragmentation of Cognitive Maps in a Visual Imagery Task

It remains unclear whether spontaneous eye movements during visual imagery reflect the mental generation of a visual image (i.e. the arrangement of the component parts of a mental representation). To address this specificity, we recorded eye movements in an imagery task and in a phonological fluency (non-imagery) task, both consisting in naming French towns from long-term memory. Only in the condition of visual imagery the spontaneous eye positions reflected the geographic position of the towns evoked by the subjects. This demonstrates that eye positions closely reflect the mapping of mental images. Advanced analysis of gaze positions using the bi-dimensional regression model confirmed the spatial correlation of gaze and towns’ locations in every single individual in the visual imagery task and in none of the individuals when no imagery accompanied memory retrieval. In addition, the evolution of the bi-dimensional regression’s coefficient of determination revealed, in each individual, a process of generating several iterative series of a limited number of towns mapped with the same spatial distortion, despite different individual order of towns’ evocation and different individual mappings. Such consistency across subjects revealed by gaze (the mind’s eye) gives empirical support to theories postulating that visual imagery, like visual sampling, is an iterative fragmented processing.     

Visual motor imagery predominance in professional Spanish dancers

Abstract

Purpose: The main objectives of the study were to analyse the predominant motor imagery modality used by professional Spanish dancers and to compare Spanish dancers’ ability to perform mental motor imagery with that of non-dancers, and to analyse differences between male and female dancers. As a secondary aim, to compare the motor imagery ability between two styles of Spanish dance: classical Spanish dancers and Flamenco dancers.

Methods: A total of 74 participants were classified into two groups: professional Spanish dancers (n?=?37) and sedentary participants (n?=?37). The professional Spanish dancer group was composed of two dance disciplines: flamenco dancers (n?=?17), and classical dancers (n?=?20).

Results: Professional Spanish dancers used predominantly visual imagery modalities over kinesthetics to generate motor imagery, with a moderate effect size (p?<?.01, d?=?0.68). Regarding the ability to generate motor imagery, significant intergroup differences between professional Spanish dancers and sedentary participants were observed in all variables, with a large effect size (p?<?.05, d?>?0.80). Differences were obtained between men and women among non-dancers group (t?=??3.34; p?=?.03; d?=?0.5). No differences between Flamenco and classical dancers were observed.

Conclusion: Visual motor imagery modality was easier than the kinaesthetic modality in the generation of motor imagery for professional Spanish dancers regardless of the dance style. Spanish dancers had a greater ability to perform motor imagery compared with non-dancer individuals, needing less time to perform these mental tasks. Men non-dancers had a greater ability to generate motor imagery than women. Reinforcing the training of kinaesthetic motor imagery might be useful for professional Spanish dancers.     

高分辨率影像支持的群落尺度沼泽湿地分类制图

湿地作为众多野生动物和植物的栖息地,具有稳定环境及物种基因保护等重要功能.但是,湿地复杂的水陆交界生境特征及难以进入等客观条件限制给湿地研究造成了很大的困难.因此,遥感技术作为地表生态环境过程参量获取的重要工具,在当今湿地科学领域发挥着重要作用,特别是,当前高空间分辨率影像的性能与应用水平不断得到提高.以自然状态下的黑龙江三江平原洪河国家级自然保护区为研究对象,应用飞艇搭载的空间高分辨率摄像系统获取影像地面分辨率为0.13m的影像数据,主要结合面向对象分类方法,开展了基于湿地植物群落尺度的分类制图研究.结果表明:①因飞艇影像对植物形态、纹理等细致特征的刻画非常充分,沼泽植被型、草甸植被型和各种乔木、灌木植被型,都可以在合适的遥感分类方法下提取出来,总体分类精度能达到91.77％;②通过采用针对高分辨率影像面向对象的分类方法与传统的最大似然比遥感分类方法对比,前者达到很高的精度,而后者效果不理想,说明遥感分类方法的选择对于群落尺度湿地植物分类制图结果非常重要;③遥感分类制图的结果显示出研究区湿地植物群落分布格局受到水分环境梯度和微地貌的共同控制,呈现交替环带状分布规律.     

Short-Term Memory Maintenance of Object Locations during Active Navigation: Which Working Memory Subsystem Is Essential?

The goal of the present study was to examine the extent to which working memory supports the maintenance of object locations during active spatial navigation. Participants were required to navigate a virtual environment and to encode the location of a target object. In the subsequent maintenance period they performed one of three secondary tasks that were designed to selectively load visual, verbal or spatial working memory subsystems. Thereafter participants re-entered the environment and navigated back to the remembered location of the target. We found that while navigation performance in participants with high navigational ability was impaired only by the spatial secondary task, navigation performance in participants with poor navigational ability was impaired equally by spatial and verbal secondary tasks. The visual secondary task had no effect on navigation performance. Our results extend current knowledge by showing that the differential engagement of working memory subsystems is determined by navigational ability.     

Analysis and classification of speech imagery EEG for BCI

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is generally used in brain–computer interface (BCI), including motor imagery, mental task, steady-state evoked potentials (SSEPs) and P300. In order to complement existing motor-based control paradigms, this paper proposed a novel imagery mode: speech imagery. Chinese characters are monosyllabic and one Chinese character can express one meaning. Thus, eight Chinese subjects were required to read two Chinese characters in mind in this experiment. There were different shapes, pronunciations and meanings between two Chinese characters. Feature vectors of EEG signals were extracted by common spatial patterns (CSP), and then these vectors were classified by support vector machine (SVM). The accuracy between two characters was not superior. However, it was still effective to distinguish whether subjects were reading one character in mind, and the accuracies were between 73.65% and 95.76%. The results were better than vowel speech imagery, and they were suitable for asynchronous BCI. BCI systems will be also extended from motor imagery to combine motor imagery and speech imagery in the future.     

What Do Eye Gaze Metrics Tell Us about Motor Imagery?

Many of the brain structures involved in performing real movements also have increased activity during imagined movements or during motor observation, and this could be the neural substrate underlying the effects of motor imagery in motor learning or motor rehabilitation. In the absence of any objective physiological method of measurement, it is currently impossible to be sure that the patient is indeed performing the task as instructed. Eye gaze recording during a motor imagery task could be a possible way to “spy” on the activity an individual is really engaged in. The aim of the present study was to compare the pattern of eye movement metrics during motor observation, visual and kinesthetic motor imagery (VI, KI), target fixation, and mental calculation. Twenty-two healthy subjects (16 females and 6 males), were required to perform tests in five conditions using imagery in the Box and Block Test tasks following the procedure described by Liepert et al. Eye movements were analysed by a non-invasive oculometric measure (SMI RED250 system). Two parameters describing gaze pattern were calculated: the index of ocular mobility (saccade duration over saccade + fixation duration) and the number of midline crossings (i.e. the number of times the subjects gaze crossed the midline of the screen when performing the different tasks). Both parameters were significantly different between visual imagery and kinesthesic imagery, visual imagery and mental calculation, and visual imagery and target fixation. For the first time we were able to show that eye movement patterns are different during VI and KI tasks. Our results suggest gaze metric parameters could be used as an objective unobtrusive approach to assess engagement in a motor imagery task. Further studies should define how oculomotor parameters could be used as an indicator of the rehabilitation task a patient is engaged in.     

Task-selective memory effects for successfully implemented encoding strategies

Previous behavioral evidence suggests that instructed strategy use benefits associative memory formation in paired associate tasks. Two such effective encoding strategies--visual imagery and sentence generation--facilitate memory through the production of different types of mediators (e.g., mental images and sentences). Neuroimaging evidence suggests that regions of the brain support memory reflecting the mental operations engaged at the time of study. That work, however, has not taken into account self-reported encoding task success (i.e., whether participants successfully generated a mediator). It is unknown, therefore, whether task-selective memory effects specific to each strategy might be found when encoding strategies are successfully implemented. In this experiment, participants studied pairs of abstract nouns under either visual imagery or sentence generation encoding instructions. At the time of study, participants reported their success at generating a mediator. Outside of the scanner, participants further reported the quality of the generated mediator (e.g., images, sentences) for each word pair. We observed task-selective memory effects for visual imagery in the left middle occipital gyrus, the left precuneus, and the lingual gyrus. No such task-selective effects were observed for sentence generation. Intriguingly, activity at the time of study in the left precuneus was modulated by the self-reported quality (vividness) of the generated mental images with greater activity for trials given higher ratings of quality. These data suggest that regions of the brain support memory in accord with the encoding operations engaged at the time of study.     

The effect of chronic deafferentation on mental imagery: a case study

Visual- and motor imagery rely primarily on perceptual and motor processes, respectively. In healthy controls, the type of imagery used to solve a task depends on personal preference, task instruction, and task properties. But how does the chronic loss of proprioceptive and tactile sensory inputs from the body periphery influence mental imagery? In a unique case study, we investigated the imagery capabilities of the chronically deafferented patient IW when he was performing a mental rotation task. We found that IW''s motor imagery processes were impaired and that visual imagery processes were enhanced compared to controls. These results suggest that kinaesthetic afferent signals from the body periphery play a crucial role in enabling and maintaining central sensorimotor representations and hence the ability to incorporate kinaesthetic information into the imagery processes.     

Neural correlates of visual motion prediction

Predicting the trajectories of moving objects in our surroundings is important for many life scenarios, such as driving, walking, reaching, hunting and combat. We determined human subjects' performance and task-related brain activity in a motion trajectory prediction task. The task required spatial and motion working memory as well as the ability to extrapolate motion information in time to predict future object locations. We showed that the neural circuits associated with motion prediction included frontal, parietal and insular cortex, as well as the thalamus and the visual cortex. Interestingly, deactivation of many of these regions seemed to be more closely related to task performance. The differential activity during motion prediction vs. direct observation was also correlated with task performance. The neural networks involved in our visual motion prediction task are significantly different from those that underlie visual motion memory and imagery. Our results set the stage for the examination of the effects of deficiencies in these networks, such as those caused by aging and mental disorders, on visual motion prediction and its consequences on mobility related daily activities.     

Individual Differences in the Range of Sensory Modalities Experienced in Dreams.

The present study investigated the relationship between the recalled frequency of sensory modalities experienced in dreams and waking imagery abilities. Five hundred thirty-one undergraduate students completed 4 imagery ability tests and a dream recall questionnaire containing a question on the frequency of experience of the sensory modalities in dreams. A k-means cluster analysis of the Dream Sense Modality Scale indicated that the participants fell into 3 groups: the major modalities group, whose dreams were entirely visual, auditory, and kinesthetic; the all modalities group, who experienced all sense modalities in dreams; and the no modalities group, whose dreams were without sensory content. The participants' scores on the imagery tests in the 3 groups showed significant intergroup differences. The all modalities group showed the highest levels of ability in evoking vivid imagery and controlling visual imagery and the most frequent use of visual imagery compared with the other two groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)