Electrophysiological and kinematic correlates of communicative intent in the planning and production of pointing gestures and speech

Acknowledgements We thank Albert Russel for assistance in setting up the experiments, and Charlotte Paulisse for help in data collection.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The relation between linguistic and manual asymmetries in bilinguals and monolinguals

Humans are unique in their ability for language and a strong population-wide right-hand preference for object manipulation. A number of researchers (e.g., Arbib, 2005; Crow, 2002) suggest that an association between language asymmetry and handedness was crucial for human evolution and development. However, developmental studies on language and handedness association demonstrate mixed results. Importantly, only a small number of developmental studies addressed handedness-language relations in adults. Moreover, the majority of studies on handedness and language relations rely on homogeneous samples of right-handed monolingual English speakers. To this day it is not known whether the results of such studies can be extrapolated to bilingual people, and whether results obtained from studies with children can be extrapolated to adults. The current study is the first of its kind systematically examining handedness and language in a sample of over 1,800 participants with diverse language background (over 50 different languages). The study examined handedness and language asymmetry in monolinguals, early bilinguals (acquiring a second language before age 6) and late bilinguals (acquiring a second language after age 6). Additional parameters such as motor asymmetry (a preference for right footedness) and gender were also examined for potential effects on asymmetry formation in all participants. Finally, a subsample of monolingual and bilingual participants was examined on asymmetry of a gesture and object manipulation. Study results suggest that contrary to previous claims of language asymmetry and handedness association, they are not strongly related in adults. Language asymmetry and the age of the second language acquisition predicted only a small portion of handedness score. Footedness and gender were stronger predictors of handedness. Females exhibited stronger asymmetry than males; more right-footed participants tended to be more right-handed. Contrary to studies with children, current study adult participants were more strongly lateralised for object manipulation than for gesture. In conclusion, the current study suggests that handedness and language relations are dynamic in development; that their relations are not as robust as was previously suggested; and finally, that the research field of handedness-language relations would benefit from diversifying study samples

Embodied learning: Why at school the mind needs the body

Despite all methodological efforts made in the last three decades, Western instruction grounds on traditional principles. Most educational programs follow theories that are mentalistic, i.e., they separate the mind from the body. At school, learners sit, watch, listen, and write. The aim of this paper is to present embodied learning as an alternative to mentalistic education. Similarly, this paper wants to describe embodied learning from a neuroscientific perspective. After a brief historical overview, I will review studies highlighting the behavioral effectiveness of embodied instruction in second language learning, mathematics and spatial thinking. On this base, I will discuss some of the brain mechanisms driving embodied learning and describe its advantages, clearly pleading in favor of instructional practice that reunites body and mind

The Timing of the Cognitive Cycle

We propose that human cognition consists of cascading cycles of recurring brain events. Each cognitive cycle senses the current situation, interprets it with reference to ongoing goals, and then selects an internal or external action in response. While most aspects of the cognitive cycle are unconscious, each cycle also yields a momentary “ignition” of conscious broadcasting. Neuroscientists have independently proposed ideas similar to the cognitive cycle, the fundamental hypothesis of the LIDA model of cognition. High-level cognition, such as deliberation, planning, etc., is typically enabled by multiple cognitive cycles. In this paper we describe a timing model LIDA's cognitive cycle. Based on empirical and simulation data we propose that an initial phase of perception (stimulus recognition) occurs 80–100 ms from stimulus onset under optimal conditions. It is followed by a conscious episode (broadcast) 200–280 ms after stimulus onset, and an action selection phase 60–110 ms from the start of the conscious phase. One cognitive cycle would therefore take 260–390 ms. The LIDA timing model is consistent with brain evidence indicating a fundamental role for a theta-gamma wave, spreading forward from sensory cortices to rostral corticothalamic regions. This posteriofrontal theta-gamma wave may be experienced as a conscious perceptual event starting at 200–280 ms post stimulus. The action selection component of the cycle is proposed to involve frontal, striatal and cerebellar regions. Thus the cycle is inherently recurrent, as the anatomy of the thalamocortical system suggests. The LIDA model fits a large body of cognitive and neuroscientific evidence. Finally, we describe two LIDA-based software agents: the LIDA Reaction Time agent that simulates human performance in a simple reaction time task, and the LIDA Allport agent which models phenomenal simultaneity within timeframes comparable to human subjects. While there are many models of reaction time performance, these results fall naturally out of a biologically and computationally plausible cognitive architecture

The effects of single bouts of moderate-intensity continuous exercise and high-intensity interval exercise on the modulations of inhibitory control, working memory, and long-term memory

Although existing literature has suggested facilitation on various aspects of cognitive function during the recovery period following a single bout of moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MICE), little is known regarding how to optimize the prescription of acute exercise for maximizing its transient benefits on cognition. High-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) is growing in popularity as a mode of exercise known for its effectiveness and efficiency toward improving multiple health outcomes. However, a limited understanding exists regarding the transient effects of HIIE on post-exercise cognition compared to MICE. Accordingly, the aim of this investigation was to compare the effect of acute HIIE and MICE on inhibitory control, working memory, and long-term memory. Using a within-participants design, event-related potentials (ERPs) and task performance were assessed while participants performed a free recall task, a modified flanker task, and a modified Sternberg task following 20 minutes of seated rest, MICE, and HIIE on three separate days in counterbalanced order. Following both MICE and HIIE, participants recalled more words in the free recall list and exhibited shorter reaction time during the flanker task relative to the rest condition. HIIE resulted in additional facilitation, as indexed by reduced reaction time interference scores during the flanker task and reduced overall reaction time during the Sternberg task relative to rest. Neuroelectric analysis indicated that MICE increased P3 amplitude compared to rest and HIIE, while HIIE decreased P3 latency relative to rest. CNV was unchanged following MICE compared to rest, while HIIE increased initial CNV amplitude relative to rest. These results suggest that both types of exercise may improve cognitive performance, with HIIE having additional benefits relative to MICE. To support inhibitory control and working memory operations, MICE and HIIE may exert differential influences on brain function, with MICE increasing attentional resource allocation and HIIE improving stimulus identification and cognitive processing speed. Taken together, the findings of the present investigation demonstrate transient facilitating effects on cognition following acute bouts of MICE and HIIT, and provide preliminary evidence to support HIIE as a promising alternative approach for enhancing cognitive performance

The Role of the Cerebellum in Schizophrenia: an Update of Clinical, Cognitive, and Functional Evidences

The role of the cerebellum in schizophrenia has been highlighted by Andreasen's hypothesis of “cognitive dysmetria,” which suggests a general dyscoordination of sensorimotor and mental processes. Studies in schizophrenic patients have brought observations supporting a cerebellar impairment: high prevalence of neurological soft signs, dyscoordination, abnormal posture and propioception, impaired eyeblink conditioning, impaired adaptation of the vestibular-ocular reflex or procedural learning tests, and lastly functional neuroimaging studies correlating poor cognitive performances with abnormal cerebellar activations. Despite those compelling evidences, there has been, to our knowledge, no recent review on the clinical, cognitive, and functional literature supporting the role of the cerebellum in schizophrenia. We conducted a Medline research focusing on cerebellar dysfunctions in schizophrenia. Emphasis was given to recent literature (after 1998). The picture arising from this review is heterogeneous. While in some domains, the role of the cerebellum seems clearly defined (ie, neurological soft signs, posture, or equilibrium), in other domains, the cerebellar contribution to schizophrenia seems limited or indirect (ie, cognition) if present at all (ie, affectivity). Functional models of the cerebellum are proposed as a background for interpreting these results

Oblivionism

The book offers a fundamental view on the problem of forgetting in sociology in general and within sociology of knowledge. Furthermore it focuses – as a case study – on the field of modern science. With recourse to the term ‚oblivionism‘, originally introduced with ironic-critical intent by the german romance scholar Harald Weinrich, it analyzes the fundamental and multifaceted problem of the loss of knowledge in the field of science. A declarative-reflective, an incorporated-practical and an objectified-technical memory motif is at the centre. These form the basis for the development of the three forms of forgetting that are also central to modern science: forgetfulness, wanting to forget and, ultimately, making one forget

Neural stem cell expansion rejuvenates learning strategies and memory throughout life

Der Hippocampus ist ein Hirnareal welches fundamental für die Generierung von bewussten Erinnerungen und für die Etablierung von flexiblen Beziehungen zwischen kontextuellen Repräsentationen ist. Hippocampale Fehlfunktion während des Alterns wurde als ein Schlüsselfaktor für den kognitiven Abbau vorgeschlagen und im Kontext einer schnell alternden Bevölkerung wird es zwingend notwenig, mögliche Mechanismen zu verstehen, die diese Einschränkungen verhindern oder rückgängig machen können. Der Hippocampus ist ein von nur zwei Arealen im Gehirn, in dem neue Neuronen ständig im Erwachsenenleben erzeugt werden. Deren Rolle beim Lernen und bei Gedächtnisfunktionen ist jedoch nicht gut verstanden. Interessanterweise wurde adulte hippocampale Neurogenese als eine zelluläre Komponente eines Gehirnreservenmechanismus vorgeschlagen, mit dem Potenzial kognitive Fähigkeiten ein Leben lang zu erhalten sowie ein mögliches Ziel für therapeutische Ansätze darzustellen. In dieser Arbeit habe ich eine spezifische, genetisch-bedingte Expandierung von hippocampalen Nervenstammzellen genutzt, um deren intrinsisches Potenzial, neugeborene Neuronen zu erzeugen, auszuschöpfen, was zu einer lebenslangen erhöhten Neurogenese geführt hat. Dies hat die hippocampale Funktion auf mehreren Ebenen gefördert, vom verbesserten flexiblen Lernen in Navigationsaufgaben in der Jugend, über Kompensation des altersbedingten kognitiven Abbaus bis hin zur Verjüngung von kontextuellem Gedächtnis beim Altern. Zusammengefasst stellt meine Arbeit ein besseres Verständnis des funktionellen Beitrags der Neurogenese zu Lernen und Gedächtnis zur Verfügung and zeigt, dass kritische Aspekte hippocampaler kognitiver Beeinträchtigung im Alter rückgängig gemacht oder ein Leben lang durch extrinsische Ausnutzung der endogenen Hirnreserven kompensiert werden können

Gestures as Scaffolding to Learn Vocabulary in a Foreign Language

This paper investigates the influence of gestures on foreign language (FL) vocabulary learning. In this work, we first address the state of the art in the field and then delve into the research conducted in our lab (three experiments already published) in order to finally offer a unified theoretical interpretation of the role of gestures in FL vocabulary learning. In Experiments 1 and 2, we examined the impact of gestures on noun and verb learning. The results revealed that participants exhibited better learning outcomes when FL words were accompanied by congruent gestures compared to those from the no-gesture condition. Conversely, when meaningless or incongruent gestures were presented alongside new FL words, gestures had a detrimental effect on the learning process. Secondly, we addressed the question of whether or not individuals need to physically perform the gestures themselves to observe the effects of gestures on vocabulary learning (Experiment 3). Results indicated that congruent gestures improved FL word recall when learners only observed the instructor’s gestures (“see” group) and when they mimicked them (“do” group). Importantly, the adverse effect associated with incongruent gestures was reduced in the “do” compared to that in the “see” experimental group. These findings suggest that iconic gestures can serve as an effective tool for learning vocabulary in an FL, particularly when the gestures align with the meaning of the words. Furthermore, the active performance of gestures helps counteract the negative effects associated with inconsistencies between gestures and word meanings. Consequently, if a choice must be made, an FL learning strategy in which learners acquire words while making gestures congruent with their meaning would be highly desirable.Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness grant PSI2016-75250-PSpanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-111359GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033