What memory binding functions is the hippocampus responsible for?

The role of the hippocampus in binding information in working memory (WM) is little understood. When complex experiences comprise associations between different pieces of information such as objects and locations (relational binding), the function of the hippocampus is required to hold them in WM (Mitchell et al., 2000; 2006; Piekema, 2006). However, recent evidence suggests that if the to-be-associated information leads to the formation of integrated objects such as coloured shapes (conjunctive binding), the hippocampus is less involved in holding temporary representations of these complex events in WM (Baddeley et al., 2010; Piekema, 2006). We investigated the relational and conjunctive binding hypotheses of the hippocampal functions in a patient with right hippocampal damage. The patient and controls were asked to study visual arrays of stimuli which consisted of shape-colour relations (shape-colour pairs) or shape-colour conjunctions (coloured shapes). After the study array, they were presented with a new screen consisting of one set of shapes (line drawings) and one set of colours. They were asked to reconstruct the bindings by selecting the shapes and their corresponding colours. As compared to healthy controls, the patient was impaired in holding relations of shapes and colours in WM whereas he could retain the conjunctions similarly to controls. These results lend support to the role of the hippocampus in supporting memory for inter-item associations but not memory for conjunctions of features which define objects' identity

Adaptation of the personal social capital brief scale for the measurement of the offline and online social capital in Italy

Social Capital refers to the resources associated with durable and trustworthy social connections. Social Capital can be developed through offline and online relationships. It can be distinguished between cognitive Social Capital (perception of trustworthiness, reciprocity, and support) and structural Social Capital (density of social networks and membership, and participation in groups and associations). It can also be distinguished between bonding Social Capital (resources associated with informal networks; i.e., neighbors, friends, colleagues) and bridging Social Capital (resources associated with formal networks; i.e., community service, cultural, religious or political groups/associations). The different forms and dimensions of Social Capital may have distinct effects on health outcomes and self-rated health. Therefore, public health researchers need valid and reliable instruments to investigate Social Capital. However, valid instruments including the measurement of online Social Capital are not available. The Personal Social Capital Scale aims to assess bonding and bridging Social Capital by means of cognitive and structural items. In the present investigation, three studies were carried out (N = 1149) to adapt the Personal Social Capital Scale to develop the Personal On-Offline Social Capital Brief Scale, a brief scale for measuring online and offline bonding and bridging Social Capital in Italy. Factorial structure and convergent/divergent validity in relation to scales measuring constructs with different patterns of relationships with bonding and bridging Social Capital (i.e., social support and stress; sense of community and health) were also investigated. Overall, these studies provide evidence of reliability and validity related to the internal structure of the Personal On-Offline Social Capital Brief Scale in measuring online and offline bonding and bridging Social Capital and discriminating them from similar constructs. This scale is a useful instrument for planning public health interventions

When co-action eliminates the Simon effect: Disentangling the impact of co-actor' s presence and task sharing on joint-task performance.

Thisstudyaimedatassessingwhetherthemerebeliefofperformingataskwithanotherperson,whoisinchargeofthecomplementarypartofthetask,issufficientfortheso-calledjointSimoneffecttooccur.Inallthreeexperimentsofthestudy,participantssataloneinaroomandunderwenttwoconsecutiveGo/NoGotasksthatwereidenticalexceptfortheinstructions.InExperiment1,participantsperformedthetaskfirstindividually(baselinetask),andtheneitherco-actingwithanotherpersonwhorespondedfromanunknownlocationtotheNoGostimuli(jointtask)orimagingthemselvesrespondingtotheNoGostimuli(imaginativetask).Relativetothebaseline,theinstructionsoftheimaginativetaskmadetheSimoneffectoccur,whilethoseofthejointtaskwereineffectiveinelicitingtheeffect.Thisresultsuggeststhatsharingataskwithapersonwhoisknowntobeinchargeofthecomplementarytask,butisnotphysicallypresent,isnotsufficienttoinducetherepresentationofanalternativeresponseabletoproduceinterference,whichhappensinsteadwhentheinstructionsexplicitlyrequiretoimaginesucharesponse.Interestingly,weobservedthatwhentheSimoneffectwasalreadypresentinthebaselinetask(i.e.,whentheresponsealternativetotheGoresponsewasrepresentedintheindividualtaskduetonon-socialfactors),itdisappearedinthejointtask.Weproposethat,whennoinformationabouttheco-actor’spositionisavailable,thedivisionoflaborbetweentheparticipantandco-actorallowsparticipantstofilteroutthepossible(incidental)representationofthealternativeresponsefromtheirtaskrepresentation,thuseliminatingpotentialsourcesofinterference.ThisaccountissupportedbytheresultsofExperiments2and3andsuggeststhatundercertaincircumstancestask-sharingmayreducetheinterferenceproducedbytheirrelevantinformation,ratherthanincreaseit