The Cognitive Basis of Computation: Putting Computation in Its Place

The mainstream view in cognitive science is that computation lies at the basis of and explains cognition. Our analysis reveals that there is no compelling evidence or argument for thinking that brains compute. It makes the case for inverting the explanatory order proposed by the computational basis of cognition thesis. We give reasons to reverse the polarity of standard thinking on this topic, and ask how it is possible that computation, natural and artificial, might be based on cognition and not the other way around

From a sensorimotor account of perception to an interactive approach to psychopathology

status: publishe

DspaceOgre 3D Graphics Visualization Tool

This general-purpose 3D graphics visualization C++ tool is designed for visualization of simulation and analysis data for articulated mechanisms. Examples of such systems are vehicles, robotic arms, biomechanics models, and biomolecular structures. DspaceOgre builds upon the open-source Ogre3D graphics visualization library. It provides additional classes to support the management of complex scenes involving multiple viewpoints and different scene groups, and can be used as a remote graphics server. This software provides improved support for adding programs at the graphics processing unit (GPU) level for improved performance. It also improves upon the messaging interface it exposes for use as a visualization server

Do loneliness and social exclusion breed paranoia? An experience sampling investigation across the psychosis continuum.

The role of loneliness and social exclusion in the development of paranoia is largely unexplored. Negative affect may mediate potential associations between these factors. We investigated the temporal relationships of daily-life loneliness, felt social exclusion, negative affect, and paranoia across the psychosis continuum. Seventy-five participants, including 29 individuals with a diagnosis of non-affective psychosis, 20 first-degree relatives, and 26 controls used an Experience Sampling Method (ESM) app to capture the fluctuations in loneliness, feelings of social exclusion, paranoia, and negative affect across a 1-week period. Data were analysed with multilevel regression analyses. In all groups, loneliness and feelings of social exclusion were independent predictors of paranoia over time (b = 0.05,  < .001 and b = 0.04,  < .05, respectively). Negative affect predicted paranoia (b = 0.17,  < .001) and partially mediated the associations between loneliness, social exclusion, and paranoia. It also predicted loneliness (b = 0.15,  < .0001), but not social exclusion (b = 0.04,  = .21) over time. Paranoia predicted social exclusion over time, with more pronounced effects in controls (b = 0.43) than patients (b = 0.19; relatives: b = 0.17); but not loneliness (b = 0.08,  = .16). Paranoia and negative affect worsen in all groups following feelings of loneliness and social exclusion. This highlights the importance of a sense of belonging and being included for mental well-being. Loneliness, feeling socially excluded, and negative affect were independent predictors of paranoid thinking, suggesting they represent useful targets in its treatment. [Abstract copyright: © 2023 The Author(s).

Using experience sampling methods to support clinical management of psychosis:The perspective of people with lived experience

The experience sampling method (ESM) has the potential to support person-centered care of psychotic disorders. However, clinical implementation is hampered by a lack of user involvement in the design of ESM tools. This qualitative study explored the perspective of nine people with lived experiences of psychosis. Participants re-ported a need to monitor a diverse range of daily-life experiences and indicated that ESM should allow for personalization to be clinically useful. While participants recognized the potential of ESM to increase awareness and control over their mental health, concerns were voiced about the validity and burden of monitoring one's own mental health

Time to reappraise or distract? Temporal and situational context in emotion regulation in daily life

Contextual factors influence how people regulate their everyday emotions. While daily life is rich with situations that evoke emotion regulation, few studies have broadly investigated the role of context in regulating emotions in response to naturally occurring negative events. In this study, we use a structured diary technique - the Experience Sampling Method - to test how different types of contextual factors are associated with using reappraisal and distraction to regulate daily emotions in N = 74 young adults from the general population. The following contextual factors were assessed: time of the day, weekday, tiredness, event stressfulness, and event type. We found that higher stressfulness of negative events was associated with using more distraction within- and between-person and using more reappraisal between persons. Time of day and weekday were not associated with reappraisal or distraction use, suggesting that variation in people’s external environments due to temporal patterns does not influence reappraisal or distraction use. However, tiredness was positively associated with distraction and reappraisal use within persons. Exploratory analyses suggested that experiencing time pressure affords less distraction use, and that experiencing physical discomfort affords less reappraisal use. These findings underscore the dynamic nature of emotion regulation, and the importance of context in everyday emotion regulation