Explanatory Judgment, Probability, and Abductive Inference

Abductive reasoning assigns special status to the explanatory power of a hypothesis. But how do people make explanatory judgments? Our study clarifies this issue by asking: (i) How does the explanatory power of a hypothesis cohere with other cognitive factors? (ii) How does probabilistic information affect explanatory judgments? In order to answer these questions, we conducted an experiment with 671 participants. Their task was to make judgments about a potentially explanatory hypothesis and its cognitive virtues. In the responses, we isolated three constructs: Explanatory Value, Rational Acceptability, and Entailment. Explanatory judgments strongly cohered with judgments of causal relevance and with a sense of understanding. Furthermore, we found that Explanatory Value was sensitive to manipulations of statistical relevance relations between hypothesis and evidence, but not to explicit information about the prior probability of the hypothesis. These results indicate that probabilistic information about statistical relevance is a strong determinant of Explanatory Value. More generally, our study suggests that abductive and probabilistic reasoning are two distinct modes of inference

Tracking the wandering mind:Memory, mouse movements and decision making styles

Mind wandering involves internally focused attention, and isoften conceptualized as the opposite of external attention thatis oriented towards the task at hand. Individuals vary ac-cording to the amount they mind wander as well as with re-gards to the pattern of oscillations between mind wanderingthoughts and externally directed, focused thought. Assumingthat mind wandering is influenced by episodic contents, we ex-plore the proposition that mind wandering frequency is relatedto the manner in which individuals deal with the contents ofepisodic memory, as reflected by a maximizing decision mak-ing style. Based on previous studies measuring cognitive pro-cesses, we assume that mouse trajectories towards a particu-lar response on the screen are continuously updated by time-dependent and temporally-dynamic cognitive processes. Asa behavioral methodology, mouse tracking provides potentialcues to help predict mind wandering. In our experiment, a to-tal of 274 students completed a decision making questionnaire,episodic and associative memory tests (during which mousemovements were recorded) and a working memory task, dur-ing which mind wandering thoughts were assessed. We foundcertain mouse movement characteristics to be significantly pre-dictive of mind wandering. Also, a maximizing decision mak-ing style appeared to be related to a particular type of mindwandering, namely, task-related interference

Improving User Experience and Performance through Gamification of MI-BCI Training

Motor Imagery Brain-Computer Interfaces (MI-BCI) decode brain patterns associated with motor intentions into control commands for a variety of applications, bypassing traditional motor inputs. To use these systems, the user must produce identifiable and stable MI patterns, which requires multiple training sessions in a lab. However, MI-BCI training protocols are often repetitive and suboptimal as some users remain incapable of BCI control. This problem, known as BCI illiteracy/deficiency, has been related to psychological and cognitive factors such as motivation and attention. While some studies have tried to improve users’ MI skills and BCI performance through enriched feedback or motor priming, a unified protocol that considers various aspects of user training has not yet been introduced. The current study aims to develop a more user-centered MI-BCI training protocol by implementing principles from human-computer interaction and game design. Through a systematic review, we examine how gamification of user training can improve user experience and BCI performance. Here, gamification refers to the use of game elements such as interactive objects, goals, and rewards, which can make BCI training more engaging, motivating, and effective. A potential platform for such a BCI training game is virtual reality (VR). Not only does VR offer richer, immersive feedback during BCI training, it can also embody the user into a virtual character, giving them more agency over virtual movements performed with the BCI. We discuss how virtual environments have been used in MI-BCI training in combination with gamification, and introduce empirical studies that can further incorporate and test a gamified VR MI-BCI training protocol. An overview of effective design principles for MI-BCI training can provide future BCI researchers and developers with a framework for creating more engaging and effective protocols that reduce the BCI inefficiency problem and accelerate the technology’s mainstream adoption

Explanatory Value and Probabilistic Reasoning

The question of how judgments of explanatory value (should) inform probabilistic inference is well studied within psychology and philosophy. Less studied are the questions: How does probabilistic information affect judgments of explanatory value? Does probabilistic information take precedence over causal information in determining explanatory judgments? To answer these questions, we conducted two experimental studies. In Study 1, we found that probabilistic information had a negligible impact on explanatory judgments of event-types with a potentially unlimited number of available, alternative explanations; causal credibility was the main determinant of explanatory value. In Study 2, we found that, for event-token explanations with a definite set of candidate alternatives, probabilistic information strongly affected judgments of explanatory value. In the light of these findings, we reassess under which circumstances explanatory inference is probabilistically sound

Can virtual reality act as an affective machine? The wild animal embodiment experience and the importance of appearance

In view of the growing urgency to protect wildlife, the general goal of our research is to develop an immersive virtual experience where users can step into the ‘shoes’ of wild animals. The specific objective of this research is to explore the possibility of creating a strong emotional connection experience with a virtual animal body. In a game setting, users explore a simulated natural habitat of the animal. At the end of the game, users experience a distress event during which they become the target of an illegal animal hunter. The users receive physical feedback through haptic virtual reality suits (vibrating motors) that mimic the sensation of feeling pain of a hunter's shot. We compare the perceived pain, empathy, immersion, and embodiment experience evoked through a game character with a natural body (beaver), with an artificial body (robot beaver), and an amorphous body. The results of this investigation show a significant effect of game character appearance and perceived pain during the distress event. Moreover, we find a significant effect of game character appearance on immersion. These results suggest that the design of the game character appearance can influence users’ emotional connectedness to the character and the game experience

Explanatory Value and Probabilistic Reasoning

The question of how judgments of explanatory value (should) inform probabilistic inference is well studied within psychology and philosophy. Less studied are the questions: How does probabilistic information affect judgments of explanatory value? Does probabilistic information take precedence over causal information in determining explanatory judgments? To answer these questions, we conducted two experimental studies. In Study 1, we found that probabilistic information had a negligible impact on explanatory judgments of event-types with a potentially unlimited number of available, alternative explanations; causal credibility was the main determinant of explanatory value. In Study 2, we found that, for event-token explanations with a definite set of candidate alternatives, probabilistic information strongly affected judgments of explanatory value. In the light of these findings, we reassess under which circumstances explanatory inference is probabilistically sound

Genetic Variation in FADS Genes and Plasma Cholesterol Levels in 2-Year-Old Infants

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in fatty acid metabolism (FADS1 FADS2 gene cluster) are associated with plasma lipid levels. We aimed to investigate whether these associations are already present early in life and compare the relative contribution of FADS SNPs vs traditional (non-genetic) factors as determinants of plasma lipid levels. Information on infants' plasma total cholesterol levels, genotypes of five FADS SNPs (rs174545, rs174546, rs174556, rs174561, and rs3834458), anthropometric data, maternal characteristics, and breastfeeding history was available for 521 2-year-old children from the KOALA Birth Cohort Study. For 295 of these 521 children, plasma HDLc and non-HDLc levels were also known. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to study the associations of genetic and non-genetic determinants with cholesterol levels. All FADS SNPs were significantly associated with total cholesterol levels. Heterozygous and homozygous for the minor allele children had about 4% and 8% lower total cholesterol levels than major allele homozygotes. In addition, homozygous for the minor allele children had about 7% lower HDLc levels. This difference reached significance for the SNPs rs174546 and rs3834458. The associations went in the same direction for non-HDLc, but statistical significance was not reached. The percentage of total variance of total cholesterol levels explained by FADS SNPs was relatively low (lower than 3%) but of the same order as that explained by gender and the non-genetic determinants together. FADS SNPs are associated with plasma total cholesterol and HDLc levels in preschool children. This brings a new piece of evidence to explain how blood lipid levels may track from childhood to adulthood. Moreover, the finding that these SNPs explain a similar amount of variance in total cholesterol levels as the non-genetic determinants studied reveals the potential importance of investigating the effects of genetic variations in early life

Local and global pitch perception in L1 and L2 readers of Dutch

Prior research showed a relationship between reading skills and pitch perception, however the exact nature remained unclear. By means of reading tests and a pitch perception test, we examined the relation between reading abilities and local and global pitch perception for 92 native Dutch children (mean age = 9.47) and 61 non-native Dutch children (mean age = 9.61). Additionally, for the latter group we examined the role of working memory. In line with prior research with poor readers in a language with a rather transparent orthography by Ziegler, Pech-Georgel, George and Foxton (2012), a relationship is found between reading skills and the ability to detect local changes in pitch, rather than global changes in the melody. Additionally, at least for beginning readers of Dutch as a second language, there is a strong effect of working memory on the relation between reading skills and pitch perception

Assigning Defined Daily Doses Animal: a European multi-country experience

In order to be able to compare antimicrobial usage data between countries with a uniform quantification method a Defined Daily Dose Animal (DDDA) per active substance was defined. Information of 731 antimicrobial products licensed for use in porcine medicine in four EU countries was used to establish mean DDDAs for 83 unique active substances (AS) including combinations of different AS. Common DDDAs were defined in spite of large variations in the authorized dosages for the same active substances and administration routes. These DDDAs will be used to quantify and compare antimicrobial usage in pig production in four EU countries

Induction of autoantibodies against lung matrix proteins and smoke-induced inflammation in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Smoking is the major etiologic factor in COPD, yet the exact underlying pathogenetic mechanisms have not been elucidated. Since a few years, there is mounting evidence that a specific immune response, partly present as an autoimmune response, contributes to the pathogenesis of COPD. Increased levels of anti-Hep-2 epithelial cell and anti-elastin autoantibodies as well as antibodies against airway epithelial and endothelial cells have been observed in COPD patients. Whether the presence of these autoantibodies contributes to the pathogenesis of COPD is unclear.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To test whether induction of autoantibodies against lung matrix proteins can augment the smoke-induced inflammatory response, we immunized mice with a mixture of the lung extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins elastin, collagen, and decorin and exposed them to cigarette smoke for 3 or 6 months. To evaluate whether the immunization was successful, the presence of specific antibodies was assessed in serum, and presence of specific antibody producing cells in spleen and lung homogenates. In addition, the presence of inflammatory cells and cytokines was assessed in lung tissue and emphysema development was evaluated by measuring the mean linear intercept.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We demonstrated that both ECM immunization and smoke exposure induced a humoral immune response against ECM proteins and that ECM immunization itself resulted in increased macrophage numbers in the lung. The specific immune response against ECM proteins did not augment the smoke-induced inflammatory response in our model.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>By demonstrating that smoke exposure itself can result in a specific immune response and that presence of this specific immune response is accompanied by an influx of macrophages, we provide support for the involvement of a specific immune response in the smoke-induced inflammatory response as can be seen in patients with COPD.</p