Face Cognition: A Set of Distinct Mental Abilities

Perceiving, learning, and recognizing faces swiftly and accurately is of paramount importance to humans as a social species. Though established functional models of face cognition<sup>1,2</sup> suggest the existence of multiple abilities in face cognition, the number of such abilities and the relationships among them and to other cognitive abilities can only be determined by studying individual differences. Here we investigated individual differences in a broad variety of indicators of face cognition and identified for the first time three component abilities: face perception, face memory, and the speed of face cognition. These component abilities were replicated in an independent study and were found to be robustly separable from established cognitive abilities, specifically immediate and delayed memory, mental speed, general cognitive ability, and object cognition. The analysis of individual differences goes beyond functional and neurological models of face cognition by demonstrating the difference between face perception and face learning, and by making evident the distinction between speed and accuracy of face cognition. Our indicators also provide a means to develop tests and training programs for face cognition that are broader and more precise than those currently available).<sup>3,4</sup&#x3e

Attentional modulation of orthographic neighborhood effects during reading: Evidence from event-related brain potentials in a psychological refractory period paradigm

It is often assumed that word reading proceeds automatically. Here, we tested this assumption by recording event-related potentials during a psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm, requiring lexical decisions about written words. Specifically, we selected words differing in their orthographic neighborhood size–the number of words that can be obtained from a target by exchanging a single letter–and investigated how influences of this variable depend on the availability of central attention. As expected, when attentional resources for lexical decisions were unconstrained, words with many orthographic neighbors elicited larger N400 amplitudes than those with few neighbors. However, under conditions of high temporal overlap with a high priority primary task, the N400 effect was not statistically different from zero. This finding indicates strong attentional influences on processes sensitive to orthographic neighbors during word reading, providing novel evidence against the full automaticity of processes involved in word reading. Furthermore, in conjunction with the observation of an underadditive interaction between stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) and orthographic neighborhood size in lexical decision performance, commonly taken to indicate automaticity, our results raise issues concerning the standard logic of cognitive slack in the PRP paradigm

Seeing what we know and understand

Expertise in object recognition, as in bird watching or X-ray specialization, is based on extensive perceptual experience and in-depth semantic knowledge. Although it has been shown that rich perceptual experience shapes elementary perception and higher level discrimination and identification, little is known about the influence of in-depth semantic knowledge on object perception and identification. By means of recording event-related brain potentials (ERPs), we show that the amount of knowledge acquired about initially unfamiliar objects modulates visual ERP components already 120 msec after object presentation, and causes gradual variations of activity in similar brain systems within a later timeframe commonly associated with meaning access. When perceptual analysis is made more difficult by blurring object pictures, knowledge has an even stronger effect on perceptual analysis and facilitates recognition. These findings demonstrate that in-depth knowledge not only affects involuntary semantic memory access, but also shapes perception by penetrating early visual processes traditionally held to be immune to such influences.Peer Reviewe

Cognitive simulation along with neural adaptation explain effects of suggestions: a novel theoretical framework

Hypnosis is an effective intervention with proven efficacy that is employed in clinical settings and for investigating various cognitive processes. Despite their practical success, no consensus exists regarding the mechanisms underlying well-established hypnotic phenomena. Here, we suggest a new framework called the Simulation-Adaptation Theory of Hypnosis (SATH). SATH expands the predictive coding framework by focusing on (a) redundancy elimination in generative models using intrinsically generated prediction errors, (b) adaptation due to amplified or prolonged neural activity, and (c) using internally generated predictions as a venue for learning new associations. The core of our treatise is that simulating proprioceptive, interoceptive, and exteroceptive signals, along with the top-down attenuation of the precision of sensory prediction errors due to neural adaptation, can explain objective and subjective hypnotic phenomena. Based on these postulations, we offer mechanistic explanations for critical categories of direct verbal suggestions, including (1) direct-ideomotor, (2) challenge-ideomotor, (3) perceptual, and (4) cognitive suggestions. Notably, we argue that besides explaining objective responses, SATH accounts for the subjective effects of suggestions, i.e., the change in the sense of agency and reality. Finally, we discuss individual differences in hypnotizability and how SATH accommodates them. We believe that SATH is exhaustive and parsimonious in its scope, can explain a wide range of hypnotic phenomena without contradiction, and provides a host of testable predictions for future research

Cognitive simulation along with neural adaptation explain effects of suggestions: a novel theoretical framework

Hypnosis is an effective intervention with proven efficacy that is employed in clinical settings and for investigating various cognitive processes. Despite their practical success, no consensus exists regarding the mechanisms underlying well-established hypnotic phenomena. Here, we suggest a new framework called the Simulation-Adaptation Theory of Hypnosis (SATH). SATH expands the predictive coding framework by focusing on (a) redundancy elimination in generative models using intrinsically generated prediction errors, (b) adaptation due to amplified or prolonged neural activity, and (c) using internally generated predictions as a venue for learning new associations. The core of our treatise is that simulating proprioceptive, interoceptive, and exteroceptive signals, along with the top-down attenuation of the precision of sensory prediction errors due to neural adaptation, can explain objective and subjective hypnotic phenomena. Based on these postulations, we offer mechanistic explanations for critical categories of direct verbal suggestions, including (1) direct-ideomotor, (2) challenge-ideomotor, (3) perceptual, and (4) cognitive suggestions. Notably, we argue that besides explaining objective responses, SATH accounts for the subjective effects of suggestions, i.e., the change in the sense of agency and reality. Finally, we discuss individual differences in hypnotizability and how SATH accommodates them. We believe that SATH is exhaustive and parsimonious in its scope, can explain a wide range of hypnotic phenomena without contradiction, and provides a host of testable predictions for future research.Peer Reviewe

Reconstructing ERP amplitude effects after compensating for trial-to-trial latency jitter: A solution based on a novel application of residue iteration decomposition

© 2016 The Authors Stimulus-locked averaged event-related potentials (ERPs) are among the most frequently used signals in Cognitive Neuroscience. However, the late, cognitive or endogenous ERP components are often variable in latency from trial to trial in a component-specific way, compromising the stability assumption underlying the averaging scheme. Here we show that trial-to-trial latency variability of ERP components not only blurs the average ERP waveforms, but may also attenuate existing or artificially induce condition effects in amplitude. Hitherto this problem has not been well investigated. To tackle this problem, a method to measure and compensate component-specific trial-to-trial latency variability is required. Here we first systematically analyze the problem of single trial latency variability for condition effects based on simulation. Then, we introduce a solution by applying residue iteration decomposition (RIDE) to experimental data. RIDE separates different clusters of ERP components according to their time-locking to stimulus onsets, response times, or neither, based on an algorithm of iterative subtraction. We suggest to reconstruct ERPs by re-aligning the component clusters to their most probable single trial latencies. We demonstrate that RIDE-reconstructed ERPs may recover amplitude effects that are diminished or exaggerated in conventional averages by trial-to-trial latency jitter. Hence, RIDE-corrected ERPs may be a valuable tool in conditions where ERP effects may be compromised by latency variability.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Childhood trauma and violent behavior in adolescents are differentially related to cognitive-emotional deficits

Introduction Converging neurobiological and epidemiological evidence indicates that exposure to traumatic events in the early stages of development, that is, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), negatively affects the likelihood of being involved in violent behavior later in life. These problems are hypothesized to be mediated by the disruption of executive functions, in particular, the ability to inhibit inappropriate actions. Here we aimed to distinguish the contribution of inhibition in non-emotional and emotional situations (i.e., emotion regulation) and assessed the modulating influence of stress, testing Nairobi county high school students in a two-experiment study. Methods In Experiment 1, neutral and emotional inhibition, working memory, and fluid intelligence were measured alongside questionnaires about ACE and violent behavior. Experiment 2 replicated these relations in an independent sample and assessed whether they would be aggravated after acute experimentally induced stress. Results Experiment 1 results showed that ACE was positively related to both non-emotional and emotional inhibition; in contrast, violent behavior was only associated with deficient emotional inhibition. Experiment 2 findings showed that stress did not significantly affect the relation of ACE to non-emotional inhibition and emotion regulation; however, it increased deficits of violent participants in their ability to down-regulate emotions. Discussion Together, results suggest that deficits in emotion regulation, especially under stressful conditions, are more critical than impairments in non-emotional inhibition in predicting violent behavior in victims of childhood trauma. These findings open perspectives toward more targeted research and interventions.Peer Reviewe

How hypnotic suggestions work – A systematic review of prominent theories of hypnosis

In recent decades, hypnosis has increasingly moved into the mainstream of scientific inquiry. Hypnotic suggestions are frequently implemented in behavioral, neurocognitive, and clinical investigations and interventions. Despite abundant reports about the effectiveness of suggestions in altering behavior, perception, cognition, and agency, no consensus exists regarding the mechanisms driving these changes. This article reviews competing theoretical accounts that address the genesis of subjective, behavioral, and neurophysiological responses to hypnotic suggestions. We systematically analyze the broad landscape of hypnosis theories that best represent our estimation of the current status and future avenues of scientific thinking. We start with procedural descriptions of hypnosis, suggestions, and hypnotizability, followed by a comparative analysis of systematically selected theories. Considering that prominent theoretical perspectives emphasize different aspects of hypnosis, our review reveals that each perspective possesses salient strengths, limitations, and heuristic values. We highlight the necessity of revisiting extant theories and formulating novel evidence-based accounts of hypnosis.Peer Reviewe

Die evangelische Kirche A. B. in Wien Gumpendorf

In dieser Arbeit wird die evangelische Kirche in Wien Gumpendorf, heute genannt Gustav-Adolf-Kirche, näher beleuchtet. Einleitend wird kurz die Geschichte protestantischer Gotteshäuser unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der rechtlichen Situation im Habsburgerreich referiert. Es folgt die Beschreibung der beiden Wiener evangelischen Kirchen, die zum Baubeginn der Kirche in Gumpendorf bereits bestanden hatten. Im Hauptkapitel wird zunächst auf die beiden beteiligten Architekten - Christian Ludwig Förster und Theophil Hansen - eingegangen, gefolgt von der Beschreibung von Außenbau und Innenraum der Gustav-Adolf-Kirche. Anschließend werden einige Vorgänger- sowie Nachfolgebauten aufgelistet und in Beziehung zur Gumpendorfer Kirche gesetzt. In den abschließenden Kapiteln wird auf die zeitgenössische Stildiskussion, insbesondere auf den so genannten "orientalischen Stil" in der Sakralarchitektur eingegangen