17 research outputs found

    Neurolinguistic relativity How language flexes human perception and cognition

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    Time has come, perhaps, to go beyond acknowledging that language is a core manifestation of the workings of the human mind and that it relates interactively to all aspects of thinking. The issue, thus, is not to decide whether language and human thought may be ineluctably linked (they just are) but rather to determine what the characteristics of this relationship may be and to understand how language influences �and may be influenced by� nonverbal information processing. Here I review neurolinguistic studies from our group that have shown a link between linguistic distinctions and perception or conceptualization in an attempt to demystify linguistic relativity. On the basis of empirical evidence showing effects of terminology on perception, language-idiosyncratic relationships in semantic memory, grammatical skewing of event conceptualisation, and unconscious modulation of executive functioning by verbal input, I advocate a neurofunctional approach through which we can systematically explore how languages shape human though

    Memory Influences Visual Cognition across Multiple Functional States of Interactive Cortical Dynamics

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    No embargo requiredMemory supports a wide range of abilities from categorical perception to goal-directed behavior, such as decision-making and episodic recognition. Memory activates fast and surprisingly accurately and even when information is ambiguous or impoverished (i.e., showing object constancy). This paper proposes the multiple-state interactive (MUSI) account of object cognition that attempts to explain how sensory stimulation activates memory across multiple functional states of neural dynamics, including automatic and strategic mental simulation mechanisms that can ground cognition in modal information processing. A key novel postulate of this account is ‘multiple-function regional activity’: The same neuronal population can contribute to multiple brain states, depending upon the dominant set of inputs at that time. In state 1, the initial fast bottom-up pass through posterior neocortex happens between 95 ms and ~200 ms, with knowledge supporting categorical perception by 120 ms. In state 2, starting around 200 ms, a sustained state of iterative activation of object-sensitive cortex involves bottom-up, recurrent, and feedback interactions with frontoparietal cortex. This supports higher cognitive functions associated with decision-making even under ambiguous or impoverished conditions, phenomenological consciousness, and automatic mental simulation. In the latest state so far identified, state M, starting around 300 to 500 ms, large-scale cortical network interactions, including between multiple networks (e.g., control, salience, and especially default mode), further modulate posterior cortex. This supports elaborated cognition based on earlier processing, including episodic memory, strategic mental simulation, decision evaluation, creativity, and access consciousness. Convergent evidence is reviewed from cognitive neuroscience of object cognition, decision-making, memory, and mental imagery that support this account and define the brain regions and time course of these brain dynamics

    Updating Relational Databases through Object-Based Views

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    The view-object model provides a formal basis for representing and manipulating object-based views on relational databases. In this paper, we present a scheme for handling update operations on view objects. Because a typical view object encompasses multiple relations, a view-object update request must be translated into valid operations on the underlying relational database. Building on an existing approach to update relational views, we introduce algorithms to enumerate all valid translations of the various update operations on view objects. The process of choosing a translator for view-object update occurs at view-object generation time. Once chosen, the translator can handle any update request on the view object. 1 Introduction Many application domains require database techniques for modeling and managing complex objects [6, 12, 16, 21, 24]. At the same time, a major incentive to exploit database management systems is the ability to support sharing of data among applications. In pr..

    Use of Relational Storage and a Semantic Model to Generate Objects: The PENGUIN Project

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    Introduction Relational technology provides a basis for reliable sharing of large bodies of information. Object approaches provide conceptual locality of information to focus users attention. Application systems, similarily, tend to be effective if the data space is well focused and constrained. Future decision-support systems will require the combined use of database and intelligent applications. 2. The PENGUIN project In the penguin project, we demonstrate the hypothesis that relational storage, used to support an object-oriented approach can serve as a unifying framework for developing systems which share information [Wied:86]. Objects offer a consistent framework for users and their applications. Permanently storing information in the form of complex objects, however, can seriously inhibit sharing and flexibility, since an object presents one particular view of the world. A desirable compromise is to exploit existing database technology by d
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