Reaction time to judge the temporal inequality of digits numbers

Several studies had consistently lighted mechanisms about the relation between spatial and numerical cognition; parallel to this, a separate research line begin to document similar relationships for the representation of time and quantity as well. However there are still few studies that explore cognitive mechanisms subserving this relation. Starting from the evidence of the SNARC effect (Dehaene et al., 1993), here we investigate about the presence of similar effect in the processing of temporal and numerical information. We studied the effects of numerical exposure when participants are asked to perform a visual detection task in which temporal information is explicitly or implicitly conveyed. The main result shows that, during explicit timing, low digits exposure improve reaction time in the judgment of shorter duration whereas big digits exposure improve reaction time in judgment of longer duration. No interaction between temporal and numerical information is documented when participants perform implicit timing task. Results suggest a role quantity exposure for timing task-dependent attentional orientation. 

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Social communication in Tourette syndrome: a glimpse at the contribution of the insula and the prefrontal cortex

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sensorimotor states affect choice in the magnitude judgment of ambiguous durations

66 words) The statistics of the environment seem to exert optimal influence on the organization of functions subserving decision making. In order to make decisions about ambiguous sensory information, predictive coding models suggest that brain generate a template against which to match observed sensory evidence. Here we challenge this notion providing evidence that stochastic choices about the magnitude judgment of visual duration are triggered by bottom-up sensorimotor information. Main Text (1204 words, including acknowledgements and references) The statistics of the environment seem to exert optimal influence on the organization of functions subserving decision making. "Predictive coding" models suggest that whenever a clear outcome is not available, the brain resolves perceptual ambiguity by anticipating the forthcoming sensory environment, generating a template against which to match observed sensory evidence. Accordingly, decisions that we make are often guided by the outcomes of similar decisions made in the past. Nevertheless, everyday life teaches us that higher-level processes, such as voluntary choice, have often proved themselves to be immune to previous experience. Task-irrelevant information may influence behavior, not always orienting decision making toward ecologically optimal deeds. Grounded cognition provided some insight in this direction focusing on the role of the body in cognition, based on widespread findings that bodily states can cause cognitive states and be effects of them. Here we investigate if low-level sensorimotor manipulation affects performance of observers whose attempt to generate magnitude decision about ambiguous durations. To this purpose head turning to the left or to the right space was selectively manipulated in two separated experiments. Lateral head turns are known to reallocate spatial attention in the outside world. Two groups of participants had to judge the duration of a test stimulus as longer or shorter with respect to a reference stimulus, once with their head kept straight (baseline) and once while turning their head. We tested groups' performance in two separate experiments: one during the temporal encoding/storage of the reference stimulus; the other during the retrieval/comparison of the duration of the reference stimulus with that of the test one (Figure 1a, supplementary method). To create an ambiguous vs. unambiguous temporal outcome the duration' stimuli were manipulated by using a loglinear temporal distance from the reference. Data analysis of both baseline sessions specified th

Experiments on real-life emotions challenge Ekman's model

Ekman's emotions (1992) are defined as universal basic emotions. Over the years, alternative models have emerged (e.g. Greene and Haidt 2002; Barrett 2017) describing emotions as social and linguistic constructions. The variety of models existing today raises the question of whether the abstraction provided by such models is sufficient as a descriptive/predictive tool for representing real-life emotional situations. Our study presents a social inquiry to test whether traditional models are sufficient to capture the complexity of daily life emotions, reported in a textual context. The intent of the study is to establish the human-subject agreement rate in an annotated corpus based on Ekman's theory (Entity-Level Tweets Emotional Analysis) and the human-subject agreement rate when using Ekman's emotions to annotate sentences that don't respect the Ekman's model (The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows). Furthermore, we investigated how much alexithymia can influence the human ability to detect and categorise emotions. On a total sample of 114 subjects, our results show low within subjects agreement rates for both datasets, particularly for subjects with low levels of alexithymia; low levels of agreement with the original annotations; frequent use of emotions based on Ekman model, particularly negative one, in people with high levels of alexithymia

A Quantum-Classical Model of Brain Dynamics

The study of the human psyche has elucidated a bipartite structure of cognition reflecting the quantum-classical nature of any process that generates knowledge and learning governed by brain activity. Acknowledging the importance of such a finding for modelization, we posit an approach to study brain by means of the quantum-classical dynamics of a Mixed Weyl symbol. The Mixed Weyl symbol is used to describe brain processes at the microscopic level and provides a link to the results of measurements made at the mesoscopic scale. Within this approach, quantum variables (such as,for example, nuclear and electron spins, dipole momenta of particles or molecules, tunneling degrees of freedom, etc may be represented by spinors while the electromagnetic fields and phonon modes involved in the processes are treated either classically or semi-classically, by also considering quantum zero-point fluctuations. Zero-point quantum effects can be incorporated into numerical simulations by controlling the temperature of each field mode via coupling to a dedicated Nos\`e-Hoover chain thermostat. The temperature of each thermostat is chosen in order to reproduce quantum statistics in the canonical ensemble. In this first paper, we introduce a quantum-classical model of brain dynamics, clarifying its mathematical strucure and focusing the discussion on its predictive value. Analytical consequences of the model are not reported in this paper, since they are left for future work. Our treatment incorporates compatible features of three well-known quantum approaches to brain dynamics - namely the electromagnetic field theory approach, the orchestrated objective reduction theory, and the dissipative quantum model of the brain - and hints at convincing arguments that sustain the existence of quantum-classical processes in the brain activity. All three models are reviewed.Comment: Submitted to Entropy [MDPI], Special Issue "Quantum Processes in Living Systems

Effects of bilateral anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the tongue primary motor cortex on cortical excitability of the tongue and tongue motor functions.

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Indignation for moral violations suppresses the tongue motor cortex: preliminary TMS evidence

Abstract We commonly label moral violations in terms of 'disgust', yet it remains unclear whether metaphorical expressions linking disgust and morality are genuinely shared at the cognitive/neural level. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we provide new insights into this debate by measuring motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) from the tongue generated by TMS over the tongue primary motor area (tM1) in a small group of healthy participants presented with vignettes of moral transgressions and non-moral vignettes. We tested whether moral indignation, felt while evaluating moral vignettes, affected tM1 excitability. Vignettes exerted a variable influence on MEPs with no net effect of the moral category. However, in accordance with our recent study documenting reduced tM1 excitability during exposure to pictures of disgusting foods or facial expressions of distaste, we found that vignettes of highly disapproved moral violations reduced tM1 excitability. Moreover, tM1 excitability and moral indignation were linearly correlated: the higher the moral indignation, the lower the tM1 excitability. Respective changes in MEPs were not observed in a non-oral control muscle, suggesting a selective decrease of tM1 excitability. These preliminary findings provide neurophysiological evidence supporting the hypothesis that morality might have originated from the more primitive experience of oral distaste

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation for the Modulation of Aggressive Behavior—A Systematic Review of Randomized Sham-Controlled Studies

Intro: Aggressive behavior represents a significant public health issue, with relevant social, political, and security implications. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques may modulate aggressive behavior through stimulation of the prefrontal cortex. Aims: To review research on the effectiveness of NIBS to alter aggression, discuss the main findings and potential limitations, consider the specifics of the techniques and protocols employed, and discuss clinical implications. Methods: A systematic review of the literature available in the PubMed database was carried out, and 17 randomized sham-controlled studies investigating the effectiveness of NIBS techniques on aggression were included. Exclusion criteria included reviews, meta-analyses, and articles not referring to the subject of interest or not addressing cognitive and emotional modulation aims. Conclusions: The reviewed data provide promising evidence for the beneficial effects of tDCS, conventional rTMS, and cTBS on aggression in healthy adults, forensic, and clinical samples. The specific stimulation target is a key factor for the success of stimulation on aggression modulation. rTMS and cTBS showed opposite effects on aggression compared with tDCS. However, due to the heterogeneity of stimulation protocols, experimental designs, and samples, we cannot exclude other factors that may play a confounding role

EVIDENCE OF ALTERED FEAR EXTINCTION LEARNING IN INDIVIDUALS WITH HIGH VACCINE HESITANCY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Objective: A relevance of fear and concerns about vaccine development and its side effects are suggested to explain COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. However, evidence supporting the phobic origin hypothesis of hesitancy for COVID-19 and other vaccinations remains indirect and elusive. Method: We addressed this issue by investigating the existence of a relationship between fear conditioning, extinction, and the respective vaccination hesitancy and anxiety scores in a group of 25 individuals. Results: Overall, we show that the general mechanism of fear extinction learning is impaired in individuals with high vaccine hesitancy. State and trait anxiety scores do not account for this result. Conclusions: These findings suggest that attitudes against vaccination could be linked to an altered inhibitory learning process