El aprendizaje emocional con reforzadores secundarios no fortalece el recuerdo retroactivo de eventos relacionados

Introducción: Vivir experiencias con gran impacto emocional tiene un efecto trascendentalsobre la memoria, así lo demuestran diversos estudios donde se defiende quelos eventos emocionales se retienen mejor que los eventos neutros. Un tema de interéscientífico es el efecto de las nuevas experiencias emocionales sobre recuerdosrelacionados previos. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar el efecto quetiene un evento emocional sobre el recuerdo retroactivo de eventos relacionados conceptualmente.Método: 25 estudiantes universitarios sanos completaron una tarea decodificación (compuesta por dos fases: pre-condicionamiento y condicionamiento) yuna tarea de reconocimiento. El pre-condicionamiento consistía en clasificar categóricamente90 imágenes de animales o herramientas. En el condicionamiento se presentaron45 imágenes nuevas de cada categoría, una de las cuales fue asociada a uncastigo monetario/social. Los participantes debían indicar si esperaban perder dineroen cada ensayo. Finalmente, 24h después, se realizó la tarea de reconocimiento sorpresa.Resultados: Los resultados indicaron un mejor recuerdo a las 24 horas de lacategoría castigada en el condicionamiento, sin embargo los ítems de esta categoríapresentados en el pre-condicionamiento se recordaron peor. Conclusión: De maneranovedosa, los resultados sugieren que el castigo mediante reforzador secundario causaun efecto inhibitorio de recuerdo en el pre-condicionamiento de la categoría castigada.Es decir, un evento emocional futuro puede afectar al recuerdo de eventos relacionados,que han sido codificados anteriormente, haciendo que estos se recuerdenpeor.Introduction: Living experiences with great emotional impact has a transcendental effecton memory, as shown by several studies where it is argued that emotional eventsare retained better than neutral events than neutral events. A topic of scientific interestis the effect of new emotional experiences on previous related memories. The presentedstudy aimed to investigate the effect of an emotional event on the retroactivememory of conceptually related events. Methodology: 25 healthy university studentscompleted encoding task (composed of two phases: pre-conditioning and conditioning)and a recognition task. In the pre-conditioning, participants had to classify 90 imagesinto animals and tools. Later, in the conditioning stage, 45 new images of each categorywere presented, one of which was associated with monetary / social punishment.Participants should indicate whether they expected to lose money or not in each trial.Finally, 24 hours later, the task of surprise recognition was performed. Results: Theresults replicated a better memory at 24 hours for the category punished in the conditioning,but the items of this category presented in the pre-conditioning, were worseremembered. Conclusion: Newly manner, the results suggest that punishment by asecondary reinforcement provokes an inhibitor effect of memory in the pre-conditioningof the punished category. That is, a future emotional event can affect the memory ofrelated events, which have been previously codified, making them remember worse

Visual search task immediate training effects on task-related functional connectivity

This is a pre-print of an article published in [ Brain Imaging and Behavior. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-018-9993-yBrain plasticity occurs over the course of the human lifetime. Learning and training modify our neuronal synapses and adapt our brain activity, from priming effects in modal areas to higher-order changes in the association cortex. The current state of the art suggests that learning and training effects might induce large-scale brain connectivity changes. Here, we used task-fMRI data and graph-based approaches to study the immediate brain changes in functional connections associated with training on a visual search task, and the individual differences in learning were studied by means of brain-behavior correlations. In a previous work, we found that trained participants improved their response speed on a visual search task by 31%, whereas the control group hardly changed. In the present study, we showed that trained individuals changed regional connections (local links) in cortical areas devoted to the specific visual search processes and to areas that support information integration, and largely modified distributed connections (distant links) linking primary visual areas to specific attentional and cognitive control areas. In addition, we found that the individuals with the most enhanced connectivity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex performed the task faster after training. The observed behavioral and brain connectivity findings expand our understanding of large-scale dynamic readjustment of the human brain after learning experiences

Students’ surveys and involvement in educational activities within virtual environments are related to students’ satisfaction in elearning graduate programs

Ponència presentada a 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances, HEAd’17, Universitat Politècnica de València, València, 2017This paper evaluates associations across the dimensions included in students’ surveys and virtual activities for applying educational models within e-learning graduate programs. Firstly, we focus on the outcomes derived from teachers’ and students’ participation in virtual classroom forums and, secondly, on the determinants of students’ satisfaction in the graduate program. Data analyses show that teachers’ and students’ participation in forums as dynamic educational activities are positively correlated with students’ general satisfaction. To study the determinants of students’ satisfaction, we perform a regression analysis that considers as explanatory variables educational planning, teaching qualifications and development of learning, as well as of a number of controls related to the virtual learning environment and participation in the academic program. According to the obtained results, teaching skills and learning environments are associated with higher students’ satisfaction in a virtual learning environment. This type of analysis is of great interest in a social environment characterized by increasing communication via electronic networking. We find that dynamic educational activities and dimensions taken on board on students’ surveys are related to students’ satisfaction in e-learning graduate programs

Modulation of Functional Connectivity in Auditory-Motor Networks in Musicians Compared with Nonmusicians

Correlation of spontaneous fluctuations at rest between anatomically distinct brain areas are proposed to reflect the profile of individual a priori cognitive biases, coded as synaptic efficacies in cortical networks. Here, we investigate functional connectivity at rest (rs-FC) in musicians and nonmusicians to test for differences in auditory, motor, and audiomotor connectivity. As expected, musicians had stronger rs-FC between the right auditory cortex (AC) and the right ventral premotor cortex than nonmusicians, and this stronger rs-FC was greater in musicians with more years of practice. We also found reduced rs-FC between the motor areas that control both hands in musicians compared with nonmusicians, which was more evident in the musicians whose instrument required bimanual coordination and as a function of hours of practice. Finally, we replicated previous morphometric data to show an increased volume in the right AC in musicians, which was greater in those with earlier musical training, and that this anatomic feature was in turn related to greater rs-FC between auditory and motor systems. These results show that functional coupling within the motor system and between motor and auditory areas is modulated as a function of musical training, suggesting a link between anatomic and functional brain features.This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PSI2013-47504-R) and by a research stay grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness to M.-A.P.-G. (BES-2011-045789) developed at McGill University. Authors M.-A.P.-G. and E.B. was supported by pre-doctoral graduate program grants (National FPI to M.-A.P -G.; and National FPU to E.B.)

Functional connectivity in resting state as a phonemic fluency ability measure

There is some evidence that functional connectivity (FC) measures obtained at rest may reflect individual differences in cognitive capabilities. We tested this possibility by using the FAS test as a measure of phonemic fluency. Seed regions of the main brain areas involved in this task were extracted from meta-analysis results (Wagner et al., 2014) and used for pairwise resting-state FC analysis. Ninety-three undergraduates completed the FAS test outside the scanner. A correlation analysis was conducted between the F-A-S scores (behavioral testing) and the pairwise FC pattern of verbal fluency regions of interest. Results showed that the higher FC between the thalamus and the cerebellum, and the lower FCs between the left inferior frontal gyrus and the right insula and between the supplementary motor area and the right insula were associated with better performance on the FAS test. Regression analyses revealed that the first two FCs contributed independently to this better phonemic fluency, reflecting a more general attentional factor (FC between thalamus and cerebellum) and a more specific fluency factor (FC between the left inferior frontal gyrus and the right insula). The results support the Spontaneous Trait Reactivation hypothesis, which explains how resting-state derived measures may reflect individual differences in cognitive abilities.This research was supported by grants from the Spanish Department of Economy and Competitiveness (PSI2013-47504-R); and Jaume I University (P1·1B2013-63). Authors AMP, EB and MAP were supported by Pre-doctoral Graduate Program grants (Jaume I University FPI to AMP; National FPU to EB; and National FPI to MAPG)

The dynamic imprint of word learning on the dorsal language pathway

According to Hickok and Poeppel (2007), the acquisition of new vocabulary rests on the dorsal language pathway connecting auditory and motor areas. The present study tested this hypothesis longitudinally by measuring BOLD signal changes during a verbal repetition task and modulation of resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) in the dorsal stream. Thirty-five healthy participants, divided into trained and control groups, completed fMRI sessions on days 1, 10, and 24. Between days 1 and 10, the trained group learned 84 new pseudowords associated with 84 native words. Task-related fMRI results showed a reduced activity in the IFG and STG while processing the learned vocabulary after training, returning to initial values two weeks later. Moreover, rs-fMRI analysis showed stronger rs-FC between the IFG and STG in the trained group than in the control group after learning, especially on day 24. These neural changes were more evident in participants with a larger vocabulary. Discussion focuses on the prominent role of the dorsal stream in vocabulary acquisition. Even when their meaning was known, newly learned words were again processed through the dorsal stream two weeks after learning, with the increase in rs-FC between auditory and motor areas being a relevant long-term imprint of vocabulary learning

Efecto de facilitación de los cognados en el cerebro bilingüe

The aim of the present fMRI research was to study the neural and behavioral differences between bilinguals and monolinguals during picture naming task with cognate and non-cognate words. Method: The sample consisted of 33 right-handed university students: 16 Spanish – Catalan bilinguals and 17 Spanish monolinguals. For this study, a slow event-related fMRI task was used which consisted in a picture naming task performed in Spanish (L1). The pictures were manipulated for cognate status, thus half of them were named with cognate words and the other with half non-cognate words. Result: The behavioral results obtained showed a main effect of the cognate status and an interaction between the cognate status and the effect of group by which the bilingual denominated faster cognates words than non-cognate words. The neural results showed overall differences between bilinguals and monolinguals in posterior areas, but these were not specific for cognate or non-cognate words. Differences within the bilingual group were observed, revealing an increased activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (acc) when the non-cognate condition was compared to the cognate condition. Conclusion: As the interference hypothesis postulates, bilinguals have a parallel activation of L1 and L2 lexicons that could be related to the increased activation observed in the anterior cingulate cortex (acc) while processing non cognate words.Introducción: El objetivo de la presente investigación de resonancia magnética funcional fue estudiar las diferencias neurales y conductuales entre bilingües y monolingües durante una tarea de denominación de palabras cognadas y no cognadas a partir de imágenes. Metodología: La muestra estaba formada por 33 estudiantes universitarios diestros: 16 bilingües de castellano-catalán, cuya L1 era el castellano, y 17 monolingües de castellano. Se realizó una tarea con un diseño asociado a eventos lento en rmf que consistió en la denominación en castellano (L1) a partir de imágenes, donde la mitad de las imágenes se denominaban con palabras cognadas y la otra mitad con palabras no cognadas. Resultados: Los resultados conductuales obtenidos mostraron un claro efecto de cognación y una interacción entre el estado de cognación y el efecto del grupo, por el que los bilingües denominaban más rápido palabras cognadas que no cognadas. Los resultados neurales mostraron diferencias globales entre bilingües y monolingües en áreas posteriores, pero estas no fueron específicas para palabras cognadas o no cognadas. También se observaron diferencias en el grupo de los bilingües, observándose mayor activación en el córtex cingulado anterior (acc) cuando la condición de palabras no cognadas fue comparada con las palabras cognadas. Conclusión: Tal y como postula la hipótesis de la interferencia, el grupo de los bilingües presenta una mayor participación del córtex cingulado anterior durante el procesamiento de palabras no cognadas debido a la activación en paralelo del léxico de L1 y de L2

Long-term brain effects of N-back training: an fMRI study

Neurobehavioral effects of cognitive training have become a popular research issue. Specifically, behavioral studies have demonstrated the long-term efficacy of cognitive training of working memory functions, but the neural basis for this training have been studied only at short-term. Using fMRI, we investigate the cerebral changes produced by brief single n-back training immediately and 5 weeks after finishing the training. We used the data from a sample of 52 participants who were assigned to either an experimental condition (training group) or a no-contact control condition. Both groups completed three fMRI sessions with the same n-back task. Behavioral and brain effects were studied, comparing the conditions and sessions in both groups. Our results showed that n-back training improved performance in terms of accuracy and response speed in the trained group compared to the control group. These behavioral changes in trained participants were associated with decreased activation in various brain areas related to working memory, specifically the frontal superior/middle cortex, inferior parietal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and middle temporal cortex. Five weeks after training, the behavioral and brain changes remained stable. We conclude that cognitive training was associated with an improvement in behavioral performance and decreased brain activation, suggesting better neural efficiency that persists over time

Functional Connectivity Between Superior Parietal Lobule and Primary Visual Cortex “at Rest” Predicts Visual Search Efficiency

Spatiotemporal activity that emerges spontaneously “at rest” has been proposed to reflect individual a priori biases in cognitive processing. This research focused on testing neurocognitive models of visual attention by studying the functional connectivity (FC) of the superior parietal lobule (SPL), given its central role in establishing priority maps during visual search tasks. Twenty-three human participants completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging session that featured a resting-state scan, followed by a visual search task based on the alphanumeric category effect. As expected, the behavioral results showed longer reaction times and more errors for the within-category (i.e., searching a target letter among letters) than the between-category search (i.e., searching a target letter among numbers). The within-category condition was related to greater activation of the superior and inferior parietal lobules, occipital cortex, inferior frontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and the superior colliculus than the between-category search. The resting-state FC analysis of the SPL revealed a broad network that included connections with the inferotemporal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and dorsal frontal areas like the supplementary motor area and frontal eye field. Noteworthy, the regression analysis revealed that the more efficient participants in the visual search showed stronger FC between the SPL and areas of primary visual cortex (V1) related to the search task. We shed some light on how the SPL establishes a priority map of the environment during visual attention tasks and how FC is a valuable tool for assessing individual differences while performing cognitive tasks.This research was supported by grants from the Spanish Department of Economy and Competitiveness (PSI2013-47504-R); and Jaume I University (P1·1B2013-63). Authors E.B., MA.PG and A.MP. were supported by pre-doctoral graduate program grants (National FPU to E.B; National FPI to MA.PG; and Jaume I University FPI to A.MP

Repeated Working Memory Training Improves Task Performance and Neural Efficiency in Multiple Sclerosis Patients and Healthy Controls

Background/Objective. To explore the efectiveness of a specifc working memory (WM) training program in MS patients and healthy controls (HC). Method. 29 MS patients and 29 matched HC were enrolled in the study. MS and HC were randomly split into two groups: nontraining groups (15HC/14 MS) and training groups (14 HC/15 MS). Training groups underwent adaptive n-back training (60 min/day; 4 days). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to monitor brain activity during n-back performance (conditions: 0-back, 2-back, and 3-back) at 3 time points: (1) baseline, (2) post-training (+7days), and (3) followup (+35days). Results. In post-training and follow-up fMRI sessions, trained groups (HC and MS patients) exhibited signifcant reaction time (RT) reductions and increases in Correct Responses (CRs) during 2-back and 3-back performance.Tis improvement of task performance was accompanied by a decrease in brain activation in the WM frontoparietal network. Te two efects were signifcantly correlated. Conclusions. Afer WM training, both cognitively preserved MS patients and HC participants showed task performance improvement made possible by neuroplastic processes that enhanced neural efciency