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M J Kane

Publications and source records attributed to M J Kane.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

A controlled-attention view of working-memory capacity.

In 2 experiments the authors examined whether individual differences in working-memory (WM) capacity are related to attentional control. Experiment 1 tested high- and low-WM-span (high-span and low-span) participants in a prosaccade task, in which a visual cue appeared in the same location as a subsequent to-be-identified target letter, and in an antisaccade task, in which a target appeared opposite the cued location. Span groups identified targets equally well in the prosaccade task, reflecting equivalence in automatic orienting. However, low-span participants were slower and less accurate than high-span participants in the antisaccade task, reflecting differences in attentional control. Experiment 2 measured eye movements across a long antisaccade session. Low-span participants made slower and more erroneous saccades than did high-span participants. In both experiments, low-span participants performed poorly when task switching from antisaccade to prosaccade blocks. The findings support a controlled-attention view of WM capacity.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Working-memory capacity, proactive interference, and divided attention: limits on long-term memory retrieval.

Two experiments examined how individual differences in working-memory capacity (WM) relate to proactive interference (PI) susceptibility. We tested high and low WM-span participants in a PI-buildup task under single-task or dual-task ("load") conditions. In Experiment 1, a finger-tapping task was imposed during encoding and retrieval of each list; in Experiment 2, tapping was required during encoding or retrieval. In both experiments, low spans showed greater PI than did high spans under no load, but groups showed equivalent PI under divided attention. Load increased PI only for high spans, suggesting they use attention at encoding and retrieval to combat PI. In Experiment 2, only low spans showed a dual-task cost on List 1 memory, before PI built up. Results indicate a role for attentional processing, perhaps inhibitory in nature, at encoding and retrieval, and are discussed with respect to theories of WM and prefrontal cortex function.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

The role of interference in memory span.

In two experiments, we investigated the possibility that susceptibility to proactive interference (PI) affects performance on memory span measures. We tested both younger and older adults (older adults were tested because of the suggestion that they are differentially susceptible to PI). We used two different span measures and manipulated testing procedures to reduce PI for these tasks. For older adults, span estimates increased with each PI-reducing manipulation; for younger adults, scores increased when multiple PI manipulations were combined or when PI-reducing manipulations were used in paradigms in which within-task PI was especially high. The findings suggest that PI critically influences span performance. We consider the possibility that interference-proneness may influence cognitive behaviors previously thought to be governed by capacity.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Dual mechanisms of negative priming.

Three experiments examined whether negative priming is a dually determined effect produced by inhibitory mechanisms and by a memorial process. Younger adults (Experiment 1) and older adults (Experiments 1-3) were tested in procedures that varied the likelihood of inducing retrieval of the prior trial. This was done by making test-trial target decoding difficult (Experiments 1 & 2) or by making prior information useful on some nonnegative priming trials (Experiment 3). Younger adults demonstrated negative priming under retrieval and nonretrieval conditions, with patterns of performance indicating different sources of negative priming effects. Older adults showed negative priming only under retrieval-inducing conditions, consistent with the view of deficient inhibitory mechanisms for older adults. The data suggest that contextual variables critically determine whether negative priming is largely due to inhibition or to episodic retrieval.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Determinants of negative priming.

The negative priming task is widely used to investigate attentional inhibition. A critical review of the negative priming literature considers various parameters of the task (e.g., time course, relation to interference, level of occurence, and susceptibility to changes in task context). It takes into account life span data and the performance of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. On these bases, the review suggests that negative priming can be produced by 2 mechanisms: memorial and inhibitory. With respect to inhibition, the review suggests that (a) there are 2 systems, one responsible for identity and the other for location information; and (b) inhibition is a flexible, postselection process operating to prevent recently rejected information from quickly regaining access to effectors, thus helping to establish coherence among selected thought and action streams.

Attention↗
PubMed1994

Inhibitory attentional mechanisms and aging.

Two experiments sought to elicit distractor suppression in older adults. Experiment 1 used a procedure that increased suppression in younger adults, thus creating a more sensitive measure of suppression in older adults. To compensate for older adults' slowed processing, Experiment 2 used a longer stimulus exposure duration. Neither experiment produced suppression in older adults; both experiments, however, included trial types that elicited parallel facilitatory effects for both age groups. Older adults thus seemed to process distractors but failed to engage inhibitory mechanisms in their rejection of distracting stimuli. Finally, both experiments tested the relationships among suppression, interference, and everyday cognitive failure. Neither experiment suggested relationships between reaction time effects and self-reported cognitive lapses. Results are discussed within L. Hasher and R. T. Zacks's (1988) attentional framework.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Disseminated leiomyosarcoma in a child with acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

A child with disseminated leiomyosarcoma and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is reported. She was originally believed to have peptic ulcer disease by radiographic and endoscopic evaluation but was found subsequently to have hypergastrinemia, hypochlorhydria, and a smooth muscle tumor. Leiomyosarcoma in children and its evolution in AIDS are discussed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1990

Malignant mesothelioma in young adults.

Ten cases of malignant mesothelioma presenting in patients 40 years old or younger at diagnosis were reviewed. Seven cases had a documented history of asbestos exposure of which five were household exposures. The median age at first exposure to asbestos was 10 years and the median duration of exposure was 120 months. The median latency period (time between initial asbestos exposure and diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma) was 19 years. The median interval from initial symptoms to definitive diagnosis was 5.5 months. The case history of each patient is presented. A significant delay in diagnosis in this age group compared with an age-unrestricted series is noted. The significance of nonoccupational exposure to asbestos is emphasized as a probable causative factor in the development of malignant mesothelioma. In addition, a possible genetic predisposition is briefly discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The female athletic role as a status determinant within the social systems of high school adolescents.

This study examined the relationship between female athletic participation and status attainment within the social status systems of high school adolescents. Although earlier research has consistently demonstrated that the athletic role for males is associated with greatest status within the school, findings regarding the status of female athletes have been contradictory: Some studies have found high status rankings for female athletes while others have revealed negative results. It was therefore argued that current research go beyond the general construct of "female athlete" and consider the type of sport with which the adolescent female is associated as a possible status determinant. Employing a sport typology proposed by Metheny (1967), it was predicted that females associated with sex-appropriate or "feminine" sports (e.g., tennis) would receive significantly higher status ratings than those identified with sex-inappropriate or "masculine" sports (e.g., basketball). One hundred and twenty-one male subjects were asked to indicate which female athlete (associated with a sex-appropriate versus a sex-inappropriate sport) they would most like to date, while 111 female subjects were asked to choose which female athlete they would most like to have as a friend. Chi-square analyses revealed that, as predicted, females associated with sex-appropriate sports were given significantly greater status than females identified with sex-inappropriate sports by both male and female subjects. These results suggest that social assessments made about female sport participation within high school status systems remain heavily influenced by traditional beliefs regarding feminine, "ladylike" behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Analogs of camptothecin.

Several compounds having portions of the camptothecin ring system were prepared. These compounds were screened against L1210 lymphoid leukemia with negative results. Two of the analogs which contained the pyridine and hydroxylactone D and E rings were also screened for inhibition of DNA and RNA syntheses in HeLa cells. Each of these analogs had decreased activity as compared with comptothecin and there was no degradation of DNA in the HeLa cells. This suggest that the D and E rings are not a sufficient requirement for camptothecin-like activity.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Premonitory urges as "attentional tics" in Tourette's syndrome.

The author, a graduate student with Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome, proposes that pre-tic sensory experiences result from a specific attentional deficit. Based on his own introspective case study, the author argues that the premonitory urges that precede tics are not unique sensory events, but rather are manifestations of somatosensory hyperawareness which serves as the aversive stimulus toward which tics are purposively directed. An "attentional tic" theoretical framework for the study of Tourette's syndrome is suggested and discussed in reference to inhibitory theories of attention.

Adult↗