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PubMed1989

Biological information processing: the use of information for the support of function.

In biological systems, the processing and use of information has evolved out of the need for survival in the face of an uncertain environment. As a consequence, the information-function relationship in these systems is shaped by their adaptability characteristics. In contrast, the information-function relationship in man-designed, goal-oriented organizational systems depends on the ability of the information processing system to support the achievement of the organization's goals. In this paper we use results from adaptability theory in the analysis of control-related aspects of the information-function relationship in man-designed organizational systems. In particular, we use a conceptual model of organizational control to characterize features of functional and control structures and their effect on the adaptability of these systems. The concept of implicit control and a design principle for adaptability-enhancing information systems are derived for this analysis.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed1985

Hypotheses on mnemonic information processing by the brain.

From a neuropsychological point of view, hypotheses are offered on the possible action of the brain in the processing of mnemonic information for long-term storage (or for retrieval of long-term stored information). It is argued that strict relations between damage of circumscribed brain structures and amnesia, as they have been suggested in recent case reports, are questionable for several reasons: Firstly, the involved regions differ between cases; secondly, there is some counter-evidence from other cases in which similar neuronal damage failed to result in lasting amnesic disturbances; thirdly, it is hypothesized that even from circumscribed brain damage it is not justifiable to conclude that the lesioned structure is solely or principally responsible for the observed mnemonic changes, as the brain acts in an integrative way, that is, on the basis of a wide-spread network of neuronal information processing. On the basis of these and related arguments, hypotheses and models on mnemonic information processing in the intact and in the damaged brain are derived. With these hypotheses even the frequent observation of interindividual differences in mnemonic information processing finds a possible explanation which is in conformity to known anatomical circuits and connections and to principles of neuronal coding.

Amnesia↗

PubMed1985

[EEG correlates of information processing in acute and remittent schizophrenic patients].

Studies of the EEG correlates of information processing in normals indicate that different cognitive processing of information is correlated with different functional brain states. Studies in experimental psychology have demonstrated a communication and performance deficit in schizophrenics which indicates a deviation in one or more stages of information processing. Accordingly it can be hypothesized that the functional brain states as manifested in the EEG during information processing in schizophrenics are different from these states in normals or former schizophrenics. The paper tested this hypothesis in drug-free acute and former schizophrenics, neurotics and normals. The results indicate 1) that acute schizophrenics show a deviant electrical brain state during information processing; 2) former schizophrenics in a good clinical remission have electrical brain states during information processing which in some aspects are normalised, and in other aspects still differ from these states in normals and neurotics. The importance of these physiological findings for the assessment of the efficacy of the biological and psychological treatments in schizophrenia is discussed.

Alpha Rhythm↗

PubMed1990

The information-processing approach.

The information-processing (IP) approach to perception and cognition arose as a reaction to behaviourism. This reaction mainly concerned the nature of explanation in scientific psychology. The "standard" account of behaviour, phrased in strictly external terms, was replaced by a "realist" account, phrased in terms of internal entities and processes. An analysis of the theoretical language used in IP psychology shows an undisciplined state of affairs. A great number of languages is simultaneously in use; no level of analysis is unambiguously referred to; and basic concepts such as information and processing remain largely undefined. Nevertheless, over the past 25 years the IP approach has developed into a disciplined and sophisticated experimental science. A look at actual practice hints at the basic reason for its success. The approach is not so much concerned with absolute or intrinsic properties of the human information processor, but with what can be called its relative or differential properties. A further analysis of this feature of the IP approach in terms of the formal language of a logical system makes explicit the basis of its success. The IP approach can be regarded as developing an empirical difference calculus on an unspecified class of objects, phrased in terms of a simulated "theory-neutral" observation language, and with operators that are structurally analogous to logical operators. This reinterpretation of what the IP approach is about brings a number of advantages. It strengthens its position as an independent science, clarifies its relation with other approaches within psychology and other sciences within the cognitive science group, and makes it independent of philosophical subtleties.

Cognition↗

PubMed1990

Structural information processing in peripheral vision.

Structural visual information processing was investigated in peripheral vision. Perceptual completion, as observed at the blind spot, occurred across a vertical blank stripe in a test pattern, presented in the peripheral visual field. That is, a shape, organized by structural processing, was perceived under critical visual conditions when it was presented in peripheral vision. The results indicate that structural processing, as indicated by perceptual completion, occurs in the peripheral visual information handling process. The results suggest that structural processing of shape information is built into the peripheral visual system and reduces the information load on the higher visual processes under conditions in which visual information is not adequate.

Adult↗

PubMed1979

Advances in radiologic reporting with Computerized Language Information Processing (CLIP).

Computerized Language Information Processing (CLIP) is a system of radiologic reporting in which the user interacts with a computer keyboard and cathode-ray tube terminal to generate coded reports. The hierarchical medical classification on which the code is based permits rapid on-line compilation of reports of any degree of complexity. The system provides organized sets of pre-assembled statements that are rapidly accessed and modified for each examination. Although the reports are printed in English, they are held in the computer as a succinct code that is eminently suited for permanent storage and rapid retrieval.

Classification↗

PubMed1986

[Mood and social information processing in depressive disorders].

Informative and directive functions of mood in judgments of well-being were explored in both depressed and non-depressed subjects by using the weather as a natural mood manipulation. Non-depressives reported higher well-being on sunny than on rainy days. The reverse was true for depressives, who tended to report higher well-being, and were more optimistic about their future well-being, on rainy than on sunny days. That is, depressives tended to report lower well-being when they felt bad "despite" salient positive situational influences (sunny weather), and higher well-being when they could attribute their negative feelings to the weather. These results are consistent with a social information processing approach to depression. In contrast to purely cognitive models of depression this framework provides an account for naturally occurring mood swings and recognizes the contribution of mood to the maintainance of depression.

Arousal↗

PubMed1989

Smoking and human information processing.

There is much evidence which indicates that smoking improves various aspects of human information processing (Wesnes 1987). The aim of the present study was to elucidate the stages of human information processing which are improved after cigarette smoking. Twelve regular smokers were tested on three cognitive tasks using a repeated measures design. Tasks used were: rapid visual information processing (RVIP), digit symbol substitution (DSST), and inspection time (IT). Performance parameters derived from these were intended to index different stages of the information processing sequence. Only those measures which involved a motor component were improved after smoking: response time on the RVIP task (P less than 0.025) and DSST performance (P less than 0.1). These findings suggest that central cholinergic pathways are involved in the late, response-related stages of the processing sequence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Brain evoked responses reflect information processing changes with the menstrual cycle in young female athletes.

In sport activity, information processing plays a role crucial for sport performance. Neuropsychological and psychophysiological evidence based on behavioral and psychophysical tasks has been accumulated showing that the latter changes over the course of the menstrual cycle, but the available data are rather inconsistent. On the other hand, in sport literature, not much attention has been devoted to these topics by researchers who have mainly been asked to investigate changes in mood and well-being. Therefore, a study has been undertaken to investigate the relationships between the menstrual cycle and information processing in young female athletes, some of whom took oral contraceptives. The study was based on Auditory Evoked Responses that, unlike behavioral and psychophysical techniques, were revealed to be an exceptionally reliable tool for the study of neural activity during sensory information processing. The results showed the existence of clear fluctuations over the course of the menstrual cycle in time taken to handle information and in the amount of information processing that, with differences and similarities, could be observed both in spontaneously menstruating and on-pill athletes. In addition, neuroanatomical differences were evident in the response of different neural structures of the auditory pathways. In fact, the effects of the hormonal changes accompanying the menstrual cycle appear to be more effective and influential at higher central levels of the auditory pathway.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Do biomolecules process information differently than synthetic organic molecules?

This paper compares information/signal processing in synthetic and biological molecules. The role of conformation-based (shape-based) mechanisms and electrostatic interactions in molecular recognition is discussed. In biological electron transfer, the 'electron shuttle'-mediated mechanism is contrasted with the mechanism based on pre-formed 'electron wires'. While biological information processing is thought to be more distributed (less discrete), an example of molecular switch is presented: visual transduction. We further speculate that visual transduction may be implemented in the form of a switch based on electrostatic interactions. The concept of intelligent materials is discussed with the well-known Bohr effect of hemoglobin oxygenation. Based on these examples, we argue that there are no fundamental differences between synthetic and biological molecules in their mode of information processing. In the pursuit of novel paradigms of molecular information processing, we also perceive no conflicts in developing molecular devices that emulate the switching function of conventional microelectronic devices.

Artificial Intelligence↗

PubMed1990

Quantum mechanics and cellular information processing: the self-assembly paradigm.

Biological cells have greater information processing efficiency than the programmable computers used to model them. In part this is due to the larger number of interactions that can contribute to function. General arguments suggest that systems in which quantum features play a prominent role are more powerful than classical physical-dynamical analogs. A hypothetical model, involving macromolecular self-assembly, is used to illustrate how the parallelism inherent in the quantum mechanical wave function could play a role in cellular pattern processing. Signals impinging on the external membrane of the cell trigger the release of specifically shaped macromolecules. These aggregate into a mosaic shape features that reflect different groupings of the signal input patterns. The shape features are in turn read out and connected to effector actions by adaptor molecules. The self-assembly model fits into a more general hierarchical scheme of biological information processing in which macroscopic signals are transduced to mesoscopic and then microphysical representations, processed largely at the microphysical level, and then amplified for macroscopic action. The physical dynamics are controlled by proteins and other macromolecules that are molded through the evolutionary process of variation and selection. The organizational requirements for evolutionary moldability and for efficient information processing function are completely consistent. They include high dimensionality, multiplicity of weak interactions, and hierarchical-compartmental structure.

Biological Evolution↗

PubMed1990

Information-processing differences and laterality of students from different colleges and disciplines.

1023 college students were assessed for hemispheric brain dominance using the paper-and-pencil test, the Human Information Processing Survey. Analysis of scores of students majoring in Advertising, Interior Design, Music, Journalism, Art, Oral Communication, and Architecture suggested a preference for right-brain hemispheric processing, while scores of students majoring in Accounting, Management, Finance, Computer Science, Mathematics, Nursing, Funeral Service, Criminal Justice, and Elementary Education suggested a preference for left-hemispheric strategies for processing information. The differential effects of hemispheric processing in an educational system emphasizing the left-hemispheric activities of structured logic and sequential processing suggests repression of the intellectual development of those students who may be genetically favorable to right-hemispheric processing.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

Effects of physical conditioning on information-processing efficiency.

This study investigated changes in information-processing efficiency that occur when physical fitness improves. Information-processing variables were Sternberg's memory-scan rate, Posner's name-access time, the Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test, and numbers of words remembered from word lists. At present and posttest 10 to 12 wk. later, 66 adults between the ages of 18 and 48 yr. took all cognitive tests and rode a bicycle ergometer to estimate physical fitness. A 2 X 2 (improved/stable fitness groups by pretest/posttest trials) analysis of variance with repeated measures indicated that the group who improved 15% or more in physical fitness improved significantly more on the name-access time than the group whose fitness remained stable. There was a trend toward improvement in memory-scan rate and number of words remembered on the first word trial by people who became more fit. The results may have implications for assessment and training of personnel in occupations where speeded perception and responses are required.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Human information processing during physical exercise.

This study was designed to investigate how conditions of physical exercise affect human information processing. Sixteen subjects performed two information processing tasks (perception and decision) during two exercise conditions (endurance vs interval protocols) and during two control conditions (rest vs minimal load protocols). The control conditions required subjects either to perform the information processing tasks under resting conditions or while pedalling a bicycle ergometer at a minimal workload. Workload during the exercise protocols consisted of a fixed percentage of the subject's maximal workload. Each 40 min protocol consisted of five consecutive stages: practice, baseline, warming-up, exercise, and cooling-down, during which heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion were determined. In the perception task subjects had to identify a briefly presented row of three letters. In the decision task subjects had to indicate which of the outer numbers in a row of three digits was the larger. Results indicated that the two control protocols did not influence cognitive task performance; however, in the exercise protocols, increments in physical workload improved performance on the decision task and reduced performance on the perception task, while decrements in physical workload reduced performance on the decision task and improved performance on the perception task. Changes in mental task performance were not evident within protocol stages; only after stage transitions did changes in mental performance occur. We discussed possible theoretical approaches to explain these results and concluded that models advanced in the context of dual-task methodology seem most promising.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

Effects of menstrual cycle on spatial information-processes.

The present study examined effects of menstrual cycle (i.e., ovulatory vs menstrual phase) on performance on spatial information-processes. Participants included 20 spontaneously cycling women (with regular 28- to 30-day menstrual cycles) who were tested on a reaction-time task developed to assess specific spatial information-processes and the Spatial Relations subtest of the PMA battery. For the spatial information-processing task, women responded faster and applied relatively less stringent criteria in the decision process during the ovulatory phase. No effects of cycle changes were found for accuracy of performance on either of the spatial tasks. It is suggested that studies examining effects of menstrual cycle on spatial ability consider an information-processing approach in measuring spatial performance and an application of signal-detection theory to separate components (strategy vs aptitude) of problem solving.

Achievement↗

PubMed1975

Visual information-processing speed in reflective and impulsive children.

A backward-masking procedure was used to measure the rate of visual information processing in 8- and 10-year-old reflective and impulsive children. The test stimulus (TS) and the masking stimulus (MS) which followed it were presented tachistoscopially. The subject's information-processing threshold was defined as the next highest TS-MS interval above the interval where at least 3 of the 4 TSs were incorrectly identified. Reflective children were significantly faster than impulsive children at processing information. This finding was related to research indicating that reflective and impulsive children employ similar cognitive strategies; it was suggested that performance differences between these children might be related to reflective children employing their strategies with more adequate information.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1988

Methylphenidate-induced information processing dysfunction in nonschizophrenic patients.

To examine the relationship of aminergic overactivity to information processing, we gave methylphenidate hydrochloride, oxazepam, or placebo to 12 nonpsychotic patients in one-week blocks in a double-blind, randomized design. Methylphenidate induced a pattern of information processing dysfunction similar to that seen in schizophrenic patients, strengthening the linkage of the schizophrenia-information processing dysfunction-aminergic overactivity relationship. Further, the time course of the observed deficits in both schizophrenic and methylphenidate-induced states is strikingly compatible with the temporal mapping pattern of monoaminergic neuronal systems. More research is needed to identify definitively the aminergic influences on attentional functioning. A psychophysical task-pharmacologic probe strategy should prove useful.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Information processing: a new model for understanding cognitive disturbances in psychiatric patients.

Information processing models are influenced by the information sciences and by computer technology, which progressed in the 1960s and 1970s. During the last decade these models have formed the theoretical basis for much of the experimental research on cognitive dysfunctions in psychiatric patients. An essential element in all of these models is that information is processed in several discrete stages. Different experimental paradigms have been developed in order to tap information about the processes taking place in each of these stages. Most of the research so far on pathological groups has been done on schizophrenic patients. Some deficits found in schizophrenics seem to be symptom-related. This is the case with performance deficits on the Continuous Performance Test with low processing load. Other dysfunctions might be vulnerability indicators, such as deficit performance on the forced choice Span of Apprehension task and the Continuous Performance Test with high momentary processing load, backward masking, serial recall for items that involve active rehearsal, and eye movement dysfunctions. However, information processing deficits do not seem to be specifically related to schizophrenia. Deficits can be found in other psychiatric syndromes too, especially in manic patients. Generally speaking, the dysfunctions emerge in a milder form in nonschizophrenic patients.

Attention↗