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PubMed2003

When and how do listeners relate a sentence to the wider discourse? Evidence from the N400 effect.

In two ERP experiments, we assessed the impact of discourse-level information on the processing of an unfolding spoken sentence. Subjects listened to sentences like Jane told her brother that he was exceptionally quick/slow, designed such that the alternative critical words were equally acceptable within the local sentence context. In Experiment 1, these sentences were embedded in a discourse that rendered one of the critical words anomalous (e.g. because Jane's brother had in fact done something very quickly). Relative to the coherent alternative, these discourse-anomalous words elicited a standard N400 effect that started at 150-200 ms after acoustic word onset. Furthermore, when the same sentences were heard in isolation in Experiment 2, the N400 effect disappeared. The results demonstrate that our listeners related the unfolding spoken words to the wider discourse extremely rapidly, after having heard the first two or three phonemes only, and in many cases well before the end of the word. In addition, the identical nature of discourse- and sentence-dependent N400 effects suggests that from the perspective of the word-elicited comprehension process indexed by the N400, the interpretive context delineated by a single unfolding sentence and a larger discourse is functionally identical.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Development of children's understanding of basic-subordinate inclusion relations.

Four studies focused on developmental differences in the representation of basic-subordinate inclusion relations. Tests of comprehension and production of category names, induction, and responses to direct questions pertaining to inclusion revealed a marked developmental gap between the production of subordinate category names and complete understanding of basic-subordinate inclusion relations. However, even 3-year-olds showed rudimentary knowledge of the asymmetry of inclusion. Discrepancies between children's performance on categorization tasks involving familiar and unfamiliar subordinate categories suggest that understanding of the logical nature of inclusion relations is constructed through the integration of categorical knowledge from familiar domains. Interactions among the knowledge base, pragmatic sensitivity, and information processing efficiency in the development of inclusion are discussed.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2005

Internet marketing of bariatric surgery: contemporary trends in the medicalization of obesity.

In the context of political, economic, and scientific anxiety around the 'epidemic' rise in obesity in the US, the social and historical forces engendering the medicalization of obesity have been widely discussed. However, the recent growth of bariatric-weight loss-surgery and the expanding presence of advertising for bariatric surgery on the Internet suggest the possible emergence of new loci and languages of medicalization. We sought to identify the nature and extent to which web advertising of bariatric surgery contributes to the medicalization of obesity by examining the design and textual content of 100 bariatric surgery center websites. We found that websites, through strategic use of text and images, consistently describe obesity as a serious disease that requires professional ascertainment and supervision, entails substantial individual suffering, and is remedied through the transformative yet low risk effects of bariatric surgery. In the process, social normalcy and risk reduction come to replace physical criteria as the basis for determining health. Further, websites draw upon contradictory discourses of medicalization; that is, they insist upon 'external' (e.g. genetics, environment) causes of obesity to legitimize surgical intervention while implicating individual behaviors in surgical failure. From this, we suggest that the economic and professional motivations underlying website advertisements for bariatric surgery may result in confusing messages being sent to prospective patients as well as the perpetuation of gendered notions of obesity and the entrenchment of health disparities.

Bariatric Surgery↗

PubMed1998

Investigating the biology of consciousness.

The fact that consciousness is a private, first-person phenomenon makes it more difficult to study than other cognitive phenomena that, although being equally private, also have characteristic behavioural signatures. Nonetheless, by combining cognitive and neurobiological methods, it is possible to approach consciousness, to describe its cognitive nature, its behavioural correlates, its possible evolutionary origin and functional role; last but not least, it is possible to investigate its neuroanatomical and neurophysiological underpinnings. In this brief essay I distinguish between two kinds of consciousness: core consciousness and extended consciousness. Core consciousness corresponds to the transient process that is incessantly generated relative to any object with which an organism interacts, and during which a transient core self and transient sense of knowing are automatically generated. Core consciousness requires neither language nor working memory, and needs only a brief short-term memory. Extended consciousness is a more complex process. It depends on the gradual build-up of an autobiographical self, a set of conceptual memories pertaining to both past and anticipated experiences of an individual, and it requires conventional memory. Extended consciousness is enhanced by language.

Biological Evolution↗

PubMed2002

Event-related fMRI reveals cortical sites involved in contextual sentence integration.

We examined the effects of difficulty of sentential integration on blood oxygenation level-dependent contrast changes. Difficulty of integration was operationalized as the degree to which sentence-final nouns matched the expectations generated by preceding context. Nine young adults read short sentence fragments (e.g., "The pilot flies.") which were completed by highly expected nouns (e.g., "the plane"), unexpected yet semantically legal nouns (e.g., "the kite"), nouns that violated the verbs' selection restriction rules (e.g., "the book"), and pseudowords (e.g., "the foop") and made quick lexical decisions on the sentence-final item. Overall, word completions resulted in higher changes in activation than pseudoword completions. The largest of those changes were observed in left angular and posterior middle temporal gyri, suggesting that despite the lexical nature of the task, word stimuli embedded in sentence contexts triggered integrative-semantic processes beyond a lexical level. A region-of-interest analysis in left inferior frontal and left posterior middle temporal areas revealed activation for both unexpected and anomalous completions when compared to expected completions. Thus, while the underlying processing mechanisms may differ, sentential integration appears similarly effortful for these two types of completions. Our findings are consistent with previous reports of local increases in activation as a function of (syntactic) complexity, while extending the findings to processing demands of semantic integration. Because of its sensitivity to changes in semantic congruence and the implicit nature of the task involved, we argue that the present paradigm is well suited to study patients with potential semantic deficits after brain damage.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Developing clinical knowledge through a narrative-based method of interpretation.

The results of research using a narrative analysis provide new clinical knowledge, but the methods used are unknown to many readers. In this paper we present an example of how an analysis may be performed in practice. The purpose of the interpretation of this specific story was to develop clinical knowledge of how it is to live with chronic heart failure from a daily life perspective. The steps in the interpretation process, within the framework of Paul Ricoeur's Interpretation theory, were: (1) general or naïve reading, (2) distancing, (3) examination of discourse, (4) conjectures and questions, and (5) reflection over the whole. The demonstrated interpretation of the interview resulted in a theme called: "Struggling to comprehend medical information". This systematic way of working with narratives makes implicit assumptions about the relationship between meaning and language explicit. These themes can be used in everyday practice as clinical tools. Because of the interpretative nature of human understanding the experienced health professional will be capable of integrating evidence-based research findings and individual illness experience.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2006

Hypothetical and certain inferences from conditional arguments read in texts.

In 3 experiments, affirmative and hypothetical probes were presented after narrative texts containing conditional arguments. According to the data, readers represented modus ponens deductions as certain, except when it was only a weakly necessary cause of a given effect. They represented any logically invalid inferences resulting from affirming the conditional consequent as hypothetical, except when it was the effect of strongly sufficient cause. Accordingly, readers must be processing conditional syntax as an asymmetric constraint. However, the underlying causal knowledge can be sufficient either to discredit or warrant the inferences. Thus according to the theory of natural logic, readers can draw formal deductions and be convinced of their necessity. This provides further evidence that readers can represent their inferences as hypothetical (N. Campion, 2004).

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Deficits in auditory temporal and spectral resolution in language-impaired children.

Between 3 and 6 per cent of children who are otherwise unimpaired have extreme difficulties producing and understanding spoken language. This disorder is typically labelled specific language impairment. Children diagnosed with specific language impairment often have accompanying reading difficulties (dyslexia), but not all children with reading difficulties have specific language impairment. Some researchers claim that language impairment arises from failures specific to language or cognitive processing. Others hold that language impairment results from a more elemental problem that makes affected children unable to hear the acoustic distinctions among successive brief sounds in speech. Here we report the results of psychophysical tests employing simple tones and noises showing that children with specific language impairment have severe auditory perceptual deficits for brief but not long tones in particular sound contexts. Our data support the view that language difficulties result from problems in auditory perception, and provide further information about the nature of these perceptual problems that should contribute to improving the diagnosis and treatment of language impairment and related disorders.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1981

A conversational information computer system for health and safety operation: the occupational surveillance interactive system (OSIS).

Collection, storage and retrieval of health and safety information is critical in occupational settings in making decisions about safety of employees and the healthful nature of the work environment. Computer surveillance programs have been utilized previously, but have been too complicated, too mathematical, and not directly accessible to health and safety personnel. This paper discusses the Occupational Surveillance Interactive System (OSIS), a conversational system which utilizes English instead of a computer language, and which provides immediate feedback to the health and safety practitioner through fact retrieval and statistical inference. Additionally, an algorithm is introduced which provides a predictive cueing for the development of some disease processes. The hypothetical example illustrated herein introduces a prototypal computer surveillance system, operating under an interactive mode, to provide the health and safety professional with a decision-making tool in occupational settings.

Computers↗

PubMed1995

Training sentence production in agrammatism: implications for normal and disordered language.

This paper presents an overview of our work concerned with treatment of sentence production deficits seen in agrammatic (Broca's) aphasic individuals. Using a single-subject experimental research paradigm, we examined emergent sentence production patterns in a subset of Broca's subjects who evinced sentence production (and comprehension) deficits involving "complex" sentences in which noun phrases (NPs) have been moved out of their canonical positions. We used aspects of Chomsky's Principles and Parameters approach of Government Binding (GB) Theory (Chomsky, 1986, Chomsky & Lasnik, 1991), as well as findings from the psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic literature as a basis for selecting sentences entered into our experiments and for designing our intervention approach, in general. Subjects were trained to produce sentences which rely on NP-movement (i.e., passives) or WH-movement (i.e., wh-questions, object clefts)--sentences formed by applying the rule "Move-alpha" in which moved constituents leave behind a "trace" or "gap" of their movement. Training emphasized the lexical and syntactic properties (e.g., thematic role assignment, NP-movement) of target sentences. Throughout this training we carefully measured generalization to untrained sentences relying on similar movement operations and error patterns were examined as they evolved over time. Results of our work indicated not only improved sentence production abilities in all subjects under study, but also--in many cases--generalization of sentence production across linguistic lines. That is, training WH-movement structures (e.g., object clefts) improved production of untrained WH-movement constructions (e.g., wh-questions) that are very different in their s-structure representation; however, no effect of this training on NP-movement structures occurred. In addition, within the class of wh-questions, generative production across questions relying on argument (direct object NP) movement (i.e., what- and who-questions) occurred in the absence of generalization to wh-questions requiring movement from adjunct position (i.e., where- and when-questions) for some subjects. For others, generalized production occurred only when wh-morphemes were the focus of treatment, indicating that at least two processes must be completed for successful wh-question production to take place: movement of the wh-item itself and control of sublexical features that determine wh-morpheme selection. These data are discussed in terms of the contribution that detailed recovery data, controlled for lexical and syntactic properties of sentence production, can make both to understanding the nature of sentence production deficits and to issues regarding normal sentence production.

Aphasia, Broca↗

PubMed2006

Hemispheric differences in strong versus weak semantic priming: evidence from event-related brain potentials.

GOALS: Research with lateralized word presentation has suggested that strong ("close") and weak ("remote") semantic associates are processed differently in the left and right cerebral hemispheres [e.g., Beeman, M. j., & Chiarello, C. (1998). Complementary right- and left-hemisphere language comprehension. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 7(1), 2-8]. Recently, this hypothesis has been challenged [Coney, J. (2002). The effect of associative strength on priming in the cerebral hemispheres. Brain and Cognition, 50(2), 234-241]. We predicted that foveal presentation of strong and weak associates would elicit different patterns of hemispheric activity, as indexed by high-density event-related brain potentials (ERPs), and that source localization of the scalp potentials would help clarify the nature of hemispheric contributions to semantic organization. METHODS: 128-channel ERPs were recorded in two experiments as subjects performed a lexical decision task. Word trials were equally divided into strongly related, weakly related, and unrelated word pairs. All words were foveally presented. SOA was 800 ms in Experiment 1, and 200 ms in Experiment 2. RESULTS: Topographic analyses revealed medial frontal (MFN) and parietal (N400/LPC) effects for both strong and weak associates. Between approximately 450 and 550 ms, the magnitude of the N400/LPC effect indicated priming for both strong and weak associates over left parietal sites, while priming over right parietal sites was restricted to strongly related word pairs. During this interval, spatiotemporal source modeling showed that these scalp effects were best accounted for by ipsilateral sources in the medial temporal lobe. The observed pattern of asymmetries for strong versus weak associates is not consistent with certain proposals regarding the complementarity of right- and left-hemisphere contributions to semantics. It is, however, consistent with findings from visual half-field studies (Hasbrooke and Chiarello, 1998). We discuss the relevance of these results for theories of hemispheric asymmetry and meta-control in lexical semantic access.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1988

Our changing views of the therapeutic action of psychoanalysis: comparing Strachey and Loewald.

A comparison of Strachey and Loewald on the nature of therapeutic action reveals a deep shift in analytic interest away from the structural point of view and toward object relational and interpersonal frames of reference. Loewald's theoretical and technical revisions are far more sweeping than is usually acknowledged, and we can better benefit from his contribution by recognizing the full extent of his originality. Loewald's work also illuminates a major challenge for contemporary psychoanalysis: the need for an integration of the now disparate languages of metapsychology and clinical process.

Freudian Theory↗

PubMed2003

Four routes of cognitive evolution.

Four routes of cognitive evolution are distinguished: phylogenetic construction, in which natural selection produces qualitative change to the way a cognitive mechanism operates (language); phylogenetic inflection, in which natural selection biases the input to a cognitive mechanism (imprinting and spatial memory); ontogenetic construction, in which developmental selection alters the way a cognitive mechanism operates (face recognition and theory of mind); and ontogenetic inflection, in which developmental selection changes the input to a cognitive mechanism (imitation). This framework integrates findings from evolutionary psychology (i.e., all research on the evolution of mentality and behavior). In contrast with human nativist evolutionary psychology, it recognizes the adaptive significance of developmental processes, conserves the distinction between cognitive and noncognitive mechanisms, and encompasses research on human and nonhuman animals.

Cognition↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Regional hypometabolism related to language disturbance in Alzheimer's disease.

To elucidate the nature of language disturbance in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the cerebral area involved in it, we studied 65 AD patients with the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) and with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose and positron emission tomography. Partial correlations were evaluated between the Aphasia Quotient of WAB and regional cerebral glucose metabolism normalized by the mean metabolic rate in the bilateral primary sensorimotor areas after controlling age, sex, education and severity of illness. Language disturbance in AD is accounted for by deficits in the semantic processing of language and is related to glucose hypometabolism in the inferior temporal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule, especially in the dominant side. These results offer further evidence suggesting that the lexico-semantic processing system is mediated in these regions.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

GenIE: an intelligent system for writing genetic counseling patient letters.

We are developing GenIE, a prototype intelligent system to create first drafts of genetic counseling patient letters. GenIE will apply natural language generation techniques to construct the first draft of a letter for subsequent review and editing, if needed, by the genetic counselor. For purposes of knowledge acquisition, we have been analyzing a corpus of patient letters. Based on the corpus analysis we are developing a knowledge base and text generation strategies.

Artificial Intelligence↗

PubMed1994

Visual, orthographic, phonological, and lexical influences in reading.

The fuzzy logical model of perception (FLMP), used as a framework to analyze phenomena in reading, asserts that there are multiple influences on reading performance. Experiments on the dynamic interaction of letter information and orthographic context are presented. Previous results have supported the FLMP over a variety of interactive activation models. These findings indicated that lateral masking and the time course of processing must be accounted for in the theoretical prediction of letter and word recognition. A new finding is that the word superiority effect is not influenced by the nature of the backward masking stimulus, nor is it diminished with letter and word masks, contrary to the predictions of several extant explanations. The FLMP is extended to account for reaction time in reading. Perceptual recognition, naming, and lexical decision tasks reflect the influence of multiple sources of information. These include orthographic structure, spelling-to-speech correspondences, and word frequency. Reading can be productively analyzed as a prototypical pattern recognition situation in which the reader exploits multiple sources of information in perception and action.

Auditory Perception↗

PubMed1998

Adaptations, exaptations, and spandrels.

Adaptation and natural selection are central concepts in the emerging science of evolutionary psychology. Natural selection is the only known causal process capable of producing complex functional organic mechanisms. These adaptations, along with their incidental by-products and a residue of noise, comprise all forms of life. Recently, S. J. Gould (1991) proposed that exaptations and spandrels may be more important than adaptations for evolutionary psychology. These refer to features that did not originally arise for their current use but rather were co-opted for new purposes. He suggested that many important phenomena--such as art, language, commerce, and war--although evolutionary in origin, are incidental spandrels of the large human brain. The authors outline the conceptual and evidentiary standards that apply to adaptations, exaptations, and spandrels and discuss the relative utility of these concepts for psychological science.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2006

Error reduction in surgical pathology.

CONTEXT: Because of its complex nature, surgical pathology practice is inherently error prone. Currently, there is pressure to reduce errors in medicine, including pathology. OBJECTIVE: To review factors that contribute to errors and to discuss error-reduction strategies. DESIGN: Literature review. RESULTS: Multiple factors contribute to errors in medicine, including variable input, complexity, inconsistency, tight coupling, human intervention, time constraints, and a hierarchical culture. Strategies that may reduce errors include reducing reliance on memory, improving information access, error-proofing processes, decreasing reliance on vigilance, standardizing tasks and language, reducing the number of handoffs, simplifying processes, adjusting work schedules and environment, providing adequate training, and placing the correct people in the correct jobs. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical pathology is a complex system with ample opportunity for error. Significant error reduction is unlikely to occur without a sustained comprehensive program of quality control and quality assurance. Incremental adoption of information technology and automation along with improved training in patient safety and quality management can help reduce errors.

Diagnostic Errors↗