Browsing by Subject "Cognition"
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Item Open Access A defensive mindset: A pattern of social information processing that develops early and predicts life course outcomes.(Child development, 2022-07) Dodge, Kenneth A; Bai, Yu; Godwin, Jennifer; Lansford, Jennifer E; Bates, John E; Pettit, Gregory S; Jones, DamonThe hypothesis was tested that some children develop a defensive mindset that subsumes individual social information processing (SIP) steps, grows from early experiences, and guides long-term outcomes. In Study 1 (Fast Track [FT]), 463 age-5 children (45% girls; 43% Black) were first assessed in 1991 and followed through age 32 (83% retention). In Study 2 (Child Development Project [CDP]), 585 age-5 children (48% girls, 17% Black) were first assessed in 1987 and followed through age 34 (78% retention). In both studies, measures were collected of early adverse experiences, defensive mindset and SIP, and adult outcomes. Across both studies, a robust latent construct of school-age defensive mindset was validated empirically (comparative fit index = .99 in each study) and found to mediate the impact of early child abuse (38% in FT and 29% in CDP of total effect) and peer social rejection (14% in FT and 7% in CDP of total effect) on adult incarceration.Item Open Access A latent factor linear mixed model for high-dimensional longitudinal data analysis.(Statistics in medicine, 2013-10) An, Xinming; Yang, Qing; Bentler, Peter MHigh-dimensional longitudinal data involving latent variables such as depression and anxiety that cannot be quantified directly are often encountered in biomedical and social sciences. Multiple responses are used to characterize these latent quantities, and repeated measures are collected to capture their trends over time. Furthermore, substantive research questions may concern issues such as interrelated trends among latent variables that can only be addressed by modeling them jointly. Although statistical analysis of univariate longitudinal data has been well developed, methods for modeling multivariate high-dimensional longitudinal data are still under development. In this paper, we propose a latent factor linear mixed model (LFLMM) for analyzing this type of data. This model is a combination of the factor analysis and multivariate linear mixed models. Under this modeling framework, we reduced the high-dimensional responses to low-dimensional latent factors by the factor analysis model, and then we used the multivariate linear mixed model to study the longitudinal trends of these latent factors. We developed an expectation-maximization algorithm to estimate the model. We used simulation studies to investigate the computational properties of the expectation-maximization algorithm and compare the LFLMM model with other approaches for high-dimensional longitudinal data analysis. We used a real data example to illustrate the practical usefulness of the model.Item Open Access A neurophysiological study into the foundations of tonal harmony.(Neuroreport, 2009-02-18) Bergelson, Elika; Idsardi, William JOur findings provide magnetoencephalographic evidence that the mismatch-negativity response to two-note chords (dyads) is modulated by a combination of abstract cognitive differences and lower-level differences in the auditory signal. Participants were presented with series of simple-ratio sinusoidal dyads (perfect fourths and perfect fifths) in which the difference between the standard and deviant dyad exhibited an interval change, a shift in pitch space, or both. In addition, the standard-deviant pair of dyads either shared one note or both notes were changed. Only the condition that featured both abstract changes (interval change and pitch-space shift) and two novel notes showed a significantly larger magnetoencephalographic mismatch-negativity response than the other conditions in the right hemisphere. Implications for music and language processing are discussed.Item Open Access Action video game playing is associated with improved visual sensitivity, but not alterations in visual sensory memory.(Atten Percept Psychophys, 2013-08) Appelbaum, L Gregory; Cain, Matthew S; Darling, Elise F; Mitroff, Stephen RAction video game playing has been experimentally linked to a number of perceptual and cognitive improvements. These benefits are captured through a wide range of psychometric tasks and have led to the proposition that action video game experience may promote the ability to extract statistical evidence from sensory stimuli. Such an advantage could arise from a number of possible mechanisms: improvements in visual sensitivity, enhancements in the capacity or duration for which information is retained in visual memory, or higher-level strategic use of information for decision making. The present study measured the capacity and time course of visual sensory memory using a partial report performance task as a means to distinguish between these three possible mechanisms. Sensitivity measures and parameter estimates that describe sensory memory capacity and the rate of memory decay were compared between individuals who reported high evels and low levels of action video game experience. Our results revealed a uniform increase in partial report accuracy at all stimulus-to-cue delays for action video game players but no difference in the rate or time course of the memory decay. The present findings suggest that action video game playing may be related to enhancements in the initial sensitivity to visual stimuli, but not to a greater retention of information in iconic memory buffers.Item Open Access Activity of neurons in monkey globus pallidus during oculomotor behavior compared with that in substantia nigra pars reticulata.(J Neurophysiol, 2010-04) Shin, SooYoon; Sommer, Marc AThe basal ganglia are a subcortical assembly of nuclei involved in many aspects of behavior. Three of the nuclei have high firing rates and inhibitory influences: the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr), globus pallidus interna (GPi), and globus pallidus externa (GPe). The SNr contains a wide range of visual, cognitive, and motor signals that have been shown to contribute to saccadic eye movements. Our hypothesis was that GPe and GPi neurons carry similarly diverse signals during saccadic behavior. We recorded from GPe, GPi, and SNr neurons in monkeys that made memory-guided saccades and found that neurons in all three structures had increases or decreases in activity synchronized with saccade generation, visual stimulation, or reward. Comparing GPe neurons with GPi neurons, we found relatively more visual-related activity in GPe and more reward-related activity in GPi. Comparing both pallidal samples with the SNr, we found a greater resemblance between GPe and SNr neurons than that between GPi and SNr neurons. As expected from a known inhibitory projection from GPe to SNr, there was a general reversal of sign in activity modulations between the structures: bursts of activity were relatively more common in GPe and pauses more common in SNr. We analyzed the response fields of neurons in all three structures and found relatively narrow and lateralized fields early in trials (during visual and saccadic events) followed by a broadening later in trials (during reward). Our data reinforce an emerging, new consensus that the GPe and GPi, in addition to the SNr, contribute to oculomotor behavior.Item Open Access Adaptive Motivations Drive Concern for Common Good Resources(2019) Bowie, Aleah CHumans universally demonstrate intrinsically motivated prosocial behavior towards kin, non-kin ingroup members, and strangers. However, humans struggle to extend the same prosocial behavior to more abstract concepts like future-others and non-human species. The Adaptive Motivation Hypothesis posits that humans evolved intrinsic motivations to act prosocially towards more tangible social partners like those within an individual’s ingroup, but prosocial behavior towards more distant and abstract partners is constrained by ecological certainty. Prosocial behavior towards these more abstract concepts is more variable and more likely motivated by extrinsic reward. This dissertation aims to examine the development of motivations for prosocial behavior towards these more abstract concepts. My studies rely on common goods games as a proxy for examining behavior towards abstract recipients of prosocial behavior. Common goods are any resource like forests or fisheries that are non-excludable to a population, but rivalrous. In-demand common goods require cooperation of humans to ensure sustainable use in order to avoid depletion. Chapter One examined how children in three populations that differed in ecological certainty behaved in a common goods game where they were asked to contribute portions of their personal endowment to the maintenance of a forest. Participants were either provided a high extrinsic motivation, a low extrinsic motivation, or no extrinsic motivation for contributing to the maintenance of the common good. Results show that overall, children of all ages were more motivated to contribute to abstract recipients when extrinsic motivation is high. However, noticeable variation in behavior between populations was driven by ecological and cultural differences. Chapter Two examined whether aggregated extrinsic rewards increased contributions to common goods in a sample of children aged six to fourteen. Results suggest that both information about personal loss and delay in an acquiring resource together dramatically increase children’s contributions to common goods within both experimental and real-world contexts. Chapter Three explores whether making a typically abstract social partner more tangible increases an individual’s prosocial behavior towards said partner. Results for Chapter Three, conducted with a population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, find that increasingly the tangibility of an abstract population marginally increases prosocial behavior in children but not in adults. Together, the results of these studies have implications improved understanding of the development of prosocial motivations in school age children, as well as applications to understanding motivations for socially conscious behavior in the face of environmental and conservation dilemmas.
Item Open Access Adult age differences in functional connectivity during executive control.(Neuroimage, 2010-08-15) Madden, David J; Costello, Matthew C; Dennis, Nancy A; Davis, Simon W; Shepler, Anne M; Spaniol, Julia; Bucur, Barbara; Cabeza, RobertoTask switching requires executive control processes that undergo age-related decline. Previous neuroimaging studies have identified age-related differences in brain activation associated with global switching effects (dual-task blocks versus single-task blocks), but age-related differences in activation during local switching effects (switch trials versus repeat trials, within blocks) have not been investigated. This experiment used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to examine adult age differences in task switching across adjacent trials (i.e., local task switching). During fMRI scanning, participants performed a cued, word categorization task. From interspersed cue-only trials, switch-related processing associated with the cue was estimated separately from the target. Activation associated with task switching, within a distributed frontoparietal network, differed for cue- and target-related processing. The magnitude of event-related activation for task switching was similar for younger adults (n=20; 18-27years) and older adults (n=20; 60-85years), although activation sustained throughout the on-tasks periods exhibited some age-related decline. Critically, the functional connectivity of switch-related regions, during cue processing, was higher for younger adults than for older adults, whereas functional connectivity during target processing was comparable across the age groups. Further, individual differences in cue-related functional connectivity shared a substantial portion of the age-related variability in the efficiency of target categorization response (drift rate). This age-related difference in functional connectivity, however, was independent of white matter integrity within task-relevant regions. These findings highlight the functional connectivity of frontoparietal activation as a potential source of age-related decline in executive control.Item Open Access Advances in understanding mechanisms of thalamic relays in cognition and behavior.(J Neurosci, 2014-11-12) Mitchell, Anna S; Sherman, S Murray; Sommer, Marc A; Mair, Robert G; Vertes, Robert P; Chudasama, YogitaThe main impetus for a mini-symposium on corticothalamic interrelationships was the recent number of studies highlighting the role of the thalamus in aspects of cognition beyond sensory processing. The thalamus contributes to a range of basic cognitive behaviors that include learning and memory, inhibitory control, decision-making, and the control of visual orienting responses. Its functions are deeply intertwined with those of the better studied cortex, although the principles governing its coordination with the cortex remain opaque, particularly in higher-level aspects of cognition. How should the thalamus be viewed in the context of the rest of the brain? Although its role extends well beyond relaying of sensory information from the periphery, the main function of many of its subdivisions does appear to be that of a relay station, transmitting neural signals primarily to the cerebral cortex from a number of brain areas. In cognition, its main contribution may thus be to coordinate signals between diverse regions of the telencephalon, including the neocortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and striatum. This central coordination is further subject to considerable extrinsic control, for example, inhibition from the basal ganglia, zona incerta, and pretectal regions, and chemical modulation from ascending neurotransmitter systems. What follows is a brief review on the role of the thalamus in aspects of cognition and behavior, focusing on a summary of the topics covered in a mini-symposium held at the Society for Neuroscience meeting, 2014.Item Open Access Aerobic exercise and neurocognitive performance: a meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trials.(Psychosom Med, 2010-04) Smith, Patrick J; Blumenthal, James A; Hoffman, Benson M; Cooper, Harris; Strauman, Timothy A; Welsh-Bohmer, Kathleen; Browndyke, Jeffrey N; Sherwood, AndrewOBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of aerobic exercise training on neurocognitive performance. Although the effects of exercise on neurocognition have been the subject of several previous reviews and meta-analyses, they have been hampered by methodological shortcomings and are now outdated as a result of the recent publication of several large-scale, randomized, controlled trials (RCTs). METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature review of RCTs examining the association between aerobic exercise training on neurocognitive performance between January 1966 and July 2009. Suitable studies were selected for inclusion according to the following criteria: randomized treatment allocation; mean age > or =18 years of age; duration of treatment >1 month; incorporated aerobic exercise components; supervised exercise training; the presence of a nonaerobic-exercise control group; and sufficient information to derive effect size data. RESULTS: Twenty-nine studies met inclusion criteria and were included in our analyses, representing data from 2049 participants and 234 effect sizes. Individuals randomly assigned to receive aerobic exercise training demonstrated modest improvements in attention and processing speed (g = 0.158; 95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.055-0.260; p = .003), executive function (g = 0.123; 95% CI, 0.021-0.225; p = .018), and memory (g = 0.128; 95% CI, 0.015-0.241; p = .026). CONCLUSIONS: Aerobic exercise training is associated with modest improvements in attention and processing speed, executive function, and memory, although the effects of exercise on working memory are less consistent. Rigorous RCTs are needed with larger samples, appropriate controls, and longer follow-up periods.Item Open Access Alzheimer's Disease Risk Genes and Cognitive Decline in a Healthy Population(2017-05-21) Cranston, JessicaIntroduction: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating, progressive, irreversible brain disorder. Previous research has identified genes associated with the risk of developing AD. Variations in the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene show the largest effect size, with the ε4 isoform associated with highest risk. Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have found other genes associated with AD, yet none with effects as large as APOE. Because AD diagnosis is often preceded by a long period of cognitive decline, we investigated the relationship between previously determined AD risk genes and cognitive decline to determine whether we could detect individuals at risk of imminent decline and at a high priority for clinical intervention. Methods: Cognitively healthy participants from the Duke “MURDOCK” study based in Kannapolis, NC participated in the study. They were aged 55+, had contributed DNA, and undergone two waves of cognitive assessments 4 years apart (n=713). An AD genetic risk score (AD-GRS) was derived for each individual based on the known 9 AD genes from recent meta-analyses. APOE was modeled separately. Scores were based on number of risk alleles and the associated odds ratio for each gene. To determine optimal measure of cognitive decline, the available cognitive tests were evaluated individually and in three different composite measures (1.Global; 2.Learning/Memory; 3.Memory-Weighted). Post-hoc analyses evaluated interactions between AD-GRS, APOE risk-score, combined risk-score, cognition, and cognitive decline as measured by composites and individual assessments. Results: APOE risk-score was associated with cognitive decline as measured by all of the composite measures. APOE risk-score was most highly associated to the newly constructed Predict Composite (composed of assessments most associated to risk genes), followed by the Memory-Weighted, the Learning/Memory, and lastly the Global Composite. APOE risk-score was associated with individual assessments except delayed recall. The AD-GRS was not associated with cognitive decline but associated with baseline cognition as measured by composites weighting memory. The combined risk-score was less associated with cognitive decline than APOE alone. Conclusions: APOE was associated with cognitive decline as best captured by the composites that weighted memory. Although associated with AD, the other risk genes were not associated with cognitive decline, yet are related to baseline cognition best captured by composites weighting memory. This suggests that for identifying individuals at risk of cognitive decline, focusing on APOE will be more useful than other AD risk alleles, and that the optimal composite for capturing change associated with AD appears to be one that is weighted with memory.Item Open Access An examination of neurocognition and theory of mind as predictors of engagement with a tailored digital therapeutic in persons with serious mental illness.(Schizophrenia research. Cognition, 2022-06) Halverson, Tate F; Browne, Julia; Thomas, Samantha M; Palenski, Paige; Vilardaga, RogerThere is an increasing interest in the development and implementation of digital therapeutics (apps) in individuals with serious mental illness (SMI). However, there is limited understanding of the role of neurocognition and social cognition on engagement with apps. The present study is a secondary analysis of a pilot randomized controlled trial (N = 62) comparing a tailored digital intervention to treat tobacco use disorder in individuals with SMI to a standard of care digital intervention for the general population. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of neurocognition, social cognition, and clinical characteristics on indices of app engagement in users of the tailored app compared to users of the standard of care app. Correlational analyses demonstrated that individuals with low levels of neurocognition and social cognition engaged more often and for longer duration with the tailored app compared to the standard of care app. In a series of multilevel zero-inflated negative binomial models, assignment to the tailored app remained the most robust predictor of app interactions (Risk Ratio [RR] = 1.72; p < .01), duration of app use (RR = 6.47; p < .01), and average length of interaction (RR = 2.70; p < .01), after adjusting for key demographic and clinical characteristics, and two measures of cognition. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate that digital therapeutics can be designed to mitigate the impact of neurocognition and social cognition on device engagement in SMI populations. Recommendations are made to advance the use of new analytic models to uncover patterns of engagement with digital therapeutics.Item Open Access Assessing visual requirements for social context-dependent activation of the songbird song system.(Proc Biol Sci, 2009-01-22) Hara, Erina; Kubikova, Lubica; Hessler, Neal A; Jarvis, Erich DSocial context has been shown to have a profound influence on brain activation in a wide range of vertebrate species. Best studied in songbirds, when males sing undirected song, the level of neural activity and expression of immediate early genes (IEGs) in several song nuclei is dramatically higher or lower than when they sing directed song to other birds, particularly females. This differential social context-dependent activation is independent of auditory input and is not simply dependent on the motor act of singing. These findings suggested that the critical sensory modality driving social context-dependent differences in the brain could be visual cues. Here, we tested this hypothesis by examining IEG activation in song nuclei in hemispheres to which visual input was normal or blocked. We found that covering one eye blocked visually induced IEG expression throughout both contralateral visual pathways of the brain, and reduced activation of the contralateral ventral tegmental area, a non-visual midbrain motivation-related area affected by social context. However, blocking visual input had no effect on the social context-dependent activation of the contralateral song nuclei during female-directed singing. Our findings suggest that individual sensory modalities are not direct driving forces for the social context differences in song nuclei during singing. Rather, these social context differences in brain activation appear to depend more on the general sense that another individual is present.Item Open Access Biomarkers Associated with Longitudinal Cognitive Decline in Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury(2018-04-30) Menon, AmbikaTraumatic brain injury (TBI) represents an important medical and public-health problem. One cohort particularly affected by TBI are veterans that have returned from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The ramifications of TBIs are multifold, with some of the most common known to include neurodegeneration. Blood biomarkers may provide a minimally invasive diagnostic tool to predict accelerated longitudinal neurocognitive decline. Thirty-one veterans were therefore enrolled in a longitudinal study, with their baseline blood assays and neurocognitive status collected between 2005 – 2007. The blood biomarkers tested at baseline included TNF-, IL1-, IL-6, IL-2, pregnenolone, allopregnanolone, progesterone, and APOE isoform status. Two neuropsychological measures of visual attention and a measure of delayed memory were assessed longitudinally in 10 veterans. Pregnenolone and IL-2 levels were found to be lower in veterans with TBI compared with controls. The triple interaction between APOE status, TBI status, and pregnenolone levels was borderline significant, indicating that those with the 4 isoform will have worse outcomes. While all three measures of cognitive decline were greater in TBI subjects, the attentional measures (Stroop interference and Symbol Search) were statistically significant. All blood biomarkers were negatively related to cognitive decline, as expected, although results were not significant, likely due to the small sample size. Results show promise in the use of blood biomarkers as an effective method of predicting cognitive decline based on TBI status. Thus, further work with a larger sample size is warranted, as the blood biomarker levels may predict neuroplasticity changes causing cognitive decline in those with TBI.Item Open Access Brain connectivity and visual attention.(Brain connectivity, 2013-01) Parks, Emily L; Madden, David JEmerging hypotheses suggest that efficient cognitive functioning requires the integration of separate, but interconnected cortical networks in the brain. Although task-related measures of brain activity suggest that a frontoparietal network is associated with the control of attention, little is known regarding how components within this distributed network act together or with other networks to achieve various attentional functions. This review considers both functional and structural studies of brain connectivity, as complemented by behavioral and task-related neuroimaging data. These studies show converging results: The frontal and parietal cortical regions are active together, over time, and identifiable frontoparietal networks are active in relation to specific task demands. However, the spontaneous, low-frequency fluctuations of brain activity that occur in the resting state, without specific task demands, also exhibit patterns of connectivity that closely resemble the task-related, frontoparietal attention networks. Both task-related and resting-state networks exhibit consistent relations to behavioral measures of attention. Further, anatomical structure, particularly white matter pathways as defined by diffusion tensor imaging, places constraints on intrinsic functional connectivity. Lastly, connectivity analyses applied to investigate cognitive differences across individuals in both healthy and diseased states suggest that disconnection of attentional networks is linked to deficits in cognitive functioning, and in extreme cases, to disorders of attention. Thus, comprehensive theories of visual attention and their clinical translation depend on the continued integration of behavioral, task-related neuroimaging, and brain connectivity measures.Item Open Access Brain research to ameliorate impaired neurodevelopment--home-based intervention trial (BRAIN-HIT).(BMC pediatrics, 2010-04-30) Wallander, Jan L; McClure, Elizabeth; Biasini, Fred; Goudar, Shivaprasad S; Pasha, Omrana; Chomba, Elwyn; Shearer, Darlene; Wright, Linda; Thorsten, Vanessa; Chakraborty, Hrishikesh; Dhaded, Sangappa M; Mahantshetti, Niranjana S; Bellad, Roopa M; Abbasi, Zahid; Carlo, Waldemar; BRAIN-HIT InvestigatorsThis randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effects of an early developmental intervention program on the development of young children in low- and low-middle-income countries who are at risk for neurodevelopmental disability because of birth asphyxia. A group of children without perinatal complications are evaluated in the same protocol to compare the effects of early developmental intervention in healthy infants in the same communities. Birth asphyxia is the leading specific cause of neonatal mortality in low- and low-middle-income countries and is also the main cause of neonatal and long-term morbidity including mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Mortality and morbidity from birth asphyxia disproportionately affect more infants in low- and low-middle-income countries, particularly those from the lowest socioeconomic groups. There is evidence that relatively inexpensive programs of early developmental intervention, delivered during home visit by parent trainers, are capable of improving neurodevelopment in infants following brain insult due to birth asphyxia.This trial is a block-randomized controlled trial that has enrolled 174 children with birth asphyxia and 257 without perinatal complications, comparing early developmental intervention plus health and safety counseling to the control intervention receiving health and safety counseling only, in sites in India, Pakistan, and Zambia. The interventions are delivered in home visits every two weeks by parent trainers from 2 weeks after birth until age 36 months. The primary outcome of the trial is cognitive development, and secondary outcomes include social-emotional and motor development. Child, parent, and family characteristics and number of home visits completed are evaluated as moderating factors.The trial is supervised by a trial steering committee, and an independent data monitoring committee monitors the trial. Findings from this trial have the potential to inform about strategies for reducing neurodevelopmental disabilities in at-risk young children in low and middle income countries.Item Open Access Cardiorespiratory fitness and cognitive function in midlife: neuroprotection or neuroselection?(Ann Neurol, 2015-04) Belsky, Daniel W; Caspi, Avshalom; Israel, Salomon; Blumenthal, James A; Poulton, Richie; Moffitt, Terrie EOBJECTIVE: A study was undertaken to determine whether better cognitive functioning at midlife among more physically fit individuals reflects neuroprotection, by which fitness protects against age-related cognitive decline, or neuroselection, by which children with higher cognitive functioning select more active lifestyles. METHODS: Children in the Dunedin Longitudinal Study (N = 1,037) completed the Wechsler Intelligence Scales and the Trail Making, Rey Delayed Recall, and Grooved Pegboard tasks as children and again at midlife (age = 38 years). Adult cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using a submaximal exercise test to estimate maximum oxygen consumption adjusted for body weight in milliliters/minute/kilogram. We tested whether more fit individuals had better cognitive functioning than their less fit counterparts (which could be consistent with neuroprotection), and whether better childhood cognitive functioning predisposed to better adult cardiorespiratory fitness (neuroselection). Finally, we examined possible mechanisms of neuroselection. RESULTS: Participants with better cardiorespiratory fitness had higher cognitive test scores at midlife. However, fitness-associated advantages in cognitive functioning were already present in childhood. After accounting for childhood baseline performance on the same cognitive tests, there was no association between cardiorespiratory fitness and midlife cognitive functioning. Socioeconomic and health advantages in childhood and healthier lifestyles during young adulthood explained most of the association between childhood cognitive functioning and adult cardiorespiratory fitness. INTERPRETATION: We found no evidence for a neuroprotective effect of cardiorespiratory fitness as of midlife. Instead, children with better cognitive functioning are selecting healthier lives. Fitness interventions may enhance cognitive functioning. However, observational and experimental studies testing neuroprotective effects of physical fitness should consider confounding by neuroselection.Item Open Access Challenges in measuring the effects of pharmacological interventions on cognitive and adaptive functioning in individuals with Down syndrome: A systematic review.(American journal of medical genetics. Part A, 2017-11) Keeling, Lori A; Spiridigliozzi, Gail A; Hart, Sarah J; Baker, Jane A; Jones, Harrison N; Kishnani, Priya SWe systematically reviewed the measures used in pharmaceutical trials in children/adults with Down syndrome without dementia. Our purpose was to identify developmentally appropriate outcome measures capable of detecting changes in cognitive and adaptive functioning in this population. Eleven studies were included and used diverse outcome measures across the domains of language, memory, attention, behavior, and executive/adaptive functioning. Our results highlight the challenges in selecting measures capable of capturing improvements in pharmaceutical trials in individuals with DS. We offer suggestions to enhance future research, including: conducting studies with larger samples of participants with a range of developmental abilities; modifying existing/developing novel outcome measures; incorporating advances from related areas and DS observational studies; and considering alternative analytic techniques to characterize treatment effects.Item Open Access Citizen Science as a New Tool in Dog Cognition Research.(PLoS One, 2015) Stewart, L; MacLean, EL; Ivy, D; Woods, V; Cohen, E; Rodriguez, K; McIntyre, M; Mukherjee, S; Call, J; Kaminski, J; Miklósi, Á; Wrangham, RW; Hare, BFamily dogs and dog owners offer a potentially powerful way to conduct citizen science to answer questions about animal behavior that are difficult to answer with more conventional approaches. Here we evaluate the quality of the first data on dog cognition collected by citizen scientists using the Dognition.com website. We conducted analyses to understand if data generated by over 500 citizen scientists replicates internally and in comparison to previously published findings. Half of participants participated for free while the other half paid for access. The website provided each participant a temperament questionnaire and instructions on how to conduct a series of ten cognitive tests. Participation required internet access, a dog and some common household items. Participants could record their responses on any PC, tablet or smartphone from anywhere in the world and data were retained on servers. Results from citizen scientists and their dogs replicated a number of previously described phenomena from conventional lab-based research. There was little evidence that citizen scientists manipulated their results. To illustrate the potential uses of relatively large samples of citizen science data, we then used factor analysis to examine individual differences across the cognitive tasks. The data were best explained by multiple factors in support of the hypothesis that nonhumans, including dogs, can evolve multiple cognitive domains that vary independently. This analysis suggests that in the future, citizen scientists will generate useful datasets that test hypotheses and answer questions as a complement to conventional laboratory techniques used to study dog psychology.Item Open Access Cognitive and Behavioral Impairments Evoked by Low-Level Exposure to Tobacco Smoke Components: Comparison with Nicotine Alone.(Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology, 2016-06) Hall, Brandon J; Cauley, Marty; Burke, Dennis A; Kiany, Abtin; Slotkin, Theodore A; Levin, Edward DActive maternal smoking has adverse effects on neurobehavioral development of the offspring, with nicotine (Nic) providing much of the underlying causative mechanism. To determine whether the lower exposures caused by second-hand smoke are deleterious, we administered tobacco smoke extract (TSE) to pregnant rats starting preconception and continued through the second postnatal week, corresponding to all 3 trimesters of fetal brain development. Dosing was adjusted to produce maternal plasma Nic concentrations encountered with second-hand smoke, an order of magnitude below those seen in active smokers. We then compared TSE effects to those of an equivalent dose of Nic alone, and to a 10-fold higher Nic dose. Gestational exposure to TSE and Nic significantly disrupted cognitive and behavioral function in behavioral tests given during adolescence and adulthood (postnatal weeks 4-40), producing hyperactivity, working memory deficits, and impairments in emotional processing, even at the low exposure levels corresponding to second-hand smoke. Although TSE effects were highly correlated with those of Nic, the effects of TSE were much larger than could be attributed to just the Nic in the mixture. Indeed, TSE effects more closely resembled those of the 10-fold higher Nic levels, but still exceeded their magnitude. In combination with our earlier findings, this study thus completes the chain of causation to prove that second-hand smoke exposure causes neurodevelopmental deficits, originating in disruption of neurodifferentiation, leading to miswiring of neuronal circuits, and as shown here, culminating in behavioral dysfunction. As low level exposure to Nic alone produced neurobehavioral teratology, 'harm reduction' Nic products do not abolish the potential for neurodevelopmental damage.Item Open Access Cognitive and Interpersonal Features of Intellectual Humility.(Personality & social psychology bulletin, 2017-06) Leary, Mark R; Diebels, Kate J; Davisson, Erin K; Jongman-Sereno, Katrina P; Isherwood, Jennifer C; Raimi, Kaitlin T; Deffler, Samantha A; Hoyle, Rick HFour studies examined intellectual humility-the degree to which people recognize that their beliefs might be wrong. Using a new Intellectual Humility (IH) Scale, Study 1 showed that intellectual humility was associated with variables related to openness, curiosity, tolerance of ambiguity, and low dogmatism. Study 2 revealed that participants high in intellectual humility were less certain that their beliefs about religion were correct and judged people less on the basis of their religious opinions. In Study 3, participants high in intellectual humility were less inclined to think that politicians who changed their attitudes were "flip-flopping," and Study 4 showed that people high in intellectual humility were more attuned to the strength of persuasive arguments than those who were low. In addition to extending our understanding of intellectual humility, this research demonstrates that the IH Scale is a valid measure of the degree to which people recognize that their beliefs are fallible.