When the ignored gets bound: sequential effects in the flanker task

Recent research on attentional control processes in the Eriksen flanker task has focused on the so-called congruency sequence effect a.k.a. the Gratton effect, which is the observation of a smaller flanker interference effect after incongruent than after congruent trials. There is growing support for the view that in this paradigm, the congruency sequence effect is due to repetition of the target or response across trials. Here, results from two experiments are presented that separate the contributions of target, flanker, and response repetition. The results suggest that neither response repetition alone nor conflict is necessary to produce the effect. Instead, the data reveal that only flanker repetition is sufficient to produce congruency sequence effects. In other words, information that is associated with a response irrespective whether it is relevant for the current trial is bound to response representations. An account is presented in which the fleeting event files are the activated part of the task set in which flankers, targets, and response representations are associatively linked and updated through conflict-modulated reinforcement learning

Short-term memory as a working memory control process

Aben et al. (2012) take issue with the unthoughtful use of the terms “working memory” (WM) and “short-term memory” (STM) in the cognitive and neuroscientific literature. Whereas I agree that neuroscientists using the term WM to refer to sustained neural activation and cognitive psychologists using the terms interchangeably reflects that the field has lost control over its own dictionary, the recommendations to develop more tasks does not seem to get to the heart of the matter. Here, I argue in favor of a theoretical approach to the constructs of WM and STM, as the terms have become as impure as the tasks that purport to measure the constructs

Serum tumour markers in ovarian and cervical cancer

Kenemans, P. [Promotor]Verheijen, R.H.M. [Promotor]Mensendorff-Pouilly, S. von [Copromotor

Semantic similarity dissociates shortfrom long-term recency effects: testing a neurocomputational model of list memory

The finding that recency effects can occur not only in immediate free recall (i.e., short-term recency) but also in the continuous-distractor task (i.e., long-term recency) has led many theorists to reject the distinction between short- and long-term memory stores. Recently, we have argued that long-term recency effects do not undermine the concept of a short-term store, and we have presented a neurocomputational model that accounts for both short- and long-term recency and for a series of dissociations between these two effects. Here, we present a new dissociation between short- and long-term recency based on semantic similarity, which is predicted by our model. This dissociation is due to the mutual support between associated items in the short-term store, which takes place in immediate free recall and delayed free recall but not in continuous-distractor free recall

A computational approach to developing cost-efficient adaptive-threshold algorithms for EEG neuro feedback

In electroencephalography (EEG) neurofeedback protocols, trainees receive feedback about the spectral power of the target brain wave oscillation and are tasked to increase or decrease this feedback signal compared to a predetermined threshold. In a recent computational analysis of a neurofeedback protocol it was shown that the placement of the threshold has a major impact on the learning rate and that placed too low or too high leads to no learning or even unlearning, respectively. However, the optimal threshold placement is not known in real-life scenarios. Here, these analyses were extended to assess whether an adaptive-mean threshold procedure could lead to faster learning curves. The results indicate that such a procedure is indeed superior to a fixed-mean procedure and that the distribution of asymptotic EEG power values converges to that obtained with the optimal-threshold procedure. Surprisingly, the adaptive-mean procedure leads to thresholds that are higher than the optimal one, which is explained through the increase in threshold lagging behind the increase in the likelihood of activation of the target neurons. To date, no computational model was used to compute the cost-efficiency of EEG neurofeedback procedures. The current simulation (within the specific reinforcement schedule) demonstrated a 35% reduction in training time, which could translate into sizeable financial savings. This study demonstrates the utility of computational methods in neurofeedback research and opens up further developments that tackle specific neurofeedback protocols to assess their real-life cost- efficiency

The role of the frontal cortex in memory: an investigation of the Von Restorff effect

Evidence from neuropsychology and neuroimaging indicate that the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) plays an important role in human memory. Although frontal patients are able to form new memories, these memories appear qualitatively different from those of controls by lacking distinctiveness. Neuroimaging studies of memory indicate activation in the PFC under deep encoding conditions, and under conditions of semantic elaboration. Based on these results, we hypothesize that the PFC enhances memory by extracting differences and commonalities in the studied material. To test this hypothesis, we carried out an experimental investigation to test the relationship between the PFC-dependent factors and semantic factors associated with common and specific features of words. These experiments were performed using Free-Recall of word lists with healthy adults, exploiting the correlation between PFC function and fluid intelligence. As predicted, a correlation was found between fluid intelligence and the Von-Restorff effect (better memory for semantic isolates, e.g., isolate “cat” within category members of “fruit”). Moreover, memory for the semantic isolate was found to depend on the isolate's serial position. The isolate item tends to be recalled first, in comparison to non-isolates, suggesting that the process interacts with short term memory. These results are captured within a computational model of free recall, which includes a PFC mechanism that is sensitive to both commonality and distinctiveness, sustaining a trade-off between the two