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Individual Differences In Structure Learning, Philip Newlin
Individual Differences In Structure Learning, Philip Newlin
Theses and Dissertations
Humans have a tendency to impute structure spontaneously even in simple learning tasks, however the way they approach structure learning can vary drastically. The present study sought to determine why individuals learn structure differently. One hypothesized explanation for differences in structure learning is individual differences in cognitive control. Cognitive control allows individuals to maintain representations of a task and may interact with reinforcement learning systems. It was expected that individual differences in propensity to apply cognitive control, which shares component processes with hierarchical reinforcement learning, may explain how individuals learn structure differently in a simple structure learning task. Results showed …
Neural Correlates Underlying The Interactions Between Anxiety And Cannabis Use In Predicting Motor Response Inhibition, Richard Ward
Neural Correlates Underlying The Interactions Between Anxiety And Cannabis Use In Predicting Motor Response Inhibition, Richard Ward
Theses and Dissertations
The ability to effectively withhold an inappropriate response is a critical feature of cognitive control. Prior research indicates alterations in neural processes required for motor response inhibition in anxious individuals, including those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and those who engage in regular cannabis use. However, thus far most research has examined how anxiety-related symptoms and cannabis use influence response inhibition in isolation of one another. The current study examined the interactions between anxious symptomology and recent cannabis use in a sample that recently experienced a traumatic event using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the completion of a Stop-Signal …
Proactive And Reactive Cognitive Control Under Threat Of Unpredictable Shock: A Combined Eye-Tracking And Eeg Study Using Multilevel Modeling, Salahadin Lotfi
Proactive And Reactive Cognitive Control Under Threat Of Unpredictable Shock: A Combined Eye-Tracking And Eeg Study Using Multilevel Modeling, Salahadin Lotfi
Theses and Dissertations
We are constantly bombarded by environmental distractors in daily life which interfere with internal, ongoing goals, thus cognitive control processes need to be in place to adapt to maintain these goals in light of the environmental demands. These cognitive processes (generally referred to cognitive control) are thought to be adjusted reactively or proactively to deal with distractors. There is little evidence on how state anxiety dynamically interacts with these two modes of cognitive control. Taking advantage of a multimodal methodology, through two experiments, we replicated existing findings of reactive and proactive control processes via utilizing a Flanker task in a …
The Impact Of Task Load On Neural Entrainment To Attended Speech: A Dual-Task Magnetoencephalography (Meg) Paradigm, Michelle Tamar Kassel
The Impact Of Task Load On Neural Entrainment To Attended Speech: A Dual-Task Magnetoencephalography (Meg) Paradigm, Michelle Tamar Kassel
Theses and Dissertations
Speech comprehension in a noisy environment requires active cognitive control mechanisms to select the relevant speech signal while filtering out irrelevant distractions. When processing speech in a multitask scenario, neural resources underlying cognitive control are considerably burdened and interfering information becomes more difficult to ignore. The present study utilized magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate the impact of multitasking on selective attention to speech. Twenty healthy adults performed a multitask paradigm with varying levels of both competing auditory distraction and concurrent visual working memory load. While increased visual working memory load was associated with reduced selective attention to speech in both the …
Cognitive Control And Context Maintenance In Individuals With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Ocd), Lindsay Morgan Fruehauf
Cognitive Control And Context Maintenance In Individuals With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Ocd), Lindsay Morgan Fruehauf
Theses and Dissertations
Context maintenance, an aspect of cognitive control, is the internal representation and utilization of task-relevant information that helps achieve task goals. Alterations in context maintenance may be responsible for the cognitive difficulties seen in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We used two tasks designed to measure context maintenance: a) the cued-Stroop, a single-trial version of Golden’s Stroop test that varies the cue for each trial (color-naming or word-reading), and b) the AX-CPT task, a continuous performance task that has participants respond to an “A” only when followed by an “X,” with all other non-target trials labeled as AY, BX, and …
How Does Anxiety Affect Cognitive Control? Proactive And Reactive Control Under State Anxiety, Youcai Yang
How Does Anxiety Affect Cognitive Control? Proactive And Reactive Control Under State Anxiety, Youcai Yang
Theses and Dissertations
Cognitive control is a construct that prioritizes how we process stimuli and information and execute behaviors to flexibly and efficiently adapt to internal goals and external environmental changes. A recent theory, the Dual Mechanism of Control (DMC), distinguishes this phenomenon by two distinct cognitive control operations: proactive control and reactive control (Braver, 2012). Anxiety increases the allocation of attentional and working memory resources to threat-related stimuli, which impairs cognitive performance (Sarason, 1988), but additional work is needed to assess how anxiety impacts these two distinct forms of cognitive control. In this study, I examined how state anxiety affected proactive control, …
Cognitive Control Disruption And Quality Of Life In Individuals With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Isaac J. Hunt
Cognitive Control Disruption And Quality Of Life In Individuals With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Isaac J. Hunt
Theses and Dissertations
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with diminished quality of life and cognitive control dysfunction. Conflict adaptation is a reflection of cognitive control, and consists of the ability to detect conflict in previous trials and adjust performance on current trials. Conflict adaptation is thought to rely on interplay between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) for detecting conflict and signaling for increases in control, respectively. We hypothesized that individuals with OCD would show reduced conflict adaptation effects in response times, error rates, ACC activation, and dlPFC activation when compared with healthy control subjects. We also expected diminished …
Exploring The Influence Of Socioeconomic Status On The Executive Function And Theory Of Mind Skills Of Preschoolers, Andrea Molzhon
Exploring The Influence Of Socioeconomic Status On The Executive Function And Theory Of Mind Skills Of Preschoolers, Andrea Molzhon
Theses and Dissertations
Executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) skills develop rapidly during the preschool years and have been found to directly and indirectly contribute to school readiness. Evidence indicates that EF may influence ToM development, though this relation may not be consistent across children from different backgrounds. Additionally, socioeconomic status (SES) has been shown to affect preschoolers’ EF, while the literature is mixed regarding the effects – if any – that SES may have on ToM development. Though the relation between EF and ToM appears robust across the literature, the possible effects of SES on this relation have yet to …
Error Awareness And Apathy In Moderate-To-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury, Dustin Michael Logan
Error Awareness And Apathy In Moderate-To-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury, Dustin Michael Logan
Theses and Dissertations
Moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (M/S TBI) is a growing public health concern with significant impact on the cognitive functioning of survivors. Cognitive control and deficits in awareness have been linked to poor recovery and rehabilitation outcomes. One way to research cognitive control is through awareness of errors using electroencephalogram and event-related potentials (ERPs). Both the error-related negativity and the post-error positivity components of the ERP are linked to error awareness and cognitive control processes. Attentional capacity and levels of apathy influence error awareness in those with M/S TBI. There are strong links between awareness, attention, and apathy. However, limited research …
Imaging And Behavioral Correlates Of The Anterior Cingulate In Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, Tricia L. Merkley
Imaging And Behavioral Correlates Of The Anterior Cingulate In Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, Tricia L. Merkley
Theses and Dissertations
The anterior cingulate has been implicated in a number of cognitive processes that are at risk following traumatic brain injury (TBI), such as executive function and emotional processing. While the cingulate is believed to play a role in the above-mentioned cognitive processes, the relative roles of gray and white matter in functional outcomes post-TBI are not fully understood. The current study investigated various quantifiable brain properties (e.g., cortical thickness and volume, volume of underlying white matter, and white matter integrity) of the caudal anterior cingulate (CAC) gyrus and their relationships with behavioral measures of cognitive control following pediatric TBI. Parent …