Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Abstract Concepts And Pictures Of Real-World Situations Activate One Another., Ken Mcrae, Daniel Nedjadrasul, Raymond Pau, Bethany Pui-Hei Lo, Lisa King

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

concepts typically are defined in terms of lacking physical or perceptual referents. We argue instead that they are not devoid of perceptual information because knowledge of real-world situations is an important component of learning and using many abstract concepts. Although the relationship between perceptual information and abstract concepts is less straightforward than for concrete concepts, situation-based perceptual knowledge is part of many abstract concepts. In Experiment 1, participants made lexical decisions to abstract words that were preceded by related and unrelated pictures of situations. For example, share was preceded by a picture of two girls sharing a cob of corn. …

Abstract Concepts And Pictures Of Real-World Situations Activate One Another., Ken Mcrae, Daniel Nedjadrasul, Raymond Pau, Bethany Pui-Hei Lo, Lisa King

Psychology Publications

Abstract concepts typically are defined in terms of lacking physical or perceptual referents. We argue instead that they are not devoid of perceptual information because knowledge of real-world situations is an important component of learning and using many abstract concepts. Although the relationship between perceptual information and abstract concepts is less straightforward than for concrete concepts, situation-based perceptual knowledge is part of many abstract concepts. In Experiment 1, participants made lexical decisions to abstract words that were preceded by related and unrelated pictures of situations. For example, share was preceded by a picture of two girls sharing a cob of …

Seeing The Forest And The Trees: Default Local Processing In Individuals With High Autistic Traits Does Not Come At The Expense Of Global Attention., Ryan A Stevenson, Sol Z Sun, Naomi Hazlett, Jonathan S Cant, Morgan D Barense, Susanne Ferber

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Atypical sensory perception is one of the most ubiquitous symptoms of autism, including a tendency towards a local-processing bias. We investigated whether local-processing biases were associated with global-processing impairments on a global/local attentional-scope paradigm in conjunction with a composite-face task. Behavioural results were related to individuals' levels of autistic traits, specifically the Attention to Detail subscale of the Autism Quotient, and the Sensory Profile Questionnaire. Individuals showing high rates of Attention to Detail were more susceptible to global attentional-scope manipulations, suggesting that local-processing biases associated with Attention to Detail do not come at the cost of a global-processing deficit, but …

Nutrient Intake In The First Two Weeks Of Life And Brain Growth In Preterm Neonates., Juliane Schneider, Céline J Fischer Fumeaux, Emma G Duerden, Ting Guo, Justin Foong, Myriam Bickle Graz, Patric Hagmann, M Mallar Chakravarty, Petra S Hüppi, Lydie Beauport, Anita C Truttmann, Steven P Miller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

BACKGROUND: Optimizing early nutritional intake in preterm neonates may promote brain health and neurodevelopment through enhanced brain maturation. Our objectives were (1) to determine the association of energy and macronutrient intake in the first 2 weeks of life with regional and total brain growth and white matter (WM) maturation, assessed by 3 serial MRI scans in preterm neonates; (2) to examine how critical illness modifies this association; and (3) to investigate the relationship with neurodevelopmental outcomes.

METHODS: Forty-nine preterm neonates (21 boys, median [interquartile range] gestational age: 27.6 [2.3] weeks) were scanned serially at the following median postmenstrual weeks: 29.4, …

Early Procedural Pain Is Associated With Regionally-Specific Alterations In Thalamic Development In Preterm Neonates., Emma G Duerden, Ruth E Grunau, Ting Guo, Justin Foong, Alexander Pearson, Stephanie Au-Young, Raphael Lavoie, M Mallar Chakravarty, Vann Chau, Anne Synnes, Steven P Miller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Very preterm human neonates are exposed to numerous invasive procedures as part of life-saving care. Evidence suggests that repetitive neonatal procedural pain precedes long-term alterations in brain development. However, to date the link between pain and brain development has limited temporal and anatomic specificity. We hypothesized that early exposure to painful stimuli during a period of rapid brain development, before pain modulatory systems reach maturity, will predict pronounced changes in thalamic development, and thereby cognitive and motor function. In a prospective cohort study, 155 very preterm neonates (82 males, 73 females) born 24-32 weeks' gestation underwent two MRIs at median …

Human Neuroimaging Reveals The Subcomponents Of Grasping, Reaching And Pointing Actions., Cristiana Cavina-Pratesi, Jason D Connolly, Simona Monaco, Teresa D Figley, A David Milner, Thomas Schenk, Jody C Culham

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Although the neural underpinnings of visually guided grasping and reaching have been well delineated within lateral and medial fronto-parietal networks (respectively), the contributions of subcomponents of visuomotor actions have not been explored in detail. Using careful subtraction logic, here we investigated which aspects of grasping, reaching, and pointing movements drive activation across key areas within visuomotor networks implicated in hand actions. For grasping tasks, we find activation differences based on the precision required (fine > coarse grip: anterior intraparietal sulcus, aIPS), the requirement to lift the object (grip + lift > grip: aIPS; dorsal premotor cortex, PMd; and supplementary motor area, SMA), …