A reinforcement schedule with two types of temporal information.

Decades of research on reinforcement schedules have demonstrated that temporal information regarding the arrival or nonarrival of biologically significant events controls animal behavior. The fixed interval (FI) schedule, which is a time-based reinforcement schedule, suggests that responses are regulated by the time elapsed since the last reinforcement. This raises the question of how behavior is controlled when two distinct temporal cues regarding the availability of reinforcers are simultaneously presented.

Hippocampal volume mediates the relationship of parental rejection in childhood with social cognition in healthy adults.

Childhood abuse reduces hippocampal and amygdala volumes and impairs social cognition, including the ability to recognize facial expressions. However, these associations have been studied primarily in individuals with a history of severe abuse and psychiatric symptoms; researchers have not determined whether these associations can also be observed in healthy adults. In the present study, we analyzed data from 400 healthy adults (208 men and 192 women) at Tamagawa University.

Association of Cardiovascular Risk Markers and Fitness with Task-Related Neural Activity during Animacy Perception.

Purpose: Numerous studies have demonstrated the association between cardiovascular risk markers and fitness, and broad aspects of cognition; however, the possible association of cardiovascular risk markers and fitness with social cognition, which plays a significant role in the development and maintenance of social relationships, has largely been ignored. Herein, we investigated the relationship of cardiovascular risk markers and fitness with task-related neural activity during animacy perception.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Human Connectome Project derived from 1027 adults age 22-37 yr.

Physiological properties of Cantor coding-like iterated function system in the hippocampal CA1 network.

Cantor coding provides an information coding scheme for temporal sequences of events. In the hippocampal CA3-CA1 network, Cantor coding-like mechanism was observed in pyramidal neurons and the relationship between input pattern and recorded responses could be described as an iterated function system. However, detailed physiological properties of the system in CA1 remain unclear.

Childhood exercise predicts response inhibition in later life via changes in brain connectivity and structure.

Participation in exercise during early life (i.e., childhood through adolescence) enhances response inhibition; however, it is unclear whether participation in exercise during early life positively predicts response inhibition in later life.

Brain/MINDS beyond human brain MRI project: A protocol for multi-level harmonization across brain disorders throughout the lifespan.

Psychiatric and neurological disorders are afflictions of the brain that can affect individuals throughout their lifespan. Many brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have been conducted; however, imaging-based biomarkers are not yet well established for diagnostic and therapeutic use. This article describes an outline of the planned study, the Brain/MINDS Beyond human brain MRI project (BMB-HBM, FY2018 ~ FY2023), which aims to establish clinically-relevant imaging biomarkers with multi-site harmonization by collecting data from healthy traveling subjects (TS) at 13 research sites.

Identification of the brain networks that contribute to the interaction between physical function and working memory: An fMRI investigation with over 1,000 healthy adults.

There is a growing consensus regarding the positive relationship between physical function and working memory; however, explanations of task-evoked functional activity regarding this relationship and its differences in physical function domains remain controversial. This study illustrates the cross-sectional relationships between cardiorespiratory fitness, gait speed, hand dexterity, and muscular strength with working memory task (N-back task) performance and the mediating effects of task-evoked functional activity in 1033 adults aged between 22 and 37 years. The results showed that cardiorespiratory fitness and hand dexterity were independently associated with N-back task performance to a greater extent and in contrast to gait speed and muscular strength.

Relationship of participation in specific sports to academic performance in adolescents: A 2-year longitudinal study.

Physical activity is considered a promising behavior to improve cognitive function and academic performance in adolescents. As evidence on the relationship of specific sports activity is not conclusive, this study aimed to determine the longitudinal relationships of different sports to academic performance in adolescents and evaluate the cardiorespiratory fitness mediation effect of these sports. We focused on the demands of complex motor skills and the differences between individual sports vs team sports.

Cortical Regions Encoding Hardness Perception Modulated by Visual Information Identified by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging With Multivoxel Pattern Analysis.

Recent studies have revealed that hardness perception is determined by visual information along with the haptic input. This study investigated the cortical regions involved in hardness perception modulated by visual information using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA). Twenty-two healthy participants were enrolled.

A Decision-Theoretic Model of Behavior Change.

Undesirable habitual or addictive behaviors are often difficult to change. The issue of "behavior change" has long been studied in various research fields. Several models for behavior change have converged to the hypothesis that attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy are important determinants of intentions and behavior.

Active Confirmation Bias in the Evaluative Processing of Food Images.

Predictive processing is fundamental to many aspects of the human mind, including perception and decision-making. It remains to be elucidated, however, in which way predictive information impacts on evaluative processing, particularly in tasks that employ bivalent stimulus sets. Various accounts, including framing, proactive interference, and cognitive control, appear to imply contradictory proposals on the relation between prediction and preference formation.

A Biased Bayesian Inference for Decision-Making and Cognitive Control.

Although classical decision-making studies have assumed that subjects behave in a Bayes-optimal way, the sub-optimality that causes biases in decision-making is currently under debate. Here, we propose a synthesis based on exponentially-biased Bayesian inference, including various decision-making and probability judgments with different bias levels. We arrange three major parameter estimation methods in a two-dimensional bias parameter space (prior and likelihood), of the biased Bayesian inference.

Competitive achievement may be predicted by executive functions in junior tennis players: An 18-month follow-up study.

This study evaluates whether high levels of executive function predict competition results 18 months later in junior tennis players. Forty junior tennis players (20 girls, 20 boys; 9-15 years old) who regularly participate in prefecture tennis tournaments were recruited. All participants underwent executive function evaluations (the Design Fluency Task) in July 2015 and their prefecture junior rankings in August 2015 and February 2017 were recorded.

Age-related macular degeneration affects the optic radiation white matter projecting to locations of retinal damage.

We investigated the impact of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) on visual acuity and the visual white matter. We combined an adaptive cortical atlas and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) and tractography to separate optic radiation (OR) projections to different retinal eccentricities in human primary visual cortex. We exploited the known anatomical organization of the OR and clinically relevant data to segment the OR into three primary components projecting to fovea, mid- and far-periphery.

Modeling relationships of achievement motivation and physical fitness with academic performance in Japanese schoolchildren: Moderation by gender.

The aim of this study was to determine, using structural equation modeling, the comprehensive relationships of achievement motivation (self-fulfillment achievement motivation [SFAM] and competitive achievement motivation [CAM]), daily behaviors (exercise habits, screen time, and learning duration), body mass index [BMI], and cardiorespiratory fitness [CRF]) with academic performance among schoolchildren. Three hundred twenty-five schoolchildren (172 males and 153 females; 12-13 years old) were recruited. Academic performance was assessed using the total grade points in 8 academic subjects (GP8); CRF using the 20-m shuttle run; and achievement motivation, daily behaviors, and socioeconomic status using questionnaires.

Human pursuance of equality hinges on mental processes of projecting oneself into the perspectives of others and into future situations.

In the pursuance of equality, behavioural scientists disagree about distinct motivators, that is, consideration of others and prospective calculation for oneself. However, accumulating data suggest that these motivators may share a common process in the brain whereby perspectives and events that did not arise in the immediate environment are conceived. To examine this, we devised a game imitating a real decision-making situation regarding redistribution among income classes in a welfare state.

A new analytical method for characterizing nonlinear visual processes with stimuli of arbitrary distribution: Theory and applications.

Characterization of the functional relationship between sensory inputs and neuronal or observers' perceptual responses is one of the fundamental goals of systems neuroscience and psychophysics. Conventional methods, such as reverse correlation and spike-triggered data analyses are limited in their ability to resolve complex and inherently nonlinear neuronal/perceptual processes because these methods require input stimuli to be Gaussian with a zero mean. Recent studies have shown that analyses based on a generalized linear model (GLM) do not require such specific input characteristics and have advantages over conventional methods.

Visuomotor signals for reaching movements in the rostro-dorsal sector of the monkey thalamic reticular nucleus.

The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) collects inputs from the cerebral cortex and thalamus and, in turn, sends inhibitory outputs to the thalamic relay nuclei. This unique connectivity suggests that the TRN plays a pivotal role in regulating information flow through the thalamus. Here, we analyzed the roles of TRN neurons in visually guided reaching movements.

Feature-based attention and spatial selection in frontal eye fields during natural scene search.

When we search for visual objects, the features of those objects bias our attention across the visual landscape (feature-based attention). The brain uses these top-down cues to select eye movement targets (spatial selection). The frontal eye field (FEF) is a prefrontal brain region implicated in selecting eye movements and is thought to reflect feature-based attention and spatial selection.

Rostrocaudal functional gradient among the pre-dorsal premotor cortex, dorsal premotor cortex and primary motor cortex in goal-directed motor behaviour.

The dorsal premotor cortex residing in the dorsolateral aspect of area 6 is a rostrocaudally elongated area that is rostral to the primary motor cortex (M1) and caudal to the prefrontal cortex. This region, which is subdivided into rostral [pre-dorsal premotor cortex (pre-PMd)] and caudal [dorsal premotor cortex proper (PMd)] components, probably plays a central role in planning and executing actions to achieve a behavioural goal. In the present study, we investigated the functional specializations of the pre-PMd, PMd, and M1, because the synthesis of the specific functions performed by each area is considered to be essential.

Anomalous neuronal responses to fluctuated inputs.

The irregular firing of a cortical neuron is thought to result from a highly fluctuating drive that is generated by the balance of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs. A previous study reported anomalous responses of the Hodgkin-Huxley neuron to the fluctuated inputs where an irregularity of spike trains is inversely proportional to an input irregularity. In the current study, we investigated the origin of these anomalous responses with the Hindmarsh-Rose neuron model, map-based models, and a simple mixture of interspike interval distributions.

The effect of direct and indirect monitoring on generosity among preschoolers.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of direct and indirect monitoring on generosity among five-year-old preschoolers and to reveal the primary motivation for their generosity. Forty-two preschoolers completed one-shot dictator games in Condition 1 while being monitored by the experimenter (the direct monitoring condition). In Condition 2, an image of staring eyes was displayed on the computer monitor (the indirect monitoring condition).

Gamma Oscillations and Their Cross-frequency Coupling in the Primate Hippocampus during Sleep.

Study Objectives: The mechanism by which sleep consolidates memory is unclear. Based on the two-stage model of memory consolidation, different functions for slow wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep have been proposed; thus, state-dependent changes of neural oscillations in the hippocampus might clarify this fundamental question.

Methods: We recorded hippocampal local field potentials from freely behaving monkeys via telemetry and analyzed their nonstationary oscillations using Hilbert-Huang transform.