Cogprints: No conditions. Results ordered Title. 2018-01-17T14:20:14ZEPrintshttp://cogprints.org/images/sitelogo.gifhttp://cogprints.org/2001-07-18Z2011-03-11T08:54:45Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1700This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/17002001-07-18Z Academic Publishing in the Online Era: What Will Be For-Fee and What Will Be For-Free?The following exchange took place between 10 and 13 July 1999 as a self-contained module of the
American Scientist Forum (a final postscript being added on 23 November, 1999). http://amsci-forum.amsci.org/archives/september98-forum.html
The main participants in the exchange were Stevan Harnad of the University of Southampton and Hal Varian, of the University of California, Berkeley. The exchange focuses on the problematic issue - crucial to Harnad's thesis - of the extent to which academic authors are prepared to give their work away by making it freely available, without charge, on the Net. Although the exchange has been edited slightly to make the discussion easier to follow, it seemed appropriate, given the subject matter, to retain it in its original quote/comment form. Harnad begins by emphasising 11 of his argument's main points, and by providing addresses for the various locations on the Net where the relevant publications can be found. Stevan HarnadHal VarianBob Parks2007-01-31Z2011-03-11T08:56:46Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5382This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/53822007-01-31ZActitudes y experiencia sexual en mujeres jóvenes (Attitudes and sexual experience in young women)The Hudson et al Test (1983) has demonstrated an adequate interna1 consistency (Alpha = 0.81) as well as its validity for measuring sexual attitudes. This is due to the possibility of finding - by means of a canonical factorial analysis - three significant functions with a confidente leve1 of 95%. These functions are entirely related, with the probability of having reached a given leve1 of sexual experience in the 515 women from age 16 to 18 that have been studied. Additionally these functions appear to measure attitudes towards specific sexual behaviors, towards integrating sexuality within the family codes and towards sexual freedom. The corresponding canonical correlations with reference to the leve1 of sexual experience were for the first function 0.4318 (Chi251=135.53838p<0.0001), for the second function 0.2847 (Chi232=58.892; p=0.0026), and for the third function 0.2670 (Chi215=27.485; p=0.025). The first function seems to be related to age. Along with the third function, it is also related to religion. The second and third functions are sensitive to the social context of the women studied: place of residence, school and type of studies that are being undertaken.Saez Uribarri IñigoGuijarro Santamaría Carmen2006-12-22Z2011-03-11T08:56:44Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5308This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/53082006-12-22ZAge-of-acquisition ratings for 2816 Dutch four- and five-letter nounsStudies on object and word naming have shown that the age at which words are acquired is an important factor in processing times. Research on the issue in Dutch has been hampered by the fact that only teacher ratings were available about which words should be known by 6-year-olds. As a supplement to these teacher ratings, we conducted a large-scale study in which 558 students rated the agr-of-acquisition of 2816 four- and five-letter nouns. Reliability of the ratings is high, and correlations with word frequency and word imageability are in the same order as those reported for English. M. GhyselinckW. De MoorM. Brysbaert2002-06-10Z2011-03-11T08:54:56Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2248This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/22482002-06-10ZAnticipatory Semantic ProcessesWhy anticipatory processes correspond to cognitive abilities of living systems? To be adapted to an environment, behaviors need at least i) internal representations of events occurring in the external environment; and ii) internal anticipations of possible events to occur in the external environment. Interactions of these two opposite but complementary cognitive properties lead to various patterns of experimental data on semantic processing.
How to investigate dynamic semantic processes? Experimental studies in cognitive psychology offer several interests such as: i) the control of the semantic environment such as words embedded in sentences; ii) the methodological tools allowing the observation of anticipations and adapted oculomotor behavior during reading; and iii) the analyze of different anticipatory processes within the theoretical framework of semantic processing.
What are the different types of semantic anticipations? Experimental data show that semantic anticipatory processes involve i) the coding in memory of sequences of words occurring in textual environments; ii) the anticipation of possible future words from currently perceived words; and iii) the selection of anticipated words as a function of the sequences of perceived words, achieved by anticipatory activations and inhibitory selection processes.
How to modelize anticipatory semantic processes? Localist or distributed neural networks models can account for some types of semantic processes, anticipatory or not. Attractor neural networks coding temporal sequences are presented as good candidate for modeling anticipatory semantic processes, according to specific properties of the human brain such as i) auto-associative memory; ii) learning and memorization of sequences of patterns; and iii) anticipation of memorized patterns from previously perceived patterns.
Frédéric LavignePascal Lavigne2003-12-13Z2011-03-11T08:55:24Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3311This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/33112003-12-13ZThe Articulatory Basis of the AlphabetThe origin of the alphabet has long been a subject for research, speculation and myths. How to explain its survival and effectiveness over thousands of years? One approach is in terms of the practical problems faced by the originator of the alphabet: another would examine the archaeological record; a third might focus on the perceptual process by which the alphabet makes rapid reading possible.
It is proposed that the alphabet originated in an intellectual sequence similar to that followed by Alexander Bell and Henry Sweet in constructing their Visible and Organic Alphabets.The originator of the alphabet used the same kind of introspective analysis of his own speech sounds and of the manner in which they were articulated. This was the vital step. The next step was to represent the articulatory differences in terms of visual patterns. One way to understand what might have been involved is to attempt to replicate the process oneself.
Robin Allott2001-03-02Z2011-03-11T08:54:29Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1249This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/12492001-03-02ZAspects of schematic processing in Indigenous speakers of Aboriginal English: An initial explorationSchema theory provides a meeting place for the studies of language, culture, and cognition. Cultural knowledge and experience are represented in the form of cognitive schemas, which underlie the production of cultural discourse. Thus, an examination of distinctive patterns of discourse produced by cultural groups may provide us with an understanding of their underlying cultural schemas. Discourse in English produced by Aboriginal students reveals certain Aboriginal cultural schemas. A closer analysis of Aboriginal English discourse also reveals some salient patterns which may be explained by the way these cultural schemas are processed. The present study is an initial attempt to explore these patterns in the light of schema theory. In this analysis, certain features suggest distinctive patterns of schema activation, while some other point to the possibility of a distinctive role played by schemas in the use of referential devices. Farzad Sharifian2001-07-05Z2011-03-11T08:54:44Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1670This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/16702001-07-05ZBayesian robot ProgrammingWe propose a new method to program robots based on Bayesian inference and learning. The capacities of this programming method are demonstrated through a succession of increasingly complex experiments. Starting from the learning of simple reactive behaviors, we present instances of behavior combinations, sensor fusion, hierarchical behavior composition, situation recognition and temporal sequencing. This series of experiments comprises the steps in the incremental development of a complex robot program. The advantages and drawbacks of this approach are discussed along with these different experiments and summed up as a conclusion. These different robotics programs may be seen as an illustration of probabilistic programming applicable whenever one must deal with problems based on uncertain or incomplete knowledge. The scope of possible applications is obviously much broader than robotics.Olivier LebeltelPierre BessiereJulien DiardEmmanuel Mazer2004-02-03Z2011-03-11T08:55:28Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3413This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/34132004-02-03ZThe Beer Can Theory of CreativityIn lieu of abstract (since it is a book chapter) I provide the outline and introduction. OUTLINE 1. Introduction 2. Culture as an Evolutionary Process Variation and Selection in Biology and Culture Is More than One Mind Necessary for Ideas to Evolve? Meme and Variations: A Computer Model of Cultural Evolution Dampening Arbitrary Associations and Strengthening Meaningful Ones Chaos, Order, Connectivity, and Information 3. Creativity as the Origin of Culture Theoretical Evidence Evidence from Animal Behavior Archeological Evidence What Caused the Onset of Creativity? 4. The Cognitive Architecture Underlying Conceptual Fluidity Evoking from Memory is a Contextual, Reconstructive Process Defocused Attention and Flat Associative Hierarchies What is an Inkling? The Pre-Inkling Courtship 5. The Crystallization of a Creative Idea The Drive To Unify or Reconcile Creations as Mirrors that Reflect and Reinforce the Self Variable Fluidity as the Crux of Creative Potential Annealing on a New Worldview Gestation and Birth: From Inkling to Insight 6. Closing Thoughts 1. INTRODUCTION I had to laugh this morning while reading the Ottawa Citizen when I saw a crafty yet bafflingly incompetent vandal described as "He's got a full six pack, but the plastic thingy that holds them together is missing". It's a spin-off of the saying "He's one can short of a full six pack", which itself is a Canadianized version of "He's lost a few marbles" or "He's not playing with a full deck". Not only does the newspaper description beautifully exemplify one of the main issues of this chapter-the interplay of variation and continuity as a creative insight is adapted from one context or circumstance to another. But content-wise, it's a pithy summary of another, related issue dealt with here: in order to adapt the idea to a new context, in order to evolve it in new directions, it must originally have been stored in memory in a way that implicitly identifies its relationships to other ideas. In other words, when it comes to creativity, how your 'beer cans' are connected together is as important as how many of them there are. This chapter explores the cognitive mechanisms underlying the emergence and evolution of cultural novelty. Section Two summarizes the rationale for viewing the process by which the fruits of the mind take shape as they spread from one individual to another as a form of evolution, and briefly discusses a computer model of this process. Section Three presents theoretical and empirical evidence that the sudden proliferation of human culture approximately two million years ago began with the capacity for creativity-that is, the ability to generate novelty strategically and contextually. The next two sections take a closer look at the creative process. Section Four examines the mechanisms underlying the fluid, associative thought that constitutes the inspirational component of creativity. Section Five explores how that initial flicker of inspiration crystallizes into a solid, workable idea as it gets mulled over in light of the various constraints and affordances of the world into which it will be born. Finally, Section Six wraps things up with a few speculative thoughts about the overall unfolding of this evolutionary process.Liane M. Gabora2000-10-24Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1051This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10512000-10-24ZBehavior and the General Evolutionary ProcessBehavior analysis is properly part of evolutionary biology, because only evolutionary theory can explain the origins of behavior and because behavior analysis follows the same mode of explanation as evolutionary theory. The resemblance among operant shaping, cultural evolution, and genetic evolution appears clearly only in the light of a general concept of evolutionary process. Every evolutionary process consists of three elements: variation, recurrence, and selection. Evolutionarily significant variation occurs among substitutable variants within a pool. These variants are defined by differences in their environmental effects. Although the metaphor of copying characterizes recurrence in genetic evolution, replication is only one type of recurrence. In cultural and operant evolution, mechanisms like stimulus control and induction cause the recurrence of the variants. Selection occurs when recurrence is differential. Differences in environmental effects produce differences in recurrence, and those differences feed back to affect the composition of the pool of variants. This general view of evolutionary process clarifies the distinction between proximate and ultimate explanations of behavior. Genetic, cultural, and operant evolution all admit of this distinction, because they all distinguish advantageous mechanisms from a history of advantage. Proximate explanations deal with the ?expression? of variants, whereas ultimate explanations deal with the feedback from environmental effects to the frequencies of variants in the pool. The three evolutionary processes may be seen as nested: cultural evolution within genetic evolution, and operant evolution within cultural evolution. A complete understanding of human behavior requires constructing six types of explanation: proximate and ultimate explanations in all three processes.William M. Baum2001-02-26Z2011-03-11T08:54:35Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1320This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/13202001-02-26ZBenchmarking Cerebellar ControlCerebellar models have long been advocated as viable models
for robot dynamics control. Building on an increasing insight
in and knowledge of the biological cerebellum, many models have been
greatly refined, of which some computational models have emerged
with useful properties with respect to robot dynamics control.
Looking at the application side, however, there is a totally different
picture. Not only is there not one robot on the market which uses
anything remotely connected with cerebellar control, but even in
research labs most testbeds for cerebellar models are restricted to
toy problems. Such applications hardly ever exceed the complexity of
a 2 DoF simulated robot arm; a task which is hardly representative for
the field of robotics, or relates to realistic applications.
In order to bring the amalgamation of the two fields forwards, we
advocate the use of a set of robotics benchmarks, on which existing
and new computational cerebellar models can be comparatively tested.
It is clear that the traditional approach to solve robotics dynamics
loses ground with the advancing complexity of robotic structures;
there is a desire for adaptive methods which can compete as traditional
control methods do for traditional robots.
In this paper we try to lay down the successes and problems in the
fields of cerebellar modelling as well as robot dynamics control.
By analyzing the common ground, a set of benchmarks is suggested
which may serve as typical robot applications for cerebellar models.
Patrick van der Smagt2002-02-27Z2011-03-11T08:54:54Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2114This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/21142002-02-27ZBeyond the realm of noun and verb: the cognitive lexicon of the young childMost studies of early lexical development are focused on the acquisition of the noun or verb categories. Only studies targeting the very beginning of word production describe the rich pattern of reference and expressive words produced by very young children. Still, during their second year, childrens production in tokens contains as many words that are not nouns and verbs than words that are. The importance of categories such as communicators, adverbs, pointers and adjectives never decreases, neither in English nor in French children between the age of 1;6 to 2;6. A cross-linguistic comparison shows that the same type of words is the most frequent in English and French children, while a comparison with adult production shows that, in neither language, do the words produced by children match exactly the words they hear most frequently. The difference in the syntactic structure of English and French argues strongly for a cognitive origin to this close match of the childrens words.
These words other than nouns and verbs are more complex than they appear, because they cover a whole range of reference principles direct reference, indirect reference, shared reference, generic reference, multiple reference, ambiguity, similarity, repetition, absence of , as well as a wide range of expressive meanings. This type of words appears and grows throughout the childrens second year and provides the basic stones for further lexicon and syntax development.
Christophe ParisseMarie-Thérèse Le Normand2003-07-16Z2011-03-11T08:55:18Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3056This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/30562003-07-16ZBootstrapping grounded symbols by minimal autonomous robotsIn this paper an experiment is presented in which two mobile robots develop a shared lexicon of which the meanings are grounded in the real world. The robots start without a lexicon nor shared meanings and play language games in which they generate new meanings and negotiate words for these meanings. The experiment tries to find the minimal conditions under which verbal communication may begin to evolve. The robots are autonomous in terms of computing and cognition, but they are otherwise far simpler than most, if not all animals. It is demonstrated that a lexicon nevertheless can be made to emerge even though there are strong limits on the size and stability of this lexicon.Paul Vogt2001-02-07Z2011-03-11T08:54:29Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1287This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/12872001-02-07ZBuilding large-scale hierarchical models of the world with binary sparse distributed representationsMany researchers agree on the basic architecture of the "world model" where knowledge about the world required for organization of agent's intelligent behavior is represented. However, most proposals on possible implementation of such a model are far from being plausible both from computational and neurobiological points of view.
Implementation ideas based on distributed connectionist representations offer a huge information capacity, flexibility of similarity representation, and possibility to use a distributed neural network memory. However, for a long time distributed representations suffered from the "superposition catastrophe". Local representations are vivid, pictorial and easily interpretable, allow for an easy manual construction of hierarchical structures and an economical computer simulation of toy tasks. The problems of local representations show up with scaling to the real world models, and it is unclear how to solve them under reasonable requirements imposed on memory size and speed.
We discuss the architecture of Associative-Projective Neural Networks (APNNs) that is based on binary sparse distributed representations of fixed dimensionality for items of various complexity and generality, and provides a promise for scaling up to the full-sized model of the real world. An on-the-fly binding procedure proposed for APNNs overcomes the superposition catastrophe, permitting representation of the order and grouping of structure components. These representations allow a simple estimation of structures' similarity, as well as finding various kinds of associations based on their context-dependent similarity. Structured distributed auto-associative neural network is used as long-term memory, wherein representations of items organized into part-whole (compositional) and concept (generalization) hierarchies are built. Examples of schematic APNN architectures and processes for recognition, prediction, reaction, analogical reasoning, and other tasks required for functioning of an intelligent system, as well as APNN implementations, are considered.
Dmitri A. RachkovskijErnst M. Kussul2001-02-10Z2011-03-11T08:54:32Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1300This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/13002001-02-10ZCartwright on Laws and CompositionCartwright attempts to argue from an analysis of the composition of forces, and more generally the composition of laws, to the conclusion that laws must be regarded as false. A response to Cartwright is developed which contends that properly understood composition poses no threat to the truth of laws, even though agreeing with Cartwright that laws do not satisfy the facticity requirement. My analysis draws especially on the work of Creary, Bhaskar, Mill, and points towards a general rejection of Cartwrights view that laws, especially fundamental laws, should be seen as false. David Jon Spurrett2000-10-23Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1055This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10552000-10-23ZChange Detection: Paying Attention To Detail
DetailChanges made during a brief visual interruption sometimes go undetected, even when the object undergoing the change is at the center of the observer's interest and spatial attention (Simons & Levin, 1998). This study examined two potentially important attentional variables in change blindness: spatial distribution, manipulated via set size, and detail level, varied by having the change at either the global or local level of a compound letter. Experiment 1 revealed that both types of change were equally detectable in a single item, but that global change was detected more readily when attention was distributed among several items. Variation of target level probability in Experiment 2 showed further that observers could flexibly set the detail level in monitoring both single and multiple items. Sensitivity to change therefore depends not only on the spatial focus of attention; it depends critically on the match between the detail level of the change and the level-readiness of the observer.Erin AustenJames T. Enns2000-05-31Z2011-03-11T08:53:43Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/187This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1872000-05-31ZClosure, Function, Emergence, Semiosis and Life: The Same Idea? Reflections on the Concrete and the Abstract in Theoretical Biology.In this note some epistemological problems in general theories about living systems are considered; in particular, the question of hidden connections between different areas of experience, such as folk biology and scientific biology, and hidden connections between central concepts of theoretical biology, such as function, semiosis, closure and life.Claus Emmeche2004-04-30Z2011-03-11T08:55:32Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3594This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/35942004-04-30ZCo-ordination of actions, visual perception, and inhibition in human and non-human primate developmentThe originality of Langer's approach to cognitive
development (Langer, 1980, 1986) lies in the study of
the pragmatic components (actions, object manipulations)
of protologicomathematical and protophysical
cognition before the age of 2. This perspective falls in
line with Piaget's constructive psychology.Pr O VauclairPr O Houdé2001-03-31Z2011-03-11T08:54:36Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1423This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/14232001-03-31ZCognitive strategies for virtual learning environmentsLearning can be considered as a conjunction of a number of factors, both of internal and external origins. This paper offers a reconcilement of these factors in an interdependent unity, building a total learning environment, adding up emotional, sensorial, motivational and intellectual aspects. It also approaches the use of this reconcilement in virtual learning environments, seeking for technological tools for a permanent and renewing quest of knowledge, in contrast with the behaviorist model of repetition of content and stimulus-response conditioning.Bruno Carvalho C. SouzaRegina F. F. de A. BolzanJanae G. MartinsAlejandro M. Rodriguez2000-08-08Z2011-03-11T08:54:22Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/924This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9242000-08-08ZCoherence in a coupled network: Implication for brain functionIn many body systems, constituents interact with each other,
forming a recursive pattern of mutual interaction and giving rise
to many interesting phenomena. Based upon concepts of the modern
many body theory, a model for a generic many body system is
developed. A novel approach is used to investigate the general
features in such a system. An interesting phase transition in the
system is found. Possible link to brain dynamics is discussed. It
is shown how some of the basic brain processes, such as learning
and memory, find therein a natural explanation.
Zhen Ye2000-11-05Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1081This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10812000-11-05ZA Coherence Optimization Model of SuicideThis article describes a model that approaches both individual and social dimensions of suicide. At the individual level, the model construes suicidal thoughts as optimization of coherence between relevant cognitive unit sets (i.e. collections of interrelated cognitive units that focus on a particular external or internal object). It assumes that suicidal thoughts are mostly affected by the manner individuals construe their egos, their economic, relational, professional, and health situations, as well as life, death, and suicide. At the social level, the model argues that suicide rates depend on the distributions of these cognitive unit sets and of the connections between them. The model has been implemented in a computer program that simulates important characteristics of suicide rates.Vasile Cernat2004-05-06Z2011-03-11T08:55:33Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3612This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/36122004-05-06ZComment étudier le coût et le déroulement de la rédaction de textes ? La méthode de la triple tâche : Un bilan méthodologiqueHow can the process and cost of writing texts be studied? The triple task methodology
This methodological note has three goals. The first is to describe the various uses of the triple task paradigm (writing; quick reactions, think aloud protocols) proposed by Kellogg (1986, 1987b) and Levy and Ransdell (1994, 1995). The dependent variables related to this paradigm are examined. The second aim is to evaluate the validity of the paradigm by measuring the task's reactivity and that of verbalisation. The third goal is to offer a short review of findings related to the use of the paradigm. We conclude by showing the efficacy of the triple-task paradigm for the investigation of text writing.
A PiolatT Olive2000-10-11Z2011-03-11T08:54:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1001This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10012000-10-11ZA Comment on the Mechanism of the Generation of Aesthetic Ideas in Kant's Critique of JudgmentIn Kant's Critique of Judgment (CJ), the actual mechanism of the construction of aesthetic ideas is only briefly sketched. I suggest that there may be a connection between certain aspects of Sections 49 and 59, such that the creation of aesthetic ideas can be related to the process of "symbolic hypotyposis" (¤59.2). I will argue that the process of symbolic hypotyposis relates to the formation of aesthetic attributes, as symbols, through an analogical process; that a symbol acts, in effect, as one part of the four parts of an analogy, and that the aesthetic idea may result from the application of the process of analogy. I will suggest that aesthetic attributes may, in some cases, function as symbols, and induce what I will term "conceptual overflow," in which the normal contents of the symbol are supplemented through the analogical process.Steven Ravett Brown2000-12-28Z2011-03-11T08:54:28Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1169This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/11692000-12-28ZComparing the E-Z Reader Model to Other Models of Eye Movement Control in Reading The E-Z Reader model provides a theoretical framework for understanding how word identification, visual processing, attention, and oculomotor control jointly determine when and where the eyes move during reading. Thus, in contrast to other reading models reviewed in this article, E-Z Reader can simultaneously account for many of the known effects of linguistic, visual, and oculomotor factors on eye movement control during reading. Furthermore, the core principles of the model have been generalized to other task domains (e.g., equation solving, visual search), and are broadly consistent with what is known about the architecture of the neural systems that support reading. Rayner Reichle2001-08-30Z2011-03-11T08:54:46Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1773This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/17732001-08-30ZComplexity and Scientific ModellingThere have been many attempts at formulating measures of complexity of physical processes. Here we reject this direct approach and attribute complexity only to models of these processes in a given language, to reflect its "difficulty". A framework for modelling is outlined which includes the language of modelling, the complexity of models in that language, the error in the model's predictions and the specificity of the model. Many previous formulations of complexity can be seen as either: a special case of this framework; attempts to "objectify" complexity by considering only minimally complex models or its asymptotic behaviour; relativising it to a fixed mathematical structure in the absence of noise; misnamed in that they capture the specificity rather than the complexity. Such a framework makes sense of a number of aspects of scientific modelling. Complexity does not necessarily correspond to a lack of simplicity or lie between order and disorder. When modelling is done by agents with severe resource limitations, the acceptable trade-offs between complexity, error and specificity can determine the effective relations between these. The characterisation of noise will emerge from this. Simpler theories are not a priori more likely to be correct but sometimes preferring the simpler theory at the expense of accuracy can be a useful heuristic.Bruce Edmonds2003-06-03Z2011-03-11T08:54:51Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1989This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/19892003-06-03ZConceptual coordination bridges information processing and neurophysiologyInformation processing theories of memory and skills can be reformulated in terms of how categories are physically and temporally related, a process called conceptual coordination. Dreaming can then be understood as a story understanding process in which two mechanisms found in everyday comprehension are missing: conceiving sequences (chunking categories in time as a higher-order categorization) and coordinating across modalities (e.g., relating the sound of a word and the image of its meaning). On this basis, we can readily identify isomorphisms between dream phenomenology and neurophysiology, and explain the function of dreaming as facilitating future coordination of sequential, cross-modal categorization (i.e., REM sleep lowers activation thresholds, unlearning).William Clancey2001-06-04Z2011-03-11T08:54:38Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1502This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/15022001-06-04ZConditional Reasoning: The Importance of Individual DifferencesIn this study we explore the relation between different measures in psychometric ability tests (verbal comprehension and reasoning) and performance in Wason's selection task (Wason 1966, 1968). We also examined whether or not good and poor verbal comprehenders, according to a Spanish version of Gernsbacher's Battery Comprehension, differ in their performance in a experimental conditional task. The results of the experimental study reveal that the DAT-VR psychometric test is a good predictor for performance in Wason's selection task. The results also showed that yhere are no differences between good and poor verbal comprehenders. Finally, logical performance was influenced by the content's rule and the experimental instructions. These results may be explained by the semantic theories and do not support the formal theories of conditional reasoning.Mª Dolores ValiñaGloria SeoaneMª José FerracesMontserrat Martín2000-07-04Z2011-03-11T08:53:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/150This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1502000-07-04ZConstructional Tools as the Origin of Cognitive CapacitiesIt is argued that cognitive capacities can be understood as the outcome of the collective action of a set of agents created by tools that explore possible behaviours and train the agents to behave in such appropriate ways as may be discovered. The coherence of the whole system is assured by a combination of vetting the performance of new agents and dealing appropriately with any faults that the whole system may develop. This picture is shown to account for a range of cognitive capacities, including language.Brian D. Josephson2000-10-12Z2011-03-11T08:54:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/983This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9832000-10-12ZConstructional Tools as the Origin of Cognitive CapacitiesIt is argued that cognitive capacities can be understood as the outcome of the collective action of a set of agents created by tools that explore possible behaviours and train the agents to behave in such appropriate ways as may be discovered. The coherence of the whole system is assured by a combination of vetting the performance of new agents and dealing appropriately with any faults that the whole system may develop. This picture is shown to account for a range of cognitive capacities, including language.Brian D. Josephson2001-06-26Z2011-03-11T08:54:43Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1649This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/16492001-06-26ZThe Convergence Argument in Mind-Modelling: Scaling Up from Toyland to the Total Turing TestThe Turing Test is just a methodological constraint forcing us to scale up to an organisms' full functional
capacity. This is still just an epistemic matter, not an ontic one. Even a candidate in which we have successfully
reverse-engineered all human capacities is not guaranteed to have a mind. The right level of convergence,
however, is total robotic capacity; symbolic capacity alone (the standard Turing Test) is underdetermined,
whereas full neurosimilitude is overdetermined. Stevan Harnad2001-06-19Z2011-03-11T08:54:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1617This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/16172001-06-19ZCorrelation vs. Causality: How/Why the Mind/Body Problem Is HardThe Mind/Body Problem (M/BP) is about causation not correlation. And its solution (if there is one) will require a
mechanism in which the mental component somehow manages to play a causal role of its own, rather than just
supervening superflously on other, nonmental components that look, for all the world, as if they can do the full causal job
perfectly well without it. Correlations confirm that M does indeed "supervene" on B, but causality
is needed to show how/why M is not supererogatory; and that's the hard part. Stevan Harnad2002-01-10Z2011-03-11T08:54:52Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2011This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/20112002-01-10ZCREATIVITA¹ E PSICOPATOLOGIAIl disagio psichico può essere occasione per il paziente di giungere a contatto, pur nella sofferenza, con aspetti del
proprio Sé che altrimenti a lui resterebbero ignoti, come sono ignoti alla maggior parte delle persone ritenute
"sane". Numerosi studi sulla creatività sottolineano l¹importanza dell¹esperienza della malattia mentale per lo
sviluppo di quelle attitudini immaginative e di innovazione che sono caratteristiche della produzione creativa.
Antonio PretiPaula Miotto2000-02-16Z2011-03-11T08:54:20Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/849This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/8492000-02-16ZDetecting binocular 3-D motion in static 3-D noise: No effect of viewing distance.Relative binocular disparity cannot tell us the absolute 3-D shape of an object, nor its 3-D trajectory if it is moving, unless the visual system has independent access to how far away the object is at any moment. Indeed, as the viewing distance is changed, the same disparate retinal motions will correspond to very different real 3-D trajectories. In this paper we were interested in whether binocular 3-D motion detection is affected by viewing distance. We used a visual search task in which the observer is asked to detect a target dot, moving in 3-D, amidst 3-D stationary distractor dots. We found that distance does not affect detection performance. Motion-in-depth is consistently harder to detect than the equivalent lateral motion, for all viewing distances. For a constant retinal motion with both lateral and motion-in-depth components, detection performance is constant despite variations in viewing distance that produce large changes in the direction of the 3-D trajectory. We conclude that binocular 3-D motion detection relies on retinal, not absolute visual signals.Julie M. HarrisJane H. Sumnall2001-06-26Z2011-03-11T08:54:43Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1644This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/16442001-06-26ZDeveloping services for open eprint archives: globalisation, integration and the impact of linksThe rapid growth of scholarly information resources available in electronic form and their organisation by
digital libraries is proving fertile ground for the development of sophisticated new services, of which
citation linking will be one indispensable example. Many new projects, partnerships and commercial
agreements have been announced to build citation linking applications. This paper describes the Open
Citation (OpCit) project, which will focus on linking papers held in freely accessible eprint archives such as
the Los Alamos physics archives and the other distributed archives, and which will build on the work of
the Open Archives initiative to make the data held in such archives available to compliant services. The
paper emphasises the work of the project in the context of emerging digital library information
environments, explores how a range of new linking tools might be combined and identifies ways in which
different linking applications might converge. Some early results of linked pages from the OpCit project are
reported.
Steve HitchcockLes CarrZhuoan JiaoDonna BergmarkWendy HallCarl LagozeStevan Harnad2001-07-23Z2011-03-11T08:54:45Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1713This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/17132001-07-23ZDifferent organization of concepts and meaning systems in the two cerebral hemispheresThe left and right hemispheres are asymmetrical with respect to specific cognitive abilities as well as organization of concepts and meaning systems. Several hemi-field experiments using the notion of typicality in different cognitive domains are described in this paper, as well as experiments which tap the notion of hemispheric-specific schemata. The results suggest that the 2 cerebral hemispheres can process the same external information but in ways which suggest asymmetry in concept and meaning organization.Dahlia Zaidel2005-05-02Z2011-03-11T08:54:46Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1725This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/17252005-05-02ZDifferent organization of concepts and meaning systems in the two cerebral hemispheresThe left and right hemispheres are asymmetrical with respect to specific cognitive abilities as well as organization of concepts and meaning systems. Several hemi-field experiments using the notion of typicality in different cognitive domains are described in this paper, as well as experiments which tap the notion of hemispheric-specific schemata. The results suggest that the 2 cerebral hemispheres can process the same external information but in ways which suggest asymmetry in concept and meaning organization.Dahlia Zaidel2001-10-27Z2011-03-11T08:54:48Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1841This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/18412001-10-27ZDifferential measures of 'sustained attention' in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity or tic disorders: relations to monoamine metabolismIntroduction: Controversy exists on whether the constructs related to sustained attention and tested by paper/pencil tasks and computerized continuous-performance-tests (CPT) are similar, and whether the deficits recorded in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms (ADHD) using these different forms of testing information processing are comparable.
Methods: Signal-detection measures (d-prime and beta-criterion) and type of error were recorded on four such tests of 'sustained attention', with increasing working-memory requirements (respond to 'x', respond to 'x' only after 'a') in healthy children (n = 14, mean 10 years of age), and those with ADHD (n = 14, mean 10 years of age) or a tic syndrome (TS, n = 11, mean 11 years of age). Clinical associations were sought from 24h-urinary measures of monoamine activity (parent amines and metabolites), - dopamine (DA), HVA, noradrenaline (NA), MHPG, serotonin (5-HT), 5-HIAA.
Results:
The cancellation paper/pencil test revealed no group differences for errors or signal detection measures. In contrast, on the CPTx ADHD children made more omission and commission errors than controls, but TS children made mostly omissions. This reflected the poor perceptual sensitivity (d-prime, d') for ADHD and conservative response criteria (beta) for TS children.
This group difference extended to the CPT ax which was shown on a regression analysis to test for putative working-memory-related abilities as well as concentration. In all children immediate response-feedback (vs. feedback at the end of the test) reduced omissions, and modestly improved d'. CPT ax performance related negatively to dopamine metabolism in controls and to serotonin metabolism in the ADHD group. But comparisons between the metabolites in the ADHD group suggest that increased serotonin- and decreased noradrenaline- with respect to dopamine-metabolism may detract from CPT performance in terms of d-prime.
Conclusions: CPT tasks demonstrated a perceptual-based impairment in ADHD and response conservatism in TS patients independent of difficulty. Catecholamine activity was implicated in the promotion of perceptual processing in normal and ADHD children, but serotonin activity may contribute to poor CPTax performance (emphasis on working-memory function) in ADHD patients.
Robert D. Oades2007-04-04Z2011-03-11T08:56:49Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5474This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/54742007-04-04ZThe dimensions of personality in humans and other animals: A comparative and evolutionary perspectiveThis paper considers the structure and proximate mechanisms of personality in humans and other animals. Significant similarities were found between personality structures and mechanisms across species in at least two broad traits: Extraversion and Neuroticism. The factor space tapped by these personality dimensions is viewed as a general integrative framework for comparative and evolutionary studies of personality in humans and other animals. Most probably, the cross-species similarities between the most broad personality dimensions like Extraversion and Neuroticism as well as other Big Five factors reflect conservative evolution: constrains on evolution imposed by physiological, genetic and cognitive mechanisms. Lower-order factors, which are more species- and situation-specific, would be adaptive, reflecting correlated selection on and trade-offs between many traits.Dr. Sergey Budaev2007-04-04Z2011-03-11T08:56:49Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5475This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/54752007-04-04ZThe dimensions of personality in humans and other animals: A comparative and evolutionary perspectiveThis paper considers the structure and proximate mechanisms of personality in humans and other animals. Significant similarities were found between personality structures and mechanisms across species in at least two broad traits: Extraversion and Neuroticism. The factor space tapped by these personality dimensions is viewed as a general integrative framework for comparative and evolutionary studies of personality in humans and other animals. Most probably, the cross-species similarities between the most broad personality dimensions like Extraversion and Neuroticism as well as other Big Five factors reflect conservative evolution: constrains on evolution imposed by physiological, genetic and cognitive mechanisms. Lower-order factors, which are more species- and situation-specific, would be adaptive, reflecting correlated selection on and trade-offs between many traits.Dr. Sergey Budaev2000-02-04Z2011-03-11T08:53:41Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/138This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1382000-02-04ZDirect evidence for local oscillatory current sources and intracortical phase gradients in turtle visual cortexVisual stimuli induce oscillations in the membrane potential of neurons in cortices of several species. In turtle, these oscillations take the form of linear and circular traveling waves. Such waves may be a consequence of a pacemaker that emits periodic pulses of excitation that propagate across a network of excitable neuro-nal tissue or may result from continuous and possibly reconfigu-rable phase shifts along a network with multiple weakly coupled neuronal oscillators. As a means to resolve the origin of wave propagation in turtle visual cortex, we performed simultaneous measurements of the local field potential at a series of depths throughout this cortex. Measurements along a single radial pen-etration revealed the presence of broadband current sources, with a center frequency near 20 Hz ( g band), that were activated by visual stimulation. The spectral coherence between sources at two well-separated loci along a rostral caudal axis revealed the pres-ence of systematic timing differences between localized cortical oscillators. These multiple oscillating current sources and their timing differences in a tangential plane are interpreted as the neuronal activity that underlies the wave motion revealed in previous imaging studies. The present data provide direct evidence for the inference from imaging of bidirectional wave motion that the stimulus-induced electrical waves in turtle visual cortex corre-spond to phase shifts in a network of coupled neuronal oscillators.James C. PrechtlT.H. BullockDavid. Kleinfeld2001-11-30Z2011-03-11T08:54:50Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1936This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/19362001-11-30ZDistinguishing kinds of prior dominance and subordination experiences in male Green swordtail fish (Xiphophorus helleri).In experiments, there are usually two general ways of obtaining dominants and subordinates to test for the effect of recent experience upon ulterior behaviour and dominance. One is to impose such an experience on the contestants by a priori deciding which individual of the pair will become the dominant and which will become the subordinate through the use of rigged contests. The second technique is to let contestants self-select the winner and loser by waiting for the spontaneous outcome of dyadic encounters between two usually well matched opponents. These two techniques of obtaining dominants and subordinates probably represent extreme cases on a single continuum of investment made by animals to settle dominance. To test this, we compared dominants and subordinates obtained from these two techniques in Xiphophorus fish males. It was found that pairs obtained through rigged contests (R) were much more aggressive in subsequent encounters than pairs in which the dominant and subordinate could self-select (S). They recuperated more rapidly from handling, initiated contact earlier, took more time to assess each other, and fought for a longer period of time. Prior-winners and prior-losers of the R condition more frequently relied on aggressive behaviour during contest than that of the S condition. As a consequence, prior-winners and prior-losers of the R condition won equally the subsequent contest. On the contrary, prior-winners of the S condition defeated their prior-loser opponent in a majority of cases. These results can be tentatively explained by the following principle: winning or losing against a well matched opponent would leave more experience than winning over a much weaker opponent, or losing to a much stronger one. This reinforces the hypothesis that prior-experiences are not qualitative states but come in various degrees.
Jacques P. BeaugrandClaude Goulet2000-10-29Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1060This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10602000-10-29ZDo patients with damage to the anterior cingulate and adjacent regions produce an error-related negativity (ERN)?Averaged EEG trials to erroneous responses consistently show a negative-going waveform which has been coined the error-related negativity (ERN) (for a summary see Falkenstein et al., 2000). Evidence points to the neural generator of the ERN to be distributed somewhere along the medial prefrontal cortex, most likely within the anterior cingulate. This suggests that patients with lesions in the anterior cingulate region should not produce an ERN. In order to test this hypothesis, we investigated five patients with a ruptured aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery (AACA) leading to damage of neural substrates in the anterior cingulate region. Four of the five patients did not produce an ERN in one paradigm, or they produced a highly deviant waveform. These results contrast with findings showing that patients with damage involving the lateral prefrontal cortex do produce an ERN (Gehring & Knight, 2000). This dissociation suggests that the anterior cingulate region is essential to initiate the ERN response. One patient showed an ERN in both paradigms possibly due to damage that differed from that of the other patients, or individual variation.
It has further been suggested that elicitation of the ERN is dependent on overt error awareness. Two of our patients showed relatively good cognitive functioning compared to the other patients, and during EEG recording they noticed when they had made an error as indicated by swearing, comments or gestures. Nevertheless, one of the two patient clearly did not show an ERN in both paradigms, and the other patient did show an ERN in one but not in the other paradigm. It thus seems that awareness of errors as signaled by overt error detection may be mediated by circuits outside of those necessary for ERN production. Brigitte StemmerSidney J. SegalowitzWolfgang WitzkeSieglinde LacherPaul Walter Schoenle2001-02-12Z2011-03-11T08:54:29Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1296This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/12962001-02-12ZDuplication of modules facilitates the evolution of functional specializationThe evolution of simulated robots with three different architectures is studied. We compared a non-modular feed forward network, a hardwired modular and a duplication-based modular motor control network. We conclude that both modular architectures outperform the non-modular architecture, both in terms of rate of adaptation as well as the level of adaptation achieved. The main difference between the hardwired and duplication-based modular architectures is that in the latter the modules reached a much higher degree of functional specialization of their motor control units with regard to high level behavioral functions. The hardwired architectures reach the same level of performance, but have a more distributed assignment of functional tasks to the motor control units. We conclude that the mechanism through which functional specialization is achieved is similar to the mechanism proposed for the evolution of duplicated genes. It is found that the duplication of multifunctional modules first leads to a change in the regulation of the module, leading to a differentiation of the functional context in which the module is used. Then the module adapts to the new functional context. After this second step the system is locked into a functionally specialized state. We suggest that functional specialization may be an evolutionary absorption state.Raffaele Calabretta2001-02-12Z2011-03-11T08:54:32Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1304This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/13042001-02-12ZDuplication of modules facilitates the evolution of functional specializationThe evolution of simulated robots with three different architectures is studied. We compared a non-modular feed forward network, a hardwired modular and a duplication-based modular motor control network. We conclude that both modular architectures outperform the non-modular architecture, both in terms of rate of adaptation as well as the level of adaptation achieved. The main difference between the hardwired and duplication-based modular architectures is that in the latter the modules reached a much higher degree of functional specialization of their motor control units with regard to high level behavioral functions. The hardwired architectures reach the same level of performance, but have a more distributed assignment of functional tasks to the motor control units. We conclude that the mechanism through which functional specialization is achieved is similar to the mechanism proposed for the evolution of duplicated genes. It is found that the duplication of multifunctional modules first leads to a change in the regulation of the module, leading to a differentiation of the functional context in which the module is used. Then the module adapts to the new functional context. After this second step the system is locked into a functionally specialized state. We suggest that functional specialization may be an evolutionary absorption state.Raffaele CalabrettaStefano NolfiDomenico ParisiGunter P. Wagner2001-07-18Z2011-03-11T08:54:45Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1701This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/17012001-07-18ZE-Knowledge: Freeing the Refereed Journal Corpus Online.The author of this paper has been advocating for some time that online public self-archiving of the refereed journal literature be introduced without delay. Indeed he sees it as inevitable in all disciplines within a very short time (and as optimal for research and researchers). He also argues that it can be achieved without compromising the peer reviewed journal literature in any way.
What follows here is a point-by-point critique of two prominent prior published critiques (appearing in Science and the New England Journal of Medicine) of a still earlier proposal along the lines championed here, by the former Director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), Harold Varmus. The Varmus proposal was to establish a free archive for the biomedical literature called "E-Biomed" (since renamed "PubMed Central" and currently being implemented along somewhat different lines). The two critiques of the Varmus proposal were by Floyd Bloom, Editor of Science, and by Arnold Relman, Editor of the New England Journal of Medicine. Both critiques are replied to and critiqued in turn in quote/commentary format below.Stevan Harnad2000-10-26Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1058This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10582000-10-26ZEditorial: Alan Turing and Artificial IntelligenceThis is the preface to a special issue of JoLLI on ``Alan Turing and Artificial Intelligence.''Varol AkmanPatrick Blackburn2004-10-08Z2011-03-11T08:55:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3852This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/38522004-10-08ZThe Effect of Rise Time on the Detection of Traffic SignalsThe rise time of a light source is the time it takes to reach full light output after application of power. Different light sources used in traffic signals have different minimum rise times. LEDs have minimum rise times in the order of nanoseconds, while incandescent lamps have minimum rise times in the order of tens of milliseconds. Whether these rise times are achieved in practice depends on the characteristics of the power supply applied to the light source. Measurements of the rise times of actual traffic signals showed that LED traffic signals had rise times of approximately 20 ms while incandescent traffic signals had a range of rise times from 90 ms to 200 ms. This study was undertaken to determine if such dfferences in rise times influence detection of the traffic signal, measured by the reaction time to onset of the traffic signal and percentage of missed signals.A. BiermanP. BoyceC. HunterJ. BulloughM. FigueiroK. Conway2006-04-16Z2011-03-11T08:56:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4837This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/48372006-04-16ZThe effects of age-of-acquisition and frequency-of-occurrence in visual word recognition: Further evidence from the Dutch languageIt has been claimed that the frequency eOEect in visual word naming is an artefact of age-of-acquisition: Words are named faster not because they are encountered more often in texts, but because they have been acquired earlier. In a series of experiments using immediate naming, lexical decision, and masked priming, we found that frequency had a clear eOEect in lexical tasks when age-of-acquisition is controlled for. At the same time, age-ofacquisition was a significant variable in all tasks, whereas imageability had no effect. These results corroborate findings previously reported in English and Dutch.Marc BrysbaertMarielle LangeIlse van Wijnendaele2001-11-18Z2011-03-11T08:54:49Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1890This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/18902001-11-18ZElectronic Media and the Future of the History of PsychologyThe use of electronic media is rapidly growing in many areas of scholarly publiscation. This paper surveys some of its current uses in the history of psychology, and dicsusses future directions.Christopher D. Green2000-07-28Z2011-03-11T08:54:22Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/906This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9062000-07-28ZThe Emergence of a New Paradigm in Ape Language ResearchIn place of the information-processing model that has hitherto dominated ape language research, we argue that it is imperative that we now shift to a dynamic systems paradigm, which places the emphasis on the dyad rather than the isolated individual; which sees ape communication as a co-regulated process, rather than a linear and discrete sequence; which focuses on the variability of ape communicative behaviours, rather than treating them as phenotypic traits; and which is thus better able to account for both the social complexity and the developmental character of nonhuman primate communicative abilities.Stuart ShankerBarbara King2000-10-19Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1042This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10422000-10-19ZEmpathy: Its ultimate and proximate basesThe empathy literature is characterized by debate regarding the nature of the phenomenon. We propose a unified theory of empathy, divided into ultimate and proximate levels, grounded in the emotional link between individuals. On an ultimate level, emotional linkage supports group alarm, vicariousness of emotions, mother-infant responsiveness, and the modeling of competitors and predators; these exist across species and greatly effect reproductive success. Proximately, emotional linkage arises from a direct mapping of another's behavioral state onto a subject's behavioral representations, which activate responses in the subject. This ultimate and proximate account parsimoniously explains different phylogenetic and ontogenetic levels of empathy.Stephanie D. PrestonFrans B. M. de Waal2000-07-17Z2011-03-11T08:54:21Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/871This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/8712000-07-17ZAn empirical study of the perception of language rhythmLinguists have traditionally classified languages into three rhythm classes, namely stress-timed, syllable-timed and mora-timed languages. However, this classification has remained controversial for various reasons: the search for reliable acoustic cues to the different rhythm types has long remained elusive; some languages are claimed to belong to none of the three classes; and no perceptual study has bolstered the notion. However, Ramus, Nespor & Mehler (1999), Cognition 73, 265-292, have recently proposed an acoustic/phonetic model of the different types of linguistic rhythm, and of their categorization as such by listeners. Their simulations make predictions as to which languages can be discriminated on the basis of their rhythm. Here, we present perceptual experiments that directly test the notion of rhythm classes, the simulations' predictions and the question of intermediate languages. Language discrimination experiments were run using a speech resynthesis technique to ensure that only rhythmical cues are available to the subjects. Languages investigated are English, Spanish, Catalan and Polish. Discrimination results are compatible with the rhythm class hypothesis, but Polish rhythm seems to be different from any other language studied and thus may constitute a new rhythm class. A revised version of the rhythm perception model is proposed to accommodate these findings and more simulations are run to generate new predictions.Franck RamusEmmanuel DupouxRenate ZanglJacques Mehler2002-04-12Z2011-03-11T08:54:55Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2177This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/21772002-04-12ZERP analysis of cognitive sequencing : a left-anterior negativity related to structural transformation processingA major objective of cognitive neuroscience is to identify those neurocomputational processes that may be shared by multiple cognitive functions vs those that are highly specifc. This problem of identifying general vs specialized functions is of particular interest in the domain of language processing. Within this domain, event related brain potential (ERP) studies have demonstrated a left anterior negativity (LAN) in a range 300 to 700 ms, associated with syntactic processing, often linked to grammatical function words. These words have little or no
semantic content, but rather play a role in encoding syntactic structure required for parsing. In the current study we test the hypothesis that the LAN reflects the operation of a more general sequence processing capability in which special symbols encode structural information that, when combined with past elements in the sequence, allows the prediction of successor elements. We recorded ERPs during a non-linguistic sequencing task that required subjects (nà10) to process special symbols possessing the functional property defined above. When compared to ERPs in a control condition, function symbol processing elicits a left anterior negative shift between with temporal and spatial characteristics quite similar to the LAN described during function word processing in language, supporting
our hypothesis. These results are discussed in the
context of related studies of syntactic and cognitive sequence processing. Michel HoenPeter-Ford Dominey2000-05-09Z2011-03-11T08:53:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/143This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1432000-05-09ZError detection and the Error-related ERP in patients with lesions involving the anterior cingulate and adjacent regionsEvidence indicates that the anterior cingulate region generates what appears to be a specific electrophysiological marker for the monitoring of error responses. When an auditory or visual stimulus is presented in such a way that the subject is likely to make an error, averaged encephalography (EEG) trials to erroneous responses consistently show a negative-going waveform which has been coined the error-related negativity (ERN). We examined ERNs in patients with a ruptured aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery (AACA), who are particularly prone to showing damage in the anterior cingulate and adjacent regions, and frequently display a variety of behavioral and cognitive disturbances such as disorientation, confabulation, apathy, unawareness of deficit, and problems of attention, control and monitoring. We found that these patients generally did not produce an ERN in comparison to healthy control participants suggesting that the anterior cingulate is essential for the ERN response. However, the patients' error rates were comparable to that of the controls and they showed a dissociation between overt error awareness and ERN production, suggesting that the ERN does not simply represent an error detection signal.Brigitte StemmerSidney J. SegalowitzWolfgang WitzkeSieglinde LacherPaul Walter Schönle2001-01-22Z2011-03-11T08:54:28Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1205This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/12052001-01-22ZThe evolution of consciousnessHow might consciousness have evolved? Unfortunately for the prospects of providing a convincing answer to this question, there is no agreed account of what consciousness is. So any attempt at an answer will have to fragment along a number of different lines of enquiry. More fortunately, perhaps, there is general agreement that a number of distinct notions of consciousness need to be distinguished from one another; and there is also broad agreement as to which of these is particularly problematic - namely phenomenal consciousness, or the kind of conscious mental state which it is like something to have, which has a distinctive subjective feel or phenomenology (henceforward referred to as p-consciousness). I shall survey the prospects for an evolutionary explanation of p-consciousness, on a variety of competing accounts of its nature. My goal is to use evolutionary considerations to adjudicate between some of those accounts.Peter Carruthers2002-01-11Z2011-03-11T08:54:52Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2023This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/20232002-01-11ZEvolution of Symbolisation in Chimpanzees and Neural Netsfrom Introduction: Animal communication systems and human languages can be characterised by the type of cognitive abilities that are required. If we consider the main semiotic distinction between communication using icons, signals, or symbols (Peirce, 1955; Harnad, 1990; Deacon, 1997) we can identify different cognitive loads for each type of reference. The use and understanding of icons require instinctive behaviour (e.g. emotions) or simple perceptual processes (e.g. visual similarities between an icon and its meaning). Communication systems that use signals are characterised by referential associations between objects and visual or auditory signals. They require the cognitive ability to learn stimulus associations, such as in conditional learning. Symbols have double associations. Initially, symbolic systems require the establishment of associations between signals and objects. Secondly, other types of relationships are learned between the signals themselves. The use of rule for the logical combination of symbols is an example of symbolic relationship. Symbolisation is the ability to acquire and handle symbols and symbolic relationships.
Angelo Cangelosi2000-03-04Z2011-03-11T08:53:53Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/403This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4032000-03-04ZEVOLUTION, COMMUNICATION AND THE PROPER FUNCTION OF LANGUAGELanguage is both a biological and a cultural phenomenon. Our aim here is to discuss, in an evolutionary perspective, the articulation of these two aspects of language. For this, we draw on the general conceptual framework developed by Ruth Millikan (1984) while at the same time dissociating ourselves from her view of language.Gloria OriggiDan Sperber2002-01-13Z2011-03-11T08:54:52Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2030This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/20302002-01-13ZEvolution, Communication, and the proper function of languageLanguage is both a biological and a cultural phenomenon. Our aim here is to discuss, in an evolutionary perspective, the articulation of these two aspects of language. For this, we draw on the general conceptual framework developed by Ruth Millikan (1984) while at the same time dissociating ourselves from her view of language.Gloria OriggiDan Sperber2000-01-28Z2011-03-11T08:53:41Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/132This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1322000-01-28ZThe evolutionary origin of the mammalian isocortex: insights from molecular developmental biologyThe isocortex is a distinctive feature of the mammalian brain, which has no clear counterpart in the cerebral hemispheres of other amniotes. Historically, there have been long-standing controversies regarding possible homologues of this structure in reptiles and birds. In these vertebrate classes, a structure denominated dorsal ventricular ridge develops in the lateral aspect of the hemisphere and, like the mammalian isocortex, receives ascending auditory and visual tectofugal projections. On these grounds, it has been postulated that part of the dorsal ventricular ridge is homologue to part of the mammalian isocortex (i.e. the auditory and the extrastriate visual cortices). Dissenting views have claimed that the dorsal ventricular ridge originates from a topographically different part of the hemisphere than the isocortex, and therefore there is no embryonic similarity between these two structures. Furthermore, recent evidence on the expression patterns of regulatory genes strongly suggests that a large part of the dorsal ventricular ridge arises from a region denominated the intermediate territory or ventral pallium, which in mammals gives rise to parts of the amygdalar complex among other structures. Considering that embryological criteria are in some cases more reliable to determine homology than comparisons of adult states, we are inclined for the developmental approach, which prescribes non-homology between the isocortex and the dorsal ventricular ridge. Additionally, we suggest a scenario for the origin of the isocortex as an expansion of the reptilian dorsal cortex, which is consistent with current evidence.Francisco AboitizDaniver MoralesJuan. Montiel2004-12-04Z2011-03-11T08:55:45Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3971This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/39712004-12-04ZFactor structure and familiality of first-rank symptoms in sibling pairs with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorderBackground Since their introduction as diagnostic criteria by Schneider in 1937, nuclear symptoms have played a key role in concepts of schizophrenia, but their relationship to each other and to genetic predisposition has been unclear.
Aims To ascertain the factor structure and familiality of nuclear symptoms.
Methods Nuclear (Schneiderian) symptoms were extracted from case notes and interviews in a study of 103 sibling pairs with DSM-III-R schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.
Results Principal components analysis demonstrated two major factors : one, accounting for about 50% of the variance, groups thought withdrawal, insertion and broadcasting, with delusions of control ; and the second, accounting for <20% of the variance, groups together third-person voices, thought echo and running commentary. Factor I was significantly correlated within sibling pairs.
Conclusions The correlation within sibling pairs suggests that, contrary to the conclusion of some previous studies, some nuclear symptoms do show a degree of familiality and therefore perhaps heritability.
Dr J LoftusProf LE DeLisiProf TJ Crow2004-03-04Z2011-03-11T08:55:28Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3445This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/34452004-03-04ZThe failure to use gender information in parsing: A comment on van Berkum, Brown, and Hagoort (1999)We critically review the empirical evidence published by van Berkum, Brown and Hagoort (1999a, 1999b) against syntax-first models of sentence parsing. According to van Berkum et al., discourse factors and word gender information are used instantaneously to guide the parser. First, we note that the density of the experimental trials (relative to fillers) and the slow presentation rate of the van Berkum et al. design seem likely to have elicited the use of tactics involving rapid re-analysis of the material. Second, we present new data from a questionnaire study showing that the grammatical gender information of a relative pronoun in Dutch is often completely ignored, even during the wrap-up at the end of the sentence. M. BrysbaertD.C. Mitchell2002-08-27Z2011-03-11T08:54:59Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2425This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/24252002-08-27ZFitting the Means to the Ends: One School’s Experience with Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Curriculum Evaluation During Curriculum Change
Curriculum evaluation plays an important role in substantive curriculum change. The experience of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) with evaluation processes developed for the new Integrated Medical Curriculum (IMC) illustrates how evaluation methods may be chosen to match the goals of the curriculum evaluation process. Quantitative data such as ratings of courses or scores on external exams are useful for comparing courses or assessing whether standards have been met. Qualitative data such as students’ comments about aspects of courses are useful for eliciting explanations of observed phenomena and describing relationships between curriculum features and outcomes. The curriculum evaluation process designed for the IMC used both types of evaluation methods in a complementary fashion. Quantitative and qualitative methods have been used for formative evaluation of the new IMC courses. They are now being incorporated into processes to judge the IMC against its goals and objectives.
Ann W. Frye PhDDavid J. Solomon PhDSteven A. Lieberman MDRuth E. Levine MD2001-01-06Z2011-03-11T08:54:28Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1183This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/11832001-01-06ZFrom Is to Ought: Another WayArgues for an objective protomoral normativity in terms of what an adaptation is for, without falling victim to Hume's Law, open-question arguments, queerness arguments, and internalism/externalism debates. Also provides a general strategy for naturalizing objective moral normativity which is likewise proof against the usual-suspect objections.John F. Post2001-06-26Z2011-03-11T08:54:43Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1647This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/16472001-06-26ZFrom Robotic Toil to Symbolic Theft: Grounding Transfer from Entry-Level to Higher-Level CategoriesNeural network models of categorical perception (compression of within-category similarity
and dilation of between-category differences) are applied to the symbol-grounding problem
(of how to connect symbols with meanings) by connecting analog sensorimotor projections to
arbitrary symbolic representations via learned category-invariance detectors in a hybrid
symbolic/nonsymbolic system. Our nets are trained to categorize and name 50x50 pixel
images (e.g., circles, ellipses, squares and rectangles) projected onto the receptive field of a
7x7 retina. They first learn to do prototype matching and then entry-level naming for the four
kinds of stimuli, grounding their names directly in the input patterns via hidden-unit
representations ("sensorimotor toil"). We show that a higher-level categorization (e.g.,
"symmetric" vs. "asymmetric") can learned in two very different ways: either (1) directly
from the input, just as with the entry-level categories (i.e., by toil), or (2) indirectly, from
boolean combinations of the grounded category names in the form of propositions describing
the higher-order category ("symbolic theft"). We analyze the architectures and input
conditions that allow grounding (in the form of compression/separation in internal similarity
space) to be "transferred" in this second way from directly grounded entry-level category
names to higher-order category names. Such hybrid models have implications for the
evolution and learning of language.Angelo CangelosiAlberto GrecoStevan Harnad2001-06-19Z2011-03-11T08:54:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1619This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/16192001-06-19ZFrom Sensorimotor Praxis and Pantomine to Symbolic RepresentationsWhat lies on the two sides of the linguistic divide is fairly clear: On one side, you have organisms
buffeted about to varying degrees, depending on their degree of autonomy and plasticity, by the states of affairs
in the world they live in. On the other side, you have organisms capable of describing and explaining the states
of affairs in the world they live in. Language is what distinguishes one side from the other. How did we get here
from there? In principle, one can tell a seamless story about how inborn, involuntary communicative signals and
voluntary instrumental praxis could have been shaped gradually, through feedback from their consequences,
first into analog pantomime with communicative intent, and then into arbitrary category names combined into
all-powerful, truth-value-bearing propositions, freed from the iconic "shape" of their referents and able to tell all.
The attendant increase in speed and scope in acquiring and sharing information can be demonstrated in simple
artificial life simulations that place the old and new means into direct competition: Symbolic theft always beats
sensorimotor toil, and the strategy is evolutionarily stable, as long as the bottom-level categories are grounded in
sensorimotor toil.Stevan Harnad2002-06-29Z2011-03-11T08:54:56Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2302This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/23022002-06-29ZA Functional Architecture Approach to Neural SystemsThe technology for the design of systems to perform extremely complex combinations of real-time functionality has developed over a long period. This technology is based on the use of a hardware architecture with a physical separation into memory and processing, and a software architecture which divides functionality into a disciplined hierarchy of software components which exchange unambiguous information. This technology experiences difficulty in design of systems to perform parallel processing, and extreme difficulty in design of systems which can heuristically change their own functionality. These limitations derive from the approach to information exchange between functional components. A design approach in which functional components can exchange ambiguous information leads to systems with the recommendation architecture which are less subject to these limitations. Biological brains have been constrained by natural pressures to adopt functional architectures with this different information exchange approach. Neural networks have not made a complete shift to use of ambiguous information, and do not address adequate management of context for ambiguous information exchange between modules. As a result such networks cannot be scaled to complex functionality. Simulations of systems with the recommendation architecture demonstrate the capability to heuristically organize to perform complex functionality.
l andrew coward2001-03-08Z2011-03-11T08:54:35Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1349This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/13492001-03-08ZGame Harmony: A Short NoteStrategic uncertainty in game theory may have two different general sources, either alone or in combination: uncertainty because of the existence of a coordination problem, and uncertainty because of a conflict between one own and the other n players' interests. Game harmony is conceived as a generic game property that describes how harmonious (non-conflictual) or disharmonious (conflictual) the interests of the n players are, as embodied in the game payoffs. Pure coordination games are examples of games with maximal game harmony; zero sum games are examples of games with very low game harmony.
This note briefly describes attempts to measure game harmony simply as a real-valued number. Daniel John Zizzo2000-11-02Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1078This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10782000-11-02ZGreat Expectations: The Evolutionary Psychology of Faith-Healing and the Placebo responsenoneNicholas Humphrey2003-04-15Z2011-03-11T08:55:15Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2867This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/28672003-04-15ZGreat Expectations: The Evolutionary Psychology of Faith-Healing and the Placebo responsenoneNicholas Humphrey2001-11-18Z2011-03-11T08:54:49Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1892This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/18922001-11-18ZHebbian Learning and
Temporary Storage in the Convergence-Zone Model of Episodic MemoryThe Convergence-Zone model shows how sparse, random memory patterns can lead to one-shot storage and high capacity in the hippocampal component of the episodic memory system. This paper presents a biologically more realistic version of the model, with continuously-weighted connections and storage through Hebbian learning and normalization. In contrast to the gradual weight adaptation in many neural network models, episodic memory turns out to require high learning rates. Normalization allows earlier patterns to be overwritten,
introducing time-dependent forgetting similar to the hippocampus.Michael HoweRisto Miikkulainen2000-11-23Z2011-03-11T08:54:22Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/918This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9182000-11-23ZHow to solve the mind-body problemNoneNicholas Humphrey2003-04-15Z2011-03-11T08:55:15Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2869This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/28692003-04-15ZHow to solve the mind-body problemNoneNicholas Humphrey2001-05-09Z2011-03-11T08:54:38Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1491This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/14912001-05-09ZHow Well Do We Know Our Own Conscious Experience? The Case of Human EcholocationResearchers from the 1940's through the present have found that normal, sighted people can echolocate - that is, detect properties of silent objects by attending to sound reflected from them. We argue that echolocation is a normal part of our conscious, perceptual experience. Despite this, we argue that people are often grossly mistaken about their experience of echolocation. If so, echolocation provides a counterexample to the view that we cannot be seriously mistaken about our own current conscious experience.Eric SchwitzgebelMichael S Gordon2000-11-23Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1076This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10762000-11-23ZIn Reply [Reply to Commentaries on "How to Solve the Mind-Body Problem"]noneNicholas Humphrey2003-04-15Z2011-03-11T08:55:15Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2870This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/28702003-04-15ZIn Reply [Reply to Commentaries on "How to Solve the Mind-Body Problem"]noneNicholas Humphrey2004-05-24Z2011-03-11T08:55:36Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3639This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/36392004-05-24ZIndependent component approach to the analysis of EEG and MEG recordingsMultichannel recordings of the electromagnetic fields
emerging from neural currents in the brain generate large amounts
of data. Suitable feature extraction methods are, therefore, useful
to facilitate the representation and interpretation of the data.
Recently developed independent component analysis (ICA) has
been shown to be an efficient tool for artifact identification and
extraction from electroencephalographic (EEG) and magnetoen-
cephalographic (MEG) recordings. In addition, ICA has been ap-
plied to the analysis of brain signals evoked by sensory stimuli. This
paper reviews our recent results in this field.
Dr Ricardo VigárioMr Jaakko Särelä4715Dr Veikko JousmäkiDr Matti Hämäläinenprof. Erkki Oja2007-04-04Z2011-03-11T08:56:49Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5479This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/54792007-04-04ZIndidivual differences in the behaviour of fishesThis is the official printed Russian summary of PhD Thesis, describing a series of studies of the phenotypic organization and ecological significance of individual differences in fish behavior. The following species were studied: guppy Poecilia retuculata, lion-headed cichlid Steatocranus cassuarius, convict cichlid Archocentrus nigrofasciatum, wrasses Symphodus ocellatus, S. tinca, and two species of sturgeons Acipenser stellatus and A. gueldenstaedti. In this Thesis, I developed methods for the analysis of individual differences in fish behavior and studied their structure, development, and ecological and evolutionary significance.Dr. Sergey Budaev2001-05-22Z2011-03-11T08:54:38Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1507This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/15072001-05-22ZThe influence of semantic context on initial eye landing sites in wordsTo determine the role of ongoing processing on eye guidance in reading, two studies examined the effects of semantic context on the eyes' initial landing position in words of different levels of processing diffculty. Results from both studies clearly indicate a shift of the initial fixation location towards the end of the words for words that can be predicted from a prior semantic context. However, shifts occur only in high-frequency words and with prior fixations
close to the beginning of the target word. These results suggest that ongoing perceptual and linguistic processes can affect the decision of where to send the eyes next in reading. They are explained in terms of the easiness of processing associated with the target words when located
in parafoveal vision. It is concluded that two critical factors might help observing effects of linguistic variables on initial landing sites, namely, the frequency of the target word and the position where the eyes are launched from as regards to the beginning of the target word. Results also provide evidence for an early locus of semantic context effects in reading.Frédéric LavigneFrançoise VituGéry d'Ydewalle2001-07-18Z2011-03-11T08:54:45Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1703This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/17032001-07-18ZIngelfinger Over-Ruled: The Role of the Web in the Future of Refereed Medical Journal PublishingUnder the editorship of Franz Ingelfinger, the New England Journal of Medicine adopted a policy of declining to referee or
publish research that had been previously published or publicised elsewhere. Other biomedical journals, as well as
broad-spectrum journals such as Science, have since adopted this "Ingelfinger rule". The four rationales underlying this rule, formulated in the Gutenberg era, are examined here to see which of them are still valid post-Gutenberg.Stevan Harnad2008-11-02T10:00:10Z2011-03-11T08:57:13Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6250This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/62502008-11-02T10:00:10ZIngested bovine amniotic fluid enhances morphine antinociception in ratsIngestion by rats of rat placenta or amniotic fluid enhances opioid-mediated, or partly opioid-mediated, antinociception produced by morphine injection, vaginal or cervical stimulation, late pregnancy, and foot shock. This phenomenon is believed to be produced by a placental
opioid-enhancing factor (POEF). Ingestion by rats of human or dolphin placenta has also been shown to enhance opioid antinociception, suggesting that POEF may be common to many mammalian species. We tested bovine amniotic fluid (BAF) for its capacity to enhance morphine antinociception in female Long-Evans rats, as determined by percentage change from baseline tail-flick latency in response to radiant heat, and we report that 0.50 mL BAF effectively enhanced morphine antinociception but did not by itself produce antinociception. The efficacy of POEF across species suggests that POEF may have been functionally (and structurally) conserved during evolution. Furthermore, the availability of POEF at parturition, as well as its ability to enhance pregnancy-mediated antinociception without
disrupting maternal behavior, offers a tenable explanation for the long-debated ultimate causality of placentophagia.James W. CorpeningJean C. DoerrDr. Mark B. Kristalkristal@buffalo.edu2001-07-18Z2011-03-11T08:54:45Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1697This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/16972001-07-18ZIntegrating, Navigating and Analyzing Eprint Archives Through Open Citation Linking (the OpCit Project)The Los Alamos Eprint Archive (LANL) is a public repository for a growing proportion of the current research literature in Physics. The Open Citation-linking Project (OpCit) is making this resource still more powerful and useful for its current physicist users by connecting each paper to each paper it cites; this can be extended to all the rest of the disciplines in other Open Archives designed to be interoperable through compliance with the Santa Fe Convention. A citation-linked online digital corpus also allows powerful new forms of online informetric analysis that go far beyond static citation analysis, measuring researchers' usage of all phases of the literature, from pre-refereeing preprint to post-refereeing postprint, from download to citation, yielding an embryology of learned inquiry.Stevan HarnadLeslie Carr2001-05-26Z2011-03-11T08:54:39Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1513This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/15132001-05-26ZThe intensity JND comes from Poisson neural noise: Implications for image codingWhile the problems of image coding and audio coding have frequently
been assumed to have similarities, specific sets of relationships
have remained vague. One area where there should be a meaningful
comparison is with central masking noise estimates, which
define the codec's quantizer step size.
In the past few years, progress has been made on this problem
in the auditory domain (Allen and Neely, J. Acoust. Soc. Am.,
{\bf 102}, 1997, 3628-46; Allen, 1999, Wiley Encyclopedia of
Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Vol. 17, p. 422-437,
Ed. Webster, J.G., John Wiley \& Sons, Inc, NY).
It is possible that some useful insights might now be obtained
by comparing the auditory and visual cases.
In the auditory case it has been shown, directly from psychophysical
data, that below about 5 sones
(a measure of loudness, a unit of psychological intensity),
the loudness JND is proportional to the square root of the loudness
$\DL(\L) \propto \sqrt{\L(I)}$.
This is true for both wideband noise and tones, having
a frequency of 250 Hz or greater.
Allen and Neely interpret this to mean that the internal noise is
Poisson, as would be expected from neural point process noise.
It follows directly that the Ekman fraction (the relative loudness JND),
decreases as one over the square root of the loudness, namely
$\DL/\L \propto 1/\sqrt{\L}$.
Above ${\L} = 5$ sones, the relative loudness JND
$\DL/\L \approx 0.03$ (i.e., Ekman law).
It would be very interesting to know if this same
relationship holds for the visual case between brightness $\B(I)$
and the brightness JND $\DB(I)$. This might be tested by measuring
both the brightness JND and the brightness as a function of
intensity, and transforming the intensity JND into a brightness JND, namely
\[
\DB(I) = \B(I+ \DI) - \B(I)
\approx \DI \frac{d\B}{dI}.
\]
If the Poisson nature of the loudness relation (below 5 sones)
is a general result of central neural noise, as is anticipated,
then one would expect that it would also hold in vision,
namely that $\DB(\B) \propto \sqrt{\B(I)}$.
%The history of this problem is fascinating, starting with Weber and Fechner.
It is well documented that the exponent in the S.S. Stevens' power
law is the same for loudness and brightness (Stevens, 1961)
\nocite{Stevens61a}
(i.e., both brightness $\B(I)$ and loudness $\L(I)$ are proportional to
$I^{0.3}$). Furthermore, the brightness JND data are more like
Riesz's near miss data than recent 2AFC studies of JND measures
\cite{Hecht34,Gescheider97}. Jont Allen2000-08-01Z2011-03-11T08:54:22Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/908This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9082000-08-01ZInteractions Between Perceptual and Conceptual LearningConfusions arise when 'stable' is equated with 'foundational.' Spurred on by the image of a house`s foundation, it is tempting to think that something provides effective support to the extent that it is rigid and stable. We will argue that when considering the role of perception in grounding our concepts, exactly the opposite is true. Our perceptual system supports our ability to acquire new concepts by being flexibly tuned to these concepts. Whereas the concepts that we learn are certainly influenced by our perceptual representations, we will argue that these perceptual representations are also influenced by the learned concepts. In keeping with one of the central themes of this book, behavioral adaptability is completely consistent with representationalism. In fact, the most straightforward account of our experimental results is that concept learning can produce changes in perceptual representations, the 'vocabulary' of perceptual features, that are used by subsequent tasks.
This chapter reviews theoretical and empirical evidence that perceptual vocabularies used to describe visual objects are flexibly adapted to the demands of their user. We will extend arguments made elsewhere for adaptive perceptual representations (Goldstone, Schyns, & Medin, 1998; Schyns, Goldstone, & Thibaut, 1998), and discuss research from our laboratory illustrating specific interactions between perceptual and conceptual learning. We will describe computer simulations that provide accounts of these interactions using neural network models. These models have detectors that become increasingly tuned to the set of perceptual features that support concept learning. The bulk of the chapter will be organized around mechanisms of human perceptual learning, and computer simulations of these mechanisms.Robert GoldstoneMark SteyversJesse Spencer-SmithAlan Kersten2000-09-21Z2011-03-11T08:54:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/974This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9742000-09-21ZIntrinsic Contextuality as the Crux of ConsciousnessA stream of conscious experience is extremely contextual; it is impacted by sensory stimuli, drives and emotions, and the web of associations that link, directly or indirectly, the subject of experience to other elements of the individual's worldview. The contextuality of one's conscious experience both enhances and constrains the contextuality of one's behavior. Since we cannot know first-hand the conscious experience of another, it is by way of behavioral contextuality that we make judgements about whether or not, and to what extent, a system is conscious. Thus we believe that a deep understanding of contextuality is vital to the study of consciousness. Methods have been developed for handling contextuality in the microworld of quantum particles. Our goal has been to investigate the extent to which these methods can be used to analyze contextuality in conscious experience.Diederik AertsJan BroekaertLiane Gabora2000-09-08Z2011-03-11T08:54:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/961This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9612000-09-08ZIntroduction to the Special Issue on Philosophical Foundations of Artificial IntelligenceThis is the guest editor's introduction to a JETAI special issue on philosophical foundations of AI.Varol Akman2001-06-26Z2011-03-11T08:54:43Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1646This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/16462001-06-26ZThe invisible hand of peer reviewThe refereed journal literature needs to be freed from both paper and its costs, but not
from peer review, whose "invisible hand" is what maintains its quality. The residual cost of
online-only peer review is low enough to be recovered from author-institution-end page charges,
covered from institutional subscription savings, thereby vouchsafing a toll-free refereed research
literature for everyone, everywhere, forever.Stevan Harnad1999-08-26Z2011-03-11T08:53:52Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/391This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3911999-08-26ZIs Supervenience Asymmetric?After some preliminary clarifications, arguments for the supposed asymmetry of supervenience and determination, such as they are, are shown to be unsound. An argument against the supposed asymmetry is then constructed and defended against objections. This is followed by explanations of why the intuition of asymmetry is nonetheless so entrenched, and of how the asymmetric ontological priority of the physical over the non-physical can be understood without the supposed asymmetry of supervenience and determination.John F. Post2000-11-13Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1084This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10842000-11-13ZThe Landscape of Possibility: A Dynamic Systems Perspective on Archetype and Change<p>Pre-existing possibility is recognized in complexity theory (for example, by John Holland: 1995, 27-28) and in cognitive science (for example, by Jeffrey Elman et. al.: 1998, 111-113). A self-organized dynamic system makes manifest a pre-existing possibility. The whirlpool is an example. The human personality must also be a dynamic system. In the personality, however, a pre-existing possibility (archetype) may enter consciousness. It then plays a double role. It had always acted as an unconscious organizing principle; when it reaches consciousness it challenges the conscious identity and may stimulate new development. Clinical evidence is given, together with evidence from biology and from cognitive neuroscience.</p>
<p>Current psychoanalytic theory recognizes that the personality can only exist (and can only change) within an intersubjective field of other personalities. But the personality is a dynamic system. Complexity theory shows that such systems change by co-evolving within a field of mutually interacting dynamic systems.</p>
<p>These two concepts (of pre-existing possibility and of change within an intersubjective field of co-evolving dynamic systems) are integrated. Their relevance to mythology and to clinical work is discussed.</p>Maxson J. McDowell2000-09-01Z2011-03-11T08:54:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/949This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9492000-09-01ZLanguage comprehension as guided experienceLanguage comprehension is best viewed as guided experience. The linguistic input provides cues to the human brain as to how to construct experiential simulations of the state of affairs it denotes. We show that this view of language comprehension is consistent with a range of extant evidence in a variety of fields,
ranging from historical linguistics to cognitive neuroscience. We furthermore discuss new evidence that directly supports the experience-based view. We argue that the prevailing amodal view of language comprehension is unable to coherently account for this
evidence.
Rolf ZwaanBarbara KaupRobert StanfieldCarol Madden2000-07-17Z2011-03-11T08:54:21Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/870This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/8702000-07-17ZLanguage discrimination by human newborns and by cotton-top tamarin monkeysHumans, but no other animal, make meaningful use of spoken language. What is unclear, however, is whether this capacity depends on a unique constellation of perceptual and neurobiological mechanisms, or whether a subset of such mechanisms are shared with other organisms. To explore this problem, we conducted parallel experiments on human newborns and cotton-top tamarin monkeys to assess their ability to discriminate unfamiliar languages. Using a habituation-dishabituation procedure, we show that human newborns and tamarins can discriminate sentences from Dutch and Japanese, but not if the sentences are played backwards. Moreover, the cues for discrimination are not present in backward speech. This suggests that the human newborns' tuning to certain properties of speech relies on general processes of the primate auditory system.Franck RamusMarc D. HauserCory MillerDylan MorrisJacques Mehler2000-12-19Z2011-03-11T08:54:27Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1158This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/11582000-12-19ZLanguage discrimination by human newborns and by cotton-top tamarin monkeysHumans, but no other animal, make meaningful use of spoken language. What is unclear, however, is whether this capacity depends on a unique constellation of perceptual and neurobiological mechanisms, or whether a subset of such mechanisms are shared with other organisms. To explore this problem, we conducted parallel experiments on human newborns and cotton-top tamarin monkeys to assess their ability to discriminate unfamiliar languages. Using a habituation-dishabituation procedure, we show that human newborns and tamarins can discriminate sentences from Dutch and Japanese, but not if the sentences are played backwards. Moreover, the cues for discrimination are not present in backward speech. This suggests that the human newborns' tuning to certain properties of speech relies on general processes of the primate auditory system.Franck RamusMarc D. HauserCory MillerDylan MorrisJacques Mehler2001-03-20Z2011-03-11T08:54:36Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1379This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/13792001-03-20ZLanguage. Antinomy. DialogueWhat is the nature of language? Does it exist as an ideal object, before and above verbal communication hic et nunc? Or, has it got its existence only within concrete speech acts, concrete communication? This century has witnessed ceaseless battles with innumerable supporters of either side of the argument. And no side has so far managed to completely defeat its rivals. Rather, both sides succeeded in pointing out the serious drawbacks and incompleteness in each others theoretical programmes.
Yaroslav N. Yeremeev2001-09-13Z2011-03-11T08:54:47Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1797This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/17972001-09-13ZLearning algorithms for keyphrase extractionMany academic journals ask their authors to provide a list of about five to fifteen keywords, to appear on the first page of each article. Since these key words are often phrases of two or more words, we prefer to call them keyphrases. There is a wide variety of tasks for which keyphrases are useful, as we discuss in this paper. We approach the problem of automatically extracting keyphrases from text as a supervised learning task. We treat a document as a set of phrases, which the learning algorithm must learn to classify as positive or negative examples of keyphrases. Our first set of experiments applies the C4.5 decision tree induction algorithm to this learning task. We evaluate the performance of nine different configurations of C4.5. The second set of experiments applies the GenEx algorithm to the task. We developed the GenEx algorithm specifically for automatically extracting keyphrases from text. The experimental results support the claim that a custom-designed algorithm (GenEx), incorporating specialized procedural domain knowledge, can generate better keyphrases than a general-purpose algorithm (C4.5). Subjective human evaluation of the keyphrases generated by GenEx suggests that about 80% of the keyphrases are acceptable to human readers. This level of performance should be satisfactory for a wide variety of applications. Peter Turney2000-11-15Z2011-03-11T08:54:27Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1109This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/11092000-11-15ZLearning synaptic clusters for non-linear dendritic processingNonlinear dendritic processing appears to be a feature of biological neurons and would also be of use in many applications of artificial neural networks. This paper presents a model of an initially standard linear unit which uses unsupervised learning to find clusters of inputs within which inactivity at one synapse can occlude the activity at the other synapses.Michael SpratlingGillian Hayes2001-12-01Z2011-03-11T08:54:50Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1949This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/19492001-12-01ZMale remating in Drosophila ananassae: evidence for interstrain variation for remating time and shorter duration of copulation in second matingABSTRACTIn Drosophila ananassae, male remating was studied using ten mass culture stocks which
were initiated from flies collected from different geographic localities. Male remating occurs at a high fre-quency
and varies within narrow limits (8496 percent) in different strains. Interestingly, male remating time
(in min) varies from 7.41 (Bhutan) to 21.59 (PAT) in different strains and the variation is highly significant.
Further, the results also show that males copulate for shorter duration during second mating. This is the first
report in the genus Drosophila which provides evidence for interstrain variations for male remating time as
well as for shorter duration of copulation during second mating as compared to first mating in D. ananassae.Shree Ram Singh2003-10-29Z2011-03-11T08:55:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3257This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/32572003-10-29ZMeaning postulates and deferenceFodor (1998) argues that most lexical concepts have no internal structure. He rejects what he calls Inferential Role Semantics (IRS), the view that primitive concepts are constituted by their inferential relations, on the grounds that this violates the compositionality constraint and leads to an unacceptable form of holism. In rejecting IRS, Fodor must also reject meaning postulates. I argue, contra Fodor, that meaning postulates must be retained, but that when suitably constrained they are not susceptible to his arguments against IRS. This has important implications for the view that certain of our concepts are deferential. A consequence of the arguments I present is that deference is relegated to a relatively minor role in what Sperber (1997) refers to as reflective concepts; deference has no important role to play in the vast majority of our intuitive concepts.Richard Horsey2000-03-03Z2011-03-11T08:54:20Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/851This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/8512000-03-03ZMetarepresentations in an evolutionary perspectiveHumans are expert users of metarepresentations. How has this human metarepresentational capacity evolved? In order to contribute to the ongoing debate on this question, the chapter focuses on three more specific issues: i. How do humans metarepresent representations? ii. What came first: language, or metarepresentations? iii. Do humans have more than one metarepresentational ability?Dan Sperber2000-06-14Z2011-03-11T08:53:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/149This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1492000-06-14ZTHE MIND AND BRAIN SCHOLAR AS A HITCH-HIKER IN POST-GUTENBERG GALAXY: PUBLISHING AT 2000 AND BEYONDElectronic journal (e-journal) publishing has started to change the ways we think about publish-ing. However, many scholars and scientists in the mind and brain sciences are still ignorant of the new possibilities and on-going debates. This paper will provide a summary of the issues in-volved, give an update of the current discussion, and supply practical information on issues re-lated to e- journal publishing and self-archiving relevant for the mind and brain sciences. Issues such as differences between traditional and e-journal publishing, open archive initiatives, world-wide conventions, quality control, costs involved in e-journal publishing, and copyright questions will be addressed. Practical hints on how to self-archive, how to submit to the e-journal Psycolo-quy, how to create an open research archive, and where to find information relevant to e-publishing will be supplied.Brigitte StemmerMarianne CorreYves Joanette2004-03-04Z2011-03-11T08:55:28Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3446This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/34462004-03-04ZNeighbourhood-frequency effects when primes and targets have different lengthsThe present study provides a further investigation of the neighborhood-frequency effect. Using the masked priming procedure, we found that the neighborhood-frequency effect is obtained not only with primes and targets of the same length but also with primes and targets of a different length. This result is not compatible with most current versions of the interactive activation model. Implications of the finding are discussed.W. De MoorM. Brysbaert2001-06-19Z2011-03-11T08:54:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1620This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/16202001-06-19ZNeural Network Models of Categorical PerceptionStudies of the categorical perception (CP) of sensory continua have a long and rich history in
psychophysics. In 1977, Macmillan et al. introduced the use of signal detection theory to CP
studies. Anderson et al. simultaneously proposed the first neural model for CP, yet this line
of research has been less well explored. In this paper, we assess the ability of neural-network
models of CP to predict the psychophysical performance of real observers with speech sounds
and artificial/novel stimuli. We show that a variety of neural mechanisms is capable of gen-erating
the characteristics of categorical perception. Hence, CP may not be a special mode of
perception but an emergent property of any sufficiently powerful general learning system.R.I. DamperS.R. Harnad2000-05-13Z2011-03-11T08:53:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/146This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1462000-05-13ZNeuropragmatics in the 21st centuryOne of the great challenges of the new millennium is the continuing search of how the mind works. Although a relatively young field, the study of neuropragmatics can greatly contribute to this search by its interdisciplinary nature, the possibility to be applied to different research meth-ods and by the opportunity to study its nature by taking vastly different perspectives.Brigitte StemmerPaul Walter Schönle2010-04-01T11:36:55Z2011-03-11T08:57:35Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6812This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/68122010-04-01T11:36:55ZNeuropragmatics: Brain and communicationThere is no abstract for this paper.Bruno G. BaraMaurizio Tirassamaurizio.tirassa@unito.it2001-10-27Z2011-03-11T08:54:48Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1843This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/18432001-10-27ZNeuropsychological and conditioned blocking performance in patients with schizophrenia: assessment of the contribution of neuroleptic dose, serum levels and dopamine D2-receptor occupancyIntroduction:
Patients with schizophrenia are widely reported to show impairments of attention and neuropsychological performance, but the extent to which this is attributable to medication and dopamine (DA) function remains largely unexplored.
Methods:
We describe here the putative influence of 1) the dose of antipsychotic medication (chlorpromazine equivalents, CPZ), 2) the antipsychotic serum concentration (neuroleptic units in terms of butyrophenone displacement from animal neostriatum) and 3) the approximated DA D2-receptor occupancy in the brain (based on regression curves from 11 studies published for 5 neuroleptics) - - on conditioned blocking (CB) measures of attention and performance on a neuropsycholog-ical battery. We studied 108 patients with schizophrenia with 62 healthy controls.
Results:
1) Antipsychotic serum concentration and D2-occupancy were higher in patients with a paranoid vs. non-paranoid diagnosis, and in female vs. male patients (independent of symptom severity).
2) Controlling for D2-occupancy removed the difference between high CB in paranoid and impaired low CB measures of selective attention in nonparanoid patients.
3) Similar partial correlations for antipsychotic drug dose and serum levels of DA D2-blocking activity with performance on the trail-making and picture completion tests (negative) and the block-design test (positive) showed the functional importance of DA-related activity.
4) High estimates of D2-occupancy were related to impaired verbal fluency - but - were associated with improved recall of stories, especially in paranoid patients.
5) Non-dopaminergic aspects of medication (i.e. CPZ-dependent but not D2-occupancy-associated) impaired verbal recall in males (left-hemisphere function) and non-verbal performance in females (reflecting right hemisphere function).
Conclusions:
This first study of its kind tentatively imputes a role for DA D2-related activity in left frontal (e.g. CB and verbal fluency) and temporal lobe functions (verbal recall), as well as in some non-verbal abilities mediated more in the right hemisphere of patients with schizophrenia
R.D. OadesM.L. RaoS. BenderG. SartoryB.W. Müller2007-08-20Z2011-03-11T08:56:56Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5653This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/56532007-08-20ZNimesulide limits kainate-induced oxidative damage in the rat hippocampusKainate induces a marked expression of cyclooxygenase-2 after its systemic administration. Because cyclooxygenase-2 activity is associated to the production of reactive oxygen species, we investigated the effects of nimesulide, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, on kainate-induced in vivo oxidative damage in the rat hippocampus. A clinically relevant dose of nimesulide (6 mg/kg, i.p. ) was administered three times following kainate application (9 mg/kg, i.p.). After 24 h of kainate administration, the drastic decrease in hippocampal glutathione content and the significant increase in lipid peroxidation were attenuated in nimesulide-treated rats, suggesting that the induction of cyclooxygenase-2 is involved in kainate-mediated free radicals formation.Eduardo Candelario-JalilHussam AjamiehSusana SamGregorio MartinezOlga S. Leon2007-08-20Z2011-03-11T08:56:56Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5658This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/56582007-08-20ZThe Norm of the Learning-Disability Checklist for Elementary and Middle School Children (in Chinese)The Learning-Disabilities Checklist for Elementary and Middle School Children was administered to 1067 subjects in Shanghai. The data analyses brought us the following: 1) The mean and standard deviation of each variable of raw data; 2) There were significant age differences and sex differences for each variable; 3) The reliability and validity of this test was up to the criteria of psychometrology; 4) A Shanghai norm was made.Z. F. ShaoG. P. ChenY. Shan2000-04-05Z2011-03-11T08:53:53Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/405This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4052000-04-05ZOn the Individuation of Fregean PropositionsThe aim of the paper is to sketch a principle of individuation that is intended to serve the Fregean notion of a proposition, a notion I take for granted. A salient feature of Fregean propositions, i.e. complexes of modes of presentation of objects (individuals, properties), is that they are fine-grained items, so fine-grained that even synonymous sentences might express different Fregean propositions. My starting point is the principle labelled by Gareth Evans the Intuitive Criterion of Difference for Thoughts, which states that it is impossible coherently to take different mental attitudes to the same proposition. As a logical truth (a consequence of Leibnizs Law), this is a synchronic principle, the application of which is restricted to attitudes held at a single time. I argue that such a restriction might be reasonably lifted and, on the basis of an adequate notion of attitude-retention, I propose an admissible diachronic extension of the principle.João Branquinho2000-11-23Z2011-03-11T08:54:27Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1121This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/11212000-11-23ZOne Self: a Meditation on the Unity of ConsciousnessWhat unites the many selves that constitute the human mind? How is the self-binding problem solved? I argue that separate selves come to belong together as one Self as a result of their dynamic participation in creating a single life, rather as the members of an orchestra come to belong together as a result of their jointly creating a single work of music.Nicholas Humphrey2000-10-11Z2011-03-11T08:54:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1002This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10022000-10-11ZPeirce and Formalization of Thought: the Chinese Room ArgumentWhether human thinking can be formalized and whether machines can think in a human sense are questions that have been addressed by both Peirce and Searle. Peirce came to roughly the same conclusion as Searle, that the digital computer would not be able to perform human thinking or possess human understanding. However, his rationale and Searle's differ on several important points. Searle approaches the problem from the standpoint of traditional analytic philosophy, where the strict separation of syntax and semantics renders understanding impossible for a purely syntactical device. Peirce disagreed with that analysis, but argued that the computer would only be able to achieve algorithmic thinking, which he considered the simplest type. Although their approaches were radically dissimilar, their conclusions were not. I will compare and analyze the arguments of both Peirce and Searle on this issue, and outline some implications of their conclusions for the field of Artificial Intelligence. Steven Ravett Brown2002-03-07Z2011-03-11T08:54:54Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2120This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/21202002-03-07ZPerception and reconstruction of two-dimensional, simulated ego-motion trajectories from optic flow.A veridical percept of ego-motion is normally derived from a combination of visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive signals. In a previous study,
blindfolded subjects could accurately perceive passively travelled straight or curved trajectories provided that the orientation of the head
remained constant along the trajectory. When they were turned (whole-body, head-fixed) relative to the trajectory, errors occurred. We ask here
whether vision allows for better path perception in similar tasks, to correct or complement vestibular perception. Seated, stationary subjects wore
a head mounted display showing optic flow stimuli which simulated linear or curvilinear 2D trajectories over a horizontal ground plane. The
observer's orientation was either fixed in space, fixed relative to the path, or changed relative to both. After presentation, subjects reproduced the
perceived movement with a model vehicle, of which position and orientation were recorded. They tended to correctly perceive ego-rotation
(yaw), but they perceived orientation as fixed relative to trajectory or (unlike in the vestibular study) to space. This caused trajectory
misperception when body rotation was wrongly attributed to a rotation of the path. Visual perception was very similar to vestibular perception.R.J.V. BertinI. IsraëlM. Lappe2000-07-17Z2011-03-11T08:54:21Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/872This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/8722000-07-17ZPerception of linguistic rhythm by newborn infantsPrevious studies have shown that newborn infants are able to discriminate between certain languages, and it has been suggested that they do so by categorizing varieties of speech rhythm. However, in order to confirm this hypothesis, it is necessary to show that language discrimination is still performed by newborns when all speech cues other than rhythm are removed. Here, we conducted a series of experiments assessing discrimination between Dutch and Japanese by newborn infants, using a speech resynthesis technique to progressively degrade non-rhythmical properties of the sentences. When the stimuli are resynthesized using identical phonemes and artificial intonation contours for the two languages, thereby preserving only their rhythmic structure, newborns are still able to discriminate the languages. We conclude that new-borns are able to classify languages according to their type of rhythm, and that this ability may help them bootstrap other phonological properties of their native language.Franck Ramus2001-05-09Z2011-03-11T08:54:38Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1493This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/14932001-05-09ZA Phenomenal, Dispositional Account of BeliefThis paper describes and defends in detail a novel account of belief, an account inspired by Ryle's dispositional characterization of belief, but emphasizing irreducibly phenomenal and cognitive dispositions as well as behavioral dispositions. Potential externalist and functionalist objections are considered, as well as concerns motivated by the inevitably ceteris paribus nature of the relevant dispositional attributions. It is argued that a dispositional account of belief is particularly well-suited to handle what might be called "in-between" cases of believing - cases in which it is neither quite right to describe a person as having a particular belief nor quite right to describe her as lacking it.Eric Schwitzgebel2004-04-30Z2011-03-11T08:55:32Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3593This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/35932004-04-30Z Picture recognition in animals and in humans : a reviewThe question of object–picture recognition has received relatively little attention in both human and comparative psychology; a paradoxical situation given the important use of image technology (e.g. slides, digitised pictures) made by neuroscientists in their experimental investigation of visual cognition. The present review examines the relevant literature pertaining to the question of the
correspondence between and:or equivalence of real objects and their pictorial representations in animals and humans. Two classes of reactions towards pictures will be considered in turn: acquired responses in picture recognition experiments and spontaneous responses to pictures of biologically relevant objects (e.g. prey or conspecifics). Our survey will lead to the conclusion that humans show evidence of picture recognition from an early age; this recognition is, however, facilitated by prior exposure to pictures. This same exposure or training effect appears also to be necessary in nonhuman primates as well as in other mammals and in birds. Other factors are also identified as playing a role in the acquired responses to pictures: familiarity with and nature of the stimulus objects, presence of motion in the image, etc. Spontaneous and adapted reactions to pictures are a wide phenomenon present in different phyla including invertebrates but in most instances, this phenomenon is more likely to express confusion between objects and pictures than discrimination and active correspondence between the two. Finally, given the nature of a picture (e.g. bi-dimensionality, reduction of cues related to depth), it is suggested that object–picture recognition be envisioned in various levels, with true equivalence being a limited case, rarely observed in the behaviour of animals and even humans.
D BovetJ Vauclair2000-09-20Z2011-03-11T08:54:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/962This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9622000-09-20ZThe Popperian framework, statistical significance, and rejection of chanceThat Haig and Sohn find the hypothetico-deductive approach wanting in different ways shows that multiple conditional syllogisms are being used in different stages of theory corroboration in the Popperian approach. The issues raised in the two commentaries assume a different complexion when certain distinctions are made.
Siu L. Chow2000-11-23Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1077This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10772000-11-23ZThe Privatization of SensationIt is the ambition of evolutionary psychology to explain how the basic features of human mental life came to be selected because of their contribution to biological survival. Counted among the most basic must be the subjective qualities of conscious sensory experience: the felt redness we experience on looking at a ripe tomato, the felt saltiness on tasting an anchovy, the felt pain on being pricked by a thorn. But, as many theorists acknowledge, with these qualia, the ambition of evolutionary psychology may have met its match. Everyone agrees that a trait can only contribute to an organism's biological survival in so far as it operates in the public domain. Yet almost everyone also agrees that the subjective quality of sensory experience is (at least for all practical purposes) private and without external influence. Then, maybe we must either concede that the subjective quality of sensations cannot after all have been determined by selection (even if this is theoretically depressing) or else demonstrate that the quality of sensations is not as private as it seems to be (even if this is intuitively unconvincing). No. I believe neither of these solutions to the puzzle is in fact the right one. I argue instead that the truth is that the quality of sensations has indeed been shaped by selection in the past, despite the fact that it is today effectively private. And this situation has come about as a result of a remarkable evolutionary progression, whereby the primitive activity of sensing slowly became "privatized" - that is to say, removed from the domain of overt public behavior and transformed into a mental activity that is now, in humans, largely if not exclusively internal to the subject's mind.Nicholas Humphrey2003-04-15Z2011-03-11T08:55:15Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2868This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/28682003-04-15ZThe Privatization of SensationIt is the ambition of evolutionary psychology to explain how the basic features of human mental life came to be selected because of their contribution to biological survival. Counted among the most basic must be the subjective qualities of conscious sensory experience: the felt redness we experience on looking at a ripe tomato, the felt saltiness on tasting an anchovy, the felt pain on being pricked by a thorn. But, as many theorists acknowledge, with these qualia, the ambition of evolutionary psychology may have met its match. Everyone agrees that a trait can only contribute to an organism's biological survival in so far as it operates in the public domain. Yet almost everyone also agrees that the subjective quality of sensory experience is (at least for all practical purposes) private and without external influence. Then, maybe we must either concede that the subjective quality of sensations cannot after all have been determined by selection (even if this is theoretically depressing) or else demonstrate that the quality of sensations is not as private as it seems to be (even if this is intuitively unconvincing). No. I believe neither of these solutions to the puzzle is in fact the right one. I argue instead that the truth is that the quality of sensations has indeed been shaped by selection in the past, despite the fact that it is today effectively private. And this situation has come about as a result of a remarkable evolutionary progression, whereby the primitive activity of sensing slowly became "privatized" - that is to say, removed from the domain of overt public behavior and transformed into a mental activity that is now, in humans, largely if not exclusively internal to the subject's mind.Nicholas Humphrey2001-12-14Z2011-03-11T08:54:51Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1982This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/19822001-12-14ZProblems in the "functional" investigations of consciousnessThis article presents the view that the problem of consciousness per definition can not be seen as a strictly scientific or strictly philosophical problem. The first idea, especially, leads to important difficulties: First of all, the idea has in most cases implied some rather superficial reductionistic or functionalistic a priori assumptions, and, secondly, it can be shown that some of the most commonly used empirical methods in these regards are inadequate. Especially so in the case of contrastive analysis, widely used in cognitive neuroscience. However, this criticism does not lead to the conclusion that scientific methods are inadequate as such, only that they always work on a pre-established background of theory, of which one must be explicit.Morten Overgaard2005-04-24Z2011-03-11T08:55:59Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4275This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/42752005-04-24ZA QUANTITATIVE MODEL OF THE AMPLIFICATION OF POWER THROUGH ORDER AND THE CONCEPT OF GROUP DEFENSEI propose a simple quantitative model of how the power of a leader over a group is amplified when he or she starts to order the group. This model implies that a small well-informed minority can easily govern a previously ordered majority such as hijacked passengers. The model leads to the concept, “group defense,” which stresses the importance of group members resisting enemy ordering and creating a counter-ordering. Group defense may be helpful in preventing fatal hijackings such as the ones that occurred on September 11 and other massacres on civilians.Dr. Eugen Tarnow2000-10-17Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1033This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10332000-10-17ZQuantitative Neural Network Model of the Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon Based on Synthesized Memory-Psycholinguistic-Metacognitive ApproachA new three-stage computer artificial neural network model of the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is proposed. Each words node is build from some interconnected learned auto-associative two-layer neural networks each of which represents separate words semantic, lexical, or phonological components. The model synthesizes memory, psycholinguistic, and metamemory approaches, bridges speech errors and naming chronometry research traditions, and can explain quantitatively many tip-of-the-tongue effectsPetro M. Gopych2000-10-18Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1038This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10382000-10-18ZQueueing Network Modelling with Distributed Neural Networks for Service Quality Estimation in B-ISDN NetworksWe discuss an original scheme based on distributed feedforward neural networks (NN), aimed at modelling several queueing systems in cascade fed with bursty traffic. For each queueing system, a neural network is trained to anticipate the average number of waiting packets, the packet loss rate and the coefficient of variation of the packet inter-departure time, given the mean rate, the peak rate and the coefficient of variation of the packet inter-arrival time. The latter serves for the calculation of the coefficient of variation of the cell inter-arrival time of the aggregated traffic which is fed as input to the next NN along the path. The potential of this method was sucessfully illustrated on several single server FIFO queues in (Aussem99). We now apply this technique to model a small queueing network made up from a combination of queues in tandem and in parallel fed by a superimposition of OnOff sources. Our long-term goal is the design of preventive control strategy in a multiservice communication network.
Alex AussemAntoine MahulRaymond Marie2001-02-25Z2011-03-11T08:54:33Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1314This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/13142001-02-25ZRatCog: A GUI maze simulation tool with plugin "rat brains."We have implemented RatCog, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) radial-maze simulation tool providing various computational models of rats. Rat models are loaded as runtime plugin files, and an Application Programming Interface (API) enables additional plugins to be created. One implemented plugin is a back-propagation trained connectionist model. GUI features include maze graphics and performance statistics. The GUI makes it easier to use these computional models, while the plugins make the models widely available.C. G. PrinceJ. TaltonI. S. N. BerkeleyC. Gunay2012-04-25T13:03:45Z2012-04-25T13:03:45Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/8166This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/81662012-04-25T13:03:45ZRed man syndrome during administration of prophylactic antibiotic against infective endocarditisRed man syndrome (RMS) is the occurrence flushing, pruritus, chest pain, muscle spasm or hypotension during vancomycin infusion. It usually happens as a result of rapid infusion of the drug but may also occur after slow administration. The frequency and severity of this phenomenon diminish with repeated administration of vancomycin. A case is presented whereby RMS occurred while prophylactic antibiotic against infective endocarditis was administered.Dr. W.C. Ngeowngeowy@um.edu.myW.L. ChaiA.B. Moody2000-02-26Z2011-03-11T08:54:04Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/553This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5532000-02-26ZA Refutation of Penrose's Godelian Case Against Artificial IntelligenceHaving, as it is generally agreed, failed to destroy the computational conception of mind with the G\"{o}delian attack he articulated in his {\em The Emperor's New Mind}, Penrose has returned, armed with a more elaborate and more fastidious G\"{o}delian case, expressed in and 3 of his {\em Shadows of the Mind}. The core argument in these chapters is enthymematic, and when formalized, a remarkable number of technical glitches come to light. Over and above these defects, the argument, at best, is an instance of either the fallacy of denying the antecedent, the fallacy of {\em petitio principii}, or the fallacy of equivocation. More recently, writing in response to his critics in the electronic journal {\em Psyche}, Penrose has offered a G\"{o}delian case designed to improve on the version presented in {\em SOTM}. But this version is yet again another failure. In falling prey to the errors we uncover, Penrose's new G\"{o}delian case is unmasked as the same confused refrain J.R. Lucas initiated 35 years ago.Selmer Bringsjord2000-09-08Z2011-03-11T08:54:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/959This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9592000-09-08ZRelating to Ken Kesey's Wise ManWe take a parable (told by Ken Kesey) and exhibit how it
achieves its sublime effect through a sequence of weak implicatures. Interestingly, the implicatures turn out to allude to Richard Rorty's renowned distinction between metaphysicians and ironists.Varol Akman2000-05-12Z2011-03-11T08:53:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/144This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1442000-05-12ZThe relation between movement parameters and motor learning.In a recent paper, Flament et al (1999) studied the learning to flex the elbow fast. They concluded from their data that time-related parameters (e.g. movement time) changed faster during learning than magnitude-related parameters (e.g. peak velocity), and discussed this finding in terms of neural substrates responsible for the apparently different learning mechanisms. In this note, I will argue that finding different time constants does not imply different learning mechanisms. I will give a theoretical example of the development of parameters during learning to move faster. Despite the fact that I model only one learning process, various kinematic parameters show different time courses of learning. The differences the model predicts are comparable with the experimental results.Jeroen B.J. Smeets2004-05-06Z2011-03-11T08:55:33Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3611This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/36112004-05-06ZRéorganisation de texte par des enfants de 11 ans : Effet de la longueur des textes, du niveau de compréhension des élèves et de leur maîtrise du schéma textuelThe main goal of this work is to determine the difficulties involved in the recomposition of argumentative text by eleven years old children. The role of text length was examined in Experiment 2. The effect of the comprehension level in reading was evaluated in Experiment 3 and the mastery of prototypical schema was tested in Experiment 4. Experiment 1 was realised to collect the pro and contra arguments used in Experiments 2 to 4. The textual (text length) and individual characteristics (comprehension in reading and mastery of prototypical schema) seem to explain the difficulties faced by the eleven years old children when reorganising an argumentative text.M Ferréol-BarbeyA PiolatJY Roussey2000-07-28Z2011-03-11T08:54:21Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/904This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9042000-07-28ZRepresentation, space and Hollywood Squares: Looking at things that aren't there anymoreIt has been argued that the human cognitive system is capable of using spatial indexes or oculomotor coordinates to relieve working memory load (Ballard, Hayhoe, Pook & Rao, 1997) track multiple moving items through occlusion (Scholl & Pylyshyn, 1999) or link incompatible cognitive and sensorimotor codes (Bridgeman and Huemer, 1998). Here we examine the use of such spatial information in memory for semantic information. Previous research has often focused on the role of task demands and the level of automaticity in the encoding of spatial location in memory tasks. We present five experiments where location is irrelevant to the task, and participants' encoding of spatial information is measured implicitly by their looking behavior during recall. In a paradigm developed from Spivey and Geng (submitted), participants were presented with pieces of auditory, semantic information as part of an event occurring in one of four regions of a computer screen. In front of a blank grid, they were asked a question relating to one of those facts. Under certain conditions it was found that during the question period participants made significantly more saccades to the empty region of space where the semantic information had been previously presented. Our findings are discussed in relation to previous research on memory and spatial location, the dorsal and ventral streams of the visual system, and the notion of a cognitive-perceptual system using spatial indexes to exploit the stability of the external world. Daniel RichardsonMichael Spivey2004-05-12Z2011-03-11T08:55:36Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3632This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/36322004-05-12ZThe Resemblance of One-year-old Infants to Their Fathers: Refuting Christenfeld & Hill (1995)In 1995 Christenfeld and Hill published a paper that purported to show at one year of age, infants resemble their fathers more than their mothers. Evolution, they argued, would have produced this result since it would ensure male parental resources, since the paternity of the
infant would no longer be in doubt. We believe this result is false. We present the results of two experiments (and mention a third) which are very far from replicating Christenfeld and Hill’s data. In addition, we provide an evolutionary explanation as to why evolution would not have favored the result reported by Christenfeld and Hill.Robert M. FrenchSerge BrédartJohanne HuartChristophe L. Labiouse2000-09-08Z2011-03-11T08:54:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/960This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9602000-09-08ZRethinking Context as a Social ConstructThis paper argues that in addition to the familiar approach using
formal contexts, there is now a need in artificial intelligence to
study contexts as social constructs. As a successful example of the
latter approach, I draw attention to `interpretation' (in the sense of
literary theory), viz. the reconstruction of intended meaning of a
literary text that takes into account the context in which the author
assumed the reader would place the text. An important contribution
here comes from Wendell Harris, enumerating the seven crucial
dimensions of context: knowledge of reality, knowledge of language,
and the authorial, generic, collective, specific, and textual
dimensions. Finally, two recent approaches to interpretation, due to
Jon Barwise and Jerry Hobbs, are analyzed as useful attempts which
also come to grips with the notion of context.
It must be noted that there has been a considerable body of
contributions connecting linguistic structure with social context. For
example, anthropological linguistics, from Bronislaw Malinowski
onwards, has underlined the cultural context of discourse as essential
to meaning. This viewpoint became prominent with the emergence of the
ethnography of speaking in anthropology. Thus, conversation analysis
represents a consistent formal effort to contribute to an analysis of
the nature of context. While this paper emphasizes and reviews the
literary theory approach, it makes various contacts with works of the
latter kind (e.g., the landmark contributions of Erving Goffman, John
Gumperz, William Hanks, John Heritage, Dell Hymes, et al.) in order to
deliver a more balanced and complete study of the dimensions of
context.Varol Akman2000-12-01Z2011-03-11T08:54:26Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1089This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10892000-12-01ZRevisiting the Concept of Identifiable NeuronsAlthough eutely in nematodes was known, giant neurons in several taxa and unique motor neurons to leg muscles in decapod crustaceans, the idea that many animals have many identifiable neurons with relatively consistent dynamical properties and connections was only slowly established in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This has to be one of the important quiet revolutions in neurobiology. It stimulated a vast acquisition of specific information and led to some euphoria in the degree and pace of understanding activity of nervous systems and consequent behavior in terms of neuronal connections and properties. Some implications, problems and opportunities for new discovery are developed. The distribution of identifiable neurons among taxa and parts of the nervous system is not yet satisfactorily known. Their evolution may have been a case of several independent inventions. The degree of consistency has been quantified only in a few examples and the plasticity is little known. Identified neurons imply identifiable circuits but whether this extends to discrete systems, functionally definable, seems likely to have several answers in different animals or sites. Very limited attempts have been made to extend the concept to cases of two or ten or a hundred fully equivalent neurons, on all kinds of criteria. These attempts suggest a much smaller redundancy and vaster number of types of neurons than hitherto believed. Theory as well as empirical information has not yet interpreted the range of systems from those with small sets of relatively reliable neurons to those with large numbers of parallel, partially redundant units. The now classical notion of local circuits has to be extended to take account and find roles for the plethora of integrative variables, of evidence for neural processing independent of spikes and classical synapses, of spatial configurations of terminal arbors and dendritic geometry, of modulators and transmitters, degrees of rhythmicity (regularity varying several orders of magnitude), and of synchrony. Adequate language and models need to go beyond "circuits" in any engineering sense. Identifiable neurons can contribute to a broad spectrum of issues in neurobiology.Theodore Bullock2004-08-10Z2011-03-11T08:55:39Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3738This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/37382004-08-10ZA Robotic CAD System using a Bayesian FrameworkWe present in this paper a Bayesian CAD system
for robotic applications. We address the problem of the
propagation of geometric uncertainties and how esian
CAD system for robotic applications. We address the
problem of the propagation of geometric uncertainties
and how to take this propagation into account when
solving inverse problems. We describe the methodology
we use to represent and handle uncertainties using
probability distributions on the system's parameters
and sensor measurements. It may be seen as a
generalization of constraint-based approaches where we
express a constraint as a probability distribution instead
of a simple equality or inequality. Appropriate
numerical algorithms used to apply this methodology
are also described. Using an example, we show how
to apply our approach by providing simulation results
using our CAD system.Dr K MekhnachaDr E MazerDr P Bessiere2001-01-19Z2011-03-11T08:54:29Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1223This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/12232001-01-19Zthe role of action in the representation of moving shapes in children with cerebral palsyThe aim of the present study is to provide evidence for the role of action used mainly by children with cerebral palsy to get over difficulties in some mental rotation tasks. 25 children with cerebral palsy and 25 able children were given a task inspired from the Tétris video game consisting in fitting together geometrical figures. Results show that children with cerebral palsy are able to anticipate mentally the motion of the object, but they can not mentally break down the motion. This may be explained by the use of an object manipulation strategy necessary to actualize the properties of the object motions. These findings have implications in the understanding of the role of action in the development of mental imagery.
marc zabalia2005-10-20Z2011-03-11T08:56:12Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4573This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/45732005-10-20ZTHE ROLE OF FOLIC ACID IN THE TREATMENT OF MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDERObjective: Depressive symptoms are the most common neuropsychiatric manifestation of folic acid deficiency. The objective of this research is to determine the role of folic acid in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Method: 60 outpatients with MDD and matched 30 healthy controls constituted the sample. The Personal Information Form was used to determine the sociodeniographic features of the patient and the control groups. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and the criteria of MDD of DSM-IV were used to diagnos the MDD. 30 of the outpatients randomly selected as first group they were given fluoxetine (20 mgs per day), the remainders we given fluoxeline (20 mgs per day) and folic acid (5 mgs per day) as the second group. HDRS was applied lo the patients in 7<sup>th</sup>, 14<sup>th</sup>, 28<sup>th</sup>, 42<sup>th</sup> days and to the three groups at the beginning, and was measured serum folic acid levels 0 <sup>th</sup>, 14<sup>th</sup>,. 28 <sup>th</sup>, 42<sup>th</sup> days. After calculating HDRS scores and serum folic acid levels, the data were run on SPSS. The following statistical analyses were used in order to evaluate the data: variance analysis, student's t test. Mann-Whitney U test and Tukey's test. Result At the beginning, HDRS scores of first, second and control groups were 29.10, 26.93, 7.90 respectively. The mean serum folate levels were lower in the first and the second groups than It, controls. The decrease of HDRS scores were found to be faster in the second group than the first group. However, in 42<sup>nd</sup> day, the difference between HDRS scores of the two groups was not significant statistically. Conclusion: As a result, one can say that adding folate to the treatment of MDD may reduce the occurrence and duration of MDD and increase the efficiency of antidepressant treatment.E AnalanO DoğanG Akyüz2001-03-06Z2011-03-11T08:54:35Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1345This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/13452001-03-06ZSeeing, Sensing, and ScrutinizingLarge changes in a scene often become difficult to notice if made during an eye movement, image flicker, movie cut, or other such disturbance. It is argued here that this <i>change blindness</i> can serve as a useful tool to explore various aspects of vision. This argument centers around the proposal that focused attention is needed for the explicit perception of change. Given this, the study of change perception can provide a useful way to determine the nature of visual attention, and to cast new light on the way that it isand is notinvolved in visual perception.
To illustrate the power of this approach, this paper surveys its use in exploring three different aspects of vision. The first concerns the general nature of <i>seeing</i>. To explain why change blindness can be easily induced in experiments but apparently not in everyday life, it is proposed that perception involves a <i>virtual representation</i>, where object representations do not accumulate, but are formed as needed. An architecture containing both attentional and nonattentional streams is proposed as a way to implement this scheme. The second aspect concerns the ability of observers to detect change even when they have no visual experience of it. This <i>sensing</i> is found to take on at least two forms: detection without visual experience (but still with conscious awareness), and detection without any awareness at all. It is proposed that these are both due to the operation of a nonattentional visual stream. The final aspect considered is the nature of visual attention itselfthe mechanisms involved when <i>scrutinizing</i> items. Experiments using controlled stimuli show the existence of various limits on visual search for change. It is shown that these limits provide a powerful means to map out the attentional mechanisms involved.Ronald A Rensink2000-09-02Z2011-03-11T08:54:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/950This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9502000-09-02ZSelf-motion and the perception of stationary objectsOne of the ways we perceive shape is through seeing motion. Visual motion may be actively generated (for example, in locomotion), or passively observed. In the study of how we perceive 3D structure from motion (SfM), the non-moving, passive observer in an environment of moving rigid objects has been used as a substitute for an active observer moving in an environment of stationary objects; the 'rigidity hypothesis' has played a central role in computational and experimental studies of SfM. Here we demonstrate that this substitution is not fully adequate, because active observers perceive 3D structure differently from passive observers, despite experiencing the same visual stimulus: active observers' perception of 3D structure depends on extra-visual self-motion information. Moreover, the visual system, making use of the self-motion information treats objects that are stationary (in an allocentric, earth-fixed reference frame) differently from objects that are merely rigid. These results show that action plays a central role in depth perception, and argue for a revision of the rigidity hypothesis to incorporate the special case of stationary objects.
Mark WexlerFrancesco PaneraiIvan LamouretJacques Droulez2001-11-18Z2011-03-11T08:54:49Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1899This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/18992001-11-18ZSelf-Organization of Innate Face Preferences: Could Genetics Be Expressed Through Learning?Self-organizing models develop realistic cortical structures when given approximations of the visual environment as input, and are an effective way to model the development of face recognition abilities. However, environment-driven self-organization alone cannot account for the fact that newborn human infants will preferentially attend to face-like stimuli even immediately after birth. Recently it has been proposed that internally generated input patterns, such as those found in the developing retina and in PGO waves during REM sleep, may have the same effect on self-organization as does the external environment. Internal pattern generators constitute an efficient way to specify, develop, and maintain functionally appropriate perceptual organization. They may help express complex structures from minimal genetic information, and retain this genetic structure within a highly plastic system. Simulations with the RF-LISSOM model show that such preorganization can account for newborn face preferences, providing a computational framework for examining how genetic influences interact with experience to construct a complex system.
James A. BednarRisto Miikkulainen2001-07-04Z2011-03-11T08:54:44Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1669This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/16692001-07-04ZSemantico-Phonetic Form: A Unitarianist GrammarSemantico-Phonetic Form: A Unitarianist Grammar
Ahmad R. Lotfi
Azad University at Esfahan (IRAN)
ABSTRACT
Semantico-Phonetic Form is a unitarianist theory of language in two different
but inter-related senses: first, it assumes that the Conceptual-Intentional and
Articulatory-Perceptual systems (responsible for semantic and phonetic
interpretations respectively) access the data at one and the same level of inter-
pretation; hence a single interface level--Semantico-Phonetic Form, SPF.
Second, it is unitarianist in that (although it is still a formalist theory of language)
it potentially permits the incorporation of both formalist and functionalist explana-
tions in its formulation of the architecture of language.
Within the framework of Semantico-Phonetic Form, and as an alternative proposal
to Chomsky's minimalist thesis of movement, the Pooled Features Hypothesis pro-
poses that "movement" is the consequence of the way in which the language faculty
is organised (rather than a simple "imperfection" of language). The computational
system CHL for human language is considered to be economical in its selection of
formal features from the lexicon so that if two LIs (to be introduced in the same
derivation) happen to have some identical formal feature in common, the feature is
selected only once but shared by the syntactic objects in the derivation. It follows
that the objects in question must be as local in their relations as possible. The local-
ity of relations as such, which is due to economy considerations, results in some kind
of (bare) phrase structure with pooled features labelling the structural tree nodes that
dominate the syntactic objects. Pooled features, in a sense, are structurally interpreted.
Other features, i.e. those not pooled, will be interpreted at SPF.
KEY WORDS:
bare phrase structure, economy, faculty of language,
feature checking, feature sharing, formal features,
imperfections, lexicon, logical forms, minimalist syntax,
Semantico-Phonetic Form, strength, unitarianist theory
Ahmad Reza Lotfi2001-09-13Z2011-03-11T08:54:47Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1799This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/17992001-09-13ZA simple model of unbounded evolutionary versatility as a largest-scale trend in organismal evolutionThe idea that there are any large-scale trends in the evolution of biological organisms is highly controversial. It is commonly believed, for example, that there is a large-scale trend in evolution towards increasing complexity, but empirical and theoretical arguments undermine this belief. Natural selection results in organisms that are well adapted to their local environments, but it is not clear how local adaptation can produce a global trend. In this paper, I present a simple computational model, in which local adaptation to a randomly changing environment results in a global trend towards increasing evolutionary versatility. In this model, for evolutionary versatility to increase without bound, the environment must be highly dynamic. The model also shows that unbounded evolutionary versatility implies an accelerating evolutionary pace. I believe that unbounded increase in evolutionary versatility is a large-scale trend in evolution. I discuss some of the testable predictions about organismal evolution that are suggested by the model. Peter Turney2002-03-10Z2011-03-11T08:54:54Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2124This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/21242002-03-10ZSolving Multiple-Instance Problem: A Lazy Learning ApproachAs opposed to traditional supervised learning, multiple-instance learning
concerns the problem of classifying a bag of instances, given bags that are
labeled by a teacher as being overall positive or negative. Current research
mainly concentrates on adapting traditional concept learning to solve this
problem. In this paper we investigate the use of lazy learning and Hausdorff
distance to approach the multiple-instance problem. We present two variants of
the K-nearest neighbor algorithm, called Bayesian-KNN and Citation-KNN, solving
the multiple-instance problem. Experiments on the Drug discovery benchmark data
show that both algorithms are competitive with the best ones conceived in the
concept learning framework. Further work includes exploring of a combination of
lazy and eager multiple-instance problem classifiers.Jun WangJean-Daniel Zucker2002-08-15Z2011-03-11T08:54:59Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2406This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/24062002-08-15ZSpatiotemporal adaptation through corticothalamic loops: A hypothesisThe thalamus is the major gate to the cortex and its control over cortical responses is well established. Cortical feedback to the thalamus is, in turn, the anatomically dominant input to relay cells, yet its influence on thalamic processing has been difficult to interpret. For an understanding of complex sensory processing, detailed concepts of the corticothalamic interplay need yet to be established. Drawing on various physiological and anatomical data, we elaborate the novel hypothesis that the visual cortex controls the spatiotemporal structure of cortical receptive fields via feedback to the lateral geniculate nucleus. Furthermore, we present and analyze a model of corticogeniculate loops that implements this control, and exhibit its ability of object segmentation by statistical motion analysis in the visual field.Dr. Ulrich HillenbrandProf. Dr. J. Leo van Hemmen2001-10-19Z2011-03-11T08:54:48Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1828This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/18282001-10-19ZStability of Tempo Perception in Music ListeningThis study was designed to determine whether listeners from different age groups and musical backgrounds (musicians and nonmusicians) could set tempi in a consistent manner over an extended period of time. The variables of musical style, familiarity, and preference were also considered. Subjects (n=90) heard the same six compositions on four separate occasions. The order of the presentation and the initial tempo of the examples were varied systematically in each session. Subjects were asked to listen to each composition and indicate whether the experimenter should set the tempo "faster" or "slower" until it sounded right to them; they had to adjust an initially wrong tempo to a personally preferred tempo.
Results indicated that the initial tempo significantly dominated subjects "correct" tempo judgements: the slower initial tempo generally evoked slower tempo selections, and so on. However, a relatively small number of adults, mostly musicians, were remarkably consistent in their tempo judgements across all four trials. It appeared that these individuals possess an exceptional ability with respect to acute stability of large-scale timing in music.
There was also evidence that the degree of consistency in correct tempo judgements gradually increased from preadolescence through adulthood. Few statistically significant differences in consistency of tempo judgements were found as a result of musical background. The findings strongly suggested that the style of musical examples influenced the degree of tempo consistency across trials. Moreover, there was statistically significant evidence that an increase of familiarity with and preference for the musical examples and the musical styles resulted in an increase of consistency of correct tempo judgements. The study concludes with recommendations for music education.
Eleni Lapidaki2000-05-13Z2011-03-11T08:53:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/147This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1472000-05-13ZThe study of the regenesis of mind in the 21st centuryThe enigma of consciousness and the brain-mind relationship will - most likely - be unveiled in the 21st century through the new technologies developed at the end of the 20th century and new technologies yet to come. The new technologies will be used to tackle the problem from evolu-tionary, developmental, normal and pathological brain functioning. A major contribution, how-ever, will surface when investigating a particular perspective of pathological brain functioning - a perspective that has not received any attention in the past: the investigation of the re-emergence of mind out of prolonged coma and coma like states.Paul Walter SchönleBrigitte Stemmer2001-05-10Z2011-03-11T08:54:35Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1358This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/13582001-05-10ZThe *subjectivity* of subjective experience - A representationalist analysis of the first-person perspectiveThis is a brief and accessible English summary of the "Self-model Theory of Subjectivity" (SMT), which is only available as German book in this archive. It introduces two new theoretical entities, the "phenomenal self-model" (PSM) and the "phenomenal model of the intentionality-relation" PMIR. A representationalist analysis of the phenomenal first-person persepctive is offered.
This is a revised version, including two pictures.Thomas Metzinger2000-10-18Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1039This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10392000-10-18ZSufficient Conditions for Error Back Flow Convergence in Dynamical Recurrent Neural NetworksThis paper extends previous analysis of the gradient decay to a class of discrete-time fully recurrent networks, called Dynamical Recurrent Neural Networks (DRNN), obtained by modelling synapses as Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters instead of multiplicative scalars. Using elementary matrix manipulations, we provide an upper bound on the norm of the weight matrix ensuring that the gradient vector, when propagated in a reverse manner in time through the error-propagation network, decays exponentially to zero. This bounds apply to all FIR architecture proposals as well as fixed point recurrent networks, regardless of delay and connectivity. In addition, we show that the computational overhead of the learning algorithm can be reduced drastically by taking advantage of the exponential decay of the gradient.Alex Aussem2000-12-19Z2011-03-11T08:54:27Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1163This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/11632000-12-19ZSuppression of displacement in severely slowed saccadesSeverely slowed saccades in <I>spinocerebellar ataxia</I> have previously been shown to be at least partially closed-loop in nature: their long duration means that they can be modified in-flight in response to intrasaccadic target movements. In this study, a woman with these pathologically slowed saccades could modify them in-flight in response to target movements, even when saccadic suppression of displacement prevented conscious awareness of those movements. Thus saccadic suppression of displacement is not complete, in that it provides perceptual information that is sub-threshold to consciousness but which can still be effectively utilised by the oculomotor system.Michael R MacAskillTim J AndersonRichard D Jones2002-08-27Z2011-03-11T08:54:59Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2424This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/24242002-08-27ZA Survey of Information Sources Used for Progress Decisions about Medical StudentsAlthough many medical schools have adopted a variety of methods to assess student competency, the extent to which these innovations have changed how decisions about student progress are made is not clear. This paper describes a survey of 126 accredited allopathic U.S. medical schools to determine which information sources are used for decisions related to medical student progress and graduation. Respondents were asked to indicate up to three information sources used for seven specific decisions about student progress. The results indicate that multiple choice questions (MCQs) and faculty ratings remain the most frequently used information sources. Clinical skills education in the pre-clinical curriculum is the area with the broadest use of assessments for progress decisions. Several explanations are suggested for the primacy of MCQs and faculty ratings in student decisions, including familiarity for faculty and students, ease of implementation and the resources required for the adoption of other assessment strategies.
Brian E. Mavis PhDBridget L. Cole BARuth B. Hoppe MD2003-01-03Z2011-03-11T08:55:07Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2686This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/26862003-01-03ZTalking Helps: Evolving Communicating Agents for the Predator-Prey Pursuit ProblemWe analyze a general model of multi-agent communication in which all agents communicate simultaneously to a message board. A genetic algorithm is used to evolve multi-agent languages for the predator agents in a version of the predator-prey pursuit problem. We show that the resulting behavior of the communicating multi-agent system is equivalent to that of a Mealy finite state machine whose states are determined by the agents’ usage of the evolved language. Simulations show that the evolution of a communication language improves the performance of the predators. Increasing the language size (and thus increasing the number of possible states in the Mealy machine) improves the performance even further. Furthermore, the evolved communicating predators perform significantly better than all previous work on similar preys. We introduce a method for incrementally increasing
the language size which results in an effective coarse-to-fine search that significantly reduces the evolution time required to find a solution. We present some observations on the effects of language size, experimental setup, and prey difficulty on the evolved Mealy machines. In particular, we observe that the start state is often revisited, and incrementally increasing the language size results in smaller Mealy machines. Finally, a simple rule is derived that provides a pessimistic estimate on the minimum language size that should be used for any multi-agent problem.Kam-Chuen JimLee Giles2002-11-08Z2011-03-11T08:55:05Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2584This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/25842002-11-08ZTextual properties, communicative clues and the translatorThis paper builds on the relevance-theoretic account of communication. It attempts to show that the question whether a textual feature of the original should be represented in the translated text as a "communicative clue" depends on a) the intentions of the original communicator and b) the translator's notion of what his or her task is. Regarding the impact of the translation, it also depends on how well the translator's intentions match the expectations of the audience.Dr Ernst-August Gutt2000-09-07Z2011-03-11T08:54:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/955This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9552000-09-07ZTheoretical and computer modelling of the neuropsychological system: from reflex - to consciousnessThe proposed theory of the neuropsychological system (NPS) consists of two parts, which correspond to two stages of theoretical and experimental modelling of NPS. The first part is the system-information approach to the analysis of neural-signal and mental phenomena, which allows to investigate organization of information contents of nervous signals into information-psychological phenomena of higher level of organization. The second part of the research project is the theory of two-level organization of NPS. This theory defines contents and mechanisms of a neural-reflex level, embracing neural base of unconscious and unconscious contents of the psyche, and modular-coordinate level, embracing oscillatory neural-modular base of consciousness and consciousness itself.Sergey Miroshnikov2004-04-07Z2011-03-11T08:55:31Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3552This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/35522004-04-07ZA theoretical framework for the study of spatial cognitionWe argue that the locomotion of organisms is better understood as a form of interaction with a subjective environment, rather than as a set of behaviors allegedly amenable to objective descriptions. An organism's interactions with its subjective environment are in turn understandable in terms of its cognitive architecture. We propose a large-scale classification of the possible types of cognitive architectures, giving a sketch of the subjective structure that each of them superimposes on space and of the relevant consequences on locomotion. The classification comprises a main division between nonrepresentational and representational architectures and further subdivisions.Maurizio TirassaAntonella CarassaGiuliano Geminiani2003-12-18Z2011-03-11T08:55:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3320This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/33202003-12-18ZTherapeutic applications of computer models of brain activity for Alzheimer disease. THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS OF COMPUTER MODELS OF BRAIN ACTIVITY FOR ALZHEIMER DISEASE.Prof Wlodzislaw Duch2000-08-13Z2011-03-11T08:54:22Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/912This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9122000-08-13ZThere are no known differences in brain mechanisms of consciousness between humans and other mammals Recent scientific findings indicate that consciousness is a fundamental biological adaptation. The known brain correlates of consciousness appear to be ancient phylogenetically, going back at least to early mammals. In all mammals alertness and sensory consciousness are required for the goal-directed behaviors that make species survival and reproduction possible. In all mammals the anatomy, physiology, neurochemistry and electrical activity of the brain in alert states shows striking similarities.
After more than seven decades of cumulative discoveries about waking and sensory consciousness, we have not yet found fundamental differences between humans and other mammals. Species differences such as the size of neocortex seem to be irrelevant to the existence of alertness and sensory consciousness, though different mammals obviously specialize in different of kinds of sensory, cognitive and motor abilities.
Skeptics sometimes claim that objective evidence for consciousness tells us little about subjective experience, such as the experience of conscious pain. Scientifically, however, plausible inferences are routinely based on reliable and consistent patterns of evidence. In other humans we invariably infer subjective experiences from objective behavioral and brain evidence --- if someone yells Ouch! after striking a finger with a hammer, we infer that they feel pain. The brain and behavioral evidence for subjective consciousness is essentially identical in humans and other mammals. On the weight of the objective evidence, therefore, subjective experience would seem to be equally plausible in all species with humanlike brains and behavior. Either we deny it to other humans (which is rarely done), or, to be consistent, we must also attribute it to other species that meet the same objective standards. It seems that the burden of proof for the absence of subjectivity in mammals should be placed on the skeptics.
Bernard J. Baars2001-05-08Z2011-03-11T08:54:37Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1478This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/14782001-05-08ZThinking Adaptive: Towards a Behaviours VirtualIn this paper we name some of the advantages of
virtual laboratories; and propose that a Behaviours
Virtual Laboratory should be useful for both biologists
and AI researchers, offering a new perspective for
understanding adaptive behaviour. We present our
development of a Behaviours Virtual Laboratory, which
at this stage is focused in action selection, and show
some experiments to illustrate the properties of our
proposal, which can be accessed via Internet.
Carlos GershensonPedro Pablo Gonzalez PerezJose Negrete Martinez2001-11-23Z2011-03-11T08:54:50Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1915This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/19152001-11-23ZTilt Aftereffects in a Self-Organizing Model of the Primary Visual CortexRF-LISSOM, a self-organizing model of laterally connected orientation maps in the primary visual cortex, was used to study the psychological phenomenon known as the tilt aftereffect. The same self-organizing processes that are responsible for the long-term development of the map are shown to result in tilt aftereffects over short time scales in the adult. The model permits simultaneous observation of large numbers of neurons and connections, making it possible to relate high-level phenomena to low-level events, which is difficult to do experimentally. The results give detailed computational support for the long-standing conjecture that the direct tilt aftereffect arises from adaptive lateral interactions between feature detectors. They also make a new prediction that the indirect effect results from the normalization of synaptic efficacies during this process. The model thus provides a unified computational explanation of self-organization and both the direct and indirect tilt aftereffect in the primary visual cortex.James A. BednarRisto Miikkulainen2002-02-24Z2011-03-11T08:54:53Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2105This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/21052002-02-24ZToward a Theory of Creative InklingsIt is perhaps not so baffling that we have the ability to develop, refine, and manifest a creative idea, once it has been conceived. But what sort of a system could spawn the initial seed of creativity from which an idea grows? This paper looks at how the mind is structured in such a way that we can experience a glimmer of insight or inkling of artistic inspiration.Liane M. Gabora2000-03-23Z2011-03-11T08:54:04Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/558This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5582000-03-23ZTowards Implementing Free-WillSome practical criteria for free-will are suggested where free-will is a matter of degree. It is argued that these are more appropriate than some extremely idealised conceptions. Thus although the paper takes lessons from philosophy it avoids idealistic approaches as irrelevant. A mechanism for allowing an agent to meet these criteria is suggested: that of facilitating the gradual emergence of free-will in the brain via an internal evolutionary process. This meets the requirement that not only must the choice of action be free but also choice in the method of choice, and choice in the method of choice of the method of choice etc. This is directly analogous to the emergence of life from non-life. Such an emergence of indeterminism with respect to the conditions of the agent fits well with the `Machiavellian Intelligence Hypothesis' which posits that our intelligence evolved (at least partially) to enable us to deal with social complexity and modelling `arms races'. There is a clear evolutionary advantage in being internally coherent in seeking to fulfil ones goals and unpredictable by ones peers. To fully achieve this vision several other aspects of cognition are necessary: open-ended strategy development; the meta-evolution of the evolutionary process; the facility to anticipate the results of strategies; and the situating of this process in a society of competitive peers. Finally the requirement that reports of the deliberations that lead to actions need to be socially acceptable leads to the suggestion that the language that the strategies are developed within be subject to a normative process in parallel with the development of free-will. An appendix outlines a philosophical position in support of my position.Bruce Edmonds2005-10-20Z2011-03-11T08:56:12Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4566This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/45662005-10-20ZTOWARDS THE ZERO ACCIDENT GOAL: ASSISTING THE FIRST OFFICER MONITOR AND CHALLENGE CAPTAIN ERRORSIn this article the authority system in the airplane cockpit is related to thirty year old authority studies of Stanley Milgram. Human errors made in the cockpit are found similar to those made in the authority experiments. It is argued that up to 20% of all airplane accidents may be preventable by optimizing the monitoring and challenging of captain errors by the first officer.Dr. Eugen Tarnow2001-11-26Z2011-03-11T08:54:50Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1925This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/19252001-11-26ZTuring Test: 50 Years LaterThe Turing Test is one of the most disputed topics in artificial intelligence, philosophy of mind, and cognitive science. This paper is a review of the past 50 years of the Turing Test. Philosophical debates, practical developments and repercussions in related disciplines are all covered. We discuss Turing's ideas in detail and present the important comments that have been made on them. Within this context, behaviorism, conscioussness, the `other minds' problem, and similar topics in philosophy of mind are discussed. We also cover the sociological and psychological aspects of the Turing Test. Finally, we look at the current situation and analyze programs that have been developed with the aim of passing the Turing Test. We conclude that the Turing Test has been, and will continue to be, an influential and controversial topic.Ayse Pinar SayginIlyas CicekliVarol Akman2001-09-17Z2011-03-11T08:54:48Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1804This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/18042001-09-17ZTypes of cost in inductive concept learningInductive concept learning is the task of learning to assign cases to a discrete set of classes. In real-world applications of concept learning, there are many different types of cost involved. The majority of the machine learning literature ignores all types of cost (unless accuracy is interpreted as a type of cost measure). A few papers have investigated the cost of misclassification errors. Very few papers have examined the many other types of cost. In this paper, we attempt to create a taxonomy of the different types of cost that are involved in inductive concept learning. This taxonomy may help to organize the literature on cost-sensitive learning. We hope that it will inspire researchers to investigate all types of cost in inductive concept learning in more depth. Peter Turney2000-05-24Z2011-03-11T08:53:43Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/186This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1862000-05-24ZThe Underwater Piano: Revival of the Resonance Theory of HearingIn 1857 Helmholtz proposed that the ear contained an array of sympathetic resonators, like piano strings, which served to give the ear its fine frequency discrimination. Since the discovery that most healthy human ears emit faint, pure tones (spontaneous otoacoustic emissions), it has been possible to view these narrowband signals as the continuous ringing of the resonant elements. But what are the elements? We note that motile outer hair cells lie in a precise crystal-like array with their sensitive stereocilia in contact with the gelatinous tectorial membrane. This paper therefore proposes that ripples on the surface of the tectorial membrane propagate to and fro between neighbouring cells. The resulting array of active resonators accounts for spontaneous emissions, the shape of the ears tuning curve, cochlear echoes, and could relate strongly to music. By identifying the resonating elements that eluded Helmholtz, this hypothesis revives the resonance theory of hearing, displaced this century by the traveling wave picture, and locates the regenerative receiver invoked by Gold in 1948.Andrew Bell2000-08-01Z2011-03-11T08:54:22Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/909This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9092000-08-01ZUnitization during Category LearningFive experiments explored the question of whether new perceptual units can be developed if they are diagnostic for a category learning task, and if so, what are the constraints on this unitization process? During category learning, participants were required to attend either a single component or a conjunction of five components in order to correctly categorize an object. In Experiments 1-4, some evidence for unitization was found in that the conjunctive task becomes much easier with practice, and this improvement was not found for the single component task, or for conjunctive tasks where the components cannot be unitized. Influences of component order (Experiment 1), component contiguity (Experiment 2), component proximity (Experiment 3), and number of components (Experiment 4) on practice effects were found. Using a Fourier Transformation method for deconvolving response times (Experiment 5), prolonged practice effects yielded responses that were faster than expected by analytic model that integrate evidence from independently perceived components. Robert Lee Goldstone2012-04-25T13:04:19Z2012-04-25T13:04:19Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/8159This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/81592012-04-25T13:04:19ZUnusual tooth sensation due to maxillary sinusitis-a case reportMaxillary sinusitis can cause pain or discomfort to the maxillary dentition but no report of patients complaining of a "jumping tooth sensation" during sinusitis has been recorded in the literature. This article presents a case of an unusual localised sensation from a maxillary right second premolar experienced while undergoing root canal treatment. This sensation was felt during walking while the patient was suffering an episode of influenza. This sensation first occurred following debridement of the root canal. However, it persisted even after the root canal had been sealed. A hypothetical explanation of this manifestation is proposed.Dr. W.C. Ngeowngeowy@um.edu.my2001-06-19Z2011-03-11T08:54:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1621This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/16212001-06-19ZUp for Debate: CMC as a support for course related discussion in a campus university settingInterviews and analysis of an experimental course involving online hypermail discussion between students and instructor.Paul LightVivienne LightEmma NesbittStevan Harnad2001-06-26Z2011-03-11T08:54:43Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1645This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/16452001-06-26ZA usage based analysis of CoRRBased on an empirical analysis of author usage of CoRR, and of its predecessor in the Los Alamos
eprint archives, it is shown that CoRR has not yet been able to match the early growth of the Los Alamos
physics archives. Some of the reasons are implicit in Halpern's paper, and we explore them further here.
In particular we refer to the need to promote CoRR more effectively for its intended community -
computer scientists in universities, industrial research labs and in government. We take up some points
of detail on this new world of open archiving concerning central versus distributed self-archiving,
publication, the restructuring of the journal publishers' niche, peer review and copyright. Les CarrSteve HitchcockWendy HallStevan Harnad2006-12-22Z2011-03-11T08:56:44Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5309This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/53092006-12-22ZA validation study of the age-of-acquisition norms collected by Ghyselinck, De Moor, & Brysbaert Ghyselinck, De Moor & Brysbaert (2000) collected age-of-acquisition (AoA) norms for 2,816 Dutch four- and five-letter nouns based on student ratings. To assess the validity of these ratings, we presented a sample of the words to children from kindergarten and the last year primary school. Overall, the validity data are in agreement with the rating data, so that the Ghyselinck ei al. measures can be used for further research on the effects of AoA. In addition, the rated AoA norms correlate with young children's actual spoken language use, as assessed on the basis of the CHILDES data base. W. De MoorM. GhyselinckM. Brysbaert2004-02-09Z2011-03-11T08:55:28Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3416This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/34162004-02-09ZThe Violation of Bell Inequalities in the MacroworldWe show that Bell inequalities can be violated in the macroscopic world.
The macroworld violation is illustrated using an example involving
connected vessels
of water. We show that whether the
violation of inequalities occurs in the microworld or in the macroworld, it
is the
identification of nonidentical events that plays a crucial role.
Specifically, we
prove that if nonidentical events are consistently differentiated,
Bell-type Pitowsky inequalities are no longer
violated, even for Bohm's example of two entangled spin 1/2 quantum
particles. We show how Bell inequalities can be
violated in cognition, specifically in the
relationship between abstract concepts and specific instances of these
concepts. This supports the hypothesis that
genuine quantum structure exists in the mind. We introduce a model where
the amount of nonlocality and the degree of
quantum uncertainty are parameterized, and demonstrate that increasing
nonlocality increases the degree of violation, while
increasing quantum uncertainty decreases the degree of violation.
Diederik AertsSven AertsJan BroekaertLiane Gabora2003-02-12Z2011-03-11T08:55:09Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2766This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/27662003-02-12ZWh-movement vs. scrambling: The brain makes a difference(no abstract)Angela D. FriedericiMatthias SchlesewskyChristian J. Fiebach2000-12-19Z2011-03-11T08:54:27Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1129This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/11292000-12-19ZWHAT CATATONIA CAN TELL US ABOUT "TOP-DOWN MODULATION": A NEUROPSYCHIATRIC HYPOTHESISDifferentialdiagnosis of motor symptoms, as for example akinesia, may be difficult since they may be either of neurologic, as for example Parkinsons, or psychiatric, as for example catatonia, origin leading to a so-called conflict of paradigms. Despite different origins such symptoms may clinically be more or less similar which may reflect functional brain organisation in general and cortical-subcortical relations in particular. It is therefore hypothesized that similarities and differences between Parkinsons as a motor disorder and catatonia as a psychomotor disorder may be accounted for by functional differences between top-down modulation and bottom-up modulation between prefrontal/frontal cortex and basal ganglia implying double dissociation between both diseases with regard to underlying pathophysiology.
Catatonia can be characterized by concomittant motor, emotional, and behavioral symptoms which may be accounted for by dysfunction in orbitofrontal-prefrontal/parietal cortical connectivity as a form of horizontal i.e. cortico-cortical modulation. Furthermore alteration in top-down modulation of caudate and other basal ganglia by gaba-ergic mediated orbitofrontal cortical deficits may account for motor symptoms in catatonia. Parkinsons in contrast can be characterized by predominant motor symptoms which may be accounted for by altered bottom-up modulation between dopaminergic mediated deficits in striatum and premotor/motor cortex. Due to connectional asymmetry i.e. unidirectionality in prefronto-premotor/motor cortical connections, there is no further dysregulation in other prefrontal cortical areas in Parkinsons as it is reflected in absence of major psychiatric symptoms in such patients.
It is concluded that comparison between Parkinsons and catatonia may reveal the nature of both top-down modulation and bottom-up modulation in further detail. Furthermore difference between Parkinsons as a motor and catatonia as a psychomotor disorder may be accounted for by pecularities in horizontal i.e. cortico-cortical modulation which, unlike top-down and bottom-up modulation as forms of vertical modulation, may be unidirectional and thus asymmetric not allowing for direct modulation of prefrontal cortical areas by premotor/motor cortex.
Key-words: Catatonia - Parkinsons - Top-down modulation - Bottom-up modulation - Horizontal modulation
Differentialdiagnosis of motor symptoms, as for example akinesia, may be difficult since they may be either of neurologic, as for example Parkinsons, or psychiatric, as for example catatonia, origin leading to a so-called conflict of paradigms. Despite different origins such symptoms may clinically be more or less similar which may reflect functional brain organisation in general and cortical-subcortical relations in particular. It is therefore hypothesized that similarities and differences between Parkinsons as a motor disorder and catatonia as a psychomotor disorder may be accounted for by functional differences between top-down modulation and bottom-up modulation between prefrontal/frontal cortex and basal ganglia implying double dissociation between both diseases with regard to underlying pathophysiology.
It is concluded that comparison between Parkinsons and catatonia may reveal the nature of both top-down modulation and bottom-up modulation in further detail. Furthermore difference between Parkinsons as a motor and catatonia as a psychomotor disorder may be accounted for by pecularities in horizontal i.e. cortico-cortical modulation which, unlike top-down and bottom-up modulation as forms of vertical modulation, may be unidirectional and thus asymmetric not allowing for direct modulation of prefrontal cortical areas by premotor/motor cortex.
Georg Northoff2011-08-30T04:22:54Z2011-08-30T04:22:54Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/7586This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/75862011-08-30T04:22:54ZWhat Feeling Is the "Feeling of Knowing"?Having a word on the tip of our tongue is a mundane and slightly annoying experi- ence. And yet, as Brown’s article helps us see, the theoretical implications of a TOT experience range very widely. The study of TOTs may also turn out to be useful for larger methodological reasons. Here, too, Brown recognizes that the investigation of TOTs offers an especially good example of convergent cognitive analysis, a way to combine phenomenology (e.g., James’s treatment of the fringe) with more objective methods of scientific investigation such as experimental psychology and computer modeling. For what it is worth, I am in complete agreement with Brown’s general approach to the TOT experience. And we also agree on various specific points, though in some cases Brown does not see this.
Unfortunately, Brown at times attributes to me views that I simply do not hold; for example, that I take the feeling of knowing to be necessarily veridical or that the feeling of knowing demands a search of all relevant nonconscious information. I want to keep my comments directed toward issues that are of larger importance for the study of consciousness and the fringe and not fuss about our misunderstandings unless they have wider cognitive implications. For this reason I focus on Brown’s discussion in his ‘‘Current Research’’ section and the phenomenology most relevant to it.
I believe the chief difficulty with Brown’s article is that it does not address James’s treatment of the feeling of knowing as it operates in a TOT state. This oversight undercuts a good deal of Brown’s specific analysis and helps contribute to his misun- derstanding of my own proposals regarding the role of the fringe in retrieval, monitor- ing, and control and why, as a matter of phenomenology, the feeling of knowing rightly understood is simply another term for the experience of rightness (Mangan, 1991, 1993a, 1993b).Dr Bruce B. Manganmangan@cogsci.berkeley.edu2000-10-20Z2011-03-11T08:54:25Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1050This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10502000-10-20ZWhen Good Observers Go Bad: Change Blindness, Inattentional Blindness, and Visual ExperienceSeveral studies (e.g., Becklen & Cervone, 1983; Mack & Rock, 1998; Neisser & Becklen, 1975) have found that observers attending to a particular object or event often fail to report the presence of unexpected items. This has been interpreted as inattentional blindness (IB), a failure to see unattended items (Mack & Rock, 1998). Meanwhile, other studies (e.g., Pashler, 1988; Phillips, 1974; Rensink et al., 1997; Simons, 1996) have found that observers often fail to report the presence of large changes in a display when these changes occur simultaneously with a transient such as an eye movement or flash of the display. This has been interpreted as change blindness (CB), a failure to see unattended changes (Rensink et al., 1997).
In both cases there is a striking failure to report an object or event that would be quite visible under other circumstances. And in both cases there is a widespread (although not universal) belief that the underlying cause has to do with the absence of attention. The question then arises as to how these effects might be related. Is CB the same thing as IB? If not, what is the relation between them? And given that these phenomena deal with failures of subjective perception, what can they teach us about the nature of our visual experience? In particular, what can they teach us about the role played by visual attention?Ronald A. Rensink2004-02-03Z2011-03-11T08:55:28Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3415This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/34152004-02-03ZWhy the Disjunction in Quantum Logic is Not ClassicalThe quantum logical `or' is analyzed from a physical
perspective. We show that it is the existence of EPR-like correlation states
for the quantum mechanical entity under consideration that make it
nonequivalent to the classical situation. Specifically, the presence of
potentiality in these correlation states gives rise to the quantum
deviation from the classical logical
`or'. We show how this arises not only in the microworld, but also in
macroscopic situations where EPR-like correlation states are
present. We investigate how application of this analysis to concepts could
alleviate some well known
problems in cognitive science.
Diederik AertsEllie D'HondtLiane Gabora2000-08-11Z2011-03-11T08:54:22Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/929This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9292000-08-11ZWord recognition: do we need phonological representations?Under what format(s) are spoken words memorized by the brain? Are word forms stored as abstract phonological representations? Or rather, are they stored as detailed acoustic-phonetic representations? (For example as a set of acoustic exemplars associated with each word). We present a series of experiments whose results point to the existence of prelexical phonological processes in word recognition and suggest that spoken words are accessed using a phonological code.Christophe Pallier