The authors have no acknowledgements.

This research was approved with a full waiver of informed consent by the University of Texas at Austin Institutional Review Board (IRB 2011-02-0021).
1. Beginning and Introducing the Session
<ol>
	<li>Ask participants to begin the session online. 
	NOTE: The session can take place in a lab or on participants&#39; own computers (desktop or laptop) outside the lab. The study requires a digital survey platform that has a time-based automatic proceeding feature (e.g., Qualtrics).</li>
	<li>Ask participants to read basic descriptions of the overall survey procedure (e.g., expected duration, required survey-taking device, and anonymity of responses) and an online consent form, if applicable. Ask participants to click the &#34;Continue&#34; button at the bottom of the screen to proceed when ready.</li>
</ol>
2. Foreshadowing the Interruption and Providing Task Overview
<ol>
	<li>Present participants with the &#34;Important Notice&#34; message on the screen (Figure 1). Use the notice to inform participants that, at some point during the session, they will be interrupted briefly but suddenly by the &#34;Natural-Typing Task,&#34; designed to measure participants&#39; natural typing speeds. Inform participants that this task will involve typing 49 nonsense words with no meaning (e.g., tregran or mip).
	<ol>
		<li>Below the notice, present a question asking whether the participants have carefully read all the information about the interruption. Ask participants to select &#34;Yes&#34; and click the &#34;Continue&#34; button to proceed to the next page.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
<img alt="Figure 1" src="/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig1.jpg" /> 
Figure 1. Informing Participants about a Future Interruption. Participants are informed that they will suddenly be interrupted sometime during the session with a &#34;Natural-Typing Task.&#34; <a href="http://cloudfront.jove.com/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig1large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<ol start="2">
	<li>On the next page, present an overview of the three tasks that participants will supposedly be doing (Figure 2). Provide a brief description and the expected duration of each task. Ask participants to click the &#34;Continue&#34; button after reading the overview information to proceed to the next page. 
	NOTE: It is critical that the expected duration information is consistent, because participants will later choose between completing either the second task or the third task.</li>
</ol>
<img alt="Figure 2" src="/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig2.jpg" /> 
Figure 2. Task Overview. Participants are shown an overview of all tasks that they would possibly be completing. The expected duration is provided and kept constant so that it does not affect participants&#39; choices later, when they have to choose between the second and third tasks. <a href="http://cloudfront.jove.com/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig2large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
3. Activation of the Proposed Cognitive Goal
<ol>
	<li>Inform participants that they will now start the &#34;Relationship Conflict Task,&#34; and have them click the &#34;Continue&#34; button to proceed. 
	NOTE: The purpose of the first task is to manipulate the presence or absence of a cognitive goal. In the work by Namkoong and Henderson11, the &#34;Relationship Conflict Task&#34; was designed to manipulate either high or low causal uncertainty, because it was proposed that this would activate or not activate a goal to think more abstractly. The following steps use this particular procedure as an example.</li>
	<li>Ask participants to recall a recent relationship conflict they had with someone they are close to. Use an open-ended format (i.e., &#34;What was the conflict about?&#34;).
	<ol>
		<li>Below the open-ended question, ask questions about this incident, such as who the conflict was with and how intense the conflict was. Then, ask participants to click the &#34;Continue&#34; button to proceed to the next page. 
		NOTE: The reason for asking questions about the recalled incident is to ensure that participants come up with a specific conflict (as opposed to general dissatisfaction) in a relationship.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Manipulate high or low causal uncertainty by asking participants to elaborate on the recent relationship conflict, with a focus on high or low causal uncertainty, respectively (Figure 3). Ask participants to type their responses inside a textbox and, when finished, click the &#34;Continue&#34; button to proceed to the next page.</li>
	<li>Ask manipulation check questions (i.e., experienced causal uncertainty).
	<ol>
		<li>Specifically, ask participants to use seven-point scales to indicate how much they agree or disagree with the following two statements: &#34;I feel like there are many things about this conflict that I still don&#39;t fully understand&#34; and &#34;I feel like I have a very good understanding about why the conflict happened&#34; (reverse-coded) before clicking the &#34;Continue&#34; button to go to the next page.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
<img alt="Figure 3" src="/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig3.jpg" /> 
Figure 3. Instructions in the High Versus Low Causal Uncertainty Conditions. In the high causal uncertainty condition (top), participants are asked to write about the things they do not understand about the conflict in terms of why it happened. In the low causal uncertainty condition (bottom), participants are asked to write about the things they understand well about the conflict. <a href="http://cloudfront.jove.com/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig3large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
4. Manipulating Expectations to Satisfy the Cognitive Goal
<ol>
	<li>Inform participants that they will now start the &#34;Picture Impression Task&#34; and have them click the &#34;Continue&#34; button to proceed. 
	NOTE: To test the activation of an abstract thinking goal, the &#34;Picture Impression Task&#34; and the description shown to participants involve either abstract thinking (i.e., similarity-focus; expected to satisfy the cognitive goal) or concrete thinking (i.e., difference-focus; expected to dissatisfy the cognitive goal) based on prior work25,26 and a pilot study result11.</li>
	<li>Describe to participants what the &#34;Picture Impression Task&#34; entails. In the similarity-focus (difference-focus) condition, inform participants that they will see five pairs of pictures and that, for each pair, they must identify one thing that makes the pictures similar to (different from) each other (Figure 4). Ask participants to click the &#34;Continue&#34; button to proceed to the next page after reading the descriptions.</li>
	<li>Show participants an incomplete image to make the screen appear as if the first pair of pictures of the &#34;Picture Impression Task&#34; is being loaded, without showing any parts of the pictures (Figure 5). After 2 - 3 s, have the screen automatically proceed to a different page to start the task interruption procedure.</li>
</ol>
<img alt="Figure 4" src="/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig4.jpg" /> 
Figure 4. &#34;Picture Impression Task&#34; Instructions in the Similarity- Versus Difference-Focus Conditions. In the similarity-focus condition (top), participants are told that they will be looking for similarities between pictures; in the difference-focus condition (bottom), participants are told that they will be looking for differences between pictures. <a href="http://cloudfront.jove.com/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig4large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 5" src="/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig5.jpg" /> 
Figure 5. Loading Images. Participants see a screen that is apparently loading the first pair of pictures. This figure belongs to the similarity-focus condition. It is important to note that, before any parts of the pictures appear, participants are interrupted and their screen changes to the &#34;Natural-Typing Task&#34; screen shown in Figure 6. <a href="http://cloudfront.jove.com/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig5large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
5. Task Interruption
<ol>
	<li>Instruct participants to complete the &#34;Natural Typing Task&#34; by clicking the &#34;Start&#34; button, typing the 49 nonsense words presented on the screen, and clicking the &#34;Continue&#34; button when finished (Figure 6). 
	NOTE: Researchers should record the duration of the interruption (i.e., how much time participants spent on the interruption page typing the words on the screen) to check if it varied as a result of any of the manipulations. Interruption duration should also be considered as a control variable in the main analyses because it can affect task resumption rate27.</li>
</ol>
<img alt="Figure 6" src="/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig6.jpg" /> 
Figure 6. Task Interruption. Participants are interrupted with the &#34;Natural-Typing Task.&#34; Here, they are asked to type 49 nonsense words so the researchers can measure their natural typing speed. <a href="http://cloudfront.jove.com/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig6large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
6. Task Resumption as a Dependent Variable
<ol>
	<li>Inform participants that, instead of completing all tasks as originally planned, they must choose between the second task and the third task. Specifically, instruct participants to choose between resuming the interrupted &#34;Picture Impression Task&#34; (which means giving up the &#34;Humor Evaluation Task&#34;) or completing the &#34;Humor Evaluation Task&#34; (which means abandoning the &#34;Picture Impression Task&#34;). 
	NOTE: The dependent variable observed is the rate of task resumption. The premise is that participants will be more likely to resume the interrupted task at the cost of engaging in a more enjoyable alternative if the interrupted task is perceived as an opportunity to satisfy the active cognitive goal.
	<ol>
		<li>On the same screen, show the task descriptions (Figure 7). Remind participants that both tasks will 2 min and will involve five trials (five pairs of pictures or five humorous stories, depending on the condition) to prevent them from choosing the task that simply seems easier or quicker to finish. 
		NOTE: A pilot test should be performed to verify that the third task is indeed expected by participants to be more enjoyable than the second task in the absence of the cognitive goal11. This will also help to avoid a ceiling effect, which is a potential concern because task-resumption motivation is generally high, even without the activation of a particular cognitive goal, as demonstrated by Zeigarnik28.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
<img alt="Figure 7" src="/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig7.jpg" /> 
Figure 7. Recording Task Resumption. Participants are told that they can now do only one of the two remaining tasks. They can either resume the &#34;Picture Impression Task&#34; (and not the &#34;Humor Evaluation Task&#34;) or jump to the &#34;Humor Evaluation Task&#34; (and abandon the &#34;Picture Impression Task&#34;). <a href="http://cloudfront.jove.com/files/ftp_upload/55650/55650fig7large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
7. Concluding the Session
<ol>
	<li>Conclude the session by allowing the participants to complete the task of their choice and by asking demographics questions of interest. Debrief the participants. 
	NOTE: The dependent variable data was collected in the previous stage, so the actual task activities (how participants answer questions in the &#34;Picture Impression Task&#34; or the &#34;Humor Evaluation Task&#34;) are no longer relevant from an empirical perspective, as long as the tasks appear realistic to participants.</li>
</ol>

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The authors have nothing to disclose.

The methodology detailed in this paper allows researchers to test the activation and pursuit of a cognitive goal in a simple and economical way. It is especially suitable for automatic cognitive goals because automatic goal pursuit is more efficient29, and the typing interruption (i.e., the &#34;Natural Typing Task&#34;) prevents goals from being fulfilled through unconscious cognitive processes. Cognitive goals that are activated outside of participants&#39; awareness are also less susce...

Goal pursuit can take many forms, from educational attainment to healthy diets to finding happiness. Much research on goal pursuit investigates factors that moderate motivation levels or goal commitment1,2,3,4,5, while others focus on examining the consequences of active goals6,7,8,9,10. The methodology described and discussed in the current paper was specifically developed to test the activation and pursuit of cognitive goals and the associated consequences. A cognitive goal (or thinking goal) is defined as a desired state of mind11. Cognitive goals may encompass specific thought outcomes, such as those related to motivated reasoning12 or confirmation bias13, or they may be about achieving a certain mode of thinking, whether it is to be more accurate14 or to think more creatively15 or at a higher level11. While the antecedents and consequences of various cognitive goals have been examined in various empirical settings, the activation of these motivational states has often been implied rather than directly tested. For example, several studies have indirectly manipulated the need for cognitive closure by manipulating time pressure, but the actual activation of the motivational state was implied based on prior research16,17,18,19.
The setup of this methodology is based on one of the principles of goal pursuit6,10,20: that unsatisfied active goals lead to persistence, so individuals have a high tendency to resume if they have been interrupted during goal pursuit. In contrast, if the interrupted task is unrelated to goal pursuit, the rate of resumption amongst individuals would be relatively lower. To illustrate, an individual shooting hoops to reach a certain success rate is highly likely to resume the activity after being interrupted by a lunch break, even if there are other available activities that could be more appealing (e.g., playing a video game or taking a nap). In contrast, if the individual is shooting hoops simply because it is a convenient activity at the time, there is a lower chance that this person would resume after taking a lunch break, especially if other appealing activities are available.
A cognitive goal, when activated, would also result in a higher resumption rate if the individuals are interrupted during goal pursuit. However, there is a critical difference between interrupting a behavioral goal pursuit and interrupting a cognitive goal pursuit. Interrupting a behavioral goal pursuit typically means that the interruption is successful in pausing the goal pursuit process because, for instance, just as it is difficult to shoot hoops and eat lunch at the same time, it is challenging for people to be physically engaged in two separate tasks simultaneously. This is not the case, however, when interrupting the pursuit of cognitive goals. People can continue to have and develop thoughts, even during periods of interruptions, which is why people often find themselves persistently pondering unresolved issues, even when forced to step away to eat a meal or take a shower. In fact, recent studies have demonstrated that people engage in complex cognitive processes even when asleep21,22,23. The protocol introduced in the current research is designed to address this unique characteristic of cognitive goal pursuit: that people can continue to pursue and potentially even satisfy the activated cognitive goal during the interruption period. Specifically, this protocol includes an activity that distracts participants during the interruption stage to prevent automatic goal pursuit.
The gist of this protocol involves: (1) manipulating the activation of a proposed cognitive goal, (2) presenting an &#34;unrelated&#34; cognitive task that participants anticipate would either satisfy or dissatisfy the activated cognitive goal, (3) interrupting the cognitive task while creating a distraction, and (4) observing participants&#39; choices to resume or abandon the interrupted task. The underlying premise of the protocol is that participants would be more likely to resume an interrupted task if the task is perceived as an opportunity to satisfy the activated cognitive goal; therefore, a higher resumption rate in this condition provides empirical evidence that the proposed cognitive goal is indeed being actively pursued.
When implementing the protocol, participants are told that they will be completing three supposedly unrelated tasks. In reality, participants complete the first task but then have to choose between doing only the second or third task. In addition, the tasks are actually related, and each task serves an important purpose for the experiment. The first task manipulates cognitive goal activation. The second task (which is interrupted) manipulates whether or not that task is expected to satisfy the activated cognitive goal. The third task serves as an attractive alternative for when participants later choose between completing only the second task (resuming the interrupted task at the cost of a more enjoyable task) or completing only the third task (abandoning the interrupted task for a more enjoyable task). The interruption introduced at the beginning of the second task involves typing nonsense words. While participants are warned about this interruption at the beginning of the overall session, they are also told that the timing will be random. This is to enhance the feeling of disruptiveness.
While this protocol can be adapted to test the activation of a variety of cognitive goals, the example of a recent study, which tested whether causal uncertainty (i.e., uncertainty about why something happened) activates a goal to think more abstractly11, is used here in an attempt to provide more details and contextual background on the protocol. The theory was proposed and demonstrated as an extension of prior work showing that abstract thinking (considering central, overarching themes and similarities across events as opposed to peripheral, lower-level details and differences between events) reduces causal uncertainty24. As individuals recurrently experience the benefit of abstract thinking, they develop a tendency to activate a goal to think more abstractly when experiencing causal uncertainty. The survey is available online34.

<table><tbody><tr><td>Computer</td><td>N/A</td><td>N/A</td><td>The survey requires a computer and cannot be implemented using a paper-and-pencil format.</td></tr><tr><td>Qualtrics Insight Platform</td><td>Qualtrics</td><td>N/A</td><td>Qualtrics is only one example. Both online and offline survey platforms are appropriate as long as a time-based automatic proceeding feature is available.</td></tr><tr><td>IBM SPSS Statistics</td><td>IBM Corporation</td><td>N/A</td><td>Other statistical software may be used.</td></tr></tbody></table>

task interruption and resumption paradigm for testing the activation and pursuit of an abstract thinking goal

This protocol is based on the task interruption and resumption paradigm, the premise of which is that active goals lead to persistent behavior and thus a higher resumption rate after a period of delay or interruption. The task interruption and resumption protocol described in this research is tailored to test the activation of cognitive goals (e.g., a goal to think more abstractly). Cognitive goals may be pursued even during the interruption period; thus, to prevent this, the protocol involves cognitive distraction. The protocol consists of several stages. Specifically, the initial stage includes the goal activation process, where the treatment (versus control) condition receives a manipulation to activate the cognitive goal being tested by the researcher. In the next stage, participants are presented with the introduction of a task that is perceived to either satisfy or not satisfy the cognitive goal of interest. Importantly, this task is interrupted a few seconds after it begins. The task interruption forces a delay period and introduces a cognitive distraction to prevent the automatic pursuit and fulfillment of the cognitive goal. After the interruption period, participants are given a choice between resuming the interrupted task and abandoning the interrupted task to complete an alternative task instead. Among participants whose cognitive goals had been activated at the earlier stage, the task resumption rate should be higher if the task was perceived as an opportunity to satisfy (versus not satisfy) the goal. Such a finding would provide empirical evidence that the cognitive goal has been activated and pursued. In previous research, this protocol has been used to test whether causal uncertainty activates an abstract thinking goal. Adapting the protocol to test the activation of other cognitive goals is also discussed.

The above method was implemented by Namkoong and Henderson11 in their first study, which consisted of two data sets. The two data sets were combined for the analysis because the pattern of results was consistent across both. Participants were 297 college students from two different public universities (168 females; age range 17 to 48 years, mean (M) age = 20.43 years, standard deviation (SD) = 3.78 years), and they completed the survey in exchange...

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Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal

This protocol was designed to test the activation and pursuit of cognitive goals (e.g., an abstract thinking goal) using the task interruption and resumption paradigm. The protocol is suitable for cognitive goals that are automatically pursued once activated, as the distraction procedure prevents goal pursuit during the interruption period.

This protocol is based on the task interruption and resumption paradigm, the premise of which is that active goals lead to persistent behavior and thus a ...

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JoVE Journal

Behavior

6.1K Views.  University of Nevada. This protocol was designed to test the activation and pursuit of cognitive goals (e.g., an abstract thinking goal) using the task interruption and resumption paradigm. The protocol is suitable for cognitive goals that are automatically pursued once activated, as the distraction procedure prevents goal pursuit during the interruption period.

Video: Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal

The 5-Choice Serial Reaction Time Task: A Task of Attention and Impulse Control for Rodents

This protocol describes the 5-choice serial reaction time task, which is an operant based task used to study attention and impulse control in rodents. Test day challenges, modifications to the standard task, can be used to systematically tax the neural systems controlling either attention or impulse control. Importantly, these challenges have consistent effects on behavior across laboratories in intact animals and can reveal either enhancements or deficits in cognitive function that are not apparent when rats are only tested on the standard task. The variety of behavioral measures that are collected can be used to determine if other factors (i.e., sedation, motivation deficits, locomotor impairments) are contributing to changes in performance. The versatility of the 5CSRTT is further enhanced because it is amenable to combination with pharmacological, molecular, and genetic techniques.

This protocol describes the 5-choice serial reaction time task, which is an operant based task used to study attention and impulse control in rodents. Test day challenges, which are modifications of the standard task, increase flexibility of the task and can be combined with other manipulations to more fully characterize behavior.

This protocol describes the 5-choice serial reaction time task, which is an operant based task used to study attention and impulse control in rodents. ...

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression

Ruminative brooding is associated with increased vulnerability to major depression. Individuals who regularly ruminate will often try to reduce the frequency of their negative thoughts by actively suppressing them. We aim to identify the neural correlates underlying thought suppression in at-risk and depressed individuals. Three groups of women were studied; a major depressive disorder group, an at-risk group (having a first degree relative with depression) and controls. Participants performed a mixed block-event fMRI paradigm involving thought suppression, free thought and motor control periods. Participants identified the re-emergence of &#8220;to-be-suppressed&#8221; thoughts (&#8220;popping&#8221; back into conscious awareness) with a button press. During thought suppression the control group showed the greatest activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, followed by the at-risk, then depressed group. During the re-emergence of intrusive thoughts compared to successful re-suppression of those thoughts, the control group showed the greatest activation of the anterior cingulate cortices, followed by the at-risk, then depressed group. At-risk participants displayed anomalies in the neural regulation of thought suppression resembling the dysregulation found in depressed individuals. The predictive value of these changes in the onset of depression remains to be determined.

We aim to identify the neural correlates underlying sustained and transient thought suppression, and thought re-emergence in controls, at-risk and depressed individuals. Activation was greatest for controls compared to the at-risk and the depressed group in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during thought suppression and anterior cingulate cortex during thought re-emergence.

Ruminative brooding is associated with increased vulnerability to major depression. Individuals who regularly ruminate will often try to reduce the ...

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Goal-directed behavior is often impaired by interference from the external environment, either in the form of distraction by irrelevant information that one attempts to ignore, or by interrupting information that demands attention as part of another (secondary) task goal. Both forms of external interference have been shown to detrimentally impact the ability to maintain information in working memory (WM). Emerging evidence suggests that these different types of external interference exert different effects on behavior and may be mediated by distinct neural mechanisms. Better characterizing the distinct neuro-behavioral impact of irrelevant distractions versus attended interruptions is essential for advancing an understanding of top-down attention, resolution of external interference, and how these abilities become degraded in healthy aging and in neuropsychiatric conditions. This manuscript describes a novel cognitive paradigm developed the Gazzaley lab that has now been modified into several distinct versions used to elucidate behavioral and neural correlates of interference, by to-be-ignored distractors versus to-be-attended interruptors. Details are provided on variants of this paradigm for investigating interference in visual and auditory modalities, at multiple levels of stimulus complexity, and with experimental timing optimized for electroencephalography (EEG) or functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. In addition, data from younger and older adult participants obtained using this paradigm is reviewed and discussed in the context of its relationship with the broader literatures on external interference and age-related neuro-behavioral changes in resolving interference in working memory.

A novel cognitive paradigm is developed to elucidate behavioral and neural correlates of interference by to-be-ignored distractors versus interference by to-be-attended interruptors during a working memory task. In this manuscript, several variants of this paradigm are detailed, and data obtained with this paradigm in younger/older adult participants is reviewed.

Goal-directed behavior is often impaired by interference from the external environment, either in the form of distraction by irrelevant information that ...

Modulating Cognition Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Cerebellum

Numerous studies have emerged recently that demonstrate the possibility of modulating, and in some cases enhancing, cognitive processes by exciting brain regions involved in working memory and attention using transcranial electrical brain stimulation. Some researchers now believe the cerebellum supports cognition, possibly via a remote neuromodulatory effect on the prefrontal cortex. This paper describes a procedure for investigating a role for the cerebellum in cognition using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and a selection of information-processing tasks of varying task difficulty, which have previously been shown to involve working memory, attention and cerebellar functioning. One task is called the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) and the other a novel variant of this task called the Paced Auditory Serial Subtraction Task (PASST). A verb generation task and its two controls (noun and verb reading) were also investigated. All five tasks were performed by three separate groups of participants, before and after the modulation of cortico-cerebellar connectivity using anodal, cathodal or sham tDCS over the right cerebellar cortex. The procedure demonstrates how performance (accuracy, verbal response latency and variability) could be selectively improved after cathodal stimulation, but only during tasks that the participants rated as difficult, and not easy. Performance was unchanged by anodal or sham stimulation. These findings demonstrate a role for the cerebellum in cognition, whereby activity in the left prefrontal cortex is likely dis-inhibited by cathodal tDCS over the right cerebellar cortex. Transcranial brain stimulation is growing in popularity in various labs and clinics. However, the after-effects of tDCS are inconsistent between individuals and not always polarity-specific, and may even be task- or load-specific, all of which requires further study. Future efforts might also be guided towards neuro-enhancement in cerebellar patients presenting with cognitive impairment once a better understanding of brain stimulation mechanisms has emerged.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the cerebellum exerts a remote effect on the prefrontal cortex, which can modulate cognition and performance. This was demonstrated using two information-processing tasks of varying complexity, whereby only cathodal tDCS improved performance when the task was difficult, but not easy.

Numerous studies have emerged recently that demonstrate the possibility of modulating, and in some cases enhancing, cognitive processes by exciting brain ...

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

When viewers search for targets in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) stream, if two targets are presented within about 500 msec of each other, the first target may be easy to spot but the second is likely to be missed. This phenomenon of attentional blink (AB) has been widely studied to probe the temporal capacity of attention for detecting visual targets. However, with the typical procedure of AB experiments, it is not possible to examine how the processing of non-target items in RSVP may be affected by attention. This paper describes a novel dual task procedure combined with RSVP to test effects of AB for nontargets at varied stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). In an exemplar experiment, a target category was first displayed, followed by a sequence of 8 nouns. If one of the nouns belonged to the target category, participants would respond &#8216;yes&#8217; at the end of the sequence, otherwise participants would respond &#8216;no&#8217;. Two 2-alternative forced choice memory tasks followed the response to determine if participants remembered the words immediately before or after the target, as well as a random word from another part of the sequence. In a second exemplar experiment, the same design was used, except that 1) the memory task was counterbalanced into two groups with SOAs of either 120 or 240 msec and 2) three memory tasks followed the sequence and tested remembrance for nontarget nouns in the sequence that could be anywhere from 3 items prior the target noun position to 3 items following the target noun position. Representative results from a previously published study demonstrate that our procedure can be used to examine divergent effects of attention that not only enhance targets but also suppress nontargets. Here we show results from a representative participant that replicated the previous finding.&#160;

This paper describes a novel dual task procedure combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to look at attentional blink at varied stimulus onset asynchronies. This experimental procedure differed from others in that it tested attentional blink for nontargets.

When viewers search for targets in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) stream, if two targets are presented within about 500 msec of each other, the ...

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Decades of behavioral science research have documented functional shifts in attitudes and ideological adherence in response to various challenges, but little work to date has illuminated the neural mechanisms underlying these dynamics. This paper describes how continuous theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation may be employed to experimentally assess the causal contribution of cortical regions to threat-related ideological shifts. In the example protocol provided here, participants are exposed to a threat prime-an explicit reminder of their own inevitable death and bodily decomposition-following a downregulation of the posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC) or a sham stimulation. Next, disguised within a series of distracter tasks, participants' relative degree of ideological adherence is assessed-in the present example, with regard to coalitional prejudice and religious belief. Participants for whom the pMFC has been downregulated exhibit less coalitionally biased responses to an immigrant critical of the participants' national in-group, and less conviction in positive afterlife beliefs (i.e., God, angels, and heaven), despite having recently been reminded of death. These results complement prior findings that continuous theta burst stimulation of the pMFC influences social conformity and sharing and illustrate the feasibility of investigating the neural basis of high-level social cognitive shifts using transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Threats reliably evoke shifts in high-level ideological investment, but little work to date has explored the neural mechanisms underlying these dynamics. This paper describes how continuous theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation may be employed to test the contribution of the posterior medial frontal cortex (and/or other regions) to threat-related ideological shifts.

Decades of behavioral science research have documented functional shifts in attitudes and ideological adherence in response to various challenges, but ...

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment

The efficacy of cognitive training interventions is recently highly debated. There is no consensus on what kind of training regimen is the most effective. Also, individual characteristics as predictors of training outcome are still being investigated. In this article, we show the attempt to address this issue by examining not only the impact of working memory (WM) training on cognitive effectiveness in older adults but also the influence of the initial WM capacity (WMC) on the training&#39;s outcome. We describe in detail how to perform 5 weeks of an adaptive dual n-back training with an active control group (memory quiz). We are focusing here on technical aspects of the training as well as on the initial assessment of participants&#39; WMC. The evaluation of pre and post training performance of other cognitive dimensions was based on the results of tests of memory updating, inhibition, attention shifting, short-term memory (STM) and reasoning. We have found that the initial level of WMC predicts the efficiency of the n-back training intervention. We have also noticed the post training improvement in almost all aspects of cognitive functioning we measured, but those effects were mostly intervention independent.

A cognitive training intervention in elderly population together with the assessment of the pre training cognitive abilities is presented. We show two versions of training - experimental and active control - and demonstrate their effects on the array of cognitive tests.

The efficacy of cognitive training interventions is recently highly debated. There is no consensus on what kind of training regimen is the most effective. ...

Using Brain Activation (nir-HEG/Q-EEG) and Execution Measures (CPTs) in a ADHD Assessment Protocol

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a problem that impacts academic performance and has serious consequences that result in difficulties in scholastic, social and familial contexts. One of the most common problems in the identification of this disorder relates to the apparent over diagnosis of the disorder due to the absence of global protocols for assessment. The research group of School Learning, Difficulties and Academic Performance (ADIR) from the University of Oviedo, has developed a complete protocol that suggests the existence of certain patterns of cortical activation and executive control for identifying ADHD more objectively. This protocol takes into consideration some of the hypothetical determinants of ADHD, including the relationship between activation of selected areas of the brain, and differences in performance on various aspects of executive functioning such as omissions, commissions or response times, using innovative tools of Continuous Performance Testing (based on Virtual Reality CPT and Traditional CPT) and brain activation measures (two different tools, based on Hemoencephalography- nirHEG; and Quantified Electroencephalography --Q-EEG, respectively). This model of assessment aims to provide an effective assessment of ADHD symptomatology in order to design an accurate intervention and make appropriate recommendations for parents and teachers.

Using Brain Activation nir-HEG/Q-EEG and Execution Measures CPTs in a ADHD Assessment Protocol

This work presents a new protocol for the assessment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by providing a more objective diagnostic procedure for this developmental disorder based on the use of innovative tools. It also analyzes the relationship between activation measures and executive function measures.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a problem that impacts academic performance and has serious consequences that result in difficulties in ...

Neuroscience

A Visuospatial Planning Task Coupled with Eye-Tracker and Electroencephalogram Systems

The planning process, characterized by the capability to formulate an organized plan to reach a goal, is essential for human goal-directed behavior. Since planning is compromised in several neuropsychiatric disorders, the implementation of proper clinical and experimental tests to examine planning is critical. Due to the nature of the deployment of planning, in which several cognitive domains participate, the assessment of planning and the design of behavioral paradigms coupled with neuroimaging methods are current challenges in cognitive neuroscience. A planning task was evaluated in combination with an electroencephalogram (EEG) system and eye movement recordings in 27 healthy adult participants. Planning can be separated into two stages: a mental planning stage in which a sequence of steps is internally represented and an execution stage in which motor action is used to achieve a previously planned goal. Our protocol included a planning task and a control task. The planning task involved solving 36 maze trials, each representing a zoo map. The task had four periods: i) planning, where the subjects were instructed to plan a path to visit the locations of four animals according to a set of rules; ii) maintenance, where the subjects had to retain the planned path in their working memory; iii) execution, where the subjects used eye movements to trace the previously planned path as indicated by the eye-tracker system; and iv) response, where the subjects reported the order of the visited animals. The control task had a similar structure, but the cognitive planning component was removed by modifying the task goal. The spatial and temporal patterns of the EEG revealed that planning induces a gradual and lasting rise in frontal-midline theta activity (FM&#952;) over time. The source of this activity was identified within the prefrontal cortex by source analyses. Our results suggested that the experimental paradigm combining EEG and eye-tracker systems was optimal for evaluating cognitive planning.

The study of cognitive planning combining EEG and eye-tracking systems provides a multimodal approach to investigate the neural mechanisms that mediate cognitive control and goal-directed behavior in humans. Here, we describe a protocol for investigating the role of brain oscillations and eye movements in planning performance.

The planning process, characterized by the capability to formulate an organized plan to reach a goal, is essential for human goal-directed behavior. Since ...

Effects of Thinking Abstractly or Concretely on Self-control

Source: Diego Reinero &#38; Jay Van Bavel&#8212;New York University
Whether it's refraining from having a second serving of ice cream, studying instead of attending a fun party, or deciding to put money away in a savings account, sacrificing short-term outcomes in favor of long-term outcomes (i.e., delaying gratification) is a central tenant of self-control. When people apply self control, they engage numerous psychological processes to help them achieve their goal. These self-regulatory processes have been studied by psychologists for decades.
A decision to resist tempting short-term rewards can depend on an individual's mindset and focus. Psychologists have found evidence that how someone construes an event can influence how they make judgments and decisions, a theory called Construal Level Theory (CLT). In particular, CLT asserts that the same object or event can be represented at multiple levels of abstractness or psychological distance, most commonly either a high-(abstract/distant) or low-(concrete/near) level of construal.1 Thinking about a situation with high-level construal entails emphasizing the global, superordinate, central features of an object or event (i.e,, zooming out and looking at the big picture), whereas thinking about a situation with low-level construal entails focusing on its unique and specific features. For example, thinking about children playing catch with high-level construal, one might describe this activity as "children having fun", whereas with a low-level construal, one might focus instead on specific features such as the color of the ball or age of the children.
The following experiment tests whether approaching a decision or situation with high-level construal will lead to greater self-control than low-level construal. This experiment utilizes a common method of priming a participant's level of construal through asking a series of "why" (high-level manipulation) or "how" (low-level manipulation) questions.2

Effect of Construal High/Abstract vs Low/Concrete-Level on Decision and Self-Control

Source: Diego Reinero &#38; Jay Van Bavel&#8212;New York University
Whether it's refraining from having a second serving of ice cream, studying instead of ...