bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Orbitofrontal Cortex and Social Behavior: Integrating Self-monitoring and Emotion-Cognition Interactions
Authors: Beer Jennifer S. , John Oliver P. , Scabini Donatella , Knight Robert T. 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
The role of the orbitofrontal cortex in social behavior remains a puzzle. Various theories of the social functions of the orbitofrontal cortex focus on the role of this area in either emotional processing or its involvement in online monitoring of behavior (i.e., self-monitoring). The present research attempts to integrate these two theories by examining whether improving the self-monitoring of patients with orbitofrontal damage is associated with the generation of emotions needed to guide interpersonal behavior. Patients with orbitofrontal damage, patients with lateral prefrontal damage, and healthy controls took part in an interpersonal task. After completing the task, participants' self-monitoring was increased by showing them a videotape of their task performance. In comparison to healthy controls and patients with lateral prefrontal damage, orbitofrontal damage was associated with objectively inappropriate social behavior. Although patients with orbitofrontal damage were aware of social norms of intimacy, they were unaware that their task performance violated these norms. The embarrassment typically associated with inappropriate social behavior was elicited in these patients only after their self-monitoring increased from viewing their videotaped performance. These findings suggest that damage to the orbitofrontal cortex impairs self-insight that may preclude the generation of helpful emotional information. The results highlight the role of the orbitofrontal cortex in the interplay of self-monitoring and emotional processing and suggest avenues for neurorehabilitation of patients with social deficits subsequent to orbitofrontal damage.
Electrophysiological Correlates of Similarity-based Interference during Detection of Visual Forms
Authors: Conci Markus , Gramann Klaus , Müller Hermann J. , Elliott Mark A. 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
Illusory figure completion demonstrates the ability of the visual system to integrate information across gaps. Mechanisms that underlie figural emergence support the interpolation of contours and the filling-in of form information [Grossberg, S., & Mingolla, E. Neural dynamics of form perception: Boundary completion, illusory figures and neon colour spreading. Psychological Review, 92, 173–211, 1985]. Although both processes contribute to figure formation, visual search for an illusory target configuration has been shown to be susceptible to interfering form, but not contour, information [Conci, M., Müller, H. J., & Elliott, M. A. The contrasting impact of global and local object attributes on Kanizsa figure detection. Submitted]. Here, the physiological basis of form interference was investigated by recording event-related potentials elicited from contour- and surface-based distracter interactions with detection of a target Kanizsa figure. The results replicated the finding of form interference and revealed selection of the target and successful suppression of the irrelevant distracter to be reflected by amplitude differences in the N2pc component (240–340 msec). In conclusion, the observed component variations reflect processes of target selection on the basis of integrated form information resulting from figural completion processes.
Fear Recognition Ability Predicts Differences in Social Cognitive and Neural Functioning in Men
Authors: Corden Ben , Critchley Hugo D. , Skuse David , Dolan Raymond J. 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
By testing the facial fear-recognition ability of 341 men in the general population, we show that 8.8% have deficits akin to those seen with acquired amygdala damage. Using psychological tests and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we tested the hypothesis that poor fear recognition would predict deficits in other domains of social cognition and, in response to socially relevant stimuli, abnormal activation in brain regions that putatively reflect engagement of the “social brain.” On tests of “theory of mind” ability, 25 “low fear scorers” (LFS) performed significantly worse than 25 age- and IQ-matched “normal (good) fear scorers” (NFS). In fMRI, we compared evoked activity during a gender judgement task to neutral faces portraying different head and eye gaze orientations in 12 NFS and 12 LFS subjects. Despite identical between-group accuracy in gender discrimination, LFS demonstrated significantly reduced activation in amygdala, fusiform gyrus, and anterior superior temporal cortices when viewing faces with direct versus averted gaze. In a functional connectivity analysis, NFS show enhanced connectivity between the amygdala and anterior temporal cortex in the context of direct gaze; this enhanced coupling is absent in LFS. We suggest that important individual differences in social cognitive skills are expressed within the healthy male population, which appear to have a basis in a compromised neural system that underpins social information processing.
Neural Representations of Self versus Other: Visual-Spatial Perspective Taking and Agency in a Virtual Ball-tossing Game
Authors: David Nicole , Bewernick Bettina H. , Cohen Michael X. , Newen Albert , Lux Silke , Fink Gereon R. , Shah N. Jon , Vogeley Kai 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
Human self-consciousness relies on the ability to distinguish between oneself and others. We sought to explore the neural correlates involved in self-other representations by investigating two critical processes: perspective taking and agency. Although recent research has shed light on the neural processes underlying these phenomena, little is known about how they overlap or interact at the neural level. In a two-factorial functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment, participants played a ball-tossing game with two virtual characters (“avatars”). During an active/agency (ACT) task, subjects threw a ball to one of the avatars by pressing a button. During a passive/nonagency (PAS) task, they indicated which of the other avatars threw the ball. Both tasks were performed from a first-person perspective (1PP), in which subjects interacted from their own perspective, and a third-person perspective (3PP), in which subjects interacted from the perspective of an avatar with another location in space. fMRI analyses revealed overlapping activity in medial prefrontal regions associated with representations of one's own perspective and actions (1PP and ACT), and overlapping activity in temporal-occipital, premotor, and inferior frontal, as well as posterior parietal regions associated with representation of others' perspectives and actions (3PP and PAS). These findings provide evidence for distinct neural substrates underlying representations of the self and others and provide support for the idea that the medial prefrontal cortex crucially contributes to a neural basis of the self. The lack of a statistically significant interaction suggests that perspective taking and agency represent independent constituents of self-consciousness.
The Role of the Posterior Fusiform Gyrus in Reading
Authors: Devlin Joseph T. , Jamison Helen L. , Gonnerman Laura M. , Matthews Paul M. 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
Studies of skilled reading [Price, C. J., & Mechelli, A. Reading and reading disturbance. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 15, 231–238, 2005], its acquisition in children [Shaywitz, B. A., Shaywitz, S. E., Pugh, K. R., Mencl, W. E., Fulbright, R. K., Skudlarski, P., et al. Disruption of posterior brain systems for reading in children with developmental dyslexia. Biological Psychiatry, 52, 101–110, 2002; Turkeltaub, P. E., Gareau, L., Flowers, D. L., Zeffiro, T. A., & Eden, G. F. Development of neural mechanisms for reading. Nature Neuroscience, 6, 767–773, 2003], and its impairment in patients with pure alexia [Leff, A. P., Crewes, H., Plant, G. T., Scott, S. K., Kennard, C., & Wise, R. J. The functional anatomy of single word reading in patients with hemianopic and pure alexia. Brain, 124, 510–521, 2001] all highlight the importance of the left posterior fusiform cortex in visual word recognition. We used visual masked priming and functional magnetic resonance imaging to elucidate the specific functional contribution of this region to reading and found that (1) unlike words, repetition of pseudowords (“solst-solst”) did not produce a neural priming effect in this region, (2) orthographically related words such as “corner-corn” did produce a neural priming effect, but (3) this orthographic priming effect was reduced when prime-target pairs were semantically related (“teacher-teach”). These findings conflict with the notion of stored visual word forms and instead suggest that this region acts as an interface between visual form information and higher order stimulus properties such as its associated sound and meaning. More importantly, this function is not specific to reading but is also engaged when processing any meaningful visual stimulus.
Cerebral Asymmetry in the Fusiform Areas Predicted the Efficiency of Learning a New Writing System
Authors: Xue Gui , Chen Chuansheng , Jin Zhen , Dong Qi 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
There are great individual differences in learning abilities, but their neural bases, especially among normal populations, are not well understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a training paradigm, the present study investigated individual differences in cerebral asymmetry in fusiform regions when processing a new writing system and their correlation to subsequent visual character learning. Twelve Chinese adults underwent a 2-week training to learn 120 Korean characters and they were scanned before and after the training. Results showed that left-hemispheric dominance during the pretraining task was predictive of better posttraining performance. These results have significant implications for our understanding of the neural basis of language learning, especially in terms of individual differences.
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Broca's Area Affects Verbal Responses to Gesture Observation
Authors: Gentilucci Maurizio , Bernardis Paolo , Crisi Girolamo , Volta Riccardo Dalla 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
The aim of the present study was to determine whether Broca's area is involved in translating some aspects of arm gesture representations into mouth articulation gestures. In Experiment 1, we applied low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over Broca's area and over the symmetrical loci of the right hemisphere of participants responding verbally to communicative spoken words, to gestures, or to the simultaneous presentation of the two signals. We performed also sham stimulation over the left stimulation loci. In Experiment 2, we performed the same stimulations as in Experiment 1 to participants responding with words congruent and incongruent with gestures. After sham stimulation voicing parameters were enhanced when responding to communicative spoken words or to gestures as compared to a control condition of word reading. This effect increased when participants responded to the simultaneous presentation of both communicative signals. In contrast, voicing was interfered when the verbal responses were incongruent with gestures. The left stimulation neither induced enhancement on voicing parameters of words congruent with gestures nor interference on words incongruent with gestures. We interpreted the enhancement of the verbal response to gesturing in terms of intention to interact directly. Consequently, we proposed that Broca's area is involved in the process of translating into speech aspects concerning the social intention coded by the gesture. Moreover, we discussed the results in terms of evolution to support the theory [Corballis, M. C. (2002). From hand to mouth: The origins of language. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press] proposing spoken language as evolved from an ancient communication system using arm gestures.
The Influence of Criterion Shifts on Electrophysiological Correlates of Recognition Memory
Authors: Azimian-Faridani N. , Wilding E. L. 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
The claim that event-related potentials (ERPs) index familiarity was assessed by acquiring ERPs during a recognition memory task in which participants were instructed to adopt different decision criteria in separate retrieval phases. In one, the instructions were to respond “old” only when confident that this was the correct response, and to respond “new” otherwise (the conservative condition). In the other, the instructions were to respond new only when confident that this was the correct response (the liberal condition). The rationale for this approach was that the level of familiarity licensing an old response would be higher in the conservative than in the liberal condition, and if ERPs index familiarity, this would be reflected in changes to the putative ERP index. This index comprises relatively more positive-going neural activity for correct judgments to old than to new items, which is evident from 300 to 500 msec poststimulus at mid-frontal scalp locations. In keeping with task instructions, participants made more old responses in the liberal than in the conservative condition. There were reliable mid-frontal ERP old/new effects in both conditions, and the ERPs evoked by correct judgments to words in the conservative condition were relatively more positive-going than those in the liberal condition. This finding is consistent with the view that the mid-frontal ERP old/new effect indexes familiarity, and in combination with other ERP findings, provides strong support for dual-process accounts of recognition memory.
Visual Working Memory Is Impaired when the Medial Temporal Lobe Is Damaged
Authors: Olson Ingrid R. , Moore Katherine Sledge , Stark Marianna , Chatterjee Anjan 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
The canonical description of the role of the medial temporal lobes (MTLs) in memory is that short-term forms of memory (e.g., working memory [WM]) are spared when the MTL is damaged, but longer term forms of memory are impaired. Tests used to assess this have typically had a heavy verbal component, potentially allowing explicit rehearsal strategies to maintain the WM trace over the memory delay period. Here we test the hypothesis that the MTL is necessary for visual WM when verbal rehearsal strategies are difficult to implement. In three patients with MTL damage we found impairments in spatial, face, and color WM, at delays as short as 4 sec. Impaired memory could not be attributed to memory load or perceptual problems. These findings suggest that the MTLs are critical for accurate visual WM.
When Peanuts Fall in Love: N400 Evidence for the Power of Discourse
Authors: Nieuwland Mante S. , Van Berkum Jos J. A. 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
In linguistic theories of how sentences encode meaning, a distinction is often made between the context-free rule-based combination of lexical-semantic features of the words within a sentence (“semantics”), and the contributions made by wider context (“pragmatics”). In psycholinguistics, this distinction has led to the view that listeners initially compute a local, context-independent meaning of a phrase or sentence before relating it to the wider context. An important aspect of such a two-step perspective on interpretation is that local semantics cannot initially be overruled by global contextual factors. In two spoken-language event-related potential experiments, we tested the viability of this claim by examining whether discourse context can overrule the impact of the core lexical-semantic feature animacy, considered to be an innate organizing principle of cognition. Two-step models of interpretation predict that verb-object animacy violations, as in “The girl comforted the clock,” will always perturb the unfolding interpretation process, regardless of wider context. When presented in isolation, such anomalies indeed elicit a clear N400 effect, a sign of interpretive problems. However, when the anomalies were embedded in a supportive context (e.g., a girl talking to a clock about his depression), this N400 effect disappeared completely. Moreover, given a suitable discourse context (e.g., a story about an amorous peanut), animacy-violating predicates (“the peanut was in love”) were actually processed more easily than canonical predicates (“the peanut was salted”). Our findings reveal that discourse context can immediately overrule local lexical-semantic violations, and therefore suggest that language comprehension does not involve an initially context-free semantic analysis.
When Things Are Better or Worse than Expected: The Medial Frontal Cortex and the Allocation of Processing Resources
Authors: Potts Geoffrey F. , Martin Laura E. , Burton Philip , Montague P. Read 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
Access to limited-capacity neural systems of cognitive control must be restricted to the most relevant information. How the brain identifies and selects items for preferential processing is not fully understood. Anatomical models often place the selection mechanism in the medial frontal cortex (MFC), and one computational model proposes that the mesotelencephalic dopamine (DA) system, via its reward prediction properties, provides a “gate” through which information gains access to limited-capacity systems. There is a medial frontal event-related potential (ERP) index of attention selection, the anterior positivity (P2a), associated with DA reward system input to the MFC for the identification of task-relevant perceptual representations. The P2a has a similar spatio-temporal distribution as the medial frontal negativity (MFN), elicited to error responses or choices resulting in monetary loss. The MFN has also been linked to DA projections to the MFC but for action monitoring rather than attention selection. This study proposes that the P2a and the MFN reflect the same MFC evaluation function and use a passive reward prediction design containing neither instructed attention nor response to demonstrate that the ERP over medial frontal leads at the P2a/MFN latency is consistent with activity of midbrain DA neurons, positive to unpredicted rewards and negative when a predicted reward is withheld. This result suggests that MFC activity is regulated by DA reward system input and may function to identify items or actions that exceed or fail to meet motivational prediction.
Dissociable Neural Mechanisms for Encoding Predictable and Unpredictable Events
Authors: Summerfield Christopher , Mangels Jennifer A. 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
Attention is a necessary condition for the formation of new episodic memories, yet little is known about how dissociable attentional mechanisms for “top-down” and “bottom-up” orienting contribute to encoding. Here, subjects performed an intentional encoding task in which to-be-learned items were interspersed with irrelevant stimuli such that subjects could anticipate the appearance of some study items but not others. Subjects were more likely to later remember stimuli whose appearance was predictable at encoding. Electroencephalographic data were acquired during the study phase of the experiment to assess how synchronous neural activity related to later memory for predictable stimuli (to which attention could be oriented in a top-down fashion) and unpredictable stimuli (which rely to a greater extent on bottom-up attentional orienting). Over left frontal regions, gamma-band activity (25–55 Hz) early (∼150 msec) in the epoch was a robust predictor of later memory for predictable items, consistent with an emerging view that links high-frequency neural synchrony to top-down attention. By contrast, later (∼400 msec) theta-band activity (4–8 Hz) over the left and midline frontal cortex predicted subsequent memory for unpredictable items, suggesting a role in bottom-up attentional orienting. These results reveal for the first time the contribution of dissociable attentional mechanisms to successful encoding and contribute to a growing literature dedicated to understanding the role of neural synchrony in cognition.
Prefrontal Engagement during Source Memory Retrieval Depends on the Prior Encoding Task
Authors: Kuo Trudy Y. , Van Petten Cyma 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe prefrontal cortex is strongly engaged by some, but not all, episodic memory tests. Prior work has shown that source recognition tests—those that require memory for conjunctions of studied attributes—yield deficient performance in patients with prefrontal damage and greater prefrontal activity in healthy subjects, as compared to simple recognition tests. Here, we tested the hypothesis that there is no intrinsic relationship between the prefrontal cortex and source memory, but that the prefrontal cortex is engaged by the demand to retrieve weakly encoded relationships. Subjects attempted to remember object/color conjunctions after an encoding task that focused on object identity alone, and an integrative encoding task that encouraged attention to object/color relationships. After the integrative encoding task, the late prefrontal brain electrical activity that typically occurs in source memory tests was eliminated. Earlier brain electrical activity related to successful recognition of the objects was unaffected by the nature of prior encoding.
Images of Illusory Motion in Primary Visual Cortex
Authors: Larsen Axel , Madsen Kristoffer H. , Lund Torben E. , Bundesen Claus 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
Illusory motion can be generated by successively flashing a stationary visual stimulus in two spatial locations separated by several degrees of visual angle. In appropriate conditions, the apparent motion is indistinguishable from real motion: The observer experiences a luminous object traversing a continuous path from one stimulus location to the other through intervening positions where no physical stimuli exist. The phenomenon has been extensively investigated for nearly a century but little is known about its neurophysiological foundation. Here we present images of activations in the primary visual cortex in response to real and apparent motion. The images show that during apparent motion, a path connecting the cortical representations of the stimulus locations is filled in by activation. The activation along the path of apparent motion is similar to the activation found when a stimulus is presented in real motion between the two locations.