Examining the effects of pleasantness ratings on correct and false recognition in the DRM paradigm: accuracy, recollection and familiarity estimates.

Distinctive encoding usually increases correct recognition while also producing a reduction in false recognition. In the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) illusion this phenomenon, called the mirror effect, occurs when participants focus on unique features of each of the words in the study list. In previous studies, the pleasantness rating task, used to foster distinctive encoding, generated different patterns of results. The main aim of our research is to examine under what circumstances this task can produce the mirror effect in the DRM paradigm, based on evidence from recognition accuracy and subjective retrieval experience. In Experiment 1, a standard version (word pleasantness rating on a 5-point Likert-type scale) was used for comparison with two other encoding conditions: shallow processing (vowel identification) and a read-only control. The standard task, compared to the other conditions, increased correct recognition, but did not reduce false recognition, and this result may be affected by the number of lists presented for study. Therefore, in experiment 2, to minimize the possible effect of the so-called retention size, the number of studied lists was reduced. In addition, the standard version was compared with a supposedly more item-specific version (participants rated the pleasantness of words while thinking of a single reason for this), also including the read-only control condition. In both versions of the pleasantness rating task, more correct recognition is achieved compared to the control condition, with no differences between the two versions. In the false recognition observed here, only the specific pleasantness rating task achieved a reduction relative to the control condition. On the other hand, the subjective retrieval experience accompanied correct and false recognition in the various study conditions. Although the standard pleasantness rating task has been considered to perform item-specific processing, our results challenge that claim. Furthermore, we propose a possible boundary condition of the standard task for the reduction of false recognition in the DRM paradigm.

Sociotropy, Autonomy and Emotional Symptoms in Patients with Major Depression or Generalized Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Rumination and Immature Defenses.

The relationships between dimensions of personality (sociotropy and autonomy), coping strategies (rumination: brooding and reflection subtypes, and immature defenses) and symptoms of depression and anxiety were explored in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). A total of 279 patients completed questionnaires including measures of personality dimensions, rumination, immature defenses, depression and anxiety. Our findings suggested that sociotropy and autonomy may be associated with both depressive and anxious symptoms in patients with MDD and with GAD. Multiple mediation analyses indicated that brooding always acted as a mediating link between personality vulnerabilities (sociotropy and autonomy) and depressive and anxiety symptoms, independently of the patient group. In addition, in patients with MDD and those with GAD, brooding and immature defenses functioned together by linking sociotropy and autonomy, respectively, with depressive symptoms. Our results also showed that, in patients with GAD, both types of rumination explained the relationship between sociotropy and autonomy and anxiety symptoms. Overall, our findings provided evidence of the transdiagnostic role of the brooding, linking the vulnerability of personality dimensions and emotional symptoms. They also indicated that reflection and immature defenses can operate in conjunction with brooding, depending on the type of vulnerability and emotional context.

Is it possible to modify fear memories in humans with extinction training within a single day?

Extinction procedures have been used widely in the study of fear memories, and different positions have been adopted regarding the efficacy of such procedures and the mechanisms involved. It has been argued that extinction may interfere with the consolidation of the fear memory if the procedure is applied with the appropriate timing after acquisition. However, the opposite position is also held, that is, that the extinction does not achieve an elimination of the fear response. The aim of the present study is to test the short-term effects of immediate extinction in fear reduction when this extinction is preceded by a retrieval trial. For this, a procedure similar to that employed by Schiller et al. (Nature 463(7277): 49-53, 2010) was used, but in a single day and with white noise as an aversive unconditioned stimulus. The results indicate that a CS+ single retrieval trial before the extinction procedure after acquisition was more effective in fear reduction than standard immediate extinction.

Preventing the return of fear memories with postretrieval extinction: A human study using a burst of white noise as an aversive stimulus.

Standard extinction procedures seem to imply an inhibition of the fear response, but not a modification of the original fear-memory trace, which remains intact (Bouton, 2002, 2004). Typically, the behavioral procedure used to modify this trace is the so-called postretrieval extinction, consisting of fear-memory reactivation followed by extinction applied within the reconsolidation window. However, the application of this technique yields mixed results, probably due to a series of boundary conditions that limit the effectiveness of postretrieval-extinction effects. In this study a number of potential, and hitherto unexplored, moderators of such effects are considered. Using an interval of 48 hr between extinction and re-extinction, the findings show a spontaneous recovery similar to that found in studies that use a 24-hr interval. Also, the use of intervals of 10 and 20 min between reactivation and extinction led to a similar fear return. Finally, the burst of white noise used as an unconditioned stimulus (US) here was shown to be as effective as the electric shock normally used in the study of fear-memory reconsolidation. These findings suggest that postretrieval extinction is an effective behavioral technique for modifying the original fear memory and for the elimination of the fear return. (PsycINFO Database Record

Modulating Effects of Emotional Valence on Recognition Memory for High-Arousal Pictures / Efectos moduladores de la valencia emocional sobre la memoria de reconocimiento para imágenes de alto arousal

ABSTRACT The main aim of this paper was to provide new evidence on the effects of valence on recognition memory of emotional pictures, on the basis of rigorous experimental control of stimulus material. Valence was manipulated using pleasant and unpleasant pictures, keeping arousal constant at a high level. A reference condition with a neutral value in both dimensions was also included. We found greater discrimination and a more conservative response bias, as well as slower recognition decisions, for pleasant pictures. Also worthy of mention is the high positive correlation between response times and discrimination measures just for such pictures. These results would be consistent with an adaptive interpretation based on motivation and personal relevance of emotional information.

RESUMEN El principal objetivo del presente trabajo fue aportar nueva evidencia sobre los efectos de la valencia en el reconocimiento de imágenes de contenido emocional, a partir de un riguroso control experimental del material estimular. Se manipuló la valencia a niveles agradable y desagradable, manteniendo constante el arousal a un nivel alto. Se incluyó también una condición de referencia con un valor neutro en ambas dimensiones. Se encontró una mejor discriminación, un sesgo de respuesta más conservador y un reconocimiento más lento para las imágenes agradables. Además, solo para estas imágenes existió alta correlación positiva entre tiempos de respuesta y discriminación. Estos resultados serían consistentes con una interpretación de carácter adaptativo basada en la motivación y relevancia personal de la información emocional.

Representing the consequences of our actions trial by trial: Complex and flexible encoding of feedback valence and magnitude.

In the last decades it has been shown that two components of the event-related potentials (ERPs), the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and the P300, reflect the evaluation of the outcomes of a given course of action. Within the reinforcement learning theory, the prevailing interpretation of the relationship between FRN and P300 is the classical "independent coding model". This model proposes that the FRN is only sensitive to feedback valence whereas the P300 is only sensitive to feedback magnitude. However, these predictions have recently been challenged and the question remains unsolved. The goal of the present study is to shed light on the effects of outcome valence and magnitude on the FRN and the feedback-P300. The electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was recorded while participants performed a perceptual discrimination task with two levels of difficulty, in which they could receive large or small rewards and penalties. We used receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses, which allowed us to analyze the relationship between the outcomes and EEG on a trial-by-trial basis. The results reveal that both components, which are contingent on feedback presentation, are sensitive to outcome valence. Regarding magnitude, this only affects the feedback P300, and only in conjunction with difficulty. Finally, we found that task difficulty has the opposite effect on these components, both in their latencies and discriminability. Our results suggest that the FRN and the feedback-P300 in fact reflect different performance monitoring processes in a flexible way that depends on the behavioral context.

EEG activity represents the correctness of perceptual decisions trial-by-trial.

Performance monitoring is an executive function, which we depend on for detecting and evaluating the consequences of our behavior. Although event related potentials (ERPs) have revealed the existence of differences after correct and incorrect decisions, it is not known whether there is a trial-by-trial representation of the accuracy of the decision. We recorded the electroencephalographic activity (EEG) while participants performed a perceptual discrimination task, with two levels of difficulty, in which they received immediate feedback. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses were used to reveal two components that convey trial-by-trial representations of the correctness of the decisions. Firstly, the performance monitoring-related negativity (PM-N), a negative deflection whose amplitude is higher (more negative) after incorrect trials. Secondly, the performance monitoring-related positivity (PM-P), a positive deflection whose amplitude is higher after incorrect trials. During the time periods corresponding to these components, trials can be accurately categorized as correct or incorrect by looking at the EEG activity; this categorization is more accurate when based on the PM-P. We further show that the difficulty of the discrimination task has a different effect on each component: after easy trials the latency of the PM-N is shorter and the amplitude of the PM-P is higher than after difficult trials. Consistent with previous interpretations of performance-related ERPs, these results suggest a functional differentiation between these components. The PM-N could be related to an automatic error detection system, responsible for fast behavioral corrections of ongoing actions, while the PM-P could reflect the difference between expected and actual outcomes and be related to long-term changes in the decision process.

Working memory capacity and mental rotation: evidence for a domain-general view.

Despite the existence of numerous studies that examined the relationship between working memory capacity and performance in complex cognitive tasks, it remains unclear whether this capacity is domain specific or domain general. In addition, the available empirical evidence is somewhat contradictory. In this work we have studied the role of verbal working memory capacity in a non-verbal task--mental image rotation. If this capacity were domain specific it would be expected that high and low verbal span participants would obtain similar results in the mental rotation task. We have found that this is not the case as the high span participants performed better in terms of both speed and accuracy. Moreover, these differences depended on the processing component of the mental rotation task: the higher the processing requirements the higher the differences as a function of the working memory capacity. Therefore, the evidence presented here supports the domain general hypothesis.

Working memory capacity and mental rotation: evidence for a domain-general view

Despite the existence of numerous studies that examined the relationship between working memory capacity and performance in complex cognitive tasks, it remains unclear whether this capacity is domain specific or domain general. In addition, the available empirical evidence is somewhat contradictory. In this work we have studied the role of verbal working memory capacity in a non-verbal task - mental image rotation. If this capacity were domain specific it would be expected that high and low verbal span participants would obtain similar results in the mental rotation task. We have found that this is not the case as the high span participants performed better in terms of both speed and accuracy. Moreover, these differences depended on the processing component of the mental rotation task: the higher the processing requirements the higher the differences as a function of the working memory capacity. Therefore, the evidence presented here supports the domain general hypothesis (AU)

A pesar de la existencia de numerosos estudios que examinaron la relación entre la capacidad de memoria de trabajo y el rendimiento en tareas cognitivas complejas, no está claro si esta capacidad es específica de dominio o de dominio general. Además, la evidencia empírica disponible es algo contradictoria. En este trabajo se estudió el papel de la capacidad de la memoria de trabajo verbal en una tarea no verbal -rotación mental de imágenes-. Si esta capacidad fuese específica de dominio se esperaría que los participantes con amplitud verbal alta y baja obtuviesen resultados similares en la tarea de rotación mental. Se encontró que esto no ocurría, ya que los participantes con amplitud alta obtenían mejores resultados en cuanto a velocidad y precisión. Por otra parte, estas diferencias dependían del componente de procesamiento de la tarea de rotación mental: cuanto mayores eran las demandas de procesamiento, mayores eran también las diferencias en función de la capacidad de memoria de trabajo. Por tanto, la evidencia que aquí se presenta apoya la hipótesis de generalidad de dominio de dicha capacidad (AU)

Decision-making in the ventral premotor cortex harbinger of action.

Although the premotor (PM) cortex was once viewed as the substrate of pure motor functions, soon it was realized that it was involved in higher brain functions. By this it is meant that the PM cortex functions would better be explained as motor set, preparation for limb movement, or sensory guidance of movement rather than solely by a fixed link to motor performance. These findings, together with a better knowledge of the PM cortex histology and hodology in human and non-human primates prompted quantitative studies of this area combining behavioral tasks with electrophysiological recordings. In addition, the exploration of the PM cortex neurons with qualitative methods also suggested its participation in higher functions. Behavioral choices frequently depend on temporal cues, which together with knowledge of previous outcomes and expectancies are combined to decide and choose a behavioral action. In decision-making the knowledge about the consequences of decisions, either correct or incorrect, is fundamental because they can be used to adapt future behavior. The neuronal correlates of a decision process have been described in several cortical areas of primates. Among them, there is evidence that the monkey ventral premotor (PMv) cortex, an anatomical and physiological well-differentiated area of the PM cortex, supports both perceptual decisions and performance monitoring. Here we review the evidence that the steps in a decision-making process are encoded in the firing rate of the PMv neurons. This provides compelling evidence suggesting that the PMv is involved in the use of recent and long-term sensory memory to decide, execute, and evaluate the outcomes of the subjects' choices.

Attentional Processing and Recall of Emotional Words / Procesamiento atencional y recuerdo de palabras emocionales

Three experiments were carried out in order to evaluate the attention paid to words of different emotional value. A dual-task experimental paradigm was employed, registering response times to acoustic tones which were presented during the reading of words. The recall was also evaluated by means of an intentional immediate recall test. The results reveal that neither the emotional valence nor the arousal of words on their own affected the attention paid by participants. Only in the third experiment, in which words belonging to two specific semantic categories (sexual and threatening) were used, did females show significantly higher RTS for threatening words. Nonetheless, significant differences were observed in the immediate subsequent recall for the different types of words in all three experiments. Future studies should take into account: a) the differential status of words and pictures to capture attention, b) the differential influence of valence, as well as arousal, on recall of emotional words, and c) the differential effects of the semantic category on the attention paid to these words by males and females.

Se llevaron a cabo tres experimentos para evaluar la atención a palabras de diferente valor emocional. Se trabajó con un paradigma experimental de doble tarea, registrando los tiempos de respuesta ante tonos, los cuales fueron presentados durante la lectura de palabras. El recuerdo también fue evaluado a través de una prueba de memoria intencional inmediata. Los resultados revelan que ni el valor, ni la excitación de las palabras, afectan la atención de los participantes. Solamente, en el tercer experimento, en el que las palabras pertenecieron a dos categorías semánticas específicas (sexual y riesgo de muerte) las mujeres mostraron significativamente mayor RTS ante palabras amenazadoras. No obstante, se observaron diferencias significativas en el recuerdo inmediato posterior, para los diferentes tipos de palabras en los tres experimentos. Los estudios futuros deben tener en cuenta: ( a) la situación diferencial de las palabras e imágenes para captar la atención, (b) la influencia diferencial de valencia, así como la excitación, en el recuerdo de palabras emocionales y (c) los efectos diferenciales de la categoría semántica de la atención prestada a estas palabras de hombres y mujeres.

Reconocimiento de fotografías de contenido emocional: efectos de la valencia cuando se controla el arousal / No disponible

Se realizó un estudio experimental, en el que participaron 143 estudiantes dePsicología, con el principal objetivo de examinar los efectos de la valenciaemocional sobre el reconocimiento de fotografías con un intervalo corto deretención. Para ello se utilizaron 90 fotografías del IAPS (InternationalAffective Picture System) representativas de las regiones correspondientes aun nivel de arousal medio y valencia alta y baja en el espacio afectivobidimensional. Los resultados no mostraron influencia de la valenciaemocional sobre la memoria de reconocimiento cuando se examinaronmedidas de precisión (A´) y sesgo de respuesta (B"D). Sin embargo, elanálisis de los tiempos de respuesta mostró que se producían decisiones másrápidas de reconocimiento correcto ante fotografías agradables que antedesagradables y también ante fotografías originales que ante nuevas.Además, en los participantes con respuestas rápidas se encontró unainteracción significativa entre la valencia de las fotografías (agradables vs.desagradables) y su estatus (originales vs. nuevas) que no se observó en losparticipantes con respuestas lentas. Los resultados sugieren que los efectosde valencia sobre la memoria de reconocimiento pueden aparecer cuando sesupone que está actuando principalmente la familiaridad, en la línea de loencontrado en trabajos recientes en los que se analizaron tanto datosconductuales (Clark-Foos y Marsh, 2008) como correlatos neurales(Mickley y Kensinger, 2008)(AU)

Adult attachment styles and cognitive vulnerability to depression in a sample of undergraduate students: the mediational roles of sociotropy and autonomy.

We analysed the mediational role of the personality dimensions of sociotropy and autonomy in the relationship between certain styles of attachment and depressive symptoms. In order for us to do so, a group of university students filled out the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Revised Personal Style Inventory (PSI-II) and the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ). Individuals having attachment styles with a negative model of self (preoccupied and fearful) obtained significantly higher scores in the BDI than those having attachment styles with a positive model of self (secure and dismissing), which coincides with previous research. We followed the standard procedure of Baron and Kenny of linear regression in order to perform the mediational analyses. The preoccupied attachment style-depressive symptoms relationship was mediated by sociotropy. It was also found that autonomy exerted a significant mediational effect on the relationship between the fearful attachment style and depressive symptoms. These results are consistent with the notion that insecure attachment predisposes individuals to the development of depressogenic personality styles. Thus, the findings of the present study contribute to improving the understanding of the factors involved in the development of vulnerability to depression. Furthermore, the results point out the importance of evaluating both attachment style and sociotropy/autonomy personality dimensions for the treatment of depressive patients.

External validation of the computerized, group administrable adaptation of the "operation span task".

One of the most widely used tasks for measuring working memory capacity is the operation span task (OSPAN; Turner & Engle, 1989). This task has almost always been applied individually, and stimuli presentation is controlled by the experimenter. Recently, De Neys, d'Ydewalle, Schaeken, and Vos (2002) improved the administration procedure by designing an automated, group-administrable version of the task (GOSPAN). They found GOSPAN to be reliable, and they also provided evidence on its validity (a significant positive correlation between GOSPAN and OSPAN scores). However, an external test of GOSPAN validity is still lacking. In this work, we present such a validation for the automated version, when the task is administered both individually (Experiment 1) and to groups (Experiment 2). There are abundant previous data on the relation between working memory capacity and reading comprehension. In this work, this relation is studied using an automated OSPAN version to measure working memory capacity. Given that our results are similar to those found using the original OSPAN, our data support the external validity of the automated version of the task. We also tested the reliability of the task and found high internal consistency in both experiments.

Recognition memory for pictorial stimuli: biasing effects of stimulus emotionality.

The possibility that stimulus emotionality might influence recognition bias in a long-term memory task was studied with respect to both the valence and arousal dimensions of emotion. For this purpose, we used 108 International Affective Picture System pictures that were representative of all regions of this two-dimensional space. Signal detection theory analysis was applied using A'and B'' D as discrimination and bias measures, respectively. In general, the results showed that greater discrimination was accompanied by a response bias that was more conservative for pleasant and for unarousing pictures than for unpleasant and for arousing ones. These results provide new evidence in connection with the emotion-induced recognition bias in long-term memory performance.

Recognition memory for pictorial stimuli: Biasing effects of stimulus emotionality / Memoria de reconocimiento para estímulos pictóricos: sesgos inducidos por la emocionalidad del estímulo

The possibility that stimulus emotionality might influence recognition bias in a long-term memory task was studied with respect to both the valence and arousal dimensions of emotion. For this purpose, we used 108 International Affective Picture System pictures that were representative of all regions of this two-dimensional space. Signal detection theory analysis was applied using A'and B''D as discrimination and bias measures, respectively. In general, the results showed that greater discrimination was accompanied by a response bias that was more conservative for pleasant and for unarousing pictures than for unpleasant and for arousing ones. These results provide new evidence in connection with the emotion-induced recognition bias in long-term memory performance (AU)

En la presente investigación se estudió la posibilidad de que la emocionalidad del estímulo, tanto en la dimensión de valencia como en la de arousal, pudiera afectar al sesgo de reconocimiento en una tarea de memoria a largo plazo. Para ello se emplearon 108 imágenes del IAPS (International Affective Picture System) representativas de todas las regiones del espacio afectivo bidimensional. Los análisis basados en la teoría de detección de señales, utilizando A' y BD como medidas de discriminación y sesgo, respectivamente, mostraron una mayor discriminación y un sesgo de respuesta más conservador para las imágenes agradables y las desactivadoras en comparación con las desagradables y las activadoras. Estos resultados proporcionan nueva evidencia con respecto al sesgo de reconocimiento inducido por la emoción en el rendimiento de memoria a largo plazo (AU)

Sesgos de procesamiento de información emocional en individuos sociotrópicos / Emotional information processing biases in sociotropic individuals

Reciente trabajo experimental sugiere que individuos sociotrópicos pueden mostrar sesgos selectivos de procesamiento para información emocional autorreferente de orientación interpersonal, cuando los correspondientes autoesquemas negativos latentes son activados. En el presente estudio probamos esta "hipótesis de procesamiento congruente", con individuos "altos" y "bajos" en sociotropía y dos condiciones de facilitación afectiva imaginal (congruente -episodio de rechazo- y no congruente -episodio de fracaso-). Las tareas utilizadas fueron decisión léxica y evaluación autodescriptiva para material interpersonal, positivo y negativo. Los resultados obtenidos en la tarea de autodescripción, pero no los obtenidos en la tarea de decisión léxica, apoyan la mencionada hipótesis de congruencia. Concretamente, en la condición de rechazo, los individuos "altos" en sociotropía evaluaban significativamente más adjetivos negativos como autodescriptivos que los individuos "bajos" en sociotropía, diferencia no encontrada en la condición de fracaso. Se discuten las implicaciones de los resultados para la vulnerabilidad cognitiva a la depresión (AU)

Recent experimental work suggests that individuals high on sociotropy may show selective processing biases among interpersonally oriented or self-referent emotional data when the appropriate latent negative self-schemas are activated. In the present study we tested this «congruent processing hypothesis» using individuals high and low in sociotropy who were subjected to two affective imaginal priming conditions, one that was congruent with the vulnerability of the sociotropic (a rejection scenario) and one that was not (a failure scenario). The tests used were lexical decision and self-descriptiveness rating tasks with positive and negative interpersonally oriented stimuli. The results of the self-descriptiveness rating task supported the congruency hypothesis, but those of the lexical decision task did not. Specifically, individuals high on sociotropy endorsed significantly more negative adjectives as self-descriptive following rejection priming than individuals low on sociotropy; no such difference was found following failure priming. The implications of these results for cognitive vulnerability to depression are discussed (AU)

Sesgos de memoria implícita para información emocional en depresión subclínica / Implicit memory bias concerning emotional information in subclinical depression

El objetivo de este trabajo era examinar posibles sesgos selectivos de sujetos depresivos no clínicos en el procesamiento de información emocional, en tareas de memoria implícita. Se realizaron dos experimentos en los que se manipulaba el contenido emocional de las palabras presentadas. En el primer experimento se utilizó un procedimiento de facilitación de repetición enmascarado y la tarea de decisión léxica. En este cao, el grupo de sujetos disfóricos mostró un mayor efecto de facilitación para palabras de contenido depresivo que para palabras neutras. Sesgo que no ocurrió en el grupo control de sujetos. En ningún caso se ha encontrado déficit de memoria implícita. Estos resultados parecen apoyar la noción de que la facilitación no consciente y la tarea de decisión léxica, en sujetos derpesivos no clínicos, permiten detectar sesgos selectivos de memoria implícita, los cuales podrían proporcionar evidencia de vulnerabilidad cognitiva a la depresión (AU)

This study investigated the possibility that in implicit memory tasks there is bias in the processing of emotional information by non-clinically depressed subjects. Two experiments were carried out, both involving manipulation of words with emotional content. In the first, no bias was detected in either dysphoric subjects or controls in a word-stem completion task following conscious priming. In the second experiment, involving a lexical decision task following masked repetition priming, there was greater priming of depression words relative to neutral words among the dysphoric subjects but not in the control group. In no case was any implicit memory deficit detected. These results suggest that application of lexical decision tasks with unconscious priming to non-clinically depressed subjects may prove useful for detecting implicit memory bias indicative of possible cognitive vulnerability to depression (AU)