Memory Reactivation during Sleep Does Not Act Holistically on Object Memory.

Memory reactivation during sleep is thought to facilitate memory consolidation. Most sleep reactivation research has examined how reactivation of specific facts, objects, and associations benefits their overall retention. However, our memories are not unitary, and not all features of a memory persist in tandem over time. Instead, our memories are transformed, with some features strengthened and others weakened. Does sleep reactivation drive memory transformation? We leveraged the Targeted Memory Reactivation technique in an object category learning paradigm to examine this question. Participants (20 female, 14 male) learned three categories of novel objects, where each object had unique, distinguishing features as well as features shared with other members of its category. We used a real-time EEG protocol to cue the reactivation of these objects during sleep at moments optimized to generate reactivation events. We found that reactivation improved memory for distinguishing features while worsening memory for shared features, suggesting a differentiation process. The results indicate that sleep reactivation does not act holistically on object memories, instead supporting a transformation where some features are enhanced over others.

Effects of post-response arousal on cognitive control: Adaptive or maladaptive?

This study investigated whether detection of a performance mistake is followed by adaptive or detrimental effects on subsequent attention and performance. Using a Stroop task with spatial cueing, along with simultaneous EEG and pupillary measurements, we examined evidence bearing on two alternative hypotheses: maladaptive arousal and adaptive control. Error detection, indexed by the error-related negativity ERP component, was followed by pupil dilation and suppression of EEG oscillations in the alpha band, two indices of arousal that were associated with one another on a trial-by-trial basis. On the trials following errors, there was neural evidence of enhanced spatial cueing, manifested in greater hemispheric activation contralateral to the cued visual field. However, this post-error enhancement was not followed by changes in Stroop or spatial cueing effects in performance, nor by increased attentional cueing effects in ERP responses to targets. Rather, performance tended to be slower and less accurate following errors compared to correct trials, and higher post-response arousal, indexed by larger pupils, predicted next-trial slowing and decreased P2 amplitude to targets. Results favor the maladaptive arousal account of post-error cognitive control and offer only limited support for adaptive control.

The Efficacy of Biological Control for the Suppression of the Pea Aphid (Acyrthosiphon Pisum): Does the Resistance of Alfalfa Cultivars Matter?

The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris, is a major pest of alfalfa in northwestern China. However, the roles of different groups of natural enemies in combination with aphid-resistant cultivars in the suppression of the pea aphid have not been clarified under field conditions. In this study, we used experimental cages to better understand the top-down (natural enemies) and bottom-up (nine alfalfa cultivars) biological processes, as well as the individual roles of the two processes, in the control of the pea aphid. There was a significant difference in resistance among cultivar classes revealed when natural enemies were excluded. The functional contribution of top-down suppression was higher than the bottom-up process, with natural enemies significantly suppressing aphid populations, regardless of the resistance level of different alfalfa cultivars. The mean biological efficacies of predators, parasitoids, and mixed populations of natural enemies were 85%, 42%, and 88%, respectively. Overall, our study indicated that natural enemies play a critical role in suppressing aphid populations, especially in the summer, whereas cultivar resistance did not combine effectively with natural enemies to inhibit the growth of aphids. Conservation biological control (CBC) can be implemented in the alfalfa production regions in northwestern China to reduce the overreliance on insecticides for the control of pests and mitigate their harmful effects on humans, ecosystems, and biodiversity.

Find the silver lining or ignore the cloud? Cognitive reappraisal versus visual attention training.

This study contrasted the efficacy of two strategies for emotion regulation, cognitive reappraisal (CR) and attentional control (AC), while using eye-tracking to examine gaze fixation patterns associated with each strategy. Participants (n = 98 undergraduates) viewed emotionally negative and neutral slides before and after one of three training conditions: CR training (verbal instructions to reframe interpretations of negative images), AC training (gaze-contingent feedback emphasizing fixation away from negative portions of images), or a no-training control condition. CR training led to the most beneficial consequences for self-reported emotion ratings; AC training improved emotion ratings more than the no-training control but not as much as CR. AC training led to significantly reduced time fixating gaze on negative content, whereas CR did not alter gaze fixations compared with the no-training control. Moreover, among the AC group, participants who looked away from negative content to a greater extent reported more beneficial change in emotional self-report, whereas that same pattern was not evident in the CR or no-training group. The findings add to evidence that CR training is more effective than distraction-related strategies and that CR does not necessitate gaze changes to be effective. Together, the findings contribute to furthering knowledge about distinct cognitive mechanisms involved in different strategies of emotion regulation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).