Wednesday, June 29, 2016

More Testing, Less Play: Study Finds Higher Expectations For Kindergartners



More Testing, Less Play: Study Finds Higher Expectations For Kindergartners

From NPR on Flipboard

This summer, millions of excited four- five-, and six- year olds will be getting ready for their first real year of school…

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The Clinical Neuropsychologist | Call for Papers--New stat and psychometric advances



The Clinical Neuropsychologist | Call for Papers

The primary objectives of this special issue are to: (1) highlight new statistical and psychometric advances that are relevant to the practice of…

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Monday, June 27, 2016

Giant Artwork Reflects The Gorgeous Complexity of The Human Brain



Giant Artwork Reflects The Gorgeous Complexity of The Human Brain

From The Huffington Post on Flipboard

The new work at The Franklin Institute may be the most complex and detailed artistic depiction of the brain ever. Your brain has…

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Sunday, June 26, 2016

Research byte: A cross-syndrome evaluation of a new attention rating scale: The Scale of Attention in intellectual Disability via BrowZine

A cross-syndrome evaluation of a new attention rating scale: The Scale of Attention in intellectual Disability
Freeman, Nerelie C.; Gray, Kylie M.; Taffe, John R.; Cornish, Kim M.
Research in Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 57 – 2016: 18 - 28

10.1016/j.ridd.2016.06.005

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Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Brain timing shares significant genetic component with intelligence

Interesting behavioral genetics study that demonstrates that millisecond temporal processing in the brain has a significant genetic component that is also shared with general intelligence. This (and other) research continues to indicate the importance of investigating "brain timing" as an important component of cognitive functioning. Also, this research indicates that this association is not all genetic--which suggests that interventions that might produce changes in basic neural timing mechanisms may increase cognitive efficiency/functioning.

Click on images

 

 

 

The CHC model of human cognitive abilities--a proposed revision (v2.3): Has Glr been incorrectly conceptualized since 1997?

This presentation contains a historical overview of the derivation of the Glr ability domain in contemporary CHC theory. It then presents new data, as well as historical conclusions of the CHC masters, that makes a strong case for replacing the stratum II broad ability domain of Glr with two separate broad ability domains of Gl (learning efficiency) and Gr (retrieval fluency). How to obtain WJ IV scores for these two broad abilities is presented, as well as other possible Gl and Gr tests indicators from the CHC cross-battery literature.

A pdf copy of this set of slides, one per page, can be downloaded here.



Tuesday, June 21, 2016

The Hidden World Of The Brain: The Role Of The Basal Ganglia Beyond Movement



The Hidden World Of The Brain: The Role Of The Basal Ganglia Beyond Movement

From The Huffington Post on Flipboard

What comes to mind when you think of the brain? You probably imagine a crinkly, walnut-like structure, with a multitude of…

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First Click: The benefits of brain-training games? They're all in your head



First Click: The benefits of brain-training games? They're all in your head

From The Verge on Flipboard

Visit the website of brain-training software NeuroNation and you're greeted with a reassuring message. "Your potential is…

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Research byte: Formal Models of the Network Co-occurrence Underlying Mental Operations



Formal Models of the Network Co-occurrence Underlying Mental Operations

1. Biswal BB, Mennes M, Zuo XN, Gohel S, Kelly C, Smith SM, et al. Toward discovery science of human brain function. Proceedings…

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Sunday, June 19, 2016

Research byte: Examining the role of emotional valence of mind wandering: All mind wandering is not equal



Examining the role of emotional valence of mind wandering: All mind wandering is not equal

Highlights • We examined the impact of emotional valence of task unrelated thoughts (TUTs). • Reanalysis of…

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Friday, June 17, 2016

Research byte: Shadowing the wandering mind: how understanding the mind-wandering state can inform our appreciation of conscious experience via BrowZine

More on the huge and growing literature on mind wandering and the default brain network. Additional posts can be found at the Brain Clock blog

http://www.brainclock.net/search/label/mind%20wandering

Shadowing the wandering mind: how understanding the mind-wandering state can inform our appreciation of conscious experience
Konishi, Mahiko; Smallwood, Jonathan
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, Vol. 7 Issue 4 – 2016: 233 - 246

10.1002/wcs.1392

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Diffusion Tensor Imaging Identifies New Biomarker of One-Yea...

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Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Research byte: The role of attentional control (AC) and working memory in sports performance: A review of recent literature

 
The ever growing body of research re the importance of the construct of attentional control (AC) in all kinds of human performance is, IMHO, one of the most important findings in cognitive psychology during the past few years.  In my opinion, improving AC may be one of the key's to effective brain training/fitness programs.  Also, differences in the AC of individuals has important implications for understanding differences in cognitive functioning.
 
 
Available online 10 June 2016
Target Article

Working Memory, Attentional Control, and Expertise in Sports: A Review of Current Literature and Directions for Future Research

Choose an option to locate/access this article:

The aim of the present review was to investigate the theoretical framework of working memory as it relates to the control of attention in sport and thereby apply cognitive psychological theory to sports, but also use the sports domain to advance cognitive theory. We first introduce dual-process theories as an overarching framework for attention-related research in sports. Then a central mechanism is highlighted how working memory is involved in the control of attention in sports by reviewing research demonstrating that the activated contents in working memory control the focus of attention. The second part of the paper reviews literature showing that working memory capacity is an important individual difference variable that is predictive of controlling attention in a goal-directed manner and avoiding distraction and interference in sports. Finally, we address the question whether differences in working memory capacity contribute to sport expertise.

Keywords

  • Dual-process;
  • Working memory;
  • Attention;
  • Sport;
  • Individual differences

Research byte: Multi-domain training may improve attentional control (AC) in older adults



Multi-domain training enhances attentional control.
Psychology and Aging, Vol 31(4), Jun 2016, 390-408. http://dx.doi.org.ezp1.lib.umn.edu/10.1037/pag0000081

Abstract

Multi-domain training potentially increases the likelihood of overlap in processing components with transfer tasks and everyday life, and hence is a promising training approach for older adults. To empirically test this, 84 healthy older adults aged 64 to 75 years were randomly assigned to one of three single-domain training conditions (inhibition, visuomotor function, spatial navigation) or to the simultaneous training of all three cognitive functions (multi-domain training condition). All participants trained on an iPad at home for 50 training sessions. Before and after the training, and at a 6-month follow-up measurement, cognitive functioning and training transfer were assessed with a neuropsychological test battery including tests targeting the trained functions (near transfer) and transfer to executive functions (far transfer: attentional control, working memory, speed). Participants in all four training groups showed a linear increase in training performance over the 50 training sessions. Using a latent difference score model, the multi-domain training group, compared with the single-domain training groups, showed more improvement on the far transfer attentional control composite. Individuals with initially lower baseline performance showed higher training-related improvements, indicating that training compensated for lower initial cognitive performance. At the 6-month follow-up, performance on the cognitive test battery remained stable. This is one of the first studies to investigate systematically multi-domain training including comparable single-domain training conditions. Our findings suggest that multi-domain training enhances attentional control involved in handling several different tasks at the same time, an aspect in everyday life that is particularly challenging for older people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Monday, June 13, 2016

Psychology's Credibility Crisis: the Bad, the Good and the Ugly



Psychology's Credibility Crisis: the Bad, the Good and the Ugly

Times are tough for young psychologists. This thought has been rattling around in my head lately because we just finished searching for…

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Thursday, June 09, 2016

Meta-Analytic Comparison of Brain Abnormalities in ADHD and OCD



Meta-Analytic Comparison of Brain Abnormalities in ADHD and OCD

Importance Patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) share impaired…

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Next phase in the brain health revolution: Objective, physiological, and widespread measures of brain function



Next phase in the brain health revolution: Objective, physiological, and widespread measures of brain function

— Credit: Marianne Meadahl, SFU "Simon Fraser University researchers hope that a brain…

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Wednesday, June 08, 2016

CHC theory ability defintions (v2.3)--update of definitions


Joel Schneider and I (2012) provided the most contemporary published description of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model of human cognitive abilities in a 2012 book chapter.  A subsequent revision of these definitions, including a few proposed new narrow abilities, was published in the appendix of the WJ IV Technical Manual (2014).

I recently developed a slightly revised set of CHC definitions (v2.3), which are briefer and fit on one page of paper (printed on both sides).  I am now making this CHC brief definition document available to readers (click here)

Joel and I have agreed to revise our 2012 book chapter and we will be making some recommended changes.  We have not yet started, so the above brief document can serve as an interim CHC definition update.

Enjoy.

Research byte: Validation of the Mind Excessively Wandering Scale and the Relationship of Mind Wandering to Impairment in Adult ADHD



Validation of the Mind Excessively Wandering Scale and the Relationship of Mind Wandering to Impairment in Adult ADHD

• Florence D. Mowlem1 • Caroline Skirrow1 • Peter Reid1 • Stefanos Maltezos1 •…

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Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Texas Courts Rely on “Of Mice and Men” to Define Intellectual Disability and Sentence People to Death



Texas Courts Rely on "Of Mice and Men" to Define Intellectual Disability and Sentence People to Death

This piece originally appeared at Salon. Bobby James Moore has a lifelong intellectual disability,…

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Saturday, June 04, 2016

PEBS Neuroethics Roundup (JHU) [feedly]



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PEBS Neuroethics Roundup (JHU)
// Neuroethics & Law Blog

Last Edition's Most Popular Article(s): There's No Such Thing as Free Will, The Atlantic In The Popular Press: My Brain Made Me Do It: Will Neuroscience Change the Way We Punish Criminals? The Conversation US Scientists Can Figure Out What...
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Friday, June 03, 2016

Research byte: Profoundly gifted and accomplished tend to focus on their ability strengths

 

Nice article, I particularly love the three spatial figures that summarize the findings. They belong in the Gv Galllery Hall of Fame.

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Research byte: Sharing Full- Versus Part-Day Kindergarten for Children With Disabilities: Effects on Academic and Social-Emotional Outcomes via BrowZine

Full- Versus Part-Day Kindergarten for Children With Disabilities: Effects on Academic and Social-Emotional Outcomes
Gottfried, M. A.; Le, V.-N.
American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 53 Issue 3 – 2016: 708 - 744

10.3102/0002831216645903

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Research byte: People mind wander more during massed than spaced inductive learning.



People mind wander more during massed than spaced inductive learning.

• This article investigates the relation between mind wandering and the spacing effect in inductive learning. Participants studied…

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