Opponent processes as a model of neural organization.

Language processing in older adulthood is a model of balance between preservation and decline. Despite widespread changes to physiological mechanisms supporting perception and cognition, older adults’ language abilities are frequently well preserved. At the same time, the neural systems engaged to achieve this high level of success change, and individual differences in neural organization appear to differentiate between more and less successful performers. This chapter reviews anatomical and cognitive changes that occur in aging and popular frameworks for age-related changes in brain function, followed by an examination of how these principles play out in the context of language comprehension and production.

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Neural elements of the pineal complex of the frog, rena esculenta, I: Centrally projecting neurons

Visual Neuroscience ◽

10.1017/s0952523800005150 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 4 (05) ◽

pp. 389-397 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Peter Ekström ◽

Hilmar Meissl

Keyword(s):

Pineal Organ ◽

Photoreceptor Cells ◽

Rana Esculenta ◽

Projection Neurons ◽

Pineal Complex ◽

Bipolar Neuron ◽

Neural Organization ◽

Hand Functions ◽

Frontal Organ ◽

Pineal Tract

AbstractThe pineal complex of anuran &hibians is a directly photosensory organ, encompassing both an extracranial portion, the frontal organ, and an intracranial portion, the pineal organ proper. The projection neurons of the frontal organ respond differentially according to the wavelengths of the light stimuli. The pineal organ, on the other hand, functions mainly as a luminosity meter. Most of its centrally projecting neurons respond to all increases in ambient illumination with decreases in spontaneous firing of action potentials, although some neural units in the pineal organ may respond according to wavelength. This difference in responses to light stimulation may be reflected in the neural organization of the two parts of the pineal complex. In the present study, we have analyzed the morphology of the projection neurons of the frontal and pineal organs of the frog,Rana esculenta, by backfilling of the neurons with horseradish peroxidase through their cut axons. In the pineal organ, several types of centrally projecting neurons were observed: peripherally situated unipolar and multipolar neurons, the dendrites of which extend into a superficial axon plexus that surrounds the pineal epithelium; smaller unipolar, bipolar, or multipolar neurons situated close to the central pineal tract; and radially oriented bipolar neurons, with short dendritic processes oriented towards the lumen of the pineal organ. This latter type was strongly reminiscent of photoreceptor cells. The centrally projecting neurons of the frontal organ were multipolar, and situated in the ventral part of the organ. One photoreceptor-like bipolar neuron was observed in one frontal organ. The neurons of the frontal organ did not form a superficial plexus of neurites. This difference may relate to the different ratio of chromaticity/luminosity units in the frontal and pineal organs.

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Neural organization of eyelid responses

Movement Disorders ◽

10.1002/mds.10055 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 17 (S2) ◽

pp. S33-S36 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jos� M. Delgado-Garc�a ◽

Agn�s Gruart ◽

Alejandro M�nera

Keyword(s):

Neural Organization

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Selection for Reinforcement-Free Learning Ability as an Organizing Factor in the Evolution of Cognition

Advances in Artificial Intelligence ◽

10.1155/2013/841646 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Solvi Arnold ◽

Reiji Suzuki ◽

Takaya Arita

Keyword(s):

Selection Pressure ◽

Learning Ability ◽

Environmental Complexity ◽

Baldwin Effect ◽

Neural Structure ◽

Neural Organization ◽

Environmental Structure ◽

Selection For ◽

Efficient Learning ◽

Complexity Thesis

This research explores the relation between environmental structure and neurocognitive structure. We hypothesize that selection pressure on abilities for efficient learning (especially in settings with limited or no reward information) translates into selection pressure on correspondence relations between neurocognitive and environmental structure, since such correspondence allows for simple changes in the environment to be handled with simple learning updates in neurocognitive structure. We present a model in which a simple form of reinforcement-free learning is evolved in neural networks using neuromodulation and analyze the effect this selection for learning ability has on the virtual species' neural organization. We find a higher degree of organization than in a control population evolved without learning ability and discuss the relation between the observed neural structure and the environmental structure. We discuss our findings in the context of the environmental complexity thesis, the Baldwin effect, and other interactions between adaptation processes.

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The Causal Role of Left and Right Superior Temporal Gyri in Speech Perception in Noise: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_01521 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (6) ◽

pp. 1092-1103 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Dan Kennedy-Higgins ◽

Joseph T. Devlin ◽

Helen E. Nuttall ◽

Patti Adank

Keyword(s):

Speech Perception ◽

Side Effects ◽

Temporal Lobe ◽

Language Processing ◽

Background Noise ◽

Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽

Left Temporal Lobe ◽

Neural Organization ◽

Left And Right ◽

Listening Strategies

Successful perception of speech in everyday listening conditions requires effective listening strategies to overcome common acoustic distortions, such as background noise. Convergent evidence from neuroimaging and clinical studies identify activation within the temporal lobes as key to successful speech perception. However, current neurobiological models disagree on whether the left temporal lobe is sufficient for successful speech perception or whether bilateral processing is required. We addressed this issue using TMS to selectively disrupt processing in either the left or right superior temporal gyrus (STG) of healthy participants to test whether the left temporal lobe is sufficient or whether both left and right STG are essential. Participants repeated keywords from sentences presented in background noise in a speech reception threshold task while receiving online repetitive TMS separately to the left STG, right STG, or vertex or while receiving no TMS. Results show an equal drop in performance following application of TMS to either left or right STG during the task. A separate group of participants performed a visual discrimination threshold task to control for the confounding side effects of TMS. Results show no effect of TMS on the control task, supporting the notion that the results of Experiment 1 can be attributed to modulation of cortical functioning in STG rather than to side effects associated with online TMS. These results indicate that successful speech perception in everyday listening conditions requires both left and right STG and thus have ramifications for our understanding of the neural organization of spoken language processing.

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Drinking: Hindbrain Sensorimotor Neural Organization

Thirst - ILSI Human Nutrition Reviews ◽

10.1007/978-1-4471-1817-6_16 ◽

1991 ◽

pp. 258-275 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J. B. Travers

Keyword(s):

Neural Organization

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Excitatory second-order conditioning using a backward first-order conditioned stimulus: A challenge for prediction error reduction

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1177/1747021818793376 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 72 (6) ◽

pp. 1453-1465 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Arthur Prével ◽

Vinca Rivière ◽

Jean-Claude Darcheville ◽

Gonzalo P Urcelay ◽

Ralph R Miller

Keyword(s):

Conditioned Stimulus ◽

Conditioned Reinforcement ◽

Prediction Error ◽

Conditioned Reinforcer ◽

Error Reduction ◽

Second Order ◽

Temporal Coding ◽

First Order ◽

Order Conditioning ◽

Opponent Processes

Prével and colleagues reported excitatory learning with a backward conditioned stimulus (CS) in a conditioned reinforcement preparation. Their results add to existing evidence of backward CSs sometimes being excitatory and were viewed as challenging the view that learning is driven by prediction error reduction, which assumes that only predictive (i.e., forward) relationships are learned. The results instead were consistent with the assumptions of both Miller’s Temporal Coding Hypothesis and Wagner’s Sometimes Opponent Processes (SOP) model. The present experiment extended the conditioned reinforcement preparation developed by Prével et al. to a backward second-order conditioning preparation, with the aim of discriminating between these two accounts. We tested whether a second-order CS can serve as an effective conditioned reinforcer, even when the first-order CS with which it was paired is a backward CS that elicits no responding. Evidence of conditioned reinforcement was found, despite no conditioned response (CR) being elicited by the first-order backward CS. The evidence of second-order conditioning in the absence of excitatory conditioning to the first-order CS is interpreted as a challenge to SOP. In contrast, the present results are consistent with the Temporal Coding Hypothesis and constitute a conceptual replication in humans of previous reports of excitatory second-order conditioning in rodents with a backward CS. The proposal is made that learning is driven by “discrepancy” with prior experience as opposed to “ prediction error.”

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