scholarly journals The Impact of Brain Lateralization and Anxiety-Like Behaviour in an Extensive Operant Conditioning Task in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Symmetry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Miletto Petrazzini ◽  
Alessandra Pecunioso ◽  
Marco Dadda ◽  
Christian Agrillo
Keyword(s):  
Operant Conditioning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Brain Lateralization ◽  
Colour Discrimination ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Low Performance ◽  
The Impact

Several studies in mammals, birds, and fish have documented better cognitive abilities associated with an asymmetrical distribution of cognitive functions in the two halves of the brain, also known as ‘functional brain lateralization’. However, the role of brain lateralization in learning abilities is still unclear. In addition, although recent studies suggest a link between some personality traits and accuracy in cognitive tasks, the relation between anxiety and learning skills in Skinner boxes needs to be clarified. In the present study, we tested the impact of brain lateralization and anxiety-like behaviour in the performance of an extensive operant conditioning task. Zebrafish tested in a Skinner box underwent 500 trials in a colour discrimination task (red vs. yellow and green vs. blue). To assess the degree of lateralization, fish were observed in a detour test in the presence of a dummy predator, and anxiety-like behaviour was studied by observing scototaxis response in an experimental tank divided into light and dark compartments. Although the low performance in the colour discrimination task did not permit the drawing of firm conclusions, no correlation was found between the accuracy in the colour discrimination task and the behaviour in the detour and scototaxis tests. This suggests that neither different degrees of asymmetries in brain lateralization nor anxiety may significantly impact the learning skills of zebrafish.

«Quanta» Language Consciousness and Problems in the Functioning of the Communicative Norms

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-30
Author(s):  
Татьяна Черкашина ◽  
Tatiana Cherkashina ◽  
Н. Новикова ◽  
N. Novikova ◽  
О. Трубина ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Cultural Phenomenon ◽  
Globalizing World ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The article considers the conceptualization of the world from the point of view of its methodological paradigm assessment in the context of the globalizing world. A retrospective analysis of the relationship between language and human speech activity is given. The authors explain the role of language as a socio-cultural phenomenon in the formation of worldview systems that develop in the consciousness with the help of minimal units of human experience in their ideal meaningful representation in special concepts, which allows the individual to think within the boundaries of a certain linguistic picture of the world. Analyzes the problems of the functioning of communicative norms with regard to the hierarchy of the spiritual representations of the world. The article attempts to consider the impact of the “blurring” of the information boundaries of the globalizing world on the cognitive abilities of the individual in the nomination, qualification of the subject, phenomenon, process.

The Impact of Working Memory Training on Cognitive Abilities in Older Adults: The Role of Cognitive Reserve

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-61
Author(s):  
Sara Mičič ◽  
Marina Horvat ◽  
Karin Bakracevic
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Experimental Group

Objectives: The aims of this study were to determine whether Working Memory (WM) training improves the cognitive functioning of older adults and to determine the role of cognitive reserve in WM training. Method: Twenty-one older adults, aged between 65 and 91 years were included in the study. Ten of them were in the experimental group and 11 in the passive control group. The experimental group underwent 15 training sessions of n-back training over a period of five weeks, whereas the control group remained passive. All participants (from the experimental and control group) were tested before the training, one week after the training, and three months after the training with Rey– Osterrieth/Taylor Complex Figure test (ROCF), Digit span, and TMT (part A and part B). Results and Conclusion: Results of our study suggest that although the experimental group slightly improved their performance on the trained task, the progress was not statistically significant. There was also no statistically significant transfer of training effects onto tasks of visual-spatial and verbal memory, as well as those related to executive functioning. However, the study did identify a statistically significant correlation between cognitive reserve and certain tests performed at the final testing: tasks measuring executive functioning and spatial ability. Results also revealed that the group that showed improvement in the training task was significantly better in the ROCF test in comparison with the group that had not improved their performance on the N-back task. Thus, visual-spatial abilities (visual perception, construction, and memory) were more connected with success in WM training, than other measured cognitive abilities (e.g. verbal and numerical memory).

scholarly journals The impact of personality and self-efficacy on academic and military performance: The mediating role of self-efficacy

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Hol Fosse ◽  
Robert Buch ◽  
Reidar Säfvenbom ◽  
Monica Martinussen
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Military Performance ◽  
Efficacy Analysis ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In order to optimize recruitment and the overall outcome of educational programmes, it is crucial to understand personal determinants of achievement. While several cognitive abilities and skills individually predict performance in academic and professional settings, it is less clear how personality translates into performance. This study addresses the impact of the Big Five personality trait, conscientiousness, on academic performance and instructor performance ratings and examines the mediating role of self-efficacy. Analysis of longitudinal data (Time 1: n = 166 (conscientiousness); Time 2: n = 161 (self-efficacy); Time 3: n = 136 (military performance) and n = 156 (academic performance)) from three military academies in Norway showed that conscientiousness was related to both military and academic performance. Moreover, self-efficacy emerged as a partial mediator for the relationship between conscientiousness and performance.

scholarly journals Effects of hydration status on cognitive performance and mood

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (10) ◽  
pp. 1841-1852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie A. Masento ◽  
Mark Golightly ◽  
David T. Field ◽  
Laurie T. Butler ◽  
Carien M. van Reekum
Keyword(s):  
Water Consumption ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Hydration Status ◽  
Fluid Regulation ◽  
Optimal Maintenance ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Impact

Although it is well known that water is essential for human homeostasis and survival, only recently have we begun to understand its role in the maintenance of brain function. Herein, we integrate emerging evidence regarding the effects of both dehydration and additional acute water consumption on cognition and mood. Current findings in the field suggest that particular cognitive abilities and mood states are positively influenced by water consumption. The impact of dehydration on cognition and mood is particularly relevant for those with poor fluid regulation, such as the elderly and children. We critically review the most recent advances in both behavioural and neuroimaging studies of dehydration and link the findings to the known effects of water on hormonal, neurochemical and vascular functions in an attempt to suggest plausible mechanisms of action. We identify some methodological weaknesses, including inconsistent measurements in cognitive assessment and the lack of objective hydration state measurements as well as gaps in knowledge concerning mediating factors that may influence water intervention effects. Finally, we discuss how future research can best elucidate the role of water in the optimal maintenance of brain health and function.

scholarly journals Should dispersers be fast learners? Modelling the role of cognition in dispersal syndromes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jannis Liedtke ◽  
Lutz Fromhage
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Cognitive Phenotype ◽  
Dispersal Syndromes

Both cognitive abilities and dispersal tendencies can vary strongly between individuals. Since cognitive abilities may help dealing with unknown circumstances it is conceivable that dispersers may rely more heavily on learning abilities than residents. However, cognitive abilities are costly and leaving a familiar place might result in losing the advantage of having learned to deal with local conditions. Thus, individuals which invested in learning to cope with local conditions may be more reluctant to leave their natal place. In order to disentangle the complex relationship between dispersal and learning abilities we implemented individual-based simulations. By allowing for developmental plasticity, individuals could either develop a ‘resident´ or ‘dispersal´ cognitive phenotype. In line with our expectations, the correlation between learning abilities and dispersal could take any direction, depending how much time individuals had to recoup their investment in cognition. Both, longevity and the timing of dispersal within lifecycles determine the time individuals have to recoup that investment and thus crucially influence this correlation. We therefore suggest that species´ life-history will strongly impact the expected cognitive abilities of dispersers, relative to their resident conspecifics, and that cognitive abilities might be an integral part of dispersal syndromes.

scholarly journals Hybridization may promote variation in cognitive phenotypes in experimental guppy hybrids

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina Vila Pouca ◽  
Sijmen Vedder ◽  
Alexander Kotrschal
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Species Boundaries ◽  
Adaptive Potential ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Hybrid Group

Hybridization is an underappreciated mechanism of evolution. While hybrids often express inferior traits and are selected against, hybridization can promote phenotypic variation and produce trait combinations distinct from the parentals, generating novel adaptive potential. Among other traits, hybridization can impact behaviour and cognition and may reinforce species boundaries when hybrids show decreased cognitive abilities. However, the hypothesized role of hybridization in the diversification of cognitive phenotypes remains enigmatic. To test this idea, we compare the performance of guppies (Poecilia reticulata), Endler’s guppies (Poecilia wingei), and their experimental hybrids in colour association and reversal learning. In addition, we introduce a new approach to compare multidimensional cognitive phenotypes. We found that hybrids showed intermediate learning abilities in both tasks compared to the parentals. Moreover, hybrids had slightly higher phenotypic dispersion, new trait combinations occurred in some hybrid individuals, and the mean phenotype of one hybrid group deviated away from the axis of variation of the parentals. Our method should hence be useful in further exploring how hybridization, and other evolutionary processes, impact behavioural and cognitive traits. Our results suggest that hybridization may promote cognitive variation and generate new trait combinations, even when learning performance at the group level is intermediate between parentals.

scholarly journals Does Brain Lateralization Affect the Performance in Binary Choice Tasks? A Study in the Animal Model Danio rerio

Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1294
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Miletto Petrazzini ◽  
Alessandra Pecunioso ◽  
Marco Dadda ◽  
Christian Agrillo
Keyword(s):  
Operant Conditioning ◽  
Binary Choice ◽  
Brain Lateralization ◽  
Potential Predator ◽  
Prolonged Training ◽  
Low Performance ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Right ◽  
Choice Tasks ◽  
Potential Confound

Researchers in behavioral neuroscience commonly observe the behavior of animal subjects in the presence of two alternative stimuli. However, this type of binary choice introduces a potential confound related to side biases. Understanding whether subjects exhibit this bias, and the origin of it (pre-existent or acquired throughout the experimental sessions), is particularly important to interpreting the results. Here, we tested the hypothesis according to which brain lateralization may influence the emergence of side biases in a well-known model of neuroscience, the zebrafish. As a measure of lateralization, individuals were observed in their spontaneous tendencies to monitor a potential predator with either the left or the right eye. Subjects also underwent an operant conditioning task requiring discrimination between two colors placed on the left–right axis. Although the low performance exhibited in the operant conditioning task prevents firm conclusions from being drawn, a positive correlation was found between the direction of lateralization and the tendency to select the stimulus presented on one specific side (e.g., right). The choice for this preferred side did not change throughout the experimental sessions, meaning that this side bias was not the result of the prolonged training. Overall, our study calls for a wider investigation of pre-existing lateralization biases in animal models to set up methodological counterstrategies to test individuals that do not properly work in a binary choice task with stimuli arranged on the left–right axis.

scholarly journals The Role of the Motivation in Changes and Performance Assessment of the Managerial Staff in Kosovo Businesses

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 224
Author(s):  
Hidajet Karaxha ◽  
Halit Karaxha ◽  
Berim Ramosaj
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Performance Culture ◽  
Low Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Managerial Staff

Performance evaluation functions as an important tool in adjusting performance potential by removing intermediate barriers and motivating human resources. Each business objectives relate to performance motivation, helping individuals to improve their skills, creating a performance culture, determining which should be promoted, and eliminating employees who have low performance. The paper deals with the moderating role of performance evaluation in motivating managers in Kosovo businesses. This paper consists of the use of a methodology that incorporates a combination of primary and secondary data. The majority of secondary data includes research relevant literature from different libraries, the latest scientific research. Primary data constitute field findings from businesses interviewed in Kosovo. In this study, quantitative approach was used. This approach consists of data collection and analysis in various forms. In order to determine the impact of performance evaluation on motivation of managerial staff, a questionnaire was drafted. This questionnaire was addressed to owners/co-owners, directors, general directors, and all managers in Kosovo's businesses. The last part of this paper is related to discussion of results, conclusions, and recommendations.

scholarly journals The role of vocal learning in call acquisition of wild grey seal pups

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
pp. 20200251
Author(s):  
Amanda L. Stansbury ◽  
Vincent M. Janik
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Peak Frequency ◽  
Halichoerus Grypus ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
The Impact

Pinnipeds have been identified as one of the best available models for the study of vocal learning. Experimental evidence for their learning skills is demonstrated with advanced copying skills, particularly in formant structure when copying human speech sounds and melodies. By contrast, almost no data are available on how learning skills are used in their own communication systems. We investigated the impact of playing modified seal sounds in a breeding colony of grey seals ( Halichoerus grypus ) to study how acoustic input influenced vocal development of eight pups. Sequences of two or three seal pup calls were edited so that the average peak frequency between calls in a sequence changed up or down. We found that seals copied the specific stimuli played to them and that copies became more accurate over time. The differential response of different groups showed that vocal production learning was used to achieve conformity, suggesting that geographical variation in seal calls can be caused by horizontal cultural transmission. While learning of pup calls appears to have few benefits, we suggest that it also affects the development of the adult repertoire, which may facilitate social interactions such as mate choice. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

scholarly journals CHANGING ROLE OF A TEACHER IN EDUCATIONALLY PROGRESSIVE MAHARASHTRA PROGRAMME

2020 ◽  
pp. 491-492
Author(s):  
Patil Sandip Diliprao
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Progressive Education ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Conventional Teaching ◽  
Age Appropriate ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Changing Role

This research paper discusses approaches and techniques which can assist teacher to improve their role in progressive education. It highlights use of new trends in teaching learning. Upon the practical study the paper diagnoses the drawbacks and limitations of current conventional teaching learning tools and methods. And suggests certain recommendations. KEYWORDS- Classroom environment, Educational quality development, age appropriate learning abilities lifelong learning, Skills.

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