Journal of Cognitive Science最新文献

{"title":"Electric Conduction Effects in the Neuronal Cytoskeleton Hold the Key to Our Understanding of the Biophysics of Consciousness","authors":"Jack A. Tuszyński","doi":"10.17791/jcs.2018.19.2.109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17791/jcs.2018.19.2.109","url":null,"abstract":"Electrical activity of the brain is the basis of our understanding of neurophysiology. Electrical signals in the form of action potentials propagate along axons and are relayed via synaptic connections between neurons. Neuronal cytoskeleton is constructed from parallel bundles of microtubules interconnected by microtubule associated proteins (MAPs). In this paper we provide an overview of the electrical properties of microtubules and actin filaments which act as bioelectric circuits. It is well known that impairment of neuronal cytoskeleton results in various neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, it stands to reason that these electrical properties of neuronal cytoskeleton are of critical importance to our understanding of consciousness as an emergent property. This short paper provides an overview of this issue. In this brief document, we give a high level overview and relevant references that form the basis for the arguments implicating neuronal cytoskeleton’s electric conduction and signaling in the cognitive functions of the human brain. A recently published book, which is a collection of Journal of Cognitive Science 19-2:109-114, 2018 c2018 Institute for Cognitive Science, Seoul National University 110 Jack A. Tuszyński contributed chapters on the topic of the biophysics of consciousness is an excellent source of detailed information on this topic. In earlier work, computational and theoretical modeling was performed at both atomistic and coarse-grained levels in order to gain insight into electrostatic and electro-conductive properties of the cytoskeleton. Specifically, computer simulations corroborated some very intriguing experimental measurements carried out for actin filaments and microtubules. In the case of actin filaments, it was shown that they propagate ionic pulses in a lossless fashion consistent with a solitonic model of wave propagation in nonlinear systems. In the case of microtubules (MTs), the unusual behavior of ionic conductions along their lengths exhibited amplification effects that are comparable to the behavior of a transistor. Continuum approximations for cable equations describing actin filaments and microtubules were derived and their analytical solutions compare favorably to measurements in buffer solutions showing these nonlinear waves of ionic signals. More recent measurements of the changes in conductivity and capacitance of buffer solutions containing ensembles of microtubules supported these intriguing results and also provided estimates of the conductivity of individual microtubules. They showed that a dramatic change in conductivity occurs when tubulin forms microtubules with unpolymerized tubulin lowering the conductivity of the systems while microtubules significantly increasing it. In living cells, this intra-cellular reorganization taking place in the cytoskeleton signals a conductive phase transition coinciding with mitosis in dividing cells. In non-dividing cells, such as neurons, microtubules and act","PeriodicalId":43246,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cognitive Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75683985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Introduction to the Special Issue on Biological Mentality","authors":"Kenneth Augustyn","doi":"10.17791/jcs.2018.19.2.99","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17791/jcs.2018.19.2.99","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43246,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cognitive Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74098304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acting in the World: A Physical Model of Free Choice","authors":"Kathryn Blackmond Laskey","doi":"10.17791/jcs.2018.19.2.125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17791/jcs.2018.19.2.125","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43246,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cognitive Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85284343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Relation between Observers and Effects of Number Valuation in Science","authors":"Paul Benioff","doi":"10.17791/jcs.2018.19.2.229","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17791/jcs.2018.19.2.229","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43246,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cognitive Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88606635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Time and Space as Unpredictable Biological Constructions","authors":"John M. Myers, F. Hadi Madjid","doi":"10.17791/jcs.2018.19.2.165","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17791/jcs.2018.19.2.165","url":null,"abstract":"Whatever we can say, we say in rhythms of symbols—e.g., words written as marks on paper. What a mark symbolizes to us or to other agents cannot be predicted on the basis of measurement and calculation. Without admitting any explicit notion of an agent, quantum theory implies a role for an unpredictable symbol-handling agent. To accept agents and symbols into physics is to see mechanisms, especially clocks, not in isolation but as tools that agents build and adjust as needed. We model a symbol-handling agent by combining a modified Turing machine with an adjustable clock, needed to allow communication of symbols from one agent to another. To communicate, agents must adjust their clocks so as to mesh their rhythms of operation. We call this meshing of rhythms logical synchronization and display its features. While symbols are digital, maintaining logical synchronization requires something analog, idiosyncratic, and unpredictable, beyond symbols. Our main claim is that logically synchronized rhythms of symbols need not be seen as taking place in some externally supplied “space and time,” but instead are the raw material out of which physicists construct time, space, and spacetime. We hypothesize that all living organisms employ logically synchronized rhythms of symbols. We invite collaboration to explore, in a variety of contexts for people and other living organisms, the situations involving logical synchronization of rhythms of symbols that differ from those used in physics. Accompanying such initial study, we would like to see the development of mathematical expressions of logical synchronization Journal of Cognitive Science 19-2:165-193, 2018 c2018 Institute for Cognitive Science, Seoul National University 166 John M. Myers, F. Hadi Madjid applicable to more complex cybernetic systems than those we discuss here.","PeriodicalId":43246,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cognitive Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80963853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Computational Foundation for the Study of Cognition","authors":"D. Chalmers","doi":"10.17791/jcs.2011.12.4.325","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17791/jcs.2011.12.4.325","url":null,"abstract":"Computation is central to the foundations of modern cognitive science, but its role is controversial. Questions about computation abound: What is it for a physical system to implement a computation? Is computation sufficient for thought? What is the role of computation in a theory of cognition? What is the relation between different sorts of computational theory, such as connectionism and symbolic computation? In this paper I develop a systematic framework that addresses all of these questions. Justifying the role of computation requires analysis of implementation, the nexus between abstract computations and concrete physical systems. I give such an analysis, based on the idea that a system implements a computation if the causal structure of the system mirrors the formal structure of the computation. This account can be used to justify the central commitments of artificial intelligence and computational cognitive science: the thesis of computational sufficiency, which holds that the right kind of computational structure suffices for the possession of a mind, and the thesis of computational explanation, which holds that computation provides a general framework for the explanation of cognitive processes. The theses are consequences of the facts that (a) computation can specify general patterns of causal organization, and (b) mentality is an organizational invariant, rooted in such patterns. Along the way I answer various challenges to the computationalist position, such as those put forward by Searle. I close by advocating a kind of minimal computationalism, compatible with a very wide variety of empirical approaches to the mind. This allows computation to serve as a true foundation for cognitive science.","PeriodicalId":43246,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cognitive Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2011-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80484598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Quantification of Load Dependent Brain Activity in Parametric N-Back Working Memory Tasks using Pseudo-continuous Arterial Spin Labeling (pCASL) Perfusion Imaging.","authors":"Q. Zou, H. Gu, Danny J. J. Wang, Jia-Hong Gao, Yihong Yang","doi":"10.17791/JCS.2011.12.2.129","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17791/JCS.2011.12.2.129","url":null,"abstract":"Brain activation and deactivation induced by N-back working memory tasks and their load effects have been extensively investigated using positron emission tomography (PET) and blood-oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, the underlying mechanisms of BOLD fMRI are still not completely understood and PET imaging requires injection of radioactive tracers. In this study, a pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) perfusion imaging technique was used to quantify cerebral blood flow (CBF), a well understood physiological index reflective of cerebral metabolism, in N-back working memory tasks. Using pCASL, we systematically investigated brain activation and deactivation induced by the N-back working memory tasks and further studied the load effects on brain activity based on quantitative CBF. Our data show increased CBF in the fronto-parietal cortices, thalamus, caudate, and cerebellar regions, and decreased CBF in the posterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex, during the working memory tasks. Most of the activated/deactivated brain regions show an approximately linear relationship between CBF and task loads (0, 1, 2 and 3 back), although several regions show non-linear relationships (quadratic and cubic). The CBF-based spatial patterns of brain activation/deactivation and load effects from this study agree well with those obtained from BOLD fMRI and PET techniques. These results demonstrate the feasibility of ASL techniques to quantify human brain activity during high cognitive tasks, suggesting its potential application to assessing the mechanisms of cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders.","PeriodicalId":43246,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cognitive Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2011-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79025689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Quantification of Load Dependent Brain Activity in Parametric N-Back Working Memory Tasks using Pseudo-continuous Arterial Spin Labeling (pCASL) Perfusion Imaging.","authors":"Qihong Zou,&nbsp;Hong Gu,&nbsp;Danny J J Wang,&nbsp;Jia-Hong Gao,&nbsp;Yihong Yang","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Brain activation and deactivation induced by N-back working memory tasks and their load effects have been extensively investigated using positron emission tomography (PET) and blood-oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, the underlying mechanisms of BOLD fMRI are still not completely understood and PET imaging requires injection of radioactive tracers. In this study, a pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) perfusion imaging technique was used to quantify cerebral blood flow (CBF), a well understood physiological index reflective of cerebral metabolism, in N-back working memory tasks. Using pCASL, we systematically investigated brain activation and deactivation induced by the N-back working memory tasks and further studied the load effects on brain activity based on quantitative CBF. Our data show increased CBF in the fronto-parietal cortices, thalamus, caudate, and cerebellar regions, and decreased CBF in the posterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex, during the working memory tasks. Most of the activated/deactivated brain regions show an approximately linear relationship between CBF and task loads (0, 1, 2 and 3 back), although several regions show non-linear relationships (quadratic and cubic). The CBF-based spatial patterns of brain activation/deactivation and load effects from this study agree well with those obtained from BOLD fMRI and PET techniques. These results demonstrate the feasibility of ASL techniques to quantify human brain activity during high cognitive tasks, suggesting its potential application to assessing the mechanisms of cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":43246,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cognitive Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3821165/pdf/nihms-522331.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"31857204","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neural Substrates Associated with Weather-Induced Mood Variability: An Exploratory Study Using ASL Perfusion fMRI.","authors":"Seth J Gillihan,&nbsp;John A Detre,&nbsp;Martha J Farah,&nbsp;Hengyi Rao","doi":"10.17791/jcs.2011.12.2.195","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17791/jcs.2011.12.2.195","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Daily variations in weather are known to be associated with variations in mood. However, little is known about the specific brain regions that instantiate weather-related mood changes. We used a data-driven approach and ASL perfusion fMRI to assess the neural substrates associated with weather-induced mood variability. The data-driven approach was conducted with mood ratings under various weather conditions (N = 464). Forward stepwise regression was conducted to develop a statistical model of mood as a function of weather conditions. The model results were used to calculate the mood-relevant weather index which served as the covariate in the regression analysis of the resting CBF (N = 42) measured by ASL perfusion fMRI under various weather conditions. The resting CBF activities in the left insula-prefrontal cortex and left superior parietal lobe were negatively correlated (corrected p<0.05) with the weather index, indicating that better mood-relevant weather conditions were associated with lower CBF in these regions within the brain's emotional network. The present study represents a first step toward the investigation of the effect of natural environment on baseline human brain function, and suggests the feasibility of ASL perfusion fMRI for such study.</p>","PeriodicalId":43246,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cognitive Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4018827/pdf/nihms479256.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"32345169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Relationships between Cerebral Blood Flow and IQ in Typically Developing Children and Adolescents.","authors":"Emily Kilroy,&nbsp;Collin Y Liu,&nbsp;Lirong Yan,&nbsp;Yoon Chun Kim,&nbsp;Mirella Dapretto,&nbsp;Mario F Mendez,&nbsp;Danny J J Wang","doi":"10.17791/jcs.2011.12.2.151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17791/jcs.2011.12.2.151","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The objective of this study was to explore the relationships between IQ and cerebral blood flow (CBF) measured by arterial spin labeling (ASL) in children and adolescents. ASL was used to collect perfusion MRI data on 39 healthy participants aged 7 to 17. The Wechsler Abbreviated Intelligence Scale was administered to determine IQ scores. Multivariate regression was applied to reveal correlations between CBF and IQ scores, accounting for age, sex and global mean CBF. Voxel Based Morphometry (VBM) analysis, which measures regional cortical volume, was performed as a control. Regression analyses were further performed on CBF data with adjustment of regional gray matter density (GMD). A positive correlation between CBF and IQ scores was primarily seen in the subgenual/anterior cingulate, right orbitofrontal, superior temporal and right inferior parietal regions. An inverse relationship between CBF and IQ was mainly observed in bilateral posterior temporal regions. After adjusting for regional GMD, the correlations between CBF and IQ in the subgenual/anterior cingulate cortex, right orbitofrontal, superior temporal regions and left insula remained significant. These findings support the Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory of intelligence, especially the role of the subgenual/anterior cingulate cortex in the neural networks associated with intelligence. The present study also demonstrates the unique value of CBF in assessing brain-behavior relationships, in addition to structural morphometric measures.</p>","PeriodicalId":43246,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cognitive Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3749787/pdf/nihms361046.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"31683963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}