{"title":"Working memory needs pointers.","authors":"Edward Awh, Edward K Vogel","doi":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.12.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.12.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cognitive neuroscience has converged on a definition of working memory (WM) as a capacity-limited system that maintains highly accessible representations via stimulus-specific neural patterns. We argue that this standard definition may be incomplete. We highlight the fundamental need to recognize specific instances or tokens and to bind those tokens to the surrounding context. We propose that contextual binding is supported by spatiotemporal 'pointers' and that pointers are the source of neural signals that track the number of stored items, independent of their content. These content-independent pointers may provide a productive perspective for understanding item-based capacity limits in WM and the role of WM as a gateway for long-term storage.</p>","PeriodicalId":49417,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"230-241"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142957802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Understanding cognitive processes across spatial scales of the brain.","authors":"Hayoung Song, JeongJun Park, Monica D Rosenberg","doi":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.09.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.09.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cognition arises from neural operations at multiple spatial scales, from individual neurons to large-scale networks. Despite extensive research on coding principles and emergent cognitive processes across brain areas, investigation across scales has been limited. Here, we propose ways to test the idea that different cognitive processes emerge from distinct information coding principles at various scales, which collectively give rise to complex behavior. This approach involves comparing brain-behavior associations and the underlying neural geometry across scales, alongside an investigation of global and local scale interactions. Bridging findings across species and techniques through open science and collaborations is essential to comprehensively understand the multiscale brain and its functions.</p>","PeriodicalId":49417,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"282-294"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142584541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Physically activated modes of attentional control.","authors":"Barry Giesbrecht, Tom Bullock, Jordan Garrett","doi":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.11.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.11.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As we navigate through the day, our attentional control processes are constantly challenged by changing sensory information, goals, expectations, and motivations. At the same time, our bodies and brains are impacted by changes in global physiological state that can influence attentional processes. Based on converging lines of evidence from brain recordings in physically active humans and nonhumans, we propose a new framework incorporating at least two physically activated modes of attentional control in humans: altered gain control and differential neuromodulation of control networks. We discuss the implications of this framework for understanding a broader range of states and cognitive functions studied both in the laboratory and in the wild.</p>","PeriodicalId":49417,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"295-307"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142848195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Illusion, dilution, or loss: psychological ownership and GenAI.","authors":"Erik Hermann","doi":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.12.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.12.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) reshapes and challenges psychological ownership of created content. This article examines how GenAI disrupts original content creators' and GenAI users' sense of ownership and control and illustrates how both can perceive the illusion, dilution, and potential loss of control and ownership of content in the GenAI era.</p>","PeriodicalId":49417,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"215-217"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142957801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Global brain asymmetry.","authors":"Yi Pu, Clyde Francks, Xiang-Zhen Kong","doi":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.10.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.10.008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Lateralization is a defining characteristic of the human brain, often studied through localized approaches that focus on interhemispheric differences between homologous pairs of regions. It is also important to emphasize an integrative perspective of global brain asymmetry, in which hemispheric differences are understood through global patterns across the entire brain.</p>","PeriodicalId":49417,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"114-117"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142683199","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marjorie Rhodes, Susan A Gelman, Sarah-Jane Leslie
{"title":"How generic language shapes the development of social thought.","authors":"Marjorie Rhodes, Susan A Gelman, Sarah-Jane Leslie","doi":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.09.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.09.012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Generic language, that is, language that refers to a category as an abstract whole (e.g., 'Girls like pink') rather than specific individuals (e.g., 'This girl likes pink'), is a common means by which children learn about social kinds. Here, we propose that children interpret generics as signaling that their referenced categories are natural, objective, and have distinctive features, and, thus, in the social domain, that such language affects children's beliefs about the social world in ways that extend far beyond the content they explicitly communicate. On this account, even generics expressing uncontentious content (e.g., 'Girls are great at math') can lead children to think of categories as defining fundamentally distinct kinds of people and contribute to the development of stereotypes and other problematic social phenomena.</p>","PeriodicalId":49417,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"122-132"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142511618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sound amongst the din: primate strategies against noise.","authors":"Julia Löschner, Steffen R Hage","doi":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.11.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.11.007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ambient noise disrupts vocal communication amongst animals. Recent studies show that some species, such as marmosets, can rapidly adjust the patterns of ongoing calls according to noisy environments. This substantial vocal flexibility reveals that non-human primates have more advanced cognitive control over when and what to vocalize than previously thought.</p>","PeriodicalId":49417,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"111-113"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142819380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ian R Hadden, Céline Darnon, Lewis Doyle, Matthew J Easterbrook, Sébastien Goudeau, Andrei Cimpian
{"title":"Why the belief in meritocracy is so pervasive.","authors":"Ian R Hadden, Céline Darnon, Lewis Doyle, Matthew J Easterbrook, Sébastien Goudeau, Andrei Cimpian","doi":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.12.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.12.008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>People worldwide tend to believe that their societies are more meritocratic than they actually are. We propose the belief in meritocracy is widespread because it is rooted in simple, seemingly obvious causal-explanatory intuitions. Our proposal suggests solutions for debunking the myth of meritocracy and increasing support for equity-oriented policies.</p>","PeriodicalId":49417,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"101-104"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142967198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Using precision approaches to improve brain-behavior prediction.","authors":"Hyejin J Lee, Ally Dworetsky, Nathan Labora, Caterina Gratton","doi":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.09.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.09.007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Predicting individual behavioral traits from brain idiosyncrasies has broad practical implications, yet predictions vary widely. This constraint may be driven by a combination of signal and noise in both brain and behavioral variables. Here, we expand on this idea, highlighting the potential of extended sampling 'precision' studies. First, we discuss their relevance to improving the reliability of individualized estimates by minimizing measurement noise. Second, we review how targeted within-subject experiments, when combined with individualized analysis or modeling frameworks, can maximize signal. These improvements in signal-to-noise facilitated by precision designs can help boost prediction studies. We close by discussing the integration of precision approaches with large-sample consortia studies to leverage the advantages of both.</p>","PeriodicalId":49417,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"170-183"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142478971","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Martin Vinck, Cem Uran, Jarrod R Dowdall, Brian Rummell, Andres Canales-Johnson
{"title":"Large-scale interactions in predictive processing: oscillatory versus transient dynamics.","authors":"Martin Vinck, Cem Uran, Jarrod R Dowdall, Brian Rummell, Andres Canales-Johnson","doi":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.09.013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tics.2024.09.013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>How do the two main types of neural dynamics, aperiodic transients and oscillations, contribute to the interactions between feedforward (FF) and feedback (FB) pathways in sensory inference and predictive processing? We discuss three theoretical perspectives. First, we critically evaluate the theory that gamma and alpha/beta rhythms play a role in classic hierarchical predictive coding (HPC) by mediating FF and FB communication, respectively. Second, we outline an alternative functional model in which rapid sensory inference is mediated by aperiodic transients, whereas oscillations contribute to the stabilization of neural representations over time and plasticity processes. Third, we propose that the strong dependence of oscillations on predictability can be explained based on a biologically plausible alternative to classic HPC, namely dendritic HPC.</p>","PeriodicalId":49417,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"133-148"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7616854/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142478970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}