Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Organizing Committee
Daniel Adrover
Pilar Andrs
Mara Hebrero
Alicia Leiva
Antonio Martin
Enric Munar
Toi Pacheco
Conchi Padilla
Fabrice Parmentier
Laura Prez
Albert Ses
Yolanda Valdivia
Scientific Committee
Pilar Andrs
Mercedes Atienza
Elena Aaos
Francisco Barcel
Juan Botella
Esther Cardo
Luis Fuentes
Carlos Gmez
Luis Jimnez
Fabrice Parmentier
Jos Periaez
Jaume Rossell
Charo Rueda
Mateu Servera
Salvador Soto-Faraco
Pio Tudela
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Talks
11
th
17
Posters
23
Posters Session I
24
Posters Session II
34
Talks
Clinical aspects
Dficit de imitacin automtica en escolares con autismo de alto
funcionamiento
Luis Jimnez, Mara Jos Lorda & Cstor Mndez
Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
luis.jimenez@usc.es
Se analizan los efectos de imitacin automtica en dos grupos de nios y adolescentes con desarrollo tpico
(N=100) o con autismo de alto funcionamiento (N=18). Los participantes respondan al color de un crculo
(rojo o azul) utilizando los dedos ndice o corazn de su mano derecha, mientras en la pantalla observaban
una mano que realizaba un movimiento compatible o incompatible con su respuesta. El efecto de
compatibilidad espacial se control rotando la mano del modelo 90 grados a la derecha, de manera que los
movimientos producidos horizontalmente por el participante se relacionaban con movimientos verticales
observados por encima o por debajo del estmulo objetivo. Los posibles efectos residuales de compatibilidad
espacial ortogonal (Proctor & Cho, 2003) se controlaron presentando videos que mostraban bien una mano
derecha o una mano izquierda en bloques separados. As, la relacin movimiento-arriba/respuesta-izquierda
se corresponda con un ensayo de compatibilidad imitativa (ndice-ndice) en bloques en los que se mostraba
una mano izquierda, pero se asociaba con un ensayo imitativamente incompatible (corazn-ndice) en
bloques que presentaban una mano derecha. Independientemente de la mano mostrada y, por tanto, de la
posicin relativa de sus dedos, el grupo de control respondi ms eficientemente cuando deba responder
con el mismo dedo que vea moverse en la pantalla. En cambio, los participantes con autismo manifestaron
un patrn consistente con un efecto de compatibilidad espacial ortogonal: respondan ms eficientemente en
la tecla izquierda (dedo ndice) siempre que el movimiento se produca por encima del target, y en tecla
derecha (corazn) cuando observaban movimientos por debajo del target. Este resultado es consistente con
la existencia de un dficit de imitacin automtica en autismo.
deterioro de la atencin y de las funciones ejecutivas respecto a los controles. El objetivo de este estudio es
evaluar si las funciones atencionales se ven afectadas de manera selectiva en pacientes con DCL. Para este
propsito hemos utilizado una versin de la tarea ANTI-V (Roca, Castro, Lpez-Ramn, Lupiez, 2011) que,
adems de proporcionar una medida del funcionamiento y de la interaccin entre las redes atencionales de
alerta, orientacin y control ejecutivo, evala tambin la capacidad para mantener la atencin prolongada en
el tiempo (atencin endgena o vigilancia). Dos grupos diferentes de participantes (20 pacientes con DCL y 18
controles) realizaron la tarea atencional. Los resultados mostraron un deterioro selectivo del control
ejecutivo en los pacientes respecto a los controles, indicado por un mayor nmero de errores en la condicin
incongruente. Adems, los pacientes con DCL mostraron un dficit en atencin endgena. Este dficit se
demuestra por un mayor beneficio (menor TR) en los ensayos con tono de alerta (alerta fsica), sobre todo
en la condicin congruente, y un menor ndice d (alerta tnica o vigilancia) en comparacin con los
participantes del grupo de control.
Individuals with HSAM are characterised by the ability to remember almost every day of their life in
substantial detail. This rare condition has received relatively little attention. Previous studies have shown that
in these individuals other types of episodic and semantic memory are average, and executive functions can
be below the norm Parker et al, 2006). Mechanisms responsible for HSAM are largely unknown, although two
of the three published studies have linked it with OCD traits. We recently examined a young individual with
HSAM and assessed both executive functions and the effectiveness of inhibitory mechanisms in memory. His
performance was at or near ceiling in many standardized executive tasks and, compared to a control group,
performance was significantly better in a go-no-go task, significantly less interference was observed in a partset cueing task, and no intrusions were found in the DRM procedure. These results suggest that a superior
ability in inhibitory processes in memory can be a factor mediating HSAM, as also supported by brain imaging
results.
similar llevado a cabo por Cristinzio, Bononi, Piacentini, Albanese, & Bartolomeo, (2012) utilizando esta
misma tarea, mostr un mayor efecto de alerta para el grupo EP, pero ninguno de los estudios encontr
diferencias en la medida de orientacin. Con el objetivo de conocer con mayor profundidad el
funcionamiento de la red de orientacin en la EP y disociar entre aspectos automticos y controlados,
utilizamos una tarea que nos permite medir de forma independiente la atencin endgena mediante el uso
de una seal central a la que se atiende de forma voluntaria obteniendo una medida de costes y beneficios, y
la atencin exgena mediante una seal perifrica a la que se atiende de forma involuntaria y permite la
obtencin de una medida de inhibicin de retorno. Los resultados mostraron que los pacientes con EP no
tienen efecto de inhibicin de retorno, ni costes atencionales aunque mostraron similares beneficios
atencionales en concordancia con los estudios previos que no medan costes atencionales.
La CSAT es una medida de la atencin sostenida basada en el paradigma de vigilancia que pretende ser til en
el mbito de la evaluacin del Trastorno por Dficit de Atencin e Hiperactividad (TDAH). En el presente
trabajo se us una versin experimental, la CSAT-II, en una muestra normal para analizar su relacin con
medidas y comportamientos propios del TDAH. El objetivo fue determinar si la menor capacidad atencional
se relacionaba con peores puntuaciones en medidas de inhibicin motora, de rendimiento acadmico y
especialmente en conductas tpicas del TDAH frente a otros sntomas ms propios de otros trastornos. Una
muestra de 270 alumnos de los cursos 5 y 6 de enseanza primaria fue evaluada con la CSAT-II y sus
puntuaciones fueron normalizadas. La muestra final de 191 participantes fue evaluada con la tarea STOP-IT
(medida de la inhibicin motora), las escalas para padres y maestros ADHD Rating Scale-IV (medida de
inatencin e hiperactividad/impulsividad) y CBCL (medidas de conductas negativistas desafiantes y
sintomatologa ansioso/depresiva) y, finalmente, se obtuvieron medidas de rendimiento en el aula por parte
de los maestros. Los resultados no detectaron diferencias por sexos en la CSAT y en cambi s mayor
capacidad en los nios mayores. Aunque de modo moderado, la menor capacidad atencional se asoci
significativamente con menor capacidad de inhibicin motora. De modo ms claro la menor capacidad
atencional se asoci con ms problemas de rendimiento acadmico y especialmente con las escalas de
inatencin, hiperactividad/impulsividad y negativismo desafiante y en cambio apenas tuvo incidencia en la
medida de sntomas ansioso/depresivos. Aunque con correlaciones inferiores, la tarea STOP-IT tambin se
relacion con las medidas del TDAH y en este caso tambin con la medida ansioso/depresiva. Los resultados,
aunque limitados, indican que la CSAT puede ser una medida til para la evaluacin de los nios con
sospecha de TDAH y que la atencin sostenida y la inhibicin motora se relacionan con los problemas tpicos
de este trastorno, aunque la primera parece mostrar mayor especificidad. En cualquier caso estos resultados
deberan refrendarse en muestra clnicas.
(Spanish and Americans) in order to manipulate familiarity with the faces. We found that the Social-context
PCE was modulated by faces familiarity. Those who perceived faces as highly familiar individuated instead of
categorized them when allocating cognitive control. These results support current models on categorization.
10
Individual paper
Cognitive inflexibility and aging in great apes
Hctor Marn Manrique1, 2 & Josep Call2
1
University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain; 2Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary
Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
hector.marin@uib.cat
Being able to modify behaviour in response to negative feedback is essential to adapt in a changing
environment. This ability, regarded as cognitive flexibility, often involves inhibiting a prepotent (previously
rewarded) response and generating and maintaining a new course of action. A classical task that is thought to
measure cognitive flexibility in humans is the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), which consists in detecting
which stimulus dimension signals reward delivery and responding to that dimension until reward
contingencies change and a new predictive hypothesis/rule have to be generated. Here we present a new
simple reversal task that requires intradimensional response shifts. This task, devoid of complex perceptual
or motor manipulative demands, has proved sensitive to changes in perseverative responding as a function of
age in great apes, and might be suitable to be implemented in virtually any other animal species.
11
localizaciones atendidas se indicaron por seales centrales simblicas o por seales perifricas, ambas
predictivas en 2/3 de los ensayos. Esta manipulacin permita la comparacin entre las tres condiciones
entrenadas con independencia de la cantidad de entrenamiento que fue la misma en los tres casos. El ltimo
cuadrante no entrenado (donde el estmulo no se presentaba) permiti la comprobacin del efecto de
generalizacin desde las posiciones entrenadas a la no entrenada. Los resultados generales sugieren la
existencia de diferentes patrones de aprendizaje, que parecen depender no slo de la manera en la que
orientamos nuestros recursos atencionales, sino tambin de la tarea que debemos realizar con el estmulo
relevante (detectarlo vs. discriminarlo)
12
El objetivo principal de la investigacin es el anlisis, con la tecnologa Eye Tracking, de los efectos que las
modificaciones de las caractersticas exgenas de un estmulo publicitario no comercial y las caractersticas
endgenas de los sujetos, tienen en la atencin visual de los sujetos al observarlo, partiendo de la base que el
objetivo principal de la publicidad es atraer la atencin de los consumidores para posteriormente
persuadirles (Grammens et. als. 2010), siendo ello ms complejo en la publicidad grfica (Boerman et. als.
2010). En la bsqueda de estas tcnicas, el sector de la publicidad ha encontrado un filn de oro en los
estudios de la psicologa cognitiva aplicada a la publicidad y al mrquetin, cuyos resultados arrojan
interesantes resultados que el sector de la mercadotecnia puede aplicar para mejorar los resultados de sus
campaas. El estmulo original es el anuncio de las campaas actuales del Banco de Sangre y Tejidos de
Catalua. Los estmulos modificados contienen la modificacin de las variables de los elementos grficos del
estmulo original, siguiendo las teoras de la atencin. Participan en el estudio jvenes universitarios a
quienes se les registra la conducta visual (mediante la tecnologa Eye Tracker) mientras visualizan los
estmulos. Se realiza un estudio emprico basado en un diseo experimental factorial intersujeto. Los
resultados de la atencin visual obtenidos a partir de los mapas de calor y del anlisis de las fijaciones
oculares y su duracin, muestran la influencia de las variables exgenas en la atencin visual de los sujetos en
las diferentes partes del anuncio y la aparicin de la transferencia atencional, as como tambin la influencia
de la de las variables endgenas y abren un extenso abanico de lneas de investigacin enfocadas a estudiar
la relacin que los observadores puedan tener con un anuncio (y con su temtica) y sus patrones de atencin
visual, lo cual es todava ms relevante si consideramos que los anuncios no comerciales tienen implicaciones
cognitivas superiores a las de los anuncios comerciales. (Estudio realizado con la colaboracin del Banco de
Sangre y Tejidos de Catalua)
13
14
15
realizaron la tarea tras recuperar la Frecuencia Cardaca de reposo (FCR) despus del ejercicio. En el
Experimento 2, los participantes deban completar la misma tarea que en el Experimento 1 en 3 condiciones:
inmediatamente despus de la realizacin de un esfuerzo aerbico intenso, inmediatamente despus de la
finalizacin de un ejercicio aerbico, y en condicin de reposo. Finalmente, en el Experimento 3 comparamos
el funcionamiento de la orientacin espacial exgena (misma tarea que en los Experimentos 1 y 2) en dos
grupos de participantes diferenciados por su forma fsica (alta vs. baja), y en 2 condiciones: tras realizar un
esfuerzo hasta el agotamiento y en situacin de reposo. Los resultados mostraron que la condicin fsica de
los participantes tiene un papel importante en los efectos del ejercicio fsico sobre la orientacin espacial
exgena, observando una reduccin en la magnitud de los tpicos efectos atencionales (i.e., facilitacin e
Inhibicin de Retorno) en los participantes con baja forma fsica en comparacin con los participantes con
alta forma fsica. Los resultados se discuten en base a las evidencias existentes de la influencia del ejercicio
fsico y la condicin fsica sobre el funcionamiento atencional.
16
Individual papers
Rapid Learning and Relearning of Statistical Regularities in Sequence
Learning
Maria C. DAngelo1, Bruce Milliken1, Luis Jimnez2, & Juan Lupiez3
1
McMaster University, 2Universidad de Santiago de Compostela,
3
Universidad de Granada.
dangelmc@mcmaster.ca
Sequence learning effects have often been show to develop gradually, especially when participants are
unaware of any underlying structure. In addition to the slow, gradual learning that is often observed in
implicit sequence learning, it has been demonstrated that the expression of sequence learning is quite rigid
and heavily reliant on contextual features. Rigidity in the expression of sequence learning has been
demonstrated by findings showing that incidental learners continue to express sequence learning effects
even when the learned probabilities are greatly reduced and performance would be better supported by
learning the new regularities (e.g. Jimnez, Vaquero, & Lupiez, 2006 Experiment 3). Converging evidence
for rigid reliance on contextual features in the expression of sequence learning comes from work
demonstrating that sequence learning effects are eliminated in blocks where surface contextual features are
changed by the sequential regularities are still maintained (e.g. Abrahamse & Verwey, 2008; Jimnez, et al.,
2006 Experiment 2). Most recently, we have demonstrated that participants can learn two complementary
sequences as a function of contextual features, even though the two sequences contained completely
opposite probabilistic structures (DAngelo, Milliken, Jimnez, & Lupiez, 2013). Here we present a new
experiment, in which we demonstrate that the rigidity of sequence learning may depend heavily on the types
of sequences used. Using first order sequences derived from artificial grammars, we show that participants
are able to rapidly learn and relearn these sequences in alternating blocks, even in the absence of
distinguishing contextual details. These results challenge the notion that sequence learning develops
gradually and is rigidly tied to contextual features, at least when the statistical regularities are limited to first
order conditional relations. These results demonstrate while learning of second-order conditional structures
may be quite rigid, learning of first-order conditional structures is quite rapid and adaptive.
17
un ritmo regular, un ritmo irregular, o en una condicin sin ritmo previo. Esta tarea la realizaban en un
contexto sin carga de memoria de trabajo, con baja carga, o con alta carga. En unos experimentos utilizamos
estmulos auditivos y en otro estmulos visuales. Los resultados mostraron una ventaja de los ritmos auditivos
sobre los visuales a la hora de guiar la atencin, sugiriendo adems la implicacin de procesos automticos
18
quisieran. Posteriormente, se evalu el umbral objetivo de consciencia mediante una tarea de discriminacin,
obteniendo un ndice de deteccin de la seal (d). Para el umbral subjetivo, se les pidi que informaran de si
haban visto la seal tanto verbalmente como mediante una escala tipo Likert. El nmero de veces que se
sigui la seal fue significativamente superior al nmero de veces que no, en todos los niveles de consciencia,
(p < 0,05), incluso cuando las personas decan que no haban visto nada (umbral subjetivo) y cuando su d era
igual a cero (umbral objetivo). En umbral subjetivo, las personas indicaron mayoritariamente no ver la seal
tanto en la escala Likert (p < 0,001) como en el informe verbal (p < 0,005). En umbral objetivo, no se
encontraron diferencias entre d' y 0 (p < 1). Estos resultados indican un ajuste adecuado de ambos umbrales.
Los datos obtenidos sugieren que la influencia de la informacin inconsciente podra alcanzar procesos como
la toma de decisiones, poniendo de manifiesto la necesidad de revisar algunos modelos de consciencia que
no predicen este hecho. Futuros estudios son necesarios para delimitar el alcance y la potencia de estos
sesgos.
19
fundamental en el desarrollo de la regulacin emocional. De hecho, han sido observados grandes cambios en
la conducta dependientes de la edad, asociados a la maduracin de esta red. En los ltimos aos, est
creciendo el inters en el desarrollo ms temprano de los distintos procesos cognitivos. En este estudio, se
investig la relacin entre las diferencias individuales en el desarrollo temprano de atencin ejecutiva y el
desarrollo de la regulacin emocional entre los 9 y 12 meses de edad. Para ello, se emple el paradigma de
cambio de tarea adaptado, cuya ejecucin se utiliz como medida del desarrollo de la atencin ejecutiva. Por
otro lado, se utiliz una tarea en la que se observaba el desenganche de la atencin de un estmulo central,
consistente en rostros que expresaban alguna emocin (miedo o alegra) neutros, o una silueta coloreada. La
orientacin hacia un nuevo estmulo perifrico en esta tarea de desenganche se tom como indicador de
regulacin emocional. Ambas tareas fueron registradas mediante la tcnica de seguimiento visual
(eyetracking). Encontramos que en la tarea de regulacin emocional, el desenganche del estmulo central y
orientacin hacia un nuevo estmulo perifrico era menos probable ante la visualizacin de un rostro que
expresaba algn tipo de emocin, en especial cuando dicha emocin era miedo. Esto se relacion con la
atencin ejecutiva, de forma que una mayor facilidad para el cambio de tarea se asoci a una mayor
orientacin hacia el estmulo perifrico y a un menor tiempo observando un rostro cuando expresaba miedo.
Esta asociacin sugiere que el desarrollo de la atencin ejecutiva y la regulacin emocional estn
relacionados ya desde tan temprana edad, apoyando la idea de que para el desarrollo la capacidad de
regulacin emocional es necesario el desarrollo de la atencin ejecutiva.
Este trabajo se centra en la educacin psicomotriz durante el primer ciclo de Educacin Infantil (0-3 aos),
una etapa caracterizada por la globalidad, dada la indisoluble vinculacin entre el cuerpo (desarrollo
sensoriomotor), la emocin (desarrollo perceptivo-motor) y la actividad cognitiva (desarrollo cognitivo). El
cuerpo es el medio de comunicacin, el instrumento por el que nos expresamos y, a travs de l, de su accin
sobre el medio, el nio va a poder acceder a la representacin mental de la experiencia, a la progresiva
internalizacin del mundo externo, proceso que se inicia en esta etapa de inteligencia sensoriomotora
(Herrero, 2000). El objetivo principal del estudio es mostrar como la prctica habitual de psicomotricidad des
de los 12 meses puede potenciar el desarrollo atencional de los nios. Se seleccionan 36 nios/as de edades
comprendidas entre los 12 y los 18 meses de edad. Antes de empezar las sesiones psicomotrices, los sujetos
son evaluados por una escala de desarrollo (Merrill-Palmer-R, 2011) para analizar el desarrollo general y una
escala de observacin de parmetros psicomotrices (Arnaiz y Bollarn, 1998) con el fin de obtener
informacin especfica sobre el desarrollo psicomotor. Los participantes se dividen en 3 grupos: El grupo I no
efecta psicomotricidad; el grupo II realiza una sesin psicomotriz cada semana y el grupo III realiza dos
sesiones psicomotrices semanales. En todos 3 grupos se presenta el mismo material psicomotriz y las
sesiones se conducen de la misma manera. La duracin del programa de entrenamiento en psicomotricidad
es de 8 meses, tras los cuales se toman de nuevo las medidas descritas anteriormente La comparacin de los
resultados de las medidas de la fase pre y post entrenamiento permitirn concluir si la prctica de
psicomotricidad influye sobre las capacidades cognitivas, especialmente, en el desarrollo atencional de los
nios.
20
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control ejecutivo, as como las posibles interacciones entre ellas. Los resultados mostraron que la edad y la
condicin fsica de los participantes modularon el funcionamiento atencional en personas mayores de 60
aos. Tales evidencias justifican la necesidad de promover programas de ejercicio fsico para mejorar la salud
fsica y mental de los adultos mayores.
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Posters
23
POSTER SESSION I
[1] Attentional networkss modulation by exercise: Evidence from the ANT
task
Laura Prez, Concepcin Padilla, Pilar Andrs & Fabrice B. R. Parmentier
University of the Balearic Islands
l.prz.grc@gmail.com
It has been shown that exercise can help reduce the age-related changes observed in cognition, particularly
in executive functions (Colcombe & Kramer, 2003). What remains to be shown, however, is how exactly
exercise modulates attentional functions in young healthy participants. The aim of this study was to
investigate the role of chronic (as opposed to acute) exercise on three attentional networks: executive,
orienting and alert in young healthy participants, using the Attention Network Task (ANT, Fan et al., 2002).
Following the idea that exercise improves brain oxygen levels and that the prefrontal cortex is most sensitive
to these changes, we predicted greater effects of exercise on the executive network than on the alertness
and orienting networks. Participants that had been physically active on a regular basis for the last 10 years
were compared to participants who had been passive. Cardiovascular capacity calculated using the Rockport
Fitness Walking Test (Kline et al., 1987) confirmed the higher level of fitness of the active participants. The
results showed a reduced sensitivity to interference in RTs and accuracy and better alertness effect in
accuracy in the active group. The two groups also differed with respect to orienting in RTs, showing that
passive participants benefited more from spatial cues than the active participants. These results suggest that
exercise modulates the three attentional networks, but inducing a greater benefit in the executive network in
healthy young participants. They are consistent with a previous study from our laboratory showing that
chronic exercise improves inhibition in the strategic version of the stop signal task (Padilla et al., 2013) and
add evidence to the findings observed in studies with older adults and certain clinical populations.
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Automatic Symmetry Span (SYMMETRY, Redick et al., 2012) to measure verbal and visual working memory
respectively. Our results showed that active participants recalled a greater number of letters than sedentary
ones in the AOSPAN, showing a better capacity to manage simultaneously two verbal tasks and to inhibit
interference. Moreover, correlations between VO2 max capacity and several measures of working memory
were found. To conclude, the results point to an association between chronic exercise and a higher capacity
to inhibit no-longer suitable behaviors and to divide the focus of attention between two activities, resulting in
higher working memory capacity.
[3] Visual and attentional processes in dyslexic and struggle readers with
and without attentional deficit disorders
Concepcin Padilla Franco
Universidad de las Islas Baleares
conchipafran@gmail.com
In this study, a series of experiments were carried out trying to replicate Geiger et al.'s (2008) findings
concerning the form-resolving field (FRD) by comparing letter recognition performance of three groups of
children aged between 8- and 13-years old (ordinary readers (OR), struggle readers without attentional
deficits (SR-ADD) and struggle readers with attentional deficits (SR+ADD)). FRD was measured applying two
forms of the same task that were called pre-test and test. In this task a pair of letters was presented, one
letter at the center of the screen, and another in a flank at five different visual eccentricities from the center
in each visual field. Since each different pair can be treated as a bigram, bigram frequency (how many times
both letters come sequentially together in common written language) was controlled as an experimental
variable. Half of the times and randomly, both letters in a pair were high frequency bigrams and the other
half were low frequency bigrams. In the pre-test, bigrams appeared at different speeds within a range of 25 75 ms. in order to measure the average of recognition speed and use this average to set the time the stimuli
would appear at the test phase. The peripheral letter always came out at 2.5 to the right or left of the
central letter. However, in the test, the peripheral letter showed up at different positions, but with a constant
speed. Results show that bigram frequency affects letter recognition, specifically at more peripheral
eccentricities at the left visual field where there is less orientation of visual attention. High frequency bigram
recognition improves specifically in SR+ADD, but not in OR, with mixed results for SR-ADD. Finally, SR+ADD
showed lower letter recognition speed with respect to OR.
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participants judged the movement direction of sounds in the absence of cues, and in conditions in which the
type of sound was cued early or immediately before the sounds. We found that cues predicting the
presentation of deviant sounds eliminated behavioral distraction irrespective of the time available to process
them. This finding lends support to the contention that distraction by deviant sounds can be reduced through
cognitive control and rule out the division of attention as an alternative explanation of our results and those
from past studies.
[5] Effects of aging and executive control on the flexible shifting of stimulusresponse mappings in a bi-field visuomotor task with increasing cognitive
demands
Alejandro Glvez, lvaro Darriba, Javier Villacampa, Rosa Martorell, Laura Prada &
Francisco Barcel
University of the Balearic Islands
javier.villacampa.gonzalez@gmail.com
Objectives: Age-related cognitive decline has been linked to executive deficits in the shifting, updating and
maintenance of task-set information (Braver & West, 2008). Here we explored the combined influence of Age
and Executive control on behavioural indexes putatively related to reconfiguration of S-R mappings in
working memory. Methods: Two groups of middle-aged (5160 yo. N=24) and older (6180 yo. N=22) adults
were split (into high vs. low Executive control subgroups) according to their median Z-score in six
neuropsychological measures (Stroop, TMT-B, Digits, COWAT, Brixton). Participants performed three versions
of a new bi-field visuomotor task that involved distinct S-R mappings each, but identical visual stimulation
consisting of frequent coloured Gabor patches (p=0.9) and randomly interspersed grey Gabor patches
(p=0.1). In a Switch task version, two grey patches intermittently cued to switch or repeat the task rule
(colour vs. thickness). Alternatively, the same patches were distractors in two perceptually identical singletask versions (NoGo and Oddball tasks). Results: In line with previous results (Barcel et al., 2008), mean
accuracy and reaction time (RT) costs revealed significant decreases in performance with higher cognitive
demands. Trial sequence effects showed that non-target grey patches, used either as distractors or
informative cues, influenced mean RTs differently depending on the amount of information conveyed across
task conditions. Main effects for Age and Executive control were found in the Switch task, with middle-aged
and high-control participants responding faster and more accurately than older and low-control individuals
respectively. No such differences were apparent in the two control tasks. Moreover the interaction between
Age and Executive control did not reach significance for any of the behavioural measures explored.
Conclusions: The additive association found between Age and Executive control for behavioural measures
suggests a differential influence of these factors upon two successive stages in the executive control of taskswitching: anticipatory goal shifting and rule activation, respectively (Rubinstein et al., 2001). We
conclude that the new bi-field task-switching protocol offers a sensitive assessment of dysexecutive
symptoms for elderly people and patients with unilateral brain lesions. Correspondence: Francisco Barcel,
PhD, University of Illes Balears, Clinical Neuropsychology Lab, Palma de Mallorca, Baleares 07122, Spain.
f.barcelo@uib.es
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21 and 22-26 years old) in order to compare the developmental changes between them. The behavioral
measures showed a decrease in reactions times and in the different type of errors (incorrect responses,
omissions and anticipations) with age. The omissions were the most frequent type of error. Attentional
fluctuations, as measured by RTs variability, seems to explain the high percentage of omissions in the
youngest group. In the delay period it was observed a Negative Slow Wave in the occipito-temporal
electrodes. This negativity was already present in the youngest group. This posterior negativity would
represent, at least in part, the maintenance of the memory trace during the delay period. In the anterior
region, it was observed a positive slow wave in the youngest group. This electrophysiological signal was
changing to a negativity as age increases. This anterior component showed a high correlation with behavioral
measures: RTs, variability of RTs and errors. This frontal component, similar to a Contingent Negative
Variation, would represent the executive attention element needed to keep the memory trace. During the
matching phase a contralateral negativity (processing negativity) associated to the recognition of the sample
stimulus appears in all the age groups, but presented a longer duration in the youngest group. Present results
indicate a much early maturation of posterior cortices permitting the matching phase of the WM task, while
the executive component in frontal sites was more prevalent in children and presented a slower maturation,
explaining the high number of omissions in the youngest group (6-9 years old).
Present study tries to test possible relationships between electroencephalogram (EEG) maturation and
working memory maturation. The direct scores of the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad and
executive components of the Baddeley and Hitch (1974) Working Memory (WM) model as measured by the
Working Memory Test Battery for Children (WMTB-C) of Gathercole and Pickering (2001) were correlated
with the Power Spectral Density (PSD) values of the spontaneous EEG from 1 to 46 Hz. 167 subjects (82 males
and 85 females) between 6 and 26 years participated in the study. Three minutes of spontaneous EEG were
recorded. The WMTB-C was also administered. Once analyzed the EEG and obtained the PSD values they
were Pearson-correlated with each of the three components of the model of Baddeley and Hitch (1974)
obtained from the WMTB-C. For that we have used the direct scores weighted for each component.
Additionally, the partial correlations between WM components and PSD were obtained partialing out the
age. The direct scores of each WM sub-components increased with age, while most PSD values in the
different frequencies decreased with age. Significant inverse correlations between each of the components
and the PSD were obtained. The maximal inverse correlations were obtained in the theta (4-7 Hz) range. For
the partial correlations, when age was partialed out, only the inverse relationship with theta remains, being
particularly more intense in the executive WM sub-component. The results suggest that spontaneous EEG
maturation is closely related with WM maturation, particularly in the Theta range, in which independently of
the age factor an increased PSD in theta is related to low performance in the executive component of WM.
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la tarea de atencin sostenida CSAT. Para determinar la capacidad atencional se utilizaron los ndices d y A
normalizados (es decir, adaptados a la edad de cada sujeto, tal y como proporciona la CSAT). Los resultados
fueron los siguientes: en el caso del WISC-IV no hubo diferencias significativas entre los tres grupos. En el
caso de la CSAT la tendencia fue que el grupo con mejor capacidad de atencin fue el UN, seguido del CO y
por ltimo del IN. Las diferencias estadsticamente significativas fueron entre el grupo UN y los otros dos. La
principal conclusin es que se puede hipotetizar para futuros trabajos que en los protocolos de diagnstico
del TDAH la CSAT puede funcionar como un indicador especfico tanto del subtipo de trastorno como de la
gravedad de las dificultades atencionales: los nios con un TDAH no especificado presentaron las
puntuaciones ms bajas en conductas de inatencin y la mayor capacidad de atencin sostenida. Los nios
con TDAH inatento presentaron las puntuaciones ms elevadas en conductas de inatencin, las ms bajas en
hiperactividad/impulsividad y la menor capacidad de atencin sostenida.
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relacin inversa entre control atencional y congruencia. Los resultados confirmaron parcialmente las
hiptesis y son discutidos en relacin al rol del control atencional en tareas atencionales.
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electrodos centrales y post centrales de regiones ipsilaterales a la mano de respuesta. Las imgenes del
beamformer mostraron que las regiones asociadas a esta actividad se localizaban en reas motoras,
premotoras y prefrontales. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren la existencia de un proceso de inhibicin de la
actividad de reas motoras y premotoras asociada a la activacin de la respuesta incorrecta.
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POSTER SESSION II
[1] The age-related increase in distraction by deviant sounds is specific to
the cross-modal involuntary orienting of attention
Alicia Leiva, Fabrice B. R. Parmentier & Pilar Andrs
University of the Balearic Islands
alicia.leiva@uib.es
Unexpected changes in an otherwise repeated stream of auditory distractors capture attention in an
obligatory fashion and impact negatively on performance in an on-going visual task (deviance distraction).
Our study was motivated (1) by past reports that deviance distraction increases significantly in older adults
compared to young adults; and (2) that aging increased cross-modal but not uni-modal distraction. Forty-four
adults (22 young and 22 older adults) performed a digit categorization task in which each target digit was
preceded by a to-be-ignored auditory distractor. The distractor was a 650 Hz since-wave tone (standard) and
a burst of white noise in rare and unpredictable trials (deviants). The target digit was auditory in one block of
trials (auditory-auditory condition) and visual in another (auditory-visual condition). Our results showed
deviance distraction in both age groups and conditions and most importantly, an interaction between these
factors: An age-related increase in deviance distraction was observed in the auditory-visual condition but no
difference was observed in the auditory-auditory condition. The key message from our study is that when
distracter and target are presented in different modalities, older adults are more vulnerable to distraction
than young adults. These results suggest that the locus of the age-related effect may lie in the orientation
and re-orientation of attention across sensory modalities.
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extent to which response times could be predicted on the basis of a single predictor: event uncertainty. For
every participant we calculated the joint probability of each type of trial (post-correct/post-error x
novel/standard). We then used Information Theory to calculate the amount of surprise yielded by each. We
found that response times were accurately predicted by this single predictor, leading us to conclude that, for
both post-error slowing and novelty distraction, (1) response slowing results from processes triggered by the
occurrence of an unexpected event violating the cognitive systems expectations; and (2) response slowing is
proportional to the amount of surprise conveyed by this event.
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[4] The effect of positive and negative mood states on deviance distraction
Antonia P. Pacheco-Unguetti & Fabrice B. R. Parmentier
University of the Balearic Islands
ap.pacheco@uib.es
The current study aimed at examining the effect of positive and negative induced mood states on distraction
by acoustic deviance (slowing of responses in an ongoing task following the presentation of an to-be-ignored
sound differing from an otherwise repeated auditory sequence). While most oddball studies examining the
role of negative emotions on deviance distraction used emotionally loaded stimuli, we aimed to test whether
positive and negative mood states affect distraction in a task involving emotionally neutral stimuli. For
comparison, a control group without mood induction was also included. Negative or positive mood was
induced in participants by exposing them to sets of pictures of negative or positive valence respectively.
Participants then performed an oddball task, in which they categorized the parity of visual digits while
ignoring a repetitive standard tone or, on rare and unpredictable trials, a deviant sound (white noise).
Questionnaire data confirmed the efficiency of our mood induction manipulations. Results from the oddball
task showed that all participants exhibited a lengthening of response latencies in the categorization task
following the presentation of deviant sounds compared to standards (distraction). However, deviance
distraction differed significantly between the three groups: greater distraction was observed in the positive
and negative mood groups relative to the control group, and in the positive group relative to the negative
one. These findings suggest that both positive and negative moods enhance deviance distraction and are
compatible with the notion that emotions consume general cognitive resources.
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la DC tanto en nios como en adultos; en particular, los estmulos negativos interfieren ms en la deteccin
de un cambio central, mientras que los estmulos positivos afectan ms en la deteccin de un cambio
marginal. Este resultado es congruente con la hiptesis de Taylor (1991), segn la cual la emocin negativa
produce de forma inmediata una reaccin intensa que interfiere con la tarea, mientras que las emociones
positivas tienen un efecto similar pero con cambio marginal.
The present work examines the effects of memory contents and memory load in RSVP speeded tasks, trying
to explain previous inconsistent results. We used a one target (experiment 1) and a two target (experiment 2)
RSVP task with a concurrent memory load of one or four items, in a dual-task paradigm. A relation between
material in working memory and the target in the RSVP impaired the identification of the target. In
experiments 3 and 4, the single task was to determine whether any information in memory matched the
target in the RSVP, while varying the memory load in the RSVP. A match was detected faster than a nonmatch, although only when there was some distance between targets in the RSVP (experiment 4). The results
suggest that memory contents automatically capture attention, slowing processing when the memory
contents are irrelevant to the task, and speeding processing when they are relevant.
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made over. This model furnished trial-by-trial predictions about latent quantities corresponding to the belief
that the rule used was valid which in turn predicted brain activity in the reward circuity of the brain, including
the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia. These data offer a new perspective on how symbolic
information impacts decisions, suggesting that it determines the space over which inferences are made, in
order to allow humans to learn more quickly and make more effective choices.
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electrodes (sensorimotor idling), and in post-movement beta ERS in central and precentral electrodes
contralateral to the responding hand (motor inhibition). In the upper visual field (UVF) spatial IOR was related
to a significant decrease in beta desynchronization (ERD) around response execution in parietal electrodes
contralateral to the responding hand that may indicate active motor inhibition of responses to spatially cued
targets.
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tarea se administr a una muestra de adultos jvenes sanos y se analizaron diferentes aspectos asociados al
cambio de tarea. Los resultados se presentan en el marco de las principales propuestas tericas.
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Departament de Psicologia
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