Comunidad Cenia How To

PUBLICACIONES

RL3

InvestigaciónCenia RL1 RL2 RL3 RL4 RL5 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Publisher: NPJ Science of Learning  Link>

ABSTRACT

Young children’s linguistic and communicative abilities are foundational for their academic achievement and overall well-being. We present the positive outcomes of a brief tablet-based intervention aimed at teaching toddlers and preschoolers new word-object and letter-sound associations. We conducted two experiments, one involving toddlers ( ~ 24 months old, n = 101) and the other with preschoolers ( ~ 42 months old, n = 152). Using a pre-post equivalent group design, we measured the children’s improvements in language and communication skills resulting from the intervention. Our results showed that the intervention benefited toddlers’ verbal communication and preschoolers’ speech comprehension. Additionally, it encouraged vocalizations in preschoolers and enhanced long-term memory for the associations taught in the study for all participants. In summary, our study demonstrates that the use of a ludic tablet-based intervention for teaching new vocabulary and pre-reading skills can improve young children’s linguistic and communicative abilities, which are essential for future development.

RL3 2024
Ir a la publicación

Numerous studies have shown that mindfulness is positively associated with relationship and sexual satisfaction. However, most have examined the benefits of intrapersonal or trait mindfulness, rather than directly investigating interpersonal mindfulness or considering polyvagal theory. Our main objective was to determine the variable importance of interpersonal mindfulness and psychological safety for relationship and sexual satisfaction using random forests and regression trees and to explore the importance of demographics, social and couple‐related factors, and emotional wellbeing in this analysis. 356 adults in committed romantic relationships were recruited for a self‐report survey. Results suggested that mindfulness in couple relationships, psychological safety, conflict strategies, and depression symptoms were of top importance for relationship and sexual satisfaction. Limitations and future directions involving dyadic data and physiological measures were discussed. The findings will inform the development of interpersonal mindfulness‐ and polyvagal‐based interventions aimed at promoting safety and stability in relationships while enhancing personal wellbeing.
RL3 2025
Ir a la publicación

Driver somnolence remains a major challenge for road safety, not only for its detection, but especially for forecasting when drowsiness will impair driving performance. To address this matter, various physiological signals and facial images are employed to identify signs of sleepiness. However, predicting the driver’s drowsiness condition within a few minutes earlier is more complex than classifying their current status. This study introduces a novel forecasting method based on BiLSTM (Bidirectional Long-Short-Term Memory) to predict when a driver will reach a predefined drowsiness threshold within a seven-minute window. A set of non-intrusive sensors, including force-sensing resistors (FSR) and vehicle measurements (Telemetry data), alongside physiological data (EEG, ECG, EMG), is employed to detect and forecast the upcoming drowsy events. Moreover, a combination of drowsiness detectors based on regression models and a ResNet architecture was implemented to evaluate the performance of these models. This multimodal database was collected from 30 volunteer drivers in a controlled virtual driving environment using a driving simulator in three different scenarios. The results of this study allow evaluation of whether the performance of the BiLSTM model is enhanced when compared to non-intrusive sensor data. In comparison to existing classification-based approaches, the proposed BiLSTM forecasting model demonstrated superior predictive outcomes, reducing classification error rates and improving accuracy in forecasting drowsiness events. This improvement highlights the advantage of integrating regression-based detection with time-series forecasting, thereby enhancing the reliability of driver monitoring systems. Furthermore, the best regression model achieved a test accuracy of 0.964, while the best-performing forecasting model scored 0.86 on the same metric. Notably, the entirely non-intrusive FSR alternative achieves a promising detection accuracy of 0.905. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using time-series data, non-intrusive sensors, and a forecasting technique to predict upcoming drowsiness events, enabling a practical alternative for continuously monitoring the drowsiness status of drivers.
RL3 2026
Ir a la publicación

[:es]Publisher: eNeuro Link>

ABSTRACT

Variations in human behavior correspond to the adaptation of the nervous system to different internal and environmental demands. Attention, a cognitive process for weighing environmental demands, changes over time. Pupillary activity, which is affected by fluctuating levels of cognitive processing, appears to identify neural dynamics that relate to different states of attention. In mice, for example, pupil dynamics directly correlate with brain state fluctuations. Although, in humans, alpha-band activity is associated with inhibitory processes in cortical networks during visual processing, and its amplitude is modulated by attention, conclusive evidence linking this narrowband activity to pupil changes in time remains sparse. We hypothesize that, as alpha activity and pupil diameter indicate attentional variations over time, these two measures should be comodulated. In this work, we recorded the electroencephalographic (EEG) and pupillary activity of 16 human subjects who had their eyes fixed on a gray screen for 1 min. Our study revealed that the alpha-band amplitude and the high-frequency component of the pupil diameter covariate spontaneously. Specifically, the maximum alpha-band amplitude was observed to occur ∼300 ms before the peak of the pupil diameter. In contrast, the minimum alpha-band amplitude was noted to occur ∼350 ms before the trough of the pupil diameter. The consistent temporal coincidence of these two measurements strongly suggests that the subject’s state of attention, as indicated by the EEG alpha amplitude, is changing moment to moment and can be monitored by measuring EEG together with the diameter pupil.

[:]
RL3 2022
Ir a la publicación

Publisher: Frontiers in Neural Circuits Link>

ABSTRACT

While external stimulation can reliably trigger neuronal activity, cerebral processes can operate independently from the environment. In this study, we conceptualize autogenous cerebral processes (ACPs) as intrinsic operations of the brain that exist on multiple scales and can influence or shape stimulus responses, behavior, homeostasis, and the physiological state of an organism. We further propose that the field should consider exploring to what extent perception, arousal, behavior, or movement, as well as other cognitive functions previously investigated mainly regarding their stimulus–response dynamics, are ACP-driven.
RL3 2023
Ir a la publicación

Publisher: Cognition, Link>

ABSTRACT

The importance of proportional reasoning has long been recognized by psychologists and educators, yet we still do not have a good understanding of how humans mentally represent proportions. In this paper we present a psychophysical model of proportion estimation, extending previous approaches. We assumed that proportion representations are formed by representing each magnitude of a proportion stimuli (the part and its complement) as Gaussian activations in the mind, which are then mentally combined in the form of a proportion. We next derived the internal representation of proportions, including bias and internal noise parameters -capturing respectively how our estimations depart from true values and how variable estimations are. Methodologically, we introduced a mixture of components to account for contaminating behaviors (guessing and reversal of responses) and framed the model in a hierarchical way. We found empirical support for the model by testing a group of 4th grade children in a spatial proportion estimation task. In particular, the internal density reproduced the asymmetries (skewedness) seen in this and in previous reports of estimation tasks, and the model accurately described wide variations between subjects in behavior. Bias estimates were in general smaller than by using previous approaches, due to the model's capacity to absorb contaminating behaviors. This property of the model can be of especial relevance for studies aimed at linking psychophysical measures with broader cognitive abilities. We also recovered higher levels of noise than those reported in discrimination of spatial magnitudes and discuss possible explanations for it. We conclude by illustrating a concrete application of our model to study the effects of scaling in proportional reasoning, highlighting the value of quantitative models in this field of research.

RL3 2022
Ir a la publicación

Motor adaptation is a form of motor learning that enables the updating of motor commands in response to sensory inputs, requiring computations at the cerebellar level that must be integrated into cerebral cortical networks for their implementation. We proposed that cerebellar‐cortical integration, which underlies motor adaptation, is related to the modulation of frequency‐specific oscillatory activity. We examined motor error and electrophysiological correlates (power spectrum and phase locking value analysis) measured during different sessions of transcranial alternating stimulation (tACS) delivered to the cerebellum at relevant frequencies (50 Hz, 20 Hz, or sham). We found that 50 Hz tACS, but not 20 Hz or sham stimulation, reduced movement error, especially in initial practice trials. Electroencephalography (EEG) analysis revealed modulation of spectral power and phase synchrony (wPLI) in frontal, parietal, and occipital regions, with specific patterns for both the frequency range and the task stage. Power and wPLI modulation under fifty Hz stimulation were associated with the magnitude of motor adaptation. Our findings suggest that frequency‐specific neural oscillations play a crucial role in the effective integration between the cerebellum and cortical regions of the brain. Significance: Our data indicate that cerebellar tACS at approximately 50 Hz may serve as an effective neuromodulation strategy to enhance motor adaptation in humans, with specific neural correlates.
RL3 2025
Ir a la publicación

Publisher:  Alzheimer's Association Link>

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

Age-related hearing loss is an important risk factor for cognitive decline. However, audiogram thresholds are not good estimators of dementia risk in subjects with normal hearing or mild hearing loss. Here we propose to use distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) as an objective and sensitive tool to estimate the risk of cognitive decline in older adults with normal hearing or mild hearing loss.

METHODS

We assessed neuropsychological, brain magnetic resonance imaging, and auditory analyses on 94 subjects > 64 years of age.

RESULTS

We found that cochlear dysfunction, measured by DPOAEs—and not by conventional audiometry—was associated with Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SoB) classification and brain atrophy in the group with mild hearing loss (25 to 40 dB) and normal hearing (<25 dB).

DISCUSSION

Our findings suggest that DPOAEs may be a non-invasive tool for detecting neurodegeneration and cognitive decline in the older adults, potentially allowing for early intervention.
RL3 2024
Ir a la publicación

Publisher:  IEEE Explore  Link>

ABSTRACT

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects social communication and behavior. Early diagnosis is crucial to enhance the patient’s quality of life through treatments and therapies. In this research, two white matter (WM) fiber bundle segmentation methods are analyzed and compared in terms of their performance and impact on the results obtained from the analyzes applied to a database comprising 37 adolescents, 19 subjects with autism and 18 controls. To achieve this, we conducted the segmentation of deep white matter tracts, and computed average diffusion-based indices for each tract, such as Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC), Fractional Anisotropy (FA), and Generalized Fractional Anisotropy (GFA). We applied statistical tests to identify features with significant differences between groups based on the results of two segmentation methods. Significant differences in diffusion-based indices were found in certain cingulate, thalamic, corticospinal, and corpus callosum fascicles. Furthermore, we performed classification between patients and controls using each fascicle feature independently with the Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Decision Trees (DT) algorithms. Finally, we applied the classifiers to the most relevant features for each segmentation method. Overall, even with the limitations of our small database, we demonstrated that the segmentation algorithm has a high impact on WM tract-based analyzes and prediction, with the autocencoder-based algorithm showing better results than a distance-based method.
RL3 2023
Ir a la publicación

No measure of compassion for animals exists. Previous scales measured empathy or attitudes towards animals. In line with previous compassion questionnaires for self (CQS) and others (CQO), the proposed Compassion Questionnaire for Animals (CQA) aims to operationalize compassion for animals by grounding it in affective, cognitive, behavioral, and interrelatedness dimensions, each representing a set of skills that can be cultivated through training and practice. Methods: Based on the proposed theoretical approach, the CQA items were developed through consultations with a panel of eight graduate students. A large study was conducted to validate the CQA, investigate the relationship between empathy/compassion for other human beings and compassion for animals, and test the role of gender and age in compassion for animals. Results: Results suggested the presence of three dimensions along with a global latent variable. Psychometric characteristics of the CQA and its subscales were robust. These findings were additionally supported by convergent and discriminate evidence; as such, the CQA presented strong associations with measures of empathy for animals and nature relatedness. In addition, empathy and compassion for other human beings and for animals were found to be moderately associated. Gender and age were found to be related to compassion for animals, with women and older individuals displaying higher levels of compassion. Conclusions: The CQA is the first scale that operationalizes compassion for animals as a set of affective, cognitive, behavioral, and interrelatedness skills/abilities with important theoretical and practical implications. Limitations as well as theoretical and practical implications of the CQA are thoroughly discussed.
RL3
Ir a la publicación
agencia nacional de investigación y desarrollo
info@cenia.cl
Edificio de Innovación UC, Piso 2
Vicuña Mackenna 4860
Macul, Chile