Corsi Block-tapping Task (CBT) Performance Experiment

Corsi Block-tapping Task (CBT) Performance Experiment Abstract The Corsi block-tapping task (CBT) is a widely used experimental tool for assessing visuo-spatial memory in both clinical and research contexts. However, whether information other than those spatial and visual (i.e., motor information) play also a role in CBT performance is still a matter of debate. Here, we investigated such issue through a crossed double dissociation design by observing how motor, visual, and spatial secondary tasks affect the performance on three versions of the CBT (standard, automatic and two-dimension). Results showed a double dissociation pattern, wherein two motor secondary tasks had larger effects when the CBT was administered by the examiner tapping on the blocks (standard version). A spatial secondary task had larger effects when the CBT was administered by automatically illuminating the blocks (automatic version). Finally, a visual secondary task had larger effects on a two-dimension, computerized version of the CBT. These findings suggest that memory for movements plays a relevant role in the CBT, and are especially relevant due to their implications for assessment of brain-damaged patients, besides providing further evidence of a fractionation of visuo-spatial memory into multiple sub-components. Keywords: Corsi block-tapping task, visuo-spatial memory, memory for movements. Acknowledgements: The study was supported by a MIUR grant C26F014219 to F.F. Introduction The Corsi Block Tapping test (Milner, 1971; Corsi, 1972) has been widely used in cognitive psychology and in clinical neuropsychology to measure visuo-spatial memory (e.g., Kessels, de Haan, Kappelle, Postma, 2003; Vandierendonck, Kemps, Fastame, Szmalec, 2004) usually within the framework provided by the working memory model (Baddeley Hitch, 1974). The standard apparatus consists of identical blocks irregularly arranged on a board. According to the standard administration procedure, but procedures vary widely among authors, the examiner taps on the blocks in randomized sequences of increasing length. The subject has to immediately reproduce each sequence, continuing until no longer accurate. Performance is measured as the longest sequence of blocks that is correctly reproduced. Notwithstanding Baddeley (2001) reported the CBT as the task that is most closely related to the visuo-spatial short term memory, it is still not clear what of the two components, visual or spatial, it actually measures (Berch, Krikorian, Huha, 1998; Quinn, 2008). This issue is relevant, since studies of both healthy individuals and brain-damaged patients demonstrated dissociable visual and spatial memory systems in humans (Klauer Zhao, 2004; Carlesimo, Perri, Turriziani, Tomaiuolo, Caltagirone, 2001). Such a fractionation of the visuo-spatial working memory is in fair agreement with evidence in primates of separate processing streams for visual and spatial features of objects (e.g., Goodale Milner, 1992). Indeed, it has been proposed in both primates and humans that the dorsal visual system supports spatial working memory functions, and that the ventral visual system supports visual working memory for features of objects (e.g., Goldman-Rakic, 1987). Evidences for a further fractionation of the visuo-spatial working memory were also reported, suggesting specific components of working memory for motor and kinesthetic information (Smyth, 1990). A close link between motor systems and visuo-spatial working memory was actually proposed since the very first studies about working memory (Baddeley, Grant, Wight, Thomson, 1975). However, Smyth and her co-workers (Smyth Pendleton, 1989) firstly suggested that a specific kinesthetic component of working memory might be responsible for the encoding and maintenance of remembered patterned movements (those aimed to bring the body parts into a specific configuration), whereas positional movements (movements targeted towards specific external spatial stimuli) appear to be encoded and maintained within the visuo-spatial sketchpad. Notwithstanding the evidence favorable to a fractionation of the visuo-spatial working memory into multiple components, not necessarily independent one of each other, their relationship with the CBT has been actually scarcely investigated in literature. Though, the complex administration procedure of the CBT makes a more detailed analysis of the processes underlying the CBT strongly needed (Berch, Krikorian, Huha, 1998). More interestingly, and maybe less obviously, the CBT might involve a memory for positional movements, because the administration procedure focuses on the movements of the examiner. However, the contribution of a memory for positional movements in the CBT task has never been investigated so far. It is also worth noting that computerized, two-dimension CBT versions have been frequently used (e.g., Vandierendonck, Kemps, Fastame, Szmalec, 2004), albeit it is not known whether the standard and the computerized versions of the task are equivalent. The present study aims at investigating the architecture of the visuo-spatial working memory as measured by the CBT, through a crossed double dissociation design (Dunn Kirsner, 1988). We followed a standard dual-task procedure, using four secondary tasks aimed at interfering with the spatial, visual, and motor components of visuo-spatial working memory. They were crossed with three versions of the CBT: a) a standard version, wherein the sequences were given by the experimenter tapping on the blocks; in this version of the CBT the supposed motor/positional component was fully present; b) an â€Å"automatic† version, wherein the sequences were given by the blocks being illuminated; in this version the motor/positional component was removed from the task, while the spatial component was unaffected; c) a two-dimension version, presented on a computer monitor, wherein the sequences were given by the squares on the monitor changing their color; in this version, the spatial componen t of the task was reduced, albeit obviously not eliminated, by requiring the task to be performed on a 2D plane instead than in a 3D space. Method Participants. Forty-eight healthy, right handed individuals (mean age 22.4 years) participated in the experiment. All the participants reported normal or corrected-to-normal vision, and were naà ¯ve as to the purposes of the experiment. Stimuli and apparatus. The apparatus was composed of eight translucent white 3 x 3 x 3 cm blocks, each one containing a red light emitting diode (LED). The blocks were fixed at random positions on a 23 x 30 cm translucent white board. Procedure. Three administration procedures were used. In the standard procedure participants observed the experimenter tapping on the blocks, with his/her index finger, at a rate of one block per s, lifting the hand straight up before moving it to the next block (Standard). In the second procedure the to-be-remembered sequence was presented by the computer turning on and off the red LEDs inside the blocks, at a rate of one block per s (Automatic). A third, two-dimension version of the CBT was also used, as it is frequently used in literature as a substitute of the standard version. It was composed of eight blue squares appearing on the computer screen at the same relative positions as the 3D version described above. On each trial, the to-be-remembered sequence was indicated by the blocks changing color from blue to red and again to blue, at a rate of one block per s. The CBT was administered to all the participants according to the three procedures described above, in random order. P articipants had to reproduce the sequence immediately after its administration, by tapping on the blocks using their index finger. Sequences from 3 to 9 blocks in length were presented in ascending order, with two trials per length. All the fourteen sequences were administered to each participant. For each subject, different sequences, equated for paths’ length, were randomly assigned to the three versions of the test. Each participant performed each version of the task both alone (single task condition), and along with one of four interference conditions (dual task condition), in random order: patterned-motor interference, motor interference, spatial interference and visual interference. In the patterned-motor interference condition, participants had to tap with their right index finger on the four corners of a mouse-pad, while the to-be-remembered sequence of blocks was administered. The movement had to be performed clockwise and continuously, at a rate of about one tap per s. Whereas this task is known to interfere with the CBT (Smyth Pelky, 1992), it has both spatial and motor features that makes it difficult to disentangle their contribution. Thus, to remove the spatial component from this task we added a motor interference condition, wherein participants had to snap fingers with their right hand, while the to-be-remembered sequence of blocks was administered. The movement had to be performed continuously, in a regular manner (one snap per s, approximately). The experimenter controlled for the movement being correctly executed. In the spatial interference condition, participants were required to say aloud the side of each of a series of 1000 Hz tones randomly presented to their left or right ear through headphones, at 30 Db Spl with a constant inter-stimulus interval of 2 s. This listening task is supposed to interfere with the spatial component of the visuo-spatial sketchpad [18]. Finally, in the visual interference condition, one of three LEDs placed at the center of the board (one of three colored circles in the Two-Dimension Version) were turned on and off at a rate of one per s. On half the trials the regular sequence was violated, by turning on a differently colored led (on the 3D versions) or displaying a different colored circle (on the 2D version). At the end of each trial, participants were required to say whether a violation occurred on that trial. Twelve participants were randomly assigned to the Patterned-motor, Motor, Spatial, and Visual Interference conditions, respectively. The participants’ performance was measured as the longest sequence that was correctly reproduced at least once (memory span). Performance data were analyzed in a 3x2x4 ANOVA mixed design, with Version (standard, automatic, and two-dimension, within subjects), Condition (single task, dual task, within subjects), and Interference (patterned-motor, motor, spatial, and visual interference, between subjects) as factors. Results One participant in the Spatial Interference condition and two participants in the Visual Interference condition have been excluded from the following analyses because of the relatively large number of errors committed on the interference tasks. The remaining participants performed all the interference tasks at optimal levels, committing less than 3% of errors across visual and spatial interference tasks, and maintaining a regular mean rate of finger snapping and spatial tapping of about 1.2 per s. Figure 1 and Table 1 show the mean memory span length for each version of the CBT and for each interference condition. A preliminary sphericity test failed to show any significant violation of the assumptions underlying the Version and the Version by Condition interference effects (p>.05 in all cases). The analysis of performance data showed significant main effects of Condition (F1,41=139.93, MSE=.42, p2,82=4.24, MSE=.63, p6,82=3.61, MSE=.63, p6,82=4.33, MSE=.63, p.05 in all cases). This finding ensures that the administration procedure did not affect the difficulty of the task. However, the effects of the four kinds of interference upon the three versions of the CBT were very specific. Indeed, the patterned-motor and the motor interference tasks affected negatively the standard version of the test (p.5 in both cases). The spatial interference task affected negatively the participants’ performance at the automatic version of the test (p.05 in both cases). The visual interference task affected negatively the participant’s performance at the two-dimension version of the test (p.05 in both cases). Importantly, such finding cannot be ascribed to the three interfering tasks being not equivalent with respect to each other, because of the triple dissociation procedure we em ployed. Discussion Results of the present experiment suggest that a component of working memory that deals with motor information has the major role in the standard version of the CBT. Indeed, the effects of both the motor and patterned-motor interference tasks were notably larger than those of the spatial and visual interference tasks in the standard version of the CBT. The crossed double dissociation general pattern of results strongly supports this interpretation. Indeed, the spatial interference task was more effective than both the motor interference tasks in the â€Å"automatic† version of the CBT, whereas only the visual interference task was effective in the two-dimension version of the CBT. Such result does not depend on confounding due to the three versions of the CBT being not equated in terms of difficulty, because in the single task condition the performance of the participants was the same in the three versions of the test. Also, it does not depend on the spatial interference task involving a verbal coding of the spatial locations where the tones came from, as the phonological loop has been shown to be not involved in the CBT (e.g., Vandierendonck, Kemps, Fastame, Szmalec, 2004). The finding that the performance on the standard version of the CBT largely depends on individuals coding the movements of the examiner is in fair agreement with the hypothesis that a component of working memory that deals with motor information actually exists, and is independent of the component of working memory that deals with spatial information (e.g., Smyth Pendleton, 1990). It is also in fair agreement with the growing body of neurophysiological and psychological studies that suggest a close link between observing and performing an action (e.g., Rizzolatti, Fadiga, Gallese, Fogassi, 1996). Interestingly, van Asselen and coworkers (van Asselen, Kessels, Sebastiaan, Neggers, Kappelle, Frijns, et al. 2006) have recently interpreted results of a study on stroke patients as suggesting that the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) are involved in keeping spatial information in memory over a short time period, as was assessed wi th the CBT. While the involvement of both the DLPFC and the PPC in spatial memory tasks is not new (e.g., Walter, Bretschneider, Groen, Zurowski, Wunderlich, Tomczak, et al. 2003), it is worth noting that this is not at variance with the hypothesis that a specific component of working memory for positional movements is involved in the CBT. For instance, lesion and physiological studies have shown that the DLPFC has a crucial role in visuospatial control of actions and visuomotor transformations (e.g., Curtis D’Esposito, 2004). Indeed, Hoshi (Hoshi, 2006) in a recent review suggested that the dorsal part of the DLPFC is involved in representing processed motor information, such as arm use or target location, and in integrating multiple classes of information for planning action. Similarly, the PPC is involved in visuomotor transformation, and is thought to serve as a sensorymotor interface for visually guided eye and limb movements (Buneo Andersen, 2006). Moreover, evidence has been recently provided that, within the fronto-parietal network of brain regions involved in learning spatial sequences, two partially segregated neural systems are involved in processing spatial sequences in reaching and navigational space (Nemmi, Boccia, Piccardi, Galati Guariglia, 2013), supporting the idea of a further fractionation of visuo-spatial memory into multiple sub-components. Though, more research is needed in order to specify the relationship between the complex functional architecture of the DLPFC – PPC system and the specific features of the working memory components, including those measured by the CBT. Finally, it is worth noting that the motor and spatial interference tasks affected only marginally the performance on the two-dimension version of the CBT. Such a result suggests that the two-dimension and the standard versions of the CBT cannot be considered as equivalent. This finding is especially relevant because recently two-dimensions, computerized versions of the CBT have been used rather frequently in clinical and experimental settings (Vandierendonck, Kemps, Fastame, Szmalec, 2004; Joyce, Robbins, 1991). In conclusion, the present study shows that the performance on the Corsi block-tapping task  depends largely on a component of working memory specifically dealing with motor information and that this component is independent of that component of working memory that deals with spatial information. Beside providing further evidence of a fractionation of visuo-spatial memory into multiple sub-components, present findings have important implications for clinical assessment of brain-damaged patients and should be taken into account when interpreting the performance on the CBT for neuropsychological rehabilitation treatments in clinical settings.

Hamlet as a Tragic Hero :: Shakespeare Hamlet Essays

Hamlet as a Tragic Hero William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright of the English language, wrote a total of 37 plays in his lifetime, all of which can be categorized under tragedy, comedy, or history. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare's most popular and greatest tragedy, displays his genius as a playwright, as literary critics and academic commentators have found an unusual number of themes and literary techniques present in Hamlet. Hamlet concerns the murder of the king of Denmark and the murdered king's son's quest for revenge. Its main character, Hamlet, possesses a tragic flaw which obstructs his desire for revenge and ultimately brings about his death. This tragic flaw makes him a tragic hero, a character who is destroyed because of a major weakness, as his death at the end could possibly have been avoided were it not for his tragic flaw. Hamlet's flaw of irresolution, the uncertainty on how to act or proceed, is shown when Hamlet sees a play and the passion the actors had, after Hamlet's third soliloquy, in Hamlet's fourth soliloquy, and in Hamlet's indecisive pursuit in avenging his father's death. First, Hamlet's flaw of irresolution is shown when he sees a play and the passion one particular actor had. A group of players has arrived and Hamlet arranges a personal viewing of The Murder of Gonzago with a small portion of his own lines inserted. Hamlet then observes one portion of the play in which one of the players put on a great display of emotion. Hamlet, besieged by guilt and self-contempt, remarks in his second soliloquy of Hamlet of the emotion this player showed despite the fact that the player had nothing to be emotional about. Hamlet observed that he himself had all the reason in the world to react with great emotion and sorrow, yet he failed to show any that could compare with the act of the player. Hamlet calls himself a "rogue and peasant slave" and a "dull and muddy-mettled rascal" who, like a "John-a-dreams", can take no action. Hamlet continues his fiery speech by degrading himself and resoluting to take some sort of action to revenge his father's death. Next, Hamlet's flaw of irresolution is shown after his third soliloquy, the famed "To be or not to be†¦" lines. Hamlet directly identifies his own tragic flaw, remarking of his own inability to act. Hamlet, unsure whether or not the his uncle Claudius was responsible for his father's murder, schemes to have The Murder of Gonzago presented to the royal court, with a few minor changes, so its

Middle East case studies: Elixir Technology

1.  Ã‚  Entering the Middle East market through Malaysia is the best alternative at this time. Malaysia has a market not dissimilar with that of the Middle East. Entering Middle East via this option gives the Company an opportunity to partner with a company which has insights on working in a Muslim country. This way, Elixir is not starting with zero knowledge since this entry strategy is a duplication of what it did in Japan. 2.  Ã‚  Elixir develops and sells computer software which includes the stand-alone and the server-side versions of the Elixir Report. These two versions provide business an enterprise-class reporting solution. ER â€Å"was designed for high-performance operation, capable of handling large report generation† (O’Neil, 2004, p. 4). As such, Elixir Report is â€Å"able to accommodate multiple input data source types and provide reports in multiple output formats† (O’Neil, 2004, p. 4). Aside from these benefits, ER can support multilingual reporting and platform independence, and can support mobile devices. The core competencies of Elixir for its ER are: Speed in adopting changes in the environment and technologies into ER’s programs and applications. As a matter of Elixir claims that flexibility is built in into the Company’s spirit   (O’Neil, 2004, p. 8). Network with technology vendors. This relationship enables Elixir to rapidly fit its ER into a client’s information system which was sourced from a particular vendor or several vendors. Capacity and capability to localize the Elixir Report into specific customer requirements. This capacity and capability is a result of the unique design of ER which enables Elixir for â€Å"easy modification for accommodating local cultural needs† (O’Neil, 2004, p. 8). 3.  As the Company recognized the positive relationship between its understanding of it’s customers’ technology vendors and the efficiency of the sales process, Elixir made developing partnerships with other technology vendors the basis of its â€Å"marketing, sales and distribution strategy† ((O’Neil, 2004, p. 6). Another component of its marketing strategy is stressing that other technology companies translate their products instead of localizing them as what Elixir does (O’Neil, 2004, p. 8). Also, the Company provided for a free trial of the software which can be downloaded from the Company’s Web site (O’Neil, 2004, p. 9). By scaling the software into different versions and selling licensing agreements, Elixir is able to sell ER at a price 50 percent lower than its competitors. This scalability, however, is not a liability in terms of software performance. 4.  Ã‚  Elixir, as to its plan and strategy to expand outside Singapore, has been averagely successful. For example, in its entry into Japan, the Company’s initial marketing strategy – advertising in international magazines – generated low response from Japanese customers. However, this was remedied with the Company’s partnership with GrapeCity which enabled Elixir to bridge cultural gap and language barriers. This same strategy can be used in entering the Middle east market. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yes, based on the facts presented, it is financially beneficial for Lau Shih Hor to take Elixir into the Middle East. I suggest that Lau pursues a distribution partnership with a Malaysian-based company. This company has a better understanding of the Middle East market than Lau which will allow the Company to better localize ER which is one of the product’s competitive advantages. References O’Neil, E. (2004). Elixir Technology – Entry into the Middle East. Ivey Management Services, pp. 1-24.

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Lincoln Thematic Essay essays Abraham Lincoln was the president responsible for the end of slavery following the Civil War. At first though, it was kind of unclear how he stood on the issue. In some cases it seemed as he wanted nothing more than to preserve the union and had no feelings toward the freeing of slaves. In other cases, it seemed as if he wanted to free the slaves and wanted equal rights for all Americans. The Emancipation Proclamation and a quote Lincoln said in 1958 seem to be contradictory, but they are actually alike. In both of these articles, he says that he never wanted to make the rights equal. The Emancipation Proclamation is a document released in 1862 stating that all slaves in the Southern states, except the boarder states were free. Lincoln made this speech for three reasons. One of these reasons was to keep the boarder states from rebelling. If Lincoln had made slavery illegal in all states, then the boarder states would have rebelled and seceded as well and then the South would be more powerful in the war. A second reason that Lincoln gave this speech was so there was a moral purpose for the war. Giving this speech showed the people in the North that Lincoln had tried to free the slaves and now that for moral purposes we had to go to war. A third reason for this speech was to prevent England from seeing the South as a separate, independent country. If England were to see them as a separate country, they could eventually go to war against the North. Also, the speech showed England that there was going to be a civil war and for the time being, stated that America was not two separate countries. In a quote made by Abraham Lincoln he says I am not, nor ever been, in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black values. This quote never says that he does not want to free the slaves, only that he isnt aiming for equal rights. He may want all slaves to be freedm ...

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Comparing and Contrasting the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the American government and the government of Kuwait - Essay Example In this paper we are going to compare and contrast the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the American government and Kuwait government. The constitution of the United States government is aimed at ensuring a strong and fair national government while at the same time ensuring the freedoms of individuals are protected from abuse by the government. America is a presidential system of government with three branches; the executive, legislature and the judiciary. Each arm of the government has its own function but its powers are checked by the other arms of government. For example, the legislature makes laws while the judiciary ensures the laws are in line with the constitution. The executive arm of government is headed by the president who is democratically elected by the entire country. The president serves for a term of four years whereby fresh elections are held to elect a new president. The president is the head of state and government and is also the commander in chief of the armed forces. He/she is also entrusted with the duty of negotiating treaties on behalf of the government. The president has the power to appoi nt or remove cabinet ministers, Supreme Court judges and other government officials. The executive also comprises of the vice president and cabinet ministers who are nominated by the president. The cabinet consists of fifteen members who represent the government departments. The role of the executive is to enforce laws which are formulated by the legislature. The president signs bills into law making the laws official and enforceable (USA.gov). Unlike the American government, the executive branch of Kuwait government is headed by a constitutional hereditary emirate. The Amir is the head of state while the prime minister is the head of government. The Amir is not elected by the entire nation but inherits the position from the Al Sabah family. Kuwait does not have a

Significance of Anishinaabe Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Significance of Anishinaabe Literature - Essay Example No matter what the content is, any piece of literature can only survive the test of time, and gradually transforms into a legend, if it fulfills the criteria of relevancy and righteousness. A fable, poem, play, or an anecdote, will have a continuing impact if it contains a moral lesson, which not only relates to the readers’ life, but also fills them with a sense of hope, and acts as a guide during tough patches of life. This is the reason Anishinaabe, also referred as Ojibwe, folklore, especially the short stories, had been, and is still famous among the Native American and general population. Long before Ojibwe had a written language, storytellers kept ‘Books’ of the tales, where few raconteurs were responsible for compiling the historical incidents, another group of narrators accumulated cultural myths, and the last group gathered religious traditions (Dunn, 20). Majority of these stories were transferred orally from an older generation to a younger generation, to convey the underlying moral messages, and to teach the wisdom within. Anishinaabe literature plays a crucial role in the life of indigenous people, as it richly portrays their dynamic history, guides their troubled and disillusioned younger generation, and serves as a moral support during turbulent times; whilst constantly depicting their abounding values, and their interconnected world of man and nature.Their accepted wisdom, regarding the initial development of life, is clearly delineated in the ‘stories of creation.... Historically it is believed that the process of creation took place in four sequences; first of all the physical world came into being, followed by the plant, and animal worlds, and lastly human race was formed (Johnston, 21). Johnston further describes that traditionally in Anishinaabe historical stories, the ‘Kitche Manitou’, the Great Spirit, and their equivalent of Christian God, had a vision of the world as it is today, and proceeded to create all four types of life, out of nothing. Kitche Manitou also bestowed special and distinct powers to each living being, for example, the sun was given the power of ‘light and heat’, the earth was bestowed with ‘growth and healing’ capacities, so that they all can effectively carry out their functions of life in this world, and also live in harmony with other creatures (12). An important fact here is that, in Anishinaabe historical accounts, the human race was created at the end, and is considered the w eakest of all types of living beings. It can also be said that this belief was meant to keep the mankind, known for his arrogance, and pride, humble and considerate of those around him. Bird quotes an Anishinaabe elder claiming that â€Å"If the waters stop flowing, there will be no life; if the plants die, there will be no life; if all the animals die, there will be no life; if, however, humanity ceased, life will flourish† (4). This statement eloquently captures the perceived interdependence of human race on other forms of life, and again strengthens the initial argument that to realize one’s rightful position in the world, one needs to recognize the value of other beings, and be grateful of what is