#cognition

[tumbler-polls]

When you picture yourself in your mind, do you imagine yourself precisely how you look in real life, or do you see something else (an alter ego, a person who looks differently, another being, etc.)? When you're visualizing from the first person's pov, whose hands are you seeing? If you have aphantasia, consider "seeing" as a metaphor for the way you think of the concept of yourself.

The main options (we put them here due to the character limit):

🪞: I only imagine myself the way I look like irl.

🪆: I imagine someone/something that represents me.

✨️: I imagine myself in multiple ways: the way I am, as another being, as an abstract concept, you name it.

Please reblog for a bigger sample size and feel free to expand on your answer in the comments / tags!

Credit to @anon (we added a few options).

[archiveofaffinities]

William J. Mitchell, The Logic of Architecture Design, Computation and Cognition, A Vocabulary of Stair Motifs (After Thiis Evensen, 1988)

[hexagr]

Your ability to describe the world affects how you think about it. If the language and idioms you know are constrained to a particular window, that window will act as a constraint in shaping not only how you see the world, but also how you experience the world.

[geometrymatters]

The geometry of the Borromean Rings

Borromean rings are a captivating geometric structure composed of three interlinked rings. What makes them unique is their interdependency; if any one ring is removed, the entire structure collapses. This fascinating property, known as "Brunnian" linkage, means that no two rings are directly linked, yet all three are inseparable as a group. This intricate dance of unity and fragility offers a profound insight into the nature of interconnected systems, both in mathematics and beyond.

Borromean Rings and Mathematical Knots

Borromean rings also find a significant place in the study of mathematical knots, a field dedicated to understanding how loops and tangles can be organized and categorized. The intricate relationship among the rings provides a rich visual and conceptual tool for mathematicians. Knot theorists use these rings to explore properties of space, topology, and the ways in which complex systems can be both resilient and fragile. The visual representation of Borromean rings in knot theory not only aids in mathematical comprehension but also enhances our appreciation of their symmetrical beauty and profound interconnectedness.

Symbolism and Divinity in Borromean Rings

Throughout history, Borromean rings have been imbued with symbolic significance, often associated with divinity and the concept of the trinity. In Christianity, they serve as a powerful visual metaphor for the Holy Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – illustrating how three distinct entities can form a single, inseparable divine essence. This symbol is not confined to Christianity alone; many other cultures and religions see the interconnected rings as representations of unity, interdependence, and the intricate balance of the cosmos.

Borromean Rings as a Metaphor for Illusory Reality

Beyond their mathematical and symbolic significance, Borromean rings offer a profound metaphor for the nature of reality itself. They illustrate how interconnectedness can create the illusion of a solid, stable structure. This resonates with philosophical and spiritual notions that reality, as perceived, is a complex web of interdependent elements, each contributing to an overarching illusion of solidity and permanence. In this way, the Borromean rings challenge us to reconsider the nature of existence and the interconnectedness of all things.

[superxstarzz]

Can you do:

Anarchist of Cognition

Gatekeeper of Expression

Cleric of Sentience

Displacer of Exile

Hoarder of Grief [New Class]

here ya go!!! :3

[mindblowingscience]

A small pilot study hints that personalized interventions have a powerful potential for boosting cognitive health in older people at risk of Alzheimer's. Dementias, including Alzheimer's, are among the most feared illnesses affecting older adults, and it's clear why. Globally, tens of millions of people are living with dementia, and there are limited effective treatments. So University of California, San Francisco neurologist Kristine Yaffe and colleagues have taken a new approach. "This is the first personalized intervention, focusing on multiple areas of cognition, in which risk factor targets are based on a participant's risk profile, preferences and priorities," explains Yaffe. The researchers provided personal, customized coaching for 82 experimental group participants. This involved each volunteer working with a coach to identify goals based on risk factors and tailor activities to suit each individual's abilities, interests, and preferences across diet, medication, exercise, social, psychological, sleep, and education programs.

Continue Reading.

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 29, 2024

The time course of feature-selective attention inside and outside the focus of spatial attention. Andersen, S. K., & Hillyard, S. A. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(16), e2309975121.

The role of uncertainty in regulating associative change. Chan, Y. Y., Lee, J. C., Fam, J. P., Westbrook, R. F., & Holmes, N. M. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition, 50(2), 77–98.

Neural correlates of perceptual similarity masking in primate V1. Chen, S. C.-Y., Chen, Y., Geisler, W. S., & Seidemann, E. (2024). eLife, 12, e89570.3.

Timing along the cardiac cycle modulates neural signals of reward-based learning. Fouragnan, E. F., Hosking, B., Cheung, Y., Prakash, B., Rushworth, M., & Sel, A. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 2976.

Multicore fiber optic imaging reveals that astrocyte calcium activity in the mouse cerebral cortex is modulated by internal motivational state. Gau, Y.-T. A., Hsu, E. T., Cha, R. J., Pak, R. W., Looger, L. L., Kang, J. U., & Bergles, D. E. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3039.

A cognitive-computational account of mood swings in adolescence. Gregorová, K., Eldar, E., Deserno, L., & Reiter, A. M. F. (2024). Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 28(4), 290–303.

Probabilistic causal reasoning under time pressure. Kolvoort, I. R., Fisher, E. L., van Rooij, R., Schulz, K., & van Maanen, L. (2024). PLOS ONE, 19(4), e0297011.

EEG decoders track memory dynamics. Li, Y., Pazdera, J. K., & Kahana, M. J. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 2981.

Dynamic saccade context triggers more stable object-location binding. Lu, Z., & Golomb, J. D. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 153(4), 873–888.

It is not all about you: Communicative cooperation is determined by your partner’s theory of mind abilities as well as your own. Markiewicz, R., Rahman, F., Apperly, I., Mazaheri, A., & Segaert, K. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 50(5), 833–844.

Dopamine control of social novelty preference is constrained by an interpeduncular-tegmentum circuit. Molas, S., Freels, T. G., Zhao-Shea, R., Lee, T., Gimenez-Gomez, P., Barbini, M., … Tapper, A. R. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 2891.

Space wandering in the rodent default mode network. Nghiem, T.-A. E., Lee, B., Chao, T.-H. H., Branigan, N. K., Mistry, P. K., Shih, Y.-Y. I., & Menon, V. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(15), e2315167121.

Attention-based rehearsal: Eye movements reveal how visuospatial information is maintained in working memory. Sahan, M. I., Siugzdaite, R., Mathôt, S., & Fias, W. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 50(5), 687–698.

Manipulating Prior Beliefs Causally Induces Under- and Overconfidence. Van Marcke, H., Denmat, P. Le, Verguts, T., & Desender, K. (2024). Psychological Science, 35(4), 358–375.

Top–down modulation in canonical cortical circuits with short-term plasticity. Waitzmann, F., Wu, Y. K., & Gjorgjieva, J. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(16), e2311040121.

Phasic locus coeruleus activity enhances trace fear conditioning by increasing dopamine release in the hippocampus. Wilmot, J. H., Diniz, C. R., Crestani, A. P., Puhger, K. R., Roshgadol, J., Tian, L., & Wiltgen, B. J. (2024). eLife, 12, e91465.3.

Eye blinks as a visual processing stage. Yang, B., Intoy, J., & Rucci, M. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(15), e2310291121.

Distinct information conveyed to the olfactory bulb by feedforward input from the nose and feedback from the cortex. Zak, J. D., Reddy, G., Konanur, V., & Murthy, V. N. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3268.

Conjunctive encoding of exploratory intentions and spatial information in the hippocampus. Zeng, Y.-F., Yang, K.-X., Cui, Y., Zhu, X.-N., Li, R., Zhang, H., … Zhou, N. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3221.

Environmental regularities mitigate attentional misguidance in contextual cueing of visual search. Zinchenko, A., Conci, M., Müller, H. J., & Geyer, T. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 50(5), 699–711.

[tilbageidanmark]

A list of cognitive biases

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

Watch the video via the link!

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the persistence or appearance of neurologic symptoms after clearance of SARS-CoV-2 infection has become a serious health challenge for patients and clinicians worldwide. The effects of postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), commonly known as Long COVID, can be debilitating and persist for months after infection. Some of these symptoms can include fatigue, neuropsychiatric sequelae, sleep disturbances, sensorimotor symptoms, cognitive impairment/brain fog, hypoguesia/hyposmia, hearing loss, and ocular symptoms.

As emphasized by the research and experts in the field, currently there are no specific tests for the diagnosis of Long COVID, and clinical features such as laboratory findings and biomarkers may not specifically relate to the condition. It is important to develop and validate biomarkers for the prediction, diagnosis, and prognosis of Long COVID and its response to therapeutics. Regardless of age or preexisting health conditions, Long COVID can affect anyone, highlighting that this condition is not restricted to any specific demographic and does not discriminate, even against the healthiest individuals.

Recently, we conducted a Long COVID roundtable in collaboration with NeurologyLive to continue our roundtable video series where we delve into important clinical neurological disease topics with a comprehensive discussion with clinicians in the field. In this episode, clinicians discussed the serious cognitive impacts of COVID-19, particularly in patients with Long COVID. The experts stressed that Long COVID poses a significant public health issue, urging stronger infection prevention and mitigation strategies to address these cognitive risks, especially with the potential long-term effects on adults and children.

Our panel of clinicians include:

Ravindra Ganesh, MD, MBBS, FACP, Dip ABOM, general medicine doctor at the Mayo Clinic and leader of their Long COVID clinic. Svetlana Blitshteyn, MD, FAAN, clinical associate professor of neurology at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, director of the Dysautonomia Clinic. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, MD, physical medicine and rehabilitation physician, professor, and chair of rehabilitation medicine at UT Health, leader of the Long COVID clinic. Transcript edited for clarity.

Blitshteyn: Well, we know from multiple studies that COVID does not have a positive effect on cognition, and many patients with long COVID experience cognitive impairment, which is termed brain fog. Early on, studies showed that it was quite rare for the virus to be found in brain tissues. More likely, there is some kind of neuroinflammatory process with microglial activation, small vessel disease, a hypercoagulable state, platelet activation, and certainly, effects on the brain from potential microbiome alteration and autonomic dysfunction at the central level. These are all possible mechanisms.

From cognitive studies, we know that even in patients who feel fully recovered, there is a measurable effect from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Recently, there was a study from the UK that found a 3-point decrease in neurocognitive testing, equivalent to a 3-point IQ loss, in patients with mild COVID who felt recovered. Patients with lingering, long COVID symptoms had neurocognitive testing scores decreased, equivalent to a 6-point IQ loss. Those who were hospitalized in the ICU experienced a significant loss, equivalent to a 9-point IQ drop. It's staggering when you think about it. Even when you feel well and think you're fully recovered, just the fact that you had an infection may worsen your cognitive state, and that is very important. I think this represents one of the major public health issues in neurology and neuroscience.

There is a huge push for brain health initiatives right now, and to me, this is one of the major topics we must focus on. How does it affect adults? How does it affect children and teenagers who continue to have recurrent COVID infections? While most mitigation strategies have been removed—no more indoor masking, widespread testing, or concern for air quality—and as school starts in August and September, this is very concerning to me as a neurologist.

In a nutshell, it’s important to mention that SARS-CoV-2 started as a respiratory virus. However, I think through mutation, it now shows an affinity for vascular pathology, hypercoagulability, and certainly an effect on the brain, likely through neuroinflammatory pathways. We also need to mention the importance of viral persistence and how that plays into whether viral particles activate neuroinflammation and autoimmunity, which still needs to be studied. But on a larger scale, I see this as a major public health issue, significantly impacting cognition and brain health at the population level.

Verduzco-Gutierrez: I couldn’t agree more with everything she said. To answer how long COVID impacts the brain and cognitive function—in one word: terribly. We don’t know what else is to come in the future. A recent study showed that two-thirds—about 63%—of people over 65 who were hospitalized for COVID were already experiencing cognitive decline. We know cognitive decline can lead to dementia. We really have to consider that this will disable people, not just physically, but mentally and cognitively as well. That’s going to be a big burden on our populations as they age. I just couldn’t agree more—this is a public health issue. We have to continue to prevent infections.We’re seeing these impacts in people, as she said, who had mild cases of COVID and got better, yet experienced IQ drops.

Ganesh: What’s exceptionally scary are the people who’ve had COVID 6, 7, or 8 times, right? These are the individuals who will experience the most profound impacts, second only to those who were in the ICU. With the current variants and the lack of truly effective preventative measures, it’s concerning. The vaccine right now isn’t great, and there have been reports of escape even from the new monoclonal antibodies. It’s a bit worrisome at the moment.

Blitshteyn: I want to add that there are also studies showing brain aging by 10 years. Other studies show it accelerates neurodegenerative processes and may be a vehicle for Parkinsonian symptoms and alpha-synucleinopathy. When you delve into the neuroscience literature, the impact is so big that you really start to worry. I think that’s a major area of research, from both a research standpoint and in terms of public health measures. I believe we need to do everything we can to mitigate infection. We may not fully prevent it, but reducing the risk of transmission and reinfection should be our goal.

Verduzco-Gutierrez: We have so much to say about this because we all love neurologic conditions, right? We could just keep going. But before COVID, I used to care for patients with post-polio syndrome, and we knew that the aftermath of polio sometimes showed up decades later. So, we still don’t know what we might see decades from now with COVID. I think that could be part of the dimension we’re missing, but we’ll see.

[courtingwonder]

Chart of 20 Cognitive Biases That Affect Decision-Making

[in-tenebris-et-in-solitudine]

[apesoformythoughts]

[mentalisttraceur]

I think I figured out one of my problems: I never developed a natural desire for adulthood. For becoming an adult. For the experiences of an adult life.

Because I was already traumatized, split/dissociated, Surviving(tm), chronically taking refuge in my imagination, by my teenage years.

If you're a healthy, fully-integrated child, if you're being raised well enough in certain respects, you can gradually grow optimism, motivation, and excitement for what adult life could have in store, for what experiences you could have in a well-fitting job, etc.

(I don't mean legal independence, better treatment, money, physical strength, whatever. Those are means. That's wanting adulthood instrumentally. I'm talking about wanting the experiences of functional adulthood in themselves.)

And I didn't grow that. The optimism was stunted long before. The emotional intelligence was stunted. The feelings of positivity for connection to others were gutted entirely. In the prospect of friendships and coworkers I saw only exhausting burdens and threats, not opportunities, fulfillment, and growth.

I looked at oncoming adulthood primarily as a change of exactly what I had to survive through. (With a difficulty increase, although with hindsight and healing I now realize my privileged adulthood is a cakewalk vs the worst I endured/navigated/solved as a child.)

I'm 33 now. And only just last evening, for the first time in my life, I glimpsed a mental state that must be the default in healthy people, or at least a common occurrence, as they near adulthood:

Optimism and desire for the open-ended possibilities of proactively getting to know people when entering a new job. Seeing jobs as fields for meeting people I'd actually want to interact and connect with.

[hexagr]

The nice thing about small talk and seemingly boring thoughts is that they help break up narratives on the way to more interesting thoughts.

[geometrymatters]

Can you see the spinning dodecahedron? pause the video and it disappears

via Matt Henderson

[superxstarzz]

How about page of life and bard of mind

here ya go!! don't have much to say about this one, but I love the vibes!!!