Task complexity moderates group synergy.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Almaatouq A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8433503 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:Previous studies have found that inhibiting a task set plays an important role in task switching. However, the impact of stimulus-response (S-R) complexity on this inhibition processing has not been explored. In this study, we applied the backward inhibition paradigm (switching between tasks A, B, and C, presented in sets of three) in order to investigate inhibition performance under different S-R complexities caused by corresponding S-R mappings. The results showed that the difficult condition resulted in a greater switch cost than the moderate and easy conditions. Furthermore, we found a significant n-2 repetition cost under the easy S-R complexity that was reversed under the difficult S-R complexity. To verify stability of the reversed n-2 repetition cost in the difficult condition, we recruited another independent sample to conduct an additional experiment with the difficult condition. These results replicated the reversed n-2 repetition cost. These findings suggest that S-R complexity affects task-set inhibition in task switching because the effect of the task-set inhibition was insignificant when the S-R complexity increased; it was only significant under the easy condition. This result was caused by the different cognitive resource assignments.
| S-EPMC8018243 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Animal studies reveal that the amygdala promotes attention and emotional memory, in part, by driving activity in downstream target regions including the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus. Prior work has demonstrated that the amygdala influences these regions directly through monosynaptic glutamatergic signaling, and indirectly by driving activity of the cholinergic basal forebrain and subsequent downstream acetylcholine release. Yet to date, no work has addressed the functional relevance of the cholinergic basal forebrain in facilitating signaling from the amygdala in humans. We set out to determine how blood oxygen level-dependent signal within the amygdala and cholinergic basal forebrain interact to predict neural responses within downstream targets. Here, we use functional connectivity analyses to demonstrate that the cholinergic basal forebrain moderates increased amygdala connectivity with both the PFC and the hippocampus during the processing of biologically salient stimuli in humans. We further demonstrate that functional variation within the choline transporter gene predicts the magnitude of this modulatory effect. Collectively, our results provide novel evidence for the importance of cholinergic signaling in modulating neural pathways supporting arousal, attention and memory in humans. Further, our results may shed light on prior association studies linking functional variation within the choline transporter gene and diagnoses of major depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
| S-EPMC4381234 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Microbes produce many molecules that are important for their growth and development, and the exploitation of these secretions by nonproducers has recently become an important paradigm in microbial social evolution. Although the production of these public-goods molecules has been studied intensely, little is known of how the benefits accrued and the costs incurred depend on the quantity of public-goods molecules produced. We focus here on the relationship between the shape of the benefit curve and cellular density, using a model assuming three types of benefit functions: diminishing, accelerating, and sigmoidal (accelerating and then diminishing). We classify the latter two as being synergistic and argue that sigmoidal curves are common in microbial systems. Synergistic benefit curves interact with group sizes to give very different expected evolutionary dynamics. In particular, we show that whether and to what extent microbes evolve to produce public goods depends strongly on group size. We show that synergy can create an "evolutionary trap" that can stymie the establishment and maintenance of cooperation. By allowing density-dependent regulation of production (quorum sensing), we show how this trap may be avoided. We discuss the implications of our results on experimental design.
| S-EPMC3635123 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Cumulative culture is a transformative force in human evolution, but the social underpinnings of this capacity are debated. Identifying social influences on how chimpanzees acquire tool tasks of differing complexity may help illuminate the evolutionary origins of technology in our own lineage. Humans routinely transfer tools to novices to scaffold their skill development. While tool transfers occur in wild chimpanzees and fulfill criteria for teaching, it is unknown whether this form of helping varies between populations and across tasks. Applying standardized methods, we compared tool transfers during termite gathering by chimpanzees in the Goualougo Triangle, Republic of Congo, and in Gombe, Tanzania. At Goualougo, chimpanzees use multiple, different tool types sequentially, choose specific raw materials, and perform modifications that improve tool efficiency, which could make it challenging for novices to manufacture suitable tools. Termite gathering at Gombe involves a single tool type, fishing probes, which can be manufactured from various materials. Multiple measures indicated population differences in tool-transfer behavior. The rate of transfers and probability of transfer upon request were significantly higher at Goualougo, while resistance to transfers was significantly higher at Gombe. Active transfers of tools in which possessors moved to facilitate possession change upon request occurred only at Goualougo, where they were the most common transfer type. At Gombe, tool requests were typically refused. We suggest that these population differences in tool-transfer behavior may relate to task complexity and that active helping plays an enhanced role in the cultural transmission of complex technology in wild apes.
| S-EPMC6969499 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Synergistic drug combinations have demonstrated effective therapeutic effects in cancer treatment. Deep learning methods accelerate identification of novel drug combinations by reducing the search space. However, potential adverse drug-drug interactions (DDIs), which may increase the risks for combination therapy, cannot be detected by existing computational synergy prediction methods. We propose DEML, an ensemble-based multi-task neural network, for the simultaneous optimization of five synergy regression prediction tasks, synergy classification, and DDI classification tasks. DEML uses chemical and transcriptomics information as inputs. DEML adapts the novel hybrid ensemble layer structure to construct higher order representation using different perspectives. The task-specific fusion layer of DEML joins representations for each task using a gating mechanism. For the Loewe synergy prediction task, DEML overperforms the state-of-the-art synergy prediction method with an improvement of 7.8% and 13.2% for the root mean squared error and the R2 correlation coefficient. Owing to soft parameter sharing and ensemble learning, DEML alleviates the multi-task learning 'seesaw effect' problem and shows no performance loss on other tasks. DEML has a superior ability to predict drug pairs with high confidence and less adverse DDIs. DEML provides a promising way to guideline novel combination therapy strategies for cancer treatment.
| S-EPMC9861702 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundResearch suggests that respiration rate is related to psychological factors such as neuroticism and perceived stress in addition to physiological factors. However, it is unclear how respiration rate during a laboratory stress task relates to the relationship between neuroticism and perceived stress.Participants and procedureThis cross-sectional secondary analysis examined respiration rate during a stress task in moderating the relationship between neuroticism and perceived stress in a sample of generally healthy older adults (n = 64). Respiration data were collected during an auditory oddball paradigm and the Portland Arithmetic Stress Task (PAST), a laboratory-based cognitive stressor.ResultsThe results indicated that respiration rate during the PAST significantly moderated the relationship between neuroticism and perceived stress (p = .031), such that participants who exhibited a very low (-1.78 SD) respiration rate showed a non-significant relationship between neuroticism and perceived stress, whereas participants with average (mean; p < .001) and elevated respiration rates (+1 SD; p < .001) exhibited a significant positive relationship between neuroticism and perceived stress.ConclusionsThese findings add to a body of literature suggesting that stress reactivity is an important link between personality factors and negative outcomes. However, this is the first study to our knowledge to examine the role of physiological stress reactivity in buffering this relationship. The results suggest that individuals higher in neuroticism may attenuate the relationship between stress vulnerability and perceived stress through decreased physiological stress reactivity, particularly by exhibiting slow breathing during a stressor.
| S-EPMC10535636 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This Editorial introduces a special issue that illustrates a trend toward integrated landscape approaches. Whereas two papers echo older "win-win" strategies based on the trade of non-timber forest products, ten papers reflect a shift from a product to landscape perspective. However, they differ from integrated landscape approaches in that they emanate from sectorial approaches driven primarily by aims such as forest restoration, sustainable commodity sourcing, natural resource management, or carbon emission reduction. The potential of such initiatives for integrated landscape governance and achieving landscape-level outcomes has hitherto been largely unaddressed in the literature on integrated landscape approaches. This special issue addresses this gap, with a focus on actor constellations and institutional arrangements emerging in the transition from sectorial to integrated approaches. This editorial discusses the trends arising from the papers, including the need for a commonly shared concern and sense of urgency; inclusive stakeholder engagement; accommodating and coordinating polycentric governance in landscapes beset with institutional fragmentation and jurisdictional mismatches; alignment with locally embedded initiatives and governance structures; and a framework to assess and monitor the performance of integrated multi-stakeholder approaches. We conclude that, despite a growing tendency toward integrated approaches at the landscape level, inherent landscape complexity renders persistent and significant challenges such as balancing multiple objectives, equitable inclusion of all relevant stakeholders, dealing with power and gender asymmetries, adaptive management based on participatory outcome monitoring, and moving beyond existing administrative, jurisdictional, and sectorial silos. Multi-stakeholder platforms and bridging organizations and individuals are seen as key in overcoming such challenges.
| S-EPMC5999153 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Recently, a number of authors have advocated the introduction of gross motor tasks into research on sleep-related motor offline learning. Such tasks are often designed to be more complex than traditional key-pressing tasks. However, until now, little effort has been undertaken to scrutinize the role of task complexity in any systematic way. Therefore, the effect of task complexity on the consolidation of gross motor sequence memory was examined by our group in a series of three experiments. Criterion tasks always required participants to produce unrestrained arm movement sequences by successively fitting a small peg into target holes on a pegboard. The sequences always followed a certain spatial pattern in the horizontal plane. The targets were visualized prior to each transport movement on a computer screen. The tasks differed with respect to sequence length and structural complexity. In each experiment, half of the participants initially learned the task in the morning and were retested 12 h later following a wake retention interval. The other half of the subjects underwent practice in the evening and was retested 12 h later following a night of sleep. The dependent variables were the error rate and total sequence execution time (inverse to the sequence execution speed). Performance generally improved during acquisition. The error rate was always low and remained stable during retention. The sequence execution time significantly decreased again following sleep but not after waking when the sequence length was long and structural complexity was high. However, sleep-related offline improvements were absent when the sequence length was short or when subjects performed a highly regular movement pattern. It is assumed that the occurrence of sleep-related offline performance improvements in sequential motor tasks is associated with a sufficient amount of motor task complexity.
| S-EPMC5525265 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundHabits have been proposed to develop as a function of the extent to which a behavior is rewarded, performed frequently, and executed in a stable context. The present study examines how each of these factors are associated with behavioral automaticity across a broad variety of behaviors drawn from previous habits research. This study further assesses how perceived complexity of the behavior influences the associations of rewards, frequency, and contextual stability with automaticity.MethodsParticipants (N = 459) completed an online survey assessing their experiences and engagement with 25 different behaviors, including exercise, handwashing, smoking, and medication adherence, among others. Exploratory factor analysis validated a short, relatively novel scale of perceived behavioral complexity, and multilevel analyses grouped by participant were used to examine the factors that contribute to automaticity.ResultsAcross behaviors, frequency, contextual stability, and perceived rewards were positively associated with automaticity. Perceived complexity was negatively associated with automaticity and moderated the influence of contextual stability and rewards, but not frequency, on automaticity. Both contextual stability and rewards were stronger predictors of automaticity when behavioral complexity was high rather than low, as predicted; in addition, when contextual stability was high, more complex behaviors showed greater automaticity than simpler behaviors.ConclusionThe results of this study confirm that behavioral frequency, rewards, and contextual stability are each independently associated with automaticity across a spectrum of behaviors. This study further demonstrates that perceived complexity of a behavior moderates the extent to which contextual stability and rewards are associated with automaticity. The results affirm a need to further understand the components of habits and how they differ across varying behaviors.
| S-EPMC6667662 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In complex adaptive systems approaches to perceptual-motor control the mapping between the different categories of task dynamics: namely, task outcome, collective variable, neuromuscular synergies and individual joint configurations is a central theoretical issue, that has been primarily studied in bimanual tasks. Here we report an investigation in the roller ball task of how the task goal and multiple degrees of freedom of the arm-hand complex affords degeneracy between the respective properties of the task dynamics. The relation of the candidate collective variable, namely, the synchrony of the inner ball to outer shell motion of the roller ball and its relation to the task goal (continued increasing in ball speed), was examined as a function of the initial ball speed acting as a control parameter. Within trial analysis revealed initial search behavior for synchrony of ball and shell motion that was longer in duration with initial lower ball speed conditions. In contrast, higher initial ball speed conditions reduced the search time for and enhanced the rate of stabilization of the synchrony of inner ball and outer shell motion-features that facilitated the continued increase of ball speed and the probability of task success. Participants adopted one of three wrist-elbow neuromuscular synergies to manipulate the roller ball, the distribution of which was not influenced by either initial ball speed or task outcome. The pattern of findings over the different properties of task analysis of the roller ball provides evidence for the distinct but complementary dynamics of searching to form, stabilize and exploit a collective variable that satisfies the task goal through a small redundant set of arm-hand synergy motions.
| S-EPMC6472782 | biostudies-literature