Quick concurrent responses to global and local cognitive information underlie intuitive understanding in board-game experts.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Nakatani H
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4118179 | biostudies-other | 2014
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
Similar Datasets
Project description:SugarSketcher is an intuitive and fast JavaScript interface module for online drawing of glycan structures in the popular Symbol Nomenclature for Glycans (SNFG) notation and exporting them to various commonly used formats encoding carbohydrate sequences (e.g., GlycoCT) or quality images (e.g., svg). It does not require a backend server or any specific browser plugins and can be integrated in any web glycoinformatics project. SugarSketcher allows drawing glycans both for glycobiologists and non-expert users. The "quick mode" allows a newcomer to build up a glycan structure having only a limited knowledge in carbohydrate chemistry. The "normal mode" integrates advanced options which enable glycobiologists to tailor complex carbohydrate structures. The source code is freely available on GitHub and glycoinformaticians are encouraged to participate in the development process while users are invited to test a prototype available on the ExPASY web-site and send feedback.
| S-EPMC6320881 | biostudies-other
Project description:Cognitive performance relies on the coordination of large-scale networks of brain regions that are not only temporally correlated during different tasks, but also networks that show highly correlated spontaneous activity during a task-free state. Both task-related and task-free network activity has been associated with individual differences in cognitive performance. Therefore, we aimed to examine the influence of cognitive expertise on four networks associated with cognitive task performance: the default mode network (DMN) and three other cognitive networks (central-executive network, dorsal attention network, and salience network). During fMRI scanning, fifteen grandmaster and master level Chinese chess players (GM/M) and fifteen novice players carried out a Chinese chess task and a task-free resting state. Modulations of network activity during task were assessed, as well as resting-state functional connectivity of those networks. Relative to novices, GM/Ms showed a broader task-induced deactivation of DMN in the chess problem-solving task, and intrinsic functional connectivity of DMN was increased with a connectivity pattern associated with the caudate nucleus in GM/Ms. The three other cognitive networks did not exhibit any difference in task-evoked activation or intrinsic functional connectivity between the two groups. These findings demonstrate the effect of long-term learning and practice in cognitive expertise on large-scale brain networks, suggesting the important role of DMN deactivation in expert performance and enhanced functional integration of spontaneous activity within widely distributed DMN-caudate circuitry, which might better support high-level cognitive control of behavior.
| S-EPMC3299676 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Individuals who identify changes in their local climate are also more likely to report that they have personally experienced global climate change. One way that people may come to recognize that their local climate is changing is through information provided by local TV weather forecasters. Using random digit dialing, 2,000 adult local TV news viewers in Virginia were surveyed to determine whether routine exposure to local TV weather forecasts influences their perceptions of extreme weather in Virginia, and their perceptions about climate change more generally. Results indicate that paying attention to TV weather forecasts is associated with beliefs that extreme weather is becoming more frequent in Virginia, which in turn is associated with stronger beliefs and concerns about climate change. These associations were strongest for individuals who trust their local TV weathercaster as a source of information about climate change, and for those who identify as politically conservative or moderate. The findings add support to the literature suggesting that TV weathercasters can play an important role in educating the public about climate change.
| S-EPMC4638344 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The disruption of coupling between brain areas has been suggested as the mechanism underlying loss of consciousness in anesthesia. This hypothesis has been tested previously by measuring the information transfer between brain areas, and by taking reduced information transfer as a proxy for decoupling. Yet, information transfer is a function of the amount of information available in the information source-such that transfer decreases even for unchanged coupling when less source information is available. Therefore, we reconsidered past interpretations of reduced information transfer as a sign of decoupling, and asked whether impaired local information processing leads to a loss of information transfer. An important prediction of this alternative hypothesis is that changes in locally available information (signal entropy) should be at least as pronounced as changes in information transfer. We tested this prediction by recording local field potentials in two ferrets after administration of isoflurane in concentrations of 0.0%, 0.5%, and 1.0%. We found strong decreases in the source entropy under isoflurane in area V1 and the prefrontal cortex (PFC)-as predicted by our alternative hypothesis. The decrease in source entropy was stronger in PFC compared to V1. Information transfer between V1 and PFC was reduced bidirectionally, but with a stronger decrease from PFC to V1. This links the stronger decrease in information transfer to the stronger decrease in source entropy-suggesting reduced source entropy reduces information transfer. This conclusion fits the observation that the synaptic targets of isoflurane are located in local cortical circuits rather than on the synapses formed by interareal axonal projections. Thus, changes in information transfer under isoflurane seem to be a consequence of changes in local processing more than of decoupling between brain areas. We suggest that source entropy changes must be considered whenever interpreting changes in information transfer as decoupling.
| S-EPMC5453425 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionDiabetes mellitus can be a challenging topic for medical students. Educational games can engage students, encourage collaboration and peer teaching, and support friendly competition. To enhance student training on diabetes diagnosis and management, we developed a flashcard-style board game to review these concepts and provide a formative assessment.MethodsIn this 50-minute session, 102 second-year medical students used a game board and playing cards to compete in small groups. To play, teams took turns answering flashcard-style playing cards and moved forward on the board with correct answers. The first team to reach the end of the board won. Students completed a survey about their confidence in the topic and a multiple-choice test before and after the session to measure the effectiveness of this intervention.ResultsMedical knowledge scores improved from 7.3 before the intervention to 8.0 after (10-point scale, p < .001). Students' ratings of their confidence in diabetes pharmacology, diagnosis, and management all improved (ps < .05 for all), with the greatest improvement seen in pharmacology. Student satisfaction ratings and narrative feedback were very positive.DiscussionThis educational game effectively improved student knowledge and confidence in diabetes diagnosis, pharmacology, and management in an engaging, unique session. The intervention would be easy for other institutions to implement.
| S-EPMC9800670 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background: The current resuscitation guidelines recommend frequent simulation based medical education (SBME). However, the current SBME approach is expensive, time-intensive, and requires a specialized lab and trained instructors. Hence, it is not offered routinely at all hospitals. We designed the board game "RETAIN" to train healthcare providers (HCPs) in neonatal resuscitation in a cost-friendly and accessible way. Objectives: To examine if a board game-based training simulator improves knowledge retention in HCPs. Methods: "RETAIN" consists of a board using an image of a baby, visual objects, adjustable timer, monitors, and action cards. Neonatal HCPs at the Royal Alexandra Hospital were invited to participate. Participants completed a written pre-test (resuscitation of a 24-week infant), then played the board game (starting with a tutorial followed by free playing of three evidence-based neonatal resuscitation scenarios). Afterwards, a post-test with the same resuscitation scenario and an opinion survey was completed. The answers from the pre- and post-test were compared to assess HCPs' knowledge retention. Results: Thirty HCPs (four doctors, 12 nurses, and 14 respiratory therapist) participated in the study. Overall, we observed a 10% increase in knowledge retention between the pre- and post-test (49-59%, respectively). Temperature management showed the most knowledge gain between the pre- and post-test (14-46%, respectively). Placement of a hat (10-43%), plastic wrap (27-67%), and temperature probe (7-30%) improved between the pre- and post-test. Conclusion: Knowledge retention increased by 12% between pre- and post-test (49-61%, respectively). The improvement in performance and knowledge supports the use of board game simulations for clinical training.
| S-EPMC6365420 | biostudies-other
Project description:Inspired by the positive impact of serious games on science understanding and motivated by personal interests in scientific outreach, we developed "Bacttle," an easy-to-play microbiology board game with adaptive difficulty, targeting any player from 7 years old onward. Bacttle addresses both the lay public and teachers for use in classrooms as a way of introducing microbiology concepts. The layout of the game and its mechanism are the result of multiple rounds of trial, feedback, and re-design. The final version consists of a deck of cards, a 3D-printed board, and tokens (with a paper-based alternative), with all digital content open source. Players in Bacttle take on the character of a bacterial species. The aim for each species is to proliferate under the environmental conditions of the board and the interactions with the board and with other players, which vary as the play evolves. Players start with a given number of lives that will increase or decrease based on the traits they play for different environmental scenarios. Such bacterial traits come in the form of cards that can be deployed strategically. To assess the impact of the game on microbiological knowledge, we scored differences in the understanding of general concepts before and after playing the game. We assessed a total of 169 visitors at two different university open-day science fairs. Players were asked to fill out a brief survey before and after the game with questions targeting conceptual advances. Results show that Bacttle increases general microbiology knowledge on players as young as 5 years old and with the highest impact on those who have no a priori microbiology comprehension.
| S-EPMC11360538 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveDelay of gratification, or the extent to which one can resist the temptation of an immediate reward and wait for a larger reward later, is a self-regulatory skill that predicts positive outcomes. The aim of this research was to conduct initial tests of the effects of a board game designed to increase children's delay of gratification via two experimental studies.MethodsPreschool children were randomized to play the study game or a control game. In Study 1, there were 48 children in the analytic sample, with a mean age of 4.81 ± 0.55 years; Study 2 included 50 children (M = 4.02 ± 0.76 years). Delay of gratification was assessed during the study game, as well as before and after game play sessions using the Marshmallow Test.ResultsIn both studies, the intervention group's likelihood of delaying gratification during the study game increased across game-play sessions (p < 0.05). In Study 1, the intervention group also increased wait times during the Marshmallow Test versus controls (p = 0.047). In Study 2, there was no effect on Marshmallow Test wait times.ConclusionResults provide some initial evidence supporting potential efficacy of a board game designed to increase delay of gratification. Future research can clarify: (1) which components of game play (if any) are linked with broader changes in delay of gratification, (2) impacts of this intervention in more diverse samples, and (3) whether experimental manipulation of delay of gratification affects outcomes like achievement and weight, which have been linked to this skill in observational studies.
| S-EPMC7686572 | biostudies-literature
Project description:When we observe another person's actions, we process many kinds of information - from how their body moves to the intention behind their movements. What kinds of information underlie our intuitive understanding about how similar actions are to each other? To address this question, we measured the intuitive similarities among a large set of everyday action videos using multi-arrangement experiments, then used a modeling approach to predict this intuitive similarity space along three hypothesized properties. We found that similarity in the actors' inferred goals predicted the intuitive similarity judgments the best, followed by similarity in the actors' movements, with little contribution from the videos' visual appearance. In opportunistic fMRI analyses assessing brain-behavior correlations, we found suggestive evidence for an action processing hierarchy, in which these three kinds of action similarities are reflected in the structure of brain responses along a posterior-to-anterior gradient on the lateral surface of the visual cortex. Altogether, this work joins existing literature suggesting that humans are naturally tuned to process others' intentions, and that the visuo-motor cortex computes the perceptual precursors of the higher-level representations over which intuitive action perception operates.
| S-EPMC8649031 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Previous studies have suggested that extensive action video gaming may enhance perceptual and attentional capacities. Here, we probed whether attentional differences between video-game experts and non-experts hold when attention is selectively directed at global or local structures. We measured performance on a modified attentional-blink task using hierarchically structured stimuli that consisted of global and local elements. Stimuli carried congruent or incongruent information. In two experiments, we asked observers to direct their attention globally (Experiment 1) or locally (Experiment 2). In each RSVP trial, observers were asked to identify the identity of an initial target (T1), and detect the presence or absence of a second target (T2). Experts showed a markedly attenuated attentional blink, as quantified by higher T2 detection sensitivity, relative to non-experts, in both global and local tasks. Notably, experts and non-experts were comparably affected by stimulus congruency. We speculate that the observed visuo-attentional advantage is unlikely to be related to mere differences perceptual tendencies (i.e., greater global precedence), which has been previously associated with diminished attentional blink.
| S-EPMC5882918 | biostudies-literature