Showing papers in "Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science in 2015"

What memory is.

Abstract: I argue that our current practice of ascribing the term 'memory' to mental states and processes lacks epistemic warrant. Memory, according to the 'received view', is any state or process that results from the sequential stages of encoding, storage, and retrieval. By these criteria, memory, or its footprint, can be seen in virtually every mental state we are capable of having. This, I argue, stretches the term to the breaking point. I draw on phenomenological, historical, and conceptual considerations to make the case that an act of memory entails a direct, non-inferential feeling of reacquaintance with one's past. It does so by linking content retrieved from storage with autonoetic awareness during retrieval. On this view, memory is not the content of experience, but the manner in which that content is experienced. I discuss some theoretical and practical implications and advantages of adopting this more circumscribed view of memory.

The perception of emotion in body expressions

Abstract: During communication, we perceive and express emotional information through many different channels, including facial expressions, prosody, body motion, and posture. Although historically the human body has been perceived primarily as a tool for actions, there is now increased understanding that the body is also an important medium for emotional expression. Indeed, research on emotional body language is rapidly emerging as a new field in cognitive and affective neuroscience. This article reviews how whole-body signals are processed and understood, at the behavioral and neural levels, with specific reference to their role in emotional communication. The first part of this review outlines brain regions and spectrotemporal dynamics underlying perception of isolated neutral and affective bodies, the second part details the contextual effects on body emotion recognition, and final part discusses body processing on a subconscious level. More specifically, research has shown that body expressions as compared with neutral bodies draw upon a larger network of regions responsible for action observation and preparation, emotion processing, body processing, and integrative processes. Results from neurotypical populations and masking paradigms suggest that subconscious processing of affective bodies relies on a specific subset of these regions. Moreover, recent evidence has shown that emotional information from the face, voice, and body all interact, with body motion and posture often highlighting and intensifying the emotion expressed in the face and voice.

fNIRS in the developmental sciences.

Abstract: With the introduction of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) into the experimental setting, developmental scientists have, for the first time, the capacity to investigate the functional activation of the infant brain in awake, engaged participants. The advantages of fNIRS clearly outweigh the limitations, and a description of how this technology is implemented in infant populations is provided. Most fNIRS research falls into one of three content domains: object processing, processing of biologically and socially relevant information, and language development. Within these domains, there are ongoing debates about the origins and development of human knowledge, making early neuroimaging particularly advantageous. The use of fNIRS has allowed investigators to begin to identify the localization of early object, social, and linguistic knowledge in the immature brain and the ways in which this changes with time and experience. In addition, there is a small but growing body of research that provides insight into the neural mechanisms that support and facilitate learning during the first year of life. At the same time, as with any emerging field, there are limitations to the conclusions that can be drawn on the basis of current findings. We offer suggestions as to how to optimize the use of this technology to answer questions of theoretical and practical importance to developmental scientists.

Analogy, higher order thinking, and education.

Abstract: Analogical reasoning, the ability to understand phenomena as systems of structured relationships that can be aligned, compared, and mapped together, plays a fundamental role in the technology rich, increasingly globalized educational climate of the 21st century. Flexible, conceptual thinking is prioritized in this view of education, and schools are emphasizing 'higher order thinking', rather than memorization of a cannon of key topics. The lack of a cognitively grounded definition for higher order thinking, however, has led to a field of research and practice with little coherence across domains or connection to the large body of cognitive science research on thinking. We review literature on analogy and disciplinary higher order thinking to propose that relational reasoning can be productively considered the cognitive underpinning of higher order thinking. We highlight the utility of this framework for developing insights into practice through a review of mathematics, science, and history educational contexts. In these disciplines, analogy is essential to developing expert-like disciplinary knowledge in which concepts are understood to be systems of relationships that can be connected and flexibly manipulated. At the same time, analogies in education require explicit support to ensure that learners notice the relevance of relational thinking, have adequate processing resources available to mentally hold and manipulate relations, and are able to recognize both the similarities and differences when drawing analogies between systems of relationships.

Data mining and education.

Abstract: An emerging field of educational data mining (EDM) is building on and contributing to a wide variety of disciplines through analysis of data coming from various educational technologies. EDM researchers are addressing questions of cognition, metacognition, motivation, affect, language, social discourse, etc. using data from intelligent tutoring systems, massive open online courses, educational games and simulations, and discussion forums. The data include detailed action and timing logs of student interactions in user interfaces such as graded responses to questions or essays, steps in rich problem solving environments, games or simulations, discussion forum posts, or chat dialogs. They might also include external sensors such as eye tracking, facial expression, body movement, etc. We review how EDM has addressed the research questions that surround the psychology of learning with an emphasis on assessment, transfer of learning and model discovery, the role of affect, motivation and metacognition on learning, and analysis of language data and collaborative learning. For example, we discuss (1) how different statistical assessment methods were used in a data mining competition to improve prediction of student responses to intelligent tutor tasks, (2) how better cognitive models can be discovered from data and used to improve instruction, (3) how data-driven models of student affect can be used to focus discussion in a dialog-based tutoring system, and (4) how machine learning techniques applied to discussion data can be used to produce automated agents that support student learning as they collaborate in a chat room or a discussion board.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, multimodal treatment, and longitudinal outcome: evidence, paradox, and challenge.

Abstract: Given major increases in the diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and in rates of medication for this condition, we carefully examine evidence for effects of single versus multimodal (i.e., combined medication and psychosocial/behavioral) interventions for ADHD. Our primary data source is the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA), a 14-month, randomized clinical trial in which intensive behavioral, medication, and multimodal treatment arms were contrasted with one another and with community intervention (treatment-as-usual), regarding outcome domains of ADHD symptoms, comorbidities, and core functional impairments. Although initial reports emphasized the superiority of well-monitored medication for symptomatic improvement, reanalyses and reappraisals have highlighted (1) the superiority of combination treatment for composite outcomes and for domains of functional impairment (e.g., academic achievement, social skills, parenting practices); (2) the importance of considering moderator and mediator processes underlying differential patterns of outcome, including comorbid subgroups and improvements in family discipline style during the intervention period; (3) the emergence of side effects (e.g., mild growth suppression) in youth treated with long-term medication; and (4) the diminution of medication's initial superiority once the randomly assigned treatment phase turned into naturalistic follow-up. The key paradox is that while ADHD clearly responds to medication and behavioral treatment in the short term, evidence for long-term effectiveness remains elusive. We close with discussion of future directions and a call for greater understanding of relevant developmental processes in the attempt to promote optimal, generalized, and lasting treatments for this important and impairing neurodevelopmental disorder.

Changing brains: how longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging studies can inform us about cognitive and social-affective growth trajectories.

Abstract: Brain imaging studies have demonstrated widespread changes in brain networks which support cognitive and social-affective development. These conclusions, however, are largely based on cross-sectional comparisons, which limits the possibility to investigate growth trajectories and detect individual changes. Understanding individual growth patterns is crucial if we want to ultimately understand how brain development is sensitive to environmental influences such as educational or psychological interventions or childhood maltreatment. Recently, longitudinal brain imaging studies in children and adolescents have taken the first steps into examining cognitive and social-affective brain functions longitudinally with several compelling findings. First, longitudinal measurements show that activations in some brain regions, such as the prefrontal, temporal, and parietal cortex, are relatively stable over time and can be used as predictors for cognitive functions, whereas activations in other brain regions, such as the amygdala and ventral striatum, are much more variable over time. Second, developmental studies reveal how these changes are related to age, puberty, and changes in performance. These findings have implications for understanding how environmental factors influence brain development. An important future direction will be to examine individual characteristics (e.g., genetic, temperamental, personality) which make individuals differentially susceptible to their environment.

Learning and cognition in insects

Abstract: Insects possess small brains but exhibit sophisticated behavioral performances. Recent works have reported the existence of unsuspected cognitive capabilities in various insect species, which go beyond the traditional studied framework of simple associative learning. In this study, I focus on capabilities such as attention, social learning, individual recognition, concept learning, and metacognition, and discuss their presence and mechanistic bases in insects. I analyze whether these behaviors can be explained on the basis of elemental associative learning or, on the contrary, require higher-order explanations. In doing this, I highlight experimental challenges and suggest future directions for investigating the neurobiology of higher-order learning in insects, with the goal of uncovering l architectures underlying cognitive processing. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Thinking about quantity: the intertwined development of spatial and numerical cognition

Abstract: There are many continuous quantitative dimensions in the physical world. Philosophical, psychological, and neural work has focused mostly on space and number. However, there are other important continuous dimensions (e.g., time and mass). Moreover, space can be broken down into more specific dimensions (e.g., length, area, and density) and number can be conceptualized discretely or continuously (i.e., natural vs real numbers). Variation on these quantitative dimensions is typically correlated, e.g., larger objects often weigh more than smaller ones. Number is a distinctive continuous dimension because the natural numbers (i.e., positive integers) are used to quantify collections of discrete objects. This aspect of number is emphasized by teaching of the count word sequence and arithmetic during the early school years. We review research on spatial and numerical estimation, and argue that a generalized magnitude system is the starting point for development in both domains. Development occurs along several lines: (1) changes in capacity, durability, and precision, (2) differentiation of the generalized magnitude system into separable dimensions, (3) formation of a discrete number system, i.e., the positive integers, (4) mapping the positive integers onto the continuous number line, and (5) acquiring abstract knowledge of the relations between pairs of systems. We discuss implications of this approach for teaching various topics in mathematics, including scaling, measurement, proportional reasoning, and fractions.

Embodied emotion: the influence of manipulated facial and bodily states on emotive responses

Abstract: A growing body of evidence suggests that certain facial expressions and postures are associated with emotional and motivational responses. This review discusses behavioral, neuroscientific, and cognitive research connecting these bodily movements with emotive responses. General bodily feedback theories of emotion have suggested that manipulated facial expressions and postures influence emotive reactions to stimuli as well as physiological responses such as heart rate, skin conductance, and the temperature of blood entering the brain. More recent evidence suggests that manipulated bodily states influence prefrontal cortical activation and amygdala activation. Even further evidence has suggested that manipulated bodily states influence cognitive processes, such as the speed at which individuals read emotional content, the speed at which they classify information as emotional, and the extent to which they determine emotional information as threatening. Bodily feedback theories may also suggest clinical applications. Bodily feedback theories of emotion therefore have generated research showing that bodily expressions play a pivotal role in our emotive experiences.

Intonational meaning: Intonational meaning

Abstract: Traditionally, prosodic studies have focused on the study of intonational form and the study of intonational meaning has been relatively neglected. Similarly, the fields of semantics and pragmatics have paid little attention to the pragmatic uses of intonation. As a result, there is no firm agreement within the linguistic community on how to integrate the analysis of intonational meaning across languages into a unified prosodic, semantic, and pragmatic approach. This article provides an overview of the literature on intonational meaning, describing the recent advances made in the fields of prosody, semantics/pragmatics, and syntax. Several theoretical approaches to explaining the semantics and pragmatics of intonation are presented. A common feature to most frameworks is that intonation (1) should be regarded as an integral part of linguistic grammar; and (2) typically encodes meanings related to the modal aspect of propositions. However, features such as compositionality, duality of structure, and context-dependency are still hotly debated issues. These features will be discussed from different theoretical perspectives, and we will identify potential advances related to the full integration of intonational meaning into dynamic and multidimensional models of meaning.

Human kin detection

Abstract: Natural selection has favored the evolution of behaviors that benefit not only one's genes, but also their copies in genetically related individuals. These behaviors include optimal outbreeding (choosing a mate that is neither too closely related, nor too distant), nepotism (helping kin), and spite (hurting non-kin at a personal cost), and all require some form of kin detection or kin recognition. Yet, kinship cannot be assessed directly; human kin detection relies on heuristic cues that take into account individuals' context (whether they were reared by our mother, or grew up in our home, or were given birth by our spouse), appearance (whether they smell or look like us), and ability to arouse certain feelings (whether we feel emotionally close to them). The uncertainties of kin detection, along with its dependence on social information, create ample opportunities for the evolution of deception and self-deception. For example, babies carry no unequivocal stamp of their biological father, but across cultures they are passionately claimed to resemble their mother's spouse; to the same effect, 'neutral' observers are greatly influenced by belief in relatedness when judging resemblance between strangers. Still, paternity uncertainty profoundly shapes human relationships, reducing not only the investment contributed by paternal versus maternal kin, but also prosocial behavior between individuals who are related through one or more males rather than females alone. Because of its relevance to racial discrimination and political preferences, the evolutionary pressure to prefer kin to non-kin has a manifold influence on society at large.

Bayesian models of child development

Abstract: Bayesian models have been applied to many areas of cognitive science including vision, language, and motor learning. We discuss the implications of this framework for cognitive development. We first present a brief introduction to the Bayesian framework. Bayesian models make assumptions about representation explicit, and provide a detailed account of learning. Furthermore, they can provide an account of developmental transitions and other phenomena in development, such as curiosity and exploration. Drawing on recent work bridging empirical developmental data and modeling, we show that these features of the Bayesian approach provide solutions to problems that elude traditional accounts of learning and raise new areas of investigation. WIREs Cogn Sci 2015, 6:75-86. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1330 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article. Language: en

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met polymorphism, human memory, and synaptic neuroplasticity.

Abstract: Some people have much better memory than others, and there is compelling evidence that a considerable proportion of this variation in memory ability is genetically inherited. A form of synaptic plasticity known as long-term potentiation (LTP) is the principal candidate mechanism underlying memory formation in neural circuits, and it might be expected, therefore, that a genetic influence on the degree of LTP might in turn influence memory abilities. Of the genetic variations thought to significantly influence mnemonic ability in humans, the most likely to have its effect via LTP is a single nucleotide polymorphism affecting brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF (Val66Met)]. However, although it is likely that BDNF influences memory via a modulation of acute plasticity (i.e., LTP), BDNF also has considerable influence on structural development of neural systems. Thus, the influence of BDNF (Val66Met) on mnemonic performance via influences of brain structure as well as function must also be considered. In this brief review, we will describe the phenomenon of LTP and its study in non-human animals. We will discuss the relatively recent attempts to translate this work to studies in humans. We will describe how this has enabled investigation of the effect of the BDNF polymorphism on LTP, on brain structure, and on memory performance.

Cumulative risk and developmental health: an argument for the importance of a family-wide science.

Abstract: A substantial body of research links social disadvantage and developmental health via a cascade running from poverty, to cumulative psychosocial risk, to disrupted family dynamics, to child biological regulatory systems and neurocognitive processing, and finally to morbidity across the lifespan. Most research in this area employs single-dyad or between-family methodology. While informative, there are limitations to this approach. Specifically, it is impossible to determine how risk alters psychosocial environments that are similar for all persons within a household, versus processes that are unique to particular children. This is important in light of literature citing the primacy of child-specific environments in driving developmental health. Methodologically speaking, there are both benefits and challenges to family-wide approaches that differentiate between- and within-family environments. This review describes literature linking cumulative risk and developmental health via family process, while articulating the importance of family-wide approaches. Areas of shortcoming and recommendations for a family-wide science are provided.

Human collective reactions to threat.

Abstract: A common assumption regarding mass emergency situations is that individuals in such contexts behave in a way that maximizes their likelihood to escape, at the expense, or with little concern for, the welfare and survival of their neighbors. Doing so, they might even compromise the effectiveness of group evacuation. This conception follows the views of early works on crowd psychology, a tradition born with Gustave Le Bon's The Crowd: a study of the Popular Mind, first published in 1895, and which has had a tremendous impact on scientific representations of people's behavior in mass emergency contexts. Indeed, this work has greatly contributed to the idea that, in such situations, people revert to a primitive, impulsive, irrational, and antisocial nature, causing the breakdown of social order. However, more empirically oriented studies have consistently reported little collective panic, as well as a great deal of solidarity and pro-social behavior during mass emergency situations. Because of institutional barriers, such views have remained largely unknown to cognitive psychologists. Yet these are important results in that they show that human individual and collective reactions to threat are primarily affiliative. Indeed, far from leading to the breakdown of the social fabrics, the presence of a common threat can strengthen social bonds.

Selecting and tracking multiple objects.

Abstract: When interacting with the world, people can dynamically split attention across multiple objects in the environment, both when the objects are stationary and when the objects are moving. This type of visual processing is commonly studied in lab settings using either static selection tasks or moving tracking tasks. We describe performance limits that are common to both tasks, including limits on capacity, crowding, visual hemifield arrangement, and speed. Because these shared limits on performance suggest common underlying mechanisms, we examine a set of models that might account for limits across both. We also review cognitive neuroscience data relevant to these limits, which can provide constraints on the set of models. Finally, we examine performance limits that are unique to tracking tasks, such as trajectory encoding, and identity encoding. We argue that a complete model of multiple object tracking must account for both those limits shared between static selection and dynamic tracking, as well as limits unique to tracking. It must also provide neurally plausible mechanisms for the underlying processing resources.

Prosody and language comprehension

Abstract: This review provides a summary of the most recent advances on the study of how prosody is used during language comprehension. Prosody is characterized as an abstract structure composed of discrete tonal elements aligned with the segmental composition of the sentence organized in constituents of increasing size, and this structure is influenced by the phonological, syntactic, and informational structures of the sentence. Here, we discuss evidence that listeners are affected by prosody when establishing those linguistic structures. Prosody has been shown to influence the segmentation of the utterance into syllables and words, and, in some cases, whether a syllable or word is judged to be present or not. The literature on how prosody informs the structural relationship between words and phrases is also discussed, contrasting views that assume a direct (albeit probabilistic) link between syntax and prosody with those that posit a complex interface between syntax and prosodic structure. Finally, the role of prosody in conveying important aspects pertaining to the sentence's information structure (i.e., which parts of the sentence's meaning are highlighted and brought forward to the discourse, which ones are presupposed and left in the background, which attitudes are being conveyed about the concepts or propositional content) has long been recognized. Current research focuses on which prosodic elements contribute to marking the dimensions (or semantic primitives) of the information structure.

Connectionist perspectives on language learning, representation and processing

Abstract: The field of formal linguistics was founded on the premise that language is mentally represented as a deterministic symbolic grammar. While this approach has captured many important characteristics of the world's languages, it has also led to a tendency to focus theoretical questions on the correct formalization of grammatical rules while also de-emphasizing the role of learning and statistics in language development and processing. In this review we present a different approach to language research that has emerged from the parallel distributed processing or 'connectionist' enterprise. In the connectionist framework, mental operations are studied by simulating learning and processing within networks of artificial neurons. With that in mind, we discuss recent progress in connectionist models of auditory word recognition, reading, morphology, and syntactic processing. We argue that connectionist models can capture many important characteristics of how language is learned, represented, and processed, as well as providing new insights about the source of these behavioral patterns. Just as importantly, the networks naturally capture irregular (non-rule-like) patterns that are common within languages, something that has been difficult to reconcile with rule-based accounts of language without positing separate mechanisms for rules and exceptions.

New and emerging models of human intelligence.

Abstract: In the last decade, new models of human intelligence have altered the theoretical landscape in psychometrics and cognitive science. In the current article, we provide an overview of key distinguishing features of these new models. Compared to 20th century models of intelligence, the new models proposed in the 21st century are unique for three primary reasons; (1) new models interpret the general factor, or g, as an emergent property reflecting the pattern of positive correlations observed among test scores, not as a causal latent variable, and therefore challenge the notion of general ability, (2) new models bridge correlational and experimental psychology and account for inter-individual differences in behavior in terms of intra-individual psychological processes, and (3) new models make novel predictions about the neural correlates of intelligent behavior.

Changing tides: ecological and historical perspectives on fish cognition.

Abstract: The capacity for specialization and radiation make fish an excellent group in which to investigate the depth and variety of animal cognition. Even though early observations of fish using tools predates the discovery of tool use in chimpanzees, fish cognition has historically been somewhat overlooked. However, a recent surge of interest is now providing a wealth of material on which to draw examples, and this has required a selective approach to choosing the research described below. Our goal is to illustrate the necessity for basing cognitive investigations on the ecological and evolutionary context of the species at hand. We also seek to illustrate the importance of ecology and the environment in honing a range of sensory systems that allow fish to glean information and support informed decision-making. The various environments and challenges with which fish interact require equally varied cognitive skills, and the solutions that fish have developed are truly impressive. Similarly, we illustrate how common ecological problems will frequently produce common cognitive solutions. Below, we focus on four topics: spatial learning and memory, avoiding predators and catching prey, communication, and innovation. These are used to illustrate how both simple and sophisticated cognitive processes underpin much of the adaptive behavioral flexibility exhibited throughout fish phylogeny. Never before has the field had such a wide array of interdisciplinary techniques available to access both cognitive and mechanistic processes underpinning fish behavior. This capacity comes at a critical time to predict and manage fish populations in an era of unprecedented global change.

Linguistic capacity of non‐human animals

Abstract: Linguists interested in language evolution tend to focus on combinatorial features and rightly point out the lack of comparable evidence in animal communication. However, human language is based on various unique capacities, such as a motor capacity of sophisticated vocal control and a cognitive capacity of acting on others' psychological states. These features are only present in very rudimentary forms in non-human primates, suggesting they have evolved more recently in the human lineage. Here, the evidence from recent fieldwork for precursors of these abilities is reviewed, notably sequence-based semantic communication, vocal tract control, and audience awareness. Overall, there is evidence for both continuity and discontinuity when comparing modern primate and human communication, suggesting that the origin of language is the result of multiple gradual transitions from earlier forms of primate-like communication and social cognition, rather than a sudden and fundamental redesign in ancestral human communication and cognition.

Emotion, philosophical issues about.

Abstract: We start this overview by discussing the place of emotions within the broader affective domain-how different are emotions from moods, sensations, and affective dispositions? Next, we examine the way emotions relate to their objects, emphasizing in the process their intimate relations to values. We move from this inquiry into the nature of emotion to an inquiry into their epistemology. Do they provide reasons for evaluative judgments and, more generally, do they contribute to our knowledge of values? We then address the question of the social dimension of emotions, explaining how the traditional nature versus nurture contrast applies to them. We finish by exploring the relations between emotions, motivation and action, concluding this overview with a more specific focus on how these relations bear on some central ethical issues.

Rethinking actions: implementation and association

Abstract: Action processing allows us to move through and interact with the world, as well as understand the movements performed by other people. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the semantics of actions as differentiated from the semantics of objects. However, as the understanding of action semantics has evolved, it is evident that the existing literature conflates two senses of the word 'action'-one that stems from studies of tool use and the other from event representation. In this paper, we suggest that this issue can be clarified by closely examining differences in how the human parietal and temporal cortices of the brain process action-related stimuli. By contrasting the posterior parietal cortex to the posterolateral temporal cortex, we characterize two complementary action systems in the human brain, each with its own specialization of function. We suggest that these two systems be referred to as the parietal Action Implementation System, and the posterolateral temporal Action Association System. While the frontoparietal system is concerned primarily with how we perform actions, and simulate others' actions, the temporal action system is more involved with processing actions from a third-person, conceptual standpoint. Recent work in cognitive neuroscience of perception and language, as well as the neuroanatomical organization of these brain regions support this distinction. We will discuss the implications of this work for cognition-, language-, and neuroscience-based action research.

Oxytocin enables novelty seeking and creative performance through upregulated approach: evidence and avenues for future research

Abstract: Oxytocin is an evolutionary ancient hypothalamic neuropeptide well known for its role in reproduction, social bonding, and group affiliation. Recent work has linked oxytocin in humans to creative cognition--the ability to produce insights, ideas, and problem solutions that are original and potentially useful. Here we review this literature, focusing on the relationship between (1) single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene; endogenous oxytocin from blood plasma, and intranasal administration of oxytocin (vs placebo), and (2) creativity-related traits (e.g., novelty seeking, extraversion, and openness to experience), and behaviors (e.g., exploration, divergent thinking, original ideation, and problem solving). Findings are interpreted in the context of the dual pathway to creativity model and except for OXTR: (1) reveal a weak to moderate but consistent association between oxytocin and creativity, which emerges because (2) oxytocin enables the cognitive flexibility pathway more than persistent information processing. Findings can be best understood in terms of oxytocin's putative effects on dopaminergic activity and concomitant approach tendency.

Relevance theory: pragmatics and cognition

Abstract: Relevance Theory is a cognitively oriented theory of pragmatics, i.e., a theory of language use. It builds on the seminal work of H.P. Grice(1) to develop a pragmatic theory which is at once philosophically sensitive and empirically plausible (in both psychological and evolutionary terms). This entry reviews the central commitments and chief contributions of Relevance Theory, including its Gricean commitment to the centrality of intention-reading and inference in communication; the cognitively grounded notion of relevance which provides the mechanism for explaining pragmatic interpretation as an intention-driven, inferential process; and several key applications of the theory (lexical pragmatics, metaphor and irony, procedural meaning). Relevance Theory is an important contribution to our understanding of the pragmatics of communication.

The role of the body in social cognition

Abstract: In this review, we discuss the actual and active dependence of social cognitive processes on the body, i.e., that part of the organism beyond the central nervous system. In particular, we will discuss mirror mechanisms, and assess the extent to which the body is recruited during these processes. We show that for emotion mirroring, this dependency is well-documented, but for action mirroring far less so. By reviewing these mechanisms and processes while contrasting body from brain, and social from general cognition, we show that both contrasts are arbitrary and problematic and that any study of cognitive processes, both social and general, should take the body into account.

Educational neuroscience: definitional, methodological, and interpretive issues

Abstract: In this study, we hope to accomplish three aims as follows: (1) provide greater clarity regarding the nature and scope of the field of educational neuroscience, (2) propose a framework for understanding when and how neuroscientific research could be informative for educational practice, and (3) describe some examples of neuroscientific findings from the domains of reading and mathematics that are informative according to this framework. We propose that psychological models of learning-related processes should be the basis of instructional decisions, and that neuroscientific evidence in combination with traditional evidence from psychological experiments should be used to decide among competing psychological models. Our review of the neuroscientific evidence for both reading and mathematics suggests that while much has been learned over the past 20 years, there is still a 'disconnect' between contemporary psychological models that emphasize higher level skills and neuroscientific studies that focus on lower level skills. Moreover, few researchers have used neuroscientific evidence to decide among psychological models, but have focused instead on identifying the brain regions that subtend component skills of reading and math. Nevertheless, neuroscientific studies have confirmed the intrinsic relationship between reading and spoken language, revealed interesting predictive relationships between anatomical structures and reading and math disabilities, and there is the potential for fruitful collaborations between neuroscientists and psychologists in the future.

Opening the doors of memory: Is declarative memory a natural kind?

Abstract: Klein's target article argues that autonoetic consciousness is a necessary condition for memory; this unusually narrow view of the scope of memory implies that only episodic memory is, strictly speaking, memory. The narrow view is opposed to the standard broad view, on which causal connection with past experience is sufficient for memory; on the broad view, both declarative (i.e., episodic and semantic) and procedural memory count as genuine forms of memory. Klein mounts a convincing attack on the broad view, arguing that it opens the 'doors of memory' too far, but this commentary contends that the narrow view does not open them far enough. It may be preferable to adopt an intermediate view of the scope of memory, on which causal connection is sufficient for memory only when it involves encoding, storage, and retrieval of content. More demanding than the simple causal condition but less demanding than the autonoesis condition, the encoding-storage-retrieval condition implies that both episodic and semantic memory count as genuine forms of memory but that procedural memory does not.

The evolutionary diagnosis of mental disorder.

Abstract: Medicalization of human behavioral diversity is a recurrent theme in the history of psychiatry, and the problem of defining what is a genuine mental disorder is an unresolved question since the origins of clinical psychopathology. Darwinian psychiatry can formulate a definition of mental disorder that is value free and based on factual criteria. From an evolutionary perspective, genuine mental disorders are maladaptive conditions. The ultimate function of an adaptation is gene propagation via maximization of survival and reproduction. It follows that a distressing and/or disabling psychological or behavioral syndrome is a psychiatric disorder only if it impacts negatively on the individual's inclusive fitness. However, in many cases, an evolutionary definition of disorder cannot be reconciled with current social values. Thus, clinicians adopting the evolutionary approach should conform to the prevailing trend of contemporary medicine and accept that their task is to be healers of the distressed, not watchdogs of biological adaptation. These pragmatic considerations do not minimize the scientific validity of the Darwinian definition of mental disorders. Probably, its major contribution to psychiatric theory is the elimination of the necessity to find a brain lesion or dysfunctional mechanism to validate the distinction between disorders and non-disorders.