Systematic changes in the duration and precision of interception in response to variation of amplitude and effector size

The results of two experiments are reported that examined how performance in a simple interceptive action (hitting a moving target) was influenced by the speed of the target, the size of the intercepting effector and the distance moved to make the interception. In Experiment 1, target speed and the width of the intercepting manipulandum (bat) were varied. The hypothesis that people make briefer movements, when the temporal accuracy and precision demands of the task are high, predicts that bat width and target speed will divisively interact in their effect on movement time (MT) and that shorter MTs will be associated with a smaller temporal variable error (VE). An alternative hypothesis that people initiate movement when the rate of expansion (ROE) of the target's image reaches a specific, fixed criterion value predicts that bat width will have no effect on MT. The results supported the first hypothesis: a statistically reliable interaction of the predicted form was obtained and the temporal VE was smaller for briefer movements. In Experiment 2, distance to move and target speed were varied. MT increased in direct proportion to distance and there was a divisive interaction between distance and speed; as in Experiment 1, temporal VE was smaller for briefer movements. The pattern of results could not be explained by the strategy of initiating movement at a fixed value of the ROE or at a fixed value of any other perceptual variable potentially available for initiating movement. It is argued that the results support pre-programming of MT with movement initiated when the target's time to arrival at the interception location reaches a criterion value that is matched to the pre-programmed MT. The data supported completely open-loop control when MT was less than between 200 and 240 ms with corrective sub-movements increasingly frequent for movements of longer duration.

Telling the story of theory of mind: Deaf and hearing children's narratives and mental state understanding

Theory of mind (ToM) was examined in late-signing deaf children in two studies by using standard tests and measures of spontaneous talk about inner states of perception, affect and cognition during storytelling. In Study 1, there were 21 deaf children aged 6 to 11 years and 13 typical-hearing children matched with the deaf by chronological age. In Study 2, there were 17 deaf children aged 6 to 12 years and 17 typical-hearing preschoolers aged 4 to 5 years who were matched with the deaf by ToM test performance. In addition to replicating the consistently reported finding of poor performance on standard false belief tests by late-signing deaf children, significant correlations emerged in both studies between deaf children's ToM test scores and their spontaneous narrative talk about imaginative cognition (e.g. 'pretend'). In Study 2, with a new set of purpose-built pictures that evoked richer and more complex mentalistic narration than the published picture book of Study 1, results of multiple regression analyses showed that children's narrative talk about imaginative cognition was uniquely important, over and above hearing status and talking of other kinds of mental states, in predicting ToM scores. The same was true of children's elaborated narrative talk using utterances that either spelt out thoughts, explained inner states or introduced contrastives. In addition, results of a Guttman scalograrn analysis in Study 2 suggested a consistent sequence in narrative and standard test performance by deaf and hearing children that went from (1) narrative mention of visible (affective or perceptual) mental states only, along with FB failure, to (2) narrative mention of cognitive states along with (1), to (3) elaborated narrative talk about inner states along with (2), and finally to (4) simple and elaborated narrative talk about affective/perceptual and cognitive states along with FIB test success. Possible explanations for this performance ordering, as well as for the observed correlations in both studies between ToM test scores and narrative variables, were considered.

The feasibility and outcome of clinic plus Internet delivery of cognitive-behavior therapy for childhood anxiety

Seventy-two clinically anxious children, aged 7 to 14 years, were randomly allocated to clinic-based, cognitive-behavior therapy, the same treatment partially delivered Via the Internet. or a wait-list control (WL). Children in the clinic and clinic-plus-Internet conditions showed significantly greater reductions in anxiety from pre- to posttreatment and were more likely to be free of their anxiety diagnoses, compared with the WL group. Improvements were maintained at 12-month follow-up for both therapy conditions', with minimal difference in outcomes between interventions. The Internet treatment content was highly acceptable to families, with minimal dropout and a high level of therapy compliance.

Comparison of cognitive screening tasks in an elderly veteran population

Screening measures of cognitive status are traditionally administered face to face. In survey research such screening mcasurcs, while desirable, must he administered by other means. As part of pilot survey research on a New Zealand war veteran population with some degree of hearing impairment, a face-to-face administration of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; Folstein, Folstein and McHugh, 1975) and a telephoneadministration of the Telephonc Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS; Brandt, Spencer and Folstein. 1988) were compared. Brandt ('/ u/. (1988) reported a very strong linear relationship between scores on the MMSE and the TICS (r=0.94, p < .0001) in an Alzheimer patient population with a mcan MMSE score of 12.06 (6.78). For a sample of 44 mildly to moderately hearing impaired veterans, with a mean MMSE score of 25.52 (2.16) and a mean TICS score of 32.52(5.43), the correlation between the instruments was .39. When veterans who wore hearing aids during the telephone interview ( N = 2 2 ) wcrc separated out from those who did not, the correlation rose to .54. Age was ncgatively correlated with the MMSE ( r = -0.41, / I < .01) and not significantly correlated with the TICS. Education level was unrelated to either measure. The data suggest that the wearing or non-wearing of hearing aids may contribute significantly to the reliability of the TICS. Furthermore, on non-demented populations with a less restricted range of scores. the correlation of the MMSE and TICS may he lower than previously reported.

Excitability changes in human forearm corticospinal projections and spinal reflex pathways during rhythmic voluntary movement of the opposite limb

Rhythmic movements brought about by the contraction of muscles on one side of the body give rise to phase-locked changes in the excitability of the homologous motor pathways of the opposite limb. Such crossed facilitation should favour patterns of bimanual coordination in which homologous muscles are engaged simultaneously, and disrupt those in which the muscles are activated in an alternating fashion. In order to examine these issues, we obtained responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), to stimulation of the cervicomedullary junction (cervicomedullary-evoked potentials, CMEPs), to peripheral nerve stimulation (H-reflexes and f-waves), and elicited stretch reflexes in the relaxed right flexor carpi radialis (FCR) muscle during rhythmic (2 Hz) flexion and extension movements of the opposite (left) wrist. The potentials evoked by TMS in right FCR were potentiated during the phases of movement in which the left FCR was most strongly engaged. In contrast, CMEPs were unaffected by the movements of the opposite limb. These results suggest that there was systematic variation of the excitability of the motor cortex ipsilateral to the moving limb. H-reflexes and stretch reflexes recorded in right FCR were modulated in phase with the activation of left FCR. As the f-waves did not vary in corresponding fashion, it appears that the phasic modulation of the H-reflex was mediated by presynaptic inhibition of Ia afferents. The observation that both H-reflexes and f-waves were depressed markedly during movements of the opposite indicates that there may also have been postsynaptic inhibition or disfacilitation of the largest motor units. Our findings indicate that the patterned modulation of excitability in motor pathways that occurs during rhythmic movements of the opposite limb is mediated primarily by interhemispheric interactions between cortical motor areas.

Hitting a moving target: Perception and action in the timing of rapid interceptions

Different interceptive tasks and modes of interception (hitting or capturing) do not necessarily involve similar control processes. Control based on preprogramming of movement parameters is possible for actions with brief movement times but is now widely rejected; continuous perceptuomotor control models are preferred for all types of interception. The rejection of preprogrammed control and acceptance of continuous control is evaluated for the timing of rapidly executed, manual hitting actions. It is shown that a preprogrammed control model is capable of providing a convincing account of observed behavior patterns that avoids many of the arguments that have been raised against it. Prominent continuous perceptual control models are analyzed within a common framework and are shown to be interpretable as feedback control strategies. Although these models can explain observations of on-line adjustments to movement, they offer only post hoc explanations for observed behavior patterns in hitting tasks and are not directly supported by data. It is proposed that rapid manual hitting tasks make up a class of interceptions for which a preprogrammed strategy is adopted-a strategy that minimizes the role of visual feedback. Such a strategy is effective when the task demands a high degree of temporal accuracy.

Language Planning and Policy: Recent Trends, Future Directions

A framework for and overview of the key elements of language planning is presented covering status planning, corpus planning, language-in-education planning, prestige planning and critical approaches to language planning. Within each of these areas, key articles outlining important recent directions are discussed indicating the field’s new found sense of vitality.