Search

Task-irrelevant stimulus numbers can automatically modulate concurrent temporal tasks--leading to the phenomenon of number-time association (NTA). Recent research provides converging evidence that the NTA occurs at the stage of temporal memory. Specifically, a reference memory containing encoded duration information can be modified by perceptual/concurrent digits, i.e., a perceptual/concurrent digitinduced NTA. Here, with five experiments, we investigated whether another working memory (WM)-related mechanism was involved in the generation of NTAs and how this memory-induced NTA was related with the perception-induced NTA. We first explored whether similar NTA effects existed for mnemonic digits which disappeared before time encoding but were actively maintained in WM, i.e., a mnemonic digit-induced NTA. Experiments 1-3 demonstrated both types of NTAs. Further, we revealed a close relationship between the two types of NTAs in two contexts. First, the mnemonic digitinduced NTA also relied on a perceptual number-time co-occurrence at time encoding. We found that the mnemonic digits influenced subsequent temporal processing when a task-irrelevant constant number '5' was presented during target encoding, but not when a non-numerical symbol was presented, suggesting that temporal representations in the reference memory could be accessed and modified by both sensory and postsensory numerical magnitudes through this number-time co-occurrence. Second, the effects of perceptual and mnemonic digits on temporal reproduction could cancel each other out. A congruency effect for perceptual and mnemonic digits (relying on memorization requirement) was demonstrated in Experiments 4 and 5. Specifically, a typical NTA was observed when the magnitudes of memorized and the perceptual/concurrent digits were congruent (both were large or small numbers), but not when they were incongruent (one small and one large numbers). Taken together, our study sheds new light on the mechanism of NTA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent hierarchical model of numerical processing, initiated by Fischer and Brugger (2011) and Fischer (2012), suggested that situated factors, such as different body postures and body movements, can influence the magnitude representation and bias numerical processing. Indeed, Loetscher et al. (2008) found that participants' behavior in a random number generation task was biased by head rotations. More small numbers were reported after leftward than rightward head turns, i.e., a motion-numerical compatibility effect. Here, by carrying out two experiments, we explored whether similar motion-numerical compatibility effects exist for movements of other important body components, e.g., arms, and for composite body movements as well, which are basis for complex human activities in many ecologically meaningful situations. In Experiment 1, a motion-numerical compatibility effect was observed for lateral rotations of two body components, i.e., the head and arms. Relatively large numbers were reported after making rightward compared to leftward movements for both lateral head and arm turns. The motion-numerical compatibility effect was observed again in Experiment 2 when participants were asked to perform composite body movements of congruent movement directions, e.g., simultaneous head left turns and arm left turns. However, it disappeared when the movement directions were incongruent, e.g., simultaneous head left turns and arm right turns. Taken together, our results extended Loetscher et al.'s (2008) finding by demonstrating that their effect is effector-general and exists for arm movements. Moreover, our study reveals for the first time that the impact of spatial information on numerical processing induced by each of the two sensorimotor-based situated factors, e.g., a lateral head turn and a lateral arm turn, can cancel each other out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wide bandgap ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.20Ti0.80)O3 films were deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated Si-pn+ substrates with an intention to form efficient Si-pn+/ITO/Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) photocathode for hydrogen production. Depolarization electric field generated in PZT film due to poling can drive the photogenerated electrons from Si-pn+ junction to PZT film, resulting in enhanced photoelectrochemical activity of the photocathode. Comparing the electrode with asprepared PZT film, the photocurrent increased from ~100 μA cm-2 to -1.2mA cm-2 at 0V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and the onset potential from 0.36V to 0.7V vs. RHE under 100 mW cm-2 illumination, manifesting the great advantage of depolarization electric field in driving the photogenerated carriers not only in the ferroelectric film but also on the interface of different semiconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]