Search

BackgroundGamification in mental health could increase training adherence, motivation, and transfer effects, but the external validity of gamified tasks is unclear. This study documents that gamified task variants can show preserved associations between markers of behavioral deficits and health-related variables. We draw on the inhibitory control deficit in overweight populations to investigate effects of gamification on performance measures in a web-based experimental task. ObjectiveThis study tested whether associations between inhibitory control and overweight were preserved in a gamified stop-signal task (SST). MethodsTwo versions of an adaptive SST were developed and tested in an online experiment. Participants (n=111) were randomized to 1 of the 2 task variants and completed a series of questionnaires along with either the gamified SST or a conventional SST. To maximize its possible effects on participants’ inhibitory control, the gamified SST included multiple game elements in addition to the task itself and the stimuli. Both variants drew on the identical core mechanics, but the gamified variant included an additional narrative, graphical theme, scoring system with visual and emotional feedback, and the presence of a companion character. In both tasks, food and neutral low-poly stimuli were classified based on their color tone (go trials), but responses were withheld in 25% of the trials (stop trials). Mean go reaction times and stop-signal reaction times (SSRT) were analyzed as measures of performance and inhibitory control. ResultsParticipants in the gamified SST had longer reaction times (803 [SD 179] ms vs 607 [SD 90] ms) and worse inhibitory control (SSRT 383 [SD 109] ms vs 297 [SD 45] ms). The association of BMI with inhibitory control was relatively small (r=.155, 95% CI .013-.290). Overweight participants had longer reaction times (752 [SD 217] ms vs 672 [SD 137] ms) and SSRTs (363 [SD 116] ms vs 326 [SD 77] ms). Gamification did not interact with the effect of overweight on mean performance or inhibitory control. There were no effects of gamification on mood and user experience, despite a negative effect on perceived efficiency. ConclusionsThe detrimental effects of heightened BMI on inhibitory control were preserved in a gamified version of the SST. Overall, the effects of overweight were smaller than in previously published web-based and laboratory studies. Gamification elements can impact behavioral performance, but gamified tasks can still assess inhibitory control deficits. Although our results are promising, according validations may differ for other types of behavior, gamification, and health variables.

According to theories of event-predictive cognition, neural processing focuses on the next relevant interaction targets. Evidence for this notion comes from the anticipatory crossmodal congruency effect (aCCE), which implies that spatial body representations are mapped onto future goal locations in advance of a goal-directed action. Here we present a free energy based normative process model that accounts for the aCCE quantitatively by applying crossmodal mappings between vision and touch as well as active inference. A comparison with a diffusion model shows that our model accounts for the response time distributions and the aCCE with a sparser set of parameters. However, the temporal dynamics of the model require further fine tuning to account for all aspects of the aCCE. The model shows how the free energy framework can be used to account for behavioral data in general and how to implement theories of event-predictive cognition in a normative cognitive process model.

According to the theory of common coding, actions are represented in terms of their sensory effects. Hence, performing or anticipating an action biases perception. Previous studies provided evidence for this notion by showing how the perception of ambiguous visual stimuli can be affected by concurrent actions. Here we investigated whether performing a directed action can affect the perception of ambiguous auditory stimuli in a gamified dual-task. In an online study, participants had to avoid obstacles in an endless runner game while classifying the pitch shift in an ambiguous sequence of Shepard tones. Response times indicate interference between both tasks, but pitch shift classifications seem to be unaffected by the motor task. Meanwhile, participants showed a strong compatibility effect between base pitch and pitch shift classifications, in line with a typical SMARC effect. We discuss possible reasons for the absence of perceptual modulations and implications for common coding approaches.

Theories of event-predictive, anticipatory behavior controlsuggest that complex action planning and control is segmentedinto sequences of anticipated subgoals and according behav-ioral events, which accomplish the subgoals. Here we focus onthe cognitive dynamics during successive subgoal activations.We combined a virtual object interaction task (prehension andtransport of a bottle) with a crossmodal congruency task. An-ticipatory crossmodal congruency effects (aCCEs) occur at thegoal of the current behavior, before the goal is reached. TheseaCCEs appear to be stronger during prehension, while visualdistractors at the currently irrelevant movement target have noeffect. While the results so far provide only partial supportfor the proposed anticipatory, sequential control process, theparadigm is well-suited to probe the dynamic changes of spa-tial body representations in object interactions.

According to theories of anticipatory behavior control, actionplanning and control is realized by activating desired goalstates. From an event-predictive perspective, this activationshould focus sensorimotor processing on expected, upcomingevent boundaries. Previous studies have shown that periper-sonal hand space (PPHS) is remapped to the future hand lo-cation in a grasping task before the movement commences.Here, we investigated if the current hand posture interfereswith the anticipatory remapping of PPHS. Participants had tograsp virtual bottles from two differently oriented starting pos-tures. During the prehension, they received a vibrotactile stim-ulus on their right index finger or on their thumb, while a vi-sual stimulus appeared at the bottle, either matching the futurefinger position, or not. Participants had to name the stimu-lated finger. While the hand posture affected verbal responsetimes, the anticipatory remapping remained unchanged. Ap-parently, the predictive processes that realize the anticipatoryremapping, generalize over initial hand postures.

Theories of event-predictive, anticipatory behavior state that action planning, decision making, and control are realizedby activating future goal states. That is, anticipated and desired final event boundaries as well as sensorimotor-groundedevent codes are activated before actual motor control unfolds. The involved active inference process thereby focuses sen-sorimotor processing on those upcoming events and event boundaries, in which expected uncertainties need to be resolved.Here, we investigated anticipatory behavior during object interactions, that is, grasping and placing bottles. We investi-gated whether peripersonal hand space is remapped onto the to-be grasped bottle during action preparation and whetherthis remapping depends on (i) the bottle’s orientation and (ii) the certainty about upcoming sensorimotor contingencies.To do so, we conducted two experiments in an immersive virtual reality, combining the crossmodal congruency paradigm,which has been used to study selective interactions between vision and touch within peripersonal space, with a graspingtask. In both experiments, we observed anticipatory crossmodal congruency between vision and touch at the future fingerposition on the bottle. Moreover, in the second experiment, a manipulation of the visuo-motor mapping of the partici-pants’ virtual hand while approaching the bottle selectively reduced crossmodal congruency at movement onset. Thus, theexpected movement uncertainty decreased the anticipatory remapping of peripersonal space. Our results support theoriesof event-predictive cognition and show how expected uncertainties influence anticipatory, active inference processes.

According to most recent theories of multisensory integration,weighting of different modalities depends on the reliability ofthe involved sensory estimates. Top-down modulations havebeen studied to a lesser degree. Furthermore, it is still debatedwhether working memory maintains multisensory informationin a distributed modal fashion, or in terms of an integrated rep-resentation. To investigate whether multisensory integrationis modulated by task relevance and to probe the nature of theworking memory encodings, we combined an object interac-tion task with a size estimation task in an immersive virtualreality. During the object interaction, we induced multisen-sory conflict between seen and felt grip aperture. Both, visualand proprioceptive size estimation showed a clear modulationby the experimental manipulation. Thus, the results suggestthat multisensory integration is not only driven by reliability,but is also biased by task demands. Furthermore, multisensoryinformation seems to be represented by means of interactivemodal representations.

Manipulation planning relies on anticipatory processes, aimed at achieving the desired goal state, such as a grasp.This implies that peripersonal space is remapped to the anticipated grasp posture on the targeted object. Vibrotactile-visualinteractions were probed at different times during a grasp-and-place task. Thumb or index finger were stimulated concurrentlywith a visual distractor on the to-be-grasped object. Object orientation (upright/upside down) afforded a thumb-up or thumb-down grasp, inverting the congruency between haptic and visual stimulation. Response times about which finger was stimulatedshow the expected crossmodal congruency effect already before motion onset, with shorter times when the visual distractor andthe future position of the stimulated finger overlapped. Moreover, eye-tracking data show that the tactile stimulation influencesthe gaze in anticipation of the upcoming grasp. Thus peripersonal hand space is mapped into the future, predictively mediatingbetween tactile and visual perceptions as a function of the final state.

Over the last decade, our understanding of climate sensitivity has improved considerably. The climate system shows variability on many timescales, is subject to non-stationary forcing and it is most likely out of equilibrium with the changes in the radiative forcing. Slow and fast feedbacks complicate the interpretation of geological records as feedback strengths vary over time. In the geological past, the forcing timescales were different than at present, suggesting that the response may have behaved differently. Do these insights constrain the climate sensitivity relevant for the present day? In this paper, we review the progress made in theoretical understanding of climate sensitivity and on the estimation of climate sensitivity from proxy records. Particular focus lies on the background state dependence of feedback processes and on the impact of tipping points on the climate system. We suggest how to further use palaeo data to advance our understanding of the currently ongoing climate change.

During object manipulation the actor’s eye movements are directed to the target of the interaction and to the relevantsites where this takes place. Eye movements during grasping observation are influenced by low-level motor information, help-ing inferring the target from hand shape. In an eye-tracking experiment, we investigated which factors influence understandingwhen observing bimanual object interactions, if no objects are visible but only the movements reproduced by an avatar. Par-ticipants watched ten different actions (e.g., pour water from a bottle into a cup) and guessed among ten possibilities. Alsoperspective was varied (frontal, side, head-centered). Preliminary results show higher response accuracy in the frontal perspec-tive. During the interaction phase participants spent more time fixating closer to the interaction point between the hands, wherethe objects would be, than on the single hands, suggesting this is the best vantage point to make sense of the observed actionwithout other cues.

Climate tipping elements are large-scale subsystems of the Earth that may transgress critical thresholds (tipping points) under ongoing global warming, with substantial impacts on biosphere and human societies. Frequently studied exam- ples of such tipping elements include the Greenland Ice Sheet, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, permafrost, monsoon systems, and the Amazon rainforest. While recent scientific efforts have improved our knowledge about individual tipping elements, the interactions between them are less well understood. Also, the potential of individual tipping events to induce additional tipping elsewhere, or stabilize other tipping elements is largely unknown. Here, we map out the current state of the literature on the interactions between climate tipping elements and review the influences between them. To do so, we gathered evidence from model simulations, observations and conceptual understanding, as well as archetypal examples of paleoclimate reconstructions where multi-component or spatially propagating transitions were potentially at play. Lastly, we identify crucial knowledge gaps in tipping element interactions and outline how future research could address those gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]