Pub Date : 2026-04-15Epub Date: 2026-02-06DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109394
Ariana Popoviciu, Suparna Rajaram, Timothy Brackins, Lauren L. Richmond
Advancing age is typically associated with declines in both episodic memory function and white matter microstructure (WMM), although there is substantial variability in these trajectories. Relatively little work has attempted to isolate the associations between age, episodic memory function, and WMM in tracts associated with episodic memory, namely the fornix, superior longitudinal fasciculus, the uncinate fasciculus, and the cingulum bundle. Given the limited research modeling these variables together, we investigated their interrelations in cognitively normal adults drawn from the Nathan Kline Institute Rockland Sample by examining, both cross-sectionally (n = 301; age M = 52.4; Range = 19-85) and longitudinally (n = 147; baseline age M = 56.36; Range = 38-71), whether individual differences in WMM modify the typical age-related trajectory of episodic memory decline as indexed by delayed free recall. Cross-sectional results reveal that both delayed free recall and WMM decreased significantly with age. When modeled together, however, age predicted delayed free recall, whereas WMM was associated with delayed recall performance only in the fornix above and beyond variance explained by age. Longitudinal analyses reveal that changes in WMM did not significantly predict change in delayed free recall performance over time, and advancing age was also not a strong predictor of changes in WMM. Together, findings from our healthy sample across the adult lifespan suggest that episodic memory measured by delayed free recall may have more subtle associations with WMM maintenance than it does with chronological age.
{"title":"Do age and episodic memory task performance differentially relate to tract-specific white matter microstructure? Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses in a healthy adult sample","authors":"Ariana Popoviciu, Suparna Rajaram, Timothy Brackins, Lauren L. Richmond","doi":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109394","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109394","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Advancing age is typically associated with declines in both episodic memory function and white matter microstructure (WMM), although there is substantial variability in these trajectories. Relatively little work has attempted to isolate the associations between age, episodic memory function, and WMM in tracts associated with episodic memory, namely the fornix, superior longitudinal fasciculus, the uncinate fasciculus, and the cingulum bundle. Given the limited research modeling these variables together, we investigated their interrelations in cognitively normal adults drawn from the Nathan Kline Institute Rockland Sample by examining, both cross-sectionally (<em>n</em> = 301; age <em>M</em> = 52.4; Range = 19-85) and longitudinally (<em>n</em> = 147; baseline age <em>M</em> = 56.36; Range = 38-71), whether individual differences in WMM modify the typical age-related trajectory of episodic memory decline as indexed by delayed free recall. Cross-sectional results reveal that both delayed free recall and WMM decreased significantly with age. When modeled together, however, age predicted delayed free recall, whereas WMM was associated with delayed recall performance only in the fornix above and beyond variance explained by age. Longitudinal analyses reveal that changes in WMM did not significantly predict change in delayed free recall performance over time, and advancing age was also not a strong predictor of changes in WMM. Together, findings from our healthy sample across the adult lifespan suggest that episodic memory measured by delayed free recall may have more subtle associations with WMM maintenance than it does with chronological age.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19279,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychologia","volume":"224 ","pages":"Article 109394"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146143038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
There is a long-standing debate about the role of visual mental images in reasoning. Knauff and Johnson-Laird's (2002) Visual Imagery Impedance Effect (VIIE) suggests visual imagery can hinder abstract reasoning, as evidenced by slower responses to visual compared to spatial and control problems. Aphantasia, reduced or absent visual imagery, offers a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis. In an online version of the reasoning paradigm used in VIIE studies, aphantasics and typical imagers completed three problem types (visual, spatial, control), while reaction times and accuracy scores were measured. In addition, a second classification, based on the Object-Spatial Imagery and Verbal Questionnaire (OSIVQ), was employed to differentiate participants according to their cognitive style and explore possible performance differences between the visualiser, spatialiser and verbaliser clusters. While our study replicated the VIIE in typical imagers, demonstrating robust evidence of a slowdown for visual problems in comparison to spatial and control ones, the effect was inconclusive for aphantasics. Although inconclusive, our results suggest that the VIIE may be smaller in participants with aphantasia than in those without. Furthermore, when complete aphantasics are distinguished from hypophantasics, we observed that the former may have a smaller VIIE than the latter. Finally, our OSIVQ classification-based analyses revealed a meaningful slowdown in reasoning for the visualiser cluster, pointing to a possible influence of cognitive style on performance. Overall, our results demonstrated the importance of considering the influence of mental images and cognitive styles in theories of reasoning.
{"title":"The impact of mental images on reasoning: A study on aphantasia","authors":"Damien Le Clézio , Maël Delem , Merlin Monzel , Gaën Plancher","doi":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109376","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109376","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There is a long-standing debate about the role of visual mental images in reasoning. Knauff and Johnson-Laird's (2002) Visual Imagery Impedance Effect (VIIE) suggests visual imagery can hinder abstract reasoning, as evidenced by slower responses to visual compared to spatial and control problems. Aphantasia, reduced or absent visual imagery, offers a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis. In an online version of the reasoning paradigm used in VIIE studies, aphantasics and typical imagers completed three problem types (visual, spatial, control), while reaction times and accuracy scores were measured. In addition, a second classification, based on the Object-Spatial Imagery and Verbal Questionnaire (OSIVQ), was employed to differentiate participants according to their cognitive style and explore possible performance differences between the visualiser, spatialiser and verbaliser clusters. While our study replicated the VIIE in typical imagers, demonstrating robust evidence of a slowdown for visual problems in comparison to spatial and control ones, the effect was inconclusive for aphantasics. Although inconclusive, our results suggest that the VIIE may be smaller in participants with aphantasia than in those without. Furthermore, when complete aphantasics are distinguished from hypophantasics, we observed that the former may have a smaller VIIE than the latter. Finally, our OSIVQ classification-based analyses revealed a meaningful slowdown in reasoning for the visualiser cluster, pointing to a possible influence of cognitive style on performance. Overall, our results demonstrated the importance of considering the influence of mental images and cognitive styles in theories of reasoning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19279,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychologia","volume":"224 ","pages":"Article 109376"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146125959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-15Epub Date: 2026-02-05DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109392
Jianghao Liu
Mental imagery refers to one's quasi-perceptual experience in the absence of direct external input. Yet around 4% of individuals with “aphantasia” report an inability to voluntarily generate such experiences. This phenomenon provides a natural experiment that challenges current theories of imagery, which typically assume that reactivation of the visual cortex in imagery generation is sufficient for experience. In fact, aphantasics can reactivate the visual cortex during imagery tasks, suggesting that additional processes are required for conscious imagery. In this theory paper, I propose a neural model of conscious imagery, specifying multiple stages of processing, in which generation provides initial sensory reactivations, integration binds visual features into coherent perceptual-like objects or scenes, and amplification enhances them for conscious access. Attention appears to be necessary, though not sufficient, for conscious imagery. This architecture of processing is supported by a fronto-parietal-fusiform network shaped by two interacting attention systems. Aphantasia primarily reflects deficits in top-down modulation, with preserved generation but impaired integration and amplification of internal representations, linked to altered interactions between frontoparietal networks and the fusiform gyrus. Overall, this model reframes imagery as an active, constructive process shaped by the dynamic interplay of higher-order networks, including attentional, intentional, and memory-control systems, rather than a passive reactivation of sensory representation. It offers a testable neuromechanistic account bridging research on imagery and consciousness, motivating future research on unconscious and conscious processing of internal representations.
{"title":"A neural model of conscious mental imagery and aphantasia","authors":"Jianghao Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109392","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109392","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mental imagery refers to one's quasi-perceptual experience in the absence of direct external input. Yet around 4% of individuals with “aphantasia” report an inability to voluntarily generate such experiences. This phenomenon provides a natural experiment that challenges current theories of imagery, which typically assume that reactivation of the visual cortex in imagery generation is sufficient for experience. In fact, aphantasics can reactivate the visual cortex during imagery tasks, suggesting that additional processes are required for conscious imagery. In this theory paper, I propose a neural model of conscious imagery, specifying multiple stages of processing, in which <em>generation</em> provides initial sensory reactivations, <em>integration</em> binds visual features into coherent perceptual-like objects or scenes, and <em>amplification</em> enhances them for conscious access. Attention appears to be necessary, though not sufficient, for conscious imagery. This architecture of processing is supported by a fronto-parietal-fusiform network shaped by two interacting attention systems. Aphantasia primarily reflects deficits in top-down modulation, with preserved generation but impaired integration and amplification of internal representations, linked to altered interactions between frontoparietal networks and the fusiform gyrus. Overall, this model reframes imagery as an active, constructive process shaped by the dynamic interplay of higher-order networks, including attentional, intentional, and memory-control systems, rather than a passive reactivation of sensory representation. It offers a testable neuromechanistic account bridging research on imagery and consciousness, motivating future research on unconscious and conscious processing of internal representations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19279,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychologia","volume":"224 ","pages":"Article 109392"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146137725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-15Epub Date: 2026-02-11DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109399
William Duckett, Jon S. Simons
Vivid mental imagery is often assumed to relate to memory accuracy, but recent empirical findings from studies of mental imagery and aphantasia have found conflicting results regarding this association. Recent literature has found the modality of stimulus may influence this association, and that vividness and confidence of memories may change over the lifespan. Therefore, the present study investigates the relationship between mental imagery vividness and memory for scenes, with a focus on modality-specific and age-related effects, and relationships with confidence. Using a novel experimental procedure, young and older participants memorised objects within scenes and later identified whether specific changes had occurred. Results indicated that while trait-level and averaged measures of vividness did not predict memory accuracy, trial-by-trial state measures were significantly related to subsequent performance. Additionally, results provided evidence that mental imagery may relate to visual aspects of memory more than spatial aspects. Older adults reported higher vividness ratings but performed worse on average than young adults. Confidence and vividness were highly correlated but remained distinct subjective experiences. Re-analysis of an existing related dataset involving people with aphantasia confirmed state-level findings regarding vividness and memory accuracy, highlighting limitations of previous research relying on averaged and trait-level measures. Results identify the need for future research to analyse vividness on a trial-by-trial basis to appropriately investigate the relationship between mental imagery vividness and memory accuracy.
{"title":"State but not trait measures of vividness relate to memory accuracy","authors":"William Duckett, Jon S. Simons","doi":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109399","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109399","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Vivid mental imagery is often assumed to relate to memory accuracy, but recent empirical findings from studies of mental imagery and aphantasia have found conflicting results regarding this association. Recent literature has found the modality of stimulus may influence this association, and that vividness and confidence of memories may change over the lifespan. Therefore, the present study investigates the relationship between mental imagery vividness and memory for scenes, with a focus on modality-specific and age-related effects, and relationships with confidence. Using a novel experimental procedure, young and older participants memorised objects within scenes and later identified whether specific changes had occurred. Results indicated that while trait-level and averaged measures of vividness did not predict memory accuracy, trial-by-trial state measures were significantly related to subsequent performance. Additionally, results provided evidence that mental imagery may relate to visual aspects of memory more than spatial aspects. Older adults reported higher vividness ratings but performed worse on average than young adults. Confidence and vividness were highly correlated but remained distinct subjective experiences. Re-analysis of an existing related dataset involving people with aphantasia confirmed state-level findings regarding vividness and memory accuracy, highlighting limitations of previous research relying on averaged and trait-level measures. Results identify the need for future research to analyse vividness on a trial-by-trial basis to appropriately investigate the relationship between mental imagery vividness and memory accuracy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19279,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychologia","volume":"224 ","pages":"Article 109399"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-15Epub Date: 2026-02-09DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109393
Laura Fenton , Vahan Aslanyan , Diane M. Jacobs , David P. Salmon , James B. Brewer , Robert A. Rissman , Aladdin H. Shadyab , Theresa M. Harrison , A. Carol Evans , Andrea Z. LaCroix , Howard H. Feldman , Laura D. Baker , Judy Pa
Cognitive assessments sensitive to the integrity of the medial temporal lobe, an area vulnerable to early tau deposition, may serve as low-cost adjunctive markers of underlying tau pathology in older adults. The Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST) is a fine memory discrimination task designed to assess hippocampal integrity. The current cross-sectional study utilized baseline data from two AD prevention trials (the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's (A4) study and the Exercise in Adults with Mild Memory Problems (EXERT) trial) to examine relationships between MST performance, amyloid-beta, tau, and hippocampal volume. We additionally explored relationships between performance on a traditional memory test, Logical Memory, and AD-related brain measures. Poorer fine memory discrimination was associated with higher tau as assessed by PET in A4 (N = 407, 59% female, mean age = 71.66, age range = 65–85) and CSF (p-tau181, total tau) in EXERT (N = 41, 61% female, mean age = 74.10, age range = 65–89). Poorer fine memory discrimination was also associated with higher amyloid PET in A4 and smaller hippocampal volume in EXERT. Poorer delayed recall on Logical Memory was associated with higher tau and amyloid burden in A4 and with lower hippocampal volume in EXERT. Poorer retention on Logical Memory was associated with higher tau in Braak I and amyloid in A4 and with CSF tau and lower hippocampal volume in EXERT. These results support the potential of fine memory discrimination as measured by the MST as an adjunctive, accessible screening measure associated with higher tau in cognitively normal, amyloid positive older adults and older adults with amnestic MCI.
{"title":"Relationships between fine memory discrimination and tau burden in two independent cohorts of older adults","authors":"Laura Fenton , Vahan Aslanyan , Diane M. Jacobs , David P. Salmon , James B. Brewer , Robert A. Rissman , Aladdin H. Shadyab , Theresa M. Harrison , A. Carol Evans , Andrea Z. LaCroix , Howard H. Feldman , Laura D. Baker , Judy Pa","doi":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109393","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109393","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cognitive assessments sensitive to the integrity of the medial temporal lobe, an area vulnerable to early tau deposition, may serve as low-cost adjunctive markers of underlying tau pathology in older adults. The Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST) is a fine memory discrimination task designed to assess hippocampal integrity. The current cross-sectional study utilized baseline data from two AD prevention trials (the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's (A4) study and the Exercise in Adults with Mild Memory Problems (EXERT) trial) to examine relationships between MST performance, amyloid-beta, tau, and hippocampal volume. We additionally explored relationships between performance on a traditional memory test, Logical Memory, and AD-related brain measures. Poorer fine memory discrimination was associated with higher tau as assessed by PET in A4 (N = 407, 59% female, mean age = 71.66, age range = 65–85) and CSF (p-tau181, total tau) in EXERT (N = 41, 61% female, mean age = 74.10, age range = 65–89). Poorer fine memory discrimination was also associated with higher amyloid PET in A4 and smaller hippocampal volume in EXERT. Poorer delayed recall on Logical Memory was associated with higher tau and amyloid burden in A4 and with lower hippocampal volume in EXERT. Poorer retention on Logical Memory was associated with higher tau in Braak I and amyloid in A4 and with CSF tau and lower hippocampal volume in EXERT. These results support the potential of fine memory discrimination as measured by the MST as an adjunctive, accessible screening measure associated with higher tau in cognitively normal, amyloid positive older adults and older adults with amnestic MCI.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19279,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychologia","volume":"224 ","pages":"Article 109393"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146166073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The two visual pathways hypothesis posits distinct brain systems for vision-for-perception and vision-for-action. While this dissociation is well-established in younger adults, its integrity in healthy aging remains unclear. To address this, younger (n = 25, range: 18–25 years) and older adults (n = 25, range: 65–95 years) completed estimation and grasping tasks in two experiments. In Experiment 1, two rectangular objects with varying lengths (40 mm and 42 mm) were placed on the “far” and “close” surfaces of a Ponzo illusion. Despite age-related changes in grasping kinematics, the perception–action dissociation persisted. The Ponzo illusion influenced estimation such that objects placed on the “far” surface were perceived as longer. In contrast, grasping was not affected by the illusion in the same way, and showed effect in the opposite direction, with larger apertures for objects placed on the “close” surface of the illusion. Experiment 2 tested whether this reversed effect was mediated by the surface size on which the object was placed, rather than perceived distance. To this end, we removed the illusory distance cues and varied only the background surface size (“big” versus “small”). While perceptual estimations were unaffected, surface size modulated grasping in both age groups, with a stronger effect in older adults. Additionally, grasping times were slower for the far surface in both groups in Experiment 1, whereas this slowing was evident only in older adults in Experiment 2. These findings indicate that the perception–action dissociation is preserved in aging, but older adults rely more on contextual cues during action, potentially reflecting compensatory mechanisms to maintain visuomotor performance.
{"title":"Preserved perception-action dissociation but altered visuomotor behaviours in healthy aging","authors":"Felicia Tassone , Zoha Ahmad , Tzvi Ganel , Erez Freud","doi":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109381","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109381","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The two visual pathways hypothesis posits distinct brain systems for vision-for-perception and vision-for-action. While this dissociation is well-established in younger adults, its integrity in healthy aging remains unclear. To address this, younger (<em>n</em> = 25, range: 18–25 years) and older adults (<em>n</em> = 25, range: 65–95 years) completed estimation and grasping tasks in two experiments. In Experiment 1, two rectangular objects with varying lengths (40 mm and 42 mm) were placed on the “far” and “close” surfaces of a Ponzo illusion. Despite age-related changes in grasping kinematics, the perception–action dissociation persisted. The Ponzo illusion influenced estimation such that objects placed on the “far” surface were perceived as longer. In contrast, grasping was not affected by the illusion in the same way, and showed effect in the opposite direction, with larger apertures for objects placed on the “close” surface of the illusion. Experiment 2 tested whether this reversed effect was mediated by the surface size on which the object was placed, rather than perceived distance. To this end, we removed the illusory distance cues and varied only the background surface size (“big” versus “small”). While perceptual estimations were unaffected, surface size modulated grasping in both age groups, with a stronger effect in older adults. Additionally, grasping times were slower for the far surface in both groups in Experiment 1, whereas this slowing was evident only in older adults in Experiment 2. These findings indicate that the perception–action dissociation is preserved in aging, but older adults rely more on contextual cues during action, potentially reflecting compensatory mechanisms to maintain visuomotor performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19279,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychologia","volume":"224 ","pages":"Article 109381"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146106384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-15Epub Date: 2026-02-05DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109380
Jen Lewendon , Stephen Politzer-Ahles
In the electrophysiological time course of speech processing, the Phonological Mapping Negativity (PMN) is a negative-going ERP component thought to specifically index pre-lexical phonological mapping. The response is often used in research investigating the cognitive mechanisms that underlie speech processing, but more recently has been employed in clinical research seeking to identify the specific deficits that contribute to a host of speech and language impairments. The PMN has long been assumed to be sensitive only to phonological manipulations. Here, we test that assumption in a classic phoneme blending task, comparing responses to phonological mismatches and speaker voice mismatches. Participants were instructed to blend nonword primes segmented into onset and rhyme (e.g.,/l/+/ɛk/), which were followed by targets that matched or mismatched based on either phonological expectancy (e.g., match:/lɛk/; mismatch:/wɛk/) or speaker voice expectancy (match: same voice; mismatch: different voice). Analysis of the 150–400 ms post-target window revealed a predicted negative ERP response to phoneme mismatch vs match trials (i.e., the PMN, as typically characterised). Crucially however, analysis of speaker trials revealed a similar pattern of results in response to speaker mismatch vs speaker match. Our findings are discussed in light of ongoing debates about the functional sensitivity and characterization of the PMN, alongside strong recommendations against the use of the component as a biomarker for phonological deficits until further research clarifies the validity of a phonology-specific ERP response.
{"title":"The Phonological Mapping Negativity (PMN) is not phonology-specific: Sensitivity to speaker voice mismatch","authors":"Jen Lewendon , Stephen Politzer-Ahles","doi":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109380","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109380","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the electrophysiological time course of speech processing, the Phonological Mapping Negativity (PMN) is a negative-going ERP component thought to specifically index pre-lexical phonological mapping. The response is often used in research investigating the cognitive mechanisms that underlie speech processing, but more recently has been employed in clinical research seeking to identify the specific deficits that contribute to a host of speech and language impairments. The PMN has long been assumed to be sensitive only to phonological manipulations. Here, we test that assumption in a classic phoneme blending task, comparing responses to phonological mismatches and speaker voice mismatches. Participants were instructed to blend nonword primes segmented into onset and rhyme (e.g.,/l/+/ɛk/), which were followed by targets that matched or mismatched based on either phonological expectancy (e.g., match:/lɛk/; mismatch:/wɛk/) or speaker voice expectancy (match: same voice; mismatch: different voice). Analysis of the 150–400 ms post-target window revealed a predicted negative ERP response to phoneme mismatch vs match trials (i.e., the PMN, as typically characterised). Crucially however, analysis of speaker trials revealed a similar pattern of results in response to speaker mismatch vs speaker match. Our findings are discussed in light of ongoing debates about the functional sensitivity and characterization of the PMN, alongside strong recommendations against the use of the component as a biomarker for phonological deficits until further research clarifies the validity of a phonology-specific ERP response.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19279,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychologia","volume":"224 ","pages":"Article 109380"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146137792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-15Epub Date: 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109375
Silje-Adelen Nenseth , Kenneth Vilhelmsen , F.R. Ruud van der Weel , Audrey L.H. van der Meer
This longitudinal study investigated electrical brain responses to approaching visual motion in full-term and preterm infants and children at 4 months, 1 year, and 6 years. Participants viewed a virtual ball approaching head-on at fast, medium, and slow speeds. Full-term participants showed looming-related brain responses that occurred progressively closer to the point of virtual collision, with mean time-to-collision (TTC) values decreasing from −835 ms at 4 months to −575 ms at 1 year and −260 ms at 6 years. In contrast, preterm children exhibited only modest improvement between 1 year (−850 ms) and 6 years (−435 ms). At both 1 and 6 years, full-term children showed their responses at consistent TTC values across loom speeds, significantly nearer to collision than their preterm peers, who relied on a less efficient strategy based on loom visual angle during infancy. By 6 years, preterm children had also adopted a time-based strategy, yet their responses still occurred significantly earlier in the looming sequence than those of full-term children. Time-frequency analysis (Temporal Spectral Evolution, TSE) revealed synchronised gamma and desynchronised theta, alpha, and beta activity in response to looming motion in both groups during infancy. With age, full-term children showed stronger and more frequency-specific oscillatory activity than preterm children. Coherence connectivity analysis further demonstrated more extensive and organized functional connections in full-term participants at all ages. Together, these findings indicate persistent cortical immaturity and reduced dorsal-stream integrity in children born preterm, contributing to deficits in visual motion perception that extend from infancy into early childhood.
{"title":"Longitudinal neural development of looming visual motion processing in full-term and premature infants and children","authors":"Silje-Adelen Nenseth , Kenneth Vilhelmsen , F.R. Ruud van der Weel , Audrey L.H. van der Meer","doi":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109375","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109375","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This longitudinal study investigated electrical brain responses to approaching visual motion in full-term and preterm infants and children at 4 months, 1 year, and 6 years. Participants viewed a virtual ball approaching head-on at fast, medium, and slow speeds. Full-term participants showed looming-related brain responses that occurred progressively closer to the point of virtual collision, with mean time-to-collision (TTC) values decreasing from −835 ms at 4 months to −575 ms at 1 year and −260 ms at 6 years. In contrast, preterm children exhibited only modest improvement between 1 year (−850 ms) and 6 years (−435 ms). At both 1 and 6 years, full-term children showed their responses at consistent TTC values across loom speeds, significantly nearer to collision than their preterm peers, who relied on a less efficient strategy based on loom visual angle during infancy. By 6 years, preterm children had also adopted a time-based strategy, yet their responses still occurred significantly earlier in the looming sequence than those of full-term children. Time-frequency analysis (Temporal Spectral Evolution, TSE) revealed synchronised gamma and desynchronised theta, alpha, and beta activity in response to looming motion in both groups during infancy. With age, full-term children showed stronger and more frequency-specific oscillatory activity than preterm children. Coherence connectivity analysis further demonstrated more extensive and organized functional connections in full-term participants at all ages. Together, these findings indicate persistent cortical immaturity and reduced dorsal-stream integrity in children born preterm, contributing to deficits in visual motion perception that extend from infancy into early childhood.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19279,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychologia","volume":"224 ","pages":"Article 109375"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146113879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-15Epub Date: 2026-02-02DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109382
Saeedeh Pazoki , Mahati Kopparla , Fanhao Shane Kong , Connie Barroso , Steven Woltering
{"title":"Cognitive and emotional responses during mathematical problem solving in engineering students: An ERP study on problem size and feedback","authors":"Saeedeh Pazoki , Mahati Kopparla , Fanhao Shane Kong , Connie Barroso , Steven Woltering","doi":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109382","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109382","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19279,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychologia","volume":"224 ","pages":"Article 109382"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146119231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-21DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109438
Elisa Ciaramelli, Virginia Pollarini, Andrea Crisafulli, Alessia Ferretti, Manila Vannucci
Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is consistently engaged during mind-wandering, but its role in mind-wandering is still unclear. The present study tests the hypothesis that vmPFC is necessary for the (endogenous) generation of stimulus-independent and task-unrelated thought (mind-wandering), but not for externally triggered forms of off-task thought. To this aim, we studied off-task thought in vmPFC patients and brain-damaged and healthy controls, sampling the occurrence of different off-task experiences during a vigilance task, including mind-wandering, external distractions, and task-related thoughts. Moreover, we experimentally manipulated the presence of task-irrelevant cue-words capable to elicit mind-wandering (Standard condition vs. Cued condition). vmPFC patients showed reduced endogenously generated mind-wandering compared to the control groups (Standard condition), but also a weakened tendency to experience mind-wandering in response to cue-words (Cued condition). By contrast, vmPFC patients normally reported on (hence could become aware of) other types of off-task mental content, such as external distractions and task-related thoughts. These findings indicate that vmPFC integrity is necessary for the generation of mind-wandering, be this driven endogenously or by (minimal) cues, possibly by initiating the mental construction of personal (past and future) events that typically fuel mind-wandering. Without such internally generated content, attention is less likely to shift inward.
{"title":"vmPFC damage reduces mind-wandering, but not other classes of off-task thought.","authors":"Elisa Ciaramelli, Virginia Pollarini, Andrea Crisafulli, Alessia Ferretti, Manila Vannucci","doi":"10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109438","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109438","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is consistently engaged during mind-wandering, but its role in mind-wandering is still unclear. The present study tests the hypothesis that vmPFC is necessary for the (endogenous) generation of stimulus-independent and task-unrelated thought (mind-wandering), but not for externally triggered forms of off-task thought. To this aim, we studied off-task thought in vmPFC patients and brain-damaged and healthy controls, sampling the occurrence of different off-task experiences during a vigilance task, including mind-wandering, external distractions, and task-related thoughts. Moreover, we experimentally manipulated the presence of task-irrelevant cue-words capable to elicit mind-wandering (Standard condition vs. Cued condition). vmPFC patients showed reduced endogenously generated mind-wandering compared to the control groups (Standard condition), but also a weakened tendency to experience mind-wandering in response to cue-words (Cued condition). By contrast, vmPFC patients normally reported on (hence could become aware of) other types of off-task mental content, such as external distractions and task-related thoughts. These findings indicate that vmPFC integrity is necessary for the generation of mind-wandering, be this driven endogenously or by (minimal) cues, possibly by initiating the mental construction of personal (past and future) events that typically fuel mind-wandering. Without such internally generated content, attention is less likely to shift inward.</p>","PeriodicalId":19279,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychologia","volume":" ","pages":"109438"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147504612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}