Theodore A. Bell

Forgetting our facts: the role of inhibitory processes in the loss of propositional knowledge

Seven experiments are reported that show that retrieving facts from long-term memory is accomplished, in part, by inhibitory processes that suppress interfering facts. When asked to repeatedly retrieve a recently learned proposition (e.g., recalling The actor is looking at the tulip, given cues such as Actor looking t__), subjects experienced a recall deficit for related facts (e.g., The actor is looking at the violin) on a recall test administered 15 min later. Importantly, this retrieval-induced forgetting was shown to generalize to other facts in which the inhibited concepts took part (e.g., The teacher is lifting the violin), replicating a finding observed by M. C. Anderson and B. A. Spellman (1995) with categorical stimuli. These findings suggest a critical role for suppression in models of propositional retrieval and implicate the mere retrieval of what we know as a source of forgetting of factual knowledge.

Family-based training program improves brain function, cognition, and behavior in lower socioeconomic status preschoolers

Using information from research on the neuroplasticity of selective attention and on the central role of successful parenting in child development, we developed and rigorously assessed a family-based training program designed to improve brain systems for selective attention in preschool children. One hundred forty-one lower socioeconomic status preschoolers enrolled in a Head Start program were randomly assigned to the training program, Head Start alone, or an active control group. Electrophysiological measures of children’s brain functions supporting selective attention, standardized measures of cognition, and parent-reported child behaviors all favored children in the treatment program relative to both control groups. Positive changes were also observed in the parents themselves. Effect sizes ranged from one-quarter to half of a standard deviation. These results lend impetus to the further development and broader implementation of evidence-based education programs that target at-risk families.

Polymorphisms in the 5-httlpr gene mediate storage capacity of visual working memory

By the request of the authors, the following two research articles will be retracted from the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience: 1. Anderson, D. E., Ester, E. F., Klee, D., Vogel, E. K., & Awh, E. (2014). Electrophysiological evidence for failures of item individuation in crowded visual displays. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 26(10), 2298– 2309. https://dx.doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00649. 2. Anderson, D. E., Bell, T. A., & Awh, E. (2012). Polymorphisms in the 5-HTTLPR gene mediate storage capacity of visual working memory. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 24(5), 1069–1076. https://dx.doi. org/10.1162/jocn_a_00207. On August 1, 2015, the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) announced a settlement agreement with David E. Anderson, the Respondent (http://ori.hhs.gov/content/ case-summary-anderson-david). On the basis of the Respondent’s admission and an analysis by the University of Oregon, ORI concluded that the Respondent had engaged in research misconduct by falsifying and/or fabricating data in four publications. Those publications were retracted immediately after the release of the ORI findings. Since that time, additional problems have been discovered with Article 1 above. Data points shown in Figure 8 were removed without justification and in contradiction to the analytic approach described in the methods and results. In light of this discovery and of the previous ORI findings, authors Bell and Awh no longer have confidence in the integrity of the data in Article 2. For these reasons, all authors on both articles (including the Respondent) have agreed to the retraction of Articles 1 and 2 above.

Development of selective attention in preschool-age children from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds

Highlights • We assessed selective attention in 4-year-olds from lower & higher SES backgrounds.• Development of selective attention over one year was evaluated in the LSES group.• At age four, only the HSES group showed enhanced neural responses with attention.• The LSES group developed an effect of attention on neural processing by age five.• The LSES group showed persistent attenuation of distractor suppression at age five.

5-HTTLPR polymorphism is linked to neural mechanisms of selective attention in preschoolers from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds

Highlights • We investigated associations between 5-HTTLPR genotypes and selective attention.• Lower SES children aged 3–5 completed an ERP selective attention task.• Children with at least one short 5-HTTLPR allele had larger ERP attention effects.• The short allele is linked to enhanced neural mechanisms of attention in children.• This lays the groundwork for gene-by-environment studies involving cognitive skills.

Effects of early adversity on neural mechanisms of distractor suppression are mediated by sympathetic nervous system activity in preschool-aged children.

Multiple theoretical frameworks posit that interactions between the autonomic nervous system and higher-order neural networks are crucial for cognitive regulation. However, few studies have simultaneously examined autonomic physiology and brain activity during cognitive tasks. Such research is promising for understanding how early adversity impacts neurocognitive development in children, given that stress experienced early in life impacts both autonomic function and regulatory behaviors. We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) as a neural measure of auditory selective attention, and cardiovascular measures of high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) and preejection period (PEP), in 105 3–5-year-old children with varying degrees of socioeconomic risk. First, we replicated a previous study from our lab: Increased socioeconomic risk was associated with larger ERP amplitudes elicited by distracting sounds. Next, we tested whether PEP and HF-HRV (at rest and during the task) were associated with the distractor ERP response, and found that a physiological profile marked by heightened sympathetic nervous system activity, indexed by shorter PEP, was associated with better ERP suppression of distractor sounds in lower SES children. Finally, we found that PEP mediated the relationship between socioeconomic risk and larger ERP responses to distractor sounds. In line with similar reports, these results suggest that for lower SES children, there is a potential biological cost of achieving better cognitive performance, seen here as increased cardiovascular arousal both at rest and in response to task demands.

Neuroplasticity of selective attention: Research foundations and preliminary evidence for a gene by intervention interaction

Significance Selective attention is the ability to select and preferentially process specific information while simultaneously suppressing the processing of irrelevant, competing distractors. It is a fundamental ability linked to various cognitive skills and academic achievement. We describe the foundations and history of our research program, which spans from basic research on neural mechanisms and neuroplasticity of selective attention to translational research aimed at designing interventions to improve selective attention. We also present preliminary evidence for gene × intervention interactions in neural mechanisms of selective attention in children from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds. This program of research demonstrates the marked malleability of neural systems for selective attention and highlights the potential for changes in selective attention as a function of intervention. This article reviews the trajectory of our research program on selective attention, which has moved from basic research on the neural processes underlying selective attention to translational studies using selective attention as a neurobiological target for evidence-based interventions. We use this background to present a promising preliminary investigation of how genetic and experiential factors interact during development (i.e., gene × intervention interactions). Our findings provide evidence on how exposure to a family-based training can modify the associations between genotype (5-HTTLPR) and the neural mechanisms of selective attention in preschool children from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds.

Parasympathetic and sympathetic activity are associated with individual differences in neural indices of selective attention in adults

Multiple theoretical frameworks posit that interactions between the autonomic nervous system and higher-order neural networks are crucial for cognitive and emotion regulation. However, few studies have directly examined the relationship between measures of autonomic physiology and brain activity during cognitive tasks, and fewer studies have examined both the parasympathetic and sympathetic autonomic branches when doing so. Here, 93 adults completed an ERP auditory selective attention task concurrently with measures of parasympathetic activity (high-frequency heart rate variability; HF-HRV) and sympathetic activity (preejection period; PEP). We focus on the well-studied N1 ERP component to test for associations with baseline values of HF-HRV and PEP. Individuals with higher resting HF-HRV and shorter resting PEP showed larger effects of selective attention on their ERPs. Follow-up regression models demonstrated that HF-HRV and PEP accounted for unique variance in selective attention effects on N1 mean amplitude. These results are consistent with the neurovisceral integration model, such that greater parasympathetic activity is a marker of increased selective attention, as well as other theoretical models that emphasize the role of heightened sympathetic activity in more efficient attention-related processing. The present findings highlight the importance of autonomic physiology in the study of individual differences in neurocognitive function and, given the foundational role of selective attention across cognitive domains, suggest that both parasympathetic and sympathetic activity may be key to understanding variability in brain function across a variety of cognitive tasks.

Creating Connections Between Researchers and Educators

ABSTRACT Translational research involving the development, implementation, and assessment of evidence-based interventions has shown promise in improving outcomes for children from lower socioeconomic-status backgrounds. One such approach involves 2-generation interventions, which target both children and their parents/caregivers. Here we traced the evolution of a 15-year partnership between researchers from the University of Oregon Brain Development Lab and educators from Head Start of Lane County, with a primary goal of developing, implementing, and evaluating a 2-generation intervention. The partnership has produced a successful 2-generation intervention, with current efforts focused on the development of a scaled-up delivery model that can be implemented by Head Start staff and integrated into existing Head Start structure classrooms. Taking a “lessons-learned” approach and including the perspectives of researchers and educators, we highlight 4 key themes that emerged from this partnership and may be useful to other researchers collaborating with educators to develop evidence-based interventions: 1) employ smaller-scale studies that trade ecological validity for experimental control to establish a proof of concept, 2) adapt to real-world constraints when scaling for broader implementation, 3) consider theoretical insights from smaller-scale studies when developing scalable delivery models, and 4) work together to find novel solutions to common problems. We close with results from a survey of teachers involved in the project, a broad reflection on successes of the collaboration, and a discussion on focusing efforts to sustain the intervention in the future.