In this study, the ability of preschoolers aged 3–6 to detect and understand the thematic connections of objects was assessed. Children (95 children; 53 girls and 42 boys) of four age groups of 3, 4, 5, and 6 years old (respectively, 17, 33, 18, and 27 children) solved two tasks aimed at the detection of thematic relations of objects within the framework of the standard “yes–no” procedure. In the first task, it was required to indicate whether the image of the shown object was relevant to a given context (the “object–context” task, O–C), and in the second, whether two objects were related thematically (the “object–object” task, O–O). A touch screen computer was used to present images and record motor responses. For each task, we measured the accuracy scores (the proportion of correct responses) and the delay in the motor response “yes” or “no” relative to the moment the image was presented (reaction time). Two components of the reaction time were analyzed separately: the duration of the latent phase and the duration of the overt movement towards the response button. With age, the accuracy of solving both tasks increased, and the time required to discover the thematic connection (reaction time) decreased. At the same time, the accuracy scores were lower, and the detection time was longer in the O–O task compared to the O–C. The gender of the child did not affect the accuracy value, and affected only the duration of the motor (but not the latent) phase of the motor response, and only in the O–O task. The data obtained show that (i) the O–O task is more difficult than the O–C task, and that this may be due to the necessity to activate the thematic links of two objects in the O–O task instead of just one, as in the O–C task, and (ii) the process of activation of thematic links probably does not end in the latent phase of the motor response and continues during its movement phase. The question of the extent to which the success and duration of the process of detecting the thematic links of objects can limit the success of cognitive planning in preschoolers aged 3–6 is also discussed.

Ранее было высказано предположение [1], что степень развития когнитивного планирования помимо базовых управляющих функций определяется способностью к пониманию тематических (функциональных и инструментальных) и причинно-следственных отношений, а также способностью к формированию планов серийных действий, учитывающих их неперестановочность(некоммутативность). Для оценки этих способностей у дошкольников нами были разработаны и реализованы в виде компьютерных программ ряд задач. Целью настоящей работы была апробация этих задач на группе дошкольников 3-6 лет. В исследованиях приняли участие 95 детей обоих полов (53 девочки и 42 мальчика) в возрастном диапазоне от 3 до 6 лет включительно. Статистический анализ показателя успешности решения экспериментальных задач показал, что он значимо изменяется с возрастом, и что его абсолютная величина и скорость возрастных изменений зависит от характера задачи. При этом не было выявлено ни значимого влияния пола ребенка на этот показатель, ни значимого взаимодействия фактора пола с остальными двумя факторами - типом задачи и возрастом. Полученные данные хорошо согласуются с данными литературы по развитию в онтогенезе рабочей памяти, по пониманию причинно следственных отношений, по планированию и выполнению серийно-организованных действий. В целом, предложенные и апробированные задачи показали себя как чувствительный инструмент для оценки способностей, с которыми связана успешность когнитивного планирования.

Event-related brain potentials (ERP) during perception of referentially ambiguous Russian pronouns were studied in conditions in which resolution of ambiguity was required for successful execution of the experimental task. Subjects were asked to identify the antecedent of the pronoun (the nominal group in the preceding sentence to which the pronoun relates) in a situation in which the antecedent of the pronoun could be only one nominal group (the control condition) and in the situation of referential conflict, where there were two such nominal groups (the experimental condition). Perception of referentially ambiguous pronouns, as compared with control pronouns, was accompanied by an Nref effect – a diffuse shift of ERP with latency 300–400 msec towards negative potentials, which has previously been observed in the Dutch and Chinese languages. In contrast to preceding studies, we found no P600 effect – an increase in late positivity, which is associated with additional analysis of the correctness of the sentence in conditions of referential ambiguity. Comparison of these data with results from previous studies provides evidence that the strategy of perceiving ambiguous expressions (assessment of correctness) may depend not only on the task, but also the presence/absence of anomalous trials in the experimental material.

High-density EEG recordings were made during performance of tasks consisting of delayed motor reproduction of unfamiliar trajectory outline images, with evaluation of event-related potentials (ERP) associated with presentation of these images and a command sound signal (a short sound). A total of 22 right-handed adult subjects took part in the study, which consisted of five blocks of trials with different delays T between the command sound signal and the end of presentation of trajectory outlines (T = 0, 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 msec). analysis of ERP showed that in contrast to potentials associated with trajectory outline presentation, potentials linked with presentation of the command signals depended on delay duration T. Analysis of the cortical sources of these potentials showed that the changes seen in the sensor space corresponded to a marked monotonic increase in the reactivity of the orbital cortex of the right hemisphere and bilaterally symmetrical increases in the reactivity of the dorsal areas of the sensorimotor cortex. These data are assessed in the framework of the hypothesis of transformations of the internal representation of the trajectory from a sensory-specific format to an abstract sensory- and motor-nonspecific format occurring during the period of holding in working memory.

Studies in healthy right-handed subjects (N = 16, mean age 23 ± 5.7 years) analyzed the functional organization of the cerebral cortex during preparation to solve visual and auditory sensory tasks in two conditions: (1) anticipation of a visual or auditory signal after being told its modality (cued anticipatory attention) and (2) implicit anticipation formed during multiple repetition of a given sequence of visual and auditory stimuli. In both conditions subjects had to perform the same task – to identify the order of the stimuli (visual or auditory) in monomodal pairs. During the prestimulus period, the α frequency range was used to assess the coherence of cortical sources corresponding to previously selected cortical regions (regions of interest). More functional connections between cortical zones in the frontoparietal modulatory system were seen in cued anticipatory attention than during the period preceding appearance of the prompt stimulus, this obtaining in both sensory tasks. There was also a greater number of local connections between sensory-specific and associative (parietal and prefrontal) areas. Implicit anticipation preceding execution of the visual task was accompanied by an increase in connections between the ventral premotor cortex and the caudal (parietal and occipital) areas of the right hemisphere. Execution of the auditory task was preceded by an increase in connections between the auditory sensory cortex, the rostral part of the supplementary motor area, and the ventral premotor area. In contrast to cued attention, implicit anticipation was not accompanied by changes in frontoparietal connections. These results provide evidence of significant differences in the cerebral organization of these two types of anticipatory attention.

A group of 24 adult subjects performed a task consisting of delayed motor reproduction (copying) of unfamiliar outline figures (trajectory templates). Templates were presented for 250 msec and were reproduced in response to an instruction given by sound signal (a brief click), delayed relative to the end of the period of presentation of the trajectory image by time T = 0, 500, 1000, 2000, or 4000 msec. Subjects performed the task in a block experiment in which the delay T was constant within each block of 32 trials. Reaction time (RT) was analyzed, along with the mean duration of movement along one segment of the trajectory (MT) and the duration of the pause between adjacent segments (DT). Reaction time RT was found to show a non-monotonic dependence on delay T, decreasing at T ≤ 1000 msec and increasing at T ≤ 2000 msec. The relationship between RT and T was adequately described by a very simple additive model – the sum of a linearly increasing component and an exponentially decreasing component. The linear increase reflected a decrease in the accuracy of predicting the moment at which the instruction signal would be presented as the delay T increased (foreperiod effect [Niemi and Näätänen, 1981; Meulenbroek and Van Galen, 1988]). The exponentially decreasing component is suggested to reflect transformation of the internal representation of the trajectory template during the period it is held in short-term memory.

Studies in adult subjects (n = 36) analyzed functional interactions in the prefrontal areas of the cortex with other cortical zones during preparation to recognize incomplete figures with different levels of fragmentation during sequential approximation to the complete image. Functional interactions were measured in terms of the imaginary part of the complex coherence of the EEG α rhythm. The nature of rearrangements in intracortical interactions was found to differ in subjects with high and low levels of recognition success. In successful subjects, changes in intracortical interactions during the period preceding as yet unrecognized stimuli occurred mainly in the right hemisphere, while during the period preceding recognized stimuli changes were mainly in the left hemisphere. In this group of subjects, α-rhythm coherence in both hemispheres increased in the situation of focused attention as compared with the situation of nonspecific attention. In unsuccessful subjects, conversely, α-rhythm coherence levels in both the right and left hemispheres decreased significantly on focused attention as compared with nonspecific attention. These results provide evidence that the co-tuning of electrical activity in the cortical zones, in terms of the α rhythm, is one of the mechanisms of their functional unification during the period of preparation to recognize incomplete figures.

Особенности мозговой организации процесса преднастройки в предподростковом возрасте (10–12 лет) исследовались при решении задачи на опознание неполных изображений разной степени фрагментации. У детей 10–11 и 11–12 лет анализировались функциональные связи дорзолатеральных и вентролатеральных областей коры с другими корковыми зонами на трех последовательных этапах подготовки к восприятию фрагментарного изображения. Эти данные сопоставлялись с таковыми у взрослых испытуемых. С целью выявления влияния преднастройки на процесс опознания анализировались также региональные связанные с событием потенциалы (ССП). У взрослых выявлено преимущественное усиление связей дорзо- и вентролатеральной префронтальной коры с другими корковыми зонами в правом полушарии на этапе ожидания еще не опознанного целевого стимула, а в левом полушарии – в период, предшествующий эффективно опознанному категоризованному стимулу. У детей в обоих полушариях изменения носят однонаправленный характер и корковое взаимодействие достигает максимальных значений в период, предшествующий эффективному опознанию. Показано, что для детей 11–12 лет, по сравнению со взрослыми и детьми 10–11 лет, характерно снижение степени вовлечения вентролатеральной префронтальной коры как в организацию преднастройки к опознанию, так и в процесс его реализации. Наряду с этим, в 11–12 лет наблюдается более зрелый тип вовлечения дорзолатеральной префронтальной коры, что приводит к повышению эффективности опознания фрагментированных изображений в 11–12 лет, по сравнению с 10–11 годами. Предполагается, что особенности мозговой организации преднастройки к деятельности и ее осуществления в 11–12 лет связаны с разнонаправленным влиянием половых гормонов на функционирование различных зон префронтальной коры на начальном этапе полового созревания.

The brain organization of the preparation to perceiving incomplete images fragmented to different extents was studied in children aged 10–11 and 11–12 years. Functional connections of the ventrolateral and dorsoventral cortical zones with other zones were examined at three consecutive stages of the preparation to perceiving incomplete images. The results were compared with data obtained for adults. The effect of preparation on image recognition was inferred from regional event-related potentials. In adults, functional interactions of the dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex with other cortical zones of the right hemisphere were enhanced at the stage of waiting for a target stimulus not recognized yet, while connections in the left hemisphere became stronger short before the stimulus was successfully recognized. In children, stagerelated changes in functional interactions were similar between the two hemispheres, and peak interaction activity was observed at the stage preceding the successful recognition. Children aged 11–12 years showed a lower involvement of the ventrolateral cortex in the preparatory stage and recognition as compared with adults and 10- to 11-year-old children. At the same time, the older children had a more mature pattern of the dorsolateral cortex involvement, which provided for a more efficient recognition than in the younger children. The features observed for the brain organization of visual recognition and preceding preparatory processes in 11- to 12-year-old children were assumed to result from the multidirectional effects sex hormones exert on the function of various prefrontal cortical zones in early puberty.