ABSTRACT
Mathematical learning and ability are crucial for individual and national economic and technological development, but the neural mechanisms underlying advanced mathematical learning remain unclear. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate how brain networks were involved in advanced mathematical learning and transfer. We recorded fMRI data from 24 undergraduate students as they learned the advanced mathematical concept of a commutative mathematical group. After learning, participants were required to complete learning and transfer behavioural tests. Results of single-trial interindividual brain-behaviour correlation analysis found that brain activity in the semantic and visuospatial networks, and the functional connectivity within the semantic network during advanced mathematical learning were positively correlated with learning and transfer effects. Additionally, the functional connectivity between the semantic and visuospatial networks was negatively correlated with the learning and transfer effects. These findings suggest that advanced mathematical learning relies on both semantic and visuospatial networks.
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Introduction: Visual naming ability reflects semantic memory retrieval and is a hallmark deficit of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Naming impairment is most prominently observed in the late-onset amnestic and logopenic variant Primary Progressive Aphasia (lvPPA) syndromes. However, little is known about how other patients across the atypical AD syndromic spectrum perform on tests of auditory naming, particularly those with primary visuospatial deficits (Posterior Cortical Atrophy; PCA) and early onset (EOAD) syndromes. Auditory naming tests may be of particular relevance to more accurately measuring anomia in PCA syndrome and in others with visual perceptual deficits. Methods: Forty-six patients with biomarker-confirmed AD (16 PCA, 12 lvPPA, 18 multi-domain EOAD), at the stage of mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia, were administered the Auditory Naming Test (ANT). Performance differences between groups were evaluated using one-way ANOVA and post-hoc t-tests. Correlation analyses were used to examine ANT performance in relation to measures of working memory and word retrieval to elucidate cognitive mechanisms underlying word retrieval deficits. Whole-cortex general linear models were generated to determine the relationship between ANT performance and cortical atrophy. Results: Based on published cutoffs, out of a total possible score of 50 on the ANT, 56% of PCA patients (mean score = 45.3), 83% of EOAD patients (mean = 39.2), and 83% of lvPPA patients (mean = 29.8) were impaired. Total uncued ANT performance differed across groups, with lvPPA performing most poorly, followed by EOAD, and then PCA. ANT performance was still impaired in lvPPA and EOAD after cuing, while performance in PCA patients improved to the normal range with phonemic cues. ANT performance was also directly correlated with measures of verbal fluency and working memory, and was associated with cortical atrophy in a circumscribed semantic language network. Discussion: Auditory confrontation naming is impaired across the syndromic spectrum of AD including in PCA and EOAD, and is likely related to auditory-verbal working memory and verbal fluency which represent the nexus of language and executive functions. The left-lateralized semantic language network was implicated in ANT performance. Auditory naming, in the absence of a visual perceptual demand, may be particularly sensitive to measuring naming deficits in PCA.
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This study aims to examine the process of L2 novel word learning through the combination of episodic and semantic memory, and how the process differs between the formation of thematic and taxonomic relations. The major approach adopted was observing the neural effects of word learning, which is manifested in the N400 from event-related potentials (ERPs). Eighty-eight participants were recruited for the experiment. In the learning session, L2 contextual discourses related to novel words were learned by participants. In the testing session, discourses embedded with incongruous and congruous novel words in the final position were used for participants to judge the congruency which affected the N400 neural activity. The results showed that both recurrent and new-theme discourses elicited significant N400 effects, while taxonomic sentences did not. These results confirmed the formation of episodic and semantic memory during L2 new word learning, in which semantic memory was mainly supported by thematic relations.
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Multiple sensory-motor and non-sensory-motor dimensions have been proposed for semantic representation, but it remains unclear how the semantic system is organized along them in the human brain. Using naturalistic fMRI data and large-scale semantic ratings, we investigated the overlaps and dissociations between the neural correlates of six semantic dimensions: vision, motor, socialness, emotion, space, and time. Our findings revealed a more complex semantic atlas than what is predicted by current neurobiological models of semantic representation. Brain regions that are selectively sensitive to specific semantic dimensions were found both within and outside the brain networks assumed to represent multimodal general and/or abstract semantics. Overlaps between the neural correlates of different semantic dimensions were mainly found inside the default mode network, concentrated in the left anterior superior temporal gyrus and angular gyrus, which have been proposed as two connector hubs that bridge the multimodal experiential semantic system and the language-supported semantic system.
Subject(s)
Semantic Web , Semantics , Humans , Emotions , Language , Brain/diagnostic imagingABSTRACT
Semantic processing, a core of language comprehension, involves the activation of brain regions dispersed extensively across the frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices that compose the semantic network. To comprehend the functional structure of this semantic network and how it prepares for semantic processing, we investigated its intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) and the relation between this pattern and semantic processing ability in a large sample from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) dataset. We first defined a well-studied brain network for semantic processing, and then we characterized the within-network connectivity (WNC) and the between-network connectivity (BNC) within this network using a voxel-based global brain connectivity (GBC) method based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results showed that 97.73% of the voxels in the semantic network displayed considerably greater WNC than BNC, demonstrating that the semantic network is a fairly encapsulated network. Moreover, multiple connector hubs in the semantic network were identified after applying the criterion of WNC > 1 SD above the mean WNC of the semantic network. More importantly, three of these connector hubs (i.e., the left anterior temporal lobe, angular gyrus, and orbital part of the inferior frontal gyrus) were reliably associated with semantic processing ability. Our findings suggest that the three identified regions use WNC as the central mechanism for supporting semantic processing and that task-independent spontaneous connectivity in the semantic network is essential for semantic processing.
Subject(s)
Brain , Comprehension , Connectome , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Nerve Net , Neural Pathways , Semantics , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Connectome/methods , Brain/physiology , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Adult , Nerve Net/physiology , Nerve Net/diagnostic imaging , Male , Comprehension/physiology , Neural Pathways/physiology , Female , Young Adult , Brain Mapping/methodsABSTRACT
Resumen Frente al dominio del neoliberalismo en las sociedades contemporáneas, las posibilidades de consumo resultan abrumadoras, en tanto mecanismo de configuración identitaria y evidencia de nuevas formas de inclusión/exclusión de los sujetos respecto de los grupos sociales. Esta investigación aborda un segmento de la sociedad chilena que no escapa de esta lógica: los hombres jóvenes. Los jóvenes, en general, constituyen un segmento propenso al riesgo financiero, con altos niveles de endeudamiento, al menos en la sociedad chilena. En este escenario, el artículo explora los significados de consumo que construyen hombres universitarios de pregrado, de tres áreas de formación profesional de una universidad de la Región de La Araucanía (Chile). Se utiliza una metodología cualitativa, aplicando la técnica de redes semánticas naturales. La muestra estuvo conformada por estudiantes de las áreas de las Ciencias Sociales, Ciencias de la Salud y Ciencias de la Ingeniería, de edades entre 18 y 24 años, con un total de 51 sujetos. Los resultados indican una red semántica general abundante, cuyo núcleo está representado por la palabra "alimentarse", seguido por significados asociados a dinero, comprar y necesidad, que dan cuenta de la dimensión material del consumo. Son relevantes, además, los conceptos asociados a drogas y alcohol. A propósito de los hallazgos, se sugiere explorar la relación de la alimentación con el cuerpo masculino, así como la posesión de bienes materiales y las orientaciones al éxito en los hombres jóvenes, sobre todo en lo referente al proceso de construcción de masculinidades juveniles.
Abstract In the face of the dominance of neoliberalism in Western societies the possibilities of consumption are overwhelming. This type of societies are associated with a consumerist culture and lifestyle, where the capacity of consumption is the fundamental criterion of inclusion/exclusion of the subjects. Consumption intervenes significantly in the construction of people's personal and social identity. The desires and longings generated by the consumer society are related to the acquisition of lifestyles. In this sense, subjects give meaning to objects and experiences. The interest of this research is in young people. Young people represent a segment of interest for the economic market; therefore, they constitute a group that is financially in risk. The high levels of indebtedness of the youth population in Chile must be considered. Specifically, men handle money from a young age and carry out certain paid activities, especially in popular sectors. Men are projected as active consumers in the economic market, an area where the traditional gender division has diminished, directing men to production and women to consumption. On the other hand, empirical evidence shows the association between masculinities and material possessions, money and orientation to success. It is also possible to mention a relative scarcity of studies linking men and consumption in Latin America. In this context, the present article explores the meaning of consumption as constructed by university men in three areas of professional training, who are pursuing undergraduate careers, in the Araucanía Region. A qualitative methodology is used to achieve the research objective, applying the technique of natural semantic networks. A case study is carried out. The sample was conformed by students of Social Sciences (18 subjects), Health Sciences (15 subjects) and Engineering Sciences (18 subjects), aged between 18 and 24 years old, with a total of 51 subjects. All students are from a private university in the Araucanía Region, Chile.
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Este artigo busca representar as relações entre termos de maior relevância nas pesquisas indexadas na Web of Science sobre o novo coronavírus (SARS-CoV-2), de dezembro de 2019 a maio de 2020. Caracterizada como pesquisa exploratória e descritiva, o método de investigação e os procedimentos técnicos adotados são fundamentados na teoria do conceito, de Ingetraut Dahlberg, para a análise conceitual, e na abordagem de análise de redes sociais e complexas para análise estrutural da rede semântica de títulos de artigos criada. Os resultados apontaram uma rede de estrutura topológica caracterizada como mundo pequeno, com uma certa quantidade de conexões similares. O termo 'covid-19' apresenta transitividade alta em grupos fortemente conectados, os quais compreendem termos de domínios do conhecimento distintos e, por vezes, pouco relacionados no contexto disciplinar da ciência. A relação conceitual entre os termos é funcional. Concluiu-se que a interconexão entre termos de diferentes domínios do conhecimento forma grupos de termos emergentes, potencializando a urgência de pesquisas interdisciplinares para a compreensão do termo em destaque neste trabalho 'covid-19'.
This article seeks to represent the relationships between the most relevant terms of the researches about the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) indexed in the Web of Science from 2019 December to 2020 May. Characterized as an exploratory and descriptive research, the investigation method and technical procedures are based on the Concept Theory, by Ingetraut Dahlberg, for the conceptual analysis, and on the Social Network Analysis approach as well as on complex networks, for the structural analysis of the semantic network created from article titles. The results showed a network with a topological structure characterized as a small world, with some similar connections. The term 'covid-19' presents high transitivity in strongly connected groups, which comprise terms from different domains of knowledge and, sometimes, little related in the disciplinary context of the science. The conceptual relationship between the terms is functional. It was concluded that the interconnection between terms from different domains of knowledge generates groups of emerging terms, enhancing the urgency of interdisciplinary researches to understand the term that in this work is in focus 'covid-19'.
Este artículo busca representar las relaciones entre los términos más relevantes en las investigaciones sobre el nuevo coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) indexadas en la Web of Science desde diciembre de 2019 hasta mayo de 2020. Caracterizada como una investigación exploratoria y descriptiva, el método de investigación y los procedimientos técnicos practicados se basan en la teoría del concepto, de Ingetraut Dahlberg, para el análisis conceptual, y en el enfoque de análisis de redes sociales y de redes complejas, para el análisis estructural de la red semántica de títulos de artículos creada. Los resultados mostraron una red con una estructura topológica caracterizada como un mundo pequeño, con algunas conexiones similares. El término 'covid-19' presenta una alta transitividad en grupos fuertemente conectados, que comprenden términos de diferentes dominios del conocimiento y, en ocasiones, poco relacionados en el contexto disciplinario de la ciencia. La relación entre los términos es funcional. Se concluyó que la interconexión entre términos de diferentes dominios del conocimiento forma grupos de términos emergentes, lo que aumenta la urgencia de investigaciones interdisciplinarias para comprender el término destacado en este trabajo: 'covid-19'.
Subject(s)
Humans , Access to Information , Scientific and Technical Activities , Semantic Web , COVID-19 , Journal Article , Information Management , Information Dissemination , Use of Scientific Information for Health Decision MakingABSTRACT
Abstract Work experiences during undergraduate studies can be remarkable in the journey of undergraduate students. The objective of this study was to assess, by analyzing semantic networks, the role of work experiences in the meanings those individuals attribute to professional identity. The sample consisted of 2291 students (60% women) divided into three groups: do not work, work in a field related to their course, work in a field not related to their course. The semantic networks of these groups were composed of words uttered from the professional identity prime. We chose to work with the critical network, obtained from the analysis of the incidence-fidelity indexes of the word pairs. The results evidence that work experiences are related to how undergraduate students attribute meaning to professional identity, in such a way that three different networks were formed for these groups. The network of those who work outside their field was the only one that integrated words with negative content, while the semantic networks of those who do not work and those who work in their field, despite containing words that do not always coincide, present a similar macrostructure. We conclude that work experiences play an important role in the meanings that undergraduate students attribute to professional identity. The study innovates by revealing elements of professional-identity construction, besides allowing for reflections on the effects of work experiences during the college period.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Semantics , Social Identification , Students , Work/psychology , Social Network Analysis , Professional TrainingABSTRACT
Resumen (analítico) El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo identificar las características que las profesoras de preescolar reconocían en las niñas y los niños con aptitudes sobresalientes. Es una investigación cuantitativa, transversal y exploratoria. Participaron 58 profesoras de preescolar. Se empleó la técnica de redes semánticas naturales modificadas a través de cuatro preguntas estímulo: qué características tienen los niños con aptitud sobresaliente en el área cognitiva, en el área crea-tiva, en el área psicomotriz y área socioemocional. Los resultados mostraron que las profesoras lograron reconocer algunos rasgos de los niños sobresalientes que coinciden con lo reportado en la litera-tura, lo que sugiere que ellas pueden ser un elemento clave en la detección de la población si se les proporcionan los instrumentos apropiados con las características del alumnado sobresaliente.
Abstract (analytical) This study had the objective of identifying characteristics that preschool teachers recognize in gifted boys and girls through a quantitative, cross-sectional and exploratory investigation. A total of 58 preschool teachers participated in the research. A modified natural semantic networks technique was used by asking four stimulus questions: What characteristics do gifted children have in the cognitive area?; in the creative area?; in the psychomotor area; and in the socio-emotional area. The results showed that the teachers were able to recognize some characteristics of gifted children that coincide with what is reported in scientific literature. This suggests that they may be a key element in detec-ting the population of gifted children if they are provided with the appropriate instruments outlining the characteristics of outstanding students.
Resumo (analítico) O presente trabalho teve como objetivo identificar ases características que professores de pré-escola reconhecem em meninos e meninas com habilidades destacadas. É uma investigação quantitativa, transversal e exploratória. Participaram 58 professores de pré-escola, foi utilizada a técnica de redes semânticas naturais modificadas por meio de quatro questões-estímulo: Quais são as características das crianças com aptidão destacada na área cognitiva, na área criativa, na área psicomotora e na área socioemocional. Os resultados mostraram que os professores conseguiram reconhecer algumas características das crianças destacadas que coincidem com o que foi relatado na literatura, o que sugere que podem ser um elemento fundamental no detecção da população se lhes forem fornecidos os instrumentos adequados com as características dos alunos destacados.
Subject(s)
Research , Child, Gifted , Faculty , AptitudeABSTRACT
RESUMEN La situación de violencia en Colombia ha producido dinámicas que escapan al control del Estado y dificultan la construcción de la agenda pública de las instituciones estatales, ya que estas poseen limitaciones para describir el entorno social y político que influye en el territorio. Para suplir estas limitaciones, es pertinente generar redes semánticas que describan información sobre las comunidades víctimas del conflicto armado. Lo anterior permitirá generar un insumo que las instituciones y autoridades locales puedan emplear para reconocer pilares en la formación de políticas públicas coherentes a las necesidades de cada comunidad. En el presente artículo, se expone el proceso para la generación semiautomática de una red semántica a partir del tratamiento de datos textuales. Para tal fin, se han empleado herramientas de minería de textos y técnicas de análisis multivariado. La red semántica generada es una primera aproximación para la descripción de las características del caso de estudio de la comunidad de Arauca durante los años 2013-2018.
ABSTRACT The situation of violence in Colombia has produced dynamics that are beyond the control of the State and make it difficult for state institutions to build the public agenda. These institutions have limitations to describe the social and political environment that influence the territory To overcome these limitations, it is pertinent to generate semantic networks that describe information about communities victims of the armed conflict and, thus, generate an input that local institutions and authorities can use to recognize pillars in the formation of public policies consistent with the needs of each community. In this document is presented the process for the semi-automatic generation of a semantic network from the processing of textual data, using text mining tools and multivariate analysis techniques. The semantic network generated is a first approximation for the description of the characteristics of the Arauca community during the years 2013-2018, which was selected as a case study.
RESUMO A situação de violência na Colômbia tem produzido dinâmicas que estão além do controle do Estado e dificultam a construção de uma agenda pública por parte das instituições estatais, já que estas têm limitações na descrição do ambiente social e político que influencia o território. Para superar essas limitações, é pertinente gerar redes semânticas que descrevam as informações sobre as comunidades vítimas do conflito armado. Isto permitirá gerar um input que as instituições e autoridades locais possam utilizar para reconhecer pilares na formação de políticas públicas que sejam consistentes com as necessidades de cada comunidade. Neste artigo, é apresentado o processo para a geração semiautomática de uma rede semântica baseada no processamento de dados textuais. Para isso, foram utilizadas ferramentas de mineração de texto e técnicas de análise multivariada. A rede semântica gerada é uma primeira abordagem para descrever as características do estudo de caso da comunidade Arauca durante os anos 2013-2018.
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Resumen El objetivo de la presente investigación fue describir la concepción de la palabra naturaleza desde la perspectiva de niños que estudian educación básica, así como analizar las similitudes y diferencias según el grado escolar. Participaron 272 alumnos de educación básica (172 mujeres y 94 hombres). Como resultado general, se obtuvo tamaño de red (TR) de 203 palabras definidoras de Naturaleza y se incluyeron en el núcleo de red 21 palabras. Aquellas con mayor peso semántico fueron: árboles, plantas, cuidar, sol, agua, flores, tierra, entre otras. Por otra parte, se analizaron redes por grado escolar, donde destacan las palabras que se presentan en todos los núcleos (conjunto SAM) de las redes semánticas: árboles, animales, agua y sol. Asimismo, se observó un aumento en el tamaño de las redes semánticas en función del grado escolar, excluyendo la red de primero grado de primaria que incluía palabras no pertinentes al estímulo.
Abstract The goal of this study was to describe the conception of "nature" in 272 primary school children, and to analyze similarities and differences according to grade. (172 women and 94 men). As a general result, 203 was the network size of words defining "nature", and 21 words were included in the network core; those with greater semantic weight were: trees, plants, caring, sun, water, flowers, land, among others. On the other hand, networks were analyzed by grade, and words common to all nuclei (SAM set) of the semantic networks were trees, animals, water and sun. Also, an increase in the size of semantic networks was observed according to grade, excluding the network of the first grade of Elementary School that included words not pertinent to the stimulus.
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Este artigo discute uma proposta metodológica de investigação da temática da produção científica no campo da saúde coletiva, com o apoio da teoria de redes, tomando como referência de aplicação os artigos publicados no periódico Cadernos de Saúde Pública em 2011. A proposta inclui a construção e a análise de redes semânticas de títulos de artigos e uma comparação com redes semânticas de grupos de coautores. No experimento, montou-se uma rede de dois modos: com títulos (269) e autores (858); em seguida, foram projetadas, separadamente, as redes de autor e de título. Foram construídas e caracterizadas redes semânticas de títulos. Uma sub-rede de coautores foi escolhida e a correspondente rede de títulos comparada com a rede total. A proposta aponta alternativas que podem ser exploradas no trato da aplicação da análise de redes sociais na saúde e, em particular, na saúde coletiva. Índices da análise de redes são estendidos às redes semânticas de títulos e devidamente interpretados. Os resultados para a produção e período escolhidos mostram que a rede de dois modos e suas projeções são fragmentadas, com muitos componentes; apontam também para a influência de grupos de coautores na temática geral do periódico em questão. Na análise da rede dos títulos, os temas que se destacaram são resultado de estudos coerentes com as metas prioritárias de pesquisa do Ministério da Saúde.
This paper discusses a methodological proposal of research related to scientific production focusing on public health, with the support of network theory, taking as reference the application of articles published in the journal titled Cadernos de Saúde Pública (Reports in public health) in 2011. The proposal includes the construction and analysis of semantic networks based on titles of scientific papers and a comparison with semantic networks of co-authors groups. In the experiment, it was set up a two-mode network with 269 titles and 858 authors; then the co-authorship network and the title network were separately built. Semantic networks based on titles of scientific papers were built and characterized. A co-authorship subnetwork waschosen and the corresponding title network was compared to the original network. The proposal points out alternatives that can be explored in the application of social networks analysis to health and, in particular,to public health. Network analysis indexes are extended to semantic networks based on titles of scientific articles and appropriately interpreted. The results for selected production and period show that the two modenetwork and its projections are fragmented, with many components; the results also point to the influence of groups of co-authors on the general theme of the analysed journal. In the analysis of semantic networks based on titles of scientific papers, the most prominent themes are the result of coherent studies toward the priority goals of research of Brazilian Ministry of Health.
Este artículo discute una metodología de investigación temática de la producción científica dirigida a la salud colectiva, con el apoyo de la teoría de redes, tomando como referencia de aplicación los artículos publicados en la revista Cadernos de Saúde Pública en 2011. La propuesta incluye la construcción y el análisis de redes semánticas de títulos de artículos y una comparación con redes semánticas de grupos de co-autores. En el experimento, se ha creado una red de dos-modos con títulos (269) y autores (858); a continuación fueron construidas por separado las redes de autor y de título. Hemos construido y caracterizado las redes semánticas de títulos de artículos. Elegimos una subred de co-autores y comparamos la red correspondiente de títulos con la red original. La propuesta señala alternativas que podemos explorar en la aplicación del análisis de redes sociales en la salud y, en particular, en la salud pública. Extendemos los índices de análisis de redes para las redes semánticas de títulos de artículos e interpretamos de manera adecuada. Los resultados para el período y producción seleccionados muestran que la red de dos-modos y sus proyecciones son fragmentadas,con muchos componentes; también apuntan a la influencia de grupos de co-autores en el tema general de la revista. En el análisis de la rede semántica de títulos de artículos, los temas que se destacaron son el resultado de estudios coherentes con los objetivos prioritarios de investigación del Ministerio de Salud brasileño.
Subject(s)
Humans , Authorship in Scientific Publications , Bibliometrics , Public Health , Periodicals as Topic/standards , Scientific and Technical Publications , Models, Theoretical , Semantics , Social NetworkingABSTRACT
En la promoción de la salud y la prevención de enfermedades a través de la alimentación han predominado modelos cognoscitivos que asumen que la información es un motor de cambio, pero el consumidor suele decidir en función de motivos más complejos que los valores nutricionales de la comida. El propósito de esta investigación es indagar los significados psicológicos que estudiantes universitarios le otorgan a los conceptos de Comer carne, Vegetarianismo, Persona vegetariana y Alimentación saludable. Se utilizó un diseño transeccional descriptivo-comparativo, con la metodología cualitativa-cuantitativa del Método de Redes Semánticas Naturales, con 60 estudiantes universitarios. A los conceptos Comer carne y Vegetarianismo los estudiantes atribuyen significados a partir de productos alimenticios concretos más que de características subjetivas que relacionen a ellos. A Persona vegetariana asocian palabras que la definen como saludable y enfermiza al mismo tiempo, mientras que Alimentación saludable se describe, según las definidoras, como una dieta "balanceada" con muchas frutas y verduras y poca carne. Se destacan también las diferencias entre hombres y mujeres en estas conceptualizaciones, que señalan dinámicas de género relacionadas con la alimentación y la salud.
The prevailing cognitive models for the promotion of health and prevention of disease through good diet assume that information is an incentive for change. However, consumers tend to choose their food based on motives more complex than nutritional values. The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychological meanings that Chilean university students attribute to the concepts of Eating meat, Vegetarianism, Vegetarian person and Healthy diet. A descriptive-comparative cross-sectional design was used, applying a quantitative-qualitative Natural Semantic Network instrument to 60 university students. Students attribute meanings to Eating meat and Vegetarianism by citing concrete food products more than subjective characteristics they associate with these concepts. Vegetarian person is defined as simultaneously healthy and sickly, while Healthy diet is described as a "balanced" diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables and less meat. Differences between concepts men and women are also discussed to highlight gender dynamics related to food and health.
ABSTRACT
Se presenta la aplicación de un método de estimación de distancias semánticas, denominado DISTSEM, en pacientes que sufrieron un Accidente Cerebro Vascular (ACV). Este método se basa en la Teoría de Propagación de la Activación (Collins & Loftus, 1975) y permite obtener la configuración de una red de conceptos en función de la estimación de distancias semánticas realizada entre pares de palabras. Se informan los resultados de la administración a 30 pacientes con ACV y a un grupo control de 30 sujetos. Se analizaron cuali y cuantitativamente los patrones hallados en los pacientes y se compararon con los del otro grupo. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto que algunos pacientes luego de sufrir un ACV realizan estimaciones de proximidad entre conceptos, distintas a las esperables de acuerdo al desempeño del grupo control. Las respuestas no fueron homogéneas. Se hallaron sujetos que establecieron escasas asociaciones entre los pares de palabras. También se hallaron sujetos que encontraron más vinculaciones que el grupo control, incluso encontrando similitudes en aquellos pares que no tenían vinculación semántica y que utilizaron justificaciones para realizar sus estimaciones, que no se corresponden con categorías semánticas sino que se basan principalmente en la funcionalidad. La lectura de estos resultados a la luz de la Teoría de Propagación de la Activación indica que dichos pacientes tienden a fallar en el proceso de búsqueda dentro de la red, particularmente en la regulación de la propagación de la activación que es necesaria para realizar la tarea.
There are many ways in which semantic organization can be assessed. The methods usually used are useful in many ways but fail to provide the possibility to visualise the configuration of a semantic network corresponding to a certain group of concepts and to make qualitative and quantitative comparisons between different networks. The aim of the current research is to show the application of a semantic distance judgment method to stroke patients. This method is called DISTSEM and it was build on the basis of Spreading Activation Theory (Collins & Loftus, 1975). It allows obtaining the configuration of a semantic network according to the semantic distance judgment realized by the individuals between pairs of concepts of different and equal semantic category given by the examiner. The method has been administered to 30 stroke patients and 30 healthy controls. In the current paper, the response patterns of the patients are analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively and comparisons are made with the production of healthy controls. In the first place, all the matrixes were correlated with an interjudges matrix and the results show that strokepatients obtained significantly lower correlations than controls. In the second place, the matrixes of the stroke patients were correlated with a matrix that represented the mode of the estimations made by the group of healthy subjects. There were found two atypical groups. On the one hand, there was a group of patients that found scarce relations between concepts. On the other hand, there was another group that found a great number of relations between concepts, including relations between concepts that were not from the same semantic category. This data can be interpreted in light of Collins and Loftus theory as a failure of the spreading of the activation. Some patients seem to fail in the searching process within the network, particularly in the control of the spread of the activation necessary to look for the similarities requested in the task. In the first case, there was an inhibition in the activation spreading, which did not allow reaching the intersection node between the presented pair of concepts. In the second case, there was an activation spreading superior than expected for that task, that is to say that it failed the inhibition of the competitors that allow establishing the estimation accurate for the task (Howard, Nickel, Coltheart, & Cole-Virtue, 2006). Furthermore, a Multiple Correspondence Analysis was performed with the justifications used in each election. This analysis showed that there was a group of patients that tended to use atypical justifications in some pairs of concepts. Some of these patients justify their elections using functional justifications (e.g., "They are alike because they are useful for men"), another group used perceptual justifications (e.g., "They are alike because they have legs") and there was a small group that found scarce similarities. This indicates that the justifications used by this group of stroke patients tend to be less precise and less adequate for the context of the task. This inappropriate selection of responses leads to an explanation related to executive functions, which would be responsible for selecting the most accurate response according to the context. To sum up, this paper shows some ways in which data can be visualized and some means to analyse and interpret data resulting from the application of the DISTSEM method.