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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Adaptive Cognitive Mechanisms to Maintain Calibrated Trust and Reliance in Automation

Trust calibration for a human–machine team is the process by which a human adjusts their expectations of the automation’s reliability and trustworthiness; adaptive support for trust calibration is needed to engender appropriate reliance on automation. Herein, we leverage an instance-based learning ACT-R cognitive model of decisions to obtain and rely on an automated assistant for visual search in a UAV interface. This cognitive model matches well with the human predictive power statistics measuring reliance decisions; we obtain from the model an internal estimate of automation reliability that mirrors human subjective ratings. The model is able to predict the effect of various potential disruptions, such as environmental changes or particular classes of adversarial intrusions on human trust in automation. Finally, we consider the use of model predictions to improve automation transparency that account for human cognitive biases in order to optimize the bidirectional interaction between human and machine through supporting trust calibration. The implications of our findings for the design of reliable and trustworthy automation are discussed.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Mind the gaps! Climate scientists should heed lessons in collaborative storytelling from William Shakespeare

Abstract To co‐produce locally relevant climate knowledge, climate scientists are engaging in new collaborations—with stakeholders and with scholars in the humanities, arts, and social sciences. In our work as a Shakespeare scholar‐turned‐public‐humanist and a climate scientist, we have created a methodology that allows researchers and communities to co‐produce knowledge by co‐producing narratives. We combine principles from emerging climate “storylines” research with collaborative storytelling inspired by William Shakespeare's plays and theatrical practices. Shakespeare's plays spark collaborations and interpretations, in part, because of how Shakespeare leaves gaps in the narrative. These gaps allow others to enter as collaborators, creating a “cognitive ecology” that fosters knowledge and action among all engaged. Integrating these methods into climate storyline‐making offers a radical paradigm: it upends the scientist's role as the focal storyteller and expert, and fosters, instead, partnership, equity, and a co‐exploration of multiple uncertainties. It is time for researchers to cede control to a cognitive ecology of collaborative action. This article is categorized under: Trans‐Disciplinary Perspectives > Humanities and the Creative Arts

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Tau accumulation and atrophy predict amyloid independent cognitive decline in aging

INTRODUCTION: Amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau pathology are cross-sectionally associated with atrophy and cognitive decline in aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: We investigated relationships between concurrent longitudinal measures of Aβ (Pittsburgh compound B [PiB] positron emission tomography [PET]), tau (flortaucipir [FTP] PET), atrophy (structural magnetic resonance imaging), episodic memory (EM), and non-memory (NM) in 78 cognitively healthy older adults (OA). RESULTS: Entorhinal FTP change was correlated with EM decline regardless of Aβ, but meta-temporal FTP and global PiB change were only associated with EM and NM decline in Aβ+ OA. Voxel-wise analyses revealed significant associations between temporal lobe FTP change and EM decline in all groups. PiB and FTP change were not associated with structural change, suggesting a functional or microstructural mechanism linking these measures to cognitive decline. DISCUSSION: Our results show that longitudinal Aβ is linked to cognitive decline only in the presence of elevated Aβ, but longitudinal temporal lobe tau is associated with memory decline regardless of Aβ status.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Suisun Summit 2022: Emerging Themes and Open Questions in qEEG and Neurotherapies

The Suisun Summit 2022 was a gathering of 70 clinicians, educators, and researchers in quantitative electroencephalography and neurofeedback. During this 5-day event, several themes emerged in talks or discussion groups: EEG/qEEG Reading Skills; Medication Effects and Pharmaco-EEG; Technological Advancements; Emerging Concerns; and Growing Community Prestige through Research. Participants were asked to summarize what they believed to be the most important messages from the event to share with colleagues who were not in attendance, resulting in this review. A unifying concept for all the themes was a desire for higher quality, standardized EEG/qEEG education that provides depth as well as breadth. Models of clinical care that encourage open communication with prescribers and functional medicine specialists were strongly emphasized. Abstracts from all presentations are attached in Addendum B.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Neck Muscle Coactivation Response to Varied Levels of Mental Workload During Simulated Flight Tasks

Objective To evaluate neck muscle coactivation across different levels of mental workload during simulated flight tasks. Background Neck pain (NP) is highly prevalent among military aviators. Given the complex nature within the flight environment, mental workload may be a risk factor for NP. This may induce higher levels of neck muscle coactivity, which over time may accelerate fatigue, increase neck discomfort, and affect flight task performance. Method Three counterbalanced mental workload conditions represented by simulated flight tasks modulated by interstimulus frequency and complexity were investigated using the Modifiable Multitasking Environment (ModME). The primary measure was a neck coactivation index to describe the neuromuscular effort of the neck muscles as a system. Additional measures included perceived workload (NASA TLX), subjective discomfort, and task performance. Participants ( n = 60; 30M, 30F) performed three test conditions over 1 hr each while seated in a simulated seating environment. Results Neck coactivation indices (CoA) and subjective neck discomfort corresponded with increasing level of mental workload. Average CoAs for low, medium, and high workloads were: .0278(SD = .0232), .0286(SD = .0231), and .0295(SD = .0228), respectively. NASA TLX mental, temporal, effort, and overall scores also increased with the level of mental workload assigned. For ModME task performance, the overall performance score, monitoring accuracy, and resource management accuracy decreased while reaction times increased with the increasing level of mental workload. Communication accuracy was lowest with the low mental workload but had higher reaction times relative to increasing workload. Conclusion Mental workload affects neck muscle coactivation during combinations of simulated flight tasks within a simulated helicopter seating environment. Application The results of this study provide insights into the physical response to mental workload. With increasing multisensory modalities within the work environment, these insights may assist the consideration of physical effects from cognitive factors.

Behavioral Sciences↗
DOE OSTI2025

Immersive Analytics in Critical Spatial Domains: From Materials to Energy Systems

Immersive analytics (IA) leverages virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality to transform how users interact with complex datasets across domains such as science, industry, and education. These immersive technologies offer spatial and multimodal environments that foster intuitive exploration, but they also introduce challenges related to cognitive load, interface design, and system performance. Here, this article presents a comprehensive review of visualization techniques, interaction models, and multimodal inputs utilized in IA. Drawing on case studies in scientific visualization, industrial training, and educational communication, we examine both the potential and limitations of current systems. Finally, we propose future research directions, focusing on real‐time collaboration, adaptive user interfaces, and scalable data exploration strategies to advance the field.

99 - GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Double-Edged Sword: The Role of Prior Knowledge in Memory Aging

People accumulate knowledge throughout their lifespan and the accumulated knowledge influences how we encode and retrieve information in memory processing. This study aims to investigate the role of knowledge in associative memory across the adult lifespan, and specifically examines the effects of two material properties that interact with prior knowledge: congruency – whether the material is congruent with people’s prior knowledge, and ambiguity – whether the material is ambiguous to interpret based on prior knowledge. 273 participants (aged 22–70 years old) completed an incidental memory task online. Participants were shown pictures depicting an object in a scene and judged if the object was likely or unlikely to be in the particular scene. Later, in the recognition test, participants were asked to identify if the exact picture was presented earlier. The pictures were manipulated to have varying levels of congruency, meaning that some depicted likely object–scene pairs and some unlikely. We also measured how different the likely/unlikely judgment for each object–scene pair was across all participants to determine the ambiguity level of the object–scene pair: some were more likely to receive diverse responses across people, whereas others are unambiguously consistent (or inconsistent) with common knowledge shared by most people. We used mixed-effects logistic regressions to predict memory outcome for each trial as a function of age, age 2 , congruency/ambiguity, and their interactions. The object–scene pairs perceived as congruent had higher hit rates than incongruent ones, as well as higher false alarm rates, especially in middle-aged and older people. Higher ambiguity was also related to both greater true and false memory, independent of age. Finally, the effect of ambiguity only emerged when the object–scene pair was perceived incongruent. The results suggest that people rely on prior knowledge to process new information and that this reliance improves hit responses, but also induces false memories particularly for middle-aged and older people, suggesting a double-edged role of knowledge in associative memory and its disproportionate influence on memory aging. Over-reliance on knowledge in older adults, which has been suspected in other cognitive processes, may be one of the mechanisms underlying associative memory decrease in aging.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

“When I talk about it, my eyes light up!” Impacts of a national laboratory internship on community college student success

Participation in technical/research internships may improve undergraduate graduation rates and persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), yet little is known about the benefits of these activities a) for community college students, b) when hosted by national laboratories, and c) beyond the first few years after the internship. We applied Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to investigate alumni perspectives about how CCI at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) impacted their academic/career activities. We learned that alumni had low confidence and expectations of success in STEM as community college students. Participation in CCI increased their professional networks, expectations of success, and STEM skills, identity, and self-efficacy/confidence. Hispanic/Latinx alumni recalled the positive impact of mentors who prioritized personal connections, and women valued "warm" social environments. We propose several additions to the SCCT model, to better reflect the supports and barriers to STEM persistence for community college students.

careers↗
DOE OSTI2023

Isochronic development of cortical synapses in primates and mice

Abstract The neotenous, or delayed, development of primate neurons, particularly human ones, is thought to underlie primate-specific abilities like cognition. We tested whether synaptic development follows suit—would synapses, in absolute time, develop slower in longer-lived, highly cognitive species like non-human primates than in shorter-lived species with less human-like cognitive abilities, e.g., the mouse? Instead, we find that excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the maleMus musculus(mouse) andRhesus macaque(primate) cortex form at similar rates, at similar times after birth. Primate excitatory and inhibitory synapses and mouse excitatory synapses also prune in such an isochronic fashion. Mouse inhibitory synapses are the lone exception, which are not pruned and instead continuously added throughout life. The monotony of synaptic development clocks across species with disparate lifespans, experiences, and cognitive abilities argues that such programs are likely orchestrated by genetic events rather than experience.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2022

Longitudinal Trajectories of Memory Performance in Patients with Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Background. While breast cancer and its treatments may affect cognition, the longitudinal trajectories of cognition among those receiving differing cancer treatment types remain poorly understood. Prior research suggests hippocampal-prefrontal cortex network integrity may influence cognition, although how this network predicts performance over time remains unclear. Methods. We conducted a prospective trial including 69 patients with early-stage breast cancer receiving adjuvant therapy and 12 controls. Longitudinal cognitive testing was conducted at four visits: pretreatment-baseline, 6-7 months, 14-15 months, and 23-24 months. Cognitive composite scores of episodic memory, executive functioning, and processing speed were assessed at each timepoint. Baseline structural MRI was obtained in a subset of these participants, and hippocampal and prefrontal cortex regional volumes were extracted. Results. Longitudinal linear mixed modeling revealed significant group by time interactions on memory performance, controlling for age and education. Post hoc analyses revealed this effect was driven by patients treated with chemotherapy or chemotherapy plus hormone therapy, who demonstrated the least improvement in memory scores over time. Treatment group did not significantly influence the relationship between time and processing speed or executive functioning. Neither pretreatment hippocampal nor prefrontal volume differed between groups, and there were no significant group by time by baseline regional volume effects on cognition. Conclusion. Patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with chemotherapy or chemotherapy plus hormone therapy benefit less from practice effects seen in healthy controls on memory tests. Loss of longitudinal practice effect may be a new and clinically relevant measure for capturing patients’ experience of cognitive difficulties after treatment.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Subventricular Accumulation of Cu in the Aging Mouse Brain Does Not Associate with Anticipated Increases in Markers of Oxidative Stress

Natural aging is associated with mild memory loss and cognitive decline, and age is the greatest risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease. There is substantial evidence that oxidative stress is a major contributor to both natural aging and neurodegenerative disease, and coincidently, levels of redox active metals such as Fe and Cu are known to be elevated later in life. Recently, a pronounced age-related increase in Cu content has been reported to occur in mice and rats around a vital regulatory brain region, the subventricular zone of lateral ventricles. In our study herein, we have characterized lateral ventricle Cu content in a unique murine model of accelerated aging, senescence accelerated mouse-prone 8 (SAMP8) mice. Our results confirm an age-related increase in ventricle Cu content, consistent with the studies by others in wild-type mice and rats. Specifically, we observed Cu content to increase over the time frame 1 to 5 months and 5 to 9 months, but interestingly, no significant increase occurred between 9 and 12 months (although brain Cu content at 12 months was significantly elevated relative to 1 and 5 month-old animals). Despite the magnitude of Cu increase observed within the cells that comprise the subventricular zone of lateral ventricles (average 3 mM Cu, with isolated subcellular concentrations of 17 mM), we did not detect spectroscopic markers of thiol oxidation, protein aggregation, or lipid oxidation. The lack of evidence for oxidative stress in ex vivo animal tissue is in contrast to in vitro studies demonstrating that thiol, protein, and lipid oxidation is pronounced at these Cu concentrations. We suggest that our findings most likely indicate that the Cu ions in this brain region are sequestered in an unreactive form, possibly extended chains of Cu-thiolate complexes, which do not readily redox cycle in the aqueous cytosol. In conclusion, these results also appear to partially challenge the long-held view that age-related increases in brain metal content drive oxidative stress as we did not observe a concomitant association between age-related Cu increase and markers of oxidative stress, nor did we observe a net increase in Cu content between mice aged 9 and 12 months.

X-ray fluorescence↗
DOE OSTI2024

A multilayer network analysis of Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis: Roles for p‐tau, synaptic peptides, and physical activity

INTRODUCTION: In the aging brain, cognitive abilities emerge from the coordination of complex pathways arising from a balance between protective lifestyle and environmental factors and accumulation of neuropathologies. METHODS: As part of the Rush Memory and Aging Project (n = 440), we measured accelerometer-based actigraphy, cognitive performance, and after brain autopsy, selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry. Multilevel network analysis was used to examine the relationships among the molecular machinery of vesicular neurotransmission, Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology, cognition, and late-life physical activity. RESULTS: Synaptic peptides involved in neuronal secretory function were the most influential contributors to the multilayer network, reflecting the complex interdependencies among AD pathology, synaptic processes, and late-life cognition. Older adults with lower physical activity evidenced stronger adverse relationships among phosphorylated tau peptides, markers of synaptic integrity, and tangle pathology. DISCUSSION: Network-based approaches simultaneously model interdependent biological processes and advance understanding of the role of physical activity in age-associated cognitive impairment. Highlights: Network-based approaches simultaneously model interdependent biological processes. Secretory synaptic peptides were influential contributors to the multilayer network. Older adults with lower physical activity had adverse relationships among pathology. There was interdependence among phosphorylated tau, synaptic integrity, and tangles. Network methods elucidate the role of physical activity in cognitive impairment.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Intermittent fasting enhances long-term memory consolidation, adult hippocampal neurogenesis, and expression of longevity gene Klotho

Daily calorie restriction (CR) and intermittent fasting (IF) enhance longevity and cognition but the effects and mechanisms that differentiate these two paradigms are unknown. We examined whether IF in the form of every-other-day feeding enhances cognition and adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) when compared to a matched 10% daily CR intake and ad libitum conditions. After 3 months under IF, female C57BL6 mice exhibited improved long-term memory retention. IF increased the number of BrdU-labeled cells and neuroblasts in the hippocampus, and microarray analysis revealed that the longevity gene Klotho (Kl) was upregulated in the hippocampus by IF only. Furthermore, we found that downregulating Kl in human hippocampal progenitor cells led to decreased neurogenesis, whereas Kl overexpression increased neurogenesis. Finally, histological analysis of Kl knockout mice brains revealed that Kl is required for AHN, particularly in the dorsal hippocampus. These data suggest that IF is superior to 10% CR in enhancing memory and identifies Kl as a novel candidate molecule that regulates the effects of IF on cognition likely via AHN enhancement.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Micromovements and discomfort associated with flight mission with helmet operation tasks with different levels of cognitive workload

When performing stationary tasks under elevated cognitive workload, individuals must perform continual muscle contractions to maintain stability of the body, resulting in fatigue of the postural muscles. When the muscles perform these contractions in a prolonged manner, the body potentially responds through small changes in body movements—micromovements that may lead to discomfort. The study purpose was to evaluate impact of cognitive load on micromovements. The micromovements were measured during three different cognitive workloads; low, medium, and high. The NASA-TLX score was used to evaluate the perceived mental workload and discomfort was assessed by visual analog scale. In total, 60 subjects (30 males and 30 females) were recruited and performed cognitive tasks that simulated flight operations such as changing the radio frequency based on air traffic control messages, balancing the fuel levels in simulated fuel tanks, and aiming a reticle in a designated moving target using the cyclic control. Cognitive load was defined by the frequency of events. Micromovements were defined by changes in the center of pressure (COP) of the seat pan and COP standard deviation. It was found that the high cognitive workloads had the highest NASA-TLX scores including mental demands, temporal demands, and effort. The neck area had the highest overall levels of discomfort followed by upper back. The highest standard deviation for COP shift and number of micromovements occurred for medium cognitive workloads. In conclusion, while there were some interesting trends, few trends reached a statistical significance due to high variability among subjects for the outcome variables.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Microglia are implicated in the development of paclitaxel chemotherapy-associated cognitive impairment in female mice

Chemotherapy remains a mainstay in the treatment of many types of cancer even though it is associated with debilitating behavioral side effects referred to as “chemobrain,” including difficulty concentrating and memory impairment. The predominant hypothesis in the field is that systemic inflammation drives these cognitive impairments, although the brain mechanisms by which this occurs remain poorly understood. Here, we hypothesized that microglia are activated by chemotherapy and drive chemotherapy-associated cognitive impairments. To test this hypothesis, we treated female C57BL/6 mice with a clinically-relevant regimen of a common chemotherapeutic, paclitaxel (6 i.p. doses at 30 mg/kg), which impairs memory of an aversive stimulus as assessed via a contextual fear conditioning (CFC) paradigm. In this work, paclitaxel increased the percent area of IBA1 staining in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Moreover, using a machine learning random forest classifier we identified immunohistochemical features of reactive microglia in multiple hippocampal subregions that were distinct between vehicle- and paclitaxel-treated mice. Paclitaxel treatment also increased gene expression of inflammatory cytokines in a microglia-enriched population of cells from mice. Lastly, a selective inhibitor of colony stimulating factor 1 receptor, PLX5622, was employed to deplete microglia and then assess CFC performance following paclitaxel treatment. PLX5622 significantly reduced hippocampal gene expression of paclitaxel-induced proinflammatory cytokines and restored memory, suggesting that microglia play a critical role in the development of chemotherapy-associated neuroinflammation and cognitive impairments. This work provides critical evidence that microglia drive paclitaxel-associated cognitive impairments, a key mechanistic detail for determining preventative and intervention strategies for these burdensome side effects.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Association of AK4 Protein From Stem Cell–Derived Neurons With Cognitive Reserve

Background and Objectives: Identifying protein targets that provide cognitive reserve is a strategy to prevent and treat Alzheimer disease and Alzheimer disease related dementias (AD/ADRD). Previous studies using bulk human brain tissue reported 12 proteins associated with cognitive reserve. This study examined whether the same proteins from induced neurons (iNs) are associated with cognitive reserve of their human donors. Methods: Here, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines were generated from cryopreserved peripheral blood mononuclear cells of older adults who were autopsied as part of the Religious Orders Study or Rush Memory and Aging Project. Neurons were induced from iPSCs using a standard neurogenin2 protocol. Tandem mass tag proteomics analyses were conducted on iNs day 21. Cognitive reserve of their human donors was measured as person-specific slopes of cognitive change not accounted for by common neuropathologies. Results: The 53 human donors died at a mean age of 91 years, all were non-Latino White, and 36 (67.9%) were female. Eighteen were diagnosed with Alzheimer dementia proximate to death, and 34 had pathologic AD diagnosis at autopsy. Approximately 60% of the donors had above-average cognitive reserve such that their cognition declined slower than an average person with comparable burdens of neuropathologies. Eight of the 12 candidate proteins were quantified in iNs proteomics analyses. Higher adenylate kinase 4 (AK4) expression in iNs was associated with lower cognitive reserve, consistent with the previous report for brain AK4 expression. Discussion: By replicating cortical protein associations with cognitive reserve in human iNs, these data provide a valuable molecular readout for studying complex clinical phenotypes such as cognitive reserve in a dish.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗