DHB Collaborative: Lifespan Dynamics of Cognition and Action

你能同时走路和说话吗？为了适应行为，生物体必须协调身心。然而，关于这如何发生的重要问题仍然存在。首先，控制的方向仅仅是心灵还是大脑对身体的控制？例如，行走时运动成分的协调是否会改变说话时认知成分的协调？运动行为通常被视为认知活动的结果或独立于认知活动（例如，思考快速进行，无论一个人坐着还是走路）。但该研究项目的初步数据证实，运动行为的协调对认知动态有影响。其次，认知动态的控制和协调在整个生命周期中如何变化？运动协调的动态具有线性进展，其中动态模式从童年时的较大分形维数变化到老年时的较小分形维数。这同样适用于认知任务吗？例如，尚不清楚认知协调性是否会随着年龄的增长而恶化。在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，范奥登博士和他的同事们将在研究整个生命周期中认知和运动行为的控制和协调时，极大地弥合这些知识差距。 他们的实证研究将有助于两个不同的领域。首先，运动和认知成分相互依赖的发现可能会颠覆认知独立于身体运动行为而展开的普遍观点。其次，关于认知活动的控制和协调如何随年龄而变化的研究结果将为发展理论提供广泛的信息，包括将行为变化与儿童或成人大脑皮层组织联系起来的理论。该项目还包括使用新的非线性递归量化分析方法作为分形分析的工具，这可能会规避线性工具的问题，提供更详细的分形行为图景，并为所有面临分形现象的领域的分形现象的研究增加方法论的严谨性。此外，对该项目的支持将提供催化资金，以全面实现辛辛那提大学计划中的认知、行动和感知跨学科中心。

How well can you walk and talk at the same time? To behave adaptively, living beings must coordinate body and mind. However important questions remain as to how this may occur. First, is the direction of control exclusively mind or brain to body? For instance does the coordination of motor components in walking change the coordination of cognitive components in talking? Motor acts are commonly treated as consequent on or independent of cognitive activity (e.g., thinking proceeds apace, whether one sits or walks). But preliminary data of this research project corroborate that coordination of motor behavior has an impact on cognitive dynamics. Second, how do control and coordination of cognitive dynamics change across the lifespan? The dynamics of motor coordination has a linear progression, in which dynamic patterns change from a greater fractal dimension in childhood to a lesser fractal dimension in old age. Does the same hold for cognitive tasks? For instance, it is unclear whether cognitive coordination deteriorates with age. With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Van Orden and his colleagues will substantially bridge these knowledge gaps as they investigate control and coordina-tion of cognitive and motor behavior across the life span. Their empirical studies will contribute to two distinct areas. First, findings of interdependence of motor and cognitive components may overhaul the common view that cognition unfolds independently of the motor actions of the body. Second, findings on how control and coordination of cognitive activity changes as a function of age will broadly inform developmental theory, including theory that links behavioral changes to cortical organization in a child's or adult's brain. The project also includes the use of new non-linear methods of recurrence quantifica-tion analysis as tools for fractal analysis, which may circumvent problems of linear tools, supply a more detailed picture of fractal behavior, and add methodological rigor to the study of fractal phenomena in all fields that confront such phenomena. Furthermore, support for this project will contribute catalytic funds to fully realize a planned interdisciplinary center for Cognition, Action & Perception at the U. of Cincinnati.