No abstract

Cognitive load theory has been a major influence for the field of educational psychology. One of the main guidelines of the theory is that extraneous cognitive load should be reduced to leave sufficient cognitive resources for the actual learning to take place. In recent years, research regarding various design factors, in particular from the field of digital and online learning, have challenged this assumption. Interactive learning media, immersion, disfluency, realism, and redundant elements constitute five major challenges, since these design factors have been shown to induce task-irrelevant cognitive load, i.e., extraneous load, while still promoting motivation and learning. However, currently there is no unified approach to integrate such effects into cognitive load theory. By including aspects of constructive alignment, an approach aimed at fostering deep forms of learning in order to achieve specific learning outcomes, we devise a strategy to balance cognitive load in digital learning. Most importantly, we suggest considering both the positive and negative effects on cognitive load that certain design factors of digital learning can cause. In addition, a number of research results highlight that some types of positive effects of digital learning can only be detected using a suitable assessment method. This strategy of aligning cognitive load with desired learning outcomes will be useful for formulating theory-guided and empirically testable hypotheses, but can be particularly helpful for practitioners to embrace emerging technologies while minimizing potential extraneous drawbacks.

Rumen microbiota are essential for maintaining digestive and metabolic functions, producing methane as a byproduct. Dairy heifers produce large amounts of methane based on fermentation of digested organic matter, with adverse consequences for feed efficiency and the environment. It is therefore important to understand the influence of host age on the relationship between microbiota and methane production. This study explored the age effect on the relationship between microbial communities and enteric methane production in dairy cows and heifers using high-throughput sequencing. Methane production and volatile fatty acid concentrations were age-related. Heifers (9–10 months) had lower methane production but higher methane production per dry matter intake (DMI). The acetate:propionate ratio decreased significantly with increasing age. Age-related microbiota changes in the rumen were reflected by a significant shift in bacterial taxa, but relatively stable archaeal taxa. Prevotella, Ruminococcus, Flavonifractor, Succinivibrio, and Methanobrevibacter were affected by age. This study revealed different associations between predominant bacterial phylotypes and Methanobrevibacter with increasing age. Prevotella was strongly correlated with Methanobrevibacter in heifers; howerver, in older cows (96–120 months) this association was replaced by a correlation between Succinivibrio and Methanobrevibacter. This shift may account for the age-related difference in rumen fermentation and methane production per DMI.

Recent studies have demonstrated that face perception is influenced by emotional contextual information. However, because facial expressions are routinely decoded and understood during social communication, sociality should also be considered—that is, it seems necessary to explore whether emotional contextual effects are influenced by the sociality of contextual information. Furthermore, although one behavioral study has explored the effects of context on selective attention to faces, the exact underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Therefore, the current study investigated how valence and sociality of contextual information influenced the early and later stages of neutral face processing. We first employed an established affective learning procedure, wherein neutral faces were paired with verbal information that differed in valence (negative, neutral) and sociality (social, non-social), to manipulate contextual information. Then, to explore the effects of context on face perception, participants performed a face perception task, while the N170, early posterior negativity (EPN), and late positive potential (LPP) components were measured. Finally, to explore the effects of context on selective attention, participants performed a dot probe task while the N2pc was recorded. The results showed that, in the face perception task, faces paired with negative social information elicited greater EPN and LPP than did faces paired with neutral social information; no differences existed between faces paired with negative and neutral non-social information. In the dot probe task, faces paired with negative social information elicited a more negative N2pc amplitude (indicating attentional bias) than did faces paired with neutral social information; the N2pc did not differ between faces paired with negative and neutral non-social information. Together, these results suggest that contextual information influenced both face perception and selective attention, and these context effects were governed by the interaction between valence and sociality of contextual information.

Although previous research provides converging evidence for the role of posterior regions of the brain (including temporal, occipital, and parietal regions) involved in inhibition on creative thinking, it remains unclear as to how these regions influence individual differences in creative thinking. Thus, we explored the relationship between posterior regions (i.e., hippocampal, parahippocampal, lingual gyrus, precuneus, and cuneus), inhibition function, and divergent thinking (DT) in 128 healthy college students. The results revealed that lower inhibition was associated with larger gray matter volume (GMV) in the lingual gyrus, which in turn was associated with higher DT. In addition, GMV in the lingual gyrus mediated the association between inhibition and DT. These results provide new evidence for the role of inhibition in creative thinking. Inhibition may affect the amount of information stored in long-term memory, which, in turn influences DT.