A presente pesquisa centra-se no estudo das relações entre memória de curto prazo, memória de trabalho, velocidade de processamento, processamento visuoespacial, funções executivas, atenção seletiva e alternada e desempenho matemático, uma vez que essas relações podem esclarecer as diferenças entre os alunos na aprendizagem da matemática. O trabalho teve como objeto de observação crianças da 2ª série do ensino fundamental. Consiste em um estudo com base correlacional e comparativa. A amostra desta pesquisa é composta por 40 alunos, com idade entre 8 e 9 anos. A investigação envolvendo o funcionamento neuropsicológico e o desempenho cognitivo na aprendizagem matemática é relevante, pois para desenvolver habilidades de cálculo matemático é fundamental que o aluno tenha construído o conceito de número e esta construção está vinculada ao desenvolvimento das funções neuropsicológicas. O desempenho matemático é avaliado através da Prova de Aritmética de Capovilla, Montiel e Capovilla (2007) e as funções neuropsicológicas, através de quatro subtestes da Escala Wechsler WISCIII, que são: Memória de Curto Prazo – teste de Dígitos de Ordem Direta; Memória de Trabalho – Dígitos de Ordem Inversa; Velocidade de Processamento - Procurar Símbolos e Códigos; Percepção Visuoespacial – teste de Cubos. A Função Executiva é avaliada através do Teste das Trilhas de Montiel e Capovilla (2007) e a Atenção, através do Teste de Atenção por Cancelamento de Montiel e Capovilla (2007). Observa-se uma correlação significativa entre Desempenho Matemático e Memória de Curto Prazo, Velocidade de Processamento, Função Executiva e Atenção. Neste estudo, não se encontrou uma correlação estatisticamente significativa entre as funções Memória de Trabalho e Processamento Visuoespacial. / This paper approaches the relationship amongst neuropsychological functions –Short Term Memory (STM), Working Memory (WM), Speed Processing (SP), Visual Spatial Perception (VSP), Executive Functions (EF), Attention (A) and Math Performance (MP) in 2nd grade children at a public Elementary School from Porto Alegre. It is a comparative and correlation study. The sample of this research is composed for 40 pupils with are between 8 and 9 years. Research involving neuropsychological functioning and cognitive performance in mathematics is pertinent, for it is essential that the student build the notion of number in order to develop mathematical skills and such construction relies on the expansion of neuropsychological functions. The mathematical performance is measured by the Arthmetic Test of Capovilla, Montiel and Capovilla (2007) and the neuropsychological functions are verified by subtests Wechsler WIS CIII; Short Term Memory is assessed by the Digits in Direct Order, while the Working Memory is established by the Digits in Reverse Order. The speed processing is assessed through the use of Find Symbols and Codes activities, and spatial perception is confirmed by the utilization of cubes. The Executive Function is assessed by the Trail Making of Montiel and Capovilla (2007) and attention is assessed by the Attention Test for Cancellation of Montiel and Capovilla (2007). There is a momentous correlation amid math performance and Short-Term Memory, speed processing, executive function and attention. This study one did not mett, however, the establishment of a statistically significant correlation between the Working Memory functions and the Visual Spatial Processing.

Muitas das interações que temos com o ambiente envolvem situações dinâmicas. Raramente estas situações são realizadas de maneira isolada. Em ações interceptativas, por exemplo, o sistema nervoso precisa estimar quando um alvo irá atingir uma determinada posição e constantemente ajustar os movimentos para diferentes contextos. Apesar de estudos psicofísicos terem investigado possíveis variáveis ópticas e modulações do contexto envolvidas na integração visuomotora, pouca atenção foi direcionada para compreender os mecanismos cerebrais da integração de informação visual de movimento e ações motoras em cenários dinâmicos. O objetivo geral desta tese foi investigar estes mecanismos e entender como o contexto modula a atividade cerebral em ações interceptativas em adultos jovens saudáveis. No primeiro experimento, foram investigadas quais áreas estão associadas com a integração entre informação visual de movimento e ação motora sincronizatória. Foi utilizado desenho relacionado à eventos em ressonância magnética funcional avaliando a atividade cerebral em tarefa de timing coincidente. Foi identificada uma rede fronto-parietal bilateral dorsal e ativação bilateral do braço ascendente do sulco temporal inferior, região funcionalmente definida como hV5+, e giro angular. No segundo experimento, foi testada a influência causal da área hV5+ e córtex pré-motor dorsal no viés comportamental que tentativa prévia exerce sobre a tentativa atual usando estimulação magnética transcraniana. Os resultados deste experimento sugerem que o efeito da tentativa prévia depende fortemente de um mecanismo de memória de curto prazo implícito no córtex pré-motor dorsal e moderadamente da área hV5+. No terceiro experimento, o objetivo foi verificar o efeito da repetição e expectativa de repetição da velocidade do estímulo nas áreas associadas com ações interceptativas. Para isso, os participantes interceptaram pares de alvos móveis com velocidade igual ou diferente em experimento relacionado à eventos em ressonância magnética funcional. A expectativa sobre a repetição da velocidade do estímulo foi manipulada pela probabilidade de repetição da velocidade do alvo em diferentes blocos. Os resultados comportamentais indicaram que a velocidade do primeiro estímulo enviesou o erro temporal dos participantes para responder ao segundo estímulo e que a manipulação da expectativa dos participantes não resultou em diferença no erro temporal. Não houve modulação da amplitude do sinal BOLD pela repetição do estímulo ou pela manipulação da expectativa sobre a repetição de velocidade. No quarto experimento, foram investigados os mecanismos cerebrais que permitem que a expectativa influencie o comportamento em uma tarefa de timing coincidente. Para isso, a expectativa sobre a velocidade do alvo foi manipulada a cada tentativa por meio de dicas em um experimento relacionado à eventos em ressonância magnética funcional. Os resultados deste experimento mostraram que a expectativa sobre a velocidade do alvo aumenta o sinal BOLD para expectativa válida em hV5+ e córtex pré-motor dorsal. Em geral, os resultados desta tese mostram que a integração visuomotora em ações interceptativas está associada com atividade em uma rede fronto-parietal dorsal e da área hV5+. Destas áreas, foi verificado que o córtex pré-motor dorsal e área hV5+ tem papel de armazenar informação da tentativa prévia que enviesa o comportamento na tentativa atual. Por fim, foi mostrado que a expectativa sobre a velocidade do alvo modula o sinal BOLD em áreas iniciais do processamento sensorial e de planejamento motor. Estes resultados avançam o conhecimento sobre os mecanismos neurais associados à integração visuomotora em ações interceptativas e mostram como o contexto em que a tarefa é realizada modula essa integração / Many of our interactions with the environment happen in dynamic situations. These situations are rarely experienced in isolation. In interceptive actions, for example, the nervous system needs to estimate when a target will arrive at a certain position and constantly adjust movements for different contexts. Although psychophysical studies have investigated the putative optical variables and contextual modulations in visuomotor integration, less attention has been devoted to understand brain mechanisms underlying the integration of visual motion information and motor actions in dynamic scenarios. The main goal of the present thesis was to investigate the brain mechanisms involved in visuomotor integration of interceptive actions in healthy young adults. In the first experiment, it was investigated which brain areas are associated with integration of visual motion information and timed motor action in an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment. Results showed greater BOLD signal in a bilateral dorsal fronto-parietal network, as well as hV5+ and angular gyrus. In the second experiment, it was tested the causal influence of area hV5+ and dorsal premotor cortex on the behavioral bias that previous trial exerts on the current trial using transcranial magnetic stimulation. The results of this experiment provide causal evidence that the previous trial effect is mediated to a large extent by an implicit shortterm memory mechanism in the dorsal premotor cortex, and to a lesser extent by hV5 +, in a visuomotor integration task with moving objects. In the third experiment, the goal was to verify the effect of repetition and expectation about repetition of speed in brain areas associated with visuomotor integration in interceptive actions. To that end, participants intercepted pairs of moving targets with either same or different speed in an event-related functional magnetic resonance experiment. Expectation about speed repetition of target speed was manipulated through the probability of speed repetition in different blocks. Behavioral results indicate that speed from the first stimulus biased participants\' temporal error for the second stimulus. However, manipulation of participants\' expectation did not affect temporal error. In addition, BOLD signal amplitude was modulated by neither stimulus speed repetition nor expectation. In the forth experiment, brain mechanisms that allow expectation to influence behavior in a coincident timing task were investigated. Participant\'s expectation about target speed was manipulated on a trial-by-trial basis by means of cues in an event-related functional magnetic resonance experiment. The results of this experiment showed that expectation about target speed increases BOLD signal for valid expectations in hV5+ and dorsal premotor cortex. Overall, the results in this thesis show that visuomotor integration in interceptive actions is associated with activity in a dorsal fronto-parietal network and hV5+. In addition, it was verified that dorsal premotor cortex and hV5+ have a role in storing information from previous trial that bias behavior on the current trial. Lastly, it was shown that expectation about upcoming target speed modulates BOLD signal in early stage visual motion processing as well as motor planning areas. These results advance knowledge about the brain mechanisms associated with visuomotor integration in interceptive actions and show how context modulates this integration process

La consommation de cannabis chez les adolescents et les jeunes adultes constitue un facteur de risque de développement de symptômes psychotiques. L’objectif de cette thèse était d’étudier les conséquences à l’âge adulte d’une exposition chronique aux cannabinoïdes pendant l’adolescence. Nous avons réalisé ces études chez le Rat et démontré que l’administration chronique d’un agoniste des récepteurs cannabinoïdes, le CP55, 940, durant l’adolescence (JPN 29 à 50) entraîne à l’âge adulte des déficits significatifs et durables de la mémoire à court terme et de la mémoire de travail spatiale. Le même traitement administré à l’âge adulte (JPN 70 à 91) n’entraîne pas de déficits cognitifs à long terme. L’apport de ces travaux et leur originalité a été de contribuer à la compréhension des mécanismes sous-jacents au développement de ces déficits cognitifs. Nous avons mis en évidence, chez ces rats à l’âge adulte, une diminution significative de l’amplitude de la PLT induite sur le circuit reliant l’hippocampe au cortex préfrontal, fortement impliqué dans les processus de mémoire et dans la physiopathologie de la schizophrénie. Ce déficit de PLT a été mis en relation avec des modifications de la morphologie des neurones pyramidaux de la couche II/III du cortex préfrontal et de certains marqueurs de la plasticité synaptique. Ces résultats confirment que l'adolescence est une période critique et vulnérable aux effets délétères des cannabinoïdes sur les processus cognitifs. L’étude des bases neurobiologiques de ces effets, en particulier en ce qui concerne les altérations des circuits préfrontaux, devrait améliorer notre compréhension des mécanismes de l'émergence de la psychose et conduire à de nouvelles stratégies thérapeutiques et de prévention. / Cannabis use among adolescents and young adults is a risk factor for developing psychotic symptoms. The aim of this thesis was to study the consequences at different levels (behavioral, functional and structural in adulthood) of chronic exposure to synthetic cannabinoids during adolescence in the rat. We showed that chronic administration of a cannabinoid receptor agonist, CP 55940, during adolescence (PND 29-50) in rats leads to significant long-term deleterious effects in short-term memory and in spatial working memory in adulthood. The same treatment administered in adulthood (PND 70-91) does not cause long-term cognitive deficits. We further demonstrated that cannabinoid during adolescence leads in adults to a significant decrease in the expression of LTP induced in hippocampal to prefrontal cortex synapses, a circuit directly involved in memory processes and in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. This alteration could be associated with changes in the morphology of pyramidal neurons in layer II / III of PFC and/or in the density of synaptic markers that we also identified in these cannabinoid-treated rats. These findings demonstrate that adolescence is a critical and vulnerable period to the deleterious effects of cannabinoids on cognitive processes. The neurobiological basis for this effect, especially with regard to alterations to prefrontal circuitry, which we partially provide should improve our understanding of the emergence of psychosis and lead to new therapeutic strategies and prevention.

Aprender nuevas palabras en un idioma extranjero, es decir, el léxico necesario que fundamenta la posibilidad del desarrollo de las destrezas comunicativas, constituye uno de los problemas más complejos en el proceso tanto de enseñanza como de aprendizaje del español como lengua extranjera. En relación con el aprendizaje del vocabulario identificamos un posible problema; el riesgo de que el número de palabras aprendidas se olvide aumenta después de la prueba o los ejercicios. Si nuestros alumnos no pueden ampliar su vocabulario su competencia comunicativa tampoco va a desarrollar.Para poder entender por qué ocurre el problema y cómo se podría encontrar otros recursos didácticos que contribuyan a un cambio en el proceso, investigamos un fenómeno conocido por la psicología de la educación como el efecto de la memoria espaciada - un fenómeno cognitivo que se benéfica de las repeticiones, pero siempre distribuidas en el tiempo. Estrategias de enseñanza que utilizan dicho efecto se refiere como aprendizaje distribuido.Mediante un pequeño estudio analizamos el efecto de la memoria espaciada (ME) como método alternativa. De este estudio podemos inferir que existe un efecto de memoria espaciada tangible en el aprendizaje de los alumnos que estudiaron según un modelo distribuido, es decir con repeticiones.Pudimos constatar un resultado positivo en este pequeño estudio piloto. Los alumnos lograron recordar en la examinación el 85% de las palabras ejercitadas en la clase un mes después. Este resultado abre nuevas perspectivas de estudio e indica que puede haber alternativas didácticas en la enseñanza del vocabulario de ELE en el salón escolar sueco. / Studying and learning words in a foreign language in order to develop a vocabulary that promotes communicative competence, is a daunting task both for students and teachers of Spanish as a foreign language in Sweden and elsewhere. In this context we identify one problem; the possibility that words learned in class will be forgotten as soon as they have been tested on a quiz or exam. If our students cannot incorporate new words into their vocabulary it is quite possible that their communicative development will stop or slow down.       In order to understand this problem and find alternative ways to teach vocabulary we investigated a phenomena called ‘the spaced memory effect’. In the field of educational psychology this is when the learner study with repetitions distributed over time. Practices that build on the spaced memory effect are often called distributed learning.       In a small study we tested this effect as an alternative way of teaching and learning vocabulary. From this study we could conclude that the effect is possible to measure and that it is consistent in all the test subjects that followed a study model that was based on repetitions or a distributed learning model. It was shown that after one month the students were able to remember 85% of the words.       The results from this small study provides new perspectives for further investigation and suggests that there are alternative ways of teaching Spanish vocabulary in Swedish schools.

Doctorat en sciences psychologiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

En esta tesis, el objetivo principal fue diseñar y desarrollar una nueva tarea que combinara interfaces de usuario naturales (NUI) y dispositivos inteligentes para evaluar la memoria espacial utilizando estímulos auditivos, y su validación tanto en niños como en adultos. La nueva tarea evalúa la capacidad de los participantes para detectar y localizar estímulos auditivos que se emiten en diferentes posiciones del área de trabajo. La tarea reconoce los movimientos de los brazos del usuario, utilizando para ello Kinect. Los dispositivos inteligentes (conejos Karotz) se utilizan para emitir estímulos auditivos y también como señales visuales. Por lo tanto, la tarea combina estímulos auditivos con claves visuales reales para la evaluación de la memoria espacial. La tarea incluye un total de 45 estímulos acústicos, repartidos en 5 niveles y cada nivel consta de 3 ensayos. Nuestra tarea es el primer trabajo que combina NUI y dispositivos inteligentes para la evaluación de la memoria espacial. Del mismo modo, nuestra tarea es el primer trabajo que utiliza estímulos auditivos para evaluar la memoria espacial. Para la validación, se llevaron a cabo 3 estudios. El rendimiento de nuestra tarea se comparó con métodos tradicionales. El primer estudio involucró niños con y sin síntomas de falta de atención. Un total de 34 niños participaron (17 niños con falta de atención). Los resultados demostraron que los niños con falta de atención mostraron un rendimiento estadísticamente peor en la tarea. Estos niños con falta de atención también mostraron un rendimiento estadísticamente peor con el método tradicional para evaluar el aprendizaje de sonidos verbales. No se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en el tiempo dedicado por cada grupo para completar la tarea. Los resultados sugieren que la tarea es una buena herramienta para distinguir las dificultades de memoria espacial en niños con falta de atención. El segundo estudio comparó el rendimiento en la tarea entre niños mayores y adultos (32 niños y 38 adultos sanos). Los resultados de rendimiento con la tarea fueron significativamente más bajos para los niños mayores. Se encontraron correlaciones entre nuestra tarea y los métodos tradicionales, lo que indica que nuestra tarea ha demostrado ser una herramienta válida para evaluar la memoria espacial mediante el uso de estímulos auditivos tanto para niños mayores como para adultos. A partir del análisis, podemos concluir que la satisfacción con la tarea de los niños mayores fue significativamente mayor que la de los adultos. El tercer estudio incluyó un total de 148 participantes (niños más pequeños, niños mayores y adultos). Los resultados están en línea con el segundo estudio. El rendimiento de la tarea se relacionó significativamente, de forma incremental y directa con el grupo de edad (niños más pequeños <niños mayores <adultos). Los resultados fueron mejores para adultos y niños mayores; resultado que es consistente con la idea de que los adultos pueden almacenar más elementos en la memoria a corto plazo que los niños. Las siguientes conclusiones generales se han extraído del desarrollo y los tres estudios: * Las interfaces de usuario naturales y los dispositivos inteligentes son apropiados para desarrollar tareas para la evaluación de la memoria espacial. * Como juego de ordenador, nuestra tarea facilita el control de la presentación de estímulos y el almacenamiento de las respuestas. * Nuestra tarea y tareas similares podrían usarse para la evaluación y el entrenamiento de la memoria espacial en niños y adultos. * La tarea podría ser una herramienta alternativa para evaluar la memoria espacial en niños con síntomas de falta de atención. * La tarea promueve interés y permite la evaluación de una manera ecológica. * La tarea podría ayudar a identificar alteraciones en la memoria espacial tanto en niños como en adultos. / In this thesis, the main objective was to design and develop a new task that combine Natural User Interfaces (NUI) and smart devices for assessing spatial memory using auditory stimuli, and its validation in both children and adults. The new task tests the ability of participants to detect and localize auditory stimuli that are emitted in different positions of the task area. The task recognizes the movements of the arms of the user using Kinect. Smart devices (Karotz rabbits) are used for emitting auditory stimuli and also as visual cues. Therefore, the task combines auditory stimuli with real visual cues for the assessment of spatial memory. The task includes a total of 45 acoustic stimuli, which should be randomly emitted in different locations. The task is composed of five different levels. Each level consists of 3 trials. The difference between levels lies in the number of sounds to be used in each trial. To our knowledge, our task is the first work that combines NUI and smart devices for the assessment of spatial memory. Similarly, our task is the first work that uses auditory stimuli to assess the spatial memory. For the validation, three studies were carried out to determine the efficacy and utility of our task with regard to the performance outcomes, usability, fun, perception and overall satisfaction. The performance of our task was compared with traditional methods. The first study involved children with and without symptoms of inattention. A total of 34 children participated (17 children with inattention). The results showed that the children with inattention showed statistically worse performance in the task. These children with inattention also showed statistically worse performance in the traditional method for testing the learning of verbal sounds. There were no statistically significant differences in the time spent by each group to complete the task. The results suggest that the task is a good tool for distinguishing spatial memory difficulties in children with inattention. The second study compared the performance in the task between older children and adults. A total of 70 participants were involved in this study. There were 32 healthy children from 9 to 10 years old, and 38 healthy adults from 18 to 28 years old. The performance outcomes with the task were significantly lower for the older children. Correlations were found between our task and traditional methods, indicating that our task has proven to be a valid tool for assessing spatial memory by using auditory stimuli for both older children and adults. From the analysis, we can conclude that the older children were significantly more satisfied with the task than the adults. In the third study, a total of 148 participants were involved. They were distributed in three groups (younger children, older children and adults). A total of 100 children and 48 adults participated in this study. The results are in line with the second study. The task performance was significantly incrementally and directly related to the age group (younger children <older children <adults). The results were better for adults and older children; this is consistent with the idea that adults can store more elements in short-term memory than children. The following general conclusions were extracted from the development and the studies: * Natural user interfaces and smart devices are appropriated for developing tasks for the assessment of spatial memory. * As a computer-based game, our task facilitates the control of the presentation of stimuli and the recording of responses. * Our task and similar tasks could be used for assessment and training of spatial memory in children and adults. * The task could be an alternative tool to assess spatial memory in children with symptoms of inattention. * The task promotes engagement and allows the assessment in an ecological way. * The task could help in the identification of alterations in spatial memory in both children and adults. / En aquesta tesi, l'objectiu principal va ser dissenyar i desenvolupar una nova tasca que combinés NUI i dispositius intel·ligents per a avaluar la memòria espacial utilitzant estímuls auditius, i la seua validació tant en xiquets, com en adults. La nova tasca avalua la capacitat dels participants per a detectar i localitzar estímuls auditius que s'emeten en diferents posicions de l'àrea de treball. La tasca reconeix els moviments dels braços de l'usuari, utilitzant per a açò Kinect. Els dispositius intel·ligents (conills Karotz) s'utilitzen per a emetre estímuls auditius i, també, com a senyals visuals. Per tant, la tasca combina estímuls auditius amb claus visuals reals per a l'avaluació de la memòria espacial. La tasca inclou un total de 45 estímuls acústics, repartits en 5 nivells diferents i cada nivell consta de 3 assajos. La nostra tasca és el primer treball que combina NUI i dispositius intel·ligents per a l'avaluació de la memòria espacial. De la mateixa manera, la nostra tasca és el primer treball que utilitza estímuls auditius per a avaluar la memòria espacial. Per a la validació, es van dur a terme tres estudis. El rendiment de la nostra tasca es va comparar amb mètodes tradicionals. El primer estudi va involucrar 34 xiquets (17 xiquets amb inatenció). Els resultats van demostrar que els xiquets amb inatenció van mostrar un rendiment estadísticament pitjor en la tasca. Aquests xiquets amb inatenció també van mostrar un rendiment estadísticament pitjor amb el mètode tradicional per a avaluar l'aprenentatge de sons verbals. No es van trobar diferències estadísticament significatives en el temps dedicat per cada grup per a completar la tasca. Els resultats suggereixen que la tasca és una bona ferramenta per a distingir les dificultats de memòria espacial en xiquets amb dificultats d'atenció. El segon estudi va comparar el rendiment en la tasca entre xiquets majors i adults. Un total de 70 participants van estar involucrats en aquest estudi. Van participar 32 xiquets i 38 adults sans. Els resultats de rendiment amb la tasca van ser significativament més baixos per als xiquets majors. Es van trobar correlacions entre la nostra tasca i els mètodes tradicionals, la qual cosa indica que la nostra tasca ha demostrat ser una ferramenta vàlida per a avaluar la memòria espacial mitjançant l'ús d'estímuls auditius tant per a xiquets majors, com per a adults. A partir de l'anàlisi, podem concloure que la satisfacció amb la tasca dels xiquets majors va ser significativament major que la dels adults. El tercer estudi va incloure un total de 148 participants (100 xiquets i 48 adults). Es van distribuir en tres grups (xiquets més xicotets, xiquets majors i adults). Els resultats estan en línia amb el segon estudi. El rendiment de la tasca es va relacionar significativament, de forma incremental i directa amb el grup d'edat (xiquets més xicotets <xiquets majors <adults). Els resultats van ser millors per a adults i xiquets majors; resultat que és consistent amb la idea que els adults poden emmagatzemar més elements en la memòria a curt termini que els xiquets. Las següents conclusions generals s'han extret del desenvolupament i els tres estudis: * Les NUI i els dispositius intel·ligents són apropiats per a desenvolupar tasques per a l'avaluació de la memòria espacial. * Com a joc d'ordinador, la nostra tasca facilita el control de la presentació d'estímuls i l'emmagatzematge de les respostes. * La nostra tasca, i tasques similars, podrien usar-se per a l'avaluació i l'entrenament de la memòria espacial en xiquets i adults. * La tasca podria ser una ferramenta alternativa per a avaluar la memòria espacial en xiquets amb problemes de inatenció. * La tasca promou interès i permet l'avaluació d'una manera ecològica. * La tasca podria ajudar a identificar alteracions en la memòria espacial tant en xiquets, com en adults. / Loachamín Valencia, MR. (2018). Natural user interfaces and smart devices for the assessment of spatial memory using auditory stimuli [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/107955 / TESIS

Táto diplomová práca sa venuje automatickému rozpoznávaniu ludí v obrazových dátach s využitím konvolučných neurónových sieti na určenie polohy tváre a následnej analýze získaných dát. Výsledkom analýzy tváre je určenie pohlavia, emócie a veku osoby. Práca obsahuje popis použitých architektúr konvolučných sietí pre každú podúlohu. Sieť na odhad veku má natrénované nové váhy, ktoré sú vzápätí zmrazené a majú do svojej architektúry vložené LSTM vrstvy. Tieto vrstvy sú samostatne dotrénované a testované na novom datasete vytvorenom pre tento účel. Výsledky testov ukazujú zlepšenie predikcie veku. Riešenie pre rýchlu, robustnú a modulárnu detekciu tváre a ďalších ludských rysov z jedného obrazu alebo videa je prezentované ako kombinácia prepojených konvolučných sietí. Tieto sú implementované v podobe skriptu a následne vysvetlené. Ich rýchlosť je dostatočná pre ďalšie dodatočné analýzy tváre na živých obrazových dátach.

Dans les systèmes cognitifs, le rôle de la mémoire de travail est crucial pour le raisonnement visuel et la prise de décision. D’énormes progrès ont été réalisés dans la compréhension des mécanismes de la mémoire de travail humain/animal, ainsi que dans la formulation de différents cadres de réseaux de neurones artificiels à mémoire augmentée. L’objectif global de notre projet est de former des modèles de réseaux de neurones artificiels capables de consolider la mémoire sur une courte période de temps pour résoudre une tâche de mémoire et les relier à l’activité cérébrale des humains qui ont résolu la même tâche. Le projet est de nature interdisciplinaire en essayant de relier les aspects de l’intelligence artificielle (apprentissage profond) et des neurosciences. La tâche cognitive utilisée est la tâche N-back, très populaire en neurosciences cognitives dans laquelle les sujets sont présentés avec une séquence d’images, dont chacune doit être identifiée pour savoir si elle a déjà été vue ou non. L’ensemble de données d’imagerie fonctionnelle (IRMf) utilisé a été collecté dans le cadre du projet Courtois Neurmod. Nous étudions plusieurs variantes de modèles de réseaux neuronaux récurrents qui apprennent à résoudre la tâche de mémoire de travail N-back en les entraînant avec des séquences d’images. Ces réseaux de neurones entraînés optimisés pour la tâche de mémoire sont finalement utilisés pour générer des représentations de caractéristiques pour les images de stimuli vues par les sujets humains pendant leurs enregistrements tout en résolvant la tâche. Les représentations dérivées de ces réseaux de neurones servent ensuite à créer un modèle de codage pour prédire l’activité IRMf BOLD des sujets. On comprend alors la relation entre le modèle de réseau neuronal et l’activité cérébrale en analysant cette capacité prédictive du modèle dans différentes zones du cerveau impliquées dans la mémoire de travail. Ce travail présente une manière d’utiliser des réseaux de neurones artificiels pour modéliser le comportement et le traitement de l’information de la mémoire de travail du cerveau et d’utiliser les données d’imagerie cérébrale capturées sur des sujets humains lors de la tâche N-back pour potentiellement comprendre certains mécanismes de mémoire du cerveau en relation avec ces modèles de réseaux de neurones artificiels. / In cognitive systems, the role of working memory is crucial for visual reasoning and decision making. Tremendous progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms of the human/animal working memory, as well as in formulating different frameworks of memory augmented artificial neural networks. The overall objective of our project is to train artificial neural network models that are capable of consolidating memory over a short period of time to solve a memory task and relate them to the brain activity of humans who solved the same task. The project is of interdisciplinary nature in trying to bridge aspects of Artificial Intelligence (deep learning) and Neuroscience. The cognitive task used is the N-back task, a very popular one in Cognitive Neuroscience in which the subjects are presented with a sequence of images, each of which needs to be identified as to whether it was already seen or not. The functional imaging (fMRI) dataset used has been collected as a part of the Courtois Neurmod Project. We study multiple variants of recurrent neural network models that learn to remember input images across timesteps. These trained neural networks optimized for the memory task are ultimately used to generate feature representations for the stimuli images seen by the human subjects during their recordings while solving the task. The representations derived from these neural networks are then to create an encoding model to predict the fMRI BOLD activity of the subjects. We then understand the relationship between the neural network model and brain activity by analyzing this predictive ability of the model in different areas of the brain that are involved in working memory. This work presents a way of using artificial neural networks to model the behavior and information processing of the working memory of the brain and to use brain imaging data captured from human subjects during the N-back task to potentially understand some memory mechanisms of the brain in relation to these artificial neural network models.

Le but principal de cette thèse était de mieux comprendre la relation entre le déploiement de l’attention visuo-spatiale et la réponse lors de la recherche visuelle. Nous avons combiné des mesures de chronométrie mentale (les temps de réponse; TR) et d’électrophysiologie, permettant le suivi du décours temporel des évènements et la séparation des processus en sous-phases. Trois études ont été effectuées. Dans les deux premières études, la N2pc, un potentiel relié à un événement (PRE), a été utilisé comme indice électrophysiologique de l’attention visuelle vers un stimulus latéral lors d’une tâche de recherche visuelle ayant une cible facilement repérable (qui saute aux yeux) parmi des distracteurs. Cette composante est caractérisée, en électrophysiologie, par une plus grande négativité environ 200 ms suivant la présentation de la stimulation aux sites postérieurs et controlatéraux du champ visuel ciblé. Dans la première étude, la relation entre la composante N2pc et la réponse a été examinée. Pour ce faire, les données électrophysiologiques ont été scindées selon le TR médian. La N2pc était plus ample pour les essais et les participants plus rapides comparés à ceux qui étaient plus lents, suggérant qu’un déploiement attentionnel plus efficace (N2pc plus ample) avait accéléré les processus subséquents (TR plus court). Dans l’étude 2, le traitement depuis le moment du déploiement attentionnel jusqu’à la réponse a été élucidé en examinant le déclenchement de la N2pc par rapport à la réponse et non au stimulus (ce qui est plus utilisé dans les paradigmes classiques). Nous avons été les premiers à utiliser la RLpcN (response-locked posterior contralateral negativity), composée de la composante N2pc et la SPCN (une composante suivant la N2pc reflétant le traitement en mémoire visuelle à court terme). Les résultats ont démontré une augmentation du temps entre le début de la RLpcN et la réponse pour les TR plus lents, reflétant un traitement plus long suivant le déploiement de l’attention spatiale. Nous avons par la suite utilisé cette composante (la RLpcN) pour étudier la recherche visuelle difficile (Étude 3), où la cible n’était pas facilement identifiable parmi des distracteurs, à l’aide de manipulations expérimentales modulant la RLpcN, soit le nombre d’items et de réponses possibles. Plus il y avait d’items dans le champ visuel ou de possibilités de réponses, plus longue était la durée entre le début de la RLpcN et la réponse, démontrant ainsi qu’il est possible d’observer l’activité associée avec les processus sous-jacents à ces manipulations lors d’une recherche difficile. En somme, nous avons montré (1) qu’un déploiement attentionnel plus efficace accélère les processus subséquents, (2) que le traitement déterminant les TR se produit, en majorité, suivant le déploiement de l’attention et, enfin, (3) qu’il est possible d’identifier des marqueurs électrophysiologiques de la sélection de la cible ainsi que de la réponse lors d’une recherche difficile. Dans l’ensemble, les résultats des études constituant la présente thèse vont au-delà des études électrophysiologiques de recherche visuelle typiques, qui utilisent généralement des cibles qui sautent aux yeux, et élucident le décours temporel du traitement lors de recherches plus complexes. / The overarching thesis was to understand better the relationship between the deployment of visual spatial attention and the eventual response during visual search. We combined mental chronometry with electrophysiological measures, allowing us to track the temporal sequence of events and bisect processing into sub-phases. The two first studies used the N2pc, an event-related potential (ERP) component, as an electrophysiological marker of visual attention to laterally presented stimuli using a pop-out (i.e., the target stands out) visual search task. The N2pc is characterised by an enhanced negativity emerging around 200 ms after the display onset at posterior sites contralateral to the attended visual field. In Study 1, we first evaluated the relationship between the N2pc component and the moment of response. Electrophysiological data were split according to the response time (RT) median. The N2pc was larger for both fast compared with slow trials and participants, suggesting that a more efficient deployment of attention (larger N2pc) sped up downstream processing (shorter RTs). In Study 2, processing from the deployment of attention to the response was elucidated by examining N2pc onset relative to the response instead of to the display onset. We pioneered the use of the RLpcN (response-locked contralateral negativity), composed of the N2pc and the SPCN (a component following the N2pc and reflecting processing of task-relevant stimuli in visual short-term memory). Importantly, more time passed between RLpcN onset and the response for longer RTs, reflecting more processing time following the onset of visual spatial attention. We then used this component to study difficult search (Study 3), where the target was not easily located, using experimental manipulations designed to modulate the RLpcN. We showed that when there were more items present in the visual field or response selection was more difficult, there was a longer duration between RLpcN onset and the response, demonstrating that it is possible to observe activity associated with specific processes during difficult visual search. In summary, we provide evidence that (1) a more efficient deployment of attention speeds up downstream processing, (2) processing determining RTs occurs, in majority, following the deployment of attention, and (3) it is possible to identify electrophysiological markers of target and response selection during difficult search. Together, the results of these experiments go beyond typical electrophysiological experiments of visual search, which use pop-out targets, and elucidate the time course of processing during more complex search.

<p>Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), or more precisely on Neural Networks (NNs), and fast processing technologies (e.g. Graphic Processing Units or GPUs) in recent years have positioned NNs as one of the main machine learning algorithms used to solved a diversity of problems in both academia and the industry. While they have been proved to be effective in solving many tasks, the lack of security guarantees and understanding of their internal processing disrupts their wide adoption in general and cybersecurity-related applications. In this dissertation, we present the findings of a comprehensive study aimed to enable the absorption of state-of-the-art NN algorithms in the development of enterprise solutions. Specifically, this dissertation focuses on (1) the development of defensive mechanisms to protect NNs against adversarial attacks and (2) application of NN models for anomaly detection in enterprise networks.</p><p>In this state of affairs, this work makes the following contributions. First, we performed a thorough study of the different adversarial attacks against NNs. We concentrate on the attacks referred to as trojan attacks and introduce a novel model hardening method that removes any trojan (i.e. misbehavior) inserted to the NN models at training time. We carefully evaluate our method and establish the correct metrics to test the efficiency of defensive methods against these types of attacks: (1) accuracy with benign data, (2) attack success rate, and (3) accuracy with adversarial data. Prior work evaluates their solutions using the first two metrics only, which do not suffice to guarantee robustness against untargeted attacks. Our method is compared with the state-of-the-art. The obtained results show our method outperforms it. Second, we proposed a novel approach to detect anomalies using LSTM-based models. Our method analyzes at runtime the event sequences generated by the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) system of a renowned security company running and efficiently detects uncommon patterns. The new detecting method is compared with the EDR system. The results show that our method achieves a higher detection rate. Finally, we present a Moving Target Defense technique that smartly reacts upon the detection of anomalies so as to also mitigate the detected attacks. The technique efficiently replaces the entire stack of virtual nodes, making ongoing attacks in the system ineffective.</p><p> </p>