i think...therefore im

“I Think…Therefore IM”

Kevin McGrew, PhD.Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP)

www.themindhub.com

René Descartes

“I think…therefore I am”(Cogito ergo sum)

A more accurate title might be

“IM…Therefore I Think—Better”

Kevin McGrew Affiliations

Institute of Applied Psychometrics (IAP)-DirectorWoodcock-Munoz Foundation – Research DirectorMeasurement Learning Consultants - Associate DirectorUniversity of Minnesota - Visiting Professor (Educ. Psych.)Interactive Metronome - Director of Research and Science (External Consultant) *

* Conflict of interest disclosure: Financial relationship and interest in IM

Additional info re:Kevin McGrew and IAP

can be found at the MindHub™ web portal

www.themindhub.com

Relevant Blogs

Primary goal of presentation:

To provide an understandable research-based explanation of one of the key cognitive benefits of IM

Importance icon

My 2006/2007 IM presentations focused primarily on mental time-keeping (brain clock)

Still critically important but the focus today will be

different. The brain clock research is at

a different explanatory level

So much research and theory…so little

time

Increased brain clock temporal resolution?

Will not deal with important motor, gait, stroke, etc. IM implications and explanations….sorry

White matter matters!

(UK CONNECT brainwhite matter micro-atlas)

Other possible titles (advance organizers)Quieting the busy mindOn demand focusA wandering mind is an unfocused mindBetter thinking through brain synchingWhen you must ponder…your mind must not wanderYou must train to gainTrain and maintain a “focused brain”Detect and deflect distractions and TUTs (task unrelated thoughts)Engage in focus…disengage from distractionsFocus like a laser beam…that is the keyLock on the tone to think in the zoneFine tune your brain networksIs the P-FIT it?

Brief Tribute to the Original Time Doc – Jim Cassily

”If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the

shoulders of giants”

As stated by Isaac Newton in a letter to Robert

Hooke in 1676:

The Original Time Doc – Jim Cassily

The Original “Time Machine”

The Original Purpose + Serendipity

To help athletes and musicians improve their timing, rhythmicity, coordination and focus. However, it was quickly discovered that training with this physically and aurally interactive version of the traditional metronome yielded unprecedented improvement in children with debilitating cognitive, as well as, physical based disorders.” (Jim Cassily, 1993)

Why I (like all of you) am a part of the IM Family

Purpose, Passion and Serendipity

My Brief Personal and Professional IM Journey

Many a scientific adventurer sails the uncharted seas and sets his course for a certain objective only to find unknown land and unsuspected ports in strange parts. To reach such harbors, he must ship and sail, do and dare; he must quest and question. These chance discoveries are called “accidental” but there is nothing fortuitous about them, for laggards drift by a haven that may be a heaven. They pass by ports of opportunity. Only the determined sailor, who is not afraid to seek, to work, to try, who is inquisitive and alert to find, will come back to his home port with discovery in his cargo (p. 177)

Etc.

How can this…

…produce positive outcomes across such diverse domains?

Two IM reading achievement

studies

IM Must be Impacting a Domain-General Cognitive/Learning Mechanism

The quest to find a domain-general cognitive learning mechanism that can be manipulated has been one of the major

goals of cognitive and educational psychology

•There is a long-standing tradition within psychological research to search for general principles or cognitive mechanisms that can be used to address all aspects of behavior and cognition.

•Not tied to any specific content or domain.

•An underlying mechanism that can be applied to a wide range of novel problems and domains of performance

•“Jack-of-all-trades” mechanisms (Chiappe & McDonald,2005)

Some aspect(s) of IM must be increasing the ability or efficiency of some domain general

learning mechanism (s)

Envi

ronm

enta

l inp

ut

Kinesthetic

Visual

Auditory

Tactile

Olfactory

SensoryPerceptual

Systems

Attention Working Memory

Motor Speed & Timing

Motor Performance

Etc. (what)

Etc. (how)

Etc. (what)

Etc. (how)

Motor Sequences

(what)

Acquired Knowledge Systems (aka, long-term memory)

Motor Sequences

(how)Reading (what)

Reading (how)

Verbal (what)

Verbal (how)

Motor Cognitive

Motor Control

Storage efficiency

Retrieval fluency

Cognitive Processing Speed

Cognitive Abilities & Executive

Functions (control)

Cognitive PerformanceCognitive Processing

Speed

(feedback loop)

(feedback loop)

Kevin McGrew

Most likely domain generalmechanisms IM effects.

Due to increased temporal resolution of the brain

clock(s)

IM Task Analysis: It is Measuring and Impacting an Important Human Ability:

Attentional Control (Focus)

IM Long Form Assessment “Norms” The core of IM therapy is measuring a human ability that follows a developmental pattern similar to other abilities (intelligence; physical growth). Such curves are believed to be due, depending on the specific ability, to the influence of education and experiences as well as genetically-driven biological maturation of the central nervous system (CNS).

(Rotated version of original plot above)

Examples of cognitive ability (IQ) and physical development norms

WJ III Tests of Cognitive Abilities

The primary cognitive goal of IM is to stay in “right on” zone

Right on zone

Out of zone

IM “out of zone” feedback

IM “right on” feedback

“It is quite difficult to force your brain to stay on task and to shut of extraneous thoughts”

(Scientific American-Mind, 2012; Dr. Barry Gordon, John Hopkins)

This is HARD to do. Research suggests a maximum of 20-30 minutes of true

focus or controlled attention

Difficult due to constant presence of external and internal distracting stimuli

that results in attentional capture

Attentional Pirates

•People vary in this ability• Atypical development is associated with a variety of clinical disorders (e.g., ADHD)

Focus of attention

Attentional Pirate

IM provides millisecond feedback. When not in synch (due to attentional pirates) performance feedback trains

person to get back “on target”

“Attentional capture” pulls mental target

out of focus of attention – attentional

pirates

Focus of attention

IM and Focus, Controlled Attention, Working Memory and Executive Functions

Positive IM effects on cognitive and learning tasks (e.g., reading fluency/rate and comprehension) can be explained as increasing the efficiency of working memory and executive functions — all due to enhanced attentional control (focus)

Extensive intelligence research has suggested a strong relationship between working memory and general intelligence and reasoning

r = .82

r = .98r = .50

Extensive intelligence research has suggested a

strong relationship between working memory and general

intelligence and reasoning

Executive attention, controlled attention, attentional control have been implicated as the fundamental core

mechanism of effective working memory

Positive IM effects on reading fluency/rate and comprehension can be explained as increasing the efficiency of working memory and executive functions—all due to enhanced attentional control (focus)

Will explain via the information processing model in next slide

In the next slide consider the red circle as a sentence of text a child has just read

Central Executive (Executive

functions or control?

• Inhibit• Shift• Update

Working Memory

PerceptionSensation

Focus of attention

DecisionsOutput

Long-Term Memory

Storage Retrieval

Efficiency of Attentional Control (Focus) = Working Memory Capacity Complex cognitive processing

????

The goal is to maintain task critical information in attentional focus zone – in activated working memory to allow efficient learning to occur. Information in activated working memory (e.g.., reading a sentence) can then be connected with prior knowledge from long-term memory---therefore reading comprehension

Notice the strong parallel of IM task demands and prominence of attentional control (focus) in information process models of intelligence where activated working memory space is key ability domain

Schneider & McGrew (in press)

External attention

pirates

Focus of attention

DecisionsOutput

Two major threats to controlled attention (focus)—Attentional Capture: One from without

Internal attention pirates The Default Brain Network

(40-50% of the time is active)

• REST: Rapid episodic spontaneous thinking

• TUT’s: Task unrelated thoughts

• Mind Wandering

DecisionsOutput

Two major threats to controlled attention (focus)—Attentional Capture: One is from within

Focus of attention

“I was trying to day dream, but my mind kept wandering”

Comedian Steven Wright said it best

Working Memory

Focus of Attention

Long-Term Memory

Storage Retrieval




PerceptionSensation

DecisionsOutput

Efficiency of Attentional Control = Working Memory Capacity Complex cognitive processing.

????

Attentional Pirates

Efficiency of learning is impacted by ability to maintain focus and to detect and deflect distractions (attentional pirates—that displace task relevant information) from capturing or entering the focus of attention in activated working memory

External attention pirates

Internal attention pirates

DecisionsOutput

IM trains the brain to shut down the attentional pirates…and increases cognitive efficiency

DecisionsOutput



IM trains the brain to detect and deflect distractions…like a cognitive force field

Sustained & contained focus

Repel…so you can excel




Working Memory

Focus of attention

•Focus• Attentional Control

• Working Memory• Executive Functioning

“Quiet the busy mind” to maintain focus on task relevant information

Major hypothesis:

This is (these are) the domain general

cognitive mechanism(s) trained by IM

Consistent with McGrew (2006, 2007) and Taub & McGrew (2007)

Mind wanderingThe unquiet mind

TUTs

• There is a stable, general mind wandering propensity

• People who mind wander a lot while reading also mind wander a lot on other everyday tasks

• WMC is related to reading comprehension partly because WMC reflects an executive ability to regulate and control thought while reading

• Executive-attention theory

• Attention-control capability (focus) is a domain-general system that controls both WMC and TUTs



• Inhibit• Shift• UpdateWorking Memory

Focus of attention

•Focus• Attentional Control

• Working Memory• Executive Functioning

Consistent with McGrew (2006, 2007) and Taub & McGrew (2007)

Executive control theory

Attentional control system

Time Doc Bytes

• A wandering mind is an unfocused mind

• Quiet the busy mind

• On demand focus

• Train and maintain a “focused brain”

• Engage in focus…disengage from distractions

• Detect and deflect distractions

When you must ponder…your mind must not wander

IM and Meditation: An important link?

IM and Brain Networks and Neural Efficiency

(A few very brief “teaser” comments)

More for your later review

Time Doc Bytes

• Better thinking through brain synching

• Fine tune your brain networks

• Neurons that fire together…wire together

• White matter matters

• Is the P-FIT it?




Working Memory

Focus of attention

Increasing brain or neural efficiency or synchronization

• Building more brain network communication connections• Increasing efficiency of existing brain network communication

Hypothesis: Increased brain clock temporal resolution facilitates neural efficiency and synchronization which in turn increases efficiency of working

memory and executive functions


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxlV50P6NEI

• Default mode network• Salience network• Central-executive network

The network model (vs. modular) of the brain is

importantClick for video – start at 30 second mark)

Click for “brain duet” video –go to 6:58)


Click for brief video

Is the P-FIT It?

IM and The Parietal-Frontal Integration Model of Intelligence

The Frontal (esp., DLPFC) and Parietal lobes have been repeatedly linked (via research) to the cognitive constructs

of controlled attention, working memory and executive functions general intelligence and higher level

cognition

T

Focusing attention internally

Focusing attention externally

Short-term storage

Response selection

Working Memory

General reasoning

Procedural & Declarative

know.

Frontal Lobe(DLPFC)

Parietal Lobe

Anterior cingulate gyrus

The Brain and Working Memory: The Evidence-Based P-FIT Model

Adapted from Hunt (2011)

T

Focusing attention internally

Focusing attention externally

Short-term storage

Response selection

Working Memory

General reasoning

Procedural & Declarative

know.

Controlled attention (focus) is the minds gold/treasure (limited attentional resources)



Key cognitiveability for cognitive

and motor learning & performance

The P-FIT Model

The P-FIT Model

The P-FIT Model

Arcuate fasciculus tract

Indicators of g-factor wereWAIS-III Gs tests (Symbol Search, Digit Symbol), Gsm tests (Digit Span-Backwards; Let-Num. Seq),Gf test (Matrix Reasoning),and Gv test (Block Design).

Indicators of g-speed were measures of reaction time (Gt) – simple reaction time, four-choice reaction time, inspection time)

CHC test classifications not by article authors but by Kevin McGrew as per CHC theory

Three biomarkers of white matter integrity


Two IM reading achievement studies

White matter related?


arcuate fasciculus tract

White matter matters! Very interesting common white matter tract finding in P-FIT and

recent reading research

arcuate fasciculus tract

Cognitive performance

(reasoning, comprehension,

etc)

The observable positive outcome

The observable IM treatment

Increases the temporal resolution (faster clock speed) of the brain clock(s) which improves neural efficiency of the brain

Improves brain network communication efficiency via white matter tracts, particularly between the parietal-frontal regions (P-FIT neuro-model of intelligence)

Frontal Lobe(DLPFC) Parietal Lobe

White matter tracts (brain network

communication infrastructure)

Network communication

Knowledge in long-term memory.

Cognitive abilities. Exec functions

focus

Working memoryImproves focus (attentional control that maintains goal related information active in working memory) which in turn improves efficiency of working memory, the most central cognitive ability for new learning and performance

Hypothesized IM effect at different “under the hood” explanatory levels (based on brain clock and IM-specific research and theory)


?

i think...therefore im

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thinktherefore im kevin

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