Se ha observado que el uso de imágenes interfiere en el aprendizaje de palabras novedosas. Se buscó extender estos resultados a Clases de Equivalencia de Estímulo (CEE), indagando si el efecto de bloqueo se presenta de manera diferencial según la modalidad del estímulo bloqueado (i.e. pictórico o pseudo-lexical). Diez estudiantes universitarios fueron entrenados, mediante igualación a la muestra, en cuatro CEE (dos de modalidad pseudo-lexical y dos de modalidad pictórica). En el mismo entrenamiento se aplicó un procedimiento de bloqueo. Se evaluó la emergencia de relaciones derivadas para cada elemento de los estímulos compuestos por separado. Un mayor efecto de bloqueo fue observado siempre que el estímulo bloqueado X fue de modalidad pseudo-lexical. Se discuten los resultados en relación a las teorías de emparejamiento de estímulos y su implicancia en el desarrollo de prácticas pedagógicas. Los resultados observados desalientan el uso de estímulos compuestos para la enseñanza de palabras.

Abstract Heart-brain integration dynamics are critical for interoception (i.e., the sensing of body-signals). In this unprecedented longitudinal study, we assessed neurocognitive markers of interoception in patients who underwent orthotopic heart transplants and matched healthy controls. Patients were assessed longitudinally before surgery (T1), a few months later (T2), and a year after (T3). We assessed behavioral (heartbeat detection) and electrophysiological (heartbeat evoked potential) markers of interoception. Heartbeat detection task revealed that pre-surgery (T1) interoception was similar between patients and controls. However, patients were outperformed by controls after heart transplant (T2), but no such differences were observed in the follow-up analysis (T3). Neurophysiologically, although heartbeat evoked potential analyses revealed no differences between groups before the surgery (T1), reduced amplitudes of this event-related potential were found for the patients in the two post-transplant stages (T2, T3). All these significant effects persisted after covariation with different cardiologic measures. In sum, this study brings new insights into the adaptive properties of brain-heart pathways.

An accruing body of research has shown that interoception (the sensing of signals from the body's internal milieu) relies on both a direct route (afforded by the vagus nerve) and a secondary route (supported by somatosensory mechanisms). However, no study has causally tested the differential role of these pathways, let alone via direct stimulation. To bridge this gap, we tested whether multidimensional signatures of interoception are modulated by noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS). Sixty‐three participants were divided into an nVNS and a sham‐stimulation group. Before and after stimulation, both groups performed a validated heartbeat detection (HBD) task including a genuinely interoceptive condition (monitoring one's own heartbeat) and a control exteroceptive condition (tracking an aurally presented heartbeat). Electroencephalographic signals were obtained during both conditions to examine modulations of the heartbeat‐evoked potential (HEP). Moreover, before and after stimulation, participants were asked to complete a somatosensory heartbeat localization task. Results from the interoceptive condition revealed that, after treatment, only the nVNS group exhibited improved performance and greater HEP modulations. No behavioral differences were found for the exteroceptive control condition, which was nonetheless associated with significant HEP modulations. Finally, no between‐group differences were observed regarding the localization of the heartbeat sensations or relevant cardiodynamic variables (heart rate and or heart rate variability). Taken together, these results constitute unprecedented evidence that the vagus nerve plays a direct role in neurovisceral integration during interoception. This finding can constrain mechanistic models of the domain while informing a promising transdiagnostic agenda for interoceptive impairments across neuropsychiatric conditions.