Balloon Explosion Research Articles

From celebration to contamination: Analysing microplastics released by burst balloons

Air balloons are a ubiquitous presence in our daily lives, and their rupture may release a substantial quantity of debris, as investigated herein. We employ Raman imaging to capture the fragments resulting from balloon explosions, enabling the identification and direct visualisation of minute microplastic particles / fragments with an improved signal-to-noise ratio for precise quantification. To circumvent the generation of misleading confocal Raman images, we recommend employing terrain mapping to scan the three-dimensional surface of the sample. It is important to acknowledge that the analysis of microplastics at the micro-scale inherently poses limitations in terms of throughput, as it necessitates a trade-off between low and high magnifications. We conduct explosive experiments on ten-to-hundred balloons, collecting debris from various angles and positions. Our investigation involves the random testing of multiple samples / sample positions at the micro-scale, with subsequent extrapolation to estimate the total amount of microplastics. The amalgamation of these results through statistical analysis indicates that each balloon explosion can potentially release tens-to-thousands of microplastics, highlighting a concern that has hitherto received insufficient attention. The characterisation approach, particularly the random Raman scanning method in combination with SEM and the statistical analysis on accumulated samples employed in this report, has the potential to serve as a useful tool in future research on microplastics and even nanoplastics.

36 Reactivity to Loss and Its Relationship to Clinical Symptoms of ADHD in Adults

Objective:Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit deficits in reward-based learning, which have important implications for behavioral regulation. Prior research has shown that these individuals show altered patterns of risky decision-making, which may be partially explained as a function of dysfunctional reactivity to rewards and punishments. However, research findings on the relationships between ADHD and punishment sensitivity have been mixed. The current study used the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) to examine risky decision-making in adults with and without ADHD, with a particular interest in characterizing the manner in which participants react to loss.Participants and Methods:612 individuals (Mage = 31.04, SDage = 78.77; 329 females, 283 males) were recruited through the UCLA Consortium for Neuropsychiatric Phenomics (CNP). All participants were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR (SCID-IV), which provided diagnoses used for group comparisons between adults with ADHD (n = 35) and healthy controls (n = 577). A computerized BART paradigm was used to examine impulsivity and risky decision-making, while participants also completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), and ADHD participants completed the Adult Self-Report Scale-V1.1 (ASRS-V1.1). The BART presented two colors of balloons with differing probabilities of exploding, and participants were incentivized to pump the balloons as many times as possible without causing them to explode. The primary endpoint was "mean adjusted pumps", determined as mean across trials of the number of pumps on trials that did not end in explosion. An index of reactivity to loss was calculated as the difference between the mean adjusted pumps following an explosion and the mean adjusted pumps following trials in which the balloon did not explode.Results:The ADHD and control groups did not differ on mean adjusted pumps across trials, but they did differ in their reactivity to explosion of balloons that followed the most pumps, incurring the greatest level of loss (F(1, 551) = 7.1, p < 0.01). Interestingly, ADHD participants showed a greater reactivity to loss on these balloons than controls (p < 0.05), indicating that they reduced their number of pumps following balloon explosions more than controls. For participants as a whole, there were small correlations between loss reactivity and scales of everyday impulsivity on the BIS-II (ps < 0.05). For ADHD participants, loss reactivity was unrelated to symptoms of inattention but was significantly correlated with symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity (p = 0.01) and total ADHD symptoms (p < 0.05) on the ASRS-V1.1.Conclusions:In the context of a risky decision-making task, adults with ADHD showed greater reactivity to loss than controls, despite showing comparable patterns of overall performance during the BART. The magnitude of behavioral adjustment following loss was correlated with symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity in adults with ADHD, suggesting that loss sensitivity is clinically related to impulsive behavior in everyday life. These findings help to expand our understanding of motivational processing in ADHD and suggest new insight into the ways in which everyday symptoms of ADHD are related to sensitivity to losses and punishments.

Family history of substance use disorder and parental impulsivity are differentially associated with neural responses during risky decision-making.

Risky decision-making is associated with the development of substance use behaviors during adolescence. Although prior work has investigated risky decision-making in adolescents at familial high risk for developing substance use disorders (SUDs), little research has controlled for the presence of co-morbid externalizing disorders (EDs). Additionally, few studies have investigated the role of parental impulsivity in offspring neurobiology associated with risky decision-making. One-hundred twenty-five children (28 healthy controls, 47 psychiatric controls with EDs without a familial history of SUD, and 50 high-risk children with co-morbid EDs with a familial history of SUD) participated in the Balloon Analog Risk Task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Impulsivity for parents and children was measured using the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale. We found that individuals in the psychiatric control group showed greater activation, as chances of balloon explosion increased, while making choices, relative to the healthy control and high-risk groups in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC). We also found a positive association between greater activation and parental impulsivity in these regions. However, within rACC, this relationship was moderated by group, such that there was a positive relationship between activation and parental impulsivity in the HC group, but an inverse relationship in the HR group. These findings suggest that there are key differences in the neurobiology underlying risky decision-making in individuals with EDs with and without a familial history of SUD. The current findings build on existing models of neurobiological factors influencing addiction risk by integrating parental factors. This work paves the way for more precise risk models in which to test preventive interventions.

Exploring the valence-framing effect: Gain frame enhances behavioral and brain sensitivity to the failure of decision-making under uncertainty

The framing effect, which is one of the cognitive biases, can play a major role in changing preferences and the decision-making process. However, whether the gain and loss frames modulate the evaluation of feedback during decision-making is still unclear. In this study, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) with a Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) paradigm to examine the effects of a gain and loss frame on the evaluation of feedback during the decision-making process of the brain. Behavioral data showed an increased uncertainty-aversion, especially after receiving negative feedback (balloon explosion) during the completion of the BART in the gain frame relative to the loss frame. The ERP data demonstrated a more negative feedback-related negativity (FRN) after receiving negative feedback in the gain frame relative to the loss frame. Additionally, the FRN amplitude elicited by the negative feedback correlated with the future decision-making behavior in both the gain and loss frames. These findings demonstrated that, in comparison to the loss frame, the gain frame increased behavior and brain sensitivity to the failure of decision-making under uncertainty.

T56. RISKY DECISION-MAKING IMPAIRMENT IN EARLY-STAGE PSYCHOTIC BIPOLAR DISORDER

BackgroundPrevious research suggests that bipolar disorder may be associated with increased risk-taking / impulsivity. Risky decision-making paradigm is an objective, performance-based measure which has been increasingly applied in bipolar disorder research examining. Nonetheless, literature focused only on chronically ill samples, with illness chronicity, clinical heterogeneity and prolonged medication exposure being potential confounding factors of study results. The current study aimed to explore whether patients with early-stage psychotic bipolar disorder (BDP) exhibit impaired risky decision-making relative to healthy controls, using a well-validated, widely-applied experimental paradigm of Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART).MethodsThirty-nine patients with early-stage BDP (defined by having received psychiatric treatment for first-episode BDP within 3 years since service entry) and 36 demographically matched healthy controls were recruited. BART was administered to examine risky decision-making performance. Deliberative risky behavior was operationalized as the willingness to inflate balloons as each pump was accompanied by an extra point gained in the temporary repository or balloon explosion. Three performance-based indices (adjusted score, explosion rate and cumulative score) were derived and analyzed.ResultsThere were no significant differences between patients and controls in age, gender and educational levels. Independent samples t-tests illustrated that patients had significantly lower adjusted score (t = -3.45, p = .001, d = .791), explosion rate (t = -2.75, p = .007, d = .631) and cumulative score (t = -3.07, p = .003, d = .714) in BART compared to controls. Similar findings were obtained when comparison analyses were restricted to patients who were treated with antipsychotic medications at the time of study assessment (n = 30). No significant correlations between BART performance-based indices and measures of clinical and treatment variables were found in patient sample.DiscussionOur results demonstrated that early-stage BDP patients displayed suboptimal risky decision-making compared with controls. Abnormal risky decision-making observed in the euthymic state of patients in early stage of bipolar disorder suggests that such impairment might represent a trait factor in the disorder. Further prospective research is warranted to clarify the longitudinal course of risky decision-making impairment in bipolar disorder.

Paying out one versus paying out all trials and the decrease in behavioral and brain activity in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task.

Both pay out for all the trials (pay-all) and pay out for only one randomly selected trial (pay-one), are widely used in economics experiments to elicit choices from study participants. However, whether pay-all and pay-one payments modulate risk-taking and decision-making in the same manner remains controversial. In the present study, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) with the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) to investigate the effects of the pay-all and pay-one payments on dynamic sequential decision-making behavior under uncertainty and brain activity. Behavioral data showed an increased uncertainty aversion, especially after negative feedback (balloon explosion) during the BART in the pay-all condition, as compared to those in the pay-one condition. The ERP data demonstrated a larger feedback-related negativity (FRN) in response to the balloons that exploded during decision-making in the pay-all condition, as compared to those in the pay-one condition. In addition, in the pay-all condition, the FRN amplitude elicited by the explosion of the balloon correlated with the future decision-making behavior, although this correlation was not observed in the pay-one condition. In contrast, the P300 component was unresponsive to payment method manipulation. These findings demonstrate the differential effects of the pay-all versus the pay-one payments on decision-making behavior under uncertainty and brain activity, suggesting that the payment method plays an important role in dynamic decision-making studies.

Atypical Cortical Activation During Risky Decision Making in Disruptive Behavior Disordered Youths With Histories of Suicidal Ideation

BackgroundSuicidality is a leading cause of death among adolescents. In addition to other psychiatric conditions, youths with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) are at heightened risk for suicide. Decision-making deficits are a hallmark symptom of ADHD and DBDs and are also implicated in suicidal behavior. We examined behavioral and neural differences in decision making among youths with ADHD and DBDs with (SI+) and without (SI−) histories of suicidal ideation. MethodsThe Balloon Analog Risk Task, a risky decision-making task, was completed by 57 youths with ADHD and DBDs (38% SI+) during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Mean stop wager (mean wager at which youths bank money) was the primary measure of risk taking. We conducted whole-brain and region-of-interest analyses in the anterior cingulate cortex and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) during choice (win vs. inflate) and outcome (inflate vs. explode) contrasts using parametric modulators accounting for probability of balloon explosion. ResultsThere were no differences between SI+ and SI− youths in Balloon Analog Risk Task performance. SI+ youths showed decreasing activation in the right medial frontal gyrus when choosing inflate as explosion probability increased compared with SI− youths. During explosions, SI− youths showed increasing activation in the left OFC as explosions became more likely. SI+ showed increasing left medial OFC activity in response to inflations as explosion probability increased. ConclusionsSI+ youths may show heightened sensitivity to immediate reward and decreased sensitivity to potential loss as evidenced by medial frontal gyrus activity. OFC findings suggest that SI+ youths may be drawn to reward even when there is high probability of loss.

Corrigendum: Decreased modulation by the risk level on the brain activation during decision making in adolescents with internet gaming disorder.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00296.].

Shifts in frontal asymmetry underlying impulsive and controlled decision-making

The frontal cortices are asymmetrically activated in impulsive and inhibitory action. However, no past work has examined shifts in frontal asymmetric activation during active impulse control or risk-taking behavior. The current study examined impulsive and controlled behavior in a behavioral risk-taking task (Balloon Analogue Risk Task) under alcohol or neutral cue exposure while EEG was recorded. Results revealed activity shifted towards greater relative left frontal activation on alcohol trials with impulsive behavior (balloon explosion) driven by reduced activation of the right inferior frontal gyrus. In contrast, activity from the first half to the second half of alcohol trials with successful impulse control (cash out) localized to reduced activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus. These findings suggest that shifting of right or left frontal asymmetry in inhibitory or impulsive behaviors stem from activation of the inferior frontal gyrus and reveal the importance of examining shifts in neural activity during behavioral processes.

An experimental paradigm examining the influence of frustration on risk-taking behavior

The present study examined the impact of frustration on risk-taking in college students with low and high ADHD symptomatology (L-ADHD and H-ADHD). Participants completed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) following induced frustration from a mood manipulation task (experimental session) and following no mood manipulation (control session). A manipulation check revealed a significant three-way interaction where the H-ADHD group reported higher frustration levels compared to the L-ADHD group, particularly in response to the frustration induction in the experimental condition. Primary results revealed that the L-ADHD group exploded significantly fewer balloons in the experimental condition compared to the control condition; there was a nonsignificant difference of balloon explosions across conditions for the H-ADHD group. The study provides initial laboratory-based support for the impact of frustration on the risk behavior of those with low and high levels of ADHD, with potential implications for future studies and ultimately for intervention.

Extending the Balloon Analogue Risk Task to Assess Naturalistic Risk Taking via a Mobile Platform.

The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) is a behavioral measure that is commonly used to assess risk taking propensity. The primary goal of the present study was to introduce a mobile version of the BART (mBART) that can be included within ambulatory assessment protocols to assess risk taking in daily life. Study 1 compared common BART indices (i.e., total money earned, adjusted average pumps, balloon explosions, and coefficient of variability [CV]) on a single administration of the laboratory BART on a computer and the mBART on a smartphone (n = 78). Results revealed generally consistent relationships between indices of risk taking propensity in both the laboratory BART and mBART. Study 2 administered the mBART as part of a 7-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol in a population of nondaily smokers (n = 51). Using multi-level models, results suggest that males have greater adjusted average pumps (p = .03), and that a participant's average CV is negatively related to trait sensation seeking (p = .03) and positively associated with trait positive urgency (p = .04). There were within-person effects of study day (p = .05) and environment (p = .02) with respect to adjusted average pumps such that individuals took greater risks as the study progressed and were riskier when alone compared to with others. Inclusion of the mBART in EMA did not appear to significantly increase participant burden and demonstrated acceptable levels of compliance. These results offer initial evidence supporting the feasibility and utility of the mBART for ambulatory research designs.

Uncompensable Heat Stress Improves Manual Dexterity, But Does Not Affect Risk Propensity

PURPOSE: Healthcare workers in the West African Ebola Treatment Units experienced substantial heat stress from wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) while performing light activities in a hot environment. It is unknown if uncompensable heat stress alters risk propensity or manual dexterity, which could impact the health of the worker and/or patient. We tested the hypothesis that uncompensable heat stress increases risk-taking propensity and impairs manual dexterity. METHODS: Fifteen healthy subjects (2 women) aged 22 ± 2 y completed a single experimental trial in 40°C and 60% relative humidity while wearing a hooded Tyvek chemical resistant coverall, an N95 respirator mask, goggles, gloves, boots, and an autopsy apron. Subjects walked on the treadmill for 30 min at 60% of their age predicted maximal heart rate, which was followed by 15 min seated rest. This cycle was repeated until: participants reached 120 min, the subject terminated the test, or their physiological measures exceeded safe parameters. Subjects completed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) and two dexterity tasks (Tool Dexterity and Minnesota Manual Dexterity) pre and post the exercise while in the hot environment. RESULTS: Core temperature (1.8 ± 0.6°C; p<0.01), mean skin temperature (3.8 ± 0.7°C; p<0.01), and heart rate (55 ± 21 bpm; p<0.01) increased during exercise, while body mass decreased (1.1 ± 0.4%; p<0.01). Core-to-skin temperature gradient decreased from pre to post (1.1 ± 0.02°C vs. 1.0 ± 0.02°C; p<0.01) During exercise, perceived exertion (p<0.01), thermal sensation (p<0.01), thermal comfort (p<0.01), sweating sensation (p<0.01), and dyspnea (p<0.01) ratings increased. There was no change in the number of balloon explosions on the BART, an objective measure of risk propensity, from pre to post (p=0.43). Time to complete the Tool Dexterity task did not differ between pre and post (p=0.49). Time to complete the Minnesota Manual Dexterity task decreased from pre to post for both placing (270.4 ± 29.6 s vs. 252.0 ± 27.7 s; p=0.03) and turning (230.2 ± 25.7 s vs. 204.9 ± 33.3 s; p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Despite considerable thermal strain, light exertion in the heat while wearing encapsulating healthcare PPE did not alter risk propensity, but improved aspects of manual dexterity.

Peak Sound Pressure Levels and Associated Auditory Risk from an H2–Air “Egg-Splosion”

The noise level from exploding chemical demonstrations and the effect they could have on audiences, especially young children, needs attention. Auditory risk from H2–O2 balloon explosions have been studied, but no studies have been done on H2–air “egg-splosions”. The peak sound pressure level (SPL) was measured for the first time and compared to the recommended SPL limits and some recently published work. All peak SPL results ended above 125 dB, some greater than 150 dB. The SPL results exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) safe limits of 120 dB for children and 140 dB for adults.

Room acoustic measurement techniques for large venues (greater than 10,000 cubic meters) in 2016

From sine sweeps to maximum-length sequence (MLS) type signals, balloon explosions to the yachting cannon, options to measure room acoustics in large venues have increased over the past couple of decades. There are new developments by academia and equipment manufacturers, as well as improvements on older methods. What are these new methods? What acoustical characteristics can one measure with each method? This presentation describes the different source options to measure room acoustical characteristics in larger spaces.

Risky decision making from childhood through adulthood: Contributions of learning and sensitivity to negative feedback.

Decision making in the context of risk is a complex and dynamic process that changes across development. Here, we assessed the influence of sensitivity to negative feedback (e.g., loss) and learning on age-related changes in risky decision making, both of which show unique developmental trajectories. In the present study, we examined risky decision making in 216 individuals, ranging in age from 3-26 years, using the balloon emotional learning task (BELT), a computerized task in which participants pump up a series of virtual balloons to earn points, but risk balloon explosion on each trial, which results in no points. It is important to note that there were 3 balloon conditions, signified by different balloon colors, ranging from quick- to slow-to-explode, and participants could learn the color-condition pairings through task experience. Overall, we found age-related increases in pumps made and points earned. However, in the quick-to-explode condition, there was a nonlinear adolescent peak for points earned. Follow-up analyses indicated that this adolescent phenotype occurred at the developmental intersection of linear age-related increases in learning and decreases in sensitivity to negative feedback. Adolescence was marked by intermediate values on both these processes. These findings show that a combination of linearly changing processes can result in nonlinear changes in risky decision making, the adolescent-specific nature of which is associated with developmental improvements in learning and reduced sensitivity to negative feedback.

Decreased modulation by the risk level on the brain activation during decision making in adolescents with internet gaming disorder.

Greater impulse and risk-taking and reduced decision-making ability were reported as the main behavioral impairments in individuals with internet gaming disorder (IGD), which has become a serious mental health issue worldwide. However, it is not clear to date how the risk level modulates brain activity during the decision-making process in IGD individuals. In this study, 23 adolescents with IGD and 24 healthy controls (HCs) without IGD were recruited, and the balloon analog risk task (BART) was used in a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment to evaluate the modulation of the risk level (the probability of balloon explosion) on brain activity during risky decision making in IGD adolescents. Reduced modulation of the risk level on the activation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during the active BART was found in IGD group compared to the HCs. In the IGD group, there was a significant negative correlation between the risk-related DLPFC activation during the active BART and the Barratt impulsivity scale (BIS-11) scores, which were significantly higher in IGD group compared with the HCs. Our study demonstrated that, as a critical decision-making-related brain region, the right DLPFC is less sensitive to risk in IGD adolescents compared with the HCs, which may contribute to the higher impulsivity level in IGD adolescents.

Prediction of individual differences in risky behavior in young adults via variations in local brain structure.

In recent years the problem of how inter-individual differences play a role in risk-taking behavior has become a much debated issue. We investigated this problem based on the well-known balloon analog risk task (BART) in 48 healthy subjects in which participants inflate a virtual balloon opting for a higher score in the face of a riskier chance of the balloon explosion. In this study, based on a structural Voxel Based Morphometry (VBM) technique we demonstrate a significant positive correlation between BART score and size of the gray matter volume in the anterior insula in riskier subjects. Although the anterior insula is among the candidate brain areas that were involved in the risk taking behavior in fMRI studies, here based on our structural data it is the only area that was significantly related to structural variation among different subjects.

Outdoor measurements of spherical acoustic shock decay.

Prior anechoic measurements of a small acetylene-oxygen balloon explosion were used to study spherical weak-shock decay over short ranges [Muhlestein et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 131, 2422-2430 (2012)]. Here, longer-range measurements conducted at the Bonneville Salt Flats with a larger balloon are described. Waveform and spectral characteristics and comparisons of the peak pressure decay with an analytical weak-shock model are presented. Weak shocks persist to at least 305 m, with an amplitude decay that is predicted reasonably well using the model. Deviations are discussed in the context of atmospheric effects and nonlinear ground reflections.

A FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR IN THE BALLOON ANALOGUE TASK

In the balloon analogue task, a continuous schedule of positive reinforcement and a random ratio schedule of punishment for “pump” responses operate simultaneously, along with the opportunity to terminate each trial and avoid an impending punishing stimulus. In this study, the functional properties of game points and point losses were analyzed in three groups of college students (N=92) by varying the density of balloon explosions throughout the 30-balloon session. The within-session changes in density of explosions produced immediate systematic adjustments in pump responses per balloon. The results showed that 1) the number of pumps per balloon is sensitive to the local probability of explosions; 2) the suppression brought on by explosions depends on the temporal distance to the last explosion and the number of consecutive explosions; 3) suppression appears to be non-linear, with stronger effects as the local probability of explosions increases; and, 4) within limits, points without assigned extrinsic value may serve as reinforcers in the balloon analogue environment for populations with a history of game playing. Given these findings, a valuable strategy for future research may be to study differential reactivity to wins and losses as a proximal determinant of total scores that is amenable to experimental analysis.

Neural activation during risky decision-making in youth at high risk for substance use disorders

Risky decision-making, particularly in the context of reward-seeking behavior, is strongly associated with the presence of substance use disorders (SUDs). However, there has been little research on the neural substrates underlying reward-related decision-making in drug-naïve youth who are at elevated risk for SUDs. Participants comprised 23 high-risk (HR) youth with a well-established SUD risk phenotype and 27 low-risk healthy comparison (HC) youth, aged 10–14. Participants completed the balloon analog risk task (BART), a task designed to examine risky decision-making, during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The HR group had faster reaction times, but otherwise showed no behavioral differences from the HC group. HR youth experienced greater activation when processing outcome, as the chances of balloon explosion increased, relative to HC youth, in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). As explosion probability increased, group-by-condition interactions in the ventral striatum/anterior cingulate and the anterior insula showed increasing activation in HR youth, specifically on trials when explosions occurred. Thus, atypical activation increased with increasing risk of negative outcome (i.e., balloon explosion) in a cortico-striatal network in the HR group. These findings identify candidate neurobiological markers of addiction risk in youth at high familial and phenotypic risk for SUDs.