Cognitive Processing Tasks Research Articles

Assessment of Smartphone Technology to Measure Electrodermal Activity: A validation study

Event Abstract Back to Event Assessment of Smartphone Technology to Measure Electrodermal Activity: A validation study Lisa Lole1*, Alex M. Russell1, Raven Wolfram1, Amida Dean1 and Nerilee Hing1 1 Central Queensland University, Australia Aim: Measuring electrodermal activity (EDA) both in laboratory settings and in the field usually requires the use of sophisticated and costly recording equipment. The current study sought to examine whether EDA data recorded with a new Smartphone application and associated recording device would produce comparable results to those obtained by traditional laboratory-based equipment. Methods EDA was simultaneously recorded using the smartphone application, eSense (Mindfield Biosystems Ltd) and ProComp Infiniti (Thought Technology Ltd) while participants (n = 20) completed a number of tasks. After a resting baseline was recorded, participants engaged in a light exercise task, a deep breathing relaxation task, a visual discrimination task, an auditory habituation task, and a complex cognitive processing task. Results: A fairly strong correlation was found between the data obtained using the eSense smartphone application and data recorded using the ProComp Infiniti recording device, r(19) = .85, p < .000. While the general EDA trace appeared to be comparable between the two devices, the main factor contributing to the lack of a strong correlation between the two pieces of equipment appeared to be a slight time lag in the eSense recording application. Conclusions: The results of the current study showed reasonable success of the eSense smartphone application to be used in research settings. Further development of the application and equipment could greatly benefit EDA research by providing a low-cost and portable way of measuring EDA either in a laboratory or in the field. Keywords: Electrodermal activity, smartphone, Validation, Smartphone application, skin conductance level Conference: ASP2016 - The 26th Annual Meeting of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Adelaide Australia, Adelaide,SA, Australia, 12 Dec - 14 Dec, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Abstract (student award) Citation: Lole L, Russell AM, Wolfram R, Dean A and Hing N (2016). Assessment of Smartphone Technology to Measure Electrodermal Activity: A validation study. Conference Abstract: ASP2016 - The 26th Annual Meeting of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Adelaide Australia. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2016.221.00007 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 21 Nov 2016; Published Online: 05 Dec 2016. * Correspondence: Dr. Lisa Lole, Central Queensland University, Bundaberg, Australia, l.lole@cqu.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Lisa Lole Alex M Russell Raven Wolfram Amida Dean Nerilee Hing Google Lisa Lole Alex M Russell Raven Wolfram Amida Dean Nerilee Hing Google Scholar Lisa Lole Alex M Russell Raven Wolfram Amida Dean Nerilee Hing PubMed Lisa Lole Alex M Russell Raven Wolfram Amida Dean Nerilee Hing Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

The Relationship between Blood Glucose Levels and Performance at Cognitive Processing and Motor Coordination Tasks

In this article we experimentally addressed the relationship between blood glucose levels and performance on cognitive processing and motor coordination tasks. We also aimed to test how are blood glucose levels modified following a 30minutes cognitive and motor strain. Blood glucose level was measured using an Accu-Chek blood-sugar meter before and immediately after the tasks were performed. We applied 3 samples: two of cognitive processing and one of motor coordination. The samples used are - COG test, STROOP and 2HAND COORDINATION of the Vienna Test System–Schuhfried testing battery. The 32 participants completed and signed participation agreements, a form that stated when they last ate or when they had consumed beverage with sugar in their composition, how many hours they slept the night before and how are they feeling/how is their health at the time.

A numerical power spectrum for electroencephalographic processing

The record of the oscillations of the electric potential of the human brain provides useful information about the mind activity at rest and during the achievement of sensory and cognitive processing tasks. The use of appropriate quantitative tools assigning numerical values to the observed variable is necessary to define good descriptors of the electroencephalogram, allowing comparisons between different recordings. In this line, we propose a numerical method for the spectral and temporal reconstruction of a brain signal. The convergence of the procedure is analyzed, providing results of the concerned approximation error. In a second part of the text, we use the methodology described to the quantification of the bioelectric variations produced in the brain waves for the execution of a test of attention related to military simulation. Copyright © 2014 JohnWiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Selective impairment of attention networks in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy treatment.

Complaints about attention disorders are common among breast cancer survivors who have undergone chemotherapy treatment. However, it is not known whether these complaints indicate a global attention deficit or the selective impairment of attention networks. This study sought to investigate the attentional abilities of breast cancer patients after chemotherapy treatment using the attention network test (ANT). The participants included breast cancer patients who had undergone chemotherapy (CT, N = 58), patients who had not undergone chemotherapy (non-CT, N = 53), and matched healthy controls (HC, N = 55). All participants completed the ANT, which provides measures of three independent attention networks (alerting, orienting, and executive control) and neuropsychological background tests. Our results indicated that the chemotherapy-treated breast cancer patients had significant deficits in the alerting and executive control networks but not in the orienting network. The CT group scored significantly lower in several cognitive tasks, including attention, memory, and information processing tasks, relative to the other two groups. Additionally, significant correlations were found between information processing and the efficiency of the executive control network within the CT group. These results suggest that the three attention networks were selectively impaired following chemotherapy treatment, which affected different brain areas in the breast cancer survivors.

Approximate number sense, symbolic number processing, or number–space mappings: What underlies mathematics achievement?

In this study, the performance of typically developing 6- to 8-year-old children on an approximate number discrimination task, a symbolic comparison task, and a symbolic and nonsymbolic number line estimation task was examined. For the first time, children’s performances on these basic cognitive number processing tasks were explicitly contrasted to investigate which of them is the best predictor of their future mathematical abilities. Math achievement was measured with a timed arithmetic test and with a general curriculum-based math test to address the additional question of whether the predictive association between the basic numerical abilities and mathematics achievement is dependent on which math test is used. Results revealed that performance on both mathematics achievement tests was best predicted by how well childrencompared digits. In addition, an association between performance on the symbolic number line estimation task and math achievement scores for the general curriculum-based math test measuring a broader spectrum of skills was found. Together, these results emphasize the importance of learning experiences with symbols for later math abilities.

Eye Movements and Verbal Report in a Single Case of Visual Neglect

In this single case study, visuospatial neglect patient P1 demonstrated a dissociation between an intact ability to make appropriate reflexive eye movements to targets in the neglected field with latencies of <400 ms, while failing to report targets presented at such durations in a separate verbal detection task. In contrast, there was a failure to evoke the usually robust Remote Distractor Effect in P1, even though distractors in the neglected field were presented at above threshold durations. Together those data indicate that the tight coupling that is normally shown between attention and eye movements appears to be disrupted for low-level orienting in P1. A comparable disruption was also found for high-level cognitive processing tasks, namely reading and scene scanning. The findings are discussed in relation to sampling, attention and awareness in neglect.

Aging of theory of mind: The influence of educational level and cognitive processing

Previous studies of theory of mind (ToM) in old age have provided mixed results. We predicted that educational level and cognitive processing are two factors influencing the pattern of the aging of ToM. To test this hypothesis, a younger group who received higher education (mean age 20.46 years), an older group with an education level equal to that of the young group (mean age 76.29 years), and an older group with less education (mean age 73.52 years) were recruited. ToM tasks included the following tests: the second-order false-belief task, the faux-pas task, the eyes test, and tests of fundamental aspects of cognitive function that included two background tests (memory span and processing speed) and three subcomponents of executive function (inhibition, updating, and shifting). We found that the younger group and the older group with equally high education outperformed the older group with less education in false-belief and faux-pas tasks. However, there was no significant difference between the two former groups. The three groups of participants performed equivalently in the eyes test as well as in control tasks (false-belief control question, faux-pas control question, faux-pas control story, and Eyes Test control task). The younger group outperformed the other two groups in the cognitive processing tasks. Mediation analyses showed that difficulties in inhibition, memory span, and processing speed mediated the age differences in false-belief reasoning. Also, the variables of inhibition, updating, memory span, and processing speed mediated age-related variance in faux-pas. Discussion focused on the links between ToM aging, educational level, and cognitive processing. Supported by Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (number: 30870766) and Anhui Province Natural Science Foundation (number: 11040606M166).

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Reveals White Matter Microstructure Correlations With Auditory Processing Ability

Correlation of white matter microstructure with various cognitive processing tasks and with overall intelligence has been previously demonstrated. We investigate the correlation of white matter microstructure with various higher-order auditory processing tasks, including interpretation of speech-in-noise, recognition of low-pass frequency filtered words, and interpretation of time-compressed sentences at two different values of compression. These tests are typically used to diagnose auditory processing disorder (APD) in children. Our hypothesis is that correlations between white matter microstructure in tracts connecting the temporal, frontal, and parietal lobes, as well as callosal pathways, will be seen. Previous functional imaging studies have shown correlations between activation in temporal, frontal, and parietal regions from higher-order auditory processing tasks. In addition, we hypothesize that the regions displaying correlations will vary according to the task because each task uses a different set of skills. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data were acquired from a cohort of 17 normal-hearing children aged 9 to 11 yrs. Fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of white matter fiber tract integrity and organization, was computed and correlated on a voxelwise basis with performance on the auditory processing tasks, controlling for age, sex, and full-scale IQ. Divergent correlations of white matter FA depending on the particular auditory processing task were found. Positive correlations were found between FA and speech-in-noise in white matter adjoining prefrontal areas and between FA and filtered words in the corpus callosum. Regions exhibiting correlations with time-compressed sentences varied depending on the degree of compression: the greater degree of compression (with the greatest difficulty) resulted in correlations in white matter adjoining prefrontal (dorsal and ventral), whereas the smaller degree of compression (with less difficulty) resulted in correlations in white matter adjoining audiovisual association areas and the posterior cingulate. Only the time-compressed sentences with the lowest degree of compression resulted in positive correlations in the centrum semiovale; all the other tasks resulted in negative correlations. The dependence of performance on higher-order auditory processing tasks on brain anatomical connectivity was seen in normal-hearing children aged 9 to 11 yrs. Results support a previously hypothesized dual-stream (dorsal and ventral) model of auditory processing, and that higher-order processing tasks rely less on the dorsal stream related to articulatory networks and more on the ventral stream related to semantic comprehension. Results also show that the regions correlating with auditory processing vary according to the specific task, indicating that the neurological bases for the various tests used to diagnose APD in children may be partially independent.

Borderline personality features and pupil reactivity during cognitive and emotional information processing tasks

Borderline personality features and pupil reactivity during cognitive and emotional information processing tasks

Self-report and Cognitive Processing Measures of Depressive Thinking Predict Subsequent Major Depressive Disorder

We examined the utility of two measures of cognitive bias—a self-report questionnaire, the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (Weissman and Beck 1978), and a cognitive processing task, the Scrambled Sentences Test (Wenzlaff 1988, 1993), in predicting episodes of depression prospectively in a community-based sample of nondepressed women. When examined separately, each measure contributed significantly to predicting a subsequent diagnosis of MDD, supporting the utility of both types of measures as indicators of depression vulnerability. When examined together, each measure made an independent contribution to the prediction of MDD, raising the possibility that questionnaire and processing tasks may assess separate aspects of cognitive vulnerability to depression.

Relationships between global motion and global form processing, practice, cognitive and visual processing in adults with dyslexia or visual discomfort

The aim of the first of two experiments was to investigate the effect of practice on sensitivity to global motion and global form in a group of adults with dyslexia, a group of normal readers with visual discomfort, a group with dyslexia and visual discomfort, and a control group. In comparison to the control group, and regardless of the effect of practice, the group with dyslexia was significantly less sensitive to global motion. No differences in global motion sensitivity were found when individuals with dyslexia, with or without visual discomfort, were compared. The normal reading group with visual discomfort was less sensitive to global motion than the control group at baseline, but not when a second estimate of motion sensitivity was obtained. About 30% of the group with dyslexia had a global motion deficit on each threshold estimate. In contrast, there were no significant effects of practice or group on sensitivity to global form. In Experiment 2, performance on a number of cognitive and visual processing tasks was measured in four groups: two with dyslexia; one with and one without a global motion deficit, a normal reading group with visual discomfort, and a control group. The group with visual discomfort had reduced visual processing speed only. Regardless of whether a global motion processing deficit was present or absent in individuals with dyslexia, reduced accuracy was found on the language and visual processing measures, and on a rapid temporal sequencing task. Individuals with dyslexia and a global motion deficit had poorer accuracy than individuals with dyslexia and no motion deficit on the phonological processing and verbal short term memory tasks. We concluded that some adults with dyslexia have a persistent deficit when processing global motion but not global form. This is consistent with reports of a magnocellular pathway deficit in this group. Individuals with visual discomfort do not have a magnocellular processing deficit, but have perceptual difficulties when performing complex visual processing tasks.

Effects of Auditory Distraction on Cognitive Processing of Young Adults

Objective: The effects of interference, competition, and distraction on cognitive processing are unclearly understood, particularly regarding type and intensity of auditory distraction across a variety of cognitive processing tasks. Method: The purpose of this investigation was to report two experiments that sought to explore the effects of types of distraction (4-talker babble; word repetition; combined 4-talker babble with word repetition) when compared to a control condition of quiet on a range of computerized measures (simple reaction time; choice reaction time; serial pattern matching; lexical decision-making; visual selective attention; response reversal and rapid visual scanning; and form discrimination) in 40 young adults (Experiment 1). Results: Few distraction effects were found on cognitive processing at the comfortable loudness level (40dB SL). In Experiment 2, statistically significant differences for choice reaction time and serial pattern matching (working memory) were found in both speed and accuracy when distractions were presented at perceived uncomfortable loudness levels (ULL) and compared with conditions of quiet and comfortable loudness level (40dB SL). Conclusion: Cognitive resource allocation models may be useful in interpreting the effects of auditory distraction on cognitive-linguistic processing, and this model may help to explain differential distraction effects in clinical populations with attention deficits. (J. of Att. Dis. 2007; 10(4) 398-409)

Victims of their own cognitions: Implicit social cognitions, emotional distress, and peer victimization

This study investigated the relation between victimization and victimization-related distress and implicit social–cognitive processing. Eighty-seven 9–13 year old children completed measures of victimization experience and social cognitive processing tasks, including the emotional Stroop task and the self-concept Implicit Association Test (IAT). Participants also related narratives of personal victimization experiences. Results showed that children who experienced more frequent victimization and expressed more distress when discussing their victimization demonstrated increased implicit association of themselves as victims and greater use of emotionally dysregulated preemptive processing. This study represents the first evidence of a relation between distinct implicit processing patterns and chronic peer victimization among children.

Using proton magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy to understand brain “activation”

Upon stimulation, areas of the brain associated with specific cognitive processing tasks may undergo observable physiological changes, and measures of such changes have been used to create brain maps for visualization of stimulated areas in task-related brain “activation” studies. These perturbations usually continue throughout the period of the stimulating event, and then subside when the event is terminated. In this communication, we consider the nature and meaning of these task-related brain activations. Since stimulation usually results in an increase in the frequency of neuron depolarizations or “spikes”, an energy expensive activity that requires ATP for restoration of ionic gradients, additional energy supplies must be rapidly deployed to the stimulated areas or rates of re-polarization could be decreased, and refractory periods between spikes increased. As a result, maximum spiking rates may be decreased and some frequency-encoded information lost. The energy available to brain cells to re-synthesize ATP from ADP is a function of levels of glucose and oxygen in blood, and their availability to stimulated neurons is a function of the rate at which focal blood supplies can be increased (hyperemia). In this review we explore how neurons transmit meaningful encoded information; how the integrity of that information is dependent on a continuous supply of energy, and how proton magnetic imaging and spectroscopy may aid in understanding the process. Finally, evidence is presented that the neuropeptide, N-acetylaspartylglutamate, is a neuronal astrocyte-vascular feedback signal that regulates activation induced focal hyperemic responses.

Intrasubject variability of cognitive and word retrieval performance across six sessions

Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USAA burgeoning interest appears to be developing in understandingthe nature and interactions between aphasia and nonlinguistic cogni-tive factors such as attention and working memory (Caspari, Parkin-son, LaPointe, & Katz, 1998; Erickson, Goldfinger, & LaPointe, 1996;Helm-Estabrooks, 2002; LaPointe & Erickson, 1991; Murray, 1999).Others (Hoffmann, 2001; Hochstenbach, Mulder, van Limbeek,Donders, & Schoonderwaldt, 1998) have noted the strong presence ofcognitive decline after stroke and commented on how marked slownessof information processing could impact linguistic performance.Some researchers (McNeil et al., 1991) have integrated disturbancesof cognitive processing into cognitive resource allocation models ofaphasia and suggested that the intrasubject variability of languageperformance seen in aphasia might be explained by fluctuating cog-nitive performance. Disturbances in word retrieval and lexical-se-mantic processing remains one of the hallmarks of aphasia andexplanations of variability across these domains also have been enig-matic (Moreno, Buchanan, & Van Orden, 2002; Nespoulous, Villiard,& Lecours, 1989). Despite the growing archive of research on cogni-tive-linguistic interactions, the sources of variability in aphasia remainelusive and unclearly understood. More elementally, the nature andrelationship of intrasubject variability on cognitive and word retrievaltasks across repeatedsessions of assessmentis relatively unstudied. Thepurpose of this study is twofold:1. To describe the variability of four individuals with aphasia on in-depth tasks of word retrieval and cognitive processing performanceacross six sessions of assessment.2. To explore the pattern of correlation and variability among wordretrieval and cognitive processing tasks across six sessions to deter-mine if changes in word retrieval across test sessions can be pre-dicted by changes in cognitive processing performance.MethodsParticipantsFour individuals with aphasia were recruited for this study andvolunteered to participate in six assessment sessions each. Our parti-cipants all suffered a single, left hemisphere thromboembolic CVA andwere mildly to moderately impaired in language as measured by theWestern Aphasia Battery and other standardized measures of languageimpairment. Participants were classified as having non-fluent, Broca’s-type aphasia. They ranged in age from 34 to 66 with a mean of 58.6.All were right handed pre-morbidly, were judged to be neurologicallystable beyond the acute epoch, and ranged in time post onset from 3months to several years. All participants were male.MeasuresSerialperformanceontheprinciplemeasuresincludedthefollowing:Cognitive measure: A computerized assessment protocol was se-lectedthatmeasuresthefollowingcognitiveskillsinthevisualmodality:• simple reaction time• choice reaction time• serial pattern matching• lexical discrimination• visual selective attention• response reversal with rapid visual scanning• abstract form discriminationThis measure has been standardized on a large group of non-braindamaged subjects and a variety of clinical populations (Miller, 1990;1995). The battery measures and records reaction times in millisecondsas well as accuracy across the 10 subtests of the full battery. Signaldetection analysis and accuracy corrected for false positives is alsorecorded and summarized.Word retrieval measure: The Test of Adolescent/Adult WordFinding (TAWF) (German, 1990). The complete TAWF batterymeasures naming nouns, verbs, sentence completion, naming to de-scription, and naming categories. Accuracy as well as latency of re-sponses is recorded.The measures were administered in counterbalanced order. The sixsessions for each participant were accomplished with approximatelyweekly sessions over a six-week period.ResultsFig. 1 presents the group means for the word retrieval scores (totalperformance for all TAWF subtests) as well as the group means for allof the CalCap cognitive processing subtests across the six sessions ofadministration. Description and analysis of performance across theindividual subtests and for individual subjects also will be presented.Spearman’s coefficient of correlation for word retrieval (groupTAWF total scores) and group CalCap reaction times was ).886(p = .028). Spearman’s r value for word retrieval and CalCap accuracywas ).08 (n.s.).

A SEEG study of ERP in motor and premotor cortices and in the basal ganglia.

Our intention was to study the electrical activity related to the cognitive processing of simple sensory stimuli in the brain structures that participate in motor control. We focused our interest on the 250-600 ms time window, in which cognitive activity most probably provides the basis for the activity recorded. Intracerebral stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) recordings were made from 15 epilepsy surgery candidates. We studied potentials that were recorded in a time window in which P300 usually could be recorded on the scalp and that were directly recorded from brain structures involved in motor control: the primary motor cortex (MC, Brodmann's area 4); the lateral and mesial (SMA) premotor cortices (Brodmann's area 6); and the basal ganglia. We evaluated the first distinctive potential to occur in the 250-600 ms time window that displayed an amplitude gradient in several adjacent contacts. Four protocols were performed: an auditory oddball (aP3); a visual oddball (vP3); and contingent negative variation (CNV) protocols, in which the potentials evoked by the auditory warning (aCNV) and visual imperative (vCNV) stimuli were evaluated. In the protocols aP3, vP3, and vCNV, the tested person responded by flexing his/her thumb or hand. In the aCNV paradigm, and in a further auditory oddball paradigm (aP3c), no motor response was required. We compared the presence of an event-related potential (ERP) with an amplitude gradient to the absence of a generator. The frequency of P3-like potential components was statistically significantly higher in the basal ganglia when compared with the explored cortical sites. Statistically non-significant latency differences between the basal ganglia and the cortex were displayed. The differences in the distribution of the potentials in the individual cortical areas were insignificant. The mean latency of vP3 was longer than the latencies of aP3, aP3c and vCNV. There was no significant difference between the distribution and latency of aP3 and aP3c. (1) ERPs are generated in cortical as well as in subcortical structures. (2) The cognitive processing of sensory information in all the tested protocols occurred in the basal ganglia; the occurrence in the investigated cortical areas was less frequent and more dependent on the task. The basal ganglia may play an integrative role in cognitive information processing, in motor and non-motor tasks.

Acute hypoglycemia impairs the functioning of the central but not peripheral nervous system

Acute hypoglycemia impairs functions of the central nervous system, but few controlled studies have assessed the impact of hypoglycemia on the function of the peripheral nervous system. Sixteen non-diabetic humans underwent two separate hyperinsulinemic glucose clamp procedures on different study days, in a counter-balanced fashion. On one occasion, euglycemia was maintained (blood glucose, 5.0 mmol l −1), and on the other occasion, hypoglycemia (blood glucose, 2.6 mmol l −1) was induced. During each condition, subjects performed a combined psychometric, cognitive-experimental and psychophysical test battery, and measures were made (in the dominant median and common peroneal nerves) of the motor nerve conduction velocities and the amplitudes of the motor action potentials. Hypoglycemia caused impaired performance of general cognitive and information processing tasks ( P<.05), but nerve conduction velocities and the amplitudes of motor action potentials were unaffected. Conduction velocities of the common peroneal nerve decreased from baseline within each experimental condition, perhaps due to hyperinsulinemia. Overall, these results demonstrate that multiple levels of information processing in the brain may alter while peripheral nerve function remains intact, and imply that peripheral neurons do not have the same obligate requirement for glucose as a metabolic fuel as neurons of the central nervous system.

Impaired verbal memory is associated with impaired motor performance in schizophrenia: relationship to brain structure

Deficient ability to take advantage of predictable elements in the performance of cognitive tasks has been proposed as an underlying factor for a number of deviances in schizophrenia. In a schizophrenic sample ( n=39), we propose and test the view that certain memory and motor anomalies arise because of a compromise in the capacity to take advantage of the redundant (predictable) features of cognitive tasks. Results demonstrate a relationship between reduced capacity to take advantage of predictable features of two different cognitive processing tasks, one verbal memory, and the other motor. Poorer verbal recall on high-redundancy word lists was associated with a reduced ability to produce synchronous finger tapping in response to a high redundancy auditory stimulus, and inversely correlated with formal thought disorder ratings. These relationships, we suggest, reflect a specific and common schizophrenic deficit in the use of redundancies, not attributable to a generalized deficiency in performance. Structural imaging evidence from a subsample of these subjects ( n=16) implicates frontal areas as the locus of this cognitive impairment.

Efficacy of a Cognitive Reading Remediation Program For At-Risk Children in Grade 1

Fifty-eight Grade 1 children experiencing reading difficulties were divided into two matched remediation groups: PREP (PASS Reading Enhancement Program) (see Das &amp; Kendrick, 1997) and Meaning-Based Reading intervention. Both groups received remediation twice a week for 20 min over a 9-week period. Participants’ reading level was assessed pre- and post-intervention using Word Identification (WI) and Word Attack (WA) tests. Repeated measures ANOVAs showed a significant main effect of Testing Time for both WI and WA. For WA, the Testing Time by Remediation Group interaction was also significant; the PREP group gained more than the meaning-based group in terms of decoding skills. Next, the performance of High-Gainers and No-Gainers in both groups was compared on several cognitive processing tasks. Results indicated that High-Gainers in the PREP group were characterized by a somewhat higher level of successive processing, phonological processing, and word recognition skills at the beginning of the program. In contrast, High-Gainers in the meaning-based program were characterized by a higher level of planning, phonological processing, and visual memory. Implications for education and future directions for research on remediation are also presented.

Interactions among Variables in the P300 Response to a Continuous Performance Task

This study investigated the effect of variable interstimulus intervals (ISIs) on behavioral reaction time (RT) and on the latency and amplitude of the auditory P300 using an auditory continuous performance task (ACPT) paradigm. Twenty subjects were instructed to respond to common stimuli and ignore a rare stimulus. Common stimuli were 1000-, 1500-, and 2000-Hz pure tones. The rare stimulus was a 250-Hz pure tone. ISIs of 1, 2, and 4 seconds were used for this investigation. A significant correlation between ISI, reaction time, P300 latency, correct rejections, and false alarm rates was found. A significant correlation between P300 latency, P300 amplitude, correct rejections, and false alarm rates was also observed. Likewise, a statistically significant increase in reaction time (RT) was observed as ISI increased. The ACPT paradigm in conjunction with the auditory P300 response can measure both behavioral and electrophysiologic changes that occur during active auditory attention and auditory cognitive processing tasks.