Color Naming Test Research Articles

Prodromal Cognitive Changes as a Prognostic Indicator of Forthcoming Huntington's Disease Severity: A Retrospective Longitudinal Study.

Cognitive changes in Huntington's disease (HD) precede motor manifestations. ENROLL-HD platform includes four cognitive measures of information processing speed (IPS). Our group is eager to seek clinical markers in the life stage that is as close as possible to the age of onset (ie, the so called prodromal HD phase) because this is the best time for therapeutic interventions. Our study aimed to test whether cognitive scores in prodromal ENROLL-HD mutation carriers show the potential to predict the severity of motor and behavioral changes once HD became fully manifested. From the global ENROLL-HD cohort of 21,343 participants, we first selected a premanifest Cohort#1 (ie, subjects with Total Motor Score (TMS) <10 and Diagnostic Confidence Level (DCL) <4, N = 1.222). From this cohort, we then focused on a prodromal Cohort#2 of subjects who were ascertained to phenoconvert into manifest HD at follow-up visits (ie, subjects from 6 ≤ TMS≤9 and DCL <4 to TMS≥10 and DCL = 4, n = 206). The main results of our study showed that low IPS before phenoconversion in Cohort#2 predicted the severity of motor and behavioral manifestations. By combining the four IPS cognitive measures (eg, the Categorical Verbal Fluency Test; Stroop Color Naming Test; Stroop Word Reading; Symbol Digit Modalities Test), we generated a Composite Cognition Score (CCS). The lower the CCS score the higher the TMS and the apathy scores in the same longitudinally followed-up patients after phenoconversion. CCS might represent a clinical instrument to predict the prognosis of mutation carriers who are close to manifesting HD.

Improved brain energetics and cognition after a 6‐month ketogenic intervention in mild cognitive impairment: Final results of the Benefic Trial

AbstractBackgroundKetones can partially substitute for glucose as a brain fuel and may be beneficial for cognition in older people. The objective of the randomized, placebo‐controlled Benefic Trial (NCT02551419) was to assess whether counteracting the brain energy (glucose) deficit with a ketogenic medium chain triglyceride (kMCT) supplement could improve cognitive performance in mild cognitive impairment (MCI).MethodsA cognitive battery was used to screen for MCI and cognitive outcomes after the intervention. Cognitive outcomes pre‐ and post‐intervention were obtained for the active arm (15 g kMCT twice/day in a lactose‐free skim milk emulsion; n=39 completers) and placebo arm (non‐ketogenic vegetable oil of equivalent energy value and formulation as for the kMCT; n=44 completers). Brain ketone and glucose PET were done before and at the end of the 6‐month intervention on a sub‐group of both arms (n=19/group).ResultsSeveral cognitive domains improved post‐intervention in the kMCT group (p≤0.01; ANCOVA; age and education as covariates). Specifically, Trial 1 of the Free and Cued Recall Test showed a +1 word improvement on kMCT (+0.5 Δ Z‐score), correct answers on the Verbal Fluency Test increased by 2 words on kMCT (+0.3 Δ Z‐score) but decreased by 1 word on placebo (‐0.1 Δ Z‐score), correct answers on the Boston Naming Test increased by 1.1 on kMCT only, time taken on the Stroop Colour Naming Test decreased by 1 sec on the kMCT (p=0.09), and errors on the Trail Making Test decreased by 0.9 on kMCT but increased by 0.8 on placebo (p=0.02). Brain ketone uptake increased in the kMCT arm only and directly as the increase in plasma ketones (r = 0.87, p&lt;0.01). Average drop‐out rate on both arms was 31% and, in completers, protocol adherence was 89% over six months.ConclusionsIn MCI, a kMCT supplement had a clinically meaningful effect on some cognitive outcomes directly related to risk of progression toward Alzheimer’s disease, and significantly improved brain energy supply. It is feasible for an MCI population to consume a kMCT supplement daily for six months. Acknowledgements: Financial support was provided by the Alzheimer Association USA, FRQS, Université de Sherbrooke and Nestlé Health Science.

Validation Study of a German Cognitive Battery for Huntington's Disease: Relationship Between Cognitive Performance, Functional Decline, and Disease Burden.

ObjectiveCognitive decline is a key characteristic of Huntington’s disease (HD). This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of a cognitive battery with six tests used by most HD research centers to assess cognitive impairment in HD.MethodIn total, 106 HD patients in different disease stages with more (HD-CD, N = 30) and less cognitive impairments (HD-NC, N = 70) and 100 healthy controls (NC) were matched by age, sex, and education and were examined using a standardized protocol including cognitive, motor, and functional assessments.ResultsOne-way between-groups analysis of variance showed that controls performed significantly better than HD patients and that HD-NC significantly outperformed HD-CD patients in all cognitive tests (NC > HD-NC > HD-CD), with all Games-Howell post-hoc tests p < .001. Analyses using area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) disclosed the diagnostic accuracy of all tests included in the battery to discriminate between NC and HD patients with AUC ranging from 0.809 to 0.862 (all p < .001) and between HD-CD and HD-NC patients with AUC ranging from 0.833 to 0.899 (all p < .001). In both analysis, Stroop Color Naming Test showed the highest discriminative potential. Additional analyses showed that cognitive deficits in all domains progressed with disease duration. Moreover, cognitive performance correlated with the severity of motor and functional impairment (all p < .001) and with the Disease Burden Score regardless of disease duration and age.ConclusionOur results indicate that the cognitive battery is a suitable tool for assessing cognitive impairment in HD.

Argentinean Psycholinguistic Picture Naming Test in color

Color has demonstrated to have an influence on picture naming tasks. Objects with high color diagnosticity are recalled faster than objects with low value. That is why the Argentinean Psycholinguistic Picture Naming Test in color (PAPDIC in Spanish) was designed. The items and semantic cues were built considering local psycholinguistic norms. A series of psychometric analyses were performed on a sample of patients with focal brain damage with (n = 11) and without (n = 14) aphasia, a sample of patients with degenerative disease (n = 46) and two samples of healthy participants (young n = 27, old n = 50). Evidence of convergent validity was obtained through the correlation with the brief Boston Naming Test (r = 0.871; p < .001); of criteria validity by means of contrasted groups analysis (t = 4.059, p < .001), and through the ROC curve analysis (AUC = 0.993). Scores’ reliability was explored by means of an internal consistency analysis (KR20 = 0.905). These results indicate that the PAPDIC is a promising color naming test which can be applied in the field of clinical neuropsychology to identify anomia. This test has several advantages in comparison with the available naming tests in Argentina.

Cognitive and Motor Norms for Huntington's Disease.

The progression of Huntington's disease (HD) for gene-expanded carriers is well-studied. Natural aging effects, however, are not often considered in the evaluation of HD progression. To examine the effects of natural aging for healthy controls and to develop normative curves by age, sex, and education from the distribution of observed scores for the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Stroop Word Reading Test, Stroop Color Naming Test, Stroop Interference Test, Total Motor Score, and Total Functional Capacity (TFC) from the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) along with a composite score. After combining longitudinal REGISTRY and Enroll-HD data, we used quantile regression and natural cubic splines for age to fit models for healthy controls (N=3,394; N observations=8,619). Normative curves were estimated for the 0.05, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 0.95 quantiles. Two types of reference curves were considered: unconditional curves were dependent on age alone, whereas conditional curves were dependent on age and other covariates, namely sex and education. Conditioning on education was necessary for the Symbol Digit, Stroop Word, Stroop Color, Stroop Interference, and composite UHDRS. Unconditional curves were sufficient for the Total Motor Score. TFC was unique in that the curve was constant over age with its intercept at the maximum score (TFC=13). For all measures, sex effects were minimal, so conditioning on sex was unwarranted. Extreme quantile estimates for each measure can be considered as boundaries for natural aging and scores falling beyond these thresholds are likely the result of disease progression. Normative curves and tables are developed and can serve as references for clinical characterization in HD.

Huntington's Disease and Employment: The Relative Contributions of Cognitive and Motor Decline to the Decision to Leave Work.

Huntington's disease (HD) presents with motor, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms that impair functional capacity and the ability to maintain employment. The relative contribution of cognitive decline to work disability remains controversial. To evaluate the association of cognitive decline, compared with motor decline, with the decision to leave work. Data from the Enroll-HD observational study were analyzed. The correlation of age of cognitive symptom onset and age of motor symptom onset with age at leaving work was assessed. The association of the Stroop Color Naming Test (SCNT) cognitive assessment and the Total Motor Score (TMS) assessment (reverse scored) with the Total Functional Capacity (TFC) assessment was also assessed. For every year delay in cognitive symptom onset, there was a 0.806 year increase in age at leaving work (SE = 0.030, p < 0.001, adj-R2 = 0.628). For every year delay of motor symptom onset, there was a 0.814 year increase in age at leaving work (SE = 0.031, p < 0.001, adj-R2 = 0.603). For every additional correct SCNT response given and for every unit increase in TMS, there was a 0.105 unit increase (SE = 0.006, p < 0.001, adj-R2 = 0.315) and a 0.104 unit decrease in TFC (SE = 0.003, p < 0.001, adj-R2 = 0.640), respectively. Cognitive symptoms have a significant association, comparable to that of motor symptoms, with occupational functioning and the decision to leave work, suggesting that development of therapies for both cognitive and motor decline would be important for allowing people with HD to remain in the workforce longer.

Altered functional connectivity strength and its correlations with cognitive function in subjects with ultra-high risk for psychosis at rest.

Evidence of altered structural and functional connectivity in the frontal-occipital network is associated with cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia. However, the altered patterns of functional connectivity strength (FCS) in individuals with ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis remain unknown. In this study, whole-brain FCS was assessed to examine the altered patterns of FCS in UHR subjects. A total of 34 UHR subjects and 37 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled to undergo resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The imaging data were analyzed using the graph theory method. Compared with healthy controls, UHR subjects showed significantly decreased FCS in the left middle frontal gyrus and significantly increased FCS in the left calcarine cortex. The FCS values in the left middle frontal gyrus were positively correlated to the scores of the Brief Assessments of Cognitionin Schizophrenia Symbol Coding Test (r=0.366, P=0.033) in the UHR subjects. A negative correlation was found between the FCS values in the left calcarine cortex and the scores of the Stroop color-naming test (r=-0.475, P=0.016) in the UHR subjects. A combination of the FCS values in the 2 brain areas showed an accuracy of 87.32%, a sensitivity of 73.53%, and a specificity of 100% for distinguishing UHR subjects from healthy controls. Significantly altered FCS in the frontal-occipital network is observed in the UHR subjects. Furthermore, decreased FCS in the left middle frontal gyrus and increased FCS in the left calcarine have significant correlations with the cognitive measures of the UHR subjects and thus improve our understanding of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of schizophrenia. Moreover, a combination of the FCS values in the 2 brain areas can serve as a potential image marker to distinguish UHR subjects from healthy controls.

0532 TEXT MESSAGE REMINDERS AND INTENSIVE EDUCATION IMPROVES POSITIVE AIRWAY PRESSURE COMPLIANCE AND COGNITION IN VETERANS WITH TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA: ANNIE PILOT STUDY

Previous research has shown that patients with both traumatic brain injury (TBI) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have more cognitive problems than patients with TBI alone. Our objective was to determine if intensive education and text message reminders improved positive airway pressure (PAP) compliance and cognition in veterans with OSA and TBI. In this randomized, double-blind, controlled trial, nineteen veterans with chronic stage TBI and newly diagnosed OSA were assigned to receive intensive education at the initial visit and nightly text message reminders to use PAP (reminder group) or to a standard-of-care (SOC) group. Mean percentage overall PAP compliance was averaged over the first seven days and at one month. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and cognitive tests were administered at baseline and 1 month. Effect sizes that incorporated both pre/post and between group differences were calculated. The reminder group was significantly more compliant with PAP over the first seven days compared to the SOC group (83.94% vs. 55.35%, p=0.04). Reminder group compliance was also greater at 30 days, although not significant (58.85% vs. 36.86%). Twelve patients completed the ESS and cognitive testing at 1 month. Compared to baseline, reminder group ESS scores improved to the normal range (10.14 ± 5.08 to 7.29 ± 4.89) with a medium effect size (dppc2 = -0.39). Medium effect sizes were observed in the cognitive domains of attention on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test List B (dppc2=0.52), verbal speed of information processing on the Stroop Color Naming test (dppc2=0.48), and speeded inhibition on the Stroop Color Word Test (dppc2=0.38), which is a measure of executive function. Intensive education and text message reminders significantly improved PAP compliance. The reminder group showed clinically relevant improvements on subjective sleepiness and on cognitive measures of attention, processing speed and executive function in veterans with TBI and OSA. Supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, 2015 VISN 5 New Investigator Award.

具身效应发生在情绪认知加工过程的早期

情绪的理解过程中需要具身模仿参与，同时外周身体运动也可以激活对于情绪的感知。本研究采用积极、消极和中性情绪效价词汇作为刺激材料，采用情绪STROOP任务(如果被试接收并加工了某种特定的情绪，会占用一定的认知资源，这将导致随后的颜色命名反应变慢，这种干扰效应被称为情绪STROOP效应)，通过递进的两个实验，在刺激呈现不同时间条件下，采用情绪STROOP范式的色块颜色判断任务，探索情绪认知加工过程中具身认知参与随时间变化的特点和机制。实验一结果发现：1) 在刺激呈现10 ms到500 ms的时间段内，情绪STROOP效应一直存在；2) 在10 ms到100 ms的刺激呈现时间内，情绪STROOP效应量呈线性增长趋势，但是在100 ms后，出现急剧的下降；实验二在实验一的基础上加入具身介入操作以增强或抑制被试对于情绪的理解，结果进一步验证实验一中情绪STROOP效应量在100 ms以后的急剧下降是由具身模拟对于情绪认知加工的影响消失所致。结果表明，利用身体作为工具帮助我们有效理解情绪是认知系统的一个策略，但此策略有一个时间上的压力。具身认知启动速度快，但如果由于某些原因，具身认知不能帮助我们完成情绪理解，抽象思维还可以保证我们的情绪理解。这项研究发现了利用身体去帮助我们理解情绪的具身效应出现在早期的认知加工过程中。 Research shows that the process of understanding the emotions involves embodied simulation. The outer periphery of the body movement can activate the emotional perception. In this study, emotional words with positive, negative and neutral valence are used as stimulations. The emo-tional STROOP task is employed in this study, if a specific emotion has been received and processed by the participants; this would occupy a certain of cognition resources and thus make the following color naming test slower. This interference effect is called emotional STROOP effect. Through two organized experiments with different stimulus presentation time and emotional STROOP tasks, it has been explored that how embodied cognition affects the emotional cognitive processing in time-varying situations. Experiment one finds that: 1) when stimulus presents 10 ms to 500 ms, there has been an emotional STROOP effect; 2) within 10 ms to 100 ms of stimulus presentation time, emotional STROOP effect size increases linearly, but after 100 ms, there appears a sharp decline; the second experiment adds an embodied operation on the basis of experiment one in order to enhance or inhibit the participants’ understanding of emotion, the result of experiment 2 is a further verification that emotional STROOP effect shows a sharp decline after the 100 ms group due to the disappearance of embodied cognitive influence on emotional cognitive processing. These results indicate that one strategy of cognition system is using our body as a tool to understand the emotion effectively. But this strategy is not the only one and it has a time pressure. The embodied cognition works fast, but if, for some reason, the embodied cognition cannot aid the understanding of emotions, the abstract thinking can also guarantee that we understand the emotions. The result of this study may lead to a conclusion that embodied cognition does occur in the cognition process and body would be used in a rather early stage of the process of emotion understanding.

Cognitive demand does not influence the responsiveness of homonymous Ia afferents pathway during postural dual task in young and elderly adults

This study was designed to investigate the influence of a cognitive task on the responsiveness of the homonymous Ia afferents pathway during upright standing in young and elderly adults. Twelve young and twelve elderly adults stood upright on a foam surface positioned over a force platform, and performed a colour-naming test (cognitive task) with two cognitive loads: congruent and incongruent colour conditions. The rate of correct response in naming colour (accuracy) and associated reaction time (RT) were recorded for the cognitive task. The excursion of the centre of pressure and surface electromyogramme (EMG) of leg muscles were measured. Modulation in the efficacy of homonymous Ia afferents to discharge spinal motor neurones was assessed by means of the Hoffmann (H) reflex method. The accuracy and RT were similar in the congruent condition between young and elderly adults (p > 0.05), and increased for both age groups in the incongruent condition, but more so for elderly adults (p = 0.014). In contrast, the H reflex amplitude did not change with the cognitive load. The excursions of the centre of pressure in the sagittal plane and muscle EMG did not vary with colour conditions in both groups (p > 0.05). This study indicates a lack of modulation in the efficacy of group Ia afferent to activate soleus motor neurones with the cognitive demand of a concurrent task during upright standing in young and elderly adults.

Depressive symptoms in prodromal Huntington's Disease correlate with Stroop-interference related functional connectivity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex

Huntington's Disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) triplet repeat-expansion in the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. Diagnosis of HD is classically defined by the presence of motor symptoms; however, cognitive and depressive symptoms frequently precede motor manifestations, and may occur early in the prodromal phase. There are sparse data so far on functional brain correlates of depressive symptoms in prodromal HD. A Stroop color-naming test was administered to 32 subjects in the prodromal phase of HD and 52 expansion-negative controls while performing functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3Tesla. Networks of functional connectivity were identified using group independent component analysis, followed by an analysis of functional network interactions. A contrast of temporal regression-based beta-weights was calculated as a reflection of Stroop-interference related activity and correlated with Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scores. For secondary analysis, patients were stratified into two subgroups by median split of CAG repeat-length. Stroop performance was independent of HTT mutation-carrier status and CES-D score. Stroop-interference-related activity of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex-node of the default-mode network, calculated by temporal-regression beta-weights, was more highly correlated with depressive symptoms in subjects in the prodromal phase of HD than in controls, differing significantly. The strength of this correlation and its difference from controls increased when a subgroup of patients with longer CAG repeat lengths was analyzed. These findings suggest that depressive symptoms in prodromal HD subjects may reflect altered functional brain network activity in the context of early HD-related brain alterations.

Do Color-Deficient Observers Take Longer to Complete a Color-Related Task?

Previous research has shown that observers with congenital red-green color vision deficiencies (color-deficient) have longer reaction and response times in making color-related judgments compared with individuals with normal color vision (color-normals). The objectives of this study were to determine how much longer color-deficient observers take to complete a visual display terminal (VDT) based color naming test without imposed time constraints, whether there was any correlation between error rate and time to complete the task, to determine the effect of familiarity on the time to complete the task, and whether the completion times were correlated with the anomaloscope or Farnsworth D-15. The VDT task requires individuals to identify colors used to code information in a railway dispatcher display. The test typically takes 8 to 10 min to complete. Eighty-one color-normals and 41 color-deficient observers participated. The total number of errors and time to complete the test were recorded. There were two sessions separated by approximately 2 weeks. The color-deficient group was divided into those that passed the test and those that failed. Pass/fail criteria for the color naming test was established based on the number and types of color-normal errors. The time to complete the task for the color-deficient group who passed was 14% longer than color-normals. Color-deficient observers who failed took 29% longer than color-normals. Mean times to complete the task at the second session were significantly faster (18%) for all three groups with the reduction in time approximately equal across the groups. There was no significant correlation between the number of errors and time to complete or the clinical tests and completion times for any of the three groups. In general, color-deficient observers required more time to the complete the color identification test than color-normals. Although color-deficient observers who failed the VDT test took the longest, there was no correlation between time and the number of errors for any of the subject groups.

Method development studies for repeatedly measuring anxiolytic drug effects in healthy humans

Human experimental models for anxiety may serve as translational tools for translating preclinical psychopharmacological investigations into human studies. For the evaluation of drugs of which pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are unidentified, repeating measurements after drug administration is necessary for characterising the time course of drug effects. In experiment 1, a threat-of-shock paradigm and adaptations of the Trier mental arithmetic test and the Stroop colour naming test were repeated four times within a day to evaluate whether anxiety responses to this test battery remain stable after repeated testing. This procedure was repeated on 4 days in a second experiment to evaluate suitability of the paradigm for a crossover design with multiple sessions. Results indicate no reductions or changes in fear potentiated startle, the main outcome measure for the threat paradigm, over test sessions or days. Skin conductance responses and subjective ratings under threat-of-shock showed significant fluctuations but also no systematic decline over time. Finally, the threat paradigm and Stroop test resulted in small increases in reported state anxiety while mental arithmetic produced larger effects that diminished after the first test day. It is concluded that especially the startle paradigm could be a useful new instrument for screening new anxiolytic drugs.

Why do interracial interactions impair executive function? A resource depletion account.

Three studies investigated the veracity of a resource depletion account of the impairment of inhibitory task performance after interracial contact. White individuals engaged in either an interracial or same-race interaction, then completed an ostensibly unrelated Stroop color-naming test. In each study, the self-regulatory demands of the interaction were either increased (Study 1) or decreased (Studies 2 and 3). Results revealed that increasing the self-regulatory demands of an interracial interaction led to greater Stroop interference compared with control, whereas reducing self-regulatory demands led to less Stroop interference. Manipulating self-regulatory demands did not affect Stroop performance after same-race interactions. Taken together, the present studies point to resource depletion as the likely mechanism underlying the impairment of cognitive functioning after interracial dyadic interactions.

The Stroop effect on the internet

The classical Stroop color-naming task was converted to a Web administered version and tested against a conventional computerized version. In the first experiment, 20 male and 20 female participants were tested individually on both Stroop versions in random order. Both versions resulted in strong Stroop effects, but response times were slower overall for the Web-Stroop. A second experiment with 28 participants showed that the test results on the Web-Stroop could be replicated in a less controlled experimental setting, for example in the participant’s own home. In conclusion, findings suggest that administration of the Stroop color-naming test, and response time measurement in milliseconds on a personal computer, is possible via the Internet.

When prejudice does not pay: effects of interracial contact on executive function.

This study examined the influence of interracial interaction on the cognitive functioning of members of a dominant racial group. White participants had a brief interaction with either a White or a Black confederate, and then completed an ostensibly unrelated Stroop color-naming test. Prior to the interaction, participants' racial attitudes regarding Whites and Blacks were measured via the Implicit Association Test. Racial attitudes were predictive of impairment on the Stroop test for individuals who participated in interracial interactions, but not for those who participated in same-race interactions. The results are consistent with recently proposed resource models of self-regulation and executive control in that interracial interaction, a particularly taxing exercise of self-regulation for highly prejudiced individuals, negatively affected performance on a subsequent, yet unrelated, test of executive function.

The Association Between Cardiovascular Stress Responsivity and Perceived Stress Among Subjects with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Temporomandibular Joint Disorder: A Preliminary Analysis

This study sought to evaluate the association between perceived and cardiovascular stress responsivity among subjects with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Temporomandibular Disorder (TMJ). Eight participants with IBS, eight participants with TMJ and 16 nonsymptomatic comparison participants took part in the experiment. Participants completed a series of personality and mood questionnaires as well as a laboratory procedure measuring aerobic fitness, cardiovascular responses (i.e., pulse rate and blood pressure), and perceived stress while performing stressful laboratory tasks (i.e., the Stroop Color Naming Test and a speech task). Although IBS and TMJ participants did not vary significantly from comparison participants in blood pressure or heart rate during the laboratory procedures, IBS and TMJ participants reported experiencing the laboratory tasks as more stressful than comparison participants. Although preliminary due to the small sample size, results suggest that IBS and TMJ sufferers may be more sensitive to perceived stress than others.

Color discrimination, color naming and color preferences in 80-year olds

The aim of the present study was to investigate color discrimination, color naming and color preference in a random sample of 80-year-old men and women. Knowledge of color perception in old age can be of value when using color contrast, cues and codes in the environment to promote orientation and function. The color naming test indicated that the colors white, black, yellow, red, blue and green promoted recognition to the highest degree among all subjects. A gender-related difference, in favor of women, occurred in naming five of the mixed colors. Women also used more varied color names than men. Color discrimination was easier in the red and yellow area than in the blue and green area. This result correlates positively with visual function on far sight, and negatively with diagnosis of a cataract. The preference order for seven colors put blue, green and red at the top, and brown at the bottom, hence agreeing with earlier studies, and indicating that the preference order for colors remains relatively stable also in old age. This result should be considered when designing environments for old people.

The Contribution of Perceived Fitness to Physiological and Self-Reported Responses to Laboratory Stress

This study sought to evaluate the contribution of perceived physical fitness beyond the contributions of gender, body mass index (BMI), defensiveness, and estimated aerobic fitness on both physiological and self-reported stress responsivity to laboratory-induced stress. Ninety healthy individuals (45 males, 45 females) participated in the experiment. Participants completed a laboratory procedure measuring cardiovascular responses (i.e. pulse rate and blood pressure) and self-reported rating of anxiety (i.e. the anxiety scale from the Multiple Affective Checklist–Revised—MAACL–R) while performing stressful laboratory tasks (i.e. the Stroop Color Naming Test and Serial 7's). Estimated aerobic fitness (i.e. VO2max using the Bruce protocol) as well as perceived fitness (using a 10-point Likert scale) were also determined. Multiple regression and effect size results revealed that perceived fitness significantly contributed to the variance associated with both physiological and self-reported responses to laboratory stress. Specifically, perceived fitness significantly added to the variance beyond that attributed to gender, BMI, defensiveness, and estimated aerobic physical fitness while assessing pulse rate and MAACL–R anxiety scores. Overall results support the view that perception of fitness may be an important factor above and beyond aerobic fitness in its association with physiological and self-reported responses to stress.

Physiological Stress Responsivity and Perceived Stress Among Subjects With Irritable Bowel Syndrome1

This study sought to evaluate perceived and physiological stress responsivity among subjects with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Nineteen females with IBS symptoms and 19 nonsymptomatic female comparison participants participated in the experiment. Participants completed a series of personality and mood questionnaires, as well as a laboratory procedure measuring cardiovascular responses and perceived stress while performing laboratory tasks (i.e., the Stroop Color Naming Test and a Serial 7s subtraction task). Although participants did not significantly differ in blood pressure during the laboratory procedures, IBS participants had significantly lower pulse rates during the procedure. IBS participants perceived the laboratory tasks as being more stressful than comparison participants, which was measured by self‐report. Results suggest that IBS sufferers may be more sensitive to perceived stress than others.