Faster Reaction Times Research Articles

The role of exercise in restoring executive function: a comparison of tobacco-exposed college athletes and sedentary students

IntroductionAs adolescent smoking rates rise, its impact on cognitive function has drawn greater attention. This study explores whether exercise can mitigate the negative effects of smoking on executive function in male college students.MethodsSixty male college students were divided into four groups (n = 15 each): sedentary smokers, sedentary nonsmokers, athletic smokers, and athletic nonsmokers. All participants completed the Eriksen flanker task, with prefrontal cortex activation measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. After the baseline test, all sedentary students engaged in 33 min of high-intensity interval training, followed by the same procedures as in the pre-test.ResultsIn the flanker task, college athletes exhibited superior executive function compared to sedentary students, with higher accuracy (p = 0.042), faster reaction times (p = 0.002), and more pronounced brain activation (p = 0.048). Post-exercise, reaction times improved significantly in sedentary groups (p < 0.05). Smoking impaired executive function both before and after exercise, with smokers showing lower accuracy (p < 0.001), slower reaction times (p < 0.001), and diminished brain activation (p < 0.001) compared to nonsmokers.DiscussionEngaging in acute aerobic exercise may improve executive function in sedentary smokers. Exercise may help mitigate smoking-related declines in executive function among college students.

One-Pot Synthesis of β-Amino Carbonyl Compounds via the Mannich Reaction Using a Barium-Modified Bismuth-Phosphovanadate Catalyst: A Green and Eco-Friendly Approach

A simple and efficient one-pot three-component Mannich reaction for synthesizing β-amino ketones is developed, using barium-modified bismuth phosphovanadate as a catalyst under room temperature conditions. The catalyst, prepared by thermal synthesis, was characterized by FT-IR, SEM, EDS, and XRD. The reaction involves the formation of C-C and C-N bonds through an enolizable carbonyl compound and an imine intermediate, yielding high amounts of the desired product. The method features low catalyst loading, fast reaction times, excellent yields, recyclability, and a clean reaction profile without by-products.

An Intelligent Medical Monitoring System using Narrow Band –IOT

With the emergence of technology, the healthcare sector has seen tremendous growth, providing creative ways to improve patient care, increase productivity, and save expenses. Of these developments, the Internet of Things' (IoT) incorporation into the healthcare industry has emerged as a key component for developing intelligent medical systems that are able to remotely and in real-time monitor patients' health problems. Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), a low-power, wide-area network (LPWAN) protocol created expressly to meet the expanding demands of the IoT ecosystem, particularly in healthcare, is one exciting technology facilitating this shift. Vital health indicators including heart rate, blood pressure, glucose levels, and oxygen saturation can be tracked by healthcare practitioners with the help of an NB-IoT-enabled smart healthcare monitoring system, which can monitor patients continuously and remotely. By providing more timely and individualized care, decreasing hospital stays, and enabling faster reaction times, this technology has the potential to completely transform the healthcare industry.

A comparative analysis of partial sleep restriction versus split sleep regimen on cognitive processing, declarative memory, and affective behaviour in nursing students

Objectives: Sleep plays a regulatory role in functions such as abstraction, fluid intelligence, and declarative memory. This research seeks to assess the influence of two sleep restriction schedules—partial nocturnal sleep restriction and a split sleep (SS) regimen—on fluid intelligence and various memory functions (including encoding, consolidation, and retrieval) in shift-working nurses. Materials and Methods: The research involved 46 4th-year nursing students (23 males and 23 females) assigned to night duties, categorised into two groups: Partial sleep restriction (5 h of night sleep with 4 h of daytime recovery sleep) and SS (5 h of night sleep with 1.5 h of an afternoon nap and recovery sleep of 2.5 h following the tests). Instruments such as the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Karolinska sleepiness scale (KSS), and Raven’s Progressive Matrices were utilised to evaluate sleep quality, sleepiness levels, overall mood, benefits of daytime naps, and fluid intelligence. Memory-related activities comprised a picture-encoding task and a factual knowledge task, evaluated through subjective assessments and two alternative choice questions. Results: The PSQI global scores highlighted notable differences, with female nursing students in the partial sleep group scoring lower (9 ± 2.311) than their counterparts in the SS group (5 ± 1.09). Sleepiness, gauged by the KSSKSS score, was higher in the partial sleep group (7 ± 3.2) compared to female nursing students in the SS regimen (5 ± 5.8). Results from Raven’s progressive matrices pointed to delayed abstraction in the partial sleep restriction group (9.31 ± 6.24) in contrast to the SS group (9.01 ± 5.59), indicating poorer performance in visual attentive tasks. Positive and negative affect schedule scores unveiled heightened negativity in mood due to sleep restriction in the partial sleep group, with less hostility observed in those with an afternoon nap, albeit not reaching statistical significance. Positive moods exhibited fluctuation, with attentiveness declining in the partial sleep group. The study affirmed the advantages of a daytime nap on long-term memory. Female nurses in the SS regimen displayed statistically significant picture encoding accuracy (78 ± 3.65) with faster reaction times (2 ± 6.37) compared to the partial sleep group. Males in the SS regimen recorded a higher percentage of hits (88 ± 5.16). Learning sessions at 3 pm, coinciding with the circadian dip, affected the partial sleep groups, whereas the nap mitigated such effects for the SS group. Allowing a 1.5-h afternoon nap synchronised with the circadian dip enhanced memory in the SS group. Conclusion: By comparing partial nocturnal sleep restriction and a SS regimen, this study unveils their distinct effects on fluid intelligence and memory processes among shift-working nurses. The results provide valuable insights into the degree of dependence of basic cortical functions on sleep for healthcare professionals navigating demanding schedules, underscoring the significance of accounting for both nocturnal sleep duration and daytime naps to optimise cognitive performance.

Impact of selective environmental sound attenuation on operator performance, stress, attention, and task engagement in teleoperated demolition

The noise produced in demolition sites can mask safety-critical sounds that inform operators about task conditions and hazards. These problems are exacerbated in teleoperated demolition, where the separation between operator and site compromises operators' situation awareness and cognitive loads. This paper assessed the effects of environmental sounds with and without attenuation on the operators' performance and response (e.g., stress, attention, task engagement) during teleoperated demolition. Eighty participants completed three virtual demolition tasks under different environmental sound conditions, i.e., no sound (NS), unfiltered sound (US), and filtered sound (FS) with 20-dB attenuation of background noise and robot's sounds to allow focus on safety and task conditions. The results show that US induced more stress than NS and FS. Also, FS resulted in fewer collisions, faster reaction times, and greater attention and task engagement than US. These results can support the design of sound feedback interfaces for teleoperation in construction.

From the brain’s encoding of input dynamics to its behavior: neural dynamics shape bias in decision making

The human brain is tightly connected to the individual’s environment and its input dynamics. How the dynamics of periodic environmental stimuli influence neural activity and subsequent behavior via neural entrainment or alignment is not fully clear yet, though. This study explores how periodic environmental stimuli influence neural activity and behavior. EEG data was collected during a Go-NoGo task with a periodic intertrial interval (ITI) of 1.3 s (0.769 Hz). Results showed that the task’s temporal structure increased power spectrum activity at 0.769 Hz, which showed high intersubject variability. Higher task-periodicity effects were linked to stronger phase-based intertrial coherence (ITC) and reduced neural complexity, as measured by lower Lempel-Ziv Complexity (LZC). Additionally, higher periodicity in the power spectrum correlated with faster reaction times and stronger response bias. We conclude that the encoding of the inputs’ dynamics into the brains power spectrum shapes subsequent behavior, e.g., RT and response bias, through reducing neural complexity.

Enhanced neural sensitivity to brief changes of happy over angry facial expressions in preschoolers: A fast periodic visual stimulation study.

Across childhood, emotion perception from facial expressions has traditionally been studied with event-related potentials (ERP). Here, we explored the novel fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) electroencephalography (EEG) approach to provide information about how brief changes in facial expressions are processed implicitly in young children's brains. Utilizing two FPVS tasks for the first time in preschoolers, we examined brain responses to (1) the discrimination of brief changes in facial expressions at maximum intensity and (2) thresholds for discrimination of gradual increasing facial expression intensities. Within a stream of neutral faces at 6 Hz, happy and angry faces were embedded with a frequency of 1.2 Hz. Additionally, children performed an emotion recognition task (ERT). Data were collected in the context of a training study for socio-emotional competencies with typically developing children (N = 74; 5.1[0.9] years; 34 females). FPVS data were collected post-training, where training was included as a controlling factor. Across FPVS tasks, we detected robust expression change responses, particularly with larger responses for happy versus angry faces in the maximum intensity task. ERT results paralleled neural findings with faster reaction times and higher accuracy rates for happy versus angry faces. For gradual increases in emotional intensity, we found linear increases in responses across emotions. The majority of the sample showed a significant expression change at 60% intensity. With its implicit nature, short duration, and robustness of individual responses, our results highlight the potential of FPVS in comparison to classical ERP methods to study neural mechanisms of emotion perception in preschool samples.

Synthesis of Chitosan-Agar immobilized NiO-MgO bionanocomposites and their photocatalytic application towards toxic azo dye

In this study, NiO-MgO nanoparticles (NiMg NPs) were synthesized and incorporated into a biopolymer blend of chitosan (CTS) and agar agar gum (AA), forming the novel CTAG@NiMg bionanocomposite (BNC). Structural analysis revealed a crystal size of 19 nm and a direct band gap of 2.75 eV, indicating strong potential as a UV-active photocatalyst. TEM images confirmed uniform nanoparticle distribution with an average size of 25 nm. The elemental composition, verified by EDX spectra, showed weight percentages of C (21.32 %), O (31.47 %), Ni (35.39 %), and Mg (11.82 %). The CTAG@NiMg BNC demonstrated outstanding photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye, achieving 99.52 % degradation at pH 4 with 20-ppm concentration after 60 min under UV irradiation. The degradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, with rate constants (k1) ranging from 0.011 to 0.030 min−1, and a minimum half-life of 25.8 min at 15 ppm. Hydroxyl radicals (•OH) were identified as the primary reactive species driving the photocatalytic process. The material exhibited excellent reusability, retaining high degradation efficiency over four cycles. Compared to similar photocatalysts, CTAG@NiMg BNC demonstrated superior performance, faster degradation rates, and greater stability. Its enhanced surface area and porosity, as confirmed by BET analysis, contributed to better dye adsorption and faster reaction times. These properties make the CTAG@NiMg BNC a highly efficient, sustainable, and recyclable photocatalyst for environmental remediation, particularly in treating organic pollutants like methyl orange from aqueous solutions.

Cross-modal feedback of tactile and auditory stimuli for cyclists in noisy environments

In recent years, with the increasing use of bicycles for environmental and health benefits, the importance of the feedback for cyclists is increasing. Moreover, as bicycles account for 23 % of all traffic accidents in 2022, improving bicycle safety is a crucial challenge. This study aimed to explore methods for enhancing safety and improving feedback to cyclists through auditory and tactile signals. Experiments were conducted using a cycling simulator and cross-modal reaction tests of tactile and auditory signals to simulate bicycle riding under actual external noise environments. The accuracy of the recognition and reaction times for both tactile and auditory signals were evaluated in situations with simulated road traffic sounds. Subsequently, the effectiveness of cross-modal feedback was assessed, optimal signal conditions were examined, and the relationship between variations in environmental noise and optimal auditory signals for cyclists was discussed. The results showed that cross-modal feedback led to faster reaction times, while the recognition accuracy of auditory signals varied depending on environmental noise levels. The present findings suggest the potential of cross-modal feedback to enhance cyclist safety, particularly when optimized for environmental conditions and individual perception.

Supported phenylalanine on core-shell mesoporous microsphere as a catalyst for the synthesis of triazolo[1,2-a] indazole-triones and spiro triazolo[1,2-a] indazole-tetraones

In recent years, mesoporous silica materials have gained attention due to their unique properties, such as high surface area, pore volume, size, and chemical stability. These characteristics make them effective in various fields, particularly efficient supports in heterogeneous catalytic reactions. The present study developed a novel type of core-shell mesoporous microsphere material by anchoring phenylalanine on a core-shell SiO2@NiO@MS support. The catalyst support (SiO2@NiO@MS) was synthesized through homogeneous precipitation and sol-gel methods, with NiO encapsulated within the porous silica. The catalyst was characterized using various techniques, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Elemental mapping analysis, N2 adsorption-desorption, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It was then employed for the synthesis of triazolo[1,2-a]indazole-trione and spiro triazolo[1,2-a]indazole-tetraones compounds from 4-phenyl urazole, dimedone, and aromatic aldehydes or isatin derivatives. This synthetic approach offers multiple advantages, including high yields, faster reaction times, low catalyst requirements, and environmentally sustainable conditions.

Green Synthesis, Characterization, and Catalytic Applications of CuO Nanoparticles Using Prosopis Cineraria Seed Extract

Abstract The current study used a seed extract of Prosopis cineraria as a stabilizing and reducing agent to produce CuO nanoparticles via an easy, low-cost, affordable, and environmentally friendly synthesis process. The formation of copper oxide nanoparticles and the maximum absorbance of the CuO nanoparticles produced in the solution at 565 nm were verified by UV-vis. Copper oxide nanoparticles were found to have secondary metabolites on their surface, as shown by a distinctive Cu-O stretching band at 532 cm−1, which confirmed the reduced Cu2+ ions in copper oxide nanoparticles. This was confirmed by FTIR analysis. The XRD analysis confirmed the produced copper oxide nanoparticles’ monoclinic crystalline nanostructure with an average particle size of 34 nm. The phytonutrients in Prosopis cineraria seed extract stabilized and reduced copper, as demonstrated by the existence of copper and oxygen atoms at 85.2% and 12.5%, respectively, as demonstrated by SEM-EDX analysis. According to the HR-TEM study, copper oxide nanoparticles with a mean size of 18 nm are spherical in shape and well distributed. Prosopis cineraria seed extract-derived copper oxide nanoparticles were utilized as a catalyst in the Ullmann process to produce diphenyl ether. CuO nanoparticles produced by Prosopis cineraria seed extraction as a catalyst yielded 91% diphenyl ether. The results showed that a more ecologically friendly way of synthesizing copper oxide nanoparticles with great homogeneity of particle sizes could be achieved using seed extract. This work aims to facilitate heterogeneous catalysis from CuO nanoparticles utilising Prosopis cineraria seed extract. Overall, this technique offers several advantages, like high yields at fast reaction times, and low catalyst loading are just a few of this approach’s many benefits.

Ring Opening Reduction of Cyclic Anhydrides Catalyzed by Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane Using Hydrosilanes as a Hydride Source.

Hydrosilanes are widely used as reducing agents in the reduction of carbonyl groups, and various catalysts have been developed for the activation of hydrosilanes, the majority of them being transition metal-based. A main-group-based Lewis acid tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane (BCF) has gained increasing attention due to its Lewis acidity and versatility, along with being nonmetal. Herein, we describe the BCF-catalyzed ring opening reduction of cyclic anhydrides using hydrosilanes as a source of hydrides. The reduction affords unsymmetrical bis(silyl) protected hydroxy acids, leading to an efficient way for the synthesis of silyl ester functionalities. The capability of forming protected hydroxy acids under mild conditions with high yields in one step is also advantageous. A range of hydrosilanes and cyclic anhydrides can be employed with quantitative conversion, high yields, relatively fast reaction time, and mild reaction conditions. NMR spectroscopy is used in the characterization of the products, along with gaining insight into the potential mechanism.

Effects of one night of sleep deprivation on whole brain intrinsic connectivity distribution using a graph theory neuroimaging approach

Neuroimaging studies have revealed disturbances in brain functional connectivity (FC) after one night of sleep deprivation (SD). These researches explored the alterations of FC using classical regions of interest (ROI)-based analysis or functional connectivity density. However, these methods need for a priori information about the selected ROIs and a specific correlation threshold to define a connection between two ROIs or voxels, which may bring inconsistent results. In the present study, we adopted a data-driven, whole brain voxel-based graph-theoretical approach, intrinsic connectivity distribution (ICD) analysis, to examine changes of brain connectivity after SD in 52 normal young subjects without any prior knowledge. The cross-hemisphere ICD (ch-ICD) analysis was also performed to discover the effect of SD on cerebral lateralization. We found that sleep-deprived subjects showed significant reduced ICD in default mode network (DMN) and limbic network, and increased ICD in sensorimotor network. Furthermore, after SD, the ICD in the right precuneus showed significant correlation with psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) performance following the stepwise regression analysis after Bonferroni correction (ICD = 0.43 - 0.62*10% fast reaction time + 0.31*the standard deviation of reaction time, p = 0.0012). Follow-up seed-based FC analyses in the right precuneus revealed decreased FC to regions in DMN, visual network, ventral attentional network and frontal-parietal network. Nevertheless, no striking difference of ch-ICD was found following SD. In conclusion, these findings suggested that DMN, especially precuneus may be hubs of FC disturbances associated with vigilance after SD, and may provide new insights into the intervention for SD.

Compensatory mechanisms amidst demyelinating disorders: insights into cognitive preservation.

Demyelination disrupts the transmission of electrical signals in the brain and affects neurodevelopment in children with disorders such as multiple sclerosis and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-associated disorders. Although cognitive impairments are prevalent in these conditions, some children maintain cognitive function despite substantial structural injury. These findings raise an important question: in addition to the degenerative process, do compensatory neural mechanisms exist to mitigate the effects of myelin loss? We propose that a multi-dimensional approach integrating multiple neuroimaging modalities, including diffusion tensor imaging, magnetoencephalography and eye-tracking, is key to investigating this question. We examine the structural and functional connectivity of the default mode and executive control networks due to their significant roles in supporting higher-order cognitive processes. As cognitive proxies, we examine saccade reaction times and direction errors during an interleaved pro- (eye movement towards a target) and anti-saccade (eye movement away from a target) task. 28 typically developing children, 18 children with multiple sclerosis and 14 children with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-associated disorders between 5 and 18.9 years old were scanned at the Hospital for Sick Children. Tractography of diffusion MRI data examined structural connectivity. Intracellular and extracellular microstructural parameters were extracted using a white matter tract integrity model to provide specific inferences on myelin and axon structure. Magnetoencephalography scanning was conducted to examine functional connectivity. Within groups, participants had longer saccade reaction times and greater direction errors on the anti- versus pro-saccade task; there were no group differences on either task. Despite similar behavioural performance, children with demyelinating disorders had significant structural compromise and lower bilateral high gamma, higher left-hemisphere theta and higher right-hemisphere alpha synchrony relative to typically developing children. Children diagnosed with multiple sclerosis had greater structural compromise relative to children with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-associated disorders; there were no group differences in neural synchrony. For both patient groups, increased disease disability predicted greater structural compromise, which predicted longer saccade reaction times and greater direction errors on both tasks. Structural compromise also predicted increased functional connectivity, highlighting potential adaptive functional reorganisation in response to structural compromise. In turn, increased functional connectivity predicted faster saccade reaction times and fewer direction errors. These findings suggest that increased functional connectivity, indicated by increased alpha and theta synchrony, may be necessary to compensate for structural compromise and preserve cognitive abilities. Further understanding these compensatory neural mechanisms could pave the way for the development of targeted therapeutic interventions aimed at enhancing these mechanisms, ultimately improving cognitive outcomes for affected individuals.

Investigation of the playing digital games on shoulder flexibility, muscle strength and reaction speed in volleyball players.

Esports is a natural extension of digital games. Digital games provide a platform for players to showcase their skills, thereby forming the foundation of e-sports. These two domains continuously support each other, demonstrating significant growth in popularity and establishing a solid presence in the competitive landscape. Digital games require high levels of attention, strategy, reflexes, and coordination, offering pathways to reach the pinnacle of competition. The benefits derived from digital games enhance the ability to perform effectively under stress, making them crucial for both physical and mental performance. This study investigates the effects of digital gaming on the physical performance, shoulder flexibility, muscle strength and reaction speed of female volleyball players. A total of 50 female volleyball players took part, who were divided into two groups based on their digital playing habits: Group 1 consisted of female players who played video games for at least 4 h per day in the last 6 months, while Group 2 included those who played <4 h per day. In the study, the Activ5© Handheld Digital Dynamometer was used to measure the strength of the shoulder muscles during various movements, including flexion, hyperextension, abduction, internal rotation and external rotation. In addition, the BlazePod™ trainer device was used to assess reaction times. The results showed that volleyball players who frequently played digitally showed significant improvements in shoulder flexibility, especially in flexion of the non-dominant side. In addition, these players showed faster reaction times than those who played less frequently. However, a significant decrease in hyperextension muscle strength was observed in the group that frequently played digital games. The study highlights that while digital games can improve certain physical skills such as reaction speed and shoulder flexibility, they can also contribute to muscular imbalances or a decrease in muscle strength in certain areas. These findings suggest potential benefits for volleyball players, particularly in movements that require quick reflexes and flexibility, such as serving and spiking. However, the results also raise concerns about potential negative effects on muscle strength and posture, highlighting the need for balanced training programs to mitigate these effects. Further research is needed to investigate the long-term effects of digital games on athletic performance and physical health.

Behavior can be decoded across the cortex when individual differences are considered

Abstract Group-level analyses have typically linked behavioral signatures to a constrained set of brain areas. Here we show that two behavioral metrics — reaction time (RT) and confidence — can be decoded across the cortex when each individual is considered separately. Subjects (N=50) completed a perceptual decision-making task with confidence. We built models decoding trial-level RT and confidence separately for each subject using the activation patterns in one brain area at a time after splitting the entire cortex into 200 regions of interest (ROIs). First, we developed a simple test to determine the robustness of decoding performance, which showed that several hundred trials per subject are required for robust decoding. We then examined the decoding performance at the group and subject levels. At the group level, we replicated previous results by showing that both RT and confidence could be decoded from a small number of ROIs (12.0% and 3.5%, respectively). Critically, at the subject level, both RT and confidence could be decoded from most brain regions even after Bonferroni correction (90.0% and 72.5%, respectively). Surprisingly, we observed that many brain regions exhibited opposite brain-behavior relationships across individuals, such that, for example, higher activations predicted fast RTs in some subjects but slow RTs in others. All results were replicated in a second dataset. These findings show that behavioral signatures can be decoded from a much broader range of cortical areas than previously recognized and suggest the need to study the brain-behavior relationship at both the group and subject levels.

Assessing Meaningful Visual and Tactile Feedback for Effective Automated Vehicle Takeover by Hearing and Non-hearing Drivers

With SAE Level 3 automated vehicles handling most driving tasks, there are still situations when the driver needs to take over. Multimodal displays have been introduced to inform drivers of the need to take over for critical scenarios (e.g., in construction zones) in instructional or informative formats. However, the effects of multimodal displays on takeover performance for drivers with hearing impairments are still unclear. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate how signal type (single tactile (T), single visual (V), and visual and tactile combined (VT)), information type (instructional, informative, and baseline), and hearing impairment (hearing-impaired and non-hearing-impaired drivers) affect drivers’ takeover performance. Findings show that signal type significantly influenced reaction and takeover times, with multimodal signals (VT) resulting in faster reactions compared to single modal signals. Additionally, the baseline condition yielded the faster reaction times compared to both instructional and informative formats. Hearing impairment, however, did not significantly affect reaction and takeover times. Findings may inform the development of future vehicle interfaces to assist drivers with hearing impairments.

Using multivariate partial least squares on fNIRS data to examine load-dependent brain-behaviour relationships in aging.

Researchers implementing non-invasive neuroimaging have reported distinct load-dependent brain activity patterns in older adults compared with younger adults. Although findings are mixed, these age-related patterns are often associated with compensatory mechanisms of cognitive decline even in the absence of direct comparisons between brain activity and cognitive performance. This study investigated the effects of cognitive load on brain-behavior relationships in younger and older adults using a data-driven, multivariate partial least squares (PLS) analysis of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data. We measured bilateral prefrontal brain activity in 31 older and 27 younger adults while they performed single and dual 2-back tasks. Behavioral PLS analysis was used to determine relationships between performance metrics (reaction time and error rate) and brain oxygenation (HbO) and deoxygenation (HbR) patterns across groups and task loads. Results revealed significant age-group differences in brain-behavior relationships. In younger adults, increased brain activity (i.e., increased HbO and decreased HbR) was associated with faster reaction times and better accuracy in the single task, indicating sufficient neural capacity. Conversely, older adults showed a negative correlation between HbR and error rates in the single task; however, in the dual task, they demonstrated a positive relationship between HbO and performance, indicative of compensatory mechanisms under the higher cognitive load. Overall, older adults' showed relationships with either HbR or HbO, but not both, indicating that the robustness of the relationship between brain activity and behavior varies across task load conditions. Our PLS approach revealed distinct load-dependent brain activity between age groups, providing further insight into neurocognitive aging patterns, such as compensatory mechanisms, by emphasizing the variability and complexity of brain-behavior relationships. Our findings also highlight the importance of considering task complexity and cognitive demands in interpreting age-related brain activity patterns.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Audio-Visual vs. Visual Neurofeedback for Attention Enhancement: A Pilot Study with Neurological, Behavioural, and Neuropsychological Measures.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) based Neurofeedback training has gained traction as a practical method for enhancing executive functions, particularly attention, among healthy individuals. The neurofeedback protocols based on EEG channel locations, frequency bands, or EEG features has been tested. However, the improvement in attention was not measured by comparing different feedback stimulus types. We believe that multisensory nature feedback even with few training sessions may induce strong effect. Therefore, this study compares the effect of audio-visual and visual feedback stimuli for attention enhancement utilizing neurophysiological, behavioural and neuropsychological measures. Total 21 subjects were recruited, undergoing six alternate days of neurofeedback training sessions to upregulate EEG beta power of frontocentral (FC5). Dwell time, fractional occupancy and transition probability were also estimated from the EEG beta power. Audiovisual group (G1) as compared to visual group (G2) demonstrate a significant increase of global EEG beta activity alongside improved dwell time (t = 2.76, p = 0.003), fractional occupancy (t = 1.73, p = 0.042) and transition probability (t = 2.46, p = 0.008) over the course of six neurofeedback training sessions. Similarly, the group (G1) shows higher scores (t = 2.13, p = 0.032) and faster reaction times (t = 2.22, p = 0.028) in Stroop task, along with increased score in Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS-15) questionnaire (t = 2.306, p = 0.012). Audiovisual neurofeedback may enhance training effectiveness, potentially achieving the same outcomes in fewer sessions compared to visual-only feedback. However, sufficient training days are essential for effect consolidation. This highlights the feasibility of completing neurofeedback training, a significant challenge in practice.

Conflict Adaptation in Aphasia: Upregulating Cognitive Control for Improved Sentence Comprehension.

This study investigated conflict adaptation in aphasia, specifically whether upregulating cognitive control improves sentence comprehension. Four individuals with mild aphasia completed four eye tracking sessions with interleaved auditory Stroop and sentence-to-picture matching trials (critical and filler sentences). Auditory Stroop congruency (congruent/incongruent across a male/female voice saying "boy"/"girl") was crossed with sentence congruency (syntactically correct sentences that are semantically plausible/implausible), resulting in four experimental conditions (congruent auditory Stroop followed by incongruent sentence [CI], incongruent auditory Stroop followed by incongruent sentence [II], congruent auditory Stroop followed by congruent sentence [CC], and incongruent auditory Stroop followed by congruent sentence [IC]). Critical sentences were always preceded by auditory Stroop trials. At the end of each session, a five-item questionnaire was administered to assess overall well-being and fatigue. We conducted individual-level mixed-effects regressions on reaction times and growth curve analyses on the proportion of eye fixations to target pictures during incongruent sentences. One participant showed conflict adaptation indicated by faster reaction times on active sentences and more rapid growth in fixations to target pictures on passive sentences in the II condition compared to the CI condition. Incongruent auditory Stroop also modulated active-sentence processing in an additional participant, as indicated by eye movements. This is the first study to observe conflict adaptation in sentence comprehension in people with aphasia. The extent of adaptation varied across individuals. Eye tracking revealed subtler effects than overt behavioral measures. The results extend the study of conflict adaptation beyond neurotypical adults and suggest that upregulating cognitive control may be a potential treatment avenue for some individuals with aphasia. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27056149.