Large Sample Of Participants Research Articles

Quantifying Morphological Changes in Middle Trapezius With Ultrasonography and Histogram Matching for Participants With and Without Facioscapulohumeral Dystrophy

Objective: Echogenicity is a biomarker in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Currently, it is not possible to compare echogenicity values, derived using quantified muscle sonography capture, based on different equipment instrumentation settings. Image normalization, using histogram matching, could address this limitation. The aim of this study was to investigate the sensitivity of histogram matching, with trapezius muscle echogenicity values, in participants with and without FSHD. Materials and Methods: Sensitivity analysis of a single measurement timepoint case control study of participants with FSHD, using age- and gender-matched controls. Correlations between trapezius muscle echogenicity, muscle thickness, and shoulder range of movements were also completed. Results: Data were collected for 14 participants, seven with FSHD and seven controls. The cohort had a mean age of 41.6 years. The FSHD group echogenicity values (118.2) were higher than controls (42.3), respectively, as well as statistically significant ( p = .002). An overall variance of 6.2 (range = −2.9 to 15.4) was identified between the reference images. Echogenicity explained 81% of the variance in muscle thickness and 74% of the variance in range of movement muscle thickness was explained by 61% of the variance for range of movement. Conclusion: Histogram matching for comparison of echogenicity was required. Different reference images affect echogenicity values, but the variability was less than between group differences. Further longitudinal evaluation based on a larger sample of participants is needed.

Investigating Preparatory Year Saudi Students’ Preferences Towards Different Feedback Methods to Improve Their Writing in EFL Classrooms

This research aims to determine the most effective type of feedback for enhancing the writing skills of the students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Saudi Arabia. The study investigates preparatory year students' attitudes towards different feedback types, direct comments, indirect suggestions, and metalinguistic feedback. By analyzing the effectiveness of these feedback methods, educators can improve EFL education in Saudi Arabia. The research employs a mixed methods approach, involving interviews with seven teachers and a questionnaire administered to students. Findings from previous studies on feedback effectiveness were reviewed to provide insights for instructional practices. Ultimately, the study intends to provide valuable insights into the feedback methods employed in the EFL writing classes in Saudi Arabia. The findings show that teachers tend to prefer indirect feedback, while 75% of male students favor direct feedback and 66.7% of female students prefer metalinguistic feedback. However, indirect feedback was ranked as the second favorite type by both male students, who accounted for 15%, and female students, who accounted for 20%. Overall, indirect comments appear to be the most effective as they allow students to reflect on their mistakes and discover the correct answers, enhancing their learning experience. To establish more reliable and valid results, the researchers recommend repeating the study with a larger sample of participants.

Assessing the influence of visual stimulus properties on steady-state visually evoked potentials and pupil diameter

Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEPs) are brain responses measurable via electroencephalography (EEG) in response to continuous visual stimulation at a constant frequency. SSVEPs have been instrumental in advancing our understanding of human vision and attention, as well as in the development of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Ongoing questions remain about which type of visual stimulus causes the most potent SSVEP response. The current study investigated the effects of color, size, and flicker frequency on the signal-to-noise ratio of SSVEPs, complemented by pupillary light reflex measurements obtained through an eye-tracker. Six participants were presented with visual stimuli that differed in terms of color (white, red, green), shape (circles, squares, triangles), size (10,000 to 30,000 pixels), flicker frequency (8 to 25 Hz), and grouping (one stimulus at a time versus four stimuli presented in a 2×2 matrix to simulate a BCI). The results indicated that larger stimuli elicited stronger SSVEP responses and more pronounced pupil constriction. Additionally, the results revealed an interaction between stimulus color and flicker frequency, with red being more effective at lower frequencies and white at higher frequencies. Future SSVEP research could focus on the recommended waveform, interactions between SSVEP and power grid frequency, a wider range of flicker frequencies, a larger sample of participants, and a systematic comparison of the information transfer obtained through SSVEPs, pupil diameter, and eye movements.

Evaluating Models of the Ageing BOLD Response.

Neural activity cannot be directly observed using fMRI; rather it must be inferred from the hemodynamic responses that neural activity causes. Solving this inverse problem is made possible through the use of forward models, which generate predicted hemodynamic responses given hypothesised underlying neural activity. Commonly-used hemodynamic models were developed to explain data from healthy young participants; however, studies of ageing and dementia are increasingly shifting the focus toward elderly populations. We evaluated the validity of a range of hemodynamic models across the healthy adult lifespan: from basis sets for the linear convolution models commonly used to analyse fMRI studies, to more advanced models including nonlinear fitting of a parameterised hemodynamic response function (HRF) and nonlinear fitting of a biophysical generative model (hemodynamic modelling, HDM). Using an exceptionally large sample of participants, and a sensorimotor task optimized for detecting the shape of the BOLD response to brief stimulation, we first characterised the effects of age on descriptive features of the response (e.g., peak amplitude and latency). We then compared these to features from more complex nonlinear models, fit to four regions of interest engaged by the task, namely left auditory cortex, bilateral visual cortex, left (contralateral) motor cortex and right (ipsilateral) motor cortex. Finally, we validated the extent to which parameter estimates from these models have predictive validity, in terms of how well they predict age in cross-validated multiple regression. We conclude that age-related differences in the BOLD response can be captured effectively by models with three free parameters. Furthermore, we show that biophysical models like the HDM have predictive validity comparable to more common models, while additionally providing insights into underlying mechanisms, which go beyond descriptive features like peak amplitude or latency, and include estimation of nonlinear effects. Here, the HDM revealed that most of the effects of age on the BOLD response could be explained by an increased rate of vasoactive signal decay and decreased transit rate of blood, rather than changes in neural activity per se. However, in the absence of other types of neural/hemodynamic data, unique interpretation of HDM parameters is difficult from fMRI data alone, and some brain regions in some tasks (e.g., ipsilateral motor cortex) can show responses that are more difficult to capture using current models.

Framing Effects of Emphasis and Form in Emergemcy Communication: A Study of Preventive Behaviors During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Japan

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of frame differences on preventive behaviors in COVID-19 pandemic information. Survey experiments using large samples of Japanese participants led to the detection of framing effects of the emphasis levels and forms of information. Information framed with high severity was found to intensively influence citizens in refraining from going out. Moreover, this study demonstrates that episodic information facilitates preventive behaviors in discretionary activities. The episodic information has more intensively impacted through heuristic processing by providing exemplars. This study contributes to the reevaluation of government practices on information dissemination using various forms and intensity levels of information.

DERCo: A Dataset for Human Behaviour in Reading Comprehension Using EEG

This paper introduces the DERCo (Dublin EEG-based Reading Experiment Corpus), a language resource combining electroencephalography (EEG) and next-word prediction data obtained from participants reading narrative texts. The dataset comprises behavioral data collected from 500 participants recruited through the Amazon Mechanical Turk online crowd-sourcing platform, along with EEG recordings from 22 healthy adult native English speakers. The online experiment was designed to examine the context-based word prediction by a large sample of participants, while the EEG-based experiment was developed to extend the validation of behavioral next-word predictability. Online participants were instructed to predict upcoming words and complete entire stories. Cloze probabilities were then calculated for each word so that this predictability measure could be used to support various analyses pertaining to semantic context effects in the EEG recordings. EEG-based analyses revealed significant differences between high and low predictable words, demonstrating one important type of potential analysis that necessitates close integration of these two datasets. This material is a valuable resource for researchers in neurolinguistics due to the word-level EEG recordings in context.

Normative data for the lateralization task in the assessment of intranasal trigeminal function

To provide normative data for the lateralization task in the assessment of intranasal trigeminal function, as well as to investigate potential effects of age, sex and olfactory function. The lateralization task using eucalyptus as target stimulus was performed to assess intranasal trigeminal function. Data were collected from: 360 healthy adult participants (mean age 37.5±17.4) for the 40-trial version; 284 participants (mean age 32.6±14.1) for the 20-trial version; and 418 participants (mean age 42.6±15.6) for the 10-trial version. The "Sniffin' Sticks" test was used to measure olfactory function. The mean scores were 35.46±4.50 for the 40-trial version, 15.64±3.65 for the 20-trial version, and 8.14±2.16 for the 10-trial version. In the reference group aged 18-25 years, the 10th percentiles were 33 for the 40-trial version, 11 for the 20-trial version, and 6 for the 10-trial version. Significant effects of age and odor discrimination score were observed on lateralization performance. We provide reference scores for the lateralization task, in large sample of healthy participants. Among the three examined tasks (40, 20 and 10), the 40-trial task yielded the most reliable information. For the 40-trial version, scores equal or higher to 33 points indicate a normal lateralization ability, whereas scores between 27 and 32 may warrant further assessment. Scores below 27 possibly point towards a decreased trigeminal function. The lateralization task serves as surrogate marker of intranasal trigeminal functions and further studies with pathological cases are needed to explore its clinical usefulness.

Identifying analogue samples of individuals with clinically significant social anxiety: Updating and combining cutoff scores on the Social Phobia Inventory and Sheehan Disability Scale.

The use of analogue samples, as opposed to clinical groups, is common in mental health research, including research on social anxiety disorder (SAD). Recent observational and statistical evidence has raised doubts about the validity of current methods for establishing analogue samples of individuals with clinically significant social anxiety. Here, we used data from large community samples of clinical and nonclinical participants to determine new cutoff scores on self-report measures of social anxiety symptoms and symptom-related impairment. We then examined whether using these newly determined cutoff scores alone or in combination improves the identification of individuals who have SAD from those who do not, revealing the most ideal cutoff combination to be 34 or above on the Social Phobia Inventory and 11 or above on the Sheehan Disability Scale. Finally, we compared the effects of our new cutoff scores with old cutoff scores by extracting analogue samples of participants with high social anxiety from historical data on seven large groups of undergraduate Psychology research participants from the authors' institution spanning the past 5 years (2018-2023). We observed that the new combined cutoff scores identified markedly fewer students as having high social anxiety, lending credibility to their utility. We also observed a striking increase in levels of social anxiety symptoms in the undergraduate population from before to after the COVID-19 pandemic. Of note, most participants were under 30 and identified as Caucasian or Asian women, indicating that future research is needed to examine whether our findings generalize to diverse populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Neurovascular mechanisms of cognitive aging: Sex-related differences in the average progression of arteriosclerosis, white matter atrophy, and cognitive decline

Arterial stiffness (arteriosclerosis) has been linked to heightened risks for cognitive decline, and ultimately for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Importantly, neurovascular outcomes generally vary according to one's biological sex. Here, capitalizing on a large sample of participants with neuroimaging and behavioral data (N = 203, age range = 18–87 years), we aimed to provide support for a hierarchical model of neurocognitive aging, which links age-related declines in cerebrovascular health to the rate of cognitive decline via a series of intervening variables, such as white matter integrity. By applying a novel piecewise regression approach to our cross-sectional sample to support Granger-like temporal inferences, we show that, on average, a precipitous decline in cerebral arterial elasticity (measured with diffuse optical imaging of the cerebral arterial pulse; pulse-DOT) precedes an acceleration in the development of white matter lesions by nearly a decade, with women protected from these deleterious effects until approximately age 50, the average onset of menopause. By employing multiple-mediator path analyses while controlling for sex, we show that age may impair cognition via the sequential indirect effects of arteriosclerosis and white matter atrophy on fluid, but not crystallized, abilities. Importantly, we replicate these results using pulse pressure, an independent index of arterial health, thereby providing converging evidence for the central role of arteriosclerosis as an accelerating factor in normal and pathological aging and identifying robust sex-related differences in the progression of cerebral arteriosclerosis and white matter degradation.

Cortical cognitive processing during reading captured using functional-near infrared spectroscopy

Neuroimaging studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have provided unparalleled insights into the fundamental neural mechanisms underlying human cognitive processing, such as high-level linguistic processes during reading. Here, we build upon this prior work to capture sentence reading comprehension outside the MRI scanner using functional near infra-red spectroscopy (fNIRS) in a large sample of participants (n = 82). We observed increased task-related hemodynamic responses in prefrontal and temporal cortical regions during sentence-level reading relative to the control condition (a list of non-words), replicating prior fMRI work on cortical recruitment associated with high-level linguistic processing during reading comprehension. These results lay the groundwork towards developing adaptive systems to support novice readers and language learners by targeting the underlying cognitive processes. This work also contributes to bridging the gap between laboratory findings and more real-world applications in the realm of cognitive neuroscience.

Aberrant neural computation of social controllability in nicotine-dependent humans

Social controllability, or the ability to exert control during social interactions, is crucial for optimal decision-making. Inability to do so might contribute to maladaptive behaviors such as smoking, which often takes place in social settings. Here, we examined social controllability in nicotine-dependent humans as they performed an fMRI task where they could influence the offers made by simulated partners. Computational modeling revealed that smokers under-estimated the influence of their actions and self-reported a reduced sense of control, compared to non-smokers. These findings were replicated in a large independent sample of participants recruited online. Neurally, smokers showed reduced tracking of forward projected choice values in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and impaired computation of social prediction errors in the midbrain. These results demonstrate that smokers were less accurate in estimating their personal influence when the social environment calls for control, providing a neurocomputational account for the social cognitive deficits in this population. Pre-registrations: OSF Registries|How interoceptive state interacts with value-based decision-making in addiction (fMRI study). OSF Registries|COVID-19: social cognition, mental health, and social distancing (online study).

Modeling confidence in causal judgments.

Counterfactual theories propose that people's capacity for causal judgment depends on their ability to consider alternative possibilities: The lightning strike caused the forest fire because had it not struck, the forest fire would not have ensued. To accommodate a variety of psychological effects on causal judgment, a range of recent accounts have proposed that people probabilistically sample counterfactual alternatives from which they compute a graded measure of causal strength. While such models successfully describe the influence of the statistical normality (i.e., the base rate) of the candidate and alternate causes on causal judgments, we show that they make further untested predictions about how normality influences people's confidence in their causal judgments. In a large (N = 3,020) sample of participants in a causal judgment task, we found that normality indeed influences people's confidence in their causal judgments and that these influences were predicted by a counterfactual sampling model in which people are more confident in a causal relationship when the effect of the cause is less variable among imagined counterfactual possibilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of general cognitive skills in integrating visual and linguistic information during sentence comprehension: individual differences across the lifespan

Individuals exhibit massive variability in general cognitive skills that affect language processing. This variability is partly developmental. Here, we recruited a large sample of participants (N = 487), ranging from 9 to 90 years of age, and examined the involvement of nonverbal processing speed (assessed using visual and auditory reaction time tasks) and working memory (assessed using forward and backward Digit Span tasks) in a visual world task. Participants saw two objects on the screen and heard a sentence that referred to one of them. In half of the sentences, the target object could be predicted based on verb-selectional restrictions. We observed evidence for anticipatory processing on predictable compared to non-predictable trials. Visual and auditory processing speed had main effects on sentence comprehension and facilitated predictive processing, as evidenced by an interaction. We observed only weak evidence for the involvement of working memory in predictive sentence comprehension. Age had a nonlinear main effect (younger adults responded faster than children and older adults), but it did not differentially modulate predictive and non-predictive processing, nor did it modulate the involvement of processing speed and working memory. Our results contribute to delineating the cognitive skills that are involved in language-vision interactions.

The Relationship Between Experiencing Childhood Trauma and Psychopathic Personality Traits: The Mediating Role of Insecure Attachment

ABSTRACT While psychopathy has been a topic of interest in the psychological field for a long time, it is still unclear which developmental factors are related to its onset. Theories have suggested that experiencing trauma in childhood may contribute to the development of psychopathic traits. Experiencing trauma may also contribute to the development of an insecure attachment style, which in turn might cause the emergence of psychopathic traits. The current study investigated links between experiencing childhood trauma and the three psychopathy domains of the Extended Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale (E-LSRP; Egocentricity, Callousness, and Antisocial), and whether these links were mediated by the four insecure attachment dimensions of the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ; Need for Approval, Preoccupation with Relationships, Relationships as Secondary, and Discomfort with Closeness), in a large sample of non-clinical participants (N = 2023, Mage = 32.7, 70.0% female). The results suggested that Relationships as Secondary, but not Discomfort with Closeness, positively mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and the three domains of psychopathy, while Need for Approval negatively mediated this relationship. Preoccupation with Relationships was a significant mediator in the links between childhood trauma and both the Egocentricity and Antisocial domains, but not the Callousness domain. The current findings suggested that there might be both shared and differential mechanisms linking childhood trauma and psychopathic traits through insecure attachment styles. These findings can guide further investigations in longitudinal research.

Self-reported sensibility to bodily signals predicts individual differences in autobiographical memory: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT Recent theoretical perspectives have advanced that autobiographical memory processes are supported by interoception, the perception of internal bodily sensations. Yet, this relationship remains largely underexplored. The present study addressed this critical gap in the literature by systematically investigating the association between self-reported Interoceptive Sensibility and various individual differences measures of autobiographical memory. In Study 1, using a correlational approach in a large sample of participants (N = 247), we identified significant correlations between standardised measures of interoception and the general experience of autobiographical memory and the frequency of involuntary mental time travel. These associations remained significant even after controlling for potential confounding factors in terms of age, gender, and trait affectivity, underscoring their robustness. Study 2 replicated and extended the associations identified in Study 1 in another large participant sample (N = 257), further validating them by accounting for the potential confounding effect of well-being. Our findings demonstrate that individuals’ ability to perceive and understand bodily signals robustly relates to how they experience autobiographical memories. By adopting an exploratory approach based on individual differences, our results provide novel and concrete insights into the association between interoception and autobiographical memory, providing a strong foundation for future investigations into the causal mechanisms connecting these two constructs.

Construct Validity of the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality – Self-Report Form (CAPP-SR)

The Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP) is a concept map developed to consolidate research on psychopathy. Recently, the CAPP – Self Report form (CAPP-SR) was developed, but its psychometric properties have not been extensively or independently investigated. The current study evaluated the internal consistency, factorial structure, and construct validity of the CAPP-SR in a large sample of undergraduate and community participants. No organizational structure was superior, but a theoretically supported three factor solution representing behavioral, affective, and interpersonal traits appeared to be the optimal solution. The CAPP-SR demonstrated overlap with other preexisting psychopathy measures and the three-factor solution evinced relatively good convergent and discriminant associations with external criteria. The CAPP-SR seems to measure a similar construct to psychopathy measures, though it remains unclear whether the new measure captures meaningful information neglected by other models or outperforms them in prediction of important outcomes.

Development and validation of the MultiScent-20 digital odour identification test using item response theory

Although validated and reliable psychophysical tests of olfactory function are available, an easy-to-use and feasible test has yet to be developed. This study aimed to design a digital odour identification test, evaluate its validity, assess its reliability, establish a normative curve, and explore the impact of demographic factors. The odour identification test was presented with the Multiscent-20, a hand-held, tablet-like digital scent device that features an integrated odour digital delivery system. The identification performance on the 20 odours was assessed using item response theory (IRT). The normative curve was established by administering the test to a large sample of participants (n = 1299). The mean identification score was 17.5 (SD = 2.1). The two-parameter logistic IRT model provided the best fit, revealing variation in item discrimination and difficulty parameters. Educational attainment influenced performance, with primary education associated with lower scores. Additionally, sex was not found to be associated with performance. This study provides initial evidence supporting the validity and reliability of use of the Multiscent-20 as a digital odour identification test. The test’s automation and portability enable the standardized delivery of olfactory stimuli and efficient automatic recording and scoring of responses.

Predictors of outcome in self-guided internet-delivered cognitive-behavior therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A preliminary investigation.

Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (ICBT) is an effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). ICBT can be delivered in a self-guided or clinician-guided format. While a literature is emerging on the predictors of response to clinician-guided ICBT, there is a lack of research examining the predictors of response to self-guided ICBT. The aim of the present study was to examine predictors of outcome in a large sample of participants with OCD who commenced a self-guided ICBT intervention. One hundred and fifty-seven participants (Mage = 34.82; SD = 10.49; 78% female) were included in the study. Regression analyses were conducted to determine clinical and demographic predictors of (1) posttreatment symptom severity and (2) a clinically meaningful treatment response for both the intention-to-treat (ITT) and completer samples. The regression models significantly predicted posttreatment outcome for both the ITT (F(8, 148) = 15.844, p < .001) and completer sample (F(8, 101) = 5.929, p < .001), explaining 46% and 34% of the variance respectively. Higher baseline OCD severity, younger age, experiencing higher contamination or symmetry symptoms, and a history of past treatment were all found to be significantly associated with higher posttreatment severity in the ITT sample. In the completer sample only higher baseline OCD severity and severity of harm-related obsessions and checking compulsions was significantly associated with higher posttreatment severity. When predicting treatment response the regression models for both the ITT and completer sample were nonsignificant.

Psychometric properties of the Danish Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale (SAQOL-39gDK)

ABSTRACT Background People with aphasia may be particularly vulnerable to a loss of quality of life after an acquired brain injury, but only a limited number of self-report measures have been adapted to people with aphasia. Aims To investigate the psychometric properties of the Danish version of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39g (SAQOL-39gDK). Methods and procedures The questionnaire was administered to 72 participants admitted to inpatient neurorehabilitation after an acquired brain injury (65 with stroke) of which 22 had aphasia. Outcomes and results Items demonstrated an acceptable level of skewness, floor, and ceiling effects. Hypothesized associations between subscales and the total scale were generally confirmed. Test-retest reliability was acceptable, although wide confidence intervals suggested a positive change in quality of life during the test-retest interval. Acceptable levels of internal reliability were found of the total scale and subscales (Crohnbach’s alpha = 0.84–0.94, omega total = 0.84–0.94). Inter-item correlations and worst-split half reliability indicated that not all subscales were unidimensional, and confirmatory factory analysis only supported a one-factor model for the communication subscale. Conclusions The reliability and validity of SAQOL-39gDK were found to be acceptable and comparable to other language versions of the scale according to criteria used in previous psychometric studies. The factor structure of the original scale could not be confirmed in the present study and should be investigated further in a larger sample of participants.

The Impact of Psychosocial Support Services On Students’ Development at a South African TVET College

South African Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) lecturers and student development practitioners are not sufficiently equipped to address psycho-social challenges encountered by students, and that negatively affects learning and teaching. The main aim of the study was to examine the impact of psycho-social support services on students’ development at a South African TVET college. The study used a qualitative phenomenological research technique. The participants of the study comprised a total number of 9 participants. The participants included 2 lecturers (one from NCV and the other from Report 191 programmes), 3 students from National Certificate Vocational (NCV) programme (L2-L4), 3 students from Report 191 programme (N4-N6), and 1 Student Development Practitioner of a South African TVET college who were selected through a simple random technique. Face-to-face interviews were used for data collection. Thematic analysis was adopted as a tool to analyse the data and findings revealed inadequate provision of counselling and the unavailability of peer tutoring as psycho-social support services that had a negative bearing on their development. The participants' low socio-economic level and the restricted availability of specialised psycho-social assistance for student development from a South African TVET institution were additional factors that negatively impacted their relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Future research is needed to examine the impact of psycho-social support services on students’ development at South African TVET colleges by using a larger sample of participants. The paper's findings indicate that the provision of counselling to students, understanding the impact of socio-economic status, and the availability of peer tutoring could develop students psychosocially at the South African TVET college in question. Furthermore, empowering lecturers and SDPs with psychosocial support skills helps them respond to the psychosocial challenges to student development.