This study examines how two facial attributes of robots—the facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) and eye shape—influence users’ judgments of trustworthiness, and how these features are processed at the neural level. To achieve this goal, we conducted a within-subject Electroencephalogram (EEG) experiment using a 2 (fWHR: low/high) × 3 (eye shape: round/rectangular/obround) full factorial design. EEG signals were analyzed using event-related potentials (ERPs). Results reveal that eye shape significantly influences trustworthiness, with round and obround eyes rated higher than rectangular ones. High fWHR robots with round or obround eyes elicited more negative N1 and N170 amplitudes, while round eyes reduced P3 amplitudes compared to other shapes. These findings not only clarify the neural mechanisms underlying the evaluation of robotic facial cues but also provide practical insights for designing socially trustworthy robots.

Fabrication of high-performance 3D Biochar-Silica@BiOCl composites for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride.

The interaction effect between gain-loss framing and monetary amount on moral decision-making: evidence from behavioral and ERPs studies.

Previous studies have primarily focused on how object-based or perceptual feature-based cues influence representational prioritization in visual working memory (VWM). However, it remains unclear how semantic category cues modulate this process during the maintenance phase. The present study employed electroencephalography (EEG) and a retro-cue paradigm to investigate how category-based retro-cues regulate representational prioritization in VWM. Behavioral results showed that valid cues improved recognition accuracy and reduced response times for same-object trials (i.e., items matching both category and identity), but decreased recognition accuracy and increased response times for different-object trials (i.e., items matching the category but not the identity). ERP results revealed more negative frontal N1 amplitudes under neutral-cue conditions than valid-cue conditions, indicating greater early attentional demand in the absence of informative cues. Valid cues elicited enhanced P2 and P3 components, reflecting stronger attentional engagement and target updating, while more negative CDA amplitudes suggested the active suppression of non-target items. Time-frequency analyses further demonstrated stronger frontal theta synchronization under neutral cues, whereas valid cues induced greater parieto-occipital alpha desynchronization. Critically, phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) analysis revealed increased coupling between frontal theta phases and parietal alpha amplitudes in the valid-cue condition, suggesting enhanced functional coordination within the frontoparietal attentional network. Together, these findings suggest that category-based retro-cues promote representational prioritization through a dual mechanism of target enhancement and non-target suppression, highlighting the pivotal role of frontoparietal interactions in the dynamic regulation of VWM representations.

In pediatric non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma (NRSTS), the frequency and prognostic impact of regional lymph node involvement (N1) are not clearly defined and may vary according to histological type. We therefore to analyze the rate of N1 at diagnosis, the pattern of nodal relapse, and the prognostic impact of N1 in pediatric patients with NRSTS. Data were collected and analyzed through the International Soft Tissue SaRcoma ConsorTium (INSTRuCT). Patients aged 0-21 years with NRSTS prospectively enrolled in European and North American cooperative group trials from October 1, 1990 to October 1, 2018 were included. Descriptive statistics, logistic regressions, and Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze the data and assess prognostic factors. 1937 patients were eligible for inclusion. The main histotypes were synovial sarcoma (628 cases; 32%), undifferentiated/unclassified sarcoma (396 cases, 20%) and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (275 cases, 14%). Distant metastases were present in 197 (10.2%) patients. N1 was present in 152 (7.8%) patients. With a median follow-up of 7.2 years (95% CI 7.0-7.4), 615 patients (31.7%) had local relapse or progression, 30 (1.5%) had nodal relapse (including four with initial N1), and 287 (14.8%) developed metastases. In multivariate analysis, node positive (N1) status was associated with high pathologic grade (p = 0.010) and distant metastasis (p < 0.0001), but not with tumor size, invasiveness, and histological subgroups (p = 0.36). For non-metastatic tumors (1740 cases), metastatic-free-survival differed between node negative N0 and N1 patients, but overall survival, event-free-survival and nodal relapse-free-interval did not. N1 is rare in NRSTS during childhood (<8%) and mainly presents in a subset of histotypes. Regional nodal control at 5 years is adequate. However, N1 in NRSTS is a marker of aggressive disease. Cancer Research Foundation, Children's Research Foundation, Comer Development Board, KickCancer, King Baudouin Foundation, Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research, Seattle Children's Foundation from Kat's Crew Guild through the Scleroderma Research Foundation, St. Baldrick's Foundation, The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, Maddie's Promise, Summer's Way Foundation, Friends of T.J. Foundation, Sebastian Strong, Children's Oncology Group Foundation, and the Sarah Jane Adicoff Endowment for Research in Rhabdomyosarcoma through the Seattle Children's Foundation.

Impaired corollary discharge as a predictor of reality monitoring deficits in schizophrenia: Implications for auditory verbal hallucinations.

Cognitive shifts in pain perception under moral enhancement conditions: Evidence from an EEG study.

With the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants has come significant variations in disease manifestation, severity, and duration in non-hospitalized infected patients. To characterize symptom patterns and risk factors associated with symptom severity and duration, COVID-19 and influenza-like illness (ILI) outpatients and their contacts were enrolled at two sites in the United States of America and one site in Thailand. COVID-19 infection was confirmed at enrollment with a positive antigen or PCR test. Baseline demographics and medical histories were collected from participants at enrollment and daily self-reported symptom questionnaires were obtained to assess symptom severity and duration. Risk factors associated with symptom severity and duration were determined by multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards model. Two hundred and forty one participants meeting the eligibility criteria were enrolled, including 174 confirmed COVID-19 cases (9% Delta and 90% Omicron), 33 ILI cases, and 34 healthy contacts. COVID-19 participants had a shorter median symptom duration of 9.0 (95% CI, 8.0-11.0) days than ILI participants. Infection with the Delta variant resulted in a longer symptom alleviation period compared to infection with the Omicron variant. The most commonly reported symptoms among COVID-19 participants were reported in the nasal and chest/respiratory domains of the FLU-PRO Plus. Participants infected with the Delta variant reported more symptoms overall, with significantly more symptoms affecting eyes and senses reported. 55% of SARS-CoV-2-positive participants reached a negative N1 Ct value by the day 14 study time point. No risk factors for moderate to severe symptoms were identified in this outpatient cohort. Male sex was associated with a shorter symptom duration. Symptom manifestation varied among Delta and Omicron variants. Few risk factors were identified for increased symptom severity or duration.

Hearing one's own name produces unique patterns of brain activation which triggers attention and orienting responses to the caller. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) rarely orientate towards people calling their own name, but the extent to which it may facilitate processing of the following external stimuli are not yet clear. The current study consisted of both auditory and visual stimuli. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was measured in 28 autistic and neurotypical children (aged 3-7years) to investigate auditory event-related brain potentials (ERPs) while hearing either their own or an unfamiliar name, and subsequent visual ERPs when viewing objects after hearing them. The results demonstrated that, unlike neurotypical children, autistic children did not show enhanced P300 responses upon hearing their own name, but exhibited more negative N1 response in the left frontal region to hearing their own name than an unfamiliar name. However, both autistic and neurotypical children showed equivalent changes in N2, P3 and Late positive potential (LPP) visual ERPs when viewing objects after hearing their own name relative to an unfamiliar name. These findings suggest that autistic children who do not overtly respond to their own name (characterized by a head-turn), nevertheless exhibit increased attention to visual objects in their environment after hearing it. This implies that autistic children do recognize the sound of their name as important but may not understand the social meaning of it.

Anthropomorphized robots are increasingly integrated into human social life, playing vital roles across various fields. This study aimed to elucidate the neural dynamics underlying users' perceptual and emotional responses to robots with varying levels of anthropomorphism. We investigated event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related spectral perturbations (ERSPs) elicited while participants viewed, perceived, and rated the affection of robots with low (L-AR), medium (M-AR), and high (H-AR) levels of anthropomorphism. EEG data were recorded from 42 participants. Results revealed that H-AR induced a more negative N1 and increased frontal theta power, but decreased P2 in early time windows. Conversely, M-AR and L-AR elicited larger P2 compared to H-AR. In later time windows, M-AR generated greater late positive potential (LPP) and enhanced parietal-occipital theta oscillations than H-AR and L-AR. These findings suggest distinct neural processing phases: early feature detection and selective attention allocation, followed by later affective appraisal. Early detection of facial form and animacy, with P2 reflecting higher-order visual processing, appeared to correlate with anthropomorphism levels. This research advances the understanding of emotional processing in anthropomorphic robot design and provides valuable insights for robot designers and manufacturers regarding emotional and feature design, evaluation, and promotion of anthropomorphic robots.

Social avoidance refers to active non-participation in social activities, which is detrimental to healthy interpersonal interaction for emerging adults. Social rejection is a kind of negative social evaluation from others making people feel social pain. However, how socially avoidant emerging adults process social feedback information after experiencing social rejection has received less attention. The current study aimed to explore the differences in social interaction feedback processing after social rejection between a socially avoidant group (n = 16) and a comparison group (n = 16) in a human-to-human interaction context. Computer game tasks with two types of interaction (cooperation and competition) were used to record the event-related potentials when receiving social interaction feedback in two conditions (social rejection and control condition). The results showed that (1) the socially avoidant group had lower reward positivity amplitudes than the comparison group when receiving social feedback; (2) the socially avoidant group presented larger P300 amplitudes in the social rejection condition than in the control condition, but the comparison group did not; and (3) social rejection evoked more negative N1 amplitudes in the socially avoidant and comparison groups. The findings suggest that socially avoidant emerging adults may have flaws in reward sensitivity during interpersonal interaction, and they might also exert more attentional and emotional resources to social feedback after social rejection.

Segmentectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection (LND) may increasingly be used for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Lymph node metastasis (LNM) distribution varies by lower lobe segments; however, its segment-specific spread to the lower zone (#8, 9) (LZ) in lower lobe NSCLC is seldom reported. In total, 352 patients with clinical T1 lower lobe NSCLC who underwent lobectomy with systematic or lobe-specific LND were included for analysis between January 2006 and December 2018. Fifty-eight (16.2%) patients had LNM (pN1: 24, pN2: 34), and nine (2.6%) had LZ metastasis. LZ metastasis was significantly more frequent in tumors with diameter > 2cm, tumors without ground-glass opacity on radiological findings, left lung cancer, and basal segment lung cancer (respectively, p = 0.039, 0.006, 0.0177, 0.0024). None of the S6 NSCLC patients had LZ metastasis. Two patients with right basal segment NSCLC had LZ metastases (tumor on S10) as well as N1 lymph node and subcarinal zone metastasis. Seven (8.4%) patients with left basal segment NSCLC had LZ metastasis (tumor on S8: 3, tumor on S10: 4). Of them, three patients with left basal NSCLC had isolated LZ metastasis. The LND of the LZ can be omitted for clinical T1 patients with S6 NSCLC. In addition, the LND of the LZ may be omitted in right basal NSCLC if intraoperative confirmation of negative N1 and subcarinal zone lymph nodes is obtained; however, it is necessary for left basal segment NSCLC.

Objective. This study presents a novel methodological approach for incorporating information related to the peripheral sympathetic response into the investigation of neural dynamics. Particularly, we explore how hedonic contextual olfactory stimuli influence the processing of neutral faces in terms of sympathetic response, event-related potentials and effective connectivity analysis. The objective is to investigate how the emotional valence of odors influences the cortical connectivity underlying face processing and the role of face-induced sympathetic arousal in this visual-olfactory multimodal integration. Approach. To this aim, we combine electrodermal activity (EDA) analysis and dynamic causal modeling to examine changes in cortico-cortical interactions. Results. The results reveal that stimuli arising sympathetic EDA responses are associated with a more negative N170 amplitude, which may be a marker of heightened arousal in response to faces. Hedonic odors, on the other hand, lead to a more negative N1 component and a reduced the vertex positive potential when they are unpleasant or pleasant. Concerning connectivity, unpleasant odors strengthen the forward connection from the inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) to the middle temporal gyrus, which is involved in processing changeable facial features. Conversely, the occurrence of sympathetic responses after a stimulus is correlated with an inhibition of this same connection and an enhancement of the backward connection from ITG to the fusiform face gyrus. Significance. These findings suggest that unpleasant odors may enhance the interpretation of emotional expressions and mental states, while faces capable of eliciting sympathetic arousal prioritize identity processing.

Young interpreting trainees’ better adaptation to the flanker conflicting environment: An ERP study

Recent studies have revealed that people might experience a lessened sense of agency for negative consequences by claiming that they were obeying orders. However, little is known about the cognitive neural mechanism behind the reduced sense of agency when individuals are forced to inflict physical harm on others. This study adopted temporal estimation tasks to investigate the internal mechanism of voluntary action on the sense of agency and the moderating effect of outcome valence as measured by event-related potentials (ERPs). In the temporal estimation task, participants were asked to make trade-offs of monetary gains for themselves against painful electric stimuli experienced by strangers, subjectively estimated the perceptual temporal interval between keypress actions (i.e., free or coercive actions) and consequent outcomes (i.e., positive or negative tones) and rated the feeling of control. The results showed that perceived temporal interval was shorter for positive tones compared with negative tones in the coercive condition, and induced more negative N1 and N300 amplitudes, which indicated that the implicit sense of agency was higher. However, the explicit sense of agency was stronger in the free condition than in the coercive condition, which was not influenced by outcome valence. We discuss the implications of utilizing positive feedback and free choice as significant strategies for those experiencing the abnormal sense of agency.

Electroretinograms elicited by photopigment isolating white noise stimuli (wnERGs) in mice were measured. The dependency of rod- and cone-opsin-driven wnERGs on mean luminance was studied. Temporal white noise stimuli (containing all frequencies up to 20 Hz, equal amplitudes, random phases) that modulated either rhodopsin, S-opsin or L*-opsin, using the double silent substitution technique, were used to record wnERGs in mice expressing a human L*-opsin instead of the native murine M-opsin. Responses were recorded at 4 mean luminances (MLs).Impulse response functions (IRFs) were obtained by cross-correlating the wnERG recordings with the corresponding modulation of the photopigment excitation elicited by the stimulus. So-called modulation transfer functions (MTFs) were obtained by performing a Fourier transform on the IRFs.Potentials of two repeated wnERG recordings at corresponding time points were plotted against each other. The correlation coefficient (r2repr) of the linear regression through these data was used to quantify reproducibility. Another correlation coefficient (r2ML) was used to quantify the correlations of the wnERGs obtained at different MLs with those at the highest (for cone isolating stimuli) or lowest (for rod isolating stimuli) ML. IRFs showed an initial negative (a-wave like) trough N1 and a subsequent positive (b-wave like) peak P1. No oscillatory potential-like components were observed. At 0.4 and 1.0 log cd/m2 ML robust L*- and S-opsin-driven IRFs were obtained that displayed similar latencies and dependencies on ML. L*-opsin-driven IRFs were 2.5-3 times larger than S-opsin-driven IRFs. Rhodopsin-driven IRFs were observed at -0.8 and - 0.2 log cd/m2 and decreased in amplitude with increasing ML. They displayed an additional pronounced late negativity (N2), which may be a correlate of retinal ganglion cell activity.R2repr and r2ML values increased for cones with increasing ML whereas they decreased for rods. For rhodopsin-driven MTFs at low MLs and L*-opsin-driven MTFs at high MLs amplitudes decreased with increasing frequency, with much faster decreasing amplitudes for rhodopsin. A delay was calculated from MTF phases showing larger delays for rhodopsin- vs. low delays for L*-opsin-driven responses. Opsin-isolating wnERGs in mice show characteristics of different retinal cell types and their connected pathways.

Performance on auditory change detection tasks can be improved by training. We examined the stimulus specificity of these training effects in behavior and ERPs. A flicker change detection task was employed in which spatialized auditory scenes were alternated until a "change" or "same" response was made. For half of the trials, scenes were identical. The other half contained changes in the spatial locations of objects from scene to scene. On Day 1, participants were either trained on this auditory change detection task (trained group), or trained on a non-auditory change detection task (control group). On Day 2, all participants were tested on the flicker task while EEG was recorded. The trained group showed greater change detection accuracy than the control group. They were less biased to respond "same" and showed full generalization of learning from trained to novel auditory objects. ERPs for "change" compared to "same" trials showed more negative going P1, N1, and P2 amplitudes, as well as a larger P3b amplitude. The P3b amplitude also differed between the trained and control group, with larger amplitudes for the trained group. Analysis of ERPs to scenes viewed prior to a decision revealed build-up of a difference between "change" and "same" trials in N1 and P2. Results demonstrate that training has an impact early in the "same" versus "change" decision-making process, and that the flicker paradigm combined with the ERP method can be used to study the build-up of change detection in auditory scenes.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by a progressive loss of memory and cognitive decline. However, the assessment of AD-associated functional and cognitive changes is still a big challenge. Auditory-evoked cortical potential (AECP) is an event-related potential reflecting not only neural activation in the auditory cortex (AC) but also cognitive activity in the brain. In this study, we used the subdermal needle electrodes with the same electrode setting as the auditory brainstem response (ABR) recording and recorded AECP in normal aging CBA/CaJ mice and APP/PS1 AD mice. AECP in mice usually appeared as three positive peaks, i.e., P1, P2, and P3, and three corresponding negative peaks, i.e., N1, N2, and N3. In normal aging CBA mice, the early sensory peaks P1, N1, and P2 were reduced as age increased, whereas the later cognitive peaks N2, P3, and N3 were increased or had no changes with aging. Moreover, the latency of the P1 peak was increased as age increased, although the latencies of later peaks had a significant reduction with aging. In AD mice, peak P1 was significantly reduced in comparison with wild-type (WT) littermates at young ages, proceeding AD phenotype presentation. In particular, the later cognitive peak P3 was diminished after 3 months old, different from the normal aging effect. However, the latencies of AECP peaks in AD mice generally had no significant delay or changes with aging. Finally, consistent with AECP changes, the accumulation of amyloid precursor protein (APP) at the AC was visible in AD mice as early as 2 months old. These data suggest that AECP could serve as an early, non-invasive, and objective biomarker for detecting AD and AD-related dementia (ADRD).

ABSTRACT Metric structure cues important moments, which can guide attention across time. Supporting this, metric strength improves performance and modulates early auditory processing. It is unclear whether the early effects of metric strength rely on stimulus cues, or if they also occur during entirely subjective metric listening. Here, we assess ERP responses to physically identical tones at subjectively strong and weak moments in an imagined metric structure. Isochronous tone streams at two rates were perceived as repeating subjective groups of either three or four beats, with listening pattern indicated by a visual cue prior to trial start. ERP responses to tones were compared among subjective beat positions and rates separately by listening pattern. Subjectively strong group-initial tones elicited a more negative auditory N1 response and a late metric negativity (LMN; 250–450 ms) under all conditions. Comparisons among metrically weaker beats suggested hierarchical listening, a sustained negativity prior to group onset, and a posterior positivity to group-initial tones. These results demonstrate that metric attentional modulation of early auditory processing occurs when metric structure is entirely subjective, suggesting that temporal attention is integral to metric perception. Further, subjective metric processing draws on multiple additional neurocognitive mechanisms indexed by scalp ERP responses.

BackgroundA number of studies have reported association between Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) and Chlamydia infection and the risk of schizophrenia. The aim of the present study was to compare the prevalence of T. gondii and Chlamydia infection between the schizophrenia and normal control subjects and to compare the clinical features between seropositive and seronegative schizophrenia patients.MethodsThe rate of serum reactivity to T. gondii, Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis), Chlamydia pneumonia in 96 schizophrenia and 50 control subjects was investigated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and indirect fluorescent antibody technique. The clinical symptoms of the schizophrenia patients were scored with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and a comparative analysis was carried out.ResultsA significant positive association between immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to T. gondii and C. trachomatis in schizophrenia was found, and the odds ratio of schizophrenia associated with IgG antibody was found to be 3.22 and 2.86, respectively. The Toxoplasma-seropositive schizophrenia patient had higher score on the negative subscale N1 and N7 and general psychopathology subscale G13, while C. trachomatis-seropositive schizophrenia patient had higher score on the general psychopathology subscale G10.DiscussionThe results from the present study suggest significant association between T. gondii, C. trachomatis infection and schizophrenia. In future, further studies are needed to elucidate the correlation between the two types of infection and schizophrenia.