Priming Studies Research Articles

The impact of alcohol priming on craving and motivation to drink: a meta-analysis.

An initial dose of alcohol can motivate-or prime-further drinking and may precipitate (re)lapse and bingeing. Lab-based studies have investigated the alcohol priming effect; however, heterogeneity in designs has resulted in some inconsistent findings. The aims of this meta-analysis were to (i) determine the pooled effect size for motivation to drink following priming, measured by alcohol consumption and craving, and (ii) examine whether design characteristics influenced any priming effect. Literature searches of PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus in October 2020 (updated October 2021) identified lab-based alcohol priming studies that assessed effect of priming on motivation to drink. A tailored risk-of-bias tool assessed quality of lab-based studies. Random effects meta-analyses were computed on outcome data from 38 studies comparing the effect of a priming dose of alcohol against control on subsequent alcohol consumption/self-reported craving. Study characteristics that might have affected outcomes were design type (within/between-participant), dose of prime, time of motivation assessment, type of control drink (placebo alcohol/soft drink). Relative to control, alcohol had a small-to-moderate priming effect on subsequent alcohol consumption (standardised mean difference [SMD] = 0.336 [95% CI, 0.171, 0.500]) and craving (SMD = 0.431 [95% CI, 0.306, 0.555]). Aspects of study design differentially affected consumption and craving. The size of the priming dose had no effect on consumption, but larger doses were sometimes associated with greater craving (with craving generally following the blood alcohol curve). Alcohol priming effects for consumption, but not craving, were smaller when compared with placebo, relative to soft drink, control. Lab-based alcohol priming studies are a valid paradigm from which to investigate the impact of acute intoxication on alcohol motivation. Designs are needed that assess the impact of acute consumption on motivation to drink in more varied and realistic ways.

Efficacy of niraparib maintenance therapy in patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer in phase 3 PRIME study: A subgroup analysis by response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy.

5551 Background: In PRIME (NCT03709316), niraparib significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death versus placebo (PBO) (hazard ratio [HR], 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.34–0.60) in Chinese patients (pts) with newly diagnosed, advanced ovarian cancer (OC), regardless of biomarker status. As response to chemotherapy is deemed to be associated with prognosis in OC, this subgroup analysis of the PRIME study aims to better understand niraparib treatment effect in pts based on response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy (1L CT). Methods: This randomized, double-blind, PBO-controlled, phase 3 trial enrolled adults with newly diagnosed, stage III or IV OC who achieved a complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) to 1L CT and received primary or interval cytoreductive surgery, irrespective of residual disease status after surgery. Pts were randomized (2:1) to receive niraparib or PBO, whose starting doses were individualized based on baseline bodyweight and platelet count, with stratification according to status of germline BRCA mutations (yes or no), tumor homologous recombination status (deficient or proficient), receipt of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (yes or no), and clinical response to 1L CT (CR or PR). This prespecified exploratory analysis reports progression-free survival (PFS) and HRs based on clinical response to 1L CT. The data cut-off date was 30 September 2021. Results: Of the 384 pts randomized, 315 (82.0%) and 69 (18.0%) had a CR (212 niraparib, 103 PBO) or PR (43 niraparib, 26 PBO) to 1L CT, respectively. Baseline characteristics are presented in the Table. The overall PFS median follow-up was 27.5 months. Niraparib significantly extended PFS compared with PBO: the median PFS was 29.4 months for niraparib versus 8.3 months for PBO (HR=0.45; 95% CI, 0.32–0.61; P<0.001) in the CR group and was 19.3 months for niraparib versus 8.3 months for PBO (HR=0.45; 95% CI, 0.23–0.86; P=0.014) in the PR group. Conclusions: In pts with newly diagnosed advanced OC, PFS was substantially prolonged with niraparib versus PBO, regardless of response to chemotherapy and biomarker status. Moreover, pts who achieved a CR appeared to receive larger PFS benefit from niraparib than those with a PR. Clinical trial information: NCT03709316. [Table: see text]

Spiritual care for the management of Parkinson's disease: Where we are and how far can we go.

An increasing number of studies have investigated the neural networks and brain regions activated by different aspects of religious faith or spiritual practice. The extent to which religiousness and spirituality are dependent on the integrity of neural circuits is a question unique to neurological illnesses. Several studies have reported that neural networks and brain areas represent the various components of religious faith or spiritual activity in recent decades. In addition to research in healthy people, another strategy is to observe if neurological abnormalities caused by stroke, tumour, brain damage, or degenerative sickness are accompanied by an alteration in religiosity or spirituality. Similarly, Parkinson's disease (PD), an ailment characterized by dopaminergic neuron malfunction, has been utilized to explore the role of dopaminergic networks in the practice, experience, and maintenance of religious or spiritual beliefs. Case-control and priming studies have demonstrated a decline in spirituality and religion in people with PD due to dopaminergic degeneration. These studies could not adequately control for confounding variables and lacked methodological rigour. Using qualitative and quantitative assessments, a mixed-method approach might shed additional light on putative religious beliefs alterations in PD. In the current review paper, we discussed the recent research on the impact of PD on spiritual beliefs and spirituality.

The Effect of Attachment Priming on State Attachment Security in Middle Childhood: The Moderating Roles of Trait Attachment and State Attachment Volatility

Recent studies showed that attachment security can change within persons, suggesting that there might be an interplay between a rather stable (trait) and rather variable (state) part of attachment. The study’s first aim was to investigate whether attachment priming could influence the level of state attachment. The second aim was to explore possible moderators explaining individual differences in the relation between state attachment responses to attachment versus neutral primes. This can shed light on individual differences in attachment prime-induced state attachment. We conducted a within-subjects priming study in which children (9–13 years) were allocated to three priming procedures (neutral, secure, avoidant). Results showed an increase in secure state attachment after secure attachment priming. Individual differences in the strength of this effect were moderated by trait attachment and state attachment volatility. First findings cautiously suggest that state attachment security can change in response to environmental cues under certain circumstances.

A Protocol for Immunohistochemistry and RNA In-situ Distribution within Early Drosophila Embryo.

Calcium induced calcium release signaling (CICR) plays a critical role in many biological processes. Every cellular activity from cell proliferation and apoptosis, development and ageing, to neuronal synaptic plasticity and regeneration have been associated with Ryanodine receptors (RyRs). Despite the importance of calcium signaling, the exact mechanism of its function in early development is unclear. As an organism with a short gestational period, the embryos of Drosophila melanogaster are prime study subjects for investigating the distribution and localization of CICR associated proteins and their regulators during development. However, because of their lipid-rich embryos and chitin-rich chorion, their utility is limited by the difficulty of mounting embryos on glass surfaces. In this work, we introduce a practical protocol that significantly enhances the attachment of Drosophila embryo onto slides and detail methods for successful histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and in-situ hybridization. The chrome alum gelatin slide-coating method and embryo pre-embedding method dramatically increases the yield in studying Drosophila embryo protein and RNA expression. To demonstrate this approach, we studied DmFKBP12/Calstabin, a well-known regulator of RyR during early embryonic development of Drosophila melanogaster. We identified DmFKBP12 in as early as the syncytial blastoderm stage and report the dynamic expression pattern of DmFKBP12 during development: initially as an evenly distributed protein in the syncytial blastoderm, then preliminarily localizing to the basement layer of the cortex during cellular blastoderm, before distributing in the primitive neuronal and digestion architecture during the three-gem layer phase in early gastrulation. This distribution may explain the critical role RyR plays in the vital organ systems that originate in from these layers: the suboesophageal and supraesophageal ganglion, ventral nervous system, and musculoskeletal system.

Inter-Trial Variability of Context Influences the Binding Structure in a Stimulus-Response Episode

There is strong evidence that stimuli and responses are bound together in a direct (binary) fashion into an episodic representation called stimulus-response episode (or event file). However, in an auditory negative priming study in which participants were required to respond to the target stimulus and to ignore the distractor stimulus, context information (i.e., a completely task-irrelevant stimulus) was found to rather modulate the binding between the distractor stimulus and the response, instead of entering into a binary binding with the response itself (Mayr et al., 2018). The current study demonstrates that simply increasing the variability of the context across trials leads to a binary binding between the context and the response. The same auditory negative priming task was implemented, and participants were either assigned to the high-variability group (8 different context sounds) or the low-variability group (2 different context sounds). For the low-variability group, results replicated previous findings of contextual modulation of the binding between the distractor stimulus and the response. For the high-variability group, however, repetition of the context per se retrieved the prime response, indicating a binary binding between the context and the response. Together, the current findings provide evidence that the inter-trial variability of context information is a determinant of how context is bound in a stimulus-response episode. Possible underlying mechanisms are discussed.

Fructan oligosaccharide priming alters apoplastic sugar dynamics and improves resistance against Botrytis cinerea in chicory.

Carbohydrates such as fructans can be involved in priming or defence stimulation, and hence potentially provide new strategies for crop protection against biotic stress. Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a model plant for fructan research and is a crop with many known health benefits. Using the chicory-Botrytis cinerea pathosystem, we tested the effectiveness of fructan-induced immunity, focussing on different plant and microbial fructans. Sugar dynamics were followed after priming and subsequent pathogen infection. Our results indicated that many higher plants might detect extracellular levan oligosaccharides (LOS) of microbial origin, while chicory also detects extracellular small inulin-type fructooligosaccharides (FOS) of endogenous origin, thus differing from the findings of previous fructan priming studies. No clear positive effects were observed for inulin or mixed-type fructans. An elicitor-specific burst of reactive oxygen species was observed for sulfated LOS, while FOS and LOS both behaved as genuine priming agents. In addition, a direct antifungal effect was observed for sulfated LOS. Intriguingly, LOS priming led to a temporary increase in apoplastic sugar concentrations, mainly glucose, which could trigger downstream responses. Total sugar and starch contents in total extracts of LOS-primed leaves were higher after leaf detachment, indicating they could maintain their metabolic activity. Our results indicate the importance of balancing intra- and extracellular sugar levels (osmotic balance) in the context of 'sweet immunity' pathways.

Dopamine-Related Reduction of Semantic Spreading Activation in Patients With Parkinson's Disease.

Impaired performance in verbal fluency (VF) tasks is a frequent observation in Parkinson’s disease (PD). As to the nature of the underlying cognitive deficit, it is commonly attributed to a frontal-type dysexecutive syndrome due to nigrostriatal dopamine depletion. Whereas dopaminergic medication typically improves VF performance in PD, e.g., by ameliorating impaired lexical switching, its effect on semantic network activation is unclear. Data from priming studies suggest that dopamine causes a faster decay of semantic activation spread. The aim of the current study was to examine the impact of dopaminergic medication on the dynamic change of word frequency during VF performance as a measure of semantic spreading activation. To this end, we performed a median split analysis of word frequency during phonemic and semantic VF task performance in a PD group tested while receiving dopaminergic medication (ON) as well as after drug withdrawal (i.e., OFF), and in a sample of age-matched healthy volunteers (both groups n = 26). Dopaminergic medication in the PD group significantly affected phonemic VF with improved word production as well as increased error-rates. The expected decrease of word frequency during VF task performance was significantly smaller in the PD group ON medication than in healthy volunteers across semantic and phonemic VF. No significant group-difference emerged between controls and the PD group in the OFF condition. The comparison between both treatment conditions within the PD group did not reach statistical significance. The observed pattern of results indicates a faster decay of semantic network activation during lexical access in PD patients on dopaminergic medication. In view of improved word generation, this finding is consistent with a concept of more focused neural activity by an increased signal-to-noise ratio due to dopaminergic neuromodulation. However, the effect of dopaminergic stimulation on VF output suggests a trade-off between these beneficial effects and increased error-rates.

The money priming debate revisited: A review, meta‐analysis, and extension to organizations

SummaryThe effects of primed money have received widespread attention in social psychology but not in the organizational literature. This research examines whether priming money causes people to think and behave in ways consistent with how they would act if they received real money. Money priming research has not made many inferences to organizations, but the potential implications of the findings for the workplace are thought‐provoking. However, because some money priming studies failed to replicate and many findings are mixed, we review this literature and meta‐analyze the effects of primed money on two organization‐related outcomes. Meta‐analytic results (12 259 participants, 90 effects adjusted for dependence, and 34 studies) showed that primed money increased performance (d = .38), but it also boosted selfishness (d = .33). These effects were moderated by perceptual or behavioral outcome measures, where primed money increased behavioral selfishness (d = .72) over twice as much as it did behavioral performance (d = .33). These meta‐analytic results clarify extant literature, provide a new platform for future money priming research in organizations, and offer new alternatives for managers looking for viable options to improve employee functioning.

705 CHARACTERISING OLDER ADULTS’ RISK OF HARM FROM BLOOD-PRESSURE LOWERING MEDICATIONS: A SUB-ANALYSIS FROM THE PRIME STUDY

Abstract Introduction Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and death. Randomised trials in older adults with relatively few co-morbidities recommend treatment of their hypertension [1]. However, blood-pressure lowering medications increase the risk of medication-related harm (MRH) from adverse drug reactions (ADRs), non-adherence, medication errors and drug–drug interactions. We aimed to identify characteristics associated with MRH in older people on blood-pressure lowering medications. Method The PRIME (prospective study to develop a model to stratify the risk of MRH in hospitalized elderly patients in the UK) study investigating the incidence and cost of MRH in 1280 older people in Southern England [2]. Adults ≥65 years were recruited from five teaching hospitals at hospital discharge and followed up for 8-weeks. Telephone interviews with study participants, review of primary care records and hospital readmissions were undertaken to identify MRH. PRIME study participants taking blood-pressure lowering medications, as defined by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence hypertension guidelines [3], were included in this analysis. Results Sixty-six percent of the PRIME cohort (n = 841) were taking blood-pressure lowering medications. Patients on four blood-pressure lowering medications were five times more likely to experience MRH compared to those taking just one medication (OR 4.96; 95%CI 1.63-15.13;p = 0.01). Most harm events were serious (80%,n = 123), requiring dose change or treatment cessation. Most MRH cases were potentially preventable (49%,n = 75). Conclusion MRH from blood-pressure lowering medication in older people is common, serious, and potentially preventable. Decisions around maximising cardiovascular risk reduction must be carefully considered in the context of MRH from blood-pressure lowering medications.

Characterising older adults' risk of harm from blood-pressure lowering medications: a sub-analysis from the PRIME study.

AimCardiovascular disease (CVD) is common amongst frail older people. The evidence base for CVD commonly excludes older adults with multimorbidity or chronic conditions. Most cardiovascular drugs have the potential to lower blood pressure (BP) and therefore cause medication-related harm (MRH). We aimed to identify key clinical and sociodemographic characteristics associated with MRH in older people taking BP-lowering drugs for whatever indication they were prescribed.MethodsThe PRIME (prospective study to develop a model to stratify the risk of MRH in hospitalised elderly patients in the UK) study investigating the incidence and cost of MRH in older people across Southern England. Adults ≥65 years were recruited from five teaching hospitals at hospital discharge and followed up for 8 weeks. Telephone interviews with study participants, review of primary care records and hospital readmissions were undertaken to identify MRH. PRIME study participants taking BP-lowering drugs (as defined by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence hypertension guidelines) were included in this analysis.ResultsOne hundred and four (12%) study patients experienced a total of 153 MRH events associated with BP-lowering drugs. Patients on four BP-lowering drugs were five times more likely to experience MRH compared to those taking one medication (OR 4.96; 95%CI 1.63–15.13; P = 0.01). Most MRH events were classified ‘serious’ (80%, n = 123), requiring dose change or treatment cessation. Almost half of MRH were potentially preventable (49%, n = 75).ConclusionPolypharmacy from BP-lowering drugs in older people is associated with preventable harm. Decisions around cardiovascular risk reduction should be carefully considered in view of MRH arising from BP-lowering drugs.

Abstract P098: Feasibility Of Training Primary Care Staff To Conduct Weight Maintenance Coaching Through The Electronic Health Record During Routine Clinical Work: Initial Results From The Maintain Prime Study

Introduction: Obesity is a significant health problem in the US. Sustainable interventions are needed to support longer-term maintenance after weight loss. We designed and tested a successful electronic health record (EHR)-based weight maintenance intervention with coaching delivered by research staff. Our next step is to determine whether coaching can be done by primary care staff during routine clinical work. We address 3 feasibility questions for using staff as coaches: coach recruitment, efficiency and effectiveness of coach training, and workflow integration and burden. Methods: MAINTAIN PRIME is an RCT comparing EHR-based coaching plus tracking vs tracking alone for primary care patients with recent weight loss. Implementation in 2 pilot clinics included: 1) approval of clinic leaders; 2) advertising to clinic staff for volunteers; 3) development and delivery of a self-paced coach training program; 4) coaching pilot patients for one month. Training (with a $400 one-time stipend) consisted of: 1) in-person orientation; 2) six core interactive online learning modules; 3) in-person review session; and 4) hands-on EHR tool training. Topics included weight management and behavior change, online communication, and structure of coaching messages. We obtained quantitative and qualitative feedback for both training and pilot coaching experience. Results: Recruitment: All clinical leaders (n=9) agreed to staff participation. Thirteen (10 medical assistants (MAs), 2 nurses, and 1 care manager) volunteered, out of 96 total clinical staff. Training : Six (46%) staff completed training. Reported confidence was very high (4.6/5) after training and the likelihood of recommending training to others was moderate (6.8/10). A common theme to improve training was to consolidate; we eliminated in-person review and added case studies to online modules. Staff found hands-on EHR tool training and research team support most valuable components of training. Coaching Experience: Integration of coaching into routine clinic work varied extensively, with some coaching throughout the day, and others saving it for end of day or once a week. All reported that coaching was easy to do with tools provided and took between 10-20 minutes/day. Most believed that they could coach between 10 to 20 patients at a time. Confidence levels were high (5.8/7) while coaching and belief in usefulness of coaching was very high (6.4/7). Of the 6 coaches trained, 3 elected to continue coaching after pilot conclusion. Conclusions: Coaching by primary care staff appears to be feasible with clinical leaders supporting staff engagement and staff coaching during routine clinical work. The training program was well received and reported to be effective by coaches both right after the training and during coaching. The relatively low volunteer levels and coach attrition may be barriers and further incentives may need to be considered.

Investigating shared and distinct mechanisms in semantic and syntactic enrichment: a priming study

ABSTRACT Aspectual verbs (e.g. begin) and intensional verbs (e.g. want) can both take entity-denoting NPs as a complement (begin/want the book) and acquire an implicit meaning (e.g. reading). Linguistic theory posits that such enriched implicit meanings can be acquired either by semantic enrichment with aspectual verbs or by syntactic enrichment with intensional verbs. To investigate whether semantic and syntactic enrichment share enrichment operations, we conducted a structural priming study. Experiment 1 repeated the verb on prime and target trials and found evidence for enrichment priming for both verb types. Experiment 2 crossed the verb type and found no evidence for priming. These results suggest that enrichment operations are distinct for aspectual and intensional verbs. However, Experiment 3 repeated Experiment 1 without lexical boost and found no enrichment priming within the verb type. Thus, producing an enriched structure may not robustly activate enrichment structures, leaving open questions concerning shared mechanisms.

When Visual Cues Do Not Help the Beat: Evidence for a Detrimental Effect of Moving Point-Light Figures on Rhythmic Priming.

Rhythm perception involves strong auditory-motor connections that can be enhanced with movement. However, it is unclear whether just seeing someone moving to a rhythm can enhance auditory-motor coupling, resulting in stronger entrainment. Rhythmic priming studies show that presenting regular rhythms before naturally spoken sentences can enhance grammaticality judgments compared to irregular rhythms or other baseline conditions. The current study investigated whether introducing a point-light figure moving in time with regular rhythms could enhance the rhythmic priming effect. Three experiments revealed that the addition of a visual cue did not benefit rhythmic priming in comparison to auditory conditions with a static image. In Experiment 1 (27 7–8-year-old children), grammaticality judgments were poorer after audio-visual regular rhythms (with a bouncing point-light figure) compared to auditory-only regular rhythms. In Experiments 2 (31 adults) and 3 (31 different adults), there was no difference in grammaticality judgments after audio-visual regular rhythms compared to auditory-only irregular rhythms for either a bouncing point-light figure (Experiment 2) or a swaying point-light figure (Experiment 3). Comparison of the observed performance with previous data suggested that the audio-visual component removed the regular prime benefit. These findings suggest that the visual cues used in this study do not enhance rhythmic priming and could hinder the effect by potentially creating a dual-task situation. In addition, individual differences in sensory-motor and social scales of music reward influenced the effect of the visual cue. Implications for future audio-visual experiments aiming to enhance beat processing, and the importance of individual differences will be discussed.

Towards a “City in Nature”: Evaluating the Cultural Ecosystem Services Approach Using Online Public Participation GIS to Support Urban Green Space Management

The concept of cultural ecosystem services has been increasingly influential in both environmental research and policy decision making, such as for urban green spaces. However, its popular definitions tend to conflate “services” with “benefits”, making it challenging for planners to employ them directly to manage urban green spaces. Thus, attempts have been made to redefine cultural ecosystem services as the function of cultural activities in environmental spaces which result in people’s enjoyment of cultural ecosystem benefits. The operability of such a redefinition needs to be evaluated, which this study seeks to achieve with Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park in Singapore presenting itself as a prime case study research area. Transdisciplinary mixed methods of a public participation geographic information system, which leverages on spatial data from public park users, and social media text mining analysis via Google reviews were used. A wealth of cultural ecosystem services and benefits were reported in the park, especially the recreational and aesthetic services and experiential benefits. Policy and methodological implications for future research and urban park developments were considered. Overall, this paper would recommend the employment of the redefined cultural ecosystem services approach to generate relational, data-driven and actionable insights to better support future urban green space management.

Psychological distress and experiences of Adolescents and Young Adults with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic: Across-sectional survey.

This study investigated prevalence of psychological distress, factors associated with distress, and experiences of Adolescents and Young Adults (AYAs) with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also compared distress in this group to previously surveyed Canadian AYAs with cancer in 2018 by the Young Adults with Cancer in their Prime (YACPRIME) study. A cross-sectional, online, self-administered survey of AYAs diagnosed with cancer between 15 and 39 years of age was conducted. Psychological distress was measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Associations between variables and high psychological distress (K10≥25), and comparison of prevalence of psychological distress with the YACPRIME study were done using multivariable logistic regression. Summative qualitative content analysis analyzed participant experiences during this pandemic. We included 805 participants. High psychological distress was present in over two-thirds of the group (68.0%; 95% CI, 64.7%-71.2%). Employment impact during pandemic (AOR (adjusted odds ratio), 2.16; 95% CI, 1.41-3.31) and hematologic malignancy (AOR, 1.76; 95% CI 1.08-2.97) were associated with higher psychological distress, while older age [AOR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.92-0.99] and personal income < $40,000 (AOR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.24-0.58) were associated with lower distress. Adjusted odds of experiencing psychological distress among AYAs with cancer during pandemic compared to pre-pandemic years was 1.85 (95% CI: 1.36-2.53). Overarching themes of pandemic experiences included: inferior quality of life, impairment of cancer care, COVID-19 related concerns and extreme social isolation. AYAs diagnosed with cancer are experiencing high psychological distress during this pandemic. Distress screening and evidence-based interventions to alleviate distress are essential.

Error-based structure prediction in language comprehension: Evidence from verb bias effects in a visual-world structural priming paradigm for Mandarin Chinese.

Structural priming studies in production have demonstrated stronger priming effects for unexpected sentence structures (inverse preference effect). This is consistent with error-based implicit learning accounts that assume learning depends on prediction error. Such prediction error can be verb-specific, leading to strong priming when a verb that is for instance biased toward the prepositional object (PO) structure occurs with an unexpected double object (DO) structure. However, it is unclear whether this mechanism also holds for language comprehension, especially for languages like Mandarin Chinese, which arguably depends strongly on semantics to predict syntax in comprehension. Experiment 1 was a norming study (N = 367) that measured the biases (DO vs. PO) of 48 Mandarin Chinese dative verbs. Experiment 2 (N = 72) crossed verb bias (DO-bias or PO-bias) and structure (DO or PO) of prime sentences in a visual-world paradigm, to examine whether Mandarin comprehenders show an inverse preference effect. The priming effect is expressed as the proportion of looks to the predicted referent (i.e., the recipient after a DO-prime, the theme after a PO-prime), for two critical time windows during target sentence processing: the verb and the first syllable of the first postverbal noun (which was identical in theme and recipient). There was priming in both time windows, even though the verb differed between prime and target. Importantly, there was an inverse preference effect (i.e., stronger priming after a DO prime with a PO-biased verb than with a DO-biased verb) in the second time window. These results provide evidence for an error-based structure prediction system in comprehension. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Association between health-related quality of life and menopausal status and symptoms in women living with HIV aged 45–60 years in England: An analysis of the PRIME study

Objectives:The aim of this study was to compare the health-related quality of life between mid-life women with HIV and the general population and to investigate the association between health-related quality of life and menopausal (1) status and (2) symptoms among women with HIV.Methods:Cross-sectional data of women with HIV aged 45–60 years from the Positive Transitions Through the Menopause Study. Health-related quality of life was assessed using the Euroqol questionnaire with utility scores categorizing health as perfect (score = 1.00), sub-optimal (0.75–0.99) or poor (< 0.75). Scores were compared between Positive Transitions Through the Menopause study participants and women (aged 45–59 years) from the Health Survey for England. Associations between health-related quality of life and menopausal status/symptoms in Positive Transitions Through the Menopause participants were assessed using a multivariable two-part regression model, the results of which are combined to produce a single marginal effect.Results:In total, 813 women from the Positive Transitions Through the Menopause study were included (median age 49 (interquartile range: 47–53) years); the majority were of Black African ethnicity (72.2%). Overall, 20.9%, 43.7% and 35.3% of women were pre-, peri- and post-menopausal, respectively, and 69.7% experienced mild/moderate/severe menopausal symptoms. Approximately, 40% reported perfect health, 22.1% sub-optimal health and 39.0% poor health, similar to women from the Health Survey for England (perfect health: 36.9%, sub-optimal health: 25.2%, poor health: 37.9%). In multivariable models, we found an association between health-related quality of life and peri-menopausal status (marginal effect: 0.07 (0.02, 0.12)); however, the association with post-menopausal status was attenuated (marginal effect: 0.01 (–0.05, 0.06)). There remained a strong association between lower utility scores and moderate (marginal effect: 0.16 (0.11, 0.20)) and severe (marginal effect: 0.32 (0.27, 0.39)) menopausal symptoms.Conclusion:There were no differences in health-related quality of life between women with HIV (Positive Transitions Through the Menopause participants) and women from the Health Survey for England dataset. Among Positive Transitions Through the Menopause participants, health-related quality of life was reduced in peri-menopausal women and those with increasingly severe menopausal symptoms. Our findings highlight the importance of proactive assessment of menopausal status and symptoms to optimize health-related quality of life in women living with HIV as they reach mid-life and beyond.

Influence of Regular Rhythmic Versus Textural Sound Sequences on Semantic and Conceptual Processing

Conceptual priming studies have shown that listening to musical primes triggers semantic activation. The present study further investigated with a free semantic evocation task, 1) how rhythmic vs. textural structures affect the amount of words evoked after a musical sequence, and 2) whether both features also affect the content of the semantic activation. Rhythmic sequences were composed of various percussion sounds with a strong underlying beat and metrical structure. Textural sound sequences consisted of blended timbres and sound sources evolving over time without identifiable pulse. Participants were asked to verbalize the concepts evoked by the musical sequences. We measured the number of words and lemmas produced after having listened to musical sequences of each condition, and we analyzed whether specific concepts were associated with each sequence type. Results showed that more words and lemmas were produced for textural sound sequences than for rhythmic sequences and that some concepts were specifically associated with each musical condition. Our findings suggest that listening to musical excerpts emphasizing different features influences semantic activation in different ways and extent. This might possibly be instantiated via cognitive mechanisms triggered by the acoustic characteristics of the excerpts as well as the perceived emotions.

Reductions in biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology following treatment with aducanumab were associated with slowing in clinical decline

AbstractBackgroundAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau in the brain. Aducanumab is a human monoclonal antibody that selectively targets aggregated forms of Aβ. In clinical studies, aducanumab treatment resulted in dose‐ and time‐dependent reduction in Aβ levels accompanied by slowed clinical decline.MethodParticipants in the Phase 1b PRIME study (NCT01677572) were randomized to receive aducanumab (1, 3, 6, or 10 mg/kg [fixed‐dose or titrated]) or placebo every 4 weeks (q4w). The effects of aducanumab on clinical endpoints and amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) composite standard uptake value ratio (SUVR) were evaluated at the end of randomization (Week 54).In the Phase 3 EMERGE (NCT02484547) and ENGAGE (NCT02477800) studies, participants were randomized (1:1:1) to received high‐dose aducanumab (10 mg/kg), low‐dose aducanumab (3 mg/kg), or placebo q4w. At Week 78, the effects of aducanumab on clinical endpoints were assessed; the effects on AD biomarkers were assessed in PET and CSF substudies. In the EMERGE and ENGAGE substudies, participant‐level correlations between change from baseline in clinical measures (measured by CDR‐SB, MMSE, ADAS‐Cog 13, and ADCS‐ADL‐MCI) and change from baseline in amyloid PET SUVR or CSF biomarkers (p‐tau and t‐tau) at Week 78 were examined. The same analysis between clinical decline (measured by CDR‐SB and MMSE) and change in amyloid PET SUVR was investigated in PRIME at Week 54. Group‐level correlation between treatment effect on Aβ levels as measured by PET and clinical decline was conducted across all 3 studies.ResultFindings from EMERGE suggest that reduction in AD biomarker levels (amyloid PET, CSF p‐tau, and CSF t‐tau) following treatment with aducanumab are associated with slowing in cognitive decline. Analyses from PRIME are supportive of these findings. In ENGAGE, in which a clinical treatment effect of aducanumab was not observed, correlations were less apparent. However, group‐level analyses based on data from PRIME, EMERGE, and ENGAGE demonstrated a correlation between aducanumab treatment effect on amyloid pathology and clinical measures.ConclusionThe correlation analyses between biomarkers and clinical measures provide evidence that aducanumab‐induced reduction in biomarkers of AD disease pathophysiology is associated with reduced clinical decline.