Significant Increase In Reaction Time Research Articles

Exploring the Feasibility of Bidirectional Control of Beta Oscillatory Power in Healthy Controls as a Potential Intervention for Parkinson's Disease Movement Impairment.

Neurofeedback (NF) is a promising intervention for improvements in motor performance in Parkinson's disease. This NF pilot study in healthy participants aimed to achieve the following: (1) determine participants' ability to bi-directionally modulate sensorimotor beta power and (2) determine the effect of NF on movement performance. A real-time EEG-NF protocol was used to train participants to increase and decrease their individual motor cortex beta power amplitude, using a within-subject double-blind sham-controlled approach. Movement was assessed using a Go/No-go task. Participants completed the NASA Task Load Index and provided verbal feedback of the NF task difficulty. All 17 participants (median age = 38 (19-65); 10 females) reliably reduced sensorimotor beta power. No participant could reliably increase their beta activity. Participants reported that the NF task was challenging, particularly increasing beta. A modest but significant increase in reaction time correlated with a reduction in beta power only in the real condition. Findings suggest that beta power control difficulty varies by modulation direction, affecting participant perceptions. A correlation between beta power reduction and reaction times only in the real condition suggests that intentional beta power reduction may shorten reaction times. Future research should examine the minimum beta threshold for meaningful motor improvements, and the relationship between EEG mechanisms and NF learning to optimise NF outcomes.

Evaluation of New Approaches to Depression Treatment Using an Animal Model of Pharmacoresistant Depression.

Depression is emerging as the predominant psychiatric disorder globally. Despite the wide availability of antidepressants, up to 30% of patients exhibit poor response to treatment, falling into the category of treatment-resistant depression (TRD). This underscores the need for the exploration of novel therapeutic options. Our work aims to study the effect of chronic administration of the pyridoindole derivative SMe1EC2M3, a triple reuptake inhibitor, and the combination of zoletil and venlafaxine under conditions of stress induced by a 4-week chronic mild stress (CMS) procedure in Wistar-Kyoto male rats as an animal model of TRD. Therefore, we investigated the possible effect of the selected compounds in four experimental groups, i.e., stress + vehicle, stress + venlafaxine, stress + zoletil + venlafaxine and stress + SMe1EC2M3. The following variables were assessed: anhedonia in sucrose preference test (SPT), spontaneous locomotion and exploration in open field test (OF), anxiety-like behavior in elevated plus maze test (EPM), motivation and depressive-like behavior in forced swim test (FST) and nociception in tail flick test. We also evaluated cognition, particularly recognition memory, in the novel object recognition test (NOR). Sucrose preference was significantly increased in the SMe1EC2M3 group (p < 0.05) in comparison with the venlafaxine animals. In the OF, we observed a significantly higher number of entries into both the central and peripheral zones in the venlafaxine (p < 0.05 central zone; p ≤ 0.05 periphery zone) and SMe1EC2M3 (p < 0.05 central zone; p < 0.05 periphery zone) groups compared to the venlafaxine + zoletil group. SMe1EC2M3 was able to significantly increase the time of climbing in FST (p < 0.05) in comparison with the venlafaxine and control groups. The NOR test revealed a significantly higher discrimination ratio in the SMe1EC2M3 group (p < 0.05) compared to the control and venlafaxine groups. Analyses of the tail flick test showed a significant increase in reaction time to painful stimuli in the SMe1EC2M3 group (p < 0.05) in comparison to both the control and venlafaxine groups. Our findings suggest that SMe1EC2M3 has the potential to ameliorate some behavioral changes associated with TRD, and the venlafaxine + zoletil combination treatment was not a promising treatment alternative in the animal model of TRD.

Effect of music tempo on reaction time during study: an investigation on university students

Several studies have been conducted to reveal the impact of specific music on cognitive functions. However, the effect of music tempo of human intelligence still holds great potential for further research. The purpose of this research is to examine the influence of specific music tempos (adagietto, moderato, and assai) on the concentration levels of students at Diponegoro University during the study. This experiment uses the stroop task paradigm in a design experiment within the subject from August to September 2023. The study involved a total of 42 participants from the Industrial Engineering Department with four treatment conditions (no distraction, adagietto tempo, moderato tempo, and assai tempo). Data collection was carried out for each treatment at a 24-hour interval. Then, the result data for the three variables (accuracy, reaction time, &amp; stroop effect) are analyzed. The results of the statistical analysis indicate a significant increase in reaction time with ρ &lt; 0.05 (0.004 &lt; 0.05). The post hoc test indicates a significant difference between non-music treatment and assai tempo with ρ &lt; 0.05 (0.008 &lt; 0.05). The tempo assai treatment resulted in higher reaction times compared to the no music treatment, with values of 772.826 ms and 665.489 ms, respectively.

Effects of object working memory load on visual search in basketball players: an eye movement study

BackgroundWorking memory may affect the athletes’ visual search ability. Objective: This study aimed to examine the differences in the performance of visual search tasks among basketball players of varying sport levels, considering the influence of different object working memory loads. Method: This study recruited forty-two participants who were divided into three groups based on the classification of elite athletes: competitive elite, semi-elite, and novice. Results: Objective working memory load significantly impacts the accuracy of visual search, reaction time, and gaze fixation in basketball players. In the visual search task of the basketball sports scene, the inclusion of object working memory load led to a significant decrease in the accuracy of visual search, a significant increase in reaction time, a significant increase in the number of fixation points, and a more complex gaze trajectory. In a visual search task with object working memory load, the difference in reaction time between basketball players of different sport levels was observed during the search initiation time and scanning time, with higher sport levels associated with shorter reaction times. The effect of object working memory load on the eye movement phase of visual search varied among basketball players of different sport levels. For the novice group, the effect was on the reaction time during the verification phase, while for the semi-elite and competitive elite groups, the effect was on the reaction time during the scanning phase. Conclusion: The effect of object working memory load on visual search varied among basketball players of different sport levels.

Evaluation of Analgesic activity of Schiff base Coumarins with metal complex

Purpose: The metal complexes of schiff bases have essential task during the field of chemistry and possess diverse pharmacological activities. Coumarin containing synthesized derivatives or plant extract may show analgesic effects Objective: Evaluating the analgesic activity of schiff base coumarins with metal complex. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using Wister rats (150-250g) in both central and peripheral screening models of analgesics such as hot plate method, tail flick method (central) and writhing test (peripheral). The rats were pre administered with different derivatives of coumarins such as copper complex of schiff base of 2,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde (Compound I), copper complex of schiff base of 4-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (Compound II) and copper complex of the schiff base of 3-nitrobenzaldehyde (Compound III) for 14 days orally at the dose of 200mg/kg. Body weight, food and water consumption were continuously noted in chronic model. After the fourteen days rats were subjected to different screening models of pain and noted the reaction time. Gastro intestinal (GI) histopathological study was carried out to evaluate the GI toxicity. Results: Pretreatment with the different coumarin derivatives showed analgesic effect by increasing the reaction time to pain. In hot plate method, Compound II and III exhibited significant analgesic activity compared to Compound I whereas all three compounds showed significant increase in reaction time for tail flick method. In writhing test all compounds showed significant activity by reducing the pain perception induced by acetic acid. In histopathological study all compounds showed protective effect by reducing the ulceration and congestion of gastric mucosa. Conclusion: The screening model results and histopathological data evidently substantiate the analgesic effect of schiff base coumarins with metal complex.

Extremely negative emotion interferes with cognition: Evidence from ERPs and time-varying brain network

In recent years, the relationship between emotion and cognition was a hot topic. However, it remains unclear which specific emotions can significantly interfere with cognition and how they do so. In this study, we designed a novel Affective Stroop experiment paradigm to investigate these issues. The extremely negative (EN), moderately negative (MN), moderately positive (MP), extremely positive (EP) and neutral pictures were displayed before Stroop tasks. The behavioral results revealed that EN emotion significantly interfered with cognitive performance compared to other types of emotions, with a significant increase in reaction time under the EN emotion condition (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the dynamic brain mechanisms were analyzed from both Event-Related Potential (ERP) and time-varying brain network perspectives. Results showed that EN emotion evoked larger N2, P3, and LPP amplitudes in the frontal, parietal, and occipital brain regions. In contrast, the Stroop task under EN condition led to smaller N2, P3, and LPP amplitudes compared to neutral condition. This indicates that EN emotion was prioritized and consumed more cognitive resources relative to neutral emotion. During the P3 and LPP stages, we observed enhanced bottom-up connections between the parietal and frontal regions while the processing of EN emotion. Additionally, there were stronger top-down cognitive control connections from the frontal to the occipital regions while processing the Stroop task under EN condition. These findings consistently suggest that EN emotion interferes with cognition by consuming more cognitive resources, and the brain needs to enhance cognitive control to support Stroop task execution.

Comparative Assessment of Effect on Psychomotor Performance Efficacy and Adherence of Levosulpiride and Olanzapine in Patients with Schizophrenia: A Parallel, Open-label, Prospective Observational Study

Abstract Context: Schizophrenia is mostly treated with atypical antipsycotics, which may be required for lifetime. Olanzapine is commonly used in this condition, whereas levosulpiride is approved in India for the same. Knowing the effect of these drugs on psychomotor function helps in choosing a suitable drug to a particular patient based on his daily activities. Aims: The aim is to compare the effect of levosulpiride and olanzapine on psychomotor performance, efficacy, and adherence in patients with schizophrenia. Settings and Design: This was open-label, parallel arm, prospective observational study carried out in a tertiary care hospital of central India from December 2019 to December 2021. Subjects and Methods: Thirty-six patients visiting psychiatry OPD, diagnosed by treating psychiatrist as schizophrenia were assessed by CFFT, hand steadiness test (HST), arithmetic ability test, and reaction time (RT) for psychomotor function, and symptoms were scored on positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) and brief negative symptom scale (BNSS) rating scales at the first visit, end of 4 and 8 weeks. Adherence was assessed by the Medication adherence rating scale at 8 weeks. Results: Statistically significant increase in RT was seen in both levosulpiride (P = 0.04) and olanzapine (P = 0.0065) groups, whereas only the olanzapine group had a significant change in CFFT (P = 0.04) and HST (P = 0.01) at 8 weeks. On head-to-head comparison, a statistically significant worsening in HST score (P = 0.01) was seen in olanzapine group. Both the groups had significant decreases in all PANSS (P &lt; 0.001) and BNSS (P &lt; 0.001) scores. When change in PANSS and BNSS scores were compared with each other, the levosulpiride group had a significantly more decrease in scores on PANSS negative scale (P = 0.03). Patients in both groups were adherent to treatment. Conclusions: Our study concluded that levosulpiride is better than olanzapine on its fine motor control. Both the drugs increase RT while only olanzapine worsened fine motor control and CFF. Both the drugs were effective for schizophrenia with 8 weeks treatment, while levosulpiride is superior to olanzapine in improving negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

주관적 인지저하 및 경도인지장애 노인의 단어연상과제 수행특성

Associative ability can be used as the basic assessment data to clarify semantic knowledge preservation and processing speed by checking semantic networks. Especially due to the nature of Korean language, it takes a long time to build a semantic relation since there are a lot of semantically-overlapping words, particularly more in verbs and adjectives than nouns. And this difference depending on word classes could be a distinctive factor to identify cognitive function problems in the elderly. In this regard, this study aims to find out distinctive performance characteristics observed in the subject groups with subjective memory impairment and mild cognitive impairment, by designing multiple-choice word association tasks by word classes. As a result of the study, it was found that the performance of the mild cognitive impairment group had lower accuracy and reaction time than the normal group, and their error frequency by error types also showed significant difference. The subjective memory impairment group showed a significant increase in reaction time, compare to the normal group. To sum up, the quantity and/or quality of semantic knowledge processing could decline even at the stage of suffering from subjective cognitive problems, and particularly this problem could appear more obviously in the speed of semantic knowledge processing. Therefore, associative processing ability is anticipated to be used as a valuable data in future assessments to identify subjective and/or objective memory problems at an early stage.

EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF ANALGESIC ACTIVITY OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF TERMINALIA PANICULATA BARK IN RATS

This study was conducted to determine the analgesic activity of aqueous extract of Terminalia paniculata (Tp) bark. Analgesic activity was determined using hot plate and tail flick method. Thirty adult Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups of 6 rats each. Group I (control) received 2 mL water, Group II -codeine 5 mg kg-1, Group III, IV and V 100, 200 and 400 mg kg-1 of Tp, respectively. Latency time to pain sensation was noted. In hot plate model, group 5 showed significant increase in reaction time compared to groups 3 and 4 at all-time points and was comparable to standard codeine at 120th and 180th min. In tail flick method, standard codeine showed significant increased latency time compared to all three doses of Tp at 90th, 120th and 180th min. Group 5 showed significant increased reaction time compared to groups 3 and 4 from 60th min to 180th min. Group 4 showed increased analgesic activity compared to group 3 at 90th, 120th and 180th min but group 3 was significantly better at 30th min. Thus T. paniculata possesses analgesic potential.

Assessment of the Effects of Environmental Concentrations of Microplastics on the Aquatic Snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum

Microplastics are ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems. They can be found at the surface, in the water column, and in sediments. Multiple negative impacts of microplastics on aquatic organisms have been reported, with most studies focusing on marine ecosystems. However, the effects of microplastics on freshwater ecosystems have been less studied, with a few studies focusing on benthic invertebrates. In this study, we exposed the New Zealand mud snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray, 1843) to an environmental range of concentrations of polystyrene microparticles (size range from 0.01 to 514 µm at 100, 500, and 1000 mg microplastics/kg dry weight (dw) of sediment) and two supra-environmental concentrations (2000 and 4000 mg/kg dw sediment). The impacts of the exposure to microplastics on mortality, behavior, and reproduction were assessed at long-term exposure (31 days). Mortality and reproduction were not significantly affected by microplastics. On the contrary, most of the microplastic treatments altered the behavior, causing a significant increase in reaction time compared with controls (0 mg microplastics/kg dw sediment). The highest concentration (4000 mg/kg) did not have an impact on the reaction time over the experimental period compared with controls. To our knowledge, this study is the first to assess the effects of microplastics on the behavior of the aquatic snail P. antipodarum. Our results showed that at environmental concentrations, the behavior of P. antipodarum was the most sensitive variable to the adverse effects of polystyrene microplastics.

Effects of age, gender, and anthropometric measurements on simple visual and auditory reaction time in healthy Indian adults

Background: Reaction time (RT) is the time interval between the application of a stimulus and voluntary motor response. Both visual and auditory RT reflect the cognitive function of an individual specially in spatial skills. Aims and Objective: This study aims to find the correlation between age, gender, and anthropometric measurements on simple visual and auditory RT. Material and Methods: One hundred healthy volunteers of both the genders (males 52 and females 48) aged between 18 and 50 years were recruited. RT is the elapsed time between the presentation of a stimulus and the subsequent behavioral response to occur. Subjects were presented with red light and 1000 Hz tone sound stimuli for both the genders. In RT there is coordination between the sensory and motor system occurs. The height, weight, waist circumference, and waist–hip ratio (WHR) were measured to observe the effects of these measurements on visual reaction time (VRT) and auditory reaction time (ART). Results: Statistical analysis of the data by one-way ANOVA with post hoc by Turkey HSD test was found significant with age, gender, and other anthropometric measurements WHR, BSA, and waist circumference) with P-value of 0.027, 0.067; 0.001, 0.125 and BMI 0.135 and 0.200; WHR 0.086 and 0.043; 0.050 and 0.064, respectively. Conclusion: As hypothesis suggests when BMI is increased, there is a significant increase in RT. The VRT and ART both are increased in female than male. RT increases as the age increases especially after 40 years. Objective: The objective of the study was to find the correlation between age, gender, and anthropometric measurements on simple visual and auditory RT.

The outlier paradox: The role of iterative ensemble coding in discounting outliers.

Ensemble perception-the encoding of objects by their group properties-is known to be resistant to outlier noise. However, this resistance is somewhat paradoxical: how can the visual system determine which stimuli are outliers without already having derived statistical properties of the ensemble? A simple solution would be that ensemble perception is not a simple, one-step process; instead, outliers are detected through iterative computations that identify items with high deviance from the mean and reduce their weight in the representation over time. Here we tested this hypothesis. In Experiment 1, we found evidence that outliers are discounted from mean orientation judgments, extending previous results from ensemble face perception. In Experiment 2, we tested the timing of outlier rejection by having participants perform speeded judgments of sets with or without outliers. We observed significant increases in reaction time (RT) when outliers were present, but a decrease compared to no-outlier sets of matched range suggesting that range alone did not drive RTs. In Experiment 3 we tested the timing by which outlier noise reduces over time. We presented sets for variable exposure durations and found that noise decreases linearly over time. Altogether these results suggest that ensemble representations are optimized through iterative computations aimed at reducing noise. The finding that ensemble perception is an iterative process provides a useful framework for understanding contextual effects on ensemble perception. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The Outlier Paradox: The Role of Iterative Ensemble Coding in Discounting Outliers

Ensemble perception-the encoding of objects by their group properties-is known to be resistant to outlier noise. However, this resistance is somewhat paradoxical: how can the visual system determine which stimuli are outliers without already having derived statistical properties of the ensemble? A simple solution would be that ensemble perception is not a simple, one-step process; instead, outliers are detected through iterative computations that identify items with high deviance from the mean and reduce their weight in the representation over time. Here we tested this hypothesis. In Experiment 1, we found evidence that outliers are discounted from mean orientation judgments, extending previous results from ensemble face perception. In Experiment 2, we tested the timing of outlier rejection by having participants perform speeded judgments of sets with or without outliers. We observed significant increases in reaction time (RT) when outliers were present, but a decrease compared to no-outlier sets of matched range suggesting that range alone did not drive RTs. In Experiment 3 we tested the timing by which outlier noise reduces over time. We presented sets for variable exposure durations and found that noise decreases linearly over time. Altogether these results suggest that ensemble representations are optimized through iterative computations aimed at reducing noise. The finding that ensemble perception is an iterative process provides a useful framework for understanding contextual effects on ensemble perception. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

P300 Measures and Drive-Related Risks: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Detecting signs for an increased level of risk during driving are critical for the effective prevention of road traffic accidents. The current study searched for literature through major databases such as PubMed, EBSCO, IEEE, and ScienceDirect. A total of 14 articles that measured P300 components in relation to driving tasks were included for a systematic review and meta-analysis. The risk factors investigated in the reviewed articles were summarized in five categories, including reduced attention, distraction, alcohol, challenging situations on the road, and negative emotion. A meta-analysis was conducted at both behavioral and neural levels. Behavioral performance was measured by the reaction time and driving performance, while the neural response was measured by P300 amplitude and latency. A significant increase in reaction time was identified when drivers were exposed to the risk factors. In addition, the significant effects of a reduced P300 amplitude and prolonged P300 latency indicated a reduced capacity for cognitive information processing. There was a tendency of driving performance decrement in relation to the risk factors, however, the effect was non-significant due to considerable variations and heterogeneity across the included studies. The results led to the conclusion that the P300 amplitude and latency are reliable indicators and predictors of the increased risk in driving. Future applications of the P300-based brain–computer interface (BCI) system may make considerable contributions toward preventing road traffic accidents.

Aqueous extract of dry powder blend of seeds and leaves of Picralima nitida (Stapf) T. & H. Durand reduce pain and inflammation in animal models.

Blend of seeds and leaves of Picralima nitida herein referred to as West African Durand powder (WDP) was investigated for antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties. Acute toxic effect of the aqueous extract was evaluated in mice of both sexes. Antinociceptive effect of WDP (100-400mg/kg) was evaluated in models of acetic acid-induced writhing and thermal nociception on hot plate in mice. Carrageenan-induced paw oedema and air pouch rat models were used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of the extract. WDP (2,000mg/kg) showed no toxic effect in mice. WDP at 100, 200 and 400mg/kg inhibited abdominal writhings by 59.9, 66.0 and 79.0%, respectively. There was a significant increase in reaction time on the hot plate tests in mice treated with WDP (400mg/kg). The paw oedema was reduced by WDP (100, 200 and 400mg/kg) 5h post-carrageeenan. Exudate volume was significantly reduced to 39.8 and 44.8% by 200 and 400mg/kg WDP, respectively. WDP reduced Leucocytes counts (23.3 and 57.1%, respectively) and neutrophil counts (28.1 and 60.0%, as well as reduced nitrites, malondialdehyde levels and increased glutathione concentrations in the air pouch. These results suggest that aqueous extract of blend of seeds and leaves of P. nitida possesses antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties.

The Effect of Mental Fatigue on the Planning and Preparation of Alerting and Orienting Attention Networks in Athlete Students; A Non-Controlled Clinical Trial

Introduction: Mental fatigue following long-term mental activity is a reason for the performance decrement in sports. Considering the importance of the effect of mental fatigue on selective attention and performance of athletes, the present study aimed to determine the effect of mental fatigue on the effectiveness of alerting and orienting attention networks among athlete students. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study with pre- and posttest design was done to collect the data from 22 athlete students selected using convenient sampling method. Attention network test was used to evaluate the effectiveness of alerting and orienting networks before and after mental fatigue. In addition, they performed the Stroop test for 60 minutes in order to create mental fatigue. Then, repeated measures ANOVA (3 × 2) was utilized for analyzing the data at the significance level of 0.05. Results: A significant increase in reaction time was observed in the speed processing of orienting network in mental fatigue (P = 0.016), while mental fatigue improved the reaction speed in the alerting network (P = 0.280). In addition, the error rate decreased in both alerting networks (P = 0.870) and orienting (P = 0.600), although it was not significant. Conclusion: It may be concluded that mental fatigue could alter cognitive performance and negatively affect both accuracy and speed of the alerting and orienting networks, due to its goal-directed and up-down control. Therefore, it seems that athlete students probably sacrifice the speed for maintaining accuracy in the orienting network, and reduce accuracy for maintaining speed in the alerting network.

A comparative experimental study of analgesic activity of a novel non-steroidal anti-inflammatory molecule - zaltoprofen, and a standard drug - piroxicam, using murine models.

PurposePain is an unpleasant sensation, but a protective mechanism of our body. It is the most common medical complaint requiring a visit to a physician. The new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) – zaltoprofen, is a preferential COX-2 inhibitor. It also inhibits bradykinin-induced nociceptive responses by blocking the B2 receptor-mediated pathway in the primary sensory neurons. The present study was conducted to evaluate and compare the anti-nociceptive activity of zaltoprofen with a conventional NSAID – piroxicam, in a mouse model of acute pain using hot plate and tail flick tests.Materials and methodsTwenty-four adult Swiss albino mice (20–25 g) of either sex were used in this study. Oral zaltoprofen and piroxicam were used as test and standard drugs respectively. Anti-nociceptive activity was evaluated and compared using hot plate and tail flick tests.ResultsIn comparison to the control group (vehicle), zaltoprofen showed a significant increase in reaction time at various time periods in the hot plate and tail flick tests. In the hot plate method, zaltoprofen groups (15 and 20 mg/kg) showed a significant elevation in pain threshold in comparison to control group (vehicle) (p<0.001). In the tail flick model also, zaltoprofen groups (15 and 20 mg/kg) showed a significant increase in the reaction time in comparison to control group (vehicle). In both the analgesiometer assays, zaltoprofen was found to be non-inferior compared to a standard drug – piroxicam (positive control).ConclusionOur study concludes that zaltoprofen is an effective analgesic agent in various pain models. Our results support that zaltoprofen has therapeutic potential for treating pain disorders and is non-inferior to a standard drug – piroxicam.

Evaluating the impact of mental fatigue on construction equipment operators' ability to detect hazards using wearable eye-tracking technology

Abstract Construction equipment related accidents, such as collisions between equipment and pedestrian workers, pose a major challenge to occupational safety at construction sites. Decrement of operators' hazard detection ability resulting from attention failure is a leading cause of these accidents. Although mental fatigue induced by prolonged and monotonous operating tasks is known as the primary cause of this type of failure, little is revealed on how mental fatigue influences operators' ability to detect hazardous situations and associated visual attention features. To address this issue, this study uses wearable eye-tracking technology to evaluate the impact of mental fatigue on operators' ability in hazard detection and the corresponding patterns of visual attention allocation. Twelve healthy participants performed a simulated excavator operating task in a laboratory experiment. Subjective mental fatigue assessment, hazard detection task performance, and eye movement metrics were recorded and analyzed. In the experiment, mental fatigue was effectively induced and manipulated by a Time-On-Operating (TOO) procedure. Results revealed that operators' hazard detection ability decreased with the increase in subjective mental fatigue level, reflected by significant increases in reaction time for hazards and the number of misdetections. Attention allocation-related data were further analyzed to explain the specific manifestations of hazard detection failure in visual attention. The results indicated that the decrease of operators' hazard detection ability is associated with the changes of the distributions of fixation and gaze point while mental fatigue level increases. Consequently, clear observation of surrounding hazards and related details becomes difficult for operators. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of wearable eye-tracking technology in measuring and quantifying operators' mental fatigue and hazard detection ability. More importantly, the findings offer insights into the impairing effect of mental fatigue on operators' hazard detection ability from a visual attention perspective. Such insights provide a solid basis for developing effective safety interventions and attentional guidance-based safety training methods to mitigate relevant site accidents.

Determination of optimal time window for cortical mapping in awake craniotomy: assessment of intraoperative reaction speed.

Currently, there is no known time frame when the patients are the most responsive during awake craniotomy. The aim of this work is therefore to determine when the patient has the shortest reaction time and so to extrapolate the optimal time window for cortical mapping. In this analytic observational study, our group has recorded the reaction times of 35 patients undergoing an awake craniotomy and compared them with the preoperative baseline. The operations were performed according to a "sleep-awake-awake" protocol. Data collection was performed in parallel with standard methods for evaluation of language and cognitive functions. The preoperative reaction times of our patient cohort (average ± SD = 510 ± 124ms) were significantly shorter than those measured during the operation 786 ± 280ms, p < .001. A one-factor ANOVA within subjects showed a significant increase in reaction times; p < .001. Post hoc comparisons on a Bonferroni-corrected α-error level of .05 showed significant differences between the reaction speed during the 0-10min time frame and the preoperative baseline, as well as the intraoperative reaction times during the 20-30min, 30-40min, and the t > 40min time frames. In conclusion, measurement of intraoperative reaction speed seems to be a technically feasible method that is well tolerated by the patients. The intraoperative reaction speed performance was shown to be significantly slower than on the day before the operation. The patients seem to be the slowest directly after extubation and gradually wake up during the awake phase. The poorest wakefulness is demonstrated during the first 20min after extubation.

Analgesic and antiinflammatory activities of the essential oil from Artemisia sieberi Besser

The analgesic activity of Artemisia sieberi oil was assessed by acetic acid-induced writhing test and Eddy’s hot plate method; while the acute anti-inflammatory effect was investigated by inflammatory paw edema test in rats. The administration rout of the essential oil, standard drugs and the vehicle used in all assays was intraperitoneal injection. The 1 and 2.5 mg/kg doses of the studied oil significantly decreased the number of acetic acid-induced writhes in mice. The dose of 1 mg/kg of the oil also exhibited a central analgesic effect as evidenced by a significant increase in reaction time at several time points after 15 min treatment in the hot plate method. In addition, the 1 mg/kg dose of the oil significantly reduced carrageenan induced paw edema in rats at the first hour of the test by 72.7% inhibition and lasted to the third hour of the test by 74.3% inhibition found to be very close to that of the standard drug, diclofenac sodium (50 mg/kg). The major components of the oil were characterized as camphor (31.2%) and 1,8-cineole (20.0%). The results suggest that A. sieberi essential oil has a significant effect against acute inflammation and has central and peripheral anti-nociceptive effects.