Slower Reaction Times Research Articles

Exploring patterns in older pedestrian involved crashes during nighttime

Nighttime crashes involving older pedestrians pose a significant safety concern due to their age-related vulnerabilities such as reduced vision and slower reaction times. This study analyzes crash data from Texas for six years (2017–2022) using Association Rules Mining (ARM) to identify patterns and associations affecting crash severity for older pedestrians aged 65–74 years and those over 74 years under varying lighting conditions. The findings reveal that high-speed limits and complex road environments significantly increase the risk of fatal or severe injuries for both age groups, particularly under inadequate lighting. Additionally, demographic factors, adverse weather conditions, and specific road features further influence crash outcomes. These insights highlight the need for interventions, including lower speed limits, enhanced street lighting, and the implementation of advanced technologies such as modern pedestrian detection systems, sensor technology, pedestrian bags, accessible pedestrian signals, to improve the safety of older pedestrians. Policymakers should leverage these insights to formulate strategies that improve road safety for older pedestrians, addressing their unique vulnerabilities in various nighttime conditions.

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

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

Interplay between preclinical indices of obesity and neural signatures of fluid intelligence in youth.

Pediatric obesity rates have quadrupled in the United States, and deficits in higher-order cognition have been linked to obesity, though it remains poorly understood how deviations from normal body mass are related to the neural dynamics serving cognition in youth. Herein, we determine how age- and sex-adjusted measures of body mass index (zBMI) scale with neural activity in brain regions underlying fluid intelligence. Seventy-two youth aged 9-16 years underwent high-density magnetoencephalography while performing an abstract reasoning task. The resulting data were transformed into the time-frequency domain and significant oscillatory responses were imaged using a beamformer. Whole-brain correlations with zBMI were subsequently conducted to quantify relationships between zBMI and neural activity serving abstract reasoning. Our results reveal that participants with higher zBMI exhibit attenuated theta (4-8 Hz) responses in both the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left temporoparietal junction, and that weaker temporoparietal responses scale with slower reaction times. These findings suggest that higher zBMI values are associated with weaker theta oscillations in key brain regions and altered performance during an abstract reasoning task. Thus, future investigations should evaluate neurobehavioral function during abstract reasoning in youth with more severe obesity to identify the potential impact.

Error monitoring under working memory load: Anelectrocortical investigation.

Error monitoring is essential for detecting errors and may facilitate behavioral adjustments that can reduce or prevent future errors. At times, error monitoring must occur while individuals are engaged in other, cognitively demanding tasks that might consume processing resources necessary for error monitoring. Here, we set out to determine whether concurrent working memory (WM) load interferes with error monitoring, as measured using event-related potentials, the error-related negativity (Ne/ERN), and error positivity (Pe). Fifty-four participants (n = 33 female) completed an arrowhead flanker task, with trials presented under low (2 letter) or high (6 letter) WM load. Participants were required to hold letter strings in memory and to recall these letters at the end of a set of flanker trials. Results showed that WM load reduced the Pe but did not affect the Ne/ERN. Therefore, WM load appeared to attenuate later, more elaborated stages of error processing, though initial error detection was unaffected. Additionally, high WM load slowed reaction times overall, but did not lead to a significant increase in errors. As such, slower responses may have helped participants maintain comparable accuracy for low-load versus high-load trials. Overall, results indicate that WM load interferes with the evaluation of error significance, which could interfere with behavioral adaptations over time.

The effect of diabetes in the multifaceted relationship between education and cognitive function

BackgroundEducation has been shown to be positively associated with cognitive performance. However, the pathways via lifestyle-related disease through which education is related to cognitive performance have not been sufficiently explored. Diabetes is an important lifestyle-related disease with increasing prevalence worldwide. Low education is associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes, while diabetes may also lead to a deterioration in cognitive performance. This study aims to explore if the associations between education and cognitive function is mediated by the diabetes status among older adults.MethodsThe data utilized in this study were derived from the first two waves of the Dutch Lifelines Cohort Study (2006–2015). The analyzed sample included 26,131 individuals aged 50 years or above at baseline. The baseline assessment included measurements of educational attainment (exposure) and the potential mediator diabetes. The outcome of cognitive function was assessed using age-standardized reaction times from the psychomotor function and attention tasks, as measured by the Cogstate Brief Battery. The Cogstate Brief Battery was only conducted at the follow-up assessment, not at the baseline assessment. Faster reaction times correspond to higher cognitive performance. The study employed linear and logistic regression models, in addition to a causal mediation approach which estimated the average causal mediation effect (ACME).ResultsHigher education was associated with a lower risk of diabetes (b= -0.1976, 95%CI= -0.3354; -0.0597) compared to low or middle education as well as with faster reaction times (b= -0.2023, 95%CI= -0.2246; -0.1798), implying better cognitive function. Diabetes was associated with slower reaction times (b = 0.0617, 95%CI = 0.0162; 0.1072). Most importantly, the mediation approach identified a significant indirect effect of education on cognitive function via the diabetes status (ACME= -0.00061, 95%CI= -0.00142; -0.00011).DiscussionThe findings emphasize the potentially importance of diabetes in explaining the role of education in promoting healthy cognitive function and mitigating the risk of cognitive decline. Early detection and treatment of diabetes may be particularly beneficial for individuals with low or middle levels of education in order to maintain good levels of cognitive function.

Brain correlates of attentional load processing reflect degree of bilingual engagement: Evidence from EEG

The present study uses electroencephalography (EEG) with an N-back task (0-, 1-, and 2-back) to investigate if and how individual bilingual experiences modulate brain activity and cognitive processes. The N-back is an especially appropriate task given recent proposals situating bilingual effects on neurocognition within the broader attentional control system (Bialystok and Craik, 2022). Beyond its working memory component, the N-Back task builds in complexity incrementally, progressively taxing the attentional system. EEG, behavioral and language/social background data were collected from 60 bilinguals. Two cognitive loads were calculated: low (1-back minus 0-back) and high (2-back minus 0-back). Behavioral performance and brain recruitment were modeled as a function of individual differences in bilingual engagement. We predicted task performance as modulated by bilingual engagement would reflect cognitive demands of increased complexity: slower reaction times and lower accuracy, and increase in theta, decrease in alpha and modulated N2/P3 amplitudes. The data show no modulation of the expected behavioral effects by degree of bilingual engagement. However, individual differences analyses reveal significant correlations between non-societal language use in Social contexts and alpha in the low cognitive load condition and age of acquisition of the L2/2L1 with theta in the high cognitive load. These findings lend some initial support to Bialystok and Craik (2022), showing how certain adaptations at the brain level take place in order to deal with the cognitive demands associated with variations in bilingual language experience and increases in attentional load. Furthermore, the present data highlight how these effects can play out differentially depending on cognitive testing/modalities – that is, effects were found at the TFR level but not behaviorally or in the ERPs, showing how the choice of analysis can be deterministic when investigating bilingual effects.

Context matters: task relevance shapes neural responses to emotional facial expressions

Recent research shows that emotional facial expressions impact behavioral responses only when their valence is relevant to the task. Under such conditions, threatening faces delay attentional disengagement, resulting in slower reaction times and increased omission errors compared to happy faces. To investigate the neural underpinnings of this phenomenon, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to record the brain activity of 23 healthy participants while they completed two versions of the go/no-go task. In the emotion task (ET), participants responded to emotional expressions (fearful or happy faces) and refrained from responding to neutral faces. In the gender task (GT), the same images were displayed, but participants had to respond based on the posers’ gender. Our results confirmed previous behavioral findings and revealed a network of brain regions (including the angular gyrus, the ventral precuneus, the left posterior cingulate cortex, the right anterior superior frontal gyrus, and two face-responsive regions) displaying distinct activation patterns for the same facial emotional expressions in the ET compared to the GT. We propose that this network integrates internal representations of task rules with sensory characteristics of facial expressions to evaluate emotional stimuli and exert top-down control, guiding goal-directed actions according to the context.

Literally or prosodically? Recognising emotional discourse in alexithymia

ABSTRACT Alexithymia is characterised by difficulties in identifying, recognising, and describing emotions. We studied alexithymia in the context of speech comprehension, specifically investigating the incongruent condition between prosody and the literal meaning of words in emotion-based discourse. In two experiments, participants were categorised as having high or low alexithymia scores based on the TAS-20 scale and listened to three-sentence narratives where the emotional prosody of a key phrase or a keyword was congruent or incongruent with its literal meaning. The incongruent condition resulted in slower reaction times and lower accuracy in recognition of emotions. This incongruence effect was also evident for individuals with high alexithymia, except for anger. They recognised anger as accurately in both congruent and incongruent conditions. Contrary to our hypothesis, however, individuals with high alexithymia did not show an overall difference in emotion recognition compared to the low alexithymia group. These findings highlight the nuanced relationship between emotional prosody and literal meaning, offering insights into how individuals with varying levels of alexithymia process emotional discourse. Understanding these dynamics has implications for both cognitive research and clinical practice, providing valuable perspectives on speech comprehension, especially in situations involving incongruence between prosody and word meaning.

Moderate-dose caffeine enhances anaerobic performance without altering hydration status.

The effects of direct nutritional supplements on athletic performance are still being investigated and arouse curiosity. Only one study in the literature was found that investigated the kicking speed performance of futsal players following low-dose caffeine supplementation (3 mg/kg); thus, the question of whether caffeine supplementation improves kicking speed as well as essential physical parameters in soccer players is still controversial. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of caffeine supplementation on vertical jump (VJ), sprint, reaction time, balance, change of direction (COD), and ball-kicking speed in soccer players. In a double-blind, cross-over design, nine moderately trained male soccer players (21.11 ± 2.02 years, 171.22 ± 6.14 cm, 71.78 ± 10.02 kg) consumed caffeine (6 mg/kg) or a placebo 60 min before completing balance, reaction time, vertical jump, agility, 30 m sprint, and ball-kicking speed tests. Greater VJ height (p = 0.01) and power (p = 0.08), and faster completion time according to the Illinois Agility Test (p = 0.08) were found following caffeine supplementation compared to placebo. Elapsed time (p = 0.01), average (p = 0.01) time, and the slowest reaction times (p = 0.016) were significantly reduced after caffeine consumption compared to placebo supplementation. Caffeine intake significantly improved VJ, agility, and reaction time (p < 0.05) but did not affect 30 m sprint, ball-kicking speed, balance, and RPE values in soccer players (p > 0.05). Although non-significant, caffeine intake also improved sprint (0.67%) and ball kicking (2.7%) performance percentages. Also, caffeine consumption did not induce dehydration, and the athletes' body hydration levels were normal. These findings support the use of caffeine supplementation as an effective nutritional ergogenic aid to enhance anaerobic performance, at least for vertical jumps, COD speed, and reaction time, in trained male soccer players.

Stochastic resonance is not required for pink noise to have beneficial effects on ADHD-related performance? The moderate brain arousal model challenged

ObjectiveRandom noise, such as white or pink noise, has been shown to have beneficial effects on the performance of individuals with (elevated traits of) ADHD. Both the state regulation deficit (SRD) account and the moderate brain arousal (MBA) model argue that this effect is due to enhanced cognitive arousal. The MBA model specifically attributes this to random noise affecting dopaminergic (DA) transmission via stochastic resonance (SR). However, he requirement of SR and the role of DA have not yet been properly examined. To test this, proper control conditions are needed. MethodTo examine the requirement of SR, 60 neurotypical adults with varying levels of ADHD traits performed a slow two-choice reaction time (S1–S2) task in three auditory conditions: pink (random) noise, a pure 100 Hz tone (non-random noise), and silence. All participants also completed the Attention Network Test (ANT) in two conditions (pink noise and silence) to inspect the effect on executive network efficiency which may serve as a proxy measure of DA. ADHD traits were assessed via self-report. ResultsAuditory stimulation improved performance on the S1–S2 task in participants with elevated ADHD traits, however this was the case for both pink noise and the pure tone. Pink noise did not affect executive network efficiency, irrespective of ADHD traits. ConclusionsOur results suggest that stochastic resonance is not required for pink noise to have a beneficial effect on ADHD-related performance. Pink noise did not affect our DA proxy measure, however this negative finding should be interpreted with caution. Our results cast doubt on the tenets of the MBA model, warranting further research.

The association of regional cerebral blood flow and glucose metabolism in normative ageing and insulin resistance

Rising rates of insulin resistance and an ageing population are set to exact an increasing toll on individuals and society. Here we examine the contribution of age and insulin resistance to the association of cerebral blood flow and glucose metabolism; both critical process in the supply of energy for the brain. Thirty-four younger (20–42 years) and 41 older (66–86 years) healthy adults underwent a simultaneous resting state MR/PET scan, including arterial spin labelling. Rates of cerebral blood flow and glucose metabolism were derived using a functional atlas of 100 brain regions. Older adults had lower cerebral blood flow than younger adults in 95 regions, reducing to 36 regions after controlling for cortical atrophy and blood pressure. Lower cerebral blood flow was also associated with worse working memory and slower reaction time in tasks requiring cognitive flexibility and response inhibition. Younger and older insulin sensitive adults showed small, negative correlations between relatively high rates of regional cerebral blood flow and glucose metabolism. This pattern was inverted in insulin resistant older adults, who showed hypoperfusion and hypometabolism across the cortex, and a positive correlation. In insulin resistant younger adults, the association showed inversion to positive correlations, although not to the extent seen in older adults. Our findings suggest that the normal course of ageing and insulin resistance alter the rates of and associations between cerebral blood flow and glucose metabolism. They underscore the criticality of insulin sensitivity to brain health across the adult lifespan.

Does early exercise intolerance effect time to return to play, symptom burden, neurocognition, Vestibular-Ocular-Motor (VOM) function and academic ability in acutely concussed student-athletes?

ABSTRACT Introduction Early Exercise Intolerance (EEI) is associated with delayed recovery and longer time to Return To Play (RTP), but this has not been established. Participants; (n = 52, male n = 30) UK university-aged rugby-union student-athletes. Methods Student-athletes completed baseline screening (July–October 2021 and 2022). The test battery was repeated within 48 h, 4, 8 and 14 days after a Sports-Related Concussion (SRC) with the Buffalo Concussion Bike or Treadmill Test to set sub-symptom heart rate threshold. Student-athletes then completed a controlled early exercise protocol in-between reassessment (days 3, 5–7 and 9–13). Those with EEI were compared to those with early-exercise tolerance. Outcome measures Post-Concussion Symptom Scale, Immediate Post-Concussion and Cognitive Test, Vestibular-Ocular Motor Screening Tool and the Revised Perceived Academic Impact Tool. Results EEI was seen throughout the initial 14-days post-SRC (23.8%, 22.4%, 25.5%. 25.0%). EEI was associated with a slower reaction time within 48 h (−0.01 (−0.030–0.043) Vs 0.06 (0.033–0.24), p = 0.004) and greater VOMS scores within 48 h; (0.00 (0.00–4.00) Vs 5.50 (2.75–9.00), p = 0.016) and 4 days (0.00 (0.00–2.00) Vs 5.00 (0.00–6.00), p = 0.044). RTP was 12.5 days longer in those with EEI at 14-days post-SRC. Conclusion EEI is prevalent following an SRC in university-aged student-athletes and was associated with delayed recovery and RTP.

The effect of experimentally induced sleep fragmentation and estradiol suppression on neurobehavioral performance and subjective sleepiness in premenopausal women.

Menopause is associated with nighttime sleep fragmentation, declining estradiol, and impaired cognition. In a model of pharmacologically induced estradiol suppression mimicking menopause, we examined the impact of menopause-pattern sleep fragmentation on daytime neurobehavioral performance and sleepiness in premenopausal women. Twenty premenopausal women completed two five-night inpatient studies in the mid-to-late follicular phase (estrogenized) and after pharmacological estradiol suppression (hypo-estrogenized). During each study, participants had an uninterrupted 8-hour sleep opportunity for two nights, followed by three nights where sleep was experimentally fragmented to mimic menopause-pattern sleep disturbance, and during which the sleep opportunity was extended to prevent shortening of the sleep duration. Neurobehavioral performance and subjective sleepiness were measured using the Psychomotor Vigilance Task and Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS). Compared to unfragmented sleep, sleep fragmentation increased attentional lapses (+ 0.6 lapses, p < .05), slowed reaction time (+ 9.4 milliseconds, p < .01), and increased daytime sleepiness (+ 0.5 KSS score, p < .001). Estradiol suppression increased attentional lapses (+ 0.8; p < .001) and reaction time (+ 12.3, p < .01) but did not significantly affect daytime sleepiness. The effect of sleep fragmentation on neurobehavioral performance differed by estradiol state, such that the adverse effects of sleep fragmentation on attentional lapses (+ 0.9, trend p = .06) and reaction time (+ 15, p < .05) were observed only when estrogenized. Menopause-pattern sleep fragmentation and estradiol suppression worsened neurobehavioral performance and daytime sleepiness, even while sleep duration was not reduced. The adverse effects of sleep fragmentation in the context of an adequate sleep duration highlight the importance of sleep continuity as a vital aspect of good sleep health.

Neural mechanisms of the relationship between aerobic fitness and working memory in older adults: An fNIRS study

Abstract A growing number of studies have revealed that higher aerobic fitness is associated with better working memory (WM) performance in older adults. However, the underlying functional neural mechanisms of this association remain under debate. It has been reported that aging increases recruitment of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during cognitive tasks, and that this is associated with task performance in a compensatory manner. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the prefrontal activation pattern that is associated with the relationship between aerobic fitness and WM performance in older adults, focusing on age-related extended prefrontal recruitment. Forty-seven older adults (65–74 years, 29 females) and 49 younger adults (18–24 years, 23 female) performed verbal and spatial n-back tasks, which included 0-, 1-, and 2-back conditions. Reaction time (RT) and accuracy (ACC) were assessed as indices of task performance. Prefrontal activation during the experimental tasks was monitored using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and analyzed using an adaptive GLM method. We compared task performance and prefrontal activation between age groups to find age-related prefrontal activation patterns. Only older adults underwent a graded exercise test (GXT) to determine their ventilation thresholds (VT) as a measure of aerobic fitness, and, subsequently, the relationships among aerobic fitness, n-back task performance, and prefrontal activation in older adults were examined using correlation analysis and mediation analysis controlling for possible covariates. A comparison of task performance between groups revealed that older adults had slower RT and lower ACC than did younger adults, especially in the higher WM load 2-back condition. Group comparisons of prefrontal activation showed that older adults exhibited additional or greater activation than younger adults mainly in the ventrolateral PFC (VLPFC) and front polar area (FPA) in both the verbal and spatial 2-back conditions. Correlation analysis showed a relationship between higher VT, shorter RT for the verbal 2-back condition, and greater prefrontal activation of the bilateral FPA and right VLPFC during verbal 2-back conditions in older adults. In addition, mediation analyses indicated the possibility of a mediation effect of the prefrontal activation on the relationship between VT and RT for the verbal 2-back condition. These results suggest that older adults with higher aerobic fitness levels recruited more extended PFC regions, possibly for compensatory activation, to enhance their performance of the verbal n-back task. This study sheds light on the neural mechanisms underpinning the relationship between aerobic fitness and cognitive function in older adults.

Food-related inhibitory control deficits in young male adults with obesity: Behavioral and ERP evidence from a food-related go/no-go task

PurposeObesity poses a pervasive challenge to global public health, which is linked to adverse physical health outcomes and cognitive decline. Cognitive function, particularly food-related cognitive function, plays a critical role in sustaining a healthy weight and mitigating the progression of obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate the behavioral and neuroelectronic aspects of food-related inhibitory functions in young adult males with obesity. MethodsForty-nine participants with obesity and healthy-weight were recruited (BMI = 35.83 ± 5.06 kg/m2 vs. 22.55 ± 1.73 kg/m2, age = 24.23 ± 4.55 years vs. 26.00 ± 3.97 years). A food-related Go/No-go task which included 6 distinct blocks in a randomized order was conducted to investigate the general and food-related inhibitory control. 180 stimulus images from the Food Picture Database encompassing high-calorie food, low-calorie food, and neutral images were selected. Behavioral (Go RT, Go ACC, No-go ACC) and event-related potential measures (N2 and P3 amplitude) during the food-related Go/No-go task were measured. ResultsThe main findings indicated that the group with obesity exhibited lower No-go accuracy, slower go reaction times, and smaller P3 amplitudes in high-calorie, low-calorie foods, and neutral picture, compared to the normal-weight group, but with no group difference in N2. Additionally, high-calorie food induced larger N2 and P3 amplitude than the neutral stimuli. ConclusionsYoung male adults with obesity exhibit poorer inhibitory control in both food and non-food domains, specifically in slower reaction time and reduced accuracy, featuring difficulties in neural resource recruitment during the inhibitory control process. Additionally, the P3 component could serve as sensitive indicators to reveal the neural mechanisms of inhibitory control deficits in obesity, while the N2 and P3 components may differentiate the neural differences between high-calorie foods and non-foods in inhibitory control processing. Food, especially high-calorie food, induces more neural resources and may exacerbate the poor inhibitory ability towards food in obesity. Targeted interventions such as exercise interventions, cognitive training as well as neuromodulation interventions are warranted in the future to improve impaired general and food-related inhibitory functions in the obese populations, offering both theoretical and practical frameworks for obesity prevention and treatment.

When experience with scenes foils attentional orienting: ERP evidence against flexible target-context mapping in visual search

Visual search is speeded when a target is repeatedly presented in an invariant scene context of nontargets (contextual cueing), demonstrating observers' capability for using statistical long-term memory (LTM) to make predictions about upcoming sensory events, thus improving attentional orienting. In the current study, we investigated whether expectations arising from individual, learned environmental structures can encompass multiple target locations. We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) while participants performed a contextual cueing search task with repeated and non-repeated spatial item configurations. Notably, a given search display could be associated with either a single target location (standard contextual cueing) or two possible target locations. Our result showed that LTM-guided attention was always limited to only one target position in single- but also in the dual-target displays, as evidenced by expedited reaction times (RTs) and enhanced N1pc and N2pc deflections contralateral to one (“dominant”) target of up to two repeating target locations. This contrasts with the processing of non-learned (“minor”) target positions (in dual-target displays), which revealed slowed RTs alongside an initial N1pc “misguidance” signal that then vanished in the subsequent N2pc. This RT slowing was accompanied by enhanced N200 and N400 waveforms over fronto-central electrodes, suggesting that control mechanisms regulate the competition between dominant and minor targets. Our study thus reveals a dissociation in processing dominant versus minor targets: While LTM templates guide attention to dominant targets, minor targets necessitate control processes to overcome the automatic bias towards previously learned, dominant target locations.

Mental rotation and language in autism spectrum disorder.

Though visuospatial skills are often considered a relative strength in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), unexplained difficulties relative to neurotypical (NT) peers have also been observed. Dissociations between spatial cognition and language skills in ASD may explain these difficulties given that these systems are linked in NT individuals. The current study examined performance on a mental rotation task that systematically varied stimulus features and the degree to which performance was associated with language in ASD relative to NT peers. Participants were children and young adults with ASD and 25 pairwise age- and IQ-matched NT peers (p's>0.53). The mental rotation task involved four conditions: two-dimensional (2D) abstract figures, three-dimensional (3D) abstract figures, 2D common objects, and 3D common objects. Structural language was measured using the grammar subscale from the Test of Language Development: Intermediate adapted for Norwegian. Mixed-effects model results indicated that autistic individuals were less accurate and had slower reaction time across mental rotation task conditions than NT peers. Language was associated with mental rotation accuracy for both groups across conditions, but with reaction time only for the NT group. The current study demonstrated selective associations between language and performance on a classic spatial cognition task in autistic individuals. Namely, there was a dissociation between language and in-the-moment efficiency in the ASD group, and this dissociation may reflect a broader dissociation between visuospatial and language systems.

Effects of perceptual redundancy, conceptual redundancy and self-relatedness on categorical responses.

A redundancy gain occurs when perceptually identical stimuli are presented together, resulting in quicker categorization of these paired stimuli than lone stimuli. Similar effects have been reported for paired stimuli within the same conceptual category, particularly if the category is self-related. We recruited 528 individuals across three related studies to investigate whether, during perceptual and conceptual redundancy, such self-bias effects on foreground stimuli are modulated by natural versus urban backgrounds. Here, we highlight our observations pertaining to perceptual and conceptual redundancy effects of the foreground stimuli. In our first experiment, response options were randomised per trial. Results showed reaction time gains for perceptually identical stimuli, but this advantage was not modulated by self/other categorization. However, slower reaction times were observed for conceptually-related stimulus pairs and were influenced by self/other categorization. The second experiment replicated the methods of earlier studies of redundancy and observed comparable results to Experiment 1: a perceptual redundancy gain unmodulated by self/other categorization, yet for conceptual redundancy, no gain/cost but effects of self/other categorization. In the third experiment, self/other categories were substituted with arbitrary A/B categories: Once more, there was a perceptual redundancy gain and no conceptual redundancy gain. Notably, A/B categorisation produced effects equivalent to self/other categorisation. Overall, these findings challenge previous research on the facilitated early processing of conceptually-related stimuli and suggest that self-relatedness may not exert a unique effect on stimulus processing beyond attentional and response preferences during categorization. Our study motivates further research to understand conceptual categorization and redundancy gain effects.

Utilizing kinematic analysis of postural instability as an objective measure to aid in distinguishing between normal pressure hydrocephalus and Parkinson's disease

ObjectivePatients with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) and Parkinson's Disease (PD) can clinically appear quite similar at baseline evaluation. We sought to investigate the use of kinematic assessment of postural instability (PI) using inertial measurement units (IMUs) as a mechanism of differentiation between the two disease processes. Methods20 patients with NPH, 55 patients with PD, and 56 age-matched, healthy controls underwent quantitative pull test examinations while wearing IMUs at baseline. Center of mass and foot position data were used to compare velocity and acceleration profiles, pull test step length, and reaction times between groups and as a function of Unified Parkinson's disease Rating Scale Pull Test (UPDRSPT) score. ResultsOverall, the reactive postural response of NPH patients was characterized by slower reaction times and smaller steps compared to both PD patients and healthy controls. However, when patients were grouped by UPDRSPT scores, no reliable objective difference between groups was detected. ConclusionAt their initial evaluation, very few NPH patients demonstrate “normal” or “mild” PI as they appear to be older upon presentation compared to PD patients. As a result, kinematic assessment utilizing IMUs may not be helpful for differentiating between NPH and PD as a function of UPDRSPT score, but rather as a more fine-tuned method to define disease progression. We emphasize the need for further evaluation of incorporating objective kinematic data collection as a way to evaluate PI and improve patient outcomes.

Smooth-surface octahedral Zn2SnO4 sensitized by carbon quantum dot for enhanced triethylamine detection

In this study, the combination of octahedral Zn2SnO4 with the carbon quantum dots (CQDs) is pioneered for the efficient detection of triethylamine. CQDs-modified Zn2SnO4 materials were synthesized to perform rapid detection of trace triethylamine present in air. In the gas test, the optimal composite's response value to triethylamine is 600% higher than the value of the original Zn2SnO4 to triethylamine, and the tendency of selective to triethylamine is more than ten times than other kinds of gases and possesses a short response/recovery times of 18 s/29 s. The exceptional properties of the composite are attributed to the superb electron transport capacity brought by the modification of 5 nm carbon quantum dots. The novel material will solve the issues of slow reaction time and low response of previous materials in detecting triethylamine.