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Czerwińska PawlukIwona,Pawluk Elwira Paula, SzymaszekAngelo Daniel. Techniques for administering inhaled medicines to patients with bronchial asthma in nursing practice. Pedagogy and Psychology of Sport. 2021;7(2):39-50. elSSN 2450-6605. DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.12775/PPS.2021.07.02.003 https://apcz.umk.pl/czasopisma/index.php/PPS/article/view/PPS.2021.07.02.003 https://zenodo.org/record/4734197 The journal has had 5 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. § 8. 2) and § 12. 1. 2) 22.02.2019. © The Authors 2021; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 17.02.2021. Revised: 17.02.2021. Accepted: 20.03.2021. Techniques for administering inhaled medicines to patients with bronchial asthma in nursing practice Techniki podawania leków wziewnych u pacjentów z astmą oskrzelową w praktyce pielęgniarskiej dr Iwona Czerwińska Pawluk, Radomska Szkoła Wyższa w Radomiu, Wydział Nauk o Zdrowiu, Radom, ul. 1905 roku 26/ 28 Uniwersytecki Szpital Dziecięcy, Lublin, ul. Prof. A. Gębali 6 mgr Elwira Paula Pawluk, Uniwersytecki Szpital Dziecięcy, Lublin, ul. Prof. A. Gębali 6 mgr Angelo Daniel Szymaszek, Uniwersytecki Szpital Dziecięcy, Lublin, ul. Prof. A. Gębali 6 Abstract Bronchial asthma due to complex etiopathogenesis, the frequency of exacerbations is a serious medical and social problem [10]. At the root of the disease lies the chronic inflammatory process, which is the main cause of symptoms [5,18]. In the therapy of bronchial asthma, the basis is drugs administered directly to the affected area of the inflammatory process by various inhalation techniques. Ignorance of drug inhalation techniques and/or failure of the patient/caregivers to make pharmacotherapy recommendations is associated with a risk of many side effects. In order for patient therapy to be safe and effective, it is necessary to carry out large-scale educational activities both among medical staff as well as patients and their caregivers in the field of aerosol therapy techniques. Key words: bronchial asthma, aerosol therapy techniques. Streszczenie Astma oskrzelowa ze względu na złożoną etiopatogenezę, częstość zaostrzeń stanowi poważny problem medyczny jak i społeczny [10]. U podłoża choroby leży przewlekły proces zapalny, który jest główną przyczyną objawów [5,18]. W terapii astmy oskrzelowej podstawę stanowią leki podawane bezpośrednio do miejsca objętego procesem zapalnych za pomocą różnych technik inhalacyjnych. Nieznajomość technik inhalacji leków i / lub niestosowanie się pacjenta / jego opiekunów do zaleceń w zakresie farmakoterapii wiąże się z ryzykiem wielu działań niepożądanych. Aby terapia pacjentów była bezpieczna i skuteczna konieczne jest prowadzenie na szeroką skalę działań edukacyjnych zarówno wśród personelu medycznego jak też pacjentów i ich opiekunów z zakresu technik aerozoloterapii. Słowa kluczowe:astma oskrzelowa, techniki aerozoloterapii.

Czerwińska PawlukIwona, PawlukElwira Paula, SzymaszekAngelo Daniel, BadiukNataliya S.The role of nursing staff in feeding a child with cystic fibrosis. Pedagogy and Psychology of Sport. 2020;6(2):18-29. elSSN 2450-6605. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/PPS.2020.06.02.002 https://apcz.umk.pl/czasopisma/index.php/PPS/article/view/PPS.2020.06.02.002 https://zenodo.org/record/3751977 The journal has had 5 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. § 8. 2) and § 12. 1. 2) 22.02.2019. © The Authors 2020; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 05.03.2020. Revised: 25.03.2020. Accepted: 10.04.2020. The role of nursing staff in feeding a child with cystic fibrosis Rola personelu pielęgniarskiego w żywieniu dziecka z mukowiscydozą Iwona Czerwińska Pawluk Radomska Szkoła Wyższa w Radomiu, Wydział Nauk o Zdrowiu, Uniwersytecki Szpital Dziecięcy, Lublin Elwira Paula Pawluk Absolwentka studiów licencjackich na kierunku pielęgniarstwa RSW w Radomiu, studentka pielęgniarstwa II stopnia WSEI Lublin, Uniwersytecki Szpital Dziecięcy, Lublin Angelo Daniel Szymaszek Absolwent studiów licencjackich na kierunku pielęgniarstwa RSW w Radomiu, student pielęgniarstwa II stopnia WSEI Lublin, Uniwersytecki Szpital Dziecięcy, Lublin Nataliya S. Badiuk Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute of Medicine for Transport, Odesa, Ukraine Abstract Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a systemic chronic disease that is characterized by chronic obstructive changes, recurrent respiratory tract infections, and digestive disorders and their consequences. In CF, digestive tract disorders include three functions: digestion, absorption and motor activity. Education on the subject of modified nutrition principles and their impact on the course of the disease, prevention of complications, length and quality of life of the child is a function of the therapy set. Key words: cystic fibrosis, modified nutrition rules. Streszczenie Mukowiscydoza (CF) jest ogólnoustrojową chorobą przewlekłą, która charakteryzuje się przewlekłymi zmianami obturacyjnymi, nawracającymi infekcjami dróg oddechowych oraz zaburzeniami procesów trawienia i ich konsekwencjami. W CF zaburzenia ze strony układu pokarmowego dotyczą trzech jego funkcji: trawienia, wchłaniania i motoryki. Edukacja na temat zmodyfikowanych zasad żywienia i ich wpływu na przebieg choroby, profilaktykę powikłań, długość i jakość życia dziecka jest ważnym elementem terapii. Słowa kluczowe: mukowiscydoza, zmodyfikowane zasady żywienia.

Summary Objective Examine associations of hip abductor strength with (1) cartilage damage worsening in the tibiofemoral and patellofemoral compartments 2 years later, and (2) poor function and disability outcomes 5 years later. Methods Participants had knee osteoarthritis (K/L ≥ 2) in at least one knee. Hip abductor strength was measured using Biodex Dynamometry. Participants underwent 3.0T MRI of both knees at baseline and 2 years later. Baseline-to-2-year cartilage damage progression, defined as any worsening of WORMS cartilage damage score, was assessed at each tibiofemoral and patellofemoral surface. LLFDI (Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument) and Chair-Stand-Rate were recorded at baseline and 5-year follow-up; outcomes analyzed using quintiles. Poor outcomes were defined as remaining in the same low-function quintiles or being in a worse quintile at 5-year follow-up. We analyzed associations of baseline hip abductor strength with cartilage damage worsening and function and disability outcomes using multivariable log-binomial models. Results 275 knees from 164 persons [age = 63.7 (SD = 9.8) years, 79.3% women] comprised the structural outcome sample, and 187 persons [age = 64.2 (9.7), 78.6% women] the function and disability outcomes sample. Greater baseline hip abductor strength was associated with reduced risks of baseline-to-2-year medial patellofemoral and lateral tibiofemoral cartilage damage worsening [adjusted relative risks (RRs) range: 0.80–0.83) and with reduced risks of baseline-to-5-year poor outcomes for Chair-Stand-Rate and LLFDI Basic Lower-Extremity Function and Disability Limitation (adjusted RRs range: 0.91–0.94). Conclusion Findings support a beneficial role of hip abductor strength for disease modification and for function and disability outcomes, and as a potential therapeutic target in managing knee osteoarthritis.

Aphasia is an acquired impairment of language functions resulting from a brain lesion. It is usually accompanied by deficits in non-linguistic cognitive processes. This study aimed to investigate in patients with aphasia the complex interrelationships between selected cognitive functions: auditory speech comprehension, working memory (WM), and temporal information processing (TIP) in the millisecond time range. Thirty right-handed subjects (20 males) aged from 27 to 82 years suffering from post-stroke aphasia participated in the study. Verbal working memory (VWM) and spatial working memory (SWM) were assessed with: (1) a receptive verbal test and (2) the Corsi Block-Tapping Test, respectively. Both these WM tests used the forward tasks (mainly engaging maintenance processes, i.e., storing, monitoring, and matching information) and backward tasks (engaging both maintenance and manipulation processes, i.e., reordering and updating information). Auditory comprehension was assessed by receptive language tests, and TIP efficiency was assessed by auditory perception of temporal order in the millisecond time range. We observed better performance of forward WM tasks than backward ones, independently of the type of material used. Furthermore, the severity of auditory comprehension impairment correlated with the efficiency on both forward and backward VWM tasks and the backward SWM task. Further analysis revealed that TIP plays a crucial role only in the latter task. These results indicate the divergent pattern of interactions between WM and TIP depending on the type of WM tasks. Level of verbal competency appeared to play an important role in both VWM tasks, whereas TIP (which is associated with manipulation processes) appeared to be important for SWM, but only on the backward task.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by intense emotions, self-harm, unstable self-image, and risky behaviors, which impede wellness and interfere with occupational participation. However, literature on occupational participation of people with BPD is scarce and has mostly focused on women. This study explores and elucidates intersections of occupational participation and BPD in a sample of mostly male veterans in order to identify potential ways occupational therapists and other health professionals can support wellbeing for this population. Grounded theory analysis was conducted on data collected using the Indiana Psychiatric Illness Interview (IPII), a semi-structured interview designed to elicit illness personal narratives. Analysis yielded three main themes—influencing environment, internal experience, and occupation—and several subthemes including being abused, arising problems, feeling neglected, feeling victimized, escape, self-segregating, positive change, participating/engaging, and substance abuse. Occupations both influenced and were influenced by the environment and internal experiences. Environments appeared to influence internal experience, but internal experiences did not influence environments directly. Rather, internal experiences impacted a person’s occupations which, in turn, impacted their environments. Participants’ occupational lives revealed, as expected, several subthemes depicting negative and/or isolating experiences. However, participants’ occupations directly impacted both their environmental contexts and internal experiences, suggesting occupational performance may be a powerful mechanism of change for this population. Findings offer promise that occupational therapists could facilitate health-promoting occupational participation which, in turn, may result in more positive and health-promoting environments and internal experiences.

Working memory (WM) is a limited-capacity cognitive system that allows the storage and use of a limited amount of information for a short period of time. Two WM processes can be distinguished: maintenance (i.e., storing, monitoring, and matching information) and manipulation (i.e., reordering and updating information). A number of studies have reported an age-related decline in WM, but the mechanisms underlying this deterioration need to be investigated. Previous research, including studies conducted in our laboratory, revealed that age-related cognitive deficits are related to decreased millisecond timing, i.e., the ability to perceive and organize incoming events in time. The aim of the current study was: (1) to identify in the elderly the brain network involved in the maintenance and manipulation WM processes; and (2) to use an fMRI task to investigate the relation between the brain activity associated with these two processes and the efficiency of temporal information processing (TIP) on a millisecond level reflected by psychophysical indices. Subjects were 41 normal healthy elderly people aged from 62 to 78 years. They performed: (1) an auditory verbal n-back task for assessing WM efficiency in an MRI scanner; and (2) a psychophysical auditory temporal-order judgment (TOJ) task for assessing temporal resolution in the millisecond domain outside the scanner. The n-back task comprised three conditions (0-, 1-, and 2-back), which allowed maintenance (1- vs. 0-back comparisons) and manipulation (2- vs. 1-back comparisons) processes to be distinguished. Results revealed the involvement of a similar brain network in the elderly to that found in previous studies. However, during maintenance processes, we found relatively limited and focused activations, which were significantly extended during manipulation. A novel result of our study, never reported before, is an indication of significant moderate correlations between the efficiency of WM and TIP. These correlations were found only for manipulation but not for maintenance. Our results confirmed the hypothesis that manipulation in the elderly is a dynamic process requiring skilled millisecond timing with high temporal resolution. We conclude that millisecond timing contributes to WM manipulation in the elderly, but not to maintenance.

The goal of the study was to modify activated carbon (AC) with nitrogen groups and ceria and to test the obtained materials in low temperature selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides. For that purpose, the starting AC was oxidized with HNO3 of various concentrations, modified with urea and doped with 0.5 wt.% of Ce. It was observed that the increased concentration of acid influenced the catalytic activity, since textural and surface chemistry of activated carbon was changed. The most active sample was that modified with 14 M HNO3 and it reached 96% of NO conversion at 300 &deg, C. Additionally, the addition of Ce improved the catalytic performance of modified AC, and NO was reduced according to oxidation&ndash, reduction mechanism, characteristic for supported metal oxides. Nevertheless, the samples promoted with Ce emitted significantly higher amount of CO2 comparing to the non-promoted ones.

A series of materials based on activated carbon (AC) with copper deposited in various amounts were prepared using an incipient wetness impregnation method and tested as catalysts for selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides with ammonia. The samples were poisoned with SO2 and regenerated in order to analyze their susceptibility to deactivation by the harmful component of exhaust gas. NO conversion over the fresh catalyst doped with 10 wt.% of Cu reached 81% of NO conversion at 140 &deg, C and about 90% in the temperature range of 260&ndash, 300 &deg, C. The rate of poisoning with SO2 was dependent on Cu loading, but in general, it lowered NO conversion due to the formation of (NH4)2SO4 deposits that blocked the active sites of the catalysts. After regeneration, the catalytic activity of the materials was restored and NO conversion exceeded 70% for all of the samples.

Pneumocephalus is seen in conjunction with a variety of conditions, particularly traumatic injury, neurosurgical, and ears, nose, and throat (ENT) procedures. We describe the successful, non-operative management with supplemental oxygen of symptomatic pneumocephalus following polypectomy without further complication. This case adds to other case reports of pneumocephalus but differs in the non-invasive, conservative management with supplemental oxygen obviating the need for more invasive neurosurgical intervention such as decompressive craniectomy, burr holes, or drain placement.

The Temporal-Order Judgment (TOJ) paradigm has been widely investigated in previous studies as an accurate measure of temporal resolution and sequencing abilities in the millisecond time range. Two auditory TOJ tasks are often used: (1) a spatial TOJ task, in which two identical stimuli are presented in rapid succession monaurally and the task is to indicate which ear received the first stimulus and which ear received the second one (left-right or right-left), and (2) a spectral TOJ task, in which two tones of different frequencies are presented asynchronously to both ears binaurally and the task is to report the sequence of these tones (low-high or high-low). The previous literature studies conducted on young volunteers indicated that the measured temporal acuity on these two tasks depended on the procedure used. As considerable data are now available about age-related decline in temporal resolution ability, the aim of the present study was to compare in elderly subjects the pattern of performance on these two tasks. A total of 40 normal healthy volunteers aged from 62 to 78 years performed two TOJ tasks. The measurement was repeated in two consecutive sessions. Temporal resolution was indexed by the Auditory Temporal-Order Threshold (ATOT), i.e., the minimum time gap between successive stimuli necessary for a participant to report a before-after relation with 75% correctness. The main finding of the present study was the indication of differences in the elderly in performance on two tasks. In the spatial task, the distribution of obtained ATOT values did not deviate from the Gaussian distribution. In contrast, the distribution of data in the spectral task deviated significantly from the Gaussian and was spread more to the right. Although lower ATOT values were usually observed in Session 2 than in Session 1, such difference was significant only in the spectral task. We conclude that although temporal acuity and sequencing abilities in the millisecond time range are probably based in neuronal oscillatory activity, the measured ATOTs in the elderly seem to be stimulus-dependent, procedure-related, and influenced by the perceptual strategies used by participants.

The brain’s ability to recognize acoustic changes occurring in rapid temporal succession is important for speech and successful language development. Children with specific language impairment (SLI) are characterized by deficient dynamics of temporal information processing (TIP) in the millisecond time range accompanied by disordered language development. Furthermore, previous studies have found that intervention based on amelioration of TIP resulted in improvement of both language and other cognitive functions. This study aimed to explain the changes associated with TIP training from the perspective of event-related potentials. Thirty-six children aged 5 to 8 years (26 boys, 10 girls) diagnosed with SLI underwent two types of intense audio-visual computer intervention: experimental TIP training targeted at the millisecond time range (n=18) or control non-TIP training (n=18). Paired 50 ms tones of 1000 Hz and 1200 Hz were presented with inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) of either 50 ms (Short ISI Condition) or 200 ms (Long ISI Condition). Auditory event-related potentials were measured in a passive oddball paradigm before and after each type of training. The Mismatch Negativity (MMN) paradigm was applied as an electrophysiological indicator of the brain’s ability to automatically detect violations of regularity in paired tones presented in rapid succession. Moreover, the P3a component was also analyzed. After 24 sessions of temporal training (in the experimental group) MMN amplitude enhancement was observed in both ISI conditions, reflecting increased efficiency in perceiving changes in rapid auditory sequences. In both the experimental and control groups, P3a amplitude was enhanced in both ISIs. This may be due to the improvement of involuntary attention shifting to the auditory events involved in each training type. To conclude, temporal training, compared to non-temporal control training, improved the ability to detect changes in a rapid auditory stream in children with SLI.

Using the Mismatch Negativity (MMN) paradigm we investigated for the first time cortical responses to consonant - vowel (CV) syllables differing in Voice-Onset-Time (VOT) for Polish, a member of the Slavic group of languages. The study aimed at testing age-related effects on different ERP responses in young (20–30 years of age) and elderly (60–68 years) native Polish speakers. Participants were presented with a sequence of voiced and voiceless stop CV syllables /to/ and /do/ with different VOT values (−100 ms, −70 ms, −30 ms, −20 ms, +20 ms, +50 ms). We analyzed MMN and P1, N1, N1′, P2, N2 components. Our results showed an age-related decline in voicing perception in all tested ERP components. This decline could be explained in relation to a general slowing in neural processing with advancing age and may be associated with difficulties in temporal- and spectral-information processing in elderly people. Our findings revealed also that specific features of Slavic languages influence ERP morphology in a different way than reported in the literature for aspirating languages.

Background Temporal information processing (TIP) underlies many aspects of cognitive functions like language, motor control, learning, memory, attention, etc. Millisecond timing may be assessed by sequencing abilities, e.g. the perception of event order. It may be measured with auditory temporal-order-threshold (TOT), i.e. a minimum time gap separating two successive stimuli necessary for a subject to report their temporal order correctly, thus the relation ‘before–after’. Neuropsychological evidence has indicated elevated TOT values (corresponding to deteriorated time perception) in different clinical groups, such as aphasic patients, dyslexic subjects or children with specific language impairment. Aims To test relationships between elevated TOT and declined cognitive functions in brain-injured patients suffering from post-stroke aphasia. Methods & Procedures We tested 30 aphasic patients (13 male, 17 female), aged between 50 and 81 years. TIP comprised assessment of TOT. Auditory comprehension was assessed with the selected language tests, i.e. Token Test, Phoneme Discrimination Test (PDT) and Voice-Onset-Time Test (VOT), while two aspects of attentional resources (i.e. alertness and vigilance) were measured using the Test of Attentional Performance (TAP) battery. Outcomes & Results Significant correlations were indicated between elevated values of TOT and deteriorated performance on all applied language tests. Moreover, significant correlations were evidenced between elevated TOT and alertness. Finally, positive correlations were found between particular language tests, i.e. (1) Token Test and PDT; (2) Token Test and VOT Test; and (3) PDT and VOT Test, as well as between PDT and both attentional tasks. Conclusions & Implications These results provide further clinical evidence supporting the thesis that TIP constitutes the core process incorporated in both language and attentional resources. The novel value of the present study is the indication for the first time in Slavic language users a clear coexistence of the ‘timing–auditory comprehension–attention’ relationships.

Many studies revealed a link between temporal information processing (TIP) in a millisecond range and speech perception. Previous studies indicated a dysfunction in TIP accompanied by deficient phonemic hearing in children with specific language impairment (SLI). In this study we concentrate in SLI on phonetic identification, using the voice-onset-time (VOT) phenomenon in which TIP is built-in. VOT is crucial for speech perception, as stop consonants (like /t/ vs. /d/) may be distinguished by an acoustic difference in time between the onsets of the consonant (stop release burst) and the following vibration of vocal folds (voicing). In healthy subjects two categories (voiced and unvoiced) are determined using VOT task. The present study aimed at verifying whether children with SLI indicate a similar pattern of phonetic identification as their healthy peers and whether the intervention based on TIP results in improved performance on the VOT task. Children aged from 5 to 8 years (n = 47) were assigned into two groups: normal children without any language disability (NC, n = 20), and children with SLI (n = 27). In the latter group participants were randomly classified into two treatment subgroups, i.e., experimental temporal training (EG, n = 14) and control non-temporal training (CG, n = 13). The analyzed indicators of phonetic identification were: (1) the boundary location (α) determined as the VOT value corresponding to 50% voicing/unvoicing distinctions; (2) ranges of voiced/unvoiced categories; (3) the slope of identification curve (β) reflecting the identification correctness; (4) percent of voiced distinctions within the applied VOT spectrum. The results indicated similar α values and similar ranges of voiced/unvoiced categories between SLI and NC. However, β in SLI was significantly higher than that in NC. After the intervention, the significant improvement of β was observed only in EG. They achieved the level of performance comparable to that observed in NC. The training-related improvement in CG was non-significant. Furthermore, only in EG the β values in post-test correlated with measures of TIP as well as with phonemic hearing obtained in our previous studies. These findings provide another evidence that TIP is omnipresent in language communication and reflected not only in phonemic hearing but also in phonetic identification.

Experimental studies have reported a close association between temporal information processing (TIP) and language comprehension. Brain-injured subjects with aphasia show disturbed TIP which was evidenced in elevated temporal order threshold (TOT) as compared to control subjects. The present study is aimed at improving auditory speech comprehension in aphasic subjects using a specific temporal treatment. Fourteen patients having deficits in both speech comprehension and TIP were tested. The Token Test, phoneme discrimination tests (PDT) and Voice-Onset-Time (VOT) Test were employed to assess speech comprehension. The TOT was measured using two 10 ms tones (400 Hz, 3000 Hz) presented binaurally. The patients participated in eight 45-min sessions of either the specific temporal treatment (n = 7) aimed at improving the perception of sequencing abilities, or in a non-temporal control treatment (n = 7) on volume discrimination. The temporal treatment yielded an improvement in TIP. Moreover, a transfer of improvement from the time domain to the language domain was observed. The control treatment did not improve either TIP or speech comprehension in any of the applied tests.

Date Presented 04/06/19 This study uses a grounded theory approach to understand how borderline personality disorder (BPD) affects occupational participation. Environment, occupation, and internal experiences are discussed in the context of the lives of 18 participants with BPD. Affirming occupations provided escape from harmful environments and promoted positive internal experiences. By contrast, absence of affirming occupations resulted in problematic environmental challenges and distressing internal experiences. Primary Author and Speaker: Emily Mokol Additional Authors and Speakers: Kyra Jo Gaerke, Sally Wasmuth, Trevor Manspeaker, Karolina Szymaszek

The close relationship between temporal perception and speech processing is well established. The present study focused on the specific question whether the speech environment could influence temporal order perception in subjects whose language backgrounds are distinctively different, i.e., Chinese (tonal language) vs. Polish (non-tonal language). Temporal order thresholds were measured for both monaurally presented clicks and binaurally presented tone pairs. Whereas the click experiment showed similar order thresholds for the two language groups, the experiment with tone pairs resulted in different observations: while Chinese demonstrated better performance in discriminating the temporal order of two “close frequency” tone pairs (600Hz and 1200Hz), Polish subjects showed a reversed pattern, i.e., better performance for “distant frequency” tone pairs (400Hz and 3000Hz). These results indicate on the one hand a common temporal mechanism for perceiving the order of two monaurally presented stimuli, and on the other hand neuronal plasticity for perceiving the order of frequency-related auditory stimuli. We conclude that the auditory brain is modified with respect to temporal processing by long-term exposure to a tonal or a non-tonal language. As a consequence of such an exposure different cognitive modes of operation (analytic vs. holistic) are selected: the analytic mode is adopted for “distant frequency” tone pairs in Chinese and for “close frequency” tone pairs in Polish subjects, whereas the holistic mode is selected for “close frequency” tone pairs in Chinese and for “distant frequency” tone pairs in Polish subjects, reflecting a double dissociation of function.

Decreased growth hormone (GH) function in obese patients might contribute to associated metabolic abnormalities. This study aimed to investigate the effect of leptin, GH and periods of leptin sensitivity or/and insensitivity on the expression of the SOCS-3 gene in the ovine pituitary and to examine the influence of centrally administered leptin on GH release in sheep. Our first experiment investigated the periods of leptin resistance and leptin sensitivity, which are known as the long day (LD) and the short day (SD) periods, respectively, using ewes that were surgically fitted with third ventricular cannulae. The ewes were assigned randomly to one of three treatments and were centrally infused at 0, 1 and 2 h, beginning at sunset. The treatments consisted of central infusions of either Ringer-Locke buffer or leptin (0.5 or 1.0 μg/kg body weight (BW), respectively). Our next experiment examined the pituitaries isolated from ewes decapitated in either May or November. The explants were treated with control or GH (100 or 300 ng/ml) or leptin (50 or 100 ng/ml)—containing media and incubated for one of four different time intervals. The in vivo experiments demonstrated variable effects of leptin on GH release depending on the period of leptin sensitivity/ insensitivity. The in vitro experiments demonstrated that leptin significantly influenced the expression of the SOCS-3 gene during that SD compared to that during the LD. During the SD, we observed that significantly low or high doses of GH affected the expression of SOCS-3. These results indicated a strong correlation between leptin or GH and SOCS-3, which might explain leptin resistance and the associated perturbations in GH signaling.

Temporal-order judgements in the time range of some milliseconds were assessed by using two auditory tasks in 86 participants, aged from 20 to 69 years. Two stimulus presentation modes, binaural versus monaural, were compared. Elderly participants performed worse than the younger participants; however, different patterns of age-related declines were observed, depending on the presentation mode. In the monaural mode considerable deterioration was observed beyond 60 years of age, whereas in the binaural mode declines were found much earlier, from 40 years of age. Performance of the monaural task correlated with cognitive competences and provided important insight into neuronal timing mechanisms. In contrast, the binaural mode reflected a bias towards an integrated perception of sequential stimuli and was less related to cognitive resources. These findings provide evidence that age-related declines in human sequencing abilities involve, besides temporal mechanisms, also a mode-specific processing, presumably associated with different neuronal mechanisms.

Recent studies have postulated that the temporal order (TO) of two successive events can be correctly identified if they are separated by an inter-stimulus interval (ISI) of at least 30 ms duration. Using Auditory Evoked Potentials, we tested 21 students for the cortical activation associated with TO detection of two successively presented tones in either ‘easy’ (ISI = 60 ms) or ‘difficult’ (ISI = 10 ms) conditions. The amplitude of P2 component was related to difficulty of TO perception and was significantly higher in ‘difficult’ than ‘easy’ condition. Moreover, in ‘difficult’ condition the correlation analyses revealed a negative association at both Fz and Cz electrodes between P2 amplitudes and the correctness level. Correct responses in this condition were accompanied by lower P2 amplitudes than the incorrect ones.

The present study investigates age-related changes in duration discrimination in millisecond time domain. We tested young (N = 20, mean age = 24.5, SD = 2.97) and elderly (N = 20, mean age = 65.2, SD = 2.94) subjects using the mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm. White-noise bursts of two different durations (50 and 10 ms) were presented in two oddball blocks. In one block (Increment Condition), the repetitive sequence of 10 ms standards was interspersed by occasional 50 ms deviants. In the Decrement Condition, the roles of the two stimuli were reversed. We analyzed the P1-N1 complex, MMN and P3a and found the effect of age for all these components. Moreover, the impact of stimulus presentation condition (increment/decrement) was observed for MMN and P3a. Our results confirmed the previous evidence for deteriorated duration discrimination in elderly people. Additionally, we found that this effect may be influenced by procedural factors.

A number of evidence revealed a link between temporal information processing (TIP) and language. Both literature data and results of our studies indicated an overlapping of deficient TIP and disordered language, pointing to the existence of an association between these two functions. On this background the new approach is to apply such knowledge in therapy of patients suffering from language disorders. In two studies we asked the following questions: (1) can the temporal training reduce language deficits in aphasic patients (Study 1) or in children with specific language impairment (SLI, Study 2)? (2) can such training ameliorate also the other cognitive functions? Each of these studies employed pre-training assessment, training application, post-training and follow-up assessment. In Study 1 we tested 28 patients suffering from post-stroke aphasia. They were assigned either to the temporal training (Group A, n = 15) in milliseconds range, or to the non-temporal training (Group B, n = 13). Following the training we found only in Group A improved TIP, accompanied by a transfer of improvement to language and working memory functions. In Study 2 we tested 32 children aged from 5 to 8 years, affected by SLI who were classified into the temporal training (Group A, n = 17) or non-temporal training (Group B, n = 15). Group A underwent the multileveled audio-visual computer training Dr. Neuronowski (®), recently developed in our laboratory. Group B performed the computer speech therapy exercises extended by playing computer games. Similarly as in Study 1, in Group A we found significant improvements of TIP, auditory comprehension and working memory. These results indicated benefits of temporal training for amelioration of language and other cognitive functions in both aphasic patients and children with SLI. The novel powerful therapy tools provide evidence for future promising clinical applications.

Experimental studies have often reported close associations between rapid auditory processing and language competency. The present study was aimed at improving auditory comprehension in aphasic patients following specific training in the perception of temporal order (TO) of events. We tested 18 aphasic patients showing both comprehension and TO perception deficits. Auditory comprehension was assessed by the Token Test, phonemic awareness and Voice-Onset-Time Test. The TO perception was assessed using auditory Temporal-Order-Threshold, defined as the shortest interval between two consecutive stimuli, necessary to report correctly their before-after relation. Aphasic patients participated in eight 45-minute sessions of either specific temporal training (TT, n=11) aimed to improve sequencing abilities, or control non-temporal training (NT, n=7) focussed on volume discrimination. The TT yielded improved TO perception; moreover, a transfer of improvement was observed from the time domain to the language domain, which was untrained during the training. The NT did not improve either the TO perception or comprehension in any language test. These results are in agreement with previous literature studies which proved ameliorated language competency following the TT in language-learning-impaired or dyslexic children. Our results indicated for the first time such benefits also in aphasic patients.

Background: Recovery of post-stroke deficits can be achieved by modulati ng neuroplasticity with non-invasive brain stimulation. To evaluate potential effects of repetitive t ransorbital alternating current stimulation (rtACS) on st roke recovery we carried out a randomized, drug-controlled clinical trial. Methods: Ninety-eight patients that had suffered ischemic stroke 21.4 months earlier were randomly assigned to either group D (n = 30) receiving conventional drug therapy, group ACS (n = 32) treated for 12 days with rtACS, or group D/ACS (n = 36) receiving combined drug therapy/rtACS. Stroke severity level (SSL) was assessed by the NIH-NINDS stroke scale before and after treatment and at a 1-month follow-up to evaluate motor impairments (weakness, ataxia), sensory loss, visual field defects, and cortical deficits (aphasia, neglect). At each time point standard EEG recordings (10-20 system) were conducted. Results: Before therapy SSL was moderate (9.18 ± 0.78) without significant group difference (F = 0.86, p = 0.43). After 12 days of treatment, SSLs of groups ACS and D/ACS significantly improved by 22.5% and 25.1% over baseline, respectively, with no such change in the control group D (+3%). SSL improvements were mainly due to recovery of motor, sensory, and speech functions. After 1-month follow-up, an additional improvement of 9.7% and 9.4% was seen for the group ACS and D/ACS which led to a total change of +32.3% and +34.7% over baseline. EEG recordings revealed greater interhemispheric synchrony between both temporal lobes which were positively correlated with clinical outcome. Conclusions: Non-invasive rtACS applied to post-stroke patients can modulate brain plasticity and induce recovery from neurological deficits long after the early post lesion recov ery is over.

This study focuses on age-related differences concerning two kinds of spatial memory assessed by: (1) Paired Associates Learning (PAL) test from the CANTAB and (2) a test of Real Idiothetic Memory (RIM) using real-life settings. Despite a clear age-related drop in PAL that is reported in existing studies, age-related differences in idiothetic navigation still remain unclear. In our study we tested 80 healthy volunteers classified according to their age into two groups, i.e. young (aged from 20 to 29 years of life; n = 40; 20M/20F) and elderly (from 64 to 77 years; n = 40; 20M/20F) healthy volunteers. They were asked in the PAL test to remember the spatial location of visual patterns presented on a computer screen, and in the RIM test to walk on the arena in darkness in order to find a cue place and then to return to the start/exit point. A white noise was switched on at entering the cue place and switched off at leaving this place. Elderly subjects indicated poorer performance than their younger counterparts on the PAL test, as evidenced by all tested outcome measures. In contrast, for the RIM test no clear age effect was evidenced. In both tests no gender effect was observed. A dissociation in age-related changes for these two tests indicates that visuo-spatial associative learning and idiothetic navigation may have different cognitive control which is probably rooted in an interplay of different brain structures.

The temporal order (TO) of two auditory stimuli can be reported correctly when they are separated by a gap of approximate 30 ms. Since no clear evidence on individual differences in human sequencing abilities exists, we tested the effect of subjects' age and gender, as well as physical properties of presented stimuli and listener practice on the perception of TO. In two experiments, young and elderly listeners reported the TO of two clicks or tones. The TO threshold (i.e. the minimum temporal gap required to report the stimulus order at 75% correctness) was lower in young than elderly listeners, in men than women and for tones than clicks. Age-related deterioration depended on the physical properties of presented stimuli, remaining resistant to both gender and practice.

This chapter reviews existing studies on neural representation of time and timing processes. New findings in clinical neuropsychology, functional magnetic resonance imaging, electrophysiology, and psychophysics are presented to explain how the temporal information is processed within our brains. The literature data are illustrated with results of our findings. We outline the taxonomy of time perception to provide a background for discussing existing experimental studies. Evidence has indicated that similar brain structures are involved in both subsecond and suprasecond timing, implicating that temporal processing in these two ranges is probably mediated by common neural networks.