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Previous studies suggested that the degree of pupil dilation distinguishes between different levels of flight cadets, particularly, in terms of task performance. In other words, pupil dilation is heavily influenced by cognitive load, and, therefore, may reflect flight ability. However, few researches paid attention to this correlation. In this study, we analyzed the eye movement performances of 40 flight cadets and 17 pilots performing a simulated airplane panel task, and assessed the flight ability and executive function (EF) of flight cadets. Based on our analysis, there was a marked negative correlation between cognitive load-induced pupil dilation and flight ability and training success. Moreover, considering the correlation between executive function and flight ability, upon adjustment of EF, pupil dilation still retained a unique predictive effect. Our results revealed that cadets who use less cognitive resources to complete tasks tend to have better flight abilities. Given these evidences, pupil dilation, caused by cognitive load, can serve as a potential indicator for pilot selection., Author(s): Zhong Zheng [sup.1] , Shihuan Gao [sup.1] , Yanjie Su [sup.1] , Yulu Chen [sup.2] , Xieshun Wang [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) https://ror.org/02v51f717, grid.11135.37, 0000 0001 2256 9319, School [...]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the relationship between nonverbal cognitive functions and language processing of people with aphasia (PWA) by taking a data-driven approach, as well as multiple cognitive components and multilevel linguistic perspectives. It is hypothesized that language performance is differentially associated with cognitive processing of PWA, with executive functions (EFs) playing a stronger role in language tasks with increasing linguistic complexity. Method: A language battery assessing word comprehension/production, sentence comprehension, and discourse production, together with a series of nonlinguistic cognitive tasks targeting simple/complex attention, short-term/working memory, or EFs, was administered to 53 Cantonese-speaking PWA. Cognitive factors extracted from principal component analysis applied to the cognitive battery served as predictors in four multiple regression analyses to predict PWA's performance at various linguistic levels. Results: Two cognitive factors, representing (a) simple attention and memory and (b) EF, were extracted. The former predicted performance in word processing tasks, whereas EF significantly predicted performance in all language tasks with increasing contribution as a function of linguistic complexity. Conclusion: The results based on Chinese PWA provide comprehensive evidence for the view that language performance is the end product of interaction between linguistic and nonlinguistic functions and have clear implications for clinical management of PWA., The co-occurrence of nonverbal cognitive deficits and aphasia is commonly observed in the poststroke population (e.g., see a review by Fonseca et al., 2017). It has offered psycholinguists great opportunities [...]

Purpose: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is defined by persistent difficulties with language, but a growing body of evidence suggests that it is also associated with domain-general and nonverbal information-processing deficits. However, the interconnections between cognitive functions, both nonverbal and language related, are still unclear. With the aim of gaining more comprehensive insight into the cognitive deficits related to DLD, we investigated and compared the cognitive structure of children with DLD and typically developing (TD) children. Method: As a part of the Helsinki longitudinal SLI study, monolingual Finnish preschoolers (N = 154; TD group: n = 66, DLD group: n = 88) were assessed with 23 tasks measuring nonverbal and verbal reasoning, language processing, memory, visuomotor functions, attention, and social cognition. Exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were performed to examine latent constructs and to test measurement invariance between the TD and DLD groups. Results: Measurement invariance was not found across the TD and DLD groups. Best fitting structure for TD children included factors reflecting verbal abilities, processing speed/short-term memory, visuomotor functions, and visuoconstructive abilities/nonverbal reasoning. The DLD group's structure comprised nonverbal abilities, naming/expressive language, verbal comprehension, and verbal/declarative memory. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the structure of cognitive functions differs in TD children and children with DLD already at preschool age. Nonverbal functions seem more unified, whereas verbal functions seem more varying in preschoolers with DLD compared to TD children. The results can be used in future research for prognosis of DLD and planning interventions., Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which the child has serious and persistent difficulties with language without a clear cause (Bishop et al., 2017). Although DLD is [...]

The current study examined how different characters could be perceived as innocent and what factors could contribute to participants' perception of innocence. Mind agency, which is the ability to exert cognitive control, could be a key factor for perceived innocence for different characters. Study 1 suggested that only an infant was perceived innocent when rated as having lower mind agency. Other characters such as a girl and animals were perceived innocent when they were described as having higher mind agency. Thus, the perception of innocence along with the relationship with mind agency depended on the target characters. The last two studies further showed that perceived innocence for an infant was negatively related with the capability of exerting mental control with the manipulations of both mind capability and thinking about innocence. Perceived innocence for human beings varies across human targets; cognitive ability to control behaviors matters for a girl and animals but not matter for infants. The findings of the study connote the two different views of humanness proposed by Haslam and colleagues (Haslam et al. British Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 113-127, 2008 (See CR12)): the inherited nature of humanness and uniquely human characteristics developed at later ages., Author(s): Kenji Noguchi [sup.1] , Michael Mong [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.267193.8, 0000 0001 2295 628X, Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, , 730 East Beach Blvd., 39560, Long [...]

Background/objective The relationship between postprandial glycaemic responses and cognitive performance, mood and satiety are inconsistent. The objective of this study is to compare the effects of different glycaemic responses, induced by beverages with different glycaemic index (GI) (sucrose and isomaltulose), and a non-glycaemic control (sucralose), on cognition, mood and satiety. Subjects/methods In this double-blinded, randomised crossover trial, healthy adults (n = 55) received sucrose (GI 65), isomaltulose (GI 32) and sucralose (non-caloric negative control) drinks on separate occasions. The Complex Figure test, the Word Recall test, Trail Making Test Part B and the Stroop test were administered 60 min after beverages ingestion. Mood and satiety were tested along with cognitive performance. Results Comparing between isomaltulose and sucrose, there were no significant differences in the mean (95% CI) for the following: Complex Figure: immediate recall -0.6 (-1.7, 0.5), delayed recall -0.8 (-1.9, 0.3); Word recall: immediate recall 0.2 (-0.7, 1.1), delayed recall 0.5 (-0.4, 1.4); Trail Making: completing time -2.4 (-7.5, 2.7) s; Stroop: time used for correct congruent responses -9 (-31, 14) ms and correct incongruent responses -18 (-42, 6) ms. No differences among beverages were found in the mood and satiety scores with exception that participants felt more energetic 60 min after isomaltulose ingestion (p = 0.028 for difference with sucrose) and hungrier 30 min after isomaltulose ingestion (p = 0.036 for difference with sucrose; p = 0.022 for difference with sucralose). Conclusion Under these study conditions there is no convincing evidence for an effect of glycaemic response on cognitive performance, mood or satiety., Author(s): Qingyuan Deng [sup.1] , Jillian J. Haszard [sup.1] , Tamlin S. Conner [sup.2] , Charlene Rapsey [sup.3] , Mei Peng [sup.4] , Bernard J. Venn [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) [...]

Byline: Puneet. Bhattacharya, Sridip. Chatterjee, Samiran. Mondal Background: The literature survey shows improvement in cognitive performance following acute bouts of physical exercise and chronic exercise patterns. However, neurocognitive growth through [...]

Purpose: To examine the relation between speech recognition and cognitive skills in bimodal cochlear implant (CI) and hearing aid users. Method: Seventeen bimodal CI users (28-74 years) were recruited to the study. Speech recognition tests were carried out in quiet and in noise. The cognitive tests employed included the Reading Span Test and the Trail Making Test (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980; Reitan, 1958, 1992), measuring working memory capacity and processing speed and executive functioning, respectively. Data were analyzed using paired-sample t tests, Pearson correlations, and partial correlations controlling for age. Results: The results indicate that performance on some cognitive tests predicts speech recognition and that bimodal listening generates a significant improvement in speech in quiet compared to unilateral CI listening. However, the current results also suggest that bimodal listening requires different cognitive skills than does unimodal CI listening. This is likely to relate to the relative difficulty of having to integrate 2 different signals and then map the integrated signal to representations stored in the long-term memory. Conclusions: Even though participants obtained speech recognition benefit from bimodal listening, the results suggest that processing bimodal stimuli involves different cognitive skills than does unimodal conditions in quiet. Thus, clinically, it is important to consider this when assessing treatment outcomes., A cochlear implant (CI) can bypass a poorly functioning peripheral auditory system by directly stimulating the auditory nerve electrically, thus restoring audibility for some sounds for the individual with severely [...]

Purpose: The Functional Assessment of Verbal Reasoning and Executive Strategies (FAVRES; MacDonald, 2005) test was designed for use by speech-language pathologists to assess verbal reasoning, complex comprehension, discourse, and executive skills during performance on a set of challenging and ecologically valid functional tasks. A recent French version of this test was translated from English; however, it had not undergone standardization. The development of normative data that are linguistically and culturally sensitive to the target population is of importance. The present study aimed to establish normative data for the French version of the FAVRES, a commonly used test with native French-speaking patients with traumatic brain injury in Quebec, Canada. Method: The normative sample consisted of 181 healthy French-speaking adults from various regions across the province of Quebec. Age and years of education were factored into the normative model. Results: Results indicate that age was significantly associated with performance on time, accuracy, reasoning subskills, and rationale criteria, whereas the level of education was significantly associated with accuracy and rationale. Conclusion: Overall, mean scores on each criterion were relatively lower than in the original English version, which reinforces the importance of using the present normative data when interpreting performance of French speakers who have sustained a traumatic brain injury., In the province of Quebec, nearly 13,000 people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year (RAPTCCQ, 2017). TBI can result in significant and debilitating impairments in physical, behavioral/affective, cognitive, [...]

The validity of Bucur and Madden's (2010) proposal that an age-related decline is particularly pronounced in executive function measures rather than in elementary perceptual speed measures was examined via the Yakumo Study longitudinal database. Their proposal suggests that cognitive load differentially affects cognitive abilities in older adults. To address their proposal, linear regression coefficients of 104 participants were calculated individually for the digit can cellation task 1 (D-CAT1), where participants search for a given single digit, and the D-CAT3, where they search for 3 digits simultaneously. Therefore, it can be conjectured that the D-CAT1 represents primarily elementary perceptual speed and low-visual search load task, whereas the D-CAT3 represents primarily executive function and high-visual search load task. Regression coefficients from age 65 to 75 for the D-CAT3 showed a significantly steeper decline than that for the D-CAT1, and a large number of participants showed this tendency. These results support the proposal by Bucur and Madden (2010) and suggest that the degree of cognitive load affects age-related cognitive decline. KEYWORDS: age-related cognitive decline, longitudinal study, visual search load, executive function, Yakumo Study, Since several researchers reported the relationship between hypertension and dementia, many researchers have begun to examine the relationship between blood pressure (BP) and cognitive performance (Kannel, Wolf, Verter, & McNamara, [...]

BACKGROUND: Despite the importance of understanding associations of air pollution and noise exposure with loss of neurocognitive performance, studies investigating these exposures and local brain structure are limited. OBJECTIVE: We estimated associations of residential air pollution and noise exposures with neurocognitive test performance and the local gyrification index (lGI), a marker for local brain atrophy, among older adults. METHODS: For n = 615 participants from the population-based 1000BRAINS study, based on the German Heinz Nixdorf Recall study, we assessed residential exposures to particulate matter (P[M.sub.10], P[M.sub.2.5], P[M.sub.2.5abs]), accumulation mode particle number (P[N.sub.AM]), and nitrogen oxides (N[O.sub.x], N[O.sub.2]), using land-use regression and chemistry transport models. Weighted 24-h and nighttime noise were modeled according to the European noise directive. We evaluated associations of air pollution and noise exposure at the participants' 2006-2008 residential addresses with neurocognitive test performance and region-specific lGI values (n = 590) from magnetic resonance imaging, both assessed in 2011-2015, using linear regression and adjusting for demographic and personal characteristics. RESULTS: Air pollution and noise were associated with language and short-term/working memory and with local atrophy of the fronto-parietal network (FPN), a functional resting-state network associated with these cognitive processes. For example, per 2-[micro]g/[m.sup.3] P[M.sub.10], local brain atrophy was more pronounced in the posterior brain regions of the FPN, with a -0.02 [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.04, 0.00] lower lGI. In contrast, in the anterior regions of the FPN, weighted 24-h and nighttime noise were associated with less local brain atrophy [e.g., 0.02 (95% CI: 0.00, 0.04) for 10dB(A) 24-h noise]. CONCLUSIONS: Air pollution and noise exposures were associated in opposite directions with markers of local atrophy of the FPN in the right brain hemisphere in older adults, suggesting that both chronic air pollution and noise exposure may influence the physiological aging process of the brain. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5859, Introduction Long-term air pollution and noise exposure are known to have various adverse health effects (Clark and Paunovic 2018; van Kempen et al. 2018; Kim and van den Berg 2010; [...]

The purpose of this experiment was to provide an enhanced understanding of need for cognition (NFC) and its influence on one's memory accuracy. People who are high in NFC tend to put more cognitive effort into their mental processes than their low-NFC counterparts. To determine whether one's natural processing tendencies, as determined by NFC, can be influenced by external factors, manipulations to levels of processing were added. Participants viewed word lists from the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm and were instructed to process half of the DRM lists deeply and the other half shallowly. After all the lists were presented, participants completed 3 successive recall tests. The deep processing condition produced higher rates of false memories for both NFC groups than the shallow processing condition. In addition, the high-NFC group produced higher rates of target recall in both the deep and shallow conditions than the low-NFC group. However, the high-NFC group also produced higher rates of false recall for the shallowly processed lists. These data indicate that high-NFC people exhibit enhanced target recall for word lists, which may come at the expense of overall accuracy due to the increase of false recall., For more than 15 years, the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm has enabled researchers to study false or illusory memories with controlled stimuli in the context of a laboratory setting. Deese (1959)was [...]

The present study tests Rakover and Cahlon's (2013) face-checking model, which grades 7 regular and scrambled faces on a scale of similarity to an upright regular face, by predicting the results of 2 experiments in upright and inverted orientations: Experiment 1, which uses the interest choice task (to choose from a pair of faces the one most interesting), and Experiment 2, which uses the old/new recognition task. The main results of these 2 experiments show that in comparison to Rakover and Cahlon's (2013) findings, the face-checking model preserves its ability to predict satisfactorily the order of the 7 faces in the 2 experiments especially in the upright orientation; however, the model's success in making accurate point predictions is reduced significantly in both the upright and the inverted orientations., Based on the facial first-order relational properties, such as eyes above nose (Diamond & Carey, 1986; Maurer, Le Grand, & Mondloch, 2002; Rakover, 2002), Rakover and Cahlon (2013) presented a [...]

Psychological research can take a variety of directions while building on theoretical concepts that are commonly shared among the population of researchers. We investigate the question of how agreement or consensus on basic scientific concepts can be measured. Our approach to the problem is based on a state-of-the-art cognitive psychometric technique, implemented in the theoretical framework of cultural consensus theory. With this approach, consensus-based answers for questions exploring shared knowledge can be derived while basic factors of the human decision-making process are accounted for. An example of the approach is provided by examining the definition of behavior, based on responses from researchers and students. We conclude that the consensus definition of behavior is 'a response by the whole individual to external or internal stimulus, influenced by the internal processes of the individual, and is typically not a developmental change.' The general goal of the article is to demonstrate the utility of a cultural consensus theory-based approach as a method for investigating what current, working definitions of scientific concepts are., Researchers all over the world conduct investigations locally while sharing their findings and knowledge on the global scale. In the digital era, isolated research labs are rare and the flow [...]

Fuzzy sets have previously been applied to photographic target stimuli. In this paper, we use the same technology to construct a set of natural sites in the San Francisco Bay area. We created a Universal Set of Elements containing 13 items which created five orthogonal categories: Buildings, Ponds, Towers, Gardens, and Bridges; 22 sites were identified and were independently coded by two volunteers. Thus, the fuzzy sets that represent these sites are a reasonable consensus of their content. This paper describes the construction process in detail, and the appendix shows each site and its associated fuzzy set. Keywords: anomalous cognition, remote viewing, RV stimulus, RV targeting, target pool construction Se han aplicado previamente conjuntos difusos a estimulos fotograficos. En este trabajo, usamos la misma tecnologia para construir un juego de sitios naturales en el area de la bahia de San Francisco. Creamos un Conjunto Universal de Elementos con 13 reactivos con cinco categorias ortogonales: Construcciones, Estanques, Torres, Jardines y Puentes. Dos voluntaries identificaron y codificaron 22 sitios de forma independiente. Por lo tanto, los grupos difusos que representan a estos sitios son un consenso razonable de su contenido. Este articulo describe el proceso de construccion en detalle y el apendice muestra cada sitio y su conjunto difuso asociado. Les sous-ensembles flous ont prealablement ete appliques a des stimuli cibles photographiques. Dans cet article, nous utilisons la meme technologie pour construire un ensemble de sites naturels de la baie de San Francisco. Nous avons cree un Lot universel d'elements contenant 13 items qui s'articulent selon cinq categories orthogonales : immeubles, etangs, tours, jardins et ponts. 22 sites furent identifies et independamment codes par deux participants. Ainsi, les sous-ensembles fious qui represented ces sites sont le fruit d'un consensus raisonnable a propos de leur contenu. Cet article decrit en details le processus de construction, et l'annexe montre chaque site et son sous-ensemble flou associe. Fuzzy-Mengen wurden bereits auf photographisches Zielmaterial angewendet. In diesem Artikel verwenden wir die gleiche Technologie, um einen Satz naturlicher Ortlichkeiten in der Gegend um die San Francisco Bay zu konstruieren. Wir entwickelten einen Universellen Satz an Elementen, der 13 Items enthielt, die funf orthogonale Kategorien bildeten: Gebaude, Gewasser, Turme, Garten und Brucken. 22 Ortlichkeiten wurden ausgewahlt und unabhangig von zwei Freiwilligen eingestuft. Die Fuzzy-Mengen, die diese Ortlichkeiten reprasentieren, stellen inhaltlich einen annehmbaren Konsens dar. Dieser Artikel beschreibt detailliert den Konstruktionsprozess, und der Anhang zeigt jede Ortlichkeit mit der dazugehorigen Fuzzy-Menge., A traditional set (called a crisp set) is simply a collection of items that share a common property. For example the set of cities that possess 1,000,000 people or more [...]

We propose a model, face-checking, that is based on first-order relational properties and discriminates between different faces (regular and scrambled) and predicts their similarity choice in 2 orientations: upright and inverted. The results of an experiment confirmed the model's predictive ability. An alternative hypothesis, which is based on facial configural information, failed to provide an efficient explanation for these findings, as the proposed model does. The model shows how components of first-order relational properties are mathematically integrated and involved in face processing., Great effort has been invested in research into three kinds of facial information: first-order relational properties (eyes above nose, which is above mouth), second-order relational properties or configural information (intereye [...]

Single-neuron activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is tuned to mixtures of multiple task-related aspects. Such mixed selectivity is highly heterogeneous, seemingly disordered and therefore difficult to interpret. We analysed the neural activity recorded in monkeys during an object sequence memory task to identify a role of mixed selectivity in subserving the cognitive functions ascribed to the PFC. We show that mixed selectivity neurons encode distributed information about all task-relevant aspects. Each aspect can be decoded from the population of neurons even when single-cell selectivity to that aspect is eliminated. Moreover, mixed selectivity offers a significant computational advantage over specialized responses in terms of the repertoire of input-output functions implementable by readout neurons. This advantage originates from the highly diverse nonlinear selectivity to mixtures of task-relevant variables, a signature of high-dimensional neural representations. Crucially, this dimensionality is predictive of animal behaviour as it collapses in error trials. Our findings recommend a shift of focus for future studies from neurons that have easily interpretable response tuning to the widely observed, but rarely analysed, mixed selectivity neurons., Neurophysiology experiments in behaving animals are often analysed and modelled with a reverse engineering perspective, with the more or less explicit intention to identify highly specialized components with distinct functional [...]

Abstract The paper reports on a perception experiment in German that investigated the neuro-cognitive processing of information structural concepts and their prosodic marking using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Experimental conditions [...]

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Considering the importance of glucose as a brain substrate, the postprandial rate of glucose delivery to the blood could be expected to affect cognitive functions. The purpose was to evaluate to what extent the rate of glucose absorption affected measures of cognitive performance in the postprandial period. In addition, cognitive performance was evaluated in relation to individual glucoregulation. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A white wheat bread (WWB) enriched with guar gum (G-WWB) with the capacity to produce a low but sustained blood glucose net increment was developed. The G-WWB was evaluated in the postprandial period after breakfast with respect to effects on cognitive function (working memory and selective attention (SA)) in 40 healthy adults (49-71 years, body mass index 20-29 kg/[m.sup.2]), using a high glycaemic index WWB for comparison in a randomised crossover design. RESULTS: The G-WWB improved outcome in the cognitive tests (SA test) in the later postprandial period (75-225 min) in comparison with the WWB (P CONCLUSIONS: Beneficial effects on cognitive performance were observed with the G-WWB in the late postprandial period. The positive effect is suggested to emanate from improved insulin sensitivity, possibly in a combination with an enhanced neural energy supply. The results highlight the importance of carbohydrate foods that induces a low but sustained blood glucose profile in enhancing postprandial cognitive functions. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2012) 66, 1039-1043;doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2012.80; published online 11 July 2012 Keywords: glycaemic index; cognitive functions; working memory; selective attention; glucose tolerance; insulin resistance, INTRODUCTION The stores of glucose in the brain are limited, suggesting that the brain glucose supply may affect cognitive outcome. Studies in humans reveal that a period of intensive cognitive [...]

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of L-theanine as an aid to the improvement of objectively measured sleep quality in a population [...]

The case of a middle-aged man who had intraventricular hemorrhages secondary to Moyamoya disease (MMD), and initially, presented with psychiatric symptoms which did not respond to treatment is described. Neuropsychological assessment showed underlying significant cognitive deficits, mostly of complex attention and speed of information processing, visuospatial and constructional abilities, verbal and nonverbal memory, and executive functions. These deficits remained stable or slightly improved in follow-up assessments. Cognitive dysfunction should be suspected in case of psychiatric or psychiatric-related symptoms in MMD patients. This case study in Greece highlights the range of preserved and impaired cognitive functions in adult MMD by means of repeated neuropsychological evaluations in which a broad range of cognitive abilities were assessed. DOI 10.2466/02.13.l5.22.PR0.107.6.727-732