Searching for a tactile target: the impact of set-size on the N140cc.

The time needed to find a visual target amongst distractors (search task) can increase as a function of the distractors' number (set-size) in the search-array (inefficient search). While the allocation of attention in search tasks has been extensively investigated and debated in the visual domain, little is known about these mechanisms in touch. Initial behavioral evidence shows inefficient search behavior when participants have to distinguish between target and distractors defined by their vibro-tactile frequencies. In the present study, to investigate the allocation of attention to items of the search-array we measured the N140cc during a tactile task in which the set-size was manipulated. The N140cc is a lateralized component of event-related brain potentials recently described as a psychophysiological marker of attentional allocation in tactile search tasks. Participants localized the target, a singleton frequency, while ignoring one, three or five homogeneous distractors. Results showed that error rates linearly increased as a function of set-size, while response times were not affected. Reliable N140cc components were observed for all set-sizes. Crucially, the N140cc amplitude decreased as the number of distractors increased. We argue that the presence of additional distractors hindered the preattentive analysis of the search array resulting in increased uncertainty about the target location (inefficient preattentive stage). This, in turn, increased the variability of the deployment of attention to the target, resulting in reduced N140cc amplitudes. Consistent with existing behavioral evidence, these findings highlight systematic differences between the visual and the tactile attentional systems.

Emotions in motion: affective valence can influence compatibility effects with graspable objects.

Previous studies showed that affective valence (positive, negative) influences Stimulus-Response Compatibility (SRC) effects elicited by both relevant and irrelevant spatial dimensions. We tested whether valence influences SRC effects when the irrelevant spatial dimension rather than being conveyed by the entire stimulus location is conveyed by the location of the stimulus' graspable part, i.e., the Handle-Response (H-R) compatibility effect. Participants saw objects with either a flower, a spider or nothing on their handle and categorized them as kitchen utensils or garage tools through button presses. In Experiment 1, a random presentation of valenced stimuli was used, whereas in Experiment 2 differently valenced stimuli were arranged in different blocks. Furthermore, participants in Experiment 2 could be spider-fearful or not. In Experiment 1, an H-R compatibility effect occurred for response latencies, regardless of whether stimuli presented a negative, positive or no element on their handle. In Experiment 2 the effect occurred only when a positive element was shown on the object's handle. In addition, spider-fearful individuals showed significantly slower responses when the element appearing on the object's handle had a negative valence. These results suggest that the SRC effect observed with pictures of graspable objects may be sensitive to the affective characteristics of stimuli and that approach/avoidance response tendencies may also depend on individual differences (being spider-fearful or not).

Does a look of fear prompt to act? The effects of gaze and face emotional expression on manipulable objects.

Gaze direction is an important social cue for understanding the intentions of other people. Indeed, interacting with others requires the ability to encode their current focus of attention in order to predict their future actions. Previous studies have showed that when asked to detect or identify a target, people are faster if shown a gaze oriented toward rather than away from that target. Most importantly, there is evidence that the emotion conveyed by the face with the averted gaze matters. We further tested the interplay between gaze and face emotion in the context of manipulable objects to understand whether and to what extent other people's gaze influences our own actions toward objects. Participants judged whether a target graspable object was upright or inverted after viewing a face cue with a central or averted gaze. Importantly, the target's handle could be oriented toward the gazed-at location or the opposite side such that gaze and handle were corresponding or non-corresponding in space. Furthermore, we manipulated the expression of the cue by using neutral and fearful faces. Results showed a handle-response (H-R) compatibility effect (i.e., a facilitation when the response key is on the same side as the object's handle) only with fearful cues with a central gaze.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental hygiene students in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna.

BACKGROUND: The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new coronavirus detected in China at the end of 2019. Because SARS-CoV-2 is highly infectious due to contamination in the air, there is a high risk of infection in the dental environment which is represents a serious problem for professionals and students (dentistry and dental hygiene). In Italy, since February 23, 2020, the government has suspended all teaching activities of schools and universities. METHODS: An anonymous questionnaire was administered to the students of the degree courses in Dental Hygiene of the Emilia Romagna Region, one of the most affected regions in Italy. The survey was intended to highlight the practical and emotional consequences of the emergency of COVID-19 on educational activities and in the training of students. RESULTS: The survey was sent to the 150 students enrolled in the universities of Bologna, Ferrara and Modena and Reggio Emilia; 141 of them completed it (94%). Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, several surveys have been proposed to measure the impact of this emergency situation on dental professionals; at present, however, there are still no assessments for dental hygiene degree courses, in particular aimed at assessing the psychological impact on students. CONCLUSIONS: Students consider the dental hygienist as a risky profession, while the risk taken by patients is considered as low. Given the concern reported the students, it would be useful to address the issue of proper assessment of risk during the university training of dental hygienists.

Corrigendum: Exploring the Role of Action Consequences in the Handle-Response Compatibility Effect.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00286.].

Psychological reactions to COVID-19 and epidemiological aspects of dental practitioners during lockdown in Italy.

BACKGROUND: Due to droplet production and exposure to saliva and blood, dental practitioners are at high risk of COVID-19 contagion during their routine procedures. The aim of this study was to investigate the behavior of Italian dentists and to analyze their reactions in relation to Sars-CoV-2 pandemic professional restrictive measures. METHODS: An online structured survey composed of 40 questions has been sent to dental practitioners all over Italy to investigate their behavior and to analyze their reactions in relation to Sars-CoV-2 pandemic restrictive measures introduced by the Italian national administrative order of 10 March 2020 (DM-10M20). RESULTS: 1109 dentists replied. To assess concerns and psychological responses the sample was divided into two groups based on the number of cases registered in their work area. In the first group were included all the responders working in the Italian regions that had more than 15,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of April 29, 2020. The second group included responders working in the Italian regions that had less than 15,000 confirmed cases. The 45.2% of the respondents showed minimal anxiety, 34.5% showed mild anxiety, 13.9% showed moderate anxiety, while 6.4% showed a score indicative of a severe level of anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19-related emergency condition had a highly negative impact on dental practices in Italy. Those who completed the survey reported practice closure or reduction during the lockdown, and a high level of concern about the professional future for all dental practitioners. Concerns related to professional activity were accompanied by severe anxiety levels.

The role of the co-actor's response reachability in the joint Simon effect: remapping of working space by tool use.

The Simon effect, that is the advantage of the spatial correspondence between stimulus and response locations when stimulus location is task irrelevant, occurs even when the task is performed by two participants, each performing a go/no-go task. This effect, known as the joint Simon effect, does not emerge when participants sit outside each other's peripersonal space, thus suggesting that the presence of an active confederate in peripersonal space might provide a reference for response coding. The present study investigated whether this finding is due to the distance separating the participants and/or to the distance separating each participant and the other agent's response. In two experiments, pairs of participants performed a social detection task sitting outside each other's arm reach, with response keys located close to the participants or outside arm reach. When the response key was located outside the participant's arm reach, he/she could reach it by means of a tool. In Experiment 1, by means of a tool, participants could reach their response key only, while in Experiment 2, they could reach also their co-agent's response key. The joint Simon effect did not emerge when participants could not reach the co-actor's response, while it emerged when they could potentially reach the other participant's response using the tool, but only when turn taking was required. These results may be taken as evidence that the possibility to reach and act upon the co-actor's response key may be at the bases of compatibility effects observed in joint action contexts requiring complementary responses.

The perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental undergraduate students in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna.

INTRODUCTION: The outbreak and diffusion of the novel SARS-CoV2 coronavirus have caused an emergency status in the dental education system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An anonymous survey composed of 34 questions was delivered to students of the Master Degree Programme in Dentistry and Dental Prosthodontics of the Universities of Emilia-Romagna, the fifth Italian region most affected by the pandemic. The psychological impact of COVID-19 was assessed by means of the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7). Numerically recoded data were analysed using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), whilst to investigate the association between quantitative variables, the Pearson correlation coefficient (R) was computed. RESULTS: The questionnaire was completed by 399 students (75%) out of 532. Most students experienced difficulties in working at the thesis during the COVID-19 emergency. For over half of them, online teaching could only partially replace traditional face-to-face lessons. The negative impact on the study career was judged as particularly high by sixth-year students. Clinical training activities were considered as exposing to the risk of contracting COVID-19 infection by the majority of the students. The level of concern of contracting COVID-19 infections during future university activities was positively correlated to risk perception related to clinical training. CONCLUSION: The results of this survey could be used to train students to a correct risk assessment. Students reported experiencing concern whilst thinking of COVID-19 and 6.5% of them showed symptoms related to high levels of anxiety. These data may guide Universities in trying to reduce students' anxiety by means of correct communication strategies.

Correction: Truth and lies in your eyes: Pupil dilation of White participants in truthful and deceptive responses to White and Black partners.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239512.].

Truth and lies in your eyes: Pupil dilation of White participants in truthful and deceptive responses to White and Black partners.

In the present study, we examined the pupillary response of White participants who were asked to tell the truth or lie to White or Black partners. Research on cues to deception has assumed that lying is more cognitively demanding that truth telling. In line with this assumption, previous studies have shown that lying is associated with greater pupil dilation, a behavioral cue that typically manifests itself under conditions of stress or cognitive effort. In accordance with these results, we predicted greater pupil dilation when lying than when telling the truth. Furthermore, pupil dilation was expected to be greater when responding to White than Black partners. Finally, we hypothesized that pupil dilation would be greater when lying to White than Black partners. Participants were instructed to answer a set of questions, half truthfully and half deceptively. They were led to believe that White vs. Black partners (one male and one female) would ask the questions via computer connection. Indeed, we used feminine and masculine synthetic voices. Pupil dilation was assessed with a remote eye-tracking system. Results provided support for the first two hypotheses. However, the predicted interaction between race of partners and truth status of message (lying vs. telling the truth) was nonsignificant. Our findings highlight the importance of considering race in the study of truthful and deceptive communications.