Introducing a Real-Time Method for Identifying the Predictors of Noncompliance with Event-Based Reporting of Tobacco Use in Ecological Momentary Assessment.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the factors that bias event-based (i.e., self-initiated) reporting of health behaviors in ecological momentary assessment (EMA) due to the difficulty inherent to tracking failures to self-initiate reports. PURPOSE: To introduce a real-time method for identifying the predictors of noncompliance with event-based reporting. METHODS: N = 410 adults who used both cigarettes and e-cigarettes completed a 1-week EMA protocol that combined random reporting of current contexts with event-based reporting of tobacco use. Each random assessment first asked if participants were currently using tobacco and, if so, the assessment converted into a "randomly captured" event report-indicating failure to self-initiate that report. Multilevel modeling tested predictors of failing to complete random reports and failing to self-initiate event reports. RESULTS: On the person level, male sex, higher average cigarette rate, and higher average cigarette urge each predicted missing random reports. The person-level predictors of failing to self-initiate event reports were older age, higher average cigarette and e-cigarette rates, higher average cigarette urge, and being alone more on average; the moment-level predictors were lower cigarette urge, lower positive affect, alcohol use, and cannabis use. Strikingly, the randomly captured events comprised more of the total EMA reports (28%) than did the self-initiated event reports (24%). These report types were similar across most variables, with some exceptions, such as momentary cannabis use predicting the random capture of tobacco events. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated a method of identifying predictors of noncompliance with event-based reporting of tobacco use and enhancing the real-time capture of events.

This study introduced a real-time method for identifying person- and moment-level predictors of failing to self-initiate tobacco event reports during ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and for capturing a large number of events that would have likely otherwise been missed. The method has implications for behavioral health research more broadly.

Decreases in the Late Positive Potential to Alcohol Images Among Alcohol Treatment Seekers Following Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention.

AIM: Heightened craving among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been attributed to a hypersensitivity to alcohol cues in attentional brain networks. Active mindfulness training has been shown to help improve attentional control. Here, we examined alcohol cue-related hypersensitivity among individuals with AUD who received rolling group mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) in combination with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), over right inferior frontal gyrus. METHODS: Participants (n = 68) viewed a series of emotionally negative, emotionally neutral and alcohol-related images. Following image presentation, participants were asked to rate their level of craving for the alcohol cues, and their level of negative affect evoked by neutral and negative cues. During the task, electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded to capture an event-related component shown to relate to emotionally salient stimuli: the late positive potential (LPP). Participants who completed a follow-up EEG (n = 37) performed the task a second time after up to eight sessions of MBRP coupled with active or sham tDCS. RESULTS: We found that both craving ratings and the LPP significantly decreased in response to alcohol cues from pre- to post-treatment, but not for other image cues. The magnitude of alcohol image craving reductions was associated with the number of MBRP group sessions attended. Active tDCS was not associated with craving ratings, but it was associated with greater LPP amplitudes across image types. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results suggest that disruption of alcohol-cue hypersensitivity in people with AUD may be a target mechanism of MBRP.

Association between empathy and drinking among a community sample of heavy drinkers: Sex differences and neural correlates.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major health problem, yet most individuals with AUD do not perceive a need for formal treatment and do not receive treatment. The lack of treatment seeking among individuals with AUD may suggest a lack of self-awareness and insight into the seriousness of AUD related problems, as well as lack of empathy for the impact of one's drinking on others. Recent work has suggested that empathy may be impaired among individuals seeking treatment for AUD. Further these impairments may differ by sex such that males with lower empathy reported more drinking consequences and greater drinking intensity, but there was no association between empathy and drinking among females. The current study used regression analyses (alpha = 0.05) to examine the association between empathy (as measured by the four scales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index), independent components of gray matter volume in regions associated with empathy, and drinking variables among non-treatment seeking drinkers with AUD (N = 136) and also examined these effects by sex. Results showed greater perspective taking was associated with less temporoparietal and frontotemporal gray matter volume (B(SE) = -0.912 (0.043), p = 0.034). An interaction between perspective taking and sex was associated with craving, such that higher perspective taking was associated with less craving for males only (B(SE) = -0.48 (0.243), p = 0.049; R2 = 0.087). Empathic concern was related to lower percent heavy drinking days for both males and females (B(SE) = -1.57 (0.743), p = 0.035; R2 = 0.11). The current study found empathy may be an important predictor of craving for males and frequency of heavy drinking for males and females. Future work should investigate whether empathy predicts treatment seeking.

The Indirect Relationship Between Interpersonal Trauma History and Alcohol Use via Negative Cognitions in a Multisite Alcohol Treatment Sample.

Although interpersonal trauma history (ITH) is frequently associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD), little is known about specific psychological constructs that may indirectly link these phenomena. This study hypothesized that one such construct may be negative cognitive schemas that often emerge in the aftermath of trauma. Secondary latent variable modeling was conducted using the Project MATCH sample of adults receiving treatment for AUD (N = 1726; 24.3% women; 38.63% ITH). The negative cognitions latent variable provided an excellent fit to the data and showed evidence of strong measurement invariance. As hypothesized, negative cognitions mediated the inverse association between ITH at baseline and percent days abstinent from alcohol 12 weeks later. Findings suggest that negative cognitions may be a specific underlying mechanism and potential treatment target for individuals with ITH and AUD.

Relationship between empathic processing and drinking behavior in project MATCH.

INTRODUCTION: Family relationships, social connectedness and a greater network of supportive others each predict better drinking outcomes among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD). The association between social factors and drinking may be related to the ability of individuals to take the perspectives of others' mental and emotional states, defined as empathic processing (EP). As such, it may be the case that EP is associated with social support (SS) and drinking behavior among individuals with AUD, yet few prior studies have attempted to define EP in an AUD sample. METHODS: The current study was a secondary data analysis of Project MATCH (N=1726) using structural equation modeling to model EP as a latent factor. The study also sought to test the baseline associations between EP, SS, and drinking behavior, as well as sex differences in the associations between EP, SS, and drinking. It was hypothesized that EP would be positively associated with SS and negatively associated with drinking behavior. RESULTS: Results suggested adequate model fit of the EP construct. Structural equation models indicated significant associations between EP, SS, and both drinking consequences and percent drinking days, but only for males. Males reported significantly lower EP and SS from friends, but more SS from family, compared to females. EP was not related to drinking among females. CONCLUSIONS: The current study validated a model of EP in a treatment-seeking sample of individuals with alcohol use disorder. Future work may consider EP as a treatment-modifiable risk factor for drinking frequency and consequences in males.

Mental State Assessment and Validation Using Personalized Physiological Biometrics.

Mental state monitoring is a critical component of current and future human-machine interfaces, including semi-autonomous driving and flying, air traffic control, decision aids, training systems, and will soon be integrated into ubiquitous products like cell phones and laptops. Current mental state assessment approaches supply quantitative measures, but their only frame of reference is generic population-level ranges. What is needed are physiological biometrics that are validated in the context of task performance of individuals. Using curated intake experiments, we are able to generate personalized models of three key biometrics as useful indicators of mental state; namely, mental fatigue, stress, and attention. We demonstrate improvements to existing approaches through the introduction of new features. Furthermore, addressing the current limitations in assessing the efficacy of biometrics for individual subjects, we propose and employ a multi-level validation scheme for the biometric models by means of k-fold cross-validation for discrete classification and regression testing for continuous prediction. The paper not only provides a unified pipeline for extracting a comprehensive mental state evaluation from a parsimonious set of sensors (only EEG and ECG), but also demonstrates the use of validation techniques in the absence of empirical data. Furthermore, as an example of the application of these models to novel situations, we evaluate the significance of correlations of personalized biometrics to the dynamic fluctuations of accuracy and reaction time on an unrelated threat detection task using a permutation test. Our results provide a path toward integrating biometrics into augmented human-machine interfaces in a judicious way that can help to maximize task performance.

The Benefits of Closed-Loop Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Subjective Sleep Quality.

BACKGROUND: Poor sleep quality is a common complaint, affecting over one third of people in the United States. While sleep quality is thought to be related to slow-wave sleep (SWS), there has been little investigation to address whether modulating slow-wave oscillations (SWOs) that characterize SWS could impact sleep quality. Here we examined whether closed-loop transcranial alternating current stimulation (CL-tACS) applied during sleep impacts sleep quality and efficiency. METHODS: CL-tACS was used in 21 participants delivered at the same frequency and in phase with endogenous SWOs during sleep. Sleep quality was assessed in the morning following either verum or sham control stimulation during sleep, with order counterbalanced within participants. RESULTS: Higher sleep quality and efficiency were found after verum stimulation nights compared to control. The largest effects on sleep quality were found immediately following an adaptation night in the laboratory for which sleep quality was reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Applying CL-tACS at the same frequency and phase as endogenous SWOs may offer a novel method to improve subjective sleep quality after a night with poor quality sleep. CL-tACS might be helpful for increasing sleep quality and efficiency in otherwise healthy people, and in patients with clinical disorders that involve sleep deficits.

Mindfulness-based training with transcranial direct current stimulation modulates neuronal resource allocation in working memory: A randomized pilot study with a nonequivalent control group.

Mindfulness-based training (MBT) and transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) methods such as direct current stimulation (tDCS) have demonstrated promise for the augmentation of cognitive abilities. The current study investigated the potential compatibility of concurrent "electrical" MBT and tDCS (or eMBT) by testing its combined effects on behavioral and neurophysiological indices of working memory (WM) and attentional resource allocation. Thirty-four healthy participants were randomly assigned to either a MBT task with tDCS group (eMBT) or an active control training task with sham tDCS (Control) group. Training lasted 4-weeks, with up to twenty MBT sessions and with up to eight of those sessions that were eMBT sessions. Electroencephalography was acquired during varying WM load conditions using the n-back task (1-, 2-, 3-back), along with performance on complex WM span tasks (operation and symmetry span) and fluid intelligence measures (Ravens and Shipley) before and after training. Improved performance was observed only on the 3-back and spatial span tasks for eMBT but not the Control group. During 3-back performance in the eMBT group, an increase in P3 amplitude and theta power at electrode site Pz was also observed, along with a simultaneous decrease in frontal midline P3 amplitude and theta power compared to the Control group. These results are consistent with the neural efficiency hypothesis, where higher cognitive capacity was associated with more distributed brain activity (i.e., increase in parietal and decrease in frontal amplitudes). Future longitudinal studies are called upon to further examine the direct contributions of tDCS on MBT by assessing the differential effects of electrode montage, polarity, current strength and a direct contrast between the eMBT and MBT conditions on performance and neuroimaging outcome data. While preliminary, the current results provided evidence for the potential compatibility of using eMBT to modulate WM capacity through the allocation of attention and its neurophysiological correlates.

Dose-Dependent Effects of Closed-Loop tACS Delivered During Slow-Wave Oscillations on Memory Consolidation.

Sleep is critically important to consolidate information learned throughout the day. Slow-wave sleep (SWS) serves to consolidate declarative memories, a process previously modulated with open-loop non-invasive electrical stimulation, though not always effectively. These failures to replicate could be explained by the fact that stimulation has only been performed in open-loop, as opposed to closed-loop where phase and frequency of the endogenous slow-wave oscillations (SWOs) are matched for optimal timing. The current study investigated the effects of closed-loop transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) targeting SWOs during sleep on memory consolidation. 21 participants took part in a three-night, counterbalanced, randomized, single-blind, within-subjects study, investigating performance changes (correct rate and F1 score) on images in a target detection task over 24 h. During sleep, 1.5 mA closed-loop tACS was delivered in phase over electrodes at F3 and F4 and 180° out of phase over electrodes at bilateral mastoids at the frequency (range 0.5-1.2 Hz) and phase of ongoing SWOs for a duration of 5 cycles in each discrete event throughout the night. Data were analyzed in a repeated measures ANOVA framework, and results show that verum stimulation improved post-sleep performance specifically on generalized versions of images used in training at both morning and afternoon tests compared to sham, suggesting the facilitation of schematization of information, but not of rote, veridical recall. We also found a surprising inverted U-shaped dose effect of sleep tACS, which is interpreted in terms of tACS-induced faciliatory and subsequent refractory dynamics of SWO power in scalp EEG. This is the first study showing a selective modulation of long-term memory generalization using a novel closed-loop tACS approach, which holds great potential for both healthy and neuropsychiatric populations.

Name that tune: Mitigation of driver fatigue via a song naming game.

Fatigued driving contributes to a substantial number of motor vehicle accidents each year. Music listening is often employed as a countermeasure during driving in order to mitigate the effects of fatigue. Though music listening has been established as a distractor in the sense that it increases cognitive load during driving, it is possible that increased cognitive load is desirable under particular circumstances. For instance, during situations that typically result in cognitive underload, such as driving in a low-traffic monotonous stretch of highway, it may be beneficial for cognitive load to increase, thereby necessitating allocation of greater cognitive resources to the task of driving and attenuating fatigue. In the current study, we employed a song-naming game as a countermeasure to fatigued driving in a simulated monotonous environment. During the first driving session, we established that driving performance deteriorates in the absence of an intervention following 30min of simulated driving. During the second session, we found that a song-naming game employed at the point of fatigue onset was an effective countermeasure, as reflected by simulated driving performance that met or exceeded fresh driving behavior and was significantly better relative to fatigued performance during the first driving session.

Enhanced working memory performance via transcranial direct current stimulation: The possibility of near and far transfer.

Although working memory (WM) training programs consistently result in improvement on the trained task, benefit is typically short-lived and extends only to tasks very similar to the trained task (i.e., near transfer). It is possible that pairing repeated performance of a WM task with brain stimulation encourages plasticity in brain networks involved in WM task performance, thereby improving the training benefit. In the current study, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was paired with performance of a WM task (n-back). In Experiment 1, participants performed a spatial location-monitoring n-back during stimulation, while Experiment 2 used a verbal identity-monitoring n-back. In each experiment, participants received either active (2.0mA) or sham (0.1mA) stimulation with the anode placed over either the right or the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the cathode placed extracephalically. In Experiment 1, only participants receiving active stimulation with the anode placed over the right DLPFC showed marginal improvement on the trained spatial n-back, which did not extend to a near transfer (verbal n-back) or far transfer task (a matrix-reasoning task designed to measure fluid intelligence). In Experiment 2, both left and right anode placements led to improvement, and right DLPFC stimulation resulted in numerical (though not sham-adjusted) improvement on the near transfer (spatial n-back) and far transfer (fluid intelligence) task. Results suggest that WM training paired with brain stimulation may result in cognitive enhancement that transfers to performance on other tasks, depending on the combination of training task and tDCS parameters used.