The label-feedback effect is influenced by target category in visual search.

The label-feedback hypothesis states that language can modulate visual processing. In particular, hearing or reading aloud target names (labels) speeds up performance in visual search tasks by facilitating target detection and such advantage is often measured against a condition where the target name is shown visually (i.e. via the same modality as the search task). The current study conceptually complements and expands previous investigations. The effect of a multimodal label presentation (i.e., an audio+visual, AV, priming label) in a visual search task is compared to that of a multimodal (i.e. white noise+visual, NV, label) and two unimodal (i.e. audio, A, label or visual, V, label) control conditions. The name of a category (i.e. a label at the superordinate level) is used as a cue, instead of the more commonly used target name (a basic level label), with targets belonging to one of three categories: garments, improper weapons, and proper weapons. These categories vary for their structure, improper weapons being an ad hoc category (i.e. context-dependent), unlike proper weapons and garments. The preregistered analysis shows an overall facilitation of visual search performance in the AV condition compared to the NV condition, confirming that the label-feedback effect may not be explained away by the effects of multimodal stimulation only and that it extends to superordinate labels. Moreover, exploratory analyses show that such facilitation is driven by the garments and proper weapons categories, rather than improper weapons. Thus, the superordinate label-feedback effect is modulated by the structural properties of a category. These findings are consistent with the idea that the AV condition prompts an "up-regulation" of the label, a requirement for enhancing the label's beneficial effects, but not when the label refers to an ad hoc category. They also highlight the peculiar status of the category of improper weapons and set it apart from that of proper weapons.

Individual differences in visual search: A systematic review of the link between visual search performance and traits or abilities.

Visual search (VS) comprises a class of tasks that we typically perform several times during a day and requires intentionally scanning (with or without moving the eyes) the environment for a specific target (be it an object or a feature) among distractor stimuli. Experimental research in lab-based or real-world settings has offered insight into its underlying neurocognitive mechanisms from a nomothetic point of view. A lesser-known but rapidly growing body of quasi-experimental and correlational research has explored the link between individual differences and VS performance. This combines different research traditions and covers a wide range of individual differences in studies deploying a vast array of VS tasks. As such, it is a challenge to determine whether any associations highlighted in single studies are robust when considering the wider literature. However, clarifying such relationships systematically and comprehensively would help build more accurate models of VS, and it would highlight promising directions for future research. This systematic review provides an up to date and comprehensive synthesis of the existing literature investigating associations between common indices of performance in VS tasks and measures of individual differences mapped onto four categories of cognitive abilities (short-term working memory, fluid reasoning, visual processing and processing speed) and seven categories of traits (Big Five traits, trait anxiety and autistic traits). Consistent associations for both traits (in particular, conscientiousness, autistic traits and trait anxiety - the latter limited to emotional stimuli) and cognitive abilities (particularly visual processing) were identified. Overall, however, informativeness of future studies would benefit from checking and reporting the reliability of all measurement tools, applying multiplicity correction, using complementary techniques, study preregistration and testing why, rather than only if, a robust relation between certain individual differences and VS performance exists.

Causal involvement of the left angular gyrus in higher functions as revealed by transcranial magnetic stimulation: a systematic review.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique that can transiently interfere with local cortical functioning, thus enabling inferences of causal left AG involvement in higher functions from experimentation with healthy participants. Here, we examine 35 studies that measure behavioural outcomes soon after or during targeting TMS to the left AG, by design and as documented by individual magnetic resonance images, in healthy adult participants. The reviewed evidence suggests a specific causal involvement of the left AG in a wide range of tasks involving language, memory, number processing, visuospatial attention, body awareness and motor planning functions. These core findings are particularly valuable to inform theoretical models of the left AG role(s) in higher functions, due to the anatomical specificity afforded by the selected studies and the complementarity of TMS to different methods of investigation. In particular, the variety of the operations within and between functions in which the left AG appears to be causally involved poses a formidable challenge to any attempts to identify a single computational process subserved by the left AG (as opposed to just outlining a broad type of functional contribution) that could apply across thematic areas. We conclude by highlighting directions for improvement in future experimentation with TMS, in order to strengthen the available evidence, while taking into account the anatomical heterogeneity of this brain region.

Improper weapons are a neglected category of harmful objects.

According to legislation, objects are typically classified as weapons if they are offensive per se (referred to here as proper) and if they are adapted for use as weapons or carried with the intent of causing injury (referred to here as improper), with specific regulations on their usage and possession in public spaces. However, little evidence exists on the validity of this distinction in psychology, despite a widespread recognition of the importance of psychological states and subjective perceptions in risk assessment. We conducted an online survey to evaluate hazard perceptions in relation to three dimensions (dangerousness, frequency of events, controllability) of three object categories: proper weapons, improper weapons, and everyday objects. The data from our 300 respondents reveal that the three categories of objects differ from one another on the three dimensions. Moreover, hazard perceptions differ between males and females for improper weapons but less so for proper weapons. These findings suggest that proper and improper weapons are two psychologically distinct categories, albeit with fuzzy boundaries. Investigations into their differential properties may thus help improve risk assessment in security contexts.

The making of a syndrome: Gerstmann's patients before Gerstmann syndrome.

When Gerstmann published the case report which later became known as the first case of Gerstmann syndrome, he did not claim the discovery of a new syndrome. It was only a few years later, after reporting on another two similar cases, that he isolated the famous tetrad of symptoms (finger agnosia, right-left disorientation, agraphia and acalculia) as a meaningful cluster with both localising and functional value. In this article, we provide the translation of key-excerpts of the second of Gerstmann's reports (Gerstmann, 1927) and a synoptic description of the symptoms as reported in the three original cases, which were later identified as cases of Gerstmann syndrome. The descriptions appear highly consistent across cases. Among symptoms, finger agnosia stands out for its pervasiveness, which may explain why Gerstmann considered this as the core symptom and speculated it could subtend all symptoms. However, no common functional denominator emerges from the original descriptions.

Effectiveness of self-help plus (SH+) in reducing anxiety and post-traumatic symptomatology among care home workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a randomized controlled trial.

This article describes a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a supervised online delivery of self-help plus (SH+), during the second wave of COVID-19 contagions in Northern Italy. The SH+ is a psychological intervention developed by the World Health Organization to increase a person's ability to deal with stress. In this trial, it was tested primarily as a tool to reduce anxiety and post-traumatic symptomatology in workers of residential nursing and care homes. In order to partial out non-specific effects of the intervention, the SH+ was compared to an equally supervised and structured alternative activity. Secondarily, in view of future emergencies, the potential of SH+ as a tool to reduce perceived stress, increase subjective well-being and foster individual resilience was explored. At post-intervention, the preregistered analysis revealed no difference in self-reported anxiety and/or post-traumatic symptomatology between the group receiving the SH+ and the group engaged in an alternative activity. Some specific and positive effects of the SH+ intervention were only found on self-reported intervention effectiveness and engagement in exploratory analyses. These findings raise the question whether the previously documented effectiveness of the SH+ on self-reported symptomatology and on the prevention of psychiatric conditions could be attributed mostly to non-specific rather than specific factors connected with participant enrolment in a psychological intervention. Indeed, the effects of the SH+ had been previously compared only to the effects of not being engaged in any alternative activity (often described in the literature as 'treatment as usual'-or 'enhanced treatment as usual', when some relevant information is given to the control group as a one-off). Given the negative findings of this study, before the SH+ is implemented in clinical practice, further studies should be conducted to examine its short- and long-term beneficial effects, by means of randomized studies that employ alternative but similarly structured interventions as control conditions, aiming to minimize the confounding effect of non-specific factors.

The Role of Brief Global Cognitive Tests and Neuropsychological Expertise in the Detection and Differential Diagnosis of Dementia.

Dementia is a global public health problem and its impact is bound to increase in the next decades, with a rapidly aging world population. Dementia is by no means an obligatory outcome of aging, although its incidence increases exponentially in old age, and its onset may be insidious. In the absence of unequivocal biomarkers, the accuracy of cognitive profiling plays a fundamental role in the diagnosis of this condition. In this Perspective article, we highlight the utility of brief global cognitive tests in the diagnostic process, from the initial detection stage for which they are designed, through the differential diagnosis of dementia. We also argue that neuropsychological training and expertise are critical in order for the information gathered from these omnibus cognitive tests to be used in an efficient and effective way, and thus, ultimately, for them to fulfill their potential.

Prevalence of post-traumatic symptomatology and anxiety among residential nursing and care home workers following the first COVID-19 outbreak in Northern Italy.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has been officially linked to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people across the globe in just a few months. It is particularly lethal for the elderly in general, as well as for populations residing in long-term stay facilities. By this time, those working and caring for high-risk populations have been exposed to very intense and sudden levels of physical and psychological strain. The situation has taken a particularly tragic turn in residential nursing and care homes (NCH), which were hit hard by the pandemic. In residential NCH, neither residents nor workers tend to have immediate access to the same expertise, medication and equipment as in hospitals, which exacerbates an already tense situation. Among the mental health conditions related to exposure to potentially traumatic events, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety are the most prevalent and scientifically recognized. In this survey-based epidemiological study, we test the prevalence of anxiety and post-traumatic symptomatology in residential nursing and care home workers-a group of individuals that has been largely neglected but who nonetheless plays a very important and sensitive role in our society. We do this by focusing on the North of Italy, the most affected region during the first COVID-19 outbreak in Italy. Using a single-stage cluster design, our study returns an estimate for the prevalence of moderate-to-severe anxiety and/or post-traumatic symptomatology of 43% (s.e. = 3.09; 95% CI [37-49]), with an 18% (s.e. = 1.83; 95% CI [14-22]) prevalence of comorbidity among workers of Northern Italian NCH between 15 June and 25 July 2020 (i.e. 12-52 days after the end of national lockdown). Women and workers who had recently been in contact with COVID-19-positive patients/colleagues are more likely to report moderate-to-severe symptoms, with odds ratios of 2.2 and 1.7, respectively.

Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation over the posterior parietal cortex on novice X-ray screening performance.

Existing theories of visual search are generally deduced from lab-based studies involving the identification of a target object among similar distractors. The role of the right parietal cortex in visual search is well-established. However, less is known about real-world visual search tasks, such as X-ray screening, which require targets to be disembedded from their background. Research has shown variations in the cognitive abilities required for these tasks and typical lab-based visual search tasks. Thus, the findings of traditional visual search studies do not always transfer into the applied domain. Although brain imaging studies have offered insights into visual search tasks involving disembedding, highlighting an association between the left parietal cortex and disembedding performance, no causal link has yet been established. To this end, we carried out a pilot study (n = 34, between-subjects) administering non-invasive brain stimulation over the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) prior to completing a security X-ray screening task. The findings suggested that anodal left PPC tDCS enhanced novice performance in X-ray screening over that of sham stimulation, in line with brain imaging findings. However, the efficacy of tDCS is under question, with a growing number of failed replications. With this in mind, this study aims to re-test our original hypothesis by examining the effects of left-side parietal stimulation on novice X-ray screener performance and comparing them to those of sham stimulation and of stimulation on a control site (right PPC). As such, this within-subjects study comprised three sessions (2 mA left PPC, 2 mA right PPC, low-intensity sham stimulation left PPC), to investigate effects of anodal tDCS on X-ray screening performance. The pre-registered analysis did not detect any significant differences between left PPC tDCS and sham tDCS or left PPC tDCS and right PPC tDCS on novice performance (d') in X-ray screening. Further exploratory analyses detected no effects of left PPC tDCS on any other indices of performance in the X-ray security screening task (c, RTs and accuracy), or a disembedding control task (RTs and accuracy). The use of alternative stimulation techniques, with replicable behavioural effects on the parietal lobe (or a multi-technique approach), and well-powered studies with a systematic variation of stimulation parameters, could help to choose between two possible interpretations: that neither left nor right PPC are causally related to either tasks or that tDCS was ineffective. Finally, low-intensity sham stimulation (.016 mA), previously shown to outperform other sham conditions in between-subjects designs, was found to be ineffective for blinding participants in a within-subjects design. Our findings raise concerns for the current lack of optimal control conditions and add to the growing literature highlighting the need for replication in the field.

The making of a syndrome: The English translation of Gerstmann's first report.

The label Gerstmann syndrome indicates the co-occurrence of four symptoms in persons with acquired brain lesions: finger agnosia, left-right disorientation, agraphia, and acalculia. The syndrome is often associated with a lesion affecting the posterior parietal lobe of the left cerebral hemisphere. Virtually every paper discussing this tetrad of symptoms refers back to Josef Gerstmann's (1924) first report published in German. To make it accessible to the wider community of scholars and thus enable a more in-depth appreciation of the origins of this enigmatic syndrome, here we publish, for the first time in English, a translation of Gerstmann's initial report. In this paper, the syndromal construct had not yet crystallized into its four cardinal symptoms; Gerstmann's attention was mainly focused on finger agnosia and, to a lesser extent, on left-right disorientation by virtue of their significance for the body scheme theory. Although isolated agraphia and acalculia seemed to be at least as severe as finger agnosia, Gerstmann did not consider them of consequential importance (with the exception of agraphia's localisation value). It is also worth noting that the described patient presented a picture of Gerstmann syndrome associated with other symptoms such as hemianopia, balance impairment, and light memory and reasoning disorders.

The Art of Influencing Consumer Choices: A Reflection on Recent Advances in Decision Neuroscience.

In recent years, our knowledge concerning the neurobiology of choice has increased tremendously. Research in the field of decision-making has identified important brain mechanisms by which a representation of the subjective value of an option is built based on previous experience, retrieved and compared to that of other available options in order to make a choice. One body of research, in particular, has focused on simple value-based choices (e.g., choices between two types of fruits) to study situations very similar to our daily life decisions as consumers. The use of neuroimaging techniques has deepened and refined our knowledge of decision processes. Additionally, computational approaches have helped identifying and describing the mechanisms underlying newly found components of the decisional process. They provide mechanistic explanations for diverse biases that can drive decision makers away from their own preferences or from rational choices. It is now clear that both attentional and affective factors can exert robust effects on an individual's decisions. Because these factors can be manipulated externally, academic research and theories are of great interest to the marketing industry. This approach is becoming increasingly effective in manipulating consumer behavior and has the potential to become even more effective in the future. Another line of research has revealed differences in the decision-making neural circuitry that underlie sub-optimal choice behavior, rendering some individuals particularly vulnerable to marketing strategies. As neuroscientists, we wonder whether relevant institutions should direct their efforts toward raising citizens' awareness, demanding more transparency on marketing applications and regulate the most pervasive communication techniques in marketing, in view of their current use and of recent research progress.

Gerstmann syndrome: historic and current perspectives.

This chapter offers a perspective on the origin, operational definition, historic vicissitudes, and current status of Gerstmann syndrome. The main issues and controversy accompanying Gerstmann syndrome throughout the years are reviewed. The clinical picture of Gerstmann syndrome as it emerges from a series of modern-day pure cases is described. In current clinical practice, a diagnosis of Gerstmann syndrome indicates the concomitant presence of four acquired symptoms: finger agnosia, acalculia, left-right disorientation, and agraphia. Finally, based on empiric work conducted in recent years, the chapter concludes with a new interpretation of Gerstmann syndrome. If seen as an instance of intraparietal disconnection, this classic parietal syndrome will acquire fresh clinical and theoretic significance.

Systemizers Are Better Code-Breakers: Self-Reported Systemizing Predicts Code-Breaking Performance in Expert Hackers and Naïve Participants.

Studies on hacking have typically focused on motivational aspects and general personality traits of the individuals who engage in hacking; little systematic research has been conducted on predispositions that may be associated not only with the choice to pursue a hacking career but also with performance in either naïve or expert populations. Here, we test the hypotheses that two traits that are typically enhanced in autism spectrum disorders-attention to detail and systemizing-may be positively related to both the choice of pursuing a career in information security and skilled performance in a prototypical hacking task (i.e., crypto-analysis or code-breaking). A group of naïve participants and of ethical hackers completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient, including an attention to detail scale, and the Systemizing Quotient (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001, 2003). They were also tested with behavioral tasks involving code-breaking and a control task involving security X-ray image interpretation. Hackers reported significantly higher systemizing and attention to detail than non-hackers. We found a positive relation between self-reported systemizing (but not attention to detail) and code-breaking skills in both hackers and non-hackers, whereas attention to detail (but not systemizing) was related with performance in the X-ray screening task in both groups, as previously reported with naïve participants (Rusconi et al., 2015). We discuss the theoretical and translational implications of our findings.

XRIndex: a brief screening tool for individual differences in security threat detection in x-ray images.

X-ray imaging is a cost-effective technique at security checkpoints that typically require the presence of human operators. We have previously shown that self-reported attention to detail can predict threat detection performance with small-vehicle x-ray images (Rusconi et al., 2012). Here, we provide evidence for the generality of such a link by having a large sample of naïve participants screen more typical dual-energy x-ray images of hand luggage. The results show that the Attention to Detail score from the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) questionnaire (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001) is a linear predictor of threat detection accuracy. We then develop and fine-tune a novel self-report scale for security screening: the XRIndex, which improves on the Attention to Detail scale for predictive power and opacity to interpretation. The XRIndex is not redundant with any of the Big Five personality traits. We validate the XRIndex against security x-ray images with an independent sample of untrained participants and suggest that the XRIndex may be a useful aid for the identification of suitable candidates for professional security training with a focus on x-ray threat detection. Further studies are needed to determine whether this can also apply to trained professionals.

The role of expectations, hype and ethics in neuroimaging and neuromodulation futures.

The production of expectations or future-goals for the development of techniques which "read" and modulate brain function, represent an important practical tool for neuroscientists. These visions-of-the-future assist scientists by providing focus for both individual and cross-disciplinary research programs; they encourage the development of new industrial sectors, are used to justify the allocation of government resources and funding, and via the media can help capture the imagination and support of the public. However, such expectations need to be tempered by reality. Over-hyping brain imaging and modulation will lead to disappointment; disappointment that in turn can undermine its potential. Similarly, if neuroscientists focus their attention narrowly on the science without concomitant consideration of its future ethical, legal and social implications, then their expectations may remain unrealized. To develop these arguments herein we introduce the theoretical concept of expectations and the practical consequences of expectations. We contextualize these reflections by referring to brain imaging and modulation studies on deception, which encompass the measurement-suppression-augmentation range.

Neural correlates of finger gnosis.

Neuropsychological studies have described patients with a selective impairment of finger identification in association with posterior parietal lesions. However, evidence of the role of these areas in finger gnosis from studies of the healthy human brain is still scarce. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify the brain network engaged in a novel finger gnosis task, the intermanual in-between task (IIBT), in healthy participants. Several brain regions exhibited a stronger blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) response in IIBT than in a control task that did not explicitly rely on finger gnosis but used identical stimuli and motor responses as the IIBT. The IIBT involved stronger signal in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), bilateral precuneus (PCN), bilateral premotor cortex, and left inferior frontal gyrus. In all regions, stimulation of nonhomologous fingers of the two hands elicited higher BOLD signal than stimulation of homologous fingers. Only in the left anteromedial IPL (a-mIPL) and left PCN did signal strength decrease parametrically from nonhomology, through partial homology, to total homology with stimulation delivered synchronously to the two hands. With asynchronous stimulation, the signal was stronger in the left a-mIPL than in any other region, possibly indicating retention of task-relevant information. We suggest that the left PCN may contribute a supporting visuospatial representation via its functional connection to the right PCN. The a-mIPL may instead provide the core substrate of an explicit bilateral body structure representation for the fingers that when disrupted can produce the typical symptoms of finger agnosia.

Mathematical difficulties as decoupling of expectation and developmental trajectories.

Recent years have seen an increase in research articles and reviews exploring mathematical difficulties (MD). Many of these articles have set out to explain the etiology of the problems, the possibility of different subtypes, and potential brain regions that underlie many of the observable behaviors. These articles are very valuable in a research field, which many have noted, falls behind that of reading and language disabilities. Here will provide a perspective on the current understanding of MD from a different angle, by outlining the school curriculum of England and the US and connecting these to the skills needed at different stages of mathematical understanding. We will extend this to explore the cognitive skills which most likely underpin these different stages and whose impairment may thus lead to mathematics difficulties at all stages of mathematics development. To conclude we will briefly explore interventions that are currently available, indicating whether these can be used to aid the different children at different stages of their mathematical development and what their current limitations may be. The principal aim of this review is to establish an explicit connection between the academic discourse, with its research base and concepts, and the developmental trajectory of abstract mathematical skills that is expected (and somewhat dictated) in formal education. This will possibly help to highlight and make sense of the gap between the complexity of the MD range in real life and the state of its academic science.