Chronic Exercise as a Modulator of Cognitive Control: Investigating the Electrophysiological Indices of Performance Monitoring.

Exercise may influence components of executive functioning, specifically cognitive control and action monitoring. We aimed to determine whether high level exercise improves the efficacy of cognitive control in response to differing levels of conflict. Fitter individuals were expected to demonstrate enhanced action monitoring and optimal levels of cognitive control in response to changing task demands. Participants were divided into the highly active (HA) or low-active group based on self-reported activity using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. A modified flanker task was then performed, in which the level of conflict was modulated by distance of distractors from the target (close, far) and congruency of arrows (incongruent, congruent). Electroencephalography (EEG) was collected during 800 trials; trials were 80% congruent, 20% incongruent, 50% close, and 50% far. The error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) were extracted from the difference wave of correct and incorrect response locked epochs, the N2 from the difference wave of congruent and incongruent stimulus locked epochs and the P3 from stimulus locked epochs. The HA group showed a larger Pe amplitude compared to the low-active group. Close trials elicited a larger N2 amplitude than far trials in the HA group, but not the low-active group, the HA group also made fewer errors on far trials than on close trials. Finally, the P3 was smaller in the lowest conflict condition in the HA, but not the low-active group. These findings suggest that habitual, high levels of exercise may influence the endogenous processing involved in pre-response conflict detection and the post-error response.

Developing a Hybrid Four-Prong Approach to Anatomical Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During COVID-19, the anatomy faculty and students at Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry observed strengths and weaknesses in their transition to online learning. A "four-prong" approach to teaching anatomy was developed. Asynchronous content modules were tailored to specific learning objectives, virtual labs were implemented to work through case-based applications, "live from the lab" review sessions provided the opportunity for interaction and integration, and finally, limited face-to-face laboratory sessions provided an opportunity for supervised consolidation with cadaveric specimens. Our approach may be used by other institutions to enhance anatomical education and student engagement.