The role of mood and arousal in the effect of background music on attentional state and performance during a sustained attention task.

Across two online experiments, this study explored the effect of preferred background music on attentional state and performance, as well as on mood and arousal, during a vigilance task. It extended recent laboratory findings-showing an increase in task-focus and decrease in mind-wandering states with music-to environments with more distractions around participants. Participants-people who normally listen to background music during attention-demanding tasks-completed the vigilance task in their homes both with and without their chosen music and reported their attentional state, subjective arousal, and mood valence throughout the task. Experiment 1 compared music to relative silence and Experiment 2 compared music against the backdrop of continuous noise to continuous noise alone. In both experiments, music decreased mind-wandering and increased task-focus. Unlike in previous laboratory studies, in both experiments music also led to faster reaction times while increasing low-arousal external-distraction states. Importantly, mood and arousal increased with music and were shown to mediate its effects on reaction time and for the first time attentional state, both separately and together. Serial mediation effects were mostly confined to models where mood was entered first and arousal second and were consistent with the mood-arousal account of the impact of background music listening.

Effects of arousal and valence on center of pressure and ankle muscle activity during quiet standing.

Emotion affects postural control during quiet standing. Emotional states can be defined as two-dimensional models comprising valence (pleasant/unpleasant) and arousal (aroused/calm). Most previous studies have investigated the effects of valence on postural control without considering arousal. In addition, studies have focused on the center of pressure (COP) trajectory to examine emotional effects on the quiet standing control; however, the relationship between neuromuscular mechanisms and the emotionally affected quiet standing control is largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effects of arousal and valence on the COP trajectory and ankle muscle activity during quiet standing. Twenty-two participants were instructed to stand on a force platform and look at affective pictures for 72 seconds. The tasks were repeated six times, according to the picture conditions composed of arousal (High and Low) and valence (Pleasant, Neutral, and Unpleasant). During the task, the COP, electromyogram (EMG) of the tibialis anterior and soleus muscles, and electrocardiogram (ECG) were recorded. The heart rate calculated from the ECG was significantly affected by valence; the value was lower in Unpleasant than that in Neutral and Pleasant. The 95% confidence ellipse area and standard deviation of COP in the anterior-posterior direction were lower, and the mean power frequency of COP in the anterior-posterior direction was higher in Unpleasant than in Pleasant. Although the mean velocity of the COP in the medio-lateral direction was significantly lower in Unpleasant than in Pleasant, the effect was observed only when arousal was low. Although the EMG variables were not significantly affected by emotional conditions, some EMG variables were significantly correlated with the COP variables that were affected by emotional conditions. Therefore, ankle muscle activity may be partially associated with postural changes triggered by emotional intervention. In conclusion, both valence and arousal affect the COP variables, and ankle muscle activity may be partially associated with these COP changes.

Bidirectional brain-body interactions during natural story listening.

Narratives can synchronize neural and physiological signals between individuals, but the relationship between these signals, and the underlying mechanism, is unclear. We hypothesized a top-down effect of cognition on arousal and predicted that auditory narratives will drive not only brain signals but also peripheral physiological signals. We find that auditory narratives entrained gaze variation, saccade initiation, pupil size, and heart rate. This is consistent with a top-down effect of cognition on autonomic function. We also hypothesized a bottom-up effect, whereby autonomic physiology affects arousal. Controlled breathing affected pupil size, and heart rate was entrained by controlled saccades. Additionally, fluctuations in heart rate preceded fluctuations of pupil size and brain signals. Gaze variation, pupil size, and heart rate were all associated with anterior-central brain signals. Together, these results suggest bidirectional causal effects between peripheral autonomic function and central brain circuits involved in the control of arousal.

Experiencing beauty in everyday life.

Beauty surrounds us in many ways every day. In three experience sampling (ESM) studies we investigated frequency, category of eliciting stimuli (natural vs human-made) and, the potential moderating role of several individual difference measures on such everyday experiences of beauty in an ecologically valid manner. Further, we explored the impact of such experiences on valence & arousal. Study 1 re-analysed data from a previous study, in line with the current aims. In Studies 2 and 3, we asked participants to report daily experiences of beauty using a mixed random and event-contingent sampling schedule. Mobile notifications (random sampling) prompted participants to take a photo and rate the beauty of their surroundings. Further, current valence and arousal were assessed. Notification frequency and total days of participation differed between these two studies. Participants were able to report additional experiences outside of the notification windows (event-contingent sampling). Our results indicate that we frequently encounter beauty in everyday life and that we find it in nature, in particular. Our results further suggest a mood-boosting effect of encounters with beauty. Lastly, our results indicate influences of individual differences however, these were inconclusive and require further attention.

Multimodal In-Vehicle Hypoglycemia Warning for Drivers With Type 1 Diabetes: Design and Evaluation in Simulated and Real-World Driving.

BACKGROUND: Hypoglycemia threatens cognitive function and driving safety. Previous research investigated in-vehicle voice assistants as hypoglycemia warnings. However, they could startle drivers. To address this, we combine voice warnings with ambient LEDs. OBJECTIVE: The study assesses the effect of in-vehicle multimodal warning on emotional reaction and technology acceptance among drivers with type 1 diabetes. METHODS: Two studies were conducted, one in simulated driving and the other in real-world driving. A quasi-experimental design included 2 independent variables (blood glucose phase and warning modality) and 1 main dependent variable (emotional reaction). Blood glucose was manipulated via intravenous catheters, and warning modality was manipulated by combining a tablet voice warning app and LEDs. Emotional reaction was measured physiologically via skin conductance response and subjectively with the Affective Slider and tested with a mixed-effect linear model. Secondary outcomes included self-reported technology acceptance. Participants were recruited from Bern University Hospital, Switzerland. RESULTS: The simulated and real-world driving studies involved 9 and 10 participants with type 1 diabetes, respectively. Both studies showed significant results in self-reported emotional reactions (P<.001). In simulated driving, neither warning modality nor blood glucose phase significantly affected self-reported arousal, but in real-world driving, both did (F2,68=4.3; P<.05 and F2,76=4.1; P=.03). Warning modality affected self-reported valence in simulated driving (F2,68=3.9; P<.05), while blood glucose phase affected it in real-world driving (F2,76=9.3; P<.001). Skin conductance response did not yield significant results neither in the simulated driving study (modality: F2,68=2.46; P=.09, blood glucose phase: F2,68=0.3; P=.74), nor in the real-world driving study (modality: F2,76=0.8; P=.47, blood glucose phase: F2,76=0.7; P=.5). In both simulated and real-world driving studies, the voice+LED warning modality was the most effective (simulated: mean 3.38, SD 1.06 and real-world: mean 3.5, SD 0.71) and urgent (simulated: mean 3.12, SD 0.64 and real-world: mean 3.6, SD 0.52). Annoyance varied across settings. The standard warning modality was the least effective (simulated: mean 2.25, SD 1.16 and real-world: mean 3.3, SD 1.06) and urgent (simulated: mean 1.88, SD 1.55 and real-world: mean 2.6, SD 1.26) and the most annoying (simulated: mean 2.25, SD 1.16 and real-world: mean 1.7, SD 0.95). In terms of preference, the voice warning modality outperformed the standard warning modality. In simulated driving, the voice+LED warning modality (mean rank 1.5, SD rank 0.82) was preferred over the voice (mean rank 2.2, SD rank 0.6) and standard (mean rank 2.4, SD rank 0.81) warning modalities, while in real-world driving, the voice+LED and voice warning modalities were equally preferred (mean rank 1.8, SD rank 0.79) to the standard warning modality (mean rank 2.4, SD rank 0.84). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the mixed results, this paper highlights the potential of implementing voice assistant-based health warnings in cars and advocates for multimodal alerts to enhance hypoglycemia management while driving. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05183191; https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05183191, ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05308095; https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05308095.

The impact of extinction timing on pre-extinction arousal and subsequent return of fear.

Exposure-based therapy is effective in treating anxiety, but a return of fear in the form of relapse is common. Exposure is based on the extinction of Pavlovian fear conditioning. Both animal and human studies point to increased arousal during immediate compared to delayed extinction (>+24 h), which presumably impairs extinction learning and increases the subsequent return of fear. Impaired extinction learning under arousal might interfere with psychotherapeutic interventions. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether arousal before extinction differs between extinction groups and whether arousal before extinction predicts the return of fear in a later (retention) test. As a highlight, both the time between fear acquisition and extinction (immediate vs. delayed) and the time between extinction and test (early vs. late test) were systematically varied. We performed follow-up analyses on data from 103 young, healthy participants to test the above hypotheses. Subjective arousal ratings and physiological arousal measures of sympathetic and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis activation (tonic skin conductance and salivary cortisol) were collected. Increased pre-extinction arousal in the immediate extinction group was only confirmed for subjective arousal. In linear regression analyses, none of the arousal measures predicted a significant return of fear in the different experimental groups. Only when we aggregated across the two test groups, tonic skin conductance at the onset of extinction predicted the return of fear in skin conductance responses. The overall results provide little evidence that pre-extinction arousal affects subsequent extinction learning and memory. In terms of clinical relevance, there is no clear evidence that exposure could be improved by reducing subjective or physiological arousal.

Peritraumatic dissociation and posttraumatic stress symptoms: the moderating role of perceived threat.

Background: Although peritraumatic dissociation (PD) is viewed as a risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), prospective studies taking into account other well-known risk factors for PTSD have been scarce, and the exploration of potential moderators within the relations between PD and PTSD has been lacking.Objective: Filling this gap, this prospective study explored the moderating role of perceived threat within the relations between PD and PTSD, above and beyond age, gender, education, and early trauma-related symptoms.Method: A convenience sample of 200 Israeli civilians filled out self-report questionnaires during the peritraumatic phase (T1) and one to two months after the posttraumatic phase (T2) of being exposed to rocket attacks.Results: The results showed that perceived threat and PD were associated with early trauma-related symptoms and PTSD symptoms. Moreover, perceived threat moderated the relationship between PD and all PTSD symptom clusters apart from avoidance.Conclusions: The present results suggest that the implications of PD are shaped by levels of perceived threat, so that detriments of PD are evident when the trauma is appraised as being highly threatening. Therefore, early interventions that aim to decrease PD may be beneficial in preventing PTSD symptoms of intrusion, hyper arousal, and negative alterations in mood and cognition, for individuals who perceive traumatic events as highly threatening.

Perceived threat was related to early trauma-related symptoms and PTSD symptoms.Peritraumatic dissociation was related to early trauma-related symptoms and PTSD symptoms.Perceived threat moderated the link between peritraumatic dissociation and PTSD symptoms.

The SocialVidStim: a video database of positive and negative social evaluation stimuli for use in social cognitive neuroscience paradigms.

This paper describes the SocialVidStim-a database of video stimuli available to the scientific community depicting positive and negative social evaluative and neutral statements. The SocialVidStim comprises 53 diverse individuals reflecting the demographic makeup of the USA, ranging from 9 to 41 years old, saying 20-60 positive and 20-60 negative social evaluative statements (e.g. 'You are a very trustworthy/annoying person'), and 20-60 neutral statements (e.g. 'The sky is blue'), totaling 5793 videos post-production. The SocialVidStim are designed for use in behavioral and functional magetic resonance imaging paradigms, across developmental stages, in diverse populations. This study describes stimuli development and reports initial validity and reliability data on a subset videos (N = 1890) depicting individuals aged 18-41 years. Raters perceive videos as expected: positive videos elicit positively valenced ratings, negative videos elicit negatively valenced ratings and neutral videos are rated as neutral. Test-retest reliability data demonstrate intraclass correlations in the good-to-excellent range for negative and positive videos and the moderate range for neutral videos. We also report small effects on valence and arousal that should be considered during stimuli selection, including match between rater and actor sex and actor believability. The SocialVidStim is a resource for researchers and we offer suggestions for using the SocialVidStim in future research.

Improving SSVEP-BCI Performance Through Repetitive Anodal tDCS-Based Neuromodulation: Insights From Fractal EEG and Brain Functional Connectivity.

This study embarks on a comprehensive investigation of the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)-based neuromodulation in augmenting steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), alongside exploring pertinent electroencephalography (EEG) biomarkers for assessing brain states and evaluating tDCS efficacy. EEG data were garnered across three distinct task modes (eyes open, eyes closed, and SSVEP stimulation) and two neuromodulation patterns (sham-tDCS and anodal-tDCS). Brain arousal and brain functional connectivity were measured by extracting features of fractal EEG and information flow gain, respectively. Anodal-tDCS led to diminished offsets and enhanced information flow gains, indicating improvements in both brain arousal and brain information transmission capacity. Additionally, anodal-tDCS markedly enhanced SSVEP-BCIs performance as evidenced by increased amplitudes and accuracies, whereas sham-tDCS exhibited lesser efficacy. This study proffers invaluable insights into the application of neuromodulation methods for bolstering BCI performance, and concurrently authenticates two potent electrophysiological markers for multifaceted characterization of brain states.

[Techniques for quantifying endotypes of obstructive sleep apnea].

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the frequent occurrence of apnea and/or hypopnea during sleep, leading to intermittent hypoxia, hypercapnia, and disruption of sleep architecture, further resulting in multisystem damage. The pathophysiological mechanisms include abnormal anatomical structure, low arousal threshold, high loop gain, and poor muscle reactivity, etc. As there are individual differences in the underlying mechanisms of OSA (i.e. endotypes), the effectiveness of treatment and prognosis may also vary according to these characteristics. Understanding the endotype of OSA is critical to understanding which patients are most likely to benefit from non-invasive ventilation therapy. Quantification of endotypes is central to the precision treatment of OSA and may provide the basis for accurate clinical treatment of OSA based on endotypes.

Variation in the Photoplethysmogram Response to Arousal From Sleep Depending on the Cause of Arousal and the Presence of Desaturation.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess how the photoplethysmogram frequency and amplitude responses to arousals from sleep differ between arousals caused by apneas and hypopneas with and without blood oxygen desaturations, and spontaneous arousals. Stronger arousal causes were hypothesized to lead to larger and faster responses. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Photoplethysmogram signal segments during and around respiratory and spontaneous arousals of 876 suspected obstructive sleep apnea patients were analyzed. Logistic functions were fit to the mean instantaneous frequency and instantaneous amplitude of the signal to detect the responses. Response intensities and timings were compared between arousals of different causes. RESULTS: The majority of the studied arousals induced photoplethysmogram responses. The frequency response was more intense ([Formula: see text]) after respiratory than spontaneous arousals, and after arousals caused by apneas compared to those caused by hypopneas. The amplitude response was stronger ([Formula: see text]) following hypopneas associated with blood oxygen desaturations compared to those that were not. The delays of these responses relative to the electroencephalogram arousal start times were the longest ([Formula: see text]) after arousals caused by apneas and the shortest after spontaneous arousals and arousals caused by hypopneas without blood oxygen desaturations. CONCLUSION: The presence and type of an airway obstruction and the presence of a blood oxygen desaturation affect the intensity and the timing of photoplethysmogram responses to arousals from sleep. CLINICAL IMPACT: The photoplethysmogram responses could be used for detecting arousals and assessing their intensity, and the individual variation in the response intensity and timing may hold diagnostically significant information.

The relationship between alpha power and heart rate variability commonly seen in various mental states.

The extensive exploration of the correlation between electroencephalogram (EEG) and heart rate variability (HRV) has yielded inconsistent outcomes, largely attributable to variations in the tasks employed in the studies. The direct relationship between EEG and HRV is further complicated by alpha power, which is susceptible to influences such as mental fatigue and sleepiness. This research endeavors to examine the brain-heart interplay typically observed during periods of music listening and rest. In an effort to mitigate the indirect effects of mental states on alpha power, subjective fatigue and sleepiness were measured during rest, while emotional valence and arousal were evaluated during music listening. Partial correlation analyses unveiled positive associations between occipital alpha2 power (10-12 Hz) and nHF, an indicator of parasympathetic activity, under both music and rest conditions. These findings underscore brain-heart interactions that persist even after the effects of other variables have been accounted for.

Classification and automatic scoring of arousal intensity during sleep stages using machine learning.

Arousal during sleep can result in sleep fragmentation and various physiological effects, impairing cognitive function and raising blood pressure and heart rate. However, the current definition of arousal has limitations in assessing both amplitude and duration, making it challenging to measure sleep fragmentation accurately. Moreover, there is inconsistency among inter-raters in arousal scoring, which renders it susceptible to subjective variability. Therefore, this study aims to identify a highly accurate classifier for each sleep stage by employing optimized feature selection and machine learning models. According to electroencephalography (EEG) signals during the arousal phase, the intensity level was categorized into four levels. For control, the non-arousal cases were used as level 0 and referred as sham arousal, resulting in five arousal intensity levels. Wavelet transform was applied to analyze sleep arousal to extract features from EEG. Based on these features, we classified arousal intensity levels through machine learning algorithms. Due to the different characteristics of EEG in each sleep stage, the classification model was optimized for the four sleep stages. Excluding sham arousals, a total of 13,532 arousal events were used. The lowest intensity in the entire data, level 1, was computed to be 3107, level 2 was 3384, level 3 was 3472, and the highest intensity of level 4 was 3,569. The optimized classification model for each sleep stage achieved an average sensitivity of 82.68%, specificity of 95.68%, and AUROC of 96.30%. The sensitivity of the control, arousal intensity level 0, was 83.07%, a 1.25% increase over the unoptimized model and a 14.22% increase over previous research. This study used machine learning techniques to develop classifiers for each sleep stage, improving the accuracy of arousal intensity classification. The classifiers showed high sensitivity and specificity and revealed the unique characteristics of arousal intensity during different sleep stages. These findings represent a novel approach to arousal research and have implications for developing more accurate predictive models in sleep research.

Intracerebral Dynamics of Sleep Arousals: A Combined Scalp-Intracranial EEG Study.

As an intrinsic component of sleep architecture, sleep arousals represent an intermediate state between sleep and wakefulness and are important for sleep-wake regulation. They are defined in an all-or-none manner, whereas they actually present a wide range of scalp-electroencephalography (EEG) activity patterns. It is poorly understood how these arousals differ in their mechanisms. Stereo-EEG (SEEG) provides the unique opportunity to record intracranial activities in superficial and deep structures in humans. Using combined polysomnography and SEEG, we quantitatively categorized arousals during nonrapid eye movement sleep into slow wave (SW) and non-SW arousals based on whether they co-occurred with a scalp-EEG SW event. We then investigated their intracranial correlates in up to 26 brain regions from 26 patients (12 females). Across both arousal types, intracranial theta, alpha, sigma, and beta activities increased in up to 25 regions (p < 0.05; d = 0.06-0.63), while gamma and high-frequency (HF) activities decreased in up to 18 regions across the five brain lobes (p < 0.05; d = 0.06-0.44). Intracranial delta power widely increased across five lobes during SW arousals (p < 0.05 in 22 regions; d = 0.10-0.39), while it widely decreased during non-SW arousals (p < 0.05 in 19 regions; d = 0.10-0.30). Despite these main patterns, unique activities were observed locally in some regions such as the hippocampus and middle cingulate cortex, indicating spatial heterogeneity of arousal responses. Our results suggest that non-SW arousals correspond to a higher level of brain activation than SW arousals. The decrease in HF activities could potentially explain the absence of awareness and recollection during arousals.

Multimodal Physiological Analysis of Impact of Emotion on Cognitive Control in VR.

Cognitive control is often perplexing to elucidate and can be easily influenced by emotions. Understanding the individual cognitive control level is crucial for enhancing VR interaction and designing adaptive and self-correcting VR/AR applications. Emotions can reallocate processing resources and influence cognitive control performance. However, current research has primarily emphasized the impact of emotional valence on cognitive control tasks, neglecting emotional arousal. In this study, we comprehensively investigate the influence of emotions on cognitive control based on the arousal-valence model. A total of 26 participants are recruited, inducing emotions through VR videos with high ecological validity and then performing related cognitive control tasks. Leveraging physiological data including EEG, HRV, and EDA, we employ classification techniques such as SVM, KNN, and deep learning to categorize cognitive control levels. The experiment results demonstrate that high-arousal emotions significantly enhance users' cognitive control abilities. Utilizing complementary information among multi-modal physiological signal features, we achieve an accuracy of 84.52% in distinguishing between high and low cognitive control. Additionally, time-frequency analysis results confirm the existence of neural patterns related to cognitive control, contributing to a better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive control in VR. Our research indicates that physiological signals measured from both the central and autonomic nervous systems can be employed for cognitive control classification, paving the way for novel approaches to improve VR/AR interactions.

The effects of music and auditory stimulation on autonomic arousal, cognition and attention: A systematic review.

According to the arousal-mood hypothesis, changes in arousal and mood when exposed to auditory stimulation underlie the detrimental effects or improvements in cognitive performance. Findings supporting or against this hypothesis are, however, often based on subjective ratings of arousal rather than autonomic/physiological indices of arousal. To assess the arousal-mood hypothesis, we carried out a systematic review of the literature on 31 studies investigating cardiac, electrodermal, and pupillometry measures when exposed to different types of auditory stimulation (music, ambient noise, white noise, and binaural beats) in relation to cognitive performance. Our review suggests that the effects of music, noise, or binaural beats on cardiac, electrodermal, and pupillometry measures in relation to cognitive performance are either mixed or insufficient to draw conclusions. Importantly, the evidence for or against the arousal-mood hypothesis is at best indirect because autonomic arousal and cognitive performance are often considered separately. Future research is needed to directly evaluate the effects of auditory stimulation on autonomic arousal and cognitive performance holistically.

Beat-to-beat cardiac repolarization lability increases during hypoxemia and arousals in obstructive sleep apnea patients.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with the progression of cardiovascular diseases, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death (SCD). However, the acute impacts of OSA and its consequences on heart function are not yet fully elucidated. We hypothesized that desaturation events acutely destabilize ventricular repolarization, and the presence of accompanying arousals magnifies this destabilization. Ventricular repolarization lability measures, comprising heart rate corrected QT (QTc), short-time-variability of QT (STVQT), and QT variability index (QTVI), were calculated before, during, and after 20,955 desaturations from lead II electrocardiography signals of 492 patients with suspected OSA (52% men). Variations in repolarization parameters were assessed during and after desaturations, both with and without accompanying arousals, and groupwise comparisons were performed based on desaturation duration and depth. Regression analyses were used to investigate the influence of confounding factors, comorbidities, and medications. The standard deviation (SD) of QT, mean QTc, SDQTc, and STVQT increased significantly (P < 0.01), whereas QTVI decreased (P < 0.01) during and after desaturations. The changes in SDQT, mean QTc, SDQTc, and QTVI were significantly amplified (P < 0.01) in the presence of accompanying arousals. Desaturation depth was an independent predictor of increased SDQTc (ß = 0.405, P < 0.01), STVQT (ß = 0.151, P < 0.01), and QTVI (ß = 0.009, P < 0.01) during desaturation. Desaturations cause acute changes in ventricular repolarization, with deeper desaturations and accompanying arousals independently contributing to increased ventricular repolarization lability. This may partially explain the increased risk of arrhythmias and SCD in patients with OSA, especially when the OSA phenotype includes high hypoxic load and fragmented sleep.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Nocturnal desaturations are associated with increased ventricular repolarization lability. Deeper desaturations with accompanying arousals increase the magnitude of alterations, independent of confounding factors, comorbidities, and medications. Changes associated with desaturations can partially explain the increased risk of arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in patients with OSA, especially in patients with high hypoxic load and fragmented sleep. This highlights the importance of detailed electrocardiogram analytics for patients with OSA.

The arousal effect of An-Gong-Niu-Huang-Wan on alcoholic-induced coma rats: A research based on EEG.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Acute alcohol intoxication is one of the leading causes of coma. A well-regarded Chinese herbal formula, known as An-Gong-Niu-Huang-Wan (AGNHW), has garnered recognition for its efficacy in treating various brain disorders associated with impaired consciousness, including acute alcohol-induced coma. Despite its clinical effectiveness, the scientific community lacks comprehensive research on the mechanistic aspects of AGNHW's impact on the electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns observed during alcohol-induced coma. Gaining a deeper understanding of AGNHW's mechanism of action in relation to EEG characteristics would hold immense importance, serving as a solid foundation for further advancing its clinical therapeutic application. AIM OF THE STUDY: The study sought to investigate the impact of AGNHW on EEG activity and sleep EEG patterns in rats with alcoholic-induced coma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A rat model of alcohol-induced coma was used to examine the effects of AGNHW on EEG patterns. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were intraperitoneally injected with 32% ethanol to induce a coma, followed by treatment with AGNHW. Wireless electrodes were implanted in the cortex of the rats to obtain EEG signals. Our analysis focused on evaluating alterations in the Rat Coma Scale (RCS), as well as assessing changes in the frequency and distribution of EEG patterns, sleep rhythms, and body temperature subsequent to AGNHW treatment. RESULTS: The study found a significant increase in the δ-band power ratio, as well as a decrease in RCS scores and ß-band power ratio after modeling. AGNHW treatment significantly reduced the δ-band power ratio and increased the ß-band power ratio compared to naloxone, suggesting its superior arousal effects. The results also revealed a decrease in the time proportion of WAKE and REM EEG patterns after modeling, accompanied by a significant increase in the time proportion of NREM EEG patterns. Both naloxone and AGNHW effectively counteracted the disordered sleep EEG patterns. Additionally, AGNHW was more effective than naloxone in improving hypothermia caused by acute alcohol poisoning in rats. CONCLUSION: Our study provides evidence for the arousal effects of AGNHW in alcohol-induced coma rats. It also suggests a potential role for AGNHW in regulating post-comatose sleep rhythm disorders.

Conceptual framework for tinnitus: a cognitive model in practice.

Tinnitus is a conscious attended awareness perception of sourceless sound. Widespread theoretical and evidence-based neurofunctional and psychological models have tried to explain tinnitus-related distress considering the influence of psychological and cognitive factors. However, tinnitus models seem to be less focused on causality, thereby easily misleading interpretations. Also, they may be incapable of individualization. This study proposes a Conceptual Cognitive Framework (CCF) providing insight into cognitive mechanisms involved in the predisposition, precipitation, and perpetuation of tinnitus and consequent cognitive-emotional disturbances. The current CCF for tinnitus relies on evaluative conditional learning and appraisal, generating negative valence (emotional value) and arousal (cognitive value) to annoyance, distress, and distorted perception. The suggested methodology is well-defined, reproducible, and accessible, which can help foster future high-quality clinical databases. Perceived tinnitus through the perpetual-learning process can always lead to annoyance, but only in the clinical stage directly cause annoyance. In the clinical stage, tinnitus perception can lead indirectly to distress only with experiencing annoyance either with (" I n d - 1 C " = 1.87; 95% CI 1.18-2.72)["1st indirect path in the Clinical stage model": Tinnitus Loudness → Attention Bias → Cognitive-Emotional Value → Annoyance → Clinical Distress]or without (" I n d - 2 C "= 2.03; 95% CI 1.02-3.32)[ "2nd indirect path in the Clinical stage model": Tinnitus Loudness → Annoyance → Clinical Distress] the perpetual-learning process. Further real-life testing of the CCF is expected to express a meticulous, decision-supporting platform for cognitive rehabilitation and clinical interventions. Furthermore, the suggested methodology offers a reliable platform for CCF development in other cognitive impairments and supports the causal clinical data models. It may also enhance our knowledge of psychological disorders and complicated comorbidities by supporting the design of different rehabilitation interventions and comprehensive frameworks in line with the "preventive medicine" policy.