Cognitive benefits of the attentional vs exergame training in older adults.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed at comparing the effectiveness of an Attentional Computerized Cognitive Training and a commercial Exergame Training. METHODS: Eighty-four healthy older adults took part in the study. They were randomly assigned to one of the following conditions: Attentional Computerized Cognitive Training (ATT-CCT), Exergame Training (EXERG-T), or passive Control Group (CG). Participants assigned to the experimental groups underwent 8 laboratory-based sessions-lasting approximately 45 min each-of the respective training activity. A battery of cognitive tests was assessed before, after, and 3 months following the intervention phase. RESULTS: The results showed that just the ATT-CCT improved participants' performance, specifically within attention, processing speed, verbal learning and memory. While both intervention groups revealed improved memory self-perception and decreased self-reported absent-mindedness, only the benefits following the ATT-CCT proved to be stable over time. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that our ATT-CCT may be an effective tool for enhancing cognitive abilities in older healthy adults.

Psychophysiological stress influences temporal accuracy.

Distortions of duration perception are often observed in response to highly arousing stimuli, but the exact mechanisms that evoke these variations are still under debate. Here, we investigate the effect of induced physiological arousal on time perception. Thirty-eight university students (22.89 ± 2.5; 28 females) were tested with spontaneous finger-tapping tasks and a time bisection task (with stimuli between 300 and 900 ms). Before the time bisection task, half of the participants (STRESS group) performed a stress-inducing task, i.e., the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), whereas the other participants (CONTROL group) performed a control task, the Paced Auditory Number Reading Task (PANRAT). The PASAT induced a greater heart rate, but not electrodermal, increase, as well as a more unpleasant and arousing state compared to the PANRAT. Moreover, although the two groups presented a similar performance at the finger-tapping tasks, participants in the STRESS group showed better temporal performance at the time bisection task (i.e., lower constant error) than the controls. These results indicate that psychophysiological stress may alter the subsequent perception of time.

Comparing different tests to detect early manifestation of prospective memory decline in aging.

OBJECTIVE: Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to perform future intentions. Previous studies have demonstrated that, compared to a younger cohort, healthy older adults have impairments in PM. Considering the importance of early detection of age-related PM decline, the present study aims to compare the performance of healthy older adults using three well-known PM tests commonly used in clinical settings. METHOD: In the present study, we tested 70 older adults (65-95 years old) using the Cambridge Prospective Memory Test (CAMPROMPT), the Memory for Intentions Screening Test (MIST) and the Royal Prince Alfred Prospective Memory Test (RPA-ProMem). In order to compare performance across tests and the interaction between age and cues, we performed a linear mixed model with random intercept and random slopes. Moreover, additional mixed models with random intercept were run for analyzing the additional information provided by MIST and RPA-ProMem regarding delay responses, response modality effects and type of errors committed. RESULTS: Our data showed a drop in PM performance as age increased detected by all three tests. Furthermore, CAMPROMPT was the most sensitive test to identify differences in PM for event-and time-based cues, at least for participants with 65-77 years old. When data were analyzed in term of delay responses, participants were more accurate for 2 min delay (MIST) and 30 in delay (RPA-ProMem). Participants were less accurate when response modality was "verbal" compared to "action" (MIST) and made more PM errors as age increased. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the study provides important information regarding age-related PM decline and can help researchers as well as clinicians in deciding the preferred test to evaluate PM performance.

Do I dislike what you dislike? Investigating the effect of disgust on time processing.

Time perception can be distorted by emotional stimuli. The present study aims to investigate the effect of disgust on time perception in young adults. Here, we report two experiments in which a time bisection task was used with intervals lasting 400 ms (short standard) to 1600 ms (long standard). In Experiment 1, temporal intervals were marked by neutral images or images from food (rotten, joyful), and facial (disgust, happy) categories. In Experiment 2, disgust-eliciting and neutral stimuli belonging to seven different domains were used: faces, food, animals, body products, injury/infections, death and hygiene. Results showed temporal overestimations when, compared to neutral conditions, disgusted faces (Experiments 1 and 2) and disgusting death and hygiene stimuli (Experiment 2) were used, and a temporal underestimation when images of rotten food (Experiment 1) were used. Results are discussed in terms of arousal-based and attention-based processes and showed that the degree of the emotional component influences time perception.

The role of time-monitoring behaviour in time-based prospective memory performance in younger and older adults.

Time-based prospective memory (TB-PM) is the ability to remember to perform an action at a specific moment in the future. Accurate TB-PM performance requires several cognitive processes that are known to decline in normal ageing. This study aimed to examine associations between TB-PM performance and executive functions and time perception in younger and older adults. TB-PM was assessed with the Virtual Week paradigm. Using a within-subjects experimental manipulation, participants performed TB-PM tasks both when a clock was in constant view and when it was hidden behind a button. Results showed that younger adults performed significantly better than older adults on all TB-PM task types, and checked the clock more often, and more strategically. Clock availability improved TB-PM performance in all participants. Correlational analyses showed that TB-PM accuracy was positively related to clock-checking frequency but unrelated to time perception. Relationships between executive functions and TB-PM differed across age groups as well as TB-PM task types. The findings suggest that different cognitive processes are required for different types of TB-PM tasks and in different ages. These results highlight the importance of considering TB-PM task parameters when investigating the role of cognitive processes in PM performance and their contribution to age-related PM decline.

Age-related changes in time production and reproduction tasks: Involvement of attention and working memory processes.

Several studies have reported age-related differences in time estimation, which have been attributed either to a slowing of the pacemaker rate with aging or to impaired attention and/or working resources in older adults. Here, we compared performance of young and older participants on time production/reproduction tasks and on working memory, divided attention, sustained attention and executive attention tasks. Results showed that relative to young participants, older adults significantly under-reproduced and tended to over-produce target durations. Neither attention nor working memory predicted time reproduction and production performance. Conversely, when temporal variability was considered, participants' temporal variability in time production tasks was exclusively accounted for by age, whereas variability in temporal reproduction was also explained by divided attention and working memory. Overall, our results extend previous investigations on timing abilities in the elderly and underscore the importance of divided attention and working memory in the maintenance of a stable representation of durations.

Lack of Temporal Impairment in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment.

In the present study, we investigate possible temporal impairment in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and the amount of temporal distortions caused by the presentation of emotional facial expressions (anger, shame, and neutral) in MCI patients and controls. Twelve older adults with MCI and 14 healthy older adults were enrolled in the present study. All participants underwent a complete neuropsychological evaluation. We used three timing tasks to tap temporal abilities, namely time bisection (standard intervals lasting 400 and 1600 ms), finger-tapping (free and 1 s), and simple reaction-time tasks. The stimuli used in the time bisection task were facial emotional stimuli expressing anger or shame to investigate a possible contribution of emotional information as previously observed in healthy adults. MCI patients showed temporal abilities comparable to controls. We observed an effect of facial emotional stimuli on time perception when data were analyzed in terms of proportion of long responses, and this result was mainly driven by the temporal overestimation when a facial expression of anger was presented in controls. Results seem to suggest that the severity of the cognitive dysfunction accounts more for subjective temporal impairment than a compromised internal clock.

Italian version and normative data of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III.

ABSTRACTObjectives:Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III (ACE-III) is a brief cognitive screening tool to assess five cognitive domains: attention/orientation, verbal fluency, memory, language, and visuospatial abilities. This study aimed to provide normative data (for total score and subscale scores) of the Italian version of ACE-III for gender, age, and education. METHODS: A total of 574 healthy Italian participants (mean age 68.70 ± 9.65; mean education 9.15 ± 4.04) were recruited from the community and included in the study. Linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the effects of age, gender, and education on the ACE-III total performance score. RESULTS: Age and education exerted a significant effect on total and subscale ACE-III scores, whereas gender was on attention/orientation, language, and visuospatial subscale scores. From the derived linear equation, correction grids to adjust raw scores and equivalent scores (ESs) with cut-off values were provided. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provided normative data, correction grids, and ESs for ACE-III in an Italian population.

Effect of the Symbolic Meaning of Speed on the Perceived Duration of Children and Adults.

The present study investigated how the symbolic meaning of speed affects time perception in children and adults. We employed a time reproduction task in which participants were asked to reproduce temporal intervals previously presented. In Experiment 1, 45 primary school children and 22 university students performed a time reproduction task with cars (meaning of fastness) and trucks (meaning of slowness) presented for 11 and 21 s in static and moving conditions. Results showed that young children under-reproduced the duration more than the older children and adults, especially when the stimulus presented was a car. Moreover, participants under-reproduced moving stimuli compared to static one. In Experiment 2, we tested 289 participants who were divided into nine different age groups according to their school class: five from primary school, three from Junior High, and one from the university. Participants performed a time reproduction task with a motorbike (meaning of fastness) or a bicycle (meaning of slowness) under static and moving conditions for 11, 21, and 36 s. The results confirmed the effects of symbolic meaning of speed on children's time perception and showed that vehicles that evoked the idea of fastness were under-reproduced compared to stimuli evoking the idea of slowness.

Dissociating Explicit and Implicit Timing in Parkinson's Disease Patients: Evidence from Bisection and Foreperiod Tasks.

A consistent body of literature reported that Parkinson's disease (PD) is marked by severe deficits in temporal processing. However, the exact nature of timing problems in PD patients is still elusive. In particular, what remains unclear is whether the temporal dysfunction observed in PD patients regards explicit and/or implicit timing. Explicit timing tasks require participants to attend to the duration of the stimulus, whereas in implicit timing tasks no explicit instruction to process time is received but time still affects performance. In the present study, we investigated temporal ability in PD by comparing 20 PD participants and 20 control participants in both explicit and implicit timing tasks. Specifically, we used a time bisection task to investigate explicit timing and a foreperiod task for implicit timing. Moreover, this is the first study investigating sequential effects in PD participants. Results showed preserved temporal ability in PD participants in the implicit timing task only (i.e., normal foreperiod and sequential effects). By contrast, PD participants failed in the explicit timing task as they displayed shorter perceived durations and higher variability compared to controls. Overall, the dissociation reported here supports the idea that timing can be differentiated according to whether it is explicitly or implicitly processed, and that PD participants are selectively impaired in the explicit processing of time.

Effects of happy and sad facial expressions on the perception of time in Parkinson's disease patients with mild cognitive impairment.

INTRODUCTION: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder caused by deterioration of the dopaminergic system. Previous studies have demonstrated temporal as well as emotional facial recognition impairment in PD patients. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that emotional facial expressions alter temporal judgments. In the present study, we investigate the magnitude of temporal distortions caused by the presentation of emotional facial expressions (happiness, sadness, and neutral) in PD patients with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) and controls. METHOD: Seventeen older adults with PD-MCI and 22 healthy older adults took part in the present study. Participants were tested with a time bisection task with standard intervals lasting 400 ms and 1600 ms. Moreover, a complete neuropsychological evaluation was conducted to characterize the sample. RESULTS: Differences between groups were observed indicating a general underestimation of time in PD-MCI patients. Temporal impairments in PD-MCI patients seem to be caused mainly by a dysfunction at the level of reference memory. The effect of emotional facial expressions on time perception was evident in both PD patients and controls, with an overestimation of perceived duration when happiness was presented and an underestimation when sadness was presented. CONCLUSION: Overall, our results indicate that reduced cognitive abilities might be responsible for the lower temporal ability observed in PD-MCI patients. Moreover, similar effects of emotional stimuli were observed in both PD-MCI patients and controls.

Improving prospective memory performance with future event simulation in traumatic brain injury patients.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have shown that traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients have difficulties with prospective memory (PM). Considering that PM is closely linked to independent living it is of primary interest to develop strategies that can improve PM performance in TBI patients. METHOD: This study employed Virtual Week task as a measure of PM, and we included future event simulation to boost PM performance. Study 1 evaluated the efficacy of the strategy and investigated possible practice effects. Twenty-four healthy participants performed Virtual Week in a no strategy condition, and 24 healthy participants performed it in a mixed condition (no strategy - future event simulation). In Study 2, 18 TBI patients completed the mixed condition of Virtual Week and were compared with the 24 healthy controls who undertook the mixed condition of Virtual Week in Study 1. All participants also completed a neuropsychological evaluation to characterize the groups on level of cognitive functioning. RESULTS: Study 1 showed that participants in the future event simulation condition outperformed participants in the no strategy condition, and these results were not attributable to practice effects. Results of Study 2 showed that TBI patients performed PM tasks less accurately than controls, but that future event simulation can substantially reduce TBI-related deficits in PM performance. The future event simulation strategy also improved the controls' PM performance. CONCLUSIONS: These studies showed the value of future event simulation strategy in improving PM performance in healthy participants as well as in TBI patients. PRACTITIONER POINTS: TBI patients performed PM tasks less accurately than controls, confirming prospective memory impairment in these patients. Participants in the future event simulation condition out-performed participants in the no strategy condition. Future event simulation can substantially reduce TBI-related deficits in PM performance. Future event simulation strategy also improved the controls' PM performance.

Virtual Week: Translation and adaptation for the Italian population.

The present study adapted a computerised version of Virtual Week, a laboratory measure of prospective memory designed to simulate the kinds of prospective memory tasks encountered in daily life. In particular, this study aimed to translate and adapt Virtual Week for an Italian population. We collected data from 198 subjects that were divided into five groups based on age: young-young adults (20-29 years, n = 47), young adults (30-45 years, n = 32), middle-age adults (46-59 years, n = 32), young-old adults (60-69 years, n = 41), and old-old adults (70 years plus, n = 39). Results showed that PM performance was best in younger adults, relatively stable over middle adulthood and then decreased with age, with older adults performing the least accurately, in particular for the time-based condition. Results also demonstrated good reliability estimates across a range of ages and task types. Thus, the adaptation of Virtual Week into Italian appears to be a reliable measure of prospective memory for the Italian population.

Time-based prospective memory difficulties in children with ADHD and the role of time perception and working memory.

Time-based prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to perform an intended action at a given time in the future. It is a competence that is crucial for effective performance in everyday life and may be one of the main causes of problems for individuals who have difficulty in planning and organizing their life, such as children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study systematically examines different aspects of time-based PM performance in a task that involves taking an action at a given future time in a group of 23 children with ADHD who were compared with a matched group of typically-developing (TD) children. The children were asked to watch a cartoon and then answer a questionnaire about its content (ongoing task). They were also asked to press a key every 2 minutes while watching the cartoon (PM task). The relationships of time perception and verbal working memory with PM performance were examined by administering appropriate tasks. The results showed that the children with ADHD were less accurate than the TD children in the PM task and exhibited less strategic time-monitoring behavior. Time perception was found to predict PM accuracy, whereas working memory was mainly involved in time-monitoring behavior, but this applied more to the TD group than to the ADHD group, suggesting that children with ADHD are less able to use their cognitive resources when meeting a PM request.

The impact of a concurrent motor task on auditory and visual temporal discrimination tasks.

Previous studies have shown the presence of an interference effect on temporal perception when participants are required to simultaneously execute a nontemporal task. Such interference likely has an attentional source. In the present work, a temporal discrimination task was performed alone or together with a self-paced finger-tapping task used as concurrent, nontemporal task. Temporal durations were presented in either the visual or the auditory modality, and two standard durations (500 and 1,500 ms) were used. For each experimental condition, the participant's threshold was estimated and analyzed. The mean Weber fraction was higher in the visual than in the auditory modality, but only for the subsecond duration, and it was higher with the 500-ms than with the 1,500-ms standard duration. Interestingly, the Weber fraction was significantly higher in the dual-task condition, but only in the visual modality. The results suggest that the processing of time in the auditory modality is likely automatic, but not in the visual modality.

Time perception in anxious and depressed patients: A comparison between time reproduction and time production tasks.

Several studies reported temporal dysfunctions in anxious and depressed patients. In particular, compared to controls, anxious patients report that time is passing fast whereas depressed patients report that time passes slowly. However, in some studies, no differences between patients and controls are reported. Direct comparison between studies may be complex because of methodological differences, including the fact of conducting investigations with different temporal ranges. In the present study, we tested a group of anxious patients, a group of depressed patients, and a control group with two temporal tasks (time reproduction and time production) with the same temporal intervals (500, 1000 and 1500ms) to further investigate the presence and cause of patients' temporal dysfunctions. Results showed that, compared to controls, anxious patients under-reproduced temporal intervals and depressed patients over-produced temporal intervals. The results suggest that time dysfunction in anxious patients would be mainly due to an attentional dysfunction whereas temporal dysfunction in depressed patients would be mainly due to variations in the pulses' emission rate of the pacemaker.

Effects of Emotional Facial Expression on Time Perception in Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

Previous studies have demonstrated that emotional facial expressions alter temporal judgments. Moreover, while some studies conducted with Parkinson's disease (PD) patients suggest dysfunction in the recognition of emotional facial expression, others have shown a dysfunction in time perception. In the present study, we investigate the magnitude of temporal distortions caused by the presentation of emotional facial expressions (anger, shame, and neutral) in PD patients and controls. Twenty-five older adults with PD and 17 healthy older adults took part in the present study. PD patients were divided into two sub-groups, with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI), based on their neuropsychological performance. Participants were tested with a time bisection task with standard intervals lasting 400 ms and 1600 ms. The effect of facial emotional stimuli on time perception was evident in all participants, yet the effect was greater for PD-MCI patients. Furthermore, PD-MCI patients were more likely to underestimate long and overestimate short temporal intervals than PD-non-MCI patients and controls. Temporal impairment in PD-MCI patients seem to be mainly caused by a memory dysfunction. (JINS, 2016, 22, 890-899).

Can concurrent memory load reduce distraction? A replication study and beyond.

The effects of concurrent working memory load in attentional processes have been 1 of the most puzzling issues in cognitive psychology. Studies have shown detrimental effects, no effects, and even beneficial effects of working memory load in different attentional tasks. In the present study we attempted to replicate Kim, Kim, and Chun's (2005, Experiment 3b) findings of beneficial effects of concurrent working memory load in a spatial Stroop-like task. In 3 experiments in which our sample was 3 times larger than that in the original Kim et al. study, we could not replicate their findings. The results are discussed in terms of what may have produced the conflicting results, trying to shed light on how working memory load affects attentional tasks. Also, we emphasize the importance of using adequately large samples in cognitive research. Although we acknowledge the relevance of meta-analyses to analyze conflicting results, in the present article we stress (perhaps more important) the power of an essential trademark in science for research development: replicability.

Heart rate variability helps tracking time more accurately.

Adequate temporal abilities are crucial for adaptive behavior. In time processing, variations in the rate of pulses' emission by the pacemaker are often reported to be an important cause of temporal errors. These variations are often associated with physiological changes, and recently it has also been proposed that physiological changes may not just vary the pulses' emission, but they can work as a timekeeper themselves. In the present study we further explore the relationship between temporal abilities with autonomic activity and interoceptive awareness in a group of thirty healthy young adults (mean age 24.18 years; SD=2.1). Using electrocardiogram, impedance cardiography and skin conductance measures, we assessed the relationship between the autonomic profile at rest and temporal abilities in two temporal tasks (time bisection and finger tapping tasks). Results showed that heart rate variability affects time perception. We observed that increased heart rate variability (HRV) was associated with higher temporal accuracy. More specifically, we found that higher vagal control was associated with lower error in producing 1-s tempo, whereas higher overall HRV was related with lower error (measured by the constant error) in the time bisection task. Our results support the idea that bodily signals may shape our perception of time.

Prospective memory performance in traumatic brain injury patients: a study of implementation intentions.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients often present with prospective memory (PM) dysfunction. Forgetting to complete tasks may result in a loss of independence, limited employment prospects and anxiety, therefore, it is important to develop programs to improve PM performance in TBI patients. A strategy which may improve PM performance is implementation intentions. It involves making explicit plans specifying when, where and how one will perform a task in the future. In the present study, a group of 36 TBI patients and a group of 34 controls performed Virtual Week using either implementation intentions or no strategy. The results showed that the PM performance of TBI patients was less accurate than controls, in particular when the PM cue was time-based. No effect of implementation intentions was observed for TBI patients, however, controls improved their PM performance when the task was time-based. The findings suggest that strategies to improve PM in this clinical group are likely to be more complex than those that benefit healthy adults and may involve targeting phases of the PM process other than, or in addition to, the intention formation phase.