Dynamic Emotion Recognition and Social Inference Ability in Traumatic Brain Injury: An Eye-Tracking Comparison Study.

Emotion recognition and social inference impairments are well-documented features of post-traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet the mechanisms underpinning these are not fully understood. We examined dynamic emotion recognition, social inference abilities, and eye fixation patterns between adults with and without TBI. Eighteen individuals with TBI and 18 matched non-TBI participants were recruited and underwent all three components of The Assessment of Social Inference Test (TASIT). The TBI group were less accurate in identifying emotions compared to the non-TBI group. Individuals with TBI also scored lower when distinguishing sincere and sarcastic conversations, but scored similarly to those without TBI during lie vignettes. Finally, those with TBI also had difficulty understanding the actor's intentions, feelings, and beliefs compared to participants without TBI. No group differences were found for eye fixation patterns, and there were no associations between fixations and behavioural accuracy scores. This conflicts with previous studies, and might be related to an important distinction between static and dynamic stimuli. Visual strategies appeared goal- and stimulus-driven, with attention being distributed to the most diagnostic area of the face for each emotion. These findings suggest that low-level visual deficits may not be modulating emotion recognition and social inference disturbances post-TBI.

Behavioural and electrophysiological correlates of lightness contrast and assimilation.

Lightness contrast and assimilation are opposite phenomena: in contrast grey targets appear darker when bordering bright rather than dark surfaces; in assimilation grey targets appear lighter when bordering bright rather than dark surfaces. The underlying neurophysiological mechanisms of these phenomena are not known. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between contrast and assimilation, and the timing and levels of perceptual and cognitive processing using combined behavioural and electrophysiological methods. Thirty undergraduate students (23 female, age range 18-48 years) participated in a forced-choice (grey target is lighter/darker than a comparison square) task, using stimuli designed such that the inducers were in two configurations (small and large) and two shades (white and black). The behavioural data (more consistent and faster responses) corroborated previous findings of stronger contrast effects with white inducers and stronger assimilation effects with black inducers. According to the Event-Related Potentials (ERP) results the mean amplitude was larger in conditions with less consistent and slower behavioural responses. Thus, with contrast responses P1 amplitude was larger with black than white inducers, and N1 amplitude was larger to assimilation than contrast when the configuration of the stimulus was held constant. These results suggest contrast may occur as early as P1 (~ 110 ms) and assimilation may occur later in N2 (~ 220 ms), whereas in some conditions, differences in ERPs associated with contrast vs assimilation may happen as early as in N1 (~ 170 m), in occipital and parietal cortical sites.

Depth Plane Separation Affects Both Lightness Contrast and Assimilation.

Lightness contrast and assimilation are two opposite phenomena: contrast occurs when a gray target perceptually acquires a complementary color than the bordering, inducing, surfaces; assimilation is when a gray target perceptually acquires the same color component as the inducers. Previous research has shown that both phenomena are affected by the manipulation of depth between the inducers and target. However, different results have been reported; it is not clear whether contrast persists when inducers are non-coplanar with the target. Previous studies differ for the spatial configuration of the stimuli and the technique adopted to manipulate depth. The aim of this research was to measure the effects of manipulating the depth between inducers and target in comparable conditions. Results show that contrast persists, but largely reduces, after depth manipulation while assimilation reverses to contrast. Furthermore, interesting asymmetries between white and black inducers emerged with white inducers favoring contrast and black inducers favoring assimilation. These results provide further evidence that high-level processes of visual processing are involved in both phenomena, with important consequences for lightness theories.

Local biases drive, but do not determine, the perception of illusory trajectories.

When a dot moves horizontally across a set of tilted lines of alternating orientations, the dot appears to be moving up and down along its trajectory. This perceptual phenomenon, known as the slalom illusion, reveals a mismatch between the veridical motion signals and the subjective percept of the motion trajectory, which has not been comprehensively explained. In the present study, we investigated the empirical boundaries of the slalom illusion using psychophysical methods. The phenomenon was found to occur both under conditions of smooth pursuit eye movements and constant fixation, and to be consistently amplified by intermittently occluding the dot trajectory. When the motion direction of the dot was not constant, however, the stimulus display did not elicit the expected illusory percept. These findings confirm that a local bias towards perpendicularity at the intersection points between the dot trajectory and the tilted lines cause the illusion, but also highlight that higher-level cortical processes are involved in interpreting and amplifying the biased local motion signals into a global illusion of trajectory perception.

Age Group Differences in Household Accident Risk Perceptions and Intentions to Reduce Hazards.

Very little is known about the extent to which seemingly vulnerable younger and older adults appraise household risks and relatedly whether safety information focused on raising risk awareness influences intentions to reduce hazards in the home. The present study assessed age differences in accident experience, risk attitudes, household accident risk perceptions, comparative optimism, personal control, efficacy judgements, and intentions to remove household hazards. It also examined the predictors of these intentions. Thirty-eight younger adults (aged 18 to 25) and forty older adults (aged 65 to 87) completed study booklets containing all measures. There were significant age group differences for all accident experience and risk-related variables. Younger adults experienced more accidents, had riskier attitudes, and had significantly lower cognitive risk perceptions (i.e., they were less likely to be injured due to a household accident). They also had lower affective risk perceptions (i.e., they were less worried) about their accident risk and perceived more personal control over the risk compared with older adults. Young adults were comparatively optimistic about their risk while older adults were pessimistic. Older adults had higher response efficacy and intentions to reduce hazards in the home. Only worry, response efficacy, and risk attitudes predicted intention, however, these relationships were not moderated by age or efficacy appraisal. Although tentative theoretical and practical implications are presented, further research is required in order to better understand the objective and subjective risk associated with household accidents, and to determine the factors that may improve safety, particularly for those most vulnerable.

The therapeutic potential of attentional bias modification training for insomnia: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of attentional bias modification (ABM) as a treatment for anxiety and depression has been extensively studied with promising results. Despite some evidence of sleep-related attentional biases in insomnia, only a small number of studies, yielding mixed results, have examined the application of ABM in insomnia. This study specifically aims to determine whether ABM can reduce (i) the presence of an attentional bias for sleep-related threatening words; (ii) insomnia symptom severity; (iii) sleep onset latency; and (iv) pre-sleep cognitive arousal amongst individuals with insomnia compared to a non-treatment control group of individuals with insomnia. METHODS/DESIGN: We propose a randomised controlled trial of 90 individuals from the general population who meet the criteria for Insomnia Disorder. Following an initial examination for the presence of a sleep-related attentional bias using the dot-probe paradigm, participants will be randomised to an online attentional bias modification training condition, or to a standard attentional bias task (non-treatment) control condition. Both conditions will be delivered online by a web platform. All participants allocated to the non-treatment control group will be offered ABM training once the study is complete. The primary outcome will be the attentional bias indices of vigilance and disengagement and self-reported insomnia symptoms, sleep onset latency and pre-sleep cognitive arousal. Attentional bias and insomnia symptoms will be assessed at baseline (day 1) and post-treatment (2 days after the final training session: day 9). Insomnia symptoms will be again assessed at follow-up (day 16). Secondary outcomes include examining whether sleep associated monitoring and worry are related to a sleep-related attentional bias in insomnia, and whether such reports reduce following ABM. All main analyses will be carried out on completion of follow-up assessments. The trial is supported by the Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics at Sheffield Hallam University. DISCUSSION: This study will extend the research base examining the efficacy of attentional bias modification for insomnia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN ( ISRCTN11643569 , registered on 5 June 2018).

Sleep-related attentional bias for tired faces in insomnia: Evidence from a dot-probe paradigm.

People with insomnia often display an attentional bias for sleep-specific stimuli. However, prior studies have mostly utilized sleep-related words and images, and research is yet to examine whether people with insomnia display an attentional bias for sleep-specific (i.e. tired appearing) facial stimuli. This study aimed to examine whether individuals with insomnia present an attentional bias for sleep-specific faces depicting tiredness compared to normal-sleepers. Additionally, we aimed to determine whether the presence of an attentional bias was characterized by vigilance or disengagement. Forty-one individuals who meet the DSM-5 criteria for Insomnia Disorder and 41 normal-sleepers completed a dot-probe task comprising of neutral and sleep-specific tired faces. The results demonstrated that vigilance and disengagement scores differed significantly between the insomnia and normal-sleeper groups. Specifically, individuals with insomnia displayed difficulty in both orienting to and disengaging attention from tired faces compared to normal-sleepers. Using tired facial stimuli, the current study provides novel evidence that insomnia is characterized by a sleep-related attentional bias. These outcomes support cognitive models of insomnia by suggesting that individuals with insomnia monitor tiredness in their social environment.

On the perceptual aesthetics of interactive objects.

This study examined the aesthetics of interactive objects (IOs), which are three-dimensional physical artefacts that exhibit autonomous behaviour when handled. The aim of the research was threefold: first, to investigate whether aesthetic preference for distinctive objects' structures emerges in compound stimulation; second, to explore whether there exists aesthetic preference for distinctive objects' behaviours; and, finally, to test whether there exists aesthetic preference for specific combinations of objects' structures and behaviours. The following variables were systematically manipulated: (a) IOs' contour (rounded vs angular), (b) IOs' size (small vs large), (c) IOs' surface texture (rough vs smooth), and (d) IOs' behaviour (lighting, sounding, vibrating, and quiescent). Results show that behaviour was the dominant factor: it influenced aesthetics more than any other characteristic; vibrating IOs were preferred over lighting and sounding IOs, supporting the importance of haptic processing in aesthetics. Results did not confirm the size and smoothness effects previously reported in vision and touch, respectively, which suggests that the aesthetic preference that emerges in isolated conditions may be different in compound stimulation. Results corroborate the smooth curvature effect. We suggest that behavior may be an aesthetic primitive.

Charging and Transport Dynamics of a Flow-Through Electrode Capacitive Deionization System.

We present a study of the interplay among electric charging rate, capacitance, salt removal, and mass transport in "flow-through electrode" capacitive deionization (CDI) systems. We develop two models describing coupled transport and electro-adsorption/desorption which capture salt removal dynamics. The first model is a simplified, unsteady zero-dimensional volume-averaged model which identifies dimensionless parameters and figures of merits associated with cell performance. The second model is a higher fidelity area-averaged model which captures both spatial and temporal responses of charging. We further conducted an experimental study of these dynamics and considered two salt transport regimes: (1) advection-limited regime and (2) dispersion-limited regime. We use these data to validate models. The study shows that, in the advection-limited regime, differential charge efficiency determines the salt adsorption at the early stage of the deionization process. Subsequently, charging transitions to a quasi-steady state where salt removal rate is proportional to applied current scaled by the inlet flow rate. In the dispersion-dominated regime, differential charge efficiency, cell volume, and diffusion rates govern adsorption dynamics and flow rate has little effect. In both regimes, the interplay among mass transport rate, differential charge efficiency, cell capacitance, and (electric) charging current governs salt removal in flow-through electrode CDI.

The role of pain, perseverative cognition and goal adjustment in vasculitis-associated fatigue.

Fatigue is a common symptom associated with vasculitis and contributes significantly to impaired quality of life. Motivational control theory suggests a role for perseverative cognition and goal adjustment in fatigue. Therefore, this study investigated these potential predictors of fatigue in individuals with vasculitis. A total of 249 participants completed online questionnaires assessing fatigue, perseverative cognition, goal disengagement and goal reengagement, in addition to demographic and disease-related variables. Hierarchical regression analysis found only pain, sleep disturbance, disease activity and perseverative cognition to significantly predict fatigue. This highlights the importance of psychological factors in determining fatigue in those with vasculitis.

Attentional allocation of autism spectrum disorder individuals: Searching for a Face-in-the-Crowd.

A study is reported which tests the proposition that faces capture the attention of those with autism spectrum disorders less than a typical population. A visual search task based on the Face-in-the-Crowd paradigm was used to examine the attentional allocation of autism spectrum disorder adults for faces. Participants were required to search for discrepant target images from within 9-image arrays. Both participants with autism spectrum disorder and control participants demonstrated speeded identification of faces compared to non-face objects. This indicates that when attention is under conscious control, both autism spectrum disorder and typically developing comparison adults show an attentional bias for faces, which contrasts with previous research which found an absence of an attentional bias for faces in autism spectrum disorder. Theoretical implications of this differentiation are discussed.

Middle aortic syndrome--an 8-year story of pills, pretty balloons and struts.

BACKGROUND: Middle aortic syndrome (MAS) is an uncommon cause of hypertension in children. The management of hypertension secondary to MAS frequently requires several anti-hypertensive medications along with endovascular and often surgical intervention. CASE-DIAGNOSIS/TREATMENT: A 9-year-old boy presented with headaches and vomiting and was diagnosed with severe hypertension secondary to idiopathic MAS affecting a long segment of the abdominal aorta and left renal artery stenosis. Over the following 8 years his hypertension was successfully managed initially with percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty (PTA) of his left renal artery, followed by balloon dilatation of his abdominal aortic narrowing. He subsequently underwent abdominal aortic stent placement following failed repeat aortic balloon dilatation. Aged 17 years and 6 months he is now on a single anti-hypertensive agent with normal renal function and no evidence of target organ damage. CONCLUSION: In selected cases, MAS may be managed with PTA and stent placement with good long-term outcomes. Limited data on the use of PTA and stent insertion in children means that a structured approach to the management of refractory hypertension secondary to MAS remains elusive.

Central aortic blood pressure from ultrasound wall-tracking of the carotid artery in children: comparison with invasive measurements and radial tonometry.

Differences between central aortic root (c) and peripheral (p) systolic blood pressure (SBP) may be particularly marked in children, but noninvasive methods for assessing cSBP in children have not been validated. We compared estimates of cSBP obtained from radiofrequency ultrasound wall tracking of the carotid artery (ART.LAB system) with that measured directly by a catheter in the aortic root at the time of arterial cannulation. Carotid waveforms were calibrated from invasive measurements of mean and diastolic pressures. In 9 children aged 10.5 ± 5.0 years (mean ± SD), cSBP obtained from carotid wall tracking was highly correlated with invasive measures of cSBP (r=0.99) with mean (± SD) difference 3.9 ± 2.5 mm Hg. Second, we compared values of cSBP obtained from the carotid with those obtained using noninvasive applanation tonometry at the radial artery and a radial-to-aortic transfer function (SphygmoCor). Both carotid and radial tonometric measurements were calibrated from the same peripheral mean and diastolic measurements of blood pressure obtained by sphygmomanometry. In 84 children aged 13.2 ± 3.2 years, there was excellent agreement between the 2 methods (r=0.95; P<0.001) with mean difference 0.71 ± 3.7 mm Hg (95% confidence interval =-1.53 to 1.01). This invasive validation study confirms that cSBP as estimated by carotid wall tracking provides an acceptable measurement of true cSBP when calibration is from true mean and diastolic pressures. Close agreement of cSBP obtained by carotid wall tracking and radial tonometry suggests that these provide similar results when calibrated from the same peripheral blood pressure measurements.

What information do consumers consider, and how do they look for it, when shopping for groceries online?

Previous research investigating what information shoppers seek when purchasing groceries has used either lab-experiments or observed shoppers in supermarkets. The present research investigates this question in a relatively naturalistic online-grocery environment. Forty participants completed their weekly shopping online while their eye-movements were recorded. Ten of the participants were subsequently interviewed to gain insight into their information seeking behaviour. We found that, when looking for products, 95% of participants navigated through the 'virtual departments', 80% used the 'search' facility, and 68% browsed the special offer pages. Once on the product pages, participants tended to look at the pictures of products, rather than examine detailed product information. To explain these findings, we suggest that online grocery sites simulate familiar supermarket environments, which may explain why consumers prefer to browse categories of products rather than use search terms. We also suggest that additional strategies are needed if consumers are to be encouraged to view detailed product information.

Emergency endovascular management of pulmonary artery aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms for the treatment of massive haemoptysis.

INTRODUCTION: In this study we report the results of endovascular techniques for the management of pulmonary artery aneurysms (PAA) and pseudoaneurysms (PAPS). METHODS: Cases with massive haemoptysis due to PAA and/or PAPS that were managed by endovascular means were included in the study. Clinical history and procedure details were analysed. Primary endpoints were immediate technical success and re-intervention rate; secondary endpoints were survival rate and relapse of bleeding. RESULTS: Among the 72 patients with massive haemoptysis who were treated in our department during an 8-year period, 6 patients with 6 lesions (2 PAA, 4 PAPS) fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the study. The mean age was 46.5 years; mean lesion diameter was 12.7 mm (range 4-22 mm); underlying pathologies were vasculitis (n=2), erosion by necrotic tumour (n=1), previous lung surgery (n=1) and infectious disease (n=2). Four lesions were treated with coils, 1 with coils and a bare stent, and 1 with a covered stent. The technical success was 100%. Mean follow-up was 20.4 months. The re-intervention rate was 50%, but in only 16.6% was it related to the treated lesions. Survival rate was 66.6%. There were no major or minor complications. CONCLUSION: Endovascular management offers a safe and effective solution for the emergency treatment of massive haemoptysis due to PAA and PAPS. A variety of endovascular devices may be used, according to the size and the anatomical location of the lesion.

Role of the femorofemoral crossover graft in acute lower limb ischemia due to acute type B aortic dissection.

Acute limb ischemia due to type B aortic dissection is rare and continues to be a management challenge. A case series is presented here with the aim of assessing the outcomes of treatment with a femorofemoral crossover graft with or without thoracic stent graft insertion. This is a combined retrospective and prospective review of nine cases of acute lower limb ischemia secondary to acute type B aortic dissection. The presenting features, radiological findings, treatment and outcomes were reviewed. Five patients had a femorofemoral crossover graft (FFXO) alone, two an FFXO with a thoracic stent graft and the eighth a thoracic and iliac stent. The other case was initially treated conservatively but subsequently required an FFXO. The mean follow-up was 16 (3-51) months. A further two thoracic stents were placed during the follow-up period. Thus five out of nine patients (56%) required aortic stenting. This series suggests that an FFXO is a reliable treatment for acute limb ischemia due to type B aortic dissection. However, these patients are often complex with ischemia in other vascular beds and are at risk of subsequent aneurysmal dilation.

Graphic imagery is not sufficient for increased attention to cigarette warnings: the role of text captions.

AIMS: The present study aims to assess the extent to which attention to UK cigarette warnings is attributable to the graphic nature of the content. DESIGN: A visual dot probe task was utilised, with the warnings serving as critical stimuli that were manipulated for the presence of graphic versus neutral image content, and the accompanying text caption. This mixed design yielded image content (graphic versus neutrally-matched images) and presence (versus absence) of text caption as within subjects variables and smoking status as a between-participants variable. SETTING: The experiment took place within the laboratories of a UK university. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-six psychology undergraduates (51% smokers, 69% female), predominantly of Caucasian ethnicity took part. MEASUREMENTS: Reaction times towards probes replacing graphic images relative to probes replacing neutral images were utilised to create an index of attentional bias. FINDINGS: Bias scores (M = 10.20 ± 2.56) highlighted that the graphic image content of the warnings elicited attentional biases (relative to neutral images) for smokers. This only occurred in the presence of an accompanying text caption [t (43) = 3.950, P < 0.001] as opposed to when no caption was present [t (43) = 0.029, P = 0.977]. Non-smokers showed no biases in both instances. CONCLUSIONS: Graphic imagery on cigarette packets increases attentional capture, but only when accompanied by a text message about health risks.

Attentional processing of faces in ASD: a Dot-Probe study.

The present study used the Dot-Probe paradigm to explore attentional allocation to faces compared with non-social images in high-functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing controls. There was no evidence of attentional bias in either group when stimuli were presented at individually calculated sub-threshold levels. However, at supra-threshold presentation (200 ms), a face bias was found for control participants but not for those with ASD. These results add to evidence of reduced social interest in ASD, relative to controls, and further demonstrate when atypical social processing arises in the attentional time course.

Evidence that process simulations reduce anxiety in patients receiving dental treatment: randomized exploratory trial.

Process simulations--mental simulations that ask people to imagine the process of completing a task--have been shown to decrease anxiety in students facing hypothetical or psychological threats in the short term. The aim of the present study was to see whether process simulations could reduce anxiety in a sample of the general population attending a dental practice, and whether these effects could be sustained throughout treatment. Participants (N=75) were randomized to an experimental condition where they were asked to simulate mentally the process of seeing the dentist, or to a control condition where they were asked to simulate mentally the outcome of seeing the dentist. Findings showed that participants in the experimental condition were significantly less anxious both before and after their consultations. Self-efficacy and self-esteem remained unchanged. This study suggests that process simulation is one active ingredient in anxiety treatment programs and further research is required to enhance its effects.