The impact of face coverings on audio-visual contributions to communication with conversational speech.

The use of face coverings can make communication more difficult by removing access to visual cues as well as affecting the physical transmission of speech sounds. This study aimed to assess the independent and combined contributions of visual and auditory cues to impaired communication when using face coverings. In an online task, 150 participants rated videos of natural conversation along three dimensions: (1) how much they could follow, (2) how much effort was required, and (3) the clarity of the speech. Visual and audio variables were independently manipulated in each video, so that the same video could be presented with or without a superimposed surgical-style mask, accompanied by one of four audio conditions (either unfiltered audio, or audio-filtered to simulate the attenuation associated with a surgical mask, an FFP3 mask, or a visor). Hypotheses and analyses were pre-registered. Both the audio and visual variables had a statistically significant negative impact across all three dimensions. Whether or not talkers' faces were visible made the largest contribution to participants' ratings. The study identifies a degree of attenuation whose negative effects can be overcome by the restoration of visual cues. The significant effects observed in this nominally low-demand task (speech in quiet) highlight the importance of the visual and audio cues in everyday life and that their consideration should be included in future face mask designs.

Mechanism for High-Precision Control of Movement at Maximum Output in the Vertical Jump Task.

Human movements are governed by a tradeoff between speed and accuracy. Previous studies that have investigated the tradeoff relationship in sports movements involving whole-body movements have been limited to examining the relationship from the perspective of competition-specific movements, and the findings on whether the relationship is valid have not been unified. Therefore, this study incorporated a vertical jump task with the introduction of a condition in which landing position control was added to evaluate the essence of a sports movement that requires both speed and accuracy. Accuracy was examined using a method that quantifies the coordinates of the landing and takeoff positions using entropy. The mechanism of that tradeoff was then examined by confirming the phenomenon and analyzing the 3D vector trajectories. An increase in accuracy and a decrease in speed were observed when the landing position was the control target, even in the vertical jumping task normally performed at maximum effort, and the 3D velocity vector was characterized by the following: a reduced scalar and a more vertical direction. While the entropy from the takeoff to the landing position seemed to decrease when the accuracy of the landing position improved, the following noteworthy results were obtained given the characteristics of the vertical jump. Unlike traditional feedback control in the entropy reduction in hand movements, the trajectory is predetermined in a feedforward-like manner by controlling the initial velocity vector at takeoff, which allows the landing point to be adjusted.

On repeated diagnostic testing in screening for a medical condition: How often should the diagnostic test be repeated?

In screening large populations a diagnostic test is frequently used repeatedly. An example is screening for bowel cancer using the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) on several occasions such as at 3 or 6 days. The question that is addressed here is how often should we repeat a diagnostic test when screening for a specific medical condition. Sensitivity is often used as a performance measure of a diagnostic test and is considered here for the individual application of the diagnostic test as well as for the overall screening procedure. The latter can involve an increasingly large number of repeated applications, but how many are sufficient? We demonstrate the issues involved in answering this question using real data on bowel cancer at St Vincents Hospital in Sydney. As data are only available for those testing positive at least once, an appropriate modeling technique is developed on the basis of the zero-truncated binomial distribution which allows for population heterogeneity. The latter is modeled using discrete nonparametric maximum likelihood. If we wish to achieve an overall sensitivity of 90%, the FOBT should be repeated for 2 weeks instead of the 1 week that was used at the time of the survey. A simulation study also shows consistency in the sense that bias and standard deviation for the estimated sensitivity decrease with an increasing number of repeated occasions as well as with increasing sample size.

Studying daily fluctuations of emotional effort among nurses of intensive care units: the establishment of latent profiles and its relationship with daily secondary traumatic stress and vitality.

Introduction: Nursing professionals working in Intensive Care Units (ICU) face significant challenges that can result in secondary traumatic stress (STS). These challenges stem from witnessing patients' suffering and managing difficult tasks (i.e. communication with patients' relatives). Furthermore, these professionals encounter emotional demands, such as emotional effort, which is the dissonance between the emotion felt and the emotion that should be expressed to meet work expectations. Consequently, we aimed to investigate whether different profiles exist concerning nurses' levels of emotional effort over a five-day period and whether these profiles are related to daily STS and vitality. Methods: The sample comprised 44 nursing professionals from ICUs in Spanish hospitals. They were assessed daily, using a package of questionnaires twice per day for five working days: a) immediately after their shift and b) at a later time after working. Results: The findings revealed three distinct profiles based on emotional effort levels: high (Profile 1), moderate (Profile 2), and low (Profile 3). These profiles were found to be negative predictors for both daily shattered assumptions and symptomatology. Discussion: This study underscores the importance of assessing daily emotional demands in an ICU setting. Such assessments are crucial for establishing preventive measures to help nursing professionals manage lower-level emotional demands.

Concurrent validation of the resistance intensity scale for exercise for monitoring velocity-based training with elastic bands.

The aim was to evaluate the concurrent validity and reliability of the Resistance Intensity Scale for Exercise [RISE], which uses verbal descriptors, to quantify the intensity in velocity-based training with elastic bands. Eighteen trained volunteers performed parallel squats at maximum speed at 40%, 55%, 70%, and 85%1RM in four sessions, two for familiarization and two for reliability. Each set was stopped at a 10% intra-set velocity loss. Participants reported the perceived effort (easy-low-moderate-hard-maximal) at the first and last repetition. The concurrent validation was conducted with external load (i.e., mean propulsive velocity, weight, repetitions, and maximum power) and internal load parameters (i.e., heart rate). Participants' relative strength was calculated to assess its influence on the dependent variable. Acceptable concurrent validity and reliability (ICC>0.77, CV<21%) were observed, with the perceived effort being appropriate to differentiate between intensities and not being influenced by the participants' relative strength (p = 0.88). A categorical linear regression showed significant (p < 0.001) associations between the RISE scores and the weight, repetitions, and mean propulsive velocity (r = 0.43-0.63). The findings certify the usefulness of the perceived exertion for quantifying the intensity during velocity-based training with elastic bands. The perceived exertion of the first and last repetition favors a proper dosage of the training load.

Pupillary responses as a biomarker of cognitive effort and the impact of task difficulty on reward processing in schizophrenia.

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia robustly predict functional outcomes but remain relatively resistant to available treatments. Better measures of negative symptoms, especially motivational deficits, are needed to better understand these symptoms and improve treatment development. Recent research shows promise in linking behavioral effort tasks to motivational negative symptoms, reward processing deficits, and defeatist attitudes, but few studies account for individual or group (patient v. control) differences in cognitive ability to perform the tasks. Individuals with poorer abilities might be less motivated to perform tasks because they find them more difficult to perform. This study used a personalized digit span task to control task difficulty while measuring task effort via pupillary responses (greater dilation indicates greater cognitive effort) at varying monetary rewards ($1 & $2). Participants with schizophrenia (N = 34) and healthy controls (N = 41) performed a digit span task with personalized max span lengths and easy (max- 2 digits) and overload (max+ 2 digits) conditions. Consistent with many studies, pupillary responses (cognitive effort) increased with greater difficulty until exceeding capacity. A similar pattern of reward responsivity was seen in both groups, such that greater reward increased dilation (effort) comparably for both groups when difficulty was within capacity. Neither patients nor controls exerted increased effort for greater reward when difficulty exceeded capacity. In patients, positive relationships were found between pupil dilation and defeatist performance beliefs if task difficulty was within capacity; a relationship that reversed if the task was too difficult. The findings demonstrate the importance of accounting for cognitive capacity and task difficulty when evaluating motivation and reward sensitivity and illustrate the utility of pupillary responses as an objective measure of effort in schizophrenia.

Cardiac effort and 6-min walk distance correlate with stroke volume measured by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is associated with poor outcomes. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) is the gold standard for volumetric assessment, and few reports have correlated 6-min walk distance (6MWD) and cMRI parameters in PAH. Cardiac Effort, (the number of heart beats used during 6-min walk test)/(6MWD), incorporates physiologic changes into walk distance and has been associated with stroke volume (SV) measured by nuclear imaging and indirect Fick. Here, we aimed to interrogate the relationship of Cardiac Effort and 6MWD with SV measured by the gold standard, cMRI. This was a single-center, observational, prospective study in Group 1 PAH patients. Subjects completed 6-min walk with heart rate monitoring (Cardiac Effort) and cMRI within 24 h. cMRI was correlated to Cardiac Effort and 6MWD using Spearman Correlation Coefficient. Twenty-five participants with a wide range of RV function completed both cMRI and Cardiac Effort. There was a strong correlation between left ventricle SV index and both Cardiac Effort (r = -0.70, p = 0.0001) and 6MWD (r = 0.67, p = 0.0002). Cardiac Effort and 6MWD were statistically separated in patients at prognostically significant thresholds of left ventricle SV index (>31 ml/m2), RV Ejection Fraction (>35%), and SV/End Systolic Volume ( > 0.53). Cardiac Effort and 6MWD are noninvasive ways to gain insight into those with impaired SV. 6MWD may correlate better with SV than previously thought and heart rate monitoring provides physiologic context to the walk distance obtained.

Sleep effort and its measurement: A scoping review.

Insomnia disorder is characterized by disruption in sleep continuity and an overall dissatisfaction with sleep. A relevant feature of insomnia is sleep effort, which refers to both cognitive and behavioural conscious attempts to initiate sleep. The Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale is a self-report tool developed to assess this construct. The objective of the current scoping review was to map how sleep effort has been discussed in the literature and operationalized through its respective measure. Medline/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and PsycInfo databases were used to search for potential studies. The search query used in databases was the specific name of the self-reported tool itself (Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale) and "sleep effort" term. This scoping review followed JBI guidelines. To be included, records pertaining to any type of study that mentioned the Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale were considered. No language constraint was used. At the end, 166 initial records were retrieved. From those, 46 records met eligibility criteria and were analysed. Among the main findings, it was observed that the Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale has been increasingly used in recent years, with a notable observed upward trend, especially in the last 2 years. In addition to the original measure, only three published adapted versions of the instrument were identified. This suggests that there is limited research on adapting the scale for different populations or contexts. Sleep effort has been increasingly studied in the last few years. Nonetheless, more research on the Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale tool is recommended, including cross-cultural adaptations.

Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation conditions increased invigoration and wanting in depression.

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is often marked by impaired motivation and reward processing, known as anhedonia. Many patients do not respond to first-line treatments, and improvements in motivation can be slow, creating an urgent need for rapid interventions. Recently, we demonstrated that transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) acutely boosts effort invigoration in healthy participants, but its effects on depression remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of taVNS on effort invigoration and maintenance in a sample that includes patients with MDD, evaluating the generalizability of our findings. METHODS: We used a single-blind, randomized crossover design in 30 patients with MDD and 29 matched (age, sex, and BMI) healthy control participants (HCP). RESULTS: Consistent with prior findings, taVNS increased effort invigoration for rewards in both groups during Session 1 (p = .040), particularly for less wanted rewards in HCP (pboot < 0.001). However, invigoration remained elevated in all participants, and no acute changes were observed in Session 2 (Δinvigoration = 3.3, p = .12). Crucially, throughout Session 1, we found taVNS-induced increases in effort invigoration (pboot = 0.008) and wanting (pboot = 0.010) in patients with MDD, with gains in wanting maintained across sessions (Δwanting = 0.06, p = .97). CONCLUSIONS: Our study replicates the invigorating effects of taVNS in Session 1 and reveals its generalizability to depression. Furthermore, we expand upon previous research by showing taVNS-induced conditioning effects on invigoration and wanting within Session 1 in patients that were largely sustained. While enduring motivational improvements present challenges for crossover designs, they are highly desirable in interventions and warrant further follow-up research.

Do Longer Fins Improve Ocean Rescues? A Comprehensive Investigation into Lifeguard Performance and Physiological Impact.

Coastal environments present dynamic challenges necessitating rapid and efficient responses during aquatic emergencies. Lifeguards, as pivotal links in the intervention chain, rely on various tools, with rescue time being paramount. The choice of fins, specifically long versus short ones, plays a critical role in optimizing lifeguard performance during rescues. This randomized cross-over study explores the impact of flipper size on ocean rescues, employing a sample of 14 lifeguards. Long fins (LFs) and short fins (SFs) were compared in terms of rescue time (RT) and physiological load (PL). Tests included ocean rescues without fins (R), with LF (R-LF), and with SF (R-SF). Variables recorded encompassed swim approach time, tow-in time, overall rescue time, perceived exertion rates (RPEs), and post-rescue lactate concentration. Long fins demonstrated superior performance in swim approach and tow-in times compared to both short fins and no fins (p < 0.001). Overall rescue time favored long fins significantly (p < 0.001), indicating their efficiency in practical ocean rescue scenarios. Physiologically, long fins induced lower perceived exertion in arms (p = 0.033) compared to short fins. Lactate concentrations post-rescue revealed no significant differences (p > 0.05). This study demonstrates that long fins significantly improve lifeguard performance during ocean rescues, reducing rescue times and alleviating arm fatigue.

Energy Expenditure Validation of an Exergame Platform: Ring Fit Adventure Use in Adults with Overweight and Obesity.

Objective: This study aims at comparing the energy expenditure (EE) and heart rate (HR) data from Ring Fit Adventure (RFA) with those from indirect calorimetry (COSMED) and a heart rate monitor (Polar FT7). A secondary goal is to evaluate self-reported enjoyment and perceived effort levels. Materials and Methods: Thirty participants (age = 21.8 ± 2.2; body mass index = 31.8 ± 4.4) were recruited for two laboratory visits. The first visit involved baseline measurements. In the second visit, participants performed a 55-minute ad libitum exercise session with the RFA in adventure mode with moderate difficulty. During this session, EE, HR, perceived effort, and enjoyment of physical activity were recorded. Results: Although no statistically significant overestimation of EE was found between the RFA and the metabolic cart, two-way analysis of variance results show a main effect of condition (RFA vs. Polar FT7) on HR (122.8 ± 20.1 bpm and 129.0 ± 18.6 bpm; P = 0.007; ᶯp2 = 0.235). Based on comprehensive statistical evaluations, including the mean absolute percent error, intraclass correlations, typical error of measurement, and limits of agreement, the data suggest that the RFA provides reliable estimates for EE and HR. Overall, participants enjoyed the game considerably (71.3 ± 5.9/80 arbitrary units), and their reported perceived exertion was low. Conclusion: This study underscores that the RFA values are relatively accurate and precise, and thus it can be safely suggested for individuals with overweight and obesity to adopt an active lifestyle.

Effort-cost decision-making associated with negative symptoms in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Motivational deficits and reduced goal-directed behavior for external rewards have long been considered an important features of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ). Negative symptoms have also a high prevalence in bipolar disorder (BP). We used a transdiagnostic approach in order to examine association between negative symptoms and effort allocation for monetary rewards. 41 patients with SCZ and 34 patients with BP were enrolled in the study along with 41 healthy controls (HC). Effort-Expenditure for Rewards Task (EEfRT) was used to measure subjects' effort allocation for monetary rewards. Generalized estimating equation models were used to analyze EEfRT choice behavior. Negative symptoms were assessed using the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS). SCZ and BP groups expended lower effort to obtain a monetary rewards compared to HC. Severity of negative symptoms was negatively correlated with EEfRT performance in both diagnostic groups. Each diagnostic group showed lower effort allocation for monetary rewards compared to HC suggesting reduced motivation for monetary rewards. In addition, our results suggest that abnormal effort-based decision-making might be a transdiagnostic factor underlying negative symptoms.

Attention Mobilization as a Modulator of Listening Effort: Evidence From Pupillometry.

Listening to speech in noise can require substantial mental effort, even among younger normal-hearing adults. The task-evoked pupil response (TEPR) has been shown to track the increased effort exerted to recognize words or sentences in increasing noise. However, few studies have examined the trajectory of listening effort across longer, more natural, stretches of speech, or the extent to which expectations about upcoming listening difficulty modulate the TEPR. Seventeen younger normal-hearing adults listened to 60-s-long audiobook passages, repeated three times in a row, at two different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) while pupil size was recorded. There was a significant interaction between SNR, repetition, and baseline pupil size on sustained listening effort. At lower baseline pupil sizes, potentially reflecting lower attention mobilization, TEPRs were more sustained in the harder SNR condition, particularly when attention mobilization remained low by the third presentation. At intermediate baseline pupil sizes, differences between conditions were largely absent, suggesting these listeners had optimally mobilized their attention for both SNRs. Lastly, at higher baseline pupil sizes, potentially reflecting overmobilization of attention, the effect of SNR was initially reversed for the second and third presentations: participants initially appeared to disengage in the harder SNR condition, resulting in reduced TEPRs that recovered in the second half of the story. Together, these findings suggest that the unfolding of listening effort over time depends critically on the extent to which individuals have successfully mobilized their attention in anticipation of difficult listening conditions.

(Why) Do Transparent Hearing Devices Impair Speech Perception in Collocated Noise?

Hearing aids and other hearing devices should provide the user with a benefit, for example, compensate for effects of a hearing loss or cancel undesired sounds. However, wearing hearing devices can also have negative effects on perception, previously demonstrated mostly for spatial hearing, sound quality and the perception of the own voice. When hearing devices are set to transparency, that is, provide no gain and resemble open-ear listening as well as possible, these side effects can be studied in isolation. In the present work, we conducted a series of experiments that are concerned with the effect of transparent hearing devices on speech perception in a collocated speech-in-noise task. In such a situation, listening through a hearing device is not expected to have any negative effect, since both speech and noise undergo identical processing, such that the signal-to-noise ratio at ear is not altered and spatial effects are irrelevant. However, we found a consistent hearing device disadvantage for speech intelligibility and similar trends for rated listening effort. Several hypotheses for the possible origin for this disadvantage were tested by including several different devices, gain settings and stimulus levels. While effects of self-noise and nonlinear distortions were ruled out, the exact reason for a hearing device disadvantage on speech perception is still unclear. However, a significant relation to auditory model predictions demonstrate that the speech intelligibility disadvantage is related to sound quality, and is most probably caused by insufficient equalization, artifacts of frequency-dependent signal processing and processing delays.

The contribution of sensory information asymmetry and bias of attribution to egocentric tendencies in effort comparison tasks.

When comparing themselves with others, people often evaluate their own behaviors more favorably. This egocentric tendency is often categorized as a bias of attribution, with favorable self-evaluation resulting from differing explanations of one's own behavior and that of others. However, studies on information availability in social contexts offer an alternative explanation, ascribing egocentric biases to the inherent informational asymmetries between performing an action and merely observing it. Since biases of attribution and availability often co-exist and interact with each other, it is not known whether they are both necessary for the egocentric biases to emerge. In this study, we used a design that allowed us to directly compare the contribution of these two distinct sources of bias to judgements about the difficulty of an effortful task. Participants exhibited no attribution bias as judgements made for themselves did not differ from those made for others. Importantly, however, participants perceived the tasks they actively performed to be harder than the tasks they observed, and this bias was magnified as the overall task difficulty increased. These findings suggest that information asymmetries inherent to the difference between actively performing a task and observing it can drive egocentric biases in effort evaluations on their own and without a contribution from biases of attribution.

Reference values for leg effort during incremental cycle ergometry in non-trained healthy men and women, aged 19-85.

Heightened sensation of leg effort contributes importantly to poor exercise tolerance in patient populations. We aim to provide a sex- and age-adjusted frame of reference to judge symptom's normalcy across progressively higher exercise intensities during incremental exercise. Two-hundred and seventy-five non-trained subjects (130 men) aged 19-85 prospectively underwent incremental cycle ergometry. After establishing centiles-based norms for Borg leg effort scores (0-10 category-ratio scale) versus work rate, exponential loss function identified the centile that best quantified the symptom's severity individually. Peak O2 uptake and work rate (% predicted) were used to threshold gradually higher symptom intensity categories. Leg effort-work rate increased as a function of age; women typically reported higher scores at a given age, particularly in the younger groups (p < 0.05). For instance, "heavy" (5) scores at the 95th centile were reported at ~200 W (<40 years) and ~90 W (≥70 years) in men versus ~130 W and ~70 W in women, respectively. The following categories of leg effort severity were associated with progressively lower exercise capacity: ≤50th ("mild"), >50th to <75th ("moderate"), ≥75th to <95th ("severe"), and ≥ 95th ("very severe") (p < 0.05). Although most subjects reporting peak scores <5 were in "mild" range, higher scores were not predictive of the other categories (p > 0.05). This novel frame of reference for 0-10 Borg leg effort, which considers its cumulative burden across increasingly higher exercise intensities, might prove valuable to judging symptom's normalcy, quantifying its severity, and assessing the effects of interventions in clinical populations.

Less bang for my buck: Diminished anticipated enjoyment contributes to dysphoria-linked deficit in activity behavioural engagement choice.

This study experimentally investigated the role of anticipated enjoyment and effort in mediating dysphoria-related deficit in activity engagement behavioural choice. Using a novel activity information processing task (about a fictional "new" Nintendo Wii sports game called "Tornado Ball"), N = 249 participants (n = 95 High Dysphoria; n = 154 Low Dysphoria) were presented information about the benefits (enjoyable features) and costs (mental and physical effort barriers) as product reviews from another player. The order of cost vs. benefit information was manipulated such that participants either heard cost information before benefit information, or vice versa. They then rated what their anticipated enjoyment and effort will be if they were to play Tornado Ball, before being given the opportunity to choose to try it themselves or not. The High Dysphoria group reported lower anticipated enjoyment (but not higher effort) relative to the Low Dysphoria group, but only when cost information was presented first. Importantly, a moderated mediation showed that the High Dysphoria group reported lower tendency to choose activity engagement (game play) as a function of having lower anticipated enjoyment, but only when cost information was presented first. The present finding indicate that reduced anticipated enjoyment may causally contribute to dysphoria-linked deficits in activity engagement behavioural choice.

A novel method to quantify breathing effort from respiratory mechanics and esophageal pressure.

Breathing effort is important to quantify to understand mechanisms underlying central and obstructive sleep apnea, respiratory-related arousals, and the timing and effectiveness of invasive or non-invasive mechanically assisted ventilation. Current quantitative methods to evaluate breathing effort rely on inspiratory esophageal or epiglottic pressure swings or changes in diaphragm electromyographic (EMG) activity, where units are problematic to interpret and compare between individuals and to measured ventilation. This paper derives a novel method to quantify breathing effort in units directly comparable to measured ventilation by applying respiratory mechanics first principles to convert continuous transpulmonary pressure measurements into "attempted" airflow expected to have arisen without upper airway obstruction. The method was evaluated using data from eleven subjects undergoing overnight polysomnography, including 6 obese patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), including one who also had frequent central events, and 5 healthy-weight controls. Classic respiratory mechanics showed excellent fits of airflow and volume to transpulmonary pressures during wake periods of stable unobstructed breathing (mean ± SD r² = 0.94 ± 0.03), with significantly higher respiratory system resistance in patients compared to healthy controls (11.2 ± 3.3 vs 7.1 ± 1.9 cmH2O·l-1·sec, P=0.032). Subsequent estimates of attempted airflow from transpulmonary pressure changes clearly highlighted periods of acute and prolonged upper airway obstruction, including within the first few breaths following sleep onset in patients. This novel technique provides unique quantitative insights into the complex and dynamically changing inter-relationships between breathing effort and achieved airflow during periods of obstructed breathing in sleep.

"Encephalapp Stroop": Validity and reliability of a smartphone app to measure cognitive performance in physically active subjects.

This study aimed to analyze the validity and reliability of a smartphone app (i.e., Encephalapp Stroop) to measure cognitive performance. Ten physically active individuals (mean age: 25.2 ± 4.3 years) participated in three laboratory visits. In a randomized sequence, subjects completed cognitive assessments using the app and a computer separately. The response times from 100 measurements for congruent and incongruent stimuli were compared between the two devices (app and computer) using the intraclass correlation coefficient, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r), Cronbach's alpha (α), and Bland-Altman plots. There was excellent agreement between the computerized Stroop and the app version for response times for congruent (ICC = 0.806, p < 0.001; Bland-Altman bias = 41.3 ± 56.4 ms, p < 0.001) and incongruent stimuli (ICC = 0.755, p < 0.001; Bland-Altman bias = 76.4 ± 75.1 ms, p < 0.001). In comparison to the computerized version, the app demonstrated a moderate correlation for response times of congruent (r = 0.678, p < 0.001) and incongruent (r = 0.623, p < 0.001) stimuli. The results of the present study indicate that the response times of congruent and incongruent stimuli can be easily, accurately, and reliably evaluated using a mobile app.

Neural substrates of the interaction between effort-expenditure reward decision-making and outcome anticipation.

OBJECTIVE: Reward anticipation is important for future decision-making, possibly due to re-evaluation of prior decisions. However, the exact relationship between reward anticipation and prior effort-expenditure decision-making, and its neural substrates are unknown. METHOD: Thirty-three healthy participants underwent fMRI scanning while performing the Effort-based Pleasure Experience Task (E-pet). Participants were required to make effort-expenditure decisions and anticipate the reward. RESULTS: We found that stronger anticipatory activation at the posterior cingulate cortex was correlated with slower reaction time while making decisions with a high-probability of reward. Moreover, the substantia nigra was significantly activated in the prior decision-making phase, and involved in reward-anticipation in view of its strengthened functional connectivity with the mammillary body and the putamen in trial conditions with a high probability of reward. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the role of reward anticipation in re-evaluating decisions based on the brain-behaviour correlation. Moreover, the study revealed the neural interaction between reward anticipation and decision-making.