Neural Encoding of Attended Continuous Speech under Different Types of Interference.

We examined how attention modulates the neural encoding of continuous speech under different types of interference. In an EEG experiment, participants attended to a narrative in English while ignoring a competing stream in the other ear. Four different types of interference were presented to the unattended ear: a different English narrative, a narrative in a language unknown to the listener (Spanish), a well-matched nonlinguistic acoustic interference (Musical Rain), and no interference. Neural encoding of attended and unattended signals was assessed by calculating cross-correlations between their respective envelopes and the EEG recordings. Findings revealed more robust neural encoding for the attended envelopes compared with the ignored ones. Critically, however, the type of the interfering stream significantly modulated this process, with the fully intelligible distractor (English) causing the strongest encoding of both attended and unattended streams and latest dissociation between them and nonintelligible distractors causing weaker encoding and early dissociation between attended and unattended streams. The results were consistent over the time course of the spoken narrative. These findings suggest that attended and unattended information can be differentiated at different depths of processing analysis, with the locus of selective attention determined by the nature of the competing stream. They provide strong support to flexible accounts of auditory selective attention.

Emotional experiences and psychological well-being in 51 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges to psychological well-being, but how can we predict when people suffer or cope during sustained stress? Here, we test the prediction that specific types of momentary emotional experiences are differently linked to psychological well-being during the pandemic. Study 1 used survey data collected from 24,221 participants in 51 countries during the COVID-19 outbreak. We show that, across countries, well-being is linked to individuals' recent emotional experiences, including calm, hope, anxiety, loneliness, and sadness. Consistent results are found in two age, sex, and ethnicity-representative samples in the United Kingdom (n = 971) and the United States (n = 961) with preregistered analyses (Study 2). A prospective 30-day daily diary study conducted in the United Kingdom (n = 110) confirms the key role of these five emotions and demonstrates that emotional experiences precede changes in well-being (Study 3). Our findings highlight differential relationships between specific types of momentary emotional experiences and well-being and point to the cultivation of calm and hope as candidate routes for well-being interventions during periods of sustained stress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Bilingualism and language similarity modify the neural mechanisms of selective attention.

Learning and using multiple languages places major demands on our neurocognitive system, which can impact the way the brain processes information. Here we investigated how early bilingualism influences the neural mechanisms of auditory selective attention, and whether this is further affected by the typological similarity between languages. We tested the neural encoding of continuous attended speech in early balanced bilinguals of typologically similar (Dutch-English) and dissimilar languages (Spanish-English) and compared them to results from English monolinguals we reported earlier. In a dichotic listening paradigm, participants attended to a narrative in their native language while ignoring different types of interference in the other ear. The results revealed that bilingualism modulates the neural mechanisms of selective attention even in the absence of consistent behavioural differences between monolinguals and bilinguals. They also suggested that typological similarity between languages helps fine-tune this modulation, reflecting life-long experiences with resolving competition between more or less similar candidates. The effects were consistent over the time-course of the narrative and suggest that learning a second language at an early age triggers neuroplastic adaptation of the attentional processing system.

The effect of visual perceptual load on auditory awareness in autism spectrum disorder.

Recent work on visual selective attention has shown that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) demonstrate an increased perceptual capacity. The current study examined whether increasing visual perceptual load also has less of an effect on auditory awareness in children with ASD. Participants performed either a high- or low load version of a line discrimination task. On a critical trial, an unexpected, task-irrelevant auditory stimulus was played concurrently with the visual stimulus. In contrast to typically developing (TD) children, children with ASD demonstrated similar detection rates across perceptual load conditions, and reported greater awareness than TD children in the high perceptual load condition. These findings suggest an increased perceptual capacity in children with ASD that operates across sensory modalities.

Síndrome de Mallory-Weiss. Reporte de caso y breve revisión de la literatura / Mallory-Weiss syndrome. Case report and brief review of the literature

Resumen Introducción El síndrome de Mallory-Weiss se caracteriza por el desgarro longitudinal de la mucosa de la unión gastroesofágica. En el presente trabajo hemos realizado una breve revisión de la literatura de utilidad para el estudiante de medicina y la hemos acompañado de un caso clínico para ilustrar el contenido aquí desarrollado. Caso Paciente del sexo masculino, de 40 años de edad, que acudió al servicio de urgencias de nuestra institución por presentar hematemesis, melena, datos de hipovolemia, e hipo de 2 días de evolución. Como antecedentes de importancia refirió consumo de alcohol a razón de 15 copas cada tercer día. Durante la endoscopía diagnóstica se identificó en la unión esofagogástrica, un coágulo adherente a la mucosa de 5 mm, con lo que se diagnosticó un desgarro de Mallory-Weiss. El tratamiento se realizó mediante endoscopía. Se optó por una inyección local de adrenalina con colocación posterior de liga. El paciente fue dado de alta sin complicaciones. Conclusión Los estudios realizados sobre el síndrome de Mallory-Weiss han permitido actualizar la información que se tiene al respecto. El avance tecnológico y científico ha incrementado las tasas de éxito del manejo de esta identidad.

Abstract Introduction Mallory-Weiss syndrome is characterized by the longitudinal tear of the mucosa of the gastroesophageal junction. In the present work we have made a brief review of the literature useful for the medical student and we have accompanied a clinical case to illustrate the content developed here. Case A 40-year-old male attended the emergency department of our institution due to hematemesis, melena, hypovolemia, and 2-day history of hiccups. The patient referred alcohol consumption at a rate of 15 drinks every third day. During diagnostic endoscopy, a mucosal adherent clot of 5 mm was identified in the gastric esophageal junction, and a Mallory-Weiss tear was diagnosed. The treatment was performed by endoscopy. We opted for a local injection of Adrenaline with subsequent endoscopic ligation. The patient was discharged without complications. Conclusion The studies carried out on the Mallory-Weiss Syndrome have made it possible to update the information available. The technological and scientific advance has increased the success rates of the management of this identity.