Replication and Meta-analysis of the Association between BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism and Cognitive Impairment in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy.

Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) adversely affects cancer patients. We had previously demonstrated that the BDNF Val66Met genetic polymorphism is associated with lower odds of subjective CRCI in the multitasking and verbal ability domains among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. To further assess our previous findings, we evaluated the association of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism with subjective and objective CRCI in a temporally separate cohort of patients and pooled findings from both the original (n = 145) and current (n = 193) cohorts in a meta-analysis. Subjective CRCI was assessed using FACT-Cog. Objective CRCI was evaluated using computerized neuropsychological tests. Genotyping was carried out using Sanger sequencing. The association of BDNF Val66Met genotypes and CRCI was examined with logistic regression. A fixed-effect meta-analysis was conducted using the inverse variance method. In the meta-analysis (n = 338), significantly lower odds of CRCI were associated with Met allele carriers based on the global FACT-Cog score (OR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.29-0.94). Furthermore, Met allele carriers were at lower odds of developing impairment in the domains of memory (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.17-0.70), multitasking (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.18-0.59), and verbal ability (OR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.24-0.88). Consistent with the previous study, lower odds of subjective CRCI among patients with the BDNF Met allele was observed after adjusting for potential confounders in the multitasking (OR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.14-0.67) domain. In conclusion, carriers of the BDNF Met allele were protected against global subjective CRCI, particularly in the domains of memory, multitasking, and verbal ability. Our findings further contribute to the understanding of CRCI pathophysiology

Analisis Perilaku Pengemudi Truk Serta Kontribusinya Pada Kecelakaan

ABSTRAKIn Indonesia, the death rate due to road traffic accidents is still quite high, with some of these accidents involving trucks. Several studies stated that the main cause of traffic accidents is human error. Therefore, research related to the behavior of truck drivers and their contribution to accidents is necessary.There are four variables used in this study, namely green driver (X1), multitasking driving (X2), aggressive driving (Y), and accidents (Z). Path analysis is used to describe the relationship and influence between variables.The results of the analysis show that the green driver variable and the multitasking driving variable simultaneously have a direct effect on aggressive driving behavior, but the two variables have no direct effect on the level of accident risk. Green drivers and multitasking driving have an indirect effect on the level of accident risk through the level of aggressive driving behavior which functions as an intervening variable.ABSTRAKDi Indonesia tingkat kematian yang diakibatkan  kecelakaan lalu lintas jalan masih cukup tinggi, dimana sebagian dari kecelakaan tersebut melibatkan kendaraan angkutan barang (truk). Beberapa penelitian menyebutkan bahwa penyebab utama terjadinya kecelakaan lalu lintas adalah human error. Oleh sebab maka penelitian terkait dengan perilaku pengemudi truk serta kontribusinya pada kecelakaaan perlu untuk dilakukan.Terdapat empat variabel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini yaitu variabel usia muda serta minim pengalaman (X1), mengemudi dalam kondisi multitasking (X2), mengemudi secara agresif (Y), dan potensi terjadinya kecelakaan (Z). Untuk menggambarkan hubungan dan pengaruh antar variabel digunakan analisis jalur (path analysis).Dari hasil analisis diketahui bahwa variabel usia muda serta minim pengalaman dan variabel mengemudi dalam kondisi multitasking secara simultan berpengaruh langsung terhadap perilaku mengemudi agresif, namun kedua variabel tidak berpengaruh langsung terhadap tingkat resiko kecelakaan. Usia muda serta minim pengalaman dan mengemudi dalam kondisi multitasking berpengaruh tidak langsung terhadap tingkat resiko kecelakaan melalui tingkat perilaku mengemudi agresif yang berfungsi sebagai variabel intervenin

Cognitive control in media multitaskers:Two replication studies and a meta-Analysis

Ophir, Nass, and Wagner (2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(37), 15583–15587) found that people with high scores on the media-use questionnaire—a questionnaire that measures the proportion of media-usage time during which one uses more than one medium at the same time—show impaired performance on various tests of distractor filtering. Subsequent studies, however, did not all show this association between media multitasking and distractibility, thus casting doubt on the reliability of the initial findings. Here, we report the results of two replication studies and a meta-analysis that included the results from all published studies into the relationship between distractor filtering and media multitasking. Our replication studies included a total of 14 tests that had an average replication power of 0.81. Of these 14 tests, only five yielded a statistically significant effect in the direction of increased distractibility for people with higher scores on the media-use questionnaire, and only two of these effects held in a more conservative Bayesian analysis. Supplementing these outcomes, our meta-analysis on a total of 39 effect sizes yielded a weak but significant association between media multitasking and distractibility that turned nonsignificant after correction for small-study effects. Taken together, these findings lead us to question the existence of an association between media multitasking and distractibility in laboratory tasks of information processing

Task errors by emergency physicians are associated with interruptions, multitasking, fatigue and working memory capacity: a prospective, direct observation study

Background Interruptions and multitasking have been demonstrated in experimental studies to reduce individuals’ task performance. These behaviours are frequently used by clinicians in high-workload, dynamic clinical environments, yet their effects have rarely been studied. Objective To assess the relative contributions of interruptions and multitasking by emergency physicians to prescribing errors. Methods 36 emergency physicians were shadowed over 120 hours. All tasks, interruptions and instances of multitasking were recorded. Physicians’ working memory capacity (WMC) and preference for multitasking were assessed using the Operation Span Task (OSPAN) and Inventory of Polychronic Values. Following observation, physicians were asked about their sleep in the previous 24 hours. Prescribing errors were used as a measure of task performance. We performed multivariate analysis of prescribing error rates to determine associations with interruptions and multitasking, also considering physician seniority, age, psychometric measures, workload and sleep. Results Physicians experienced 7.9 interruptions/hour. 28 clinicians were observed prescribing 239 medication orders which contained 208 prescribing errors. While prescribing, clinicians were interrupted 9.4 times/hour. Error rates increased significantly if physicians were interrupted (rate ratio (RR) 2.82; 95% CI 1.23 to 6.49) or multitasked (RR 1.86; 95% CI 1.35 to 2.56) while prescribing. Having below-average sleep showed a >15-fold increase in clinical error rate (RR 16.44; 95% CI 4.84 to 55.81). WMC was protective against errors; for every 10-point increase on the 75-point OSPAN, a 19% decrease in prescribing errors was observed. There was no effect of polychronicity, workload, physician gender or above-average sleep on error rates. Conclusion Interruptions, multitasking and poor sleep were associated with significantly increased rates of prescribing errors among emergency physicians. WMC mitigated the negative influence of these factors to an extent. These results confirm experimental findings in other fields and raise questions about the acceptability of the high rates of multitasking and interruption in clinical environments

Acute and Chronic Effects of Green Oat (Avena sativa) Extract on Cognitive Function and Mood during a Laboratory Stressor in Healthy Adults: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study in Healthy Humans

Green oat (Avena sativa) extracts contain several groups of potentially psychoactive phytochemicals. Previous research has demonstrated improvements in cognitive function following a single dose of these extracts, but not following chronic supplementation. Additionally, whilst green oat extracts contain phytochemicals that may improve mood or protect against stress, for instance species-specific triterpene saponins, to date this possibility has not been examined. The current study investigated the effects of a single dose and four weeks of administration of a novel, Avena sativa herbal extract (cognitaven®) on cognitive function and mood, and changes in psychological state during a laboratory stressor. The study adopted a dose-ranging, double-blind, randomised, parallel groups design in which 132 healthy males and females (35 to 65 years) received either 430 mg, 860 mg, 1290 mg green oat extract or placebo for 29 days. Assessments of cognitive function, mood and changes in psychological state during a laboratory stressor (Observed Multitasking Stressor) were undertaken pre-dose and at 2 h and 4 h post-dose on the first (Day 1) and last days (Day 29) of supplementation. The results showed that both a single dose of 1290 mg and, to a greater extent, supplementation for four weeks with both 430 mg and 1290 mg green oat extract resulted in significantly improved performance on a computerised version of the Corsi Blocks working memory task and a multitasking task (verbal serial subtractions and computerised tracking) in comparison to placebo. After four weeks, the highest dose also decreased the physiological response to the stressor in terms of electrodermal activity. There were no treatment-related effects on mood. These results confirm the acute cognitive effects of Avena sativa extracts and are the first to demonstrate that chronic supplementation can benefit cognitive function and modulate the physiological response to a stressor

"Women Are Better Than Men" - Public Beliefs on Gender Differences and Other Aspects in Multitasking.

Reports in public media suggest the existence of a stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. The present online survey aimed at supporting this incidental observation by empirical data. For this, 488 participants from various ethnic backgrounds (US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, and others) filled out a self-developed online-questionnaire. Results showed that overall more than 50% of the participants believed in gender differences in multitasking abilities. Of those who believed in gender differences, a majority of 80% believed that women were better at multitasking. The main reasons for this were believed to be an evolutionary advantage and more multitasking practice in women, mainly due to managing children and household and/or family and job. Findings were consistent across the different countries, thus supporting the existence of a widespread gender stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. Further questionnaire results provided information about the participants' self-rated own multitasking abilities, and how they conceived multitasking activities such as childcare, phoning while driving, and office work

Personality, Technology, and Learning

Computers continued encroachment on today’s society can be seen in a college lecture hall, where a growing number of students use laptops for their academic needs. Current academic laptop use research predominantly makes broad generalizations across users, indicating that laptop use in the classroom has negative influences on academic outcomes. However, this research neglects to take into account possible individual differences in the users. It is hypothesized that students\u27 levels of conscientiousness and impulsivity would moderate the relationship between laptop use and academic performance, while a student’s multitasking experience would mediate this same relationship, forming a moderated mediation model. Using an online sample of college aged students (N= 195), the hypothesized moderated mediation model was not supported. Students\u27 levels of conscientiousness or impulsivity do not moderate the relationship between laptop use and academic performance, and a student’s multitasking experience does not mediate this same relationship

Multitasking effects on individual performance : an experimental eye-tracking study

Purpose: The main objective of this research is to identify the impact of parallel performance of various tasks on the individual effectiveness. Moreover, a methodological goal was set for the research to explore the possibilities of using eye-tracking in the studies of multitasking. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study was conducted in the form of an experiment. All participants worked at the same computer station time was measured with Eye Tracker. Findings: It was confirmed that multitasking requires more time to accomplish tasks and deteriorates creativity, but not correctness of the answers in case of simple tasks. Interestingly, in case of multitasking under time pressure, the performance was worse. Practical Implications: Deeper understanding of the determinants and effects of multitasking on organizational and individual performance enables the adjustment of work organization and management style in order to achieve optimal results. Originality/Value: This paper brings new insights to the studies of multitasking not only in terms of the results of an experimental research, but also in terms of methodological concerns like eye-tracking as a new method of empirical diagnosis.peer-reviewe

Alcohol Hangover and Multitasking: Effects on Mood, Cognitive Performance, Stress Reactivity, and Perceived Effort

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of hangover on mood, multitasking ability, and psychological stress reactivity to cognitive demand. Using a crossover design and semi-naturalistic methodology, 25 participants attended the laboratory in the morning following a night of (i) alcohol abstinence and (ii) alcohol self-administration during a typical night out (with order counterbalanced across participants). They completed a four-module multitasking framework (MTF, a widely used laboratory stressor) and a battery of questionnaires assessing mood, hangover symptom severity, and previous night’s sleep. The effects of the MTF on mood and perceived workload were also assessed. Participants in the hangover condition reported significantly lower alertness and contentment coupled with a higher mental fatigue and anxiety. Multitasking ability was also significantly impaired in the hangover condition. Completion of the cognitive stressor increased reported levels of mental demand, effort, and frustration, and decreased perceived level of performance. MTF completion did not differentially affect mood. Lastly, participants rated their sleep as significantly worse during the night prior to the hangover compared with the control condition. These findings confirm the negative cognitive and mood effects of hangover on mood. They also demonstrate that hangover is associated with greater perceived effort during task performance

Media Multitasking Among American Youth: Prevalence, Predictors and Pairings

In recent years, the issue of media multitasking has sparked a broad discussion about the potential impact on children and youth and has raised concerns among non-profits about how best to engage young people with social marketing campaigns.To help advance understanding about the issues that surround media multitasking, the Kaiser Family Foundation hosted a forum, The Teen Media Juggling Act: The Implications of Media Multitasking Among American Youth.Forum participants included executives from MTV and eMarketer, a leading market research firm, along with one of the nation's top cognitive neuroscientists, and experts on media use among young people