Symmetry lasts longer than random, but only for brief presentations.

Previous research has shown that explicit emotional content or physical image properties (e.g. luminance, size and numerosity) alter subjective duration. Palumbo et al. (2015) recently demonstrated that the presence or absence of abstract reflectional symmetry also influenced subjective duration. Here, we explored this phenomenon further by varying the type of symmetry (reflection or rotation) and the objective duration of stimulus presentation (less or more than one second). Experiment 1 used a verbal estimation task in which participants estimated the presentation duration of reflection, rotation symmetry or random square-field patterns. Longer estimates were given for reflectional symmetry images than rotation or random, but only when the image was presented for less than 1 second. There was no difference between rotation and random. These findings were confirmed by a second Experiment using a paired-comparison task. This temporal distortion could be because reflection has positive valence or because it is processed efficiently be the visual system. The mechanism remains to be determined. We are relatively sure, however, that reflectional patterns can increase subjective duration in the absence of explicit semantic content, and in the absence of changes in the size, luminance or numerosity in the images

I see how you feel: Recipients obtain additional information from speakers’ gestures about pain

Objective: Despite the need for effective pain communication, pain is difficult to verbalise. Co-speech gestures frequently add information about pain that is not contained in the accompanying speech. We explored whether recipients can obtain additional information from gestures about the pain that is being described. Methods: Participants (n = 135) viewed clips of pain descriptions under one of four conditions: 1) Speech Only; 2) Speech and Gesture; 3) Speech, Gesture and Face; and 4) Speech, Gesture and Face plus Instruction (short presentation explaining the pain information that gestures can depict). Participants provided free-text descriptions of the pain that had been described. Responses were scored for the amount of information obtained from the original clips. Findings: Participants in the Instruction condition obtained the most information, while those in the Speech Only condition obtained the least (all comparisons p<.001). Conclusions: Gestures produced during pain descriptions provide additional information about pain that recipients are able to pick up without detriment to their uptake of spoken information. Practice implications: Healthcare professionals may benefit from instruction in gestures to enhance uptake of information about patients’ pain experiences

The Burden of Cognitive Impairment in Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease and Impact on Dialysis Modality Choice

IntroductionKidney disease is associated with significant cognitive dysfunction. Subjective reports of cognitive ability have not been studied extensively in chronic kidney disease. We investigated the association between objective and subjective cognitive functions in predialysis patients and their association with self-care dialysis modality choice.MethodsCross-sectional data from the Barriers to Successful Implementation of Care in Home Haemodialysis study were used for the study of cognition in 220 predialysis patients. The data were used to ascertain the demographics, clinical, laboratory, and neuropsychometric variables. The latter includes Trail Making Tests (TMT) parts A and B, Modified Mini Mental State Examination, and metacognition questionnaire for subjective assessment of one’s cognitive ability. The outcome variable was fully assisted and self-care dialysis modality choice.ResultsWithin the study cohort, 90 patients chose fully assisted hemodialysis and 114 patients chose self-care dialysis. The median Modified Mini Mental State Examination, TMT part A, and TMT part B scores were greater for the assisted versus the self-care group. Metamemory was not significantly different between groups, but the metaconcentration score was significantly worse in the group choosing assisted dialysis. Higher (i.e., better) metaconcentration scores were significantly associated with the self-care modality choice in the univariate and hierarchical regression analyses. Adjusted and unadjusted analyses showed a significant association between perceived concentration and TMT part B scores (P < 0.01). With every 1.6-minute increase in TMT part B score, there was a 1-unit reduction in metaconcentration score, and the latter was associated with 20% lower odds of choosing self-care dialysis over a fully assisted dialysis modality.DiscussionPatients’ self-perception of cognitive ability is a significant predictor of self-care dialysis modality choice. Subjective report of “metaconcentration” is also strongly associated with poorer outcome on the TMT part B

Executive processes and timing: comparing timing with and without reference memory.

Temporal perception is influenced by executive function. However, performance on different temporal tasks is often associated with different executive functions. The current study examined whether using reference memory during a task influenced how performance was associated with executive resources. Participants completed temporal generalization and bisection tasks, in their normal versions involving reference memory, and episodic versions without reference memory. Each timing task had two difficulty levels; easy and hard. Correlations between performance on these tasks and measures of executive function (updating, inhibition, task switching, and access to semantic memory) were assessed. Accuracy on the temporal generalization task was correlated with memory access for all versions of the task. Updating correlated with accuracy only for the reference memory-based version of the task. Temporal bisection performance presented a different pattern of correlations. The bisection point was negatively correlated with inhibition scores, except for the easy episodic condition. The Weber ratio, considered a measure of temporal sensitivity was negatively correlated with memory access only in the hard episodic condition. Together, the findings suggest that previous models of generalization and bisection may not accurately reflect the underlying cognitive processes involved in the tasks

Does Preference for Abstract Patterns Relate to Information Processing and Perceived Duration?

Repetitive prestimulation, in the form of click trains, is known to alter a wide range of cognitive and perceptual judgments. To date, no research has explored whether click trains also influence subjective preferences. This is plausible because preference is related to perceptual fluency and clicks may increase fluency, or, because preference is related to arousal and clicks may increase arousal. In Experiment 1, participants heard a click train, white noise, or silence through headphones and then saw an abstract symmetrical pattern on the screen for 0.5, 1, or 1.5 s. They rated the pattern on a 7-point scale. Click trains had no effect on preference ratings, although patterns that lasted longer were preferred. In Experiment 2, we again presented a click train, silence, or white noise but included both symmetrical and random patterns. Participants made both a duration and a preference judgment on every trial. Auditory click trains increased perceived duration, and symmetrical patterns were perceived as lasting longer than random patterns. Again there was no effect of auditory click trains on preference, and again patterns that were presented for longer were preferred. We conclude that click trains alter perceptual and cognitive processes, but not preferences. This helps clarify the nature of the click train effect and shows which predictions implicit in the existing literature are supported

Short- and intermediate-term survival after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in children with cardiac disease

ObjectivesIn children with cardiac disease, common indications for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) include refractory cardiopulmonary resuscitation (E-CPR), failure to separate from cardiopulmonary bypass (OR-ECMO), and low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS-ECMO). Despite established acceptance, ECMO outcomes are suboptimal with a survival between 38% and 55%. We evaluated factors associated with significantly increased survival in cardiac patients requiring ECMO.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective investigation of consecutive patients undergoing ECMO between 2006 and 2010. Demographic, pre-ECMO, ECMO, and post-ECMO parameters were analyzed. Neurologic outcomes were assessed with the pediatric overall performance category scale at the latest follow-up.ResultsThere were 3524 admissions, 95 (3%) of which necessitated ECMO; 40 (42%) E-CPR, 31 (33%) OR-ECMO, and 24 (25%) LCOS-ECMO. The overall hospital survival was 73%. The within-groups hospital survival was 75% in E-CPR, 77% OR-ECMO and 62% LCOS-ECMO. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, chromosomal anomalies (odds ratio [OR], 8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2-35), single ventricle (OR ,6; 95% CI, 3-33), multiple ECMO runs (OR, 15; 95% CI, 4-42), higher 24-hour ECMO flows (OR, 8; 95% CI, 4-22), decreased lung compliance (OR, 5; 95% CI, 2-16), and need for plasma exchange (OR, 5; 95% CI, 3-18) were all significant factors associated with mortality. From the univariate analysis, a common parameter associated with mortality within all groups was intracranial hemorrhage. At 1.9 years (0.9, 2.9) of follow-up, 66% were still alive, and 89% of survivors had normal function or only mild neurodevelopmental disability.ConclusionsECMO was successfully used in children with cardiac disease with 73% and 66% short- and intermediate-term survival, respectively. The majority of the survivors had normal function or only a minimal neurodevelopmental deficit