Masked face identification is improved by diagnostic feature training

To slow the spread of COVID-19, many people now wear face masks in public. Face masks impair our ability to identify faces, which can cause problems for professional staff who identify offenders or members of the public. Here, we investigate whether performance on a masked face matching task can be improved by training participants to compare diagnostic facial features (the ears and facial marks)—a validated training method that improves matching performance for unmasked faces. We show this brief diagnostic feature training, which takes less than two minutes to complete, improves matching performance for masked faces by approximately 5%. A control training course, which was unrelated to face identification, had no effect on matching performance. Our findings demonstrate that comparing the ears and facial marks is an effective means of improving face matching performance for masked faces. These findings have implications for professions that regularly perform face identification.Daniel J. Carragher, Alice Towler, Viktoria R. Mileva, David White, and Peter J. B. Hancoc

The effect of cognitive load on horizontal and vertical spatial asymmetries

Healthy individuals typically show a leftward attentional bias in the allocation of spatial attention along the horizontal plane, a phenomenon known as pseudoneglect, which relies on a right hemispheric dominance for visuospatial processing. Also, healthy individuals tend to overestimate the upper hemispace when orienting attention along the vertical plane, a phenomenon that may depend on asymmetric ventral and dorsal visual streams activation. Previous research has demonstrated that when attentional resources are reduced due to increased cognitive load, pseudoneglect is attenuated (or even reversed), due to decreased right-hemispheric activations. Critically, whether and how the reduction of attentional resources under load modulates vertical spatial asymmetries has not been addressed before. We asked participants to perform a line bisection task both with and without the addition of a concurrent auditory working memory task with lines oriented either horizontally or vertically. Results showed that increasing cognitive load reduced the typical leftward/upward bias with no difference between orientations. Our data suggest that the degree of cognitive load affects spatial attention not only in the horizontal but also in the vertical plane. Lastly, the similar effect of load on horizontal and vertical judgements suggests these biases may be related to only partially independent mechanisms.Andrea Ciricugno, Megan L. Bartlett, Owen S. Gwinn, Daniel J. Carragher and Michael E.R. Nicholl

A Cross-national Study of School Students's Perceptions of Political Messages in Two Election Campaigns

The aim of this study is to understand, qualitatively, the ways in which school students from England and the US engaged with campaign messages during two national elections. We combined data from eight focus groups conducted in four schools in England (2 primary/elementary and 2 secondary/high; N = 60) and individual interviews conducted in one school in the US (N = 19). Three common themes were identified from our cross-national data: the trustworthiness of candidates, equality, and the narrative surrounding immigration. We argue that it is important for students to have spaces to understand, explore and debate political messages and for teachers to feel confident and able to engage with those campaign messages especially where they may be controversial, partisan or challenging. © 2018 Elsevier Lt

Extracellular matrix and its role in spermatogenesis

In adult mammalian testes, such as rats, Sertoli and germ cells at different stages of their development in the seminiferous epithelium are in close contact with the basement membrane, a modified form of extracellular matrix (ECM). In essence, Sertoli and germ cells in particular spermatogonia are “resting” on the basement membrane at different stages of the seminiferous epithelial cycle, relying on its structural and hormonal supports. Thus, it is not entirely unexpected that ECM plays a significant role in regulating spermatogenesis, particularly spermatogonia and Sertoli cells, and the blood-testis barrier (BTB) constituted by Sertoli cells since these cells are in physical contact with the basement membrane. Additionally, the basement membrane is also in close contact with the underlying collagen network and the myoid cell layers, which together with the lymphatic network, constitute the tunica propria. The seminiferous epithelium and the tunica propria, in turn, constitute the seminiferous tubule, which is the functional unit that produces spermatozoa via its interaction with Leydig cells in the interstitium. In short, the basement membrane and the underlying collagen network that create the acellular zone of the tunica propria may even facilitate cross-talk between the seminiferous epithelium, the myoid cells and cells in the interstitium. Recent studies in the field have illustrated the crucial role of ECM in supporting Sertoli and germ cell function in the seminiferous epithelium, including the BTB dynamics. In this chapter, we summarize some of the latest findings in the field regarding the functional role of ECM in spermatogenesis using the adult rat testis as a model. We also high light specific areas of research that deserve attention for investigators in the field

Extracellular Matrix and Its Role in Spermatogenesis

In adult mammalian testes, such as rats, Sertoli and germ cells at different stages of their development in the seminiferous epithelium are in close contact with the basement membrane, a modified form of extracellular matrix (ECM). In essence, Sertoli and germ cells in particular spermatogonia are “resting” on the basement membrane at different stages of the seminiferous epithelial cycle, relying on its structural and hormonal supports. Thus, it is not entirely unexpected that ECM plays a significant role in regulating spermatogenesis, particularly spermatogonia and Sertoli cells, and the blood-testis barrier (BTB) constituted by Sertoli cells since these cells are in physical contact with the basement membrane. Additionally, the basement membrane is also in close contact with the underlying collagen network and the myoid cell layers, which together with the lymphatic network, constitute the tunica propria. The seminiferous epithelium and the tunica propria, in turn, constitute the seminiferous tubule, which is the functional unit that produces spermatozoa via its interaction with Leydig cells in the interstitium. In short, the basement membrane and the underlying collagen network that create the acellular zone of the tunica propria may even facilitate cross-talk between the seminiferous epithelium, the myoid cells and cells in the interstitium. Recent studies in the field have illustrated the crucial role of ECM in supporting Sertoli and germ cell function in the seminiferous epithelium, including the BTB dynamics. In this chapter, we summarize some of the latest findings in the field regarding the functional role of ECM in spermatogenesis using the adult rat testis as a model. We also highlight specific areas of research that deserve attention for investigators in the field