The Interplay of Cognition and Emotion: Does Incidental Cognitive Processing Influence Subsequent Emotional Responding?

A series of four experiments tested the effects of performing executive functioning tasks on subsequent emotional responses. Inspired by dual process theories of mind I hypothesized that performing an incidental executive functioning task would diminish subsequent negative emotional responding. Study 1 (N = 47) examined the effects of a working-memory task on subsequent self-reported emotions to emotional videos and found engaging in a prior cognitive task reduced subsequent negative emotional reactions. Study 2 (N = 89) and Study 3 (N = 214) examined the effects of engaging in a cognitive control task (i.e., a flanker task) on subsequent self-reported emotions to images, and found engaging in a prior cognitive task reduced subsequent negative emotional reactions especially after controlling for trait anxiety. Study 4 (N = 171) was similar to the design of Study 3 but incorporated electroencephalography (EEG) to assess both self-reported and neural indices of emotional responding and found no effect of completing a flanker task before viewing emotional images on self-reported emotions. However, contrary to expectations, a neural indicator of attention to and processing of images known as the late positive potential (LPP) was enhanced during negative images after completing the flanker task. Further analyses revealed an interaction between self-reported arousal during negative pictures and condition to predict later LPP amplitudes such that completing the flanker task first disrupted the usual positive relationship between LPP amplitudes and arousal, suggesting that completing the flanker task first changed later attention to and processing of negative stimuli. Implications for dual-process theories of cognition and emotion regulation are discussed

Cross-Sectional Associations Between Theta-Beta Ratios and Individual Peak Alpha Frequency Across Adulthood

The ratio of fronto-central theta (4–7 Hz) to beta oscillations (13–30 Hz), known as the theta-beta ratio, is negatively correlated with attentional control, reinforcement learning, executive function, and age. Although theta-beta ratios have been found to decrease with age in adolescents and young adults, theta has been found to increase with age in older adults. Moreover, age-related decrease in individual alpha peak frequency and flattening of the 1/f aperiodic component may artifactually inflate the association between theta-beta ratio and age. These factors lead to an incomplete understanding of how theta-beta ratio varies across the lifespan and the extent to which variation is due to a conflation of aperiodic and periodic activity. We conducted a partially preregistered analysis examining the cross-sectional associations between age and resting canonical fronto-central theta-beta ratio, individual alpha peak frequency, and aperiodic component (n = 268; age 36–84, M = 55.8, SD = 11.0). Age was negatively associated with theta-beta ratios, individual peak alpha frequencies, and the aperiodic exponent. The correlation between theta-beta ratios and age remained after controlling for individual peak alpha frequencies, but was nonsignificant when controlling for the aperiodic exponent. Aperiodic exponent fully mediated the relationship between theta-beta ratio and age, although beta remained significantly associated with age after controlling for theta, individual peak alpha, and aperiodic exponent. Results replicate previous observations and show age-related decreases in theta-beta ratios are not due to age-related decrease in individual peak alpha frequencies but primarily explained by flattening of the aperiodic component with age

Remembering Your Roots: The Role of Horticulture Therapy in People Living with Dementia

Introduction: Dementia is a debilitating disease affecting over 50 million people. Major challenges facing patients with dementia lie in the impact of the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). The American Geriatrics Society and Dementia Action Alliance recommend against the use of antipsychotics as first-line treatment. Antipsychotics often fail to treat BPSD whereas nonmedication practices such as horticulture therapy may lessen BPSD. Guideline evidence has provided a unique opportunity for public health officials to assist in filling this vital role in the approach to BPSD management.Methods: Several studies and meta-analyses were reviewed to determine the effectiveness of horticulture therapy in managing BPSD, and evidence supports horticulture therapy as an effective method of addressing BPSD.Results: The benefits of horticulture therapy extend beyond addressing only BPSD; through multisensory stimulation, patients have increased physical activity, reduced stress, and improved sleep. Horticulture therapy has been shown to decrease the sense of loss and reestablish the patient in a familiar nurturing role, providing the patient with a sense of purpose.Conclusion: Stakeholders within the public health sector are strategically positioned to implement evidence-based interventions that address the unmet needs for the care of dementia within the community

Design and Fabrication of an Ultra-Low Capacitive Pressure Transducer

The goal of the Capacitive Pressure Sensor project is to redesign the Alpha Instruments 168 series capacitive pressure sensor sold by Dwyer Instruments. The primary objectives of the new design will be to eliminate the use of welding in the assembly of the sensor components and to eliminate stray capacitance in the system measurements through the use of dielectric boundaries. Additionally, the sensor housing will be a stamped design in order to avoid expensive machining steps. The electrical components of the system will be tailored to accept a capacitive signal and transfer it to a voltage reading. This voltage will be used to obtain a proportional loop current that can then be calibrated as a pressure differential and displayed onto a digital read-out device. The project is set to be completed by the end of spring semester 2013