Neural basis of anticipatory multisensory integration

The brain is able to gather different sensory information to enhance salient event perception, thus yielding a unified perceptual experience of multisensory events. Multisensory integration has been widely studied, and the literature supports the hypothesis that it can occur across various stages of stimulus processing, including both bottom-up and top-down control. However, evidence on anticipatory multisensory integration occurring in the fore period preceding the presentation of the expected stimulus in passive tasks, is missing. By means of event-related potentials (ERPs), it has been recently proposed that visual and auditory unimodal stimulations are preceded by sensory-specific readiness activities. Accordingly, in the present study, we tested the occurrence of multisensory integration in the endogenous anticipatory phase of sensory processing, combining visual and auditory stimuli during unimodal and multimodal passive ERP paradigms. Results showed that the modality-specific pre-stimulus ERP components (i.e., the auditory positivity-aP-and the visual negativity-vN-) started earlier and were larger in the multimodal stimulation compared with the sum of the ERPs elicited by the unimodal stimulations. The same amplitude effect was also present for the early auditory N1 and visual P1 components. This anticipatory multisensory effect seems to influence stimulus processing, boosting the magnitude of early stimulus processing. This paves the way for new perspectives on the neural basis of multisensory integration

Commit to your putting stroke:exploring the impact of Quiet Eye duration and neural activity on golf putting performance

There is a growing interest in characterizing the cognitive-motor processes that underlie superior performance in highly skilled athletes. The aim of this study was to explore neural markers of putting performance in highly skilled golfers by recording mobile EEG (electroencephalogram) during the pre-shot period. Twenty-eight right-handed participants (20 males) with a mean age of 24.2 years (± 6.4) and an average handicap of +1.7 (± 6.4) completed a testing session. Following the warm-up, participants completed 140 putts from a distance of 8ft (2.4m), with putts taken from 5 different positions. While putting, participants wore an eye tracker and a gel-based EEG system with 32 electrodes. Time and frequency domain features of the EEG signals were extracted to characterize Movement-Related Cortical Potentials (MRCP) and rhythmic modulations of neural activity in theta, alpha, sensorimotor and beta frequency bands associated with putting performance. Eye-tracking data demonstrate that mean Quiet Eye durations are not a reliable marker of expertise as the same duration was found for both successful and successful putts. Following rigorous data processing data from 12 participants (8 males, mean age 21.6 years ± 5.4, average handicap +1.5 ± 4.4) were included in the EEG analysis. MRCP analysis revealed performance-based differences, with unsuccessful putts having a greater negative amplitude in comparison to successful putts. Time frequency analysis of the EEG data revealed that successful putts exhibit distinct neural activity profiles compared to unsuccessful ones. For successful putts, greater suppression of beta was present in the central region prior to the putt. By contrast, increased frontal theta power was present for unsuccessful putts immediately before the putt (consistent with hesitation and the need for motor plan adjustments prior to execution). We propose that neural activity may provide plausible insights into the mechanisms behind why identical QE durations can lead to both success and failure. From an applied perspective, this study highlights the merits of a multi-measure approach to gain further insights into performance differences within highly skilled golfers. We discuss considerations for future research and solutions to address the challenges related to the complexities of collecting clean EEG signals within naturalistic sporting contexts

Weak proactive cognitive/motor brain control accounts for poor children's behavioral performance in speeded discrimination tasks

Background: Motor and inhibitory control rely on frontal cortex activity, which is known to reach full maturation only in late adolescence. The development of inhibitory control has been studied using event-related potentials (ERP), focusing on reactive processing (i.e. the N2 and the P3 components). Scarce information exists concerning pre-stimulus activity as that represented by the Bereinshafstpotential (BP) and by the prefrontal negativity (pN). Further, no literature exists concerning the post-stimulus components originating within the anterior insula (pN1, pP1, pP2). This study aims at associating children performance with these motor-cognitive processing in frontal brain areas. Methods: High-resolution EEG recordings were employed to measure ERPs from 18 children (12 years old) and 18 adults (28 years old) during a visuo-motor discriminative response task. Response time (RT), commission (CE) and omission errors, and RT variability were compared between groups. At brain level, two pre-stimulus (BP and pN) and seven post-stimulus (P1; pN1; N1; pP1; N2; pP2; P3) ERP components were compared between groups. Results: Children showed slower and more variable RTs and poorer inhibition (higher CEs) than adults. At electrophysiological level, children presented smaller BP and pN. After stimulus onset, children showed lower amplitude of N1, pP1, P3, and pP2 components. The P1, pP1, N2 and P3 were delayed compared to adults. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that children are characterized by less intense task-related proactive activities in frontal cortex, which may account for subsequent poor and delayed reactive processing and, thus, for inaccurate and slow performance

NPM1 Deletion Is Associated with Gross Chromosomal Rearrangements in Leukemia

BACKGROUND: NPM1 gene at chromosome 5q35 is involved in recurrent translocations in leukemia and lymphoma. It also undergoes mutations in 60% of adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases with normal karyotype. The incidence and significance of NPM1 deletion in human leukemia have not been elucidated. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Bone marrow samples from 145 patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and AML were included in this study. Cytogenetically 43 cases had isolated 5q-, 84 cases had 5q- plus other changes and 18 cases had complex karyotype without 5q deletion. FISH and direct sequencing investigated the NPM1 gene. NPM1 deletion was an uncommon event in the "5q- syndrome" but occurred in over 40% of cases with high risk MDS/AML with complex karyotypes and 5q loss. It originated from large 5q chromosome deletions. Simultaneous exon 12 mutations were never found. NPM1 gene status was related to the pattern of complex cytogenetic aberrations. NPM1 haploinsufficiency was significantly associated with monosomies (p<0.001) and gross chromosomal rearrangements, i.e., markers, rings, and double minutes (p<0.001), while NPM1 disomy was associated with structural changes (p=0.013). Interestingly, in complex karyotypes with 5q- TP53 deletion and/or mutations are not specifically associated with NPM1 deletion. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: NPM1/5q35 deletion is a consistent event in MDS/AML with a 5q-/-5 in complex karyotypes. NPM1 deletion and NPM1 exon 12 mutations appear to be mutually exclusive and are associated with two distinct cytogenetic subsets of MDS and AML

Marking their own homework: The pragmatic and moral legitimacy of industry self-regulation

When is industry self-regulation (ISR) a legitimate form of governance? In principle, ISR can serve the interests of participating companies, regulators and other stakeholders. However, in practice, empirical evidence shows that ISR schemes often under-perform, leading to criticism that such schemes are tantamount to firms marking their own homework. In response, this paper explains how current management theory on ISR has failed to separate the pragmatic legitimacy of ISR based on self-interested calculations, from moral legitimacy based on normative approval. The paper traces three families of management theory on ISR and uses these to map the pragmatic and moral legitimacy of ISR schemes. It identifies tensions between the pragmatic and moral legitimacy of ISR schemes, which the current ISR literature does not address, and draws implications for the future theory and practice of ISR

Linking Employee Stakeholders to Environmental Performance: The Role of Proactive Environmental Strategies and Shared Vision

Drawing on the natural-resource-based view (NRBV), we propose that employee stakeholder integration is linked to environmental performance through firms’ proactive environmental strategies, and that this link is contingent on shared vision. We tested our model with a cross-country and multi-industry sample. In support of our theory, results revealed that firms’ proactive environmental strategies translated employee stakeholder integration into environmental performance. This relationship was pronounced for high levels of shared vision. Our findings demonstrate that shared vision represents a key condition for advancing the corporate greening agenda through proactive environmental strategies. We discuss implications for the CSR and the environmental management literatures, with a particular focus on the NRBV and stakeholder integration debates

Differential control of respiratory frequency and tidal volume during high-intensity interval training

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? By manipulating recovery intensity and exercise duration during high-intensity interval training (HIIT), we tested the hypothesis that fast inputs contribute more than metabolic stimuli to respiratory frequency (fR) regulation. What is the main finding and its importance? Respiratory frequency, but not tidal volume, responded rapidly and in proportion to changes in workload during HIIT, and was dissociated from some markers of metabolic stimuli in response to both experimental manipulations, suggesting that fast inputs contribute more than metabolic stimuli to fR regulation. Differentiating between fR and tidal volume may help to unravel the mechanisms underlying exercise hyperpnoea. Given that respiratory frequency (fR) has been proposed as a good marker of physical effort, furthering the understanding of how fR is regulated during exercise is of great importance. We manipulated recovery intensity and exercise duration during high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to test the hypothesis that fast inputs (including central command) contribute more than metabolic stimuli to fR regulation. Seven male cyclists performed an incremental test, a 10 and a 20 min continuous time trial (TT) as preliminary tests. Subsequently, recovery intensity and exercise duration were manipulated during HIIT (30 s work and 30 s active recovery) by performing four 10 min and one 20 min trial (recovery intensities of 85, 70, 55 and 30% of the 10 min TT mean workload; and 85% of the 20 min TT mean workload). The work intensity of the HIIT sessions was self-paced by participants to achieve the best performance possible. When manipulating recovery intensity, fR, but not tidal volume (VT), showed a fast response to the alternation of the work and recovery phases, proportional to the extent of workload variations. No association between fR and gas exchange responses was observed. When manipulating exercise duration, fR and rating of perceived exertion were dissociated from VT, carbon dioxide output and oxygen uptake responses. Overall, the rating of perceived exertion was strongly correlated with fR (r = 0.87; P < 0.001) but not with VT. These findings may reveal a differential control of fR and VT during HIIT, with fast inputs appearing to contribute more than metabolic stimuli to fR regulation. Differentiating between fR and VT may help to unravel the mechanisms underlying exercise hyperpnoea

Mind wandering and task-focused attention: ERP correlates

Previous studies looking at how Mind Wandering (MW) impacts performance in distinct Focused Attention (FA) systems, using the Attention Network Task (ANT), showed that the presence of pure MW thoughts did not impact the overall performance of ANT (alert, orienting and conflict) performance. However, it still remains unclear if the lack of interference of MW in the ANT, reported at the behavioral level, has a neurophysiological correspondence. We hypothesize that a distinct cortical processing may be required to meet attentional demands during MW. The objective of the present study was to test if, given similar levels of ANT performance, individuals predominantly focusing on MW or FA show distinct cortical processing. Thirty-three healthy participants underwent an EEG high-density acquisition while they were performing the ANT. MW was assessed following the ANT using an adapted version of the Resting State Questionnaire (ReSQ). The following ERP's were analyzed: pN1, pP1, P1, N1, pN, and P3. At the behavioral level, participants were slower and less accurate when responding to incongruent than to congruent targets (conflict effect), benefiting from the presentation of the double (alerting effect) and spatial (orienting effect) cues. Consistent with the behavioral data, ERP's waves were discriminative of distinct attentional effects. However, these results remained true irrespective of the MW condition, suggesting that MW imposed no additional cortical demand in alert, orienting, and conflict attention tasks.Acknowledgements Óscar F. Gonçalves was funded by the Brazilian National Counsel for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) as a Special Visiting Researcher of the Science Without Borders program (401143/2014-7). Paulo S Boggio was funded by a CNPq researcher fellowship (311641/2015-6). Olivia Morgan Lapenta and Tatiana Conde were supported by two postdoctoral grants from CNPq (150249/2017-9 and 152358/2016-1). Sandra Carvalho was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) with the grant IF/00091/2015. Gabriel Rêgo was supported by a PhD grant from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP-2015/18713-9). This work was partially supported by FEDER funds through the Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade – COMPETE and by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (P2020-PTDC/MHC-PCN/3950/2014).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio