Motion streaks improve motion detection

AbstractA number of studies were conducted to determine whether motion-streaks assist motion extraction, and whether a purely motion-based model could account for any observed facilitation. A 3-frame global-motion stimulus was used. Signal dots were manipulated in order to control the strength of the motion-streak. In the long-streak condition, the same dots carried the global-motion signal over successive motion frames, while in the short-streak condition, different dots carried the signal over successive frames. Noise dots always moved in different directions over successive frames. While lower thresholds in the long-streak condition could be explain by motion-streak facilitation, it could also be explained in terms of interactions purely within the motion system. Specifically, by excitatory feed-forward connections between neighbouring local-motion units tuned to the same or similar directions of motion. In order to test these two models, speed and contrast were varied. If lower thresholds are due to motion streaks (form input to motion) then maximum facilitation should occur at high speeds (no streak at low speeds) and high contrast (due to reduced streak magnitude and the low contrast sensitivity of the form cells that extract the motion-streak). Lower thresholds were obtained for the long-streak condition but only at high speeds and this facilitation was lost, or at least greatly reduced, at low (5%) contrast. These results support the notion that detection thresholds were facilitated by a motion-streak system

Using Latent Profile Analysis to Understand Health Practitioners’ Attitudes Toward Voluntary Assisted Dying

Prior work has documented considerable diversity among health practitioners regarding their support for voluntary assisted dying (VAD). We examined whether their attitudes are characterised by different combinations of personal support, normative support by other health practitioners, and whether they are predisposed to vicariously experience others’ emotions (i.e., empathy). We also examined whether these profiles experienced different mental health outcomes (i.e., burnout and posttraumatic stress) in relation to VAD. To test this, 104 Australian health practitioners were surveyed after VAD was legalised in Victoria, Australia in 2019. Results indicated that practitioners’ attitudes were characterised by three profiles: 1) strong personal and normative support (strong VAD supporters), 2) moderate personal and normative support (moderate VAD supporters), and 3) lower personal and normative support (apprehensive practitioners). However, each profile reported similar mental health outcomes. Findings suggest that the normative environments in which health practitioners operate may explain their diverse attitudes on VAD

Using Latent Profile Analysis to Understand Health Practitioners’ Attitudes Toward Voluntary Assisted Dying

Prior work has documented considerable diversity among health practitioners regarding their support for voluntary assisted dying (VAD). We examined whether their attitudes are characterised by different combinations of personal support, normative support by other health practitioners, and whether they are predisposed to vicariously experience others’ emotions (i.e., empathy). We also examined whether these profiles experienced different mental health outcomes (i.e., burnout and posttraumatic stress) in relation to VAD. To test this, 104 Australian health practitioners were surveyed after VAD was legalised in Victoria, Australia in 2019. Results indicated that practitioners’ attitudes were characterised by three profiles: 1) strong personal and normative support (strong VAD supporters), 2) moderate personal and normative support (moderate VAD supporters), and 3) lower personal and normative support (apprehensive practitioners). However, each profile reported similar mental health outcomes. Findings suggest that the normative environments in which health practitioners operate may explain their diverse attitudes on VAD

Attitudes Toward and Experience With Assisted-Death Services and Psychological Implications for Health Practitioners: A Narrative Systematic Review

A narrative systematic review was conducted to review studies that examine mental health implications of involvement in assisted-death services among health practitioners. Qualitative and quantitative studies were included to understand health practitioners’ attitudes and experiences with assisted dying services, as well as to identify the mental health consequences. We identified 18 articles from 1591 articles drawn from seven major scientific databases (i.e., PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus). Two raters independently evaluated the exclusion and inclusion decisions of the articles and examined methodological flaws in the selected articles. We found that engagement in assisted death services were not reliably associated with mental health outcomes such as anxiety and moral distress. Both positive and negative outcomes were reported, and psychological outcomes for practitioners were shown to vary based on factors including social support for health practitioners’ views; their perceived capacity to care for the patients; and legislation.Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin

Attitudes Toward and Experience With Assisted-Death Services and Psychological Implications for Health Practitioners: A Narrative Systematic Review

A narrative systematic review was conducted to review studies that examine mental health implications of involvement in assisted-death services among health practitioners. Qualitative and quantitative studies were included to understand health practitioners’ attitudes and experiences with assisted dying services, as well as to identify the mental health consequences. We identified 18 articles from 1591 articles drawn from seven major scientific databases (i.e., PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus). Two raters independently evaluated the exclusion and inclusion decisions of the articles and examined methodological flaws in the selected articles. We found that engagement in assisted death services were not reliably associated with mental health outcomes such as anxiety and moral distress. Both positive and negative outcomes were reported, and psychological outcomes for practitioners were shown to vary based on factors including social support for health practitioners’ views; their perceived capacity to care for the patients; and legislation

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Building a transdisciplinary expert consensus on the cognitive drivers of performance under pressure: An international multi-panel Delphi study

IntroductionThe ability to perform optimally under pressure is critical across many occupations, including the military, first responders, and competitive sport. Despite recognition that such performance depends on a range of cognitive factors, how common these factors are across performance domains remains unclear. The current study sought to integrate existing knowledge in the performance field in the form of a transdisciplinary expert consensus on the cognitive mechanisms that underlie performance under pressure.MethodsInternational experts were recruited from four performance domains [(i) Defense; (ii) Competitive Sport; (iii) Civilian High-stakes; and (iv) Performance Neuroscience]. Experts rated constructs from the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework (and several expert-suggested constructs) across successive rounds, until all constructs reached consensus for inclusion or were eliminated. Finally, included constructs were ranked for their relative importance.ResultsSixty-eight experts completed the first Delphi round, with 94% of experts retained by the end of the Delphi process. The following 10 constructs reached consensus across all four panels (in order of overall ranking): (1) Attention; (2) Cognitive Control—Performance Monitoring; (3) Arousal and Regulatory Systems—Arousal; (4) Cognitive Control—Goal Selection, Updating, Representation, and Maintenance; (5) Cognitive Control—Response Selection and Inhibition/Suppression; (6) Working memory—Flexible Updating; (7) Working memory—Active Maintenance; (8) Perception and Understanding of Self—Self-knowledge; (9) Working memory—Interference Control, and (10) Expert-suggested—Shifting.DiscussionOur results identify a set of transdisciplinary neuroscience-informed constructs, validated through expert consensus. This expert consensus is critical to standardizing cognitive assessment and informing mechanism-targeted interventions in the broader field of human performance optimization

The Differential impact of agency and pathway thinking on goal pursuit and university exam performance

The present study examines the interaction between agency and pathway thinking on performance outcomes. The study used a repeated-measures design to examine the role of agency and pathway thinking on goal pursuit emotions (e.g., determination), secondary appraisal, and final exam performance in a group of university psychology students. Consistent with previous mental health research (Arnau, Rosen, Finch, Rhudy, & Fortunato, 2007; Cramer & Dyrkacz, 1998), the present findings suggest a dominant role for agency thinking in performance. Moreover, there was a reliable interaction between pathway and agency thinking in the prediction of goal pursuit and performance. The interactions consistently revealed that when agency thinking was high, pathway thinking was generally irrelevant to our various measures of goal pursuit. These findings challenge the additive role of agency and pathway thinking suggested by hope theory (Snyder, 2002).6 page(s

Deviance as adherence to injunctive group norms : the overlooked role of social identification in deviance

We currently report three studies investigating group members' expressions of dissatisfaction and discontent with the behaviour and attitudes of their in-group members. Our analysis examines the context in which group members will deviate from actual group member behaviour. We argue that highly identifying group members will challenge fellow group member behaviour when that group member behaviour is perceived to violate injunctive group norms. Further, we predicted that high identifiers would still challenge such group member behaviour even if that behaviour were conducted by a majority of group members. Thus, high identifiers were predicted to express descriptively deviant opinions when the behaviour of other members contravenes injunctive group norms. In Studies 1 and 2, group-level self-definition served as a moderator in the relationship between the expression of discontent and perceived injunctive norm violation; in Study 3, group-level self-investment served as this moderator. The findings supported our predictions. This support was particularly strong when a majority of group members violated group norms. Implications for the analysis of the relationship between social identification and deviance are discussed.21 page(s

Building resilience through exposure to stressors : the effects of challenges versus hindrances

This paper explores the potential for certain types of stressors to build resilience in the occupational setting. Using the challenge- hindrance stressor framework (Cavanaugh, Boswell, Roehling, & Boudreau, 2000), we propose that challenge stressors have the potential to promote the capacity for resilience, whereas hindrance stressors experienced in the workplace erode resilient functioning. Employing a 2-wave longitudinal design we examined the effects of challenge and hindrance stressors on psychological resilience and strain 3 months later. Two-hundred and 8 working adults (48.1% female) participated in both surveys. Findings indicated that Time 1 challenge stressors had a significant effect on psychological resilience 3 months later (Time 2). In contrast, Time 1 hindrance stressors positively predicted Time 2 strain and negatively predicted psychological resilience. Moreover, resilience mediated the relationship between Time 1 stressors and Time 2 strain. These results demonstrate the potential positive and negative impacts of workplace stressor types on psychological resilience, and provide an exploration of a mechanism through which challenge and hindrance stressors influence well-being. This analysis also investigated the role of resilience in moderating the relationship between hindrances and strain. Some evidence emerged for the moderating role of resilience in the hindrance-strain relationship. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.12 page(s