Competición y cooperación entre principios intrínsecos y extrínsecos de agrupamiento perceptivo en el ámbito de la visión

En el presente estudio se analizaron las interacciones entre principios de agrupamiento perceptivo intrínsecos (proximidad y semejanza) y extrínsecos (región común). En tres experimentos se presentaron los principios operando de forma aislada o en combinación bajo condiciones tanto de cooperación como de competición. Los resultados mostraron que cuando se utilizaron los principios de semejanza y región común (Experimentos 1a y 1b) el efecto de agrupamiento de los principios aislados fue menor que el observado en la condición de cooperación y mayor que el observado en la condición de competición. Por el contrario, cuando se utilizaron los principios de proximidad y región común (Experimento 2), el efecto de agrupamiento del principio de proximidad resultó similar al de la condición de competición. Los resultados sugieren que las interacciones entre principios podrían estar moduladas por la saliencia relativa de los principios cuando actúan de forma aislada

Cómo la distancia entre estímulos modula el efecto de compatibilidad de los flancos, bajo diferentes condiciones de relación obetivo-distractores

Ponència de la VI Reunión Científica sobre Atención (RECA 6), celebrada a Barcelona, 200

International conference on the healthy effect of virgin olive oil

Ageing represents a great concern in developed countries because the number of people involved and the pathologies related with it, like atherosclerosis, morbus Parkinson, Alzheime's disease, vascular dementia, cognitive decline, diabetes and cancer. Epidemiological studies suggest that a Mediterranean diet (which is rich in virgin olive oil) decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease. The Mediterranean diet, rich in virgin olive oil, improves the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as the lipoprotein profile, blood pressure, glucose metabolism and antithrombotic profile. Endothelial function, inflammation and oxidative stress are also positively modulated. Some of these effects are attributed to minor components of virgin olive oil. Therefore, the definition of the Mediterranean diet should include virgin olive oil. Different observational studies conducted in humans have shown that the intake of monounsaturated fat may be protective against age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. Microconstituents from virgin olive oil are bioavailable in humans and have shown antioxidant properties and capacity to improve endothelial function. Furthermore they are also able to modify the haemostasis, showing antithrombotic properties. In countries where the populations fulfilled a typical Mediterranean diet, such as Spain, Greece and Italy, where virgin olive oil is the principal source of fat, cancer incidence rates are lower than in northern European countries. The protective effect of virgin olive oil can be most important in the first decades of life, which suggests that the dietetic benefit of virgin olive oil intake should be initiated before puberty, and maintained through life. The more recent studies consistently support that the Mediterranean diet, based in virgin olive oil, is compatible with a healthier ageing and increased longevity. However, despite the significant advances of the recent years, the final proof about the specific mechanisms and contributing role of the different components of virgin olive oil to its beneficial effects requires further investigations. © 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Integrative Analysis Reveals a Molecular Stratification of Systemic Autoimmune Diseases

Objective Clinical heterogeneity, a hallmark of systemic autoimmune diseases, impedes early diagnosis and effective treatment, issues that may be addressed if patients could be classified into groups defined by molecular pattern. This study was undertaken to identify molecular clusters for reclassifying systemic autoimmune diseases independently of clinical diagnosis. Methods Unsupervised clustering of integrated whole blood transcriptome and methylome cross-sectional data on 955 patients with 7 systemic autoimmune diseases and 267 healthy controls was undertaken. In addition, an inception cohort was prospectively followed up for 6 or 14 months to validate the results and analyze whether or not cluster assignment changed over time. Results Four clusters were identified and validated. Three were pathologic, representing “inflammatory,” “lymphoid,” and “interferon” patterns. Each included all diagnoses and was defined by genetic, clinical, serologic, and cellular features. A fourth cluster with no specific molecular pattern was associated with low disease activity and included healthy controls. A longitudinal and independent inception cohort showed a relapse–remission pattern, where patients remained in their pathologic cluster, moving only to the healthy one, thus showing that the molecular clusters remained stable over time and that single pathogenic molecular signatures characterized each individual patient. Conclusion Patients with systemic autoimmune diseases can be jointly stratified into 3 stable disease clusters with specific molecular patterns differentiating different molecular disease mechanisms. These results have important implications for future clinical trials and the study of nonresponse to therapy, marking a paradigm shift in our view of systemic autoimmune diseases

An Ecological Alternative to Snodgrass & Vanderwart: 360 High Quality Colour Images with Norms for Seven Psycholinguistic Variables

This work presents a new set of 360 high quality colour images belonging to 23 semantic subcategories. Two hundred and thirty-six Spanish speakers named the items and also provided data from seven relevant psycholinguistic variables: age of acquisition, familiarity, manipulability, name agreement, typicality and visual complexity. Furthermore, we also present lexical frequency data derived from Internet search hits. Apart from the high number of variables evaluated, knowing that it affects the processing of stimuli, this new set presents important advantages over other similar image corpi: (a) this corpus presents a broad number of subcategories and images; for example, this will permit researchers to select stimuli of appropriate difficulty as required, (e.g., to deal with problems derived from ceiling effects); (b) the fact of using coloured stimuli provides a more realistic, ecologically-valid, representation of real life objects. In sum, this set of stimuli provides a useful tool for research on visual object-and word- processing, both in neurological patients and in healthy controls

A Multi-Lab Test of the Facial Feedback Hypothesis by the Many Smiles Collaboration

Following theories of emotional embodiment, the facial feedback hypothesis suggests that individuals’ subjective experiences of emotion are influenced by their facial expressions. However, evidence for this hypothesis has been mixed. We thus formed a global adversarial collaboration and carried out a preregistered, multicentre study designed to specify and test the conditions that should most reliably produce facial feedback effects. Data from n = 3,878 participants spanning 19 countries indicated that a facial mimicry and voluntary facial action task could both amplify and initiate feelings of happiness. However, evidence of facial feedback effects was less conclusive when facial feedback was manipulated unobtrusively via a pen-in-mouth task

A multi-lab test of the facial feedback hypothesis by the Many Smiles Collaboration

Following theories of emotional embodiment, the facial feedback hypothesis suggests that individuals' subjective experiences of emotion are influenced by their facial expressions. However, evidence for this hypothesis has been mixed. We thus formed a global adversarial collaboration and carried out a preregistered, multicentre study designed to specify and test the conditions that should most reliably produce facial feedback effects. Data from n = 3,878 participants spanning 19 countries indicated that a facial mimicry and voluntary facial action task could both amplify and initiate feelings of happiness. However, evidence of facial feedback effects was less conclusive when facial feedback was manipulated unobtrusively via a pen-in-mouth task

A set of high quality colour images with Spanish norms for seven relevant psycholinguistic variables: The Nombela naming test

Original article can be found at : http://www.informaworld.com/ Copyright Taylor & FrancisThis paper presents a new corpus of 140 high quality colour images belonging to 14 subcategories and covering a range of naming difficulty. One hundred and six Spanish speakers named the items and provided data for several psycholinguistic variables: age of acquisition, familiarity, manipulability, name agreement, typicality and visual complexity. Furthermore, we also present lexical frequency data derived internet search hits. Apart from the large number of variables evaluated, these stimuli present an important advantage with respect to other comparable image corpora in so far as naming performance in healthy individuals is less prone to ceiling effect problems. Reliability and validity indexes showed that our items display similar psycholinguistic characteristics to those of other corpora. In sum, this set of ecologically valid stimuli provides a useful tool for scientists engaged in cognitive and neuroscience-based research.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Priming atencional en patrones visuales jerárquicos: Efectos del nivel atendido, tamaño absoluto y congruencia estimular

Estudios previos sobre el procesamiento visual de patrones jerárquicos, muestran que la respuesta ante objetivos presentados en cualquiera de sus niveles (global/local) es más rápida cuando en el ensayo anterior el objetivo se presentó en ese mismo nivel (efecto de priming secuencial). En el presente trabajo, se utiliza un nuevo paradigma de priming atencional para explorar la existencia de este efecto secuencial dentro de cada ensayo en lugar de en diferentes ensayos. Para ello se realizaron dos experimentos en los que se manipuló el tipo de atención (selectiva vs. dividida), la congruencia de los estímulos y el tamaño absoluto de los mismos. Los resultados indican que el efecto de priming secuencial se debe al nivel jerárquico atendido, con independencia del tamaño absoluto de los estímulos, en tareas de atención selectiva (Experimento 1), y que es modulado por el tamaño absoluto de los estímulos tras el cambio a una tarea de atención dividida (Experimento 2). Por último, el efecto de priming secuencial tan solo aparece cuando los estímulos presentados son incongruentes