The measurement of approximate number system acuity across the lifespan is compromised by congruency effects

Recent studies have highlighted the influence of visual cues such as dot size and cumulative surface area on the measurement of the approximate number system (ANS). Previous studies assessing ANS acuity in ageing have all applied stimuli generated by the Panamath protocol, which does not control nor measure the influence of convex hull. Crucially, convex hull has recently been identified as an influential visual cue present in dot arrays, with its impact on older adults’ ANS acuity yet to be investigated. The current study therefore investigated the manipulation of convex hull by the Panamath protocol, and its effect on the measurement of ANS acuity in younger and older participants. Firstly, analyses of the stimuli generated by Panamath revealed a confound between numerosity ratio and convex hull ratio. Secondly, although older adults were somewhat less accurate than younger adults on convex hull incongruent trials, ANS acuity was broadly similar between the groups. These findings have implications for the valid measurement of ANS acuity across all ages, and suggest that the Panamath protocol produces stimuli that do not adequately control for the influence of convex hull on numerosity discrimination

Perceptions of autistic and non-autistic adults in employment interviews:The role of impression management

Background: Social communication and interaction differences can make employment interviews particularly challenging for autistic people, who may be less able to modulate their Impression Management (IM). This makes autism a relevant test case of the extent to which behavioral IM influences perceptions of job candidates.Method: Two studies are reported. In Study 1, lay-raters watched a video of autistic and non-autistic mock candidates’ interviews, and assessed their verbal, non-verbal, and para-verbal behaviors, and likelihood of social approach/avoidance. In Study 2, the presence of behavioral cues was manipulated by using either the interview videos (behavioral cues present) or transcripts (cues absent). Employers rated their overall impression of the candidates (e.g., perceived confidence, conscientiousness, competence, communication skills, etc).Results: In study 1, autistic candidates were perceived as having a more monotonous tone of voice, being less composed and focused, and displaying less natural eye contact and gestures than their non-autistic counterparts, and received lower ratings for likelihood of social approach. For non-autistic interviewees, relationships were also found between ratings for verbal, para-verbal, and non-verbal behaviors, and social awkwardness and attractiveness. In study 2, non-autistic (but not autistic) interviewees received higher ratings of their confidence and communication skills when assessed by video than by transcript, but this advantage was not found for the autistic candidates.Conclusions: Results indicate that observers may use different information when evaluating autistic compared with non-autistic interviewees, possibly due to qualitative differences in behavior. Implications of different behavioral presentations in autistic candidates are discussed, including the potential benefits of using transcripts or more structured interviews to enable recruiters to focus on interviewee answers, whilst being less influenced by non-verbal and para-verbal behaviors

Reaction time decomposition as a tool to study subcortical ischemic vascular cognitive impairment

Background: The study of reaction time (RT) and its intraindividual variability (IIV) in aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia typically fails to investigate the processing stages that contribute to an overall response. Applying “mental chronometry” techniques makes it possible to separately assess the role of processing components during environmental interaction. Objective: To determine whether RT and IIV-decomposition techniques can shed light on the nature of underlying deficits in subcortical ischemic vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). Using a novel iPad task, we examined whether VCI deficits occur during both initiation and movement phases of a response, and whether they are equally reflected in both RT and IIV. Methods: Touch cancellation RT and its IIV were measured in a group of younger adults (n = 22), cognitively healthy older adults (n = 21), and patients with VCI (n = 21) using an iPad task. Results: Whereas cognitively healthy aging affected the speed (RT) of response initiation and movement but not its variability (IIV), VCI resulted in both slowed RT and increased IIV for both response phases. Furthermore, there were group differences with respect to response phase. Conclusion: These results indicate that IIV can be more sensitive than absolute RT in separating VCI from normal aging. Furthermore, compared to cognitively healthy aging, VCI was characterized by significant deficits in planning/initiating action as well as performing movements. Such deficits have important implications for real life actions such as driving safety, employment, and falls risk

Sertraline for anxiety in adults with a diagnosis of autism (STRATA) : study protocol for a pragmatic, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised controlled trial

Background: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly prescribed to manage anxiety in adults with an autism diagnosis. However, their effectiveness and adverse effect profile in the autistic population are not well known. This trial aims to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the SSRI sertraline in reducing symptoms of anxiety and improving quality of life in adults with a diagnosis of autism compared with placebo and to quantify any adverse effects. Methods: STRATA is a two-parallel group, multi-centre, pragmatic, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial with allocation at the level of the individual. It will be delivered through recruiting sites with autism services in 4 regional centres in the United Kingdom (UK) and 1 in Australia. Adults with an autism diagnosis and a Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) score ≥ 10 at screening will be randomised 1:1 to either 25 mg sertraline or placebo, with subsequent flexible dose titration up to 200 mg. The primary outcome is GAD-7 scores at 16 weeks post-randomisation. Secondary outcomes include adverse effects, proportionate change in GAD-7 scores including 50% reduction, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, panic attacks, repetitive behaviours, meltdowns, depressive symptoms, composite depression and anxiety, functioning and disability and quality of life. Carer burden will be assessed in a linked carer sub-study. Outcome data will be collected using online/paper methods via video call, face-to-face or telephone according to participant preference at 16, 24 and 52 weeks post-randomisation, with brief safety checks and data collection at 1–2, 4, 8, 12 and 36 weeks. An economic evaluation to study the cost-effectiveness of sertraline vs placebo and a QuinteT Recruitment Intervention (QRI) to optimise recruitment and informed consent are embedded within the trial. Qualitative interviews at various times during the study will explore experiences of participating and taking the trial medication. Discussion: Results from this study should help autistic adults and their clinicians make evidence-based decisions on the use of sertraline for managing anxiety in this population. Trial registration: ISRCTN, ISRCTN15984604. Registered on 08 February 2021. EudraCT 2019-004312-66. ANZCTR ACTRN12621000801819. Registered on 07 April 2021

Para-infectious brain injury in COVID-19 persists at follow-up despite attenuated cytokine and autoantibody responses

To understand neurological complications of COVID-19 better both acutely and for recovery, we measured markers of brain injury, inflammatory mediators, and autoantibodies in 203 hospitalised participants; 111 with acute sera (1–11 days post-admission) and 92 convalescent sera (56 with COVID-19-associated neurological diagnoses). Here we show that compared to 60 uninfected controls, tTau, GFAP, NfL, and UCH-L1 are increased with COVID-19 infection at acute timepoints and NfL and GFAP are significantly higher in participants with neurological complications. Inflammatory mediators (IL-6, IL-12p40, HGF, M-CSF, CCL2, and IL-1RA) are associated with both altered consciousness and markers of brain injury. Autoantibodies are more common in COVID-19 than controls and some (including against MYL7, UCH-L1, and GRIN3B) are more frequent with altered consciousness. Additionally, convalescent participants with neurological complications show elevated GFAP and NfL, unrelated to attenuated systemic inflammatory mediators and to autoantibody responses. Overall, neurological complications of COVID-19 are associated with evidence of neuroglial injury in both acute and late disease and these correlate with dysregulated innate and adaptive immune responses acutely

Aging and the number sense: preserved basic non-symbolic numerical processing and enhanced basic symbolic processing

Aging often leads to general cognitive decline in domains such as memory and attention. The effect of aging on numerical cognition, particularly on foundational numerical skills known as the number sense, is not well-known. Early research focused on the effect of aging on arithmetic. Recent studies have begun to investigate the impact of healthy aging on basic numerical skills, but focused on non-symbolic quantity discrimination alone. Moreover, contradictory findings have emerged. The current study aimed to further investigate the impact of aging on basic non-symbolic and symbolic numerical skills. A group of 25 younger (18-25) and 25 older adults (60-77) participated in non-symbolic and symbolic numerical comparison tasks. Mathematical and spelling abilities were also measured. Results showed that aging had no effect on foundational non-symbolic numerical skills, as both groups performed similarly [RTs, accuracy and Weber fractions (w)]. All participants showed decreased non-symbolic acuity (accuracy and w) in trials requiring inhibition. However, aging appears to be associated with a greater decline in discrimination speed in such trials. Furthermore, aging seems to have a positive impact on mathematical ability and basic symbolic numerical processing, as older participants attained significantly higher mathematical achievement scores, and performed significantly better on the symbolic comparison task than younger participants. The findings suggest that aging and its lifetime exposure to numbers may lead to better mathematical achievement and stronger basic symbolic numerical skills. Our results further support the observation that basic non-symbolic numerical skills are resilient to aging, but that aging may exacerbate poorer performance on trials requiring inhibitory processes. These findings lend further support to the notion that preserved basic numerical skills in aging may reflect the preservation of an innate, primitive, and embedded number sense

A new reality: The role of simulated learning activities in postgraduate psychology training programs

In training to become a registered psychologist in Australia, as with many other countries, there is a requirement for students to attend placements, where they work with clients in an apprenticeship model under the guidance of qualified supervisors. In the context of COVID-19, tertiary sector psychology educators responsible for facilitating these placements, which typically require face-to-face client work, have been challenged to arrange or maintain practica. During the pandemic, across Australia, most placements have been affected through cancellation, postponement, or modification (e.g., using telehealth, supported by the Australian Federal Government). In this paper we describe a collaborative initiative by members of the psychology profession across 15 providers of Australian postgraduate professional training programs. The initiative aimed to identify ways in which to develop and innovate psychological placement offerings, specifically using simulation-based learning. Although simulation-based learning in psychology training programs in Australia is a widely employed pedagogy for the scaffolding of theory into psychological practice, there is paucity of clear and comprehensive guidelines for the use of simulation to both optimize competency-based training and ensure public and student safety. The overarching aim of the group, and the focus of this paper, is to provide standardized guidelines for the inclusion of simulation-based learning in psychology training in Australia both during and post-COVID 19. Such guidelines may be equally valuable for psychology training programs globally

Additional file 1 of Sertraline for anxiety in adults with a diagnosis of autism (STRATA): study protocol for a pragmatic, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised controlled trial

Additional file 1. A multicentre double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial of SerTRaline for AnxieTy in adults with a diagnosis of Autism (STRATA)

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