Congruency of gaze metrics in action, imagery and action observation

The aim of this paper is to provide a review of eye movements during action execution, action observation, and movement imagery. Furthermore, the paper highlights aspects of congruency in gaze metrics between these states. The implications of the imagery, observation, and action gaze congruency are discussed in terms of motor learning and rehabilitation. Future research directions are outlined in order to further the understanding of shared gaze metrics between overt and covert states. Suggestions are made for how researchers and practitioners can structure action observation and movement imagery interventions to maximize (re)learning

Cognitions in bipolar affective disorder and unipolar depression: imagining suicide.

OBJECTIVE: Bipolar disorder has the highest rate of suicide of all the psychiatric disorders. In unipolar depression, individuals report vivid, affect-laden images of suicide or the aftermath of death (flashforwards to suicide) during suicidal ideation but this phenomenon has not been explored in bipolar disorder. Therefore the authors investigated and compared imagery and verbal thoughts related to past suicidality in individuals with bipolar disorder (n = 20) and unipolar depression (n = 20). METHODS: The study used a quasi-experimental comparative design. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV was used to confirm diagnoses. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through questionnaire measures (e.g., mood and trait imagery use). Individual interviews assessed suicidal cognitions in the form of (i) mental images and (ii) verbal thoughts. RESULTS: All participants reported imagining flashforwards to suicide. Both groups reported greater preoccupation with these suicide-related images than with verbal thoughts about suicide. However, compared to the unipolar group, the bipolar group were significantly more preoccupied with flashforward imagery, rated this imagery as more compelling, and were more than twice as likely to report that the images made them want to take action to complete suicide. In addition, the bipolar group reported a greater trait propensity to use mental imagery in general. CONCLUSIONS: Suicidal ideation needs to be better characterized, and mental imagery of suicide has been a neglected but potentially critical feature of suicidal ideation, particularly in bipolar disorder. Our findings suggest that flashforward imagery warrants further investigation for formal universal clinical assessment procedures

Evolution of biofilm-forming pathogenic bacteria in the presence of nanoparticles and antibiotic: adaptation phenomena and cross-resistance.

BackgroundTreatment of bacterial biofilms are difficult and in many cases, expensive. Bacterial biofilms are naturally more resilient to antimicrobial agents than their free-living planktonic counterparts, rendering the community growth harder to control. The present work described the risks of long-term use of an important alternative antimicrobial, silver nanoparticles (NAg), for the first time, on the dominant mode of bacterial growth.ResultsNAg could inhibit the formation as well as eradicating an already grown biofilm of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a pathogen notorious for its resilience to antibiotics. The biofilm-forming bacterium however, evolved a reduced sensitivity to the nanoparticle. Evidence suggests that survival is linked to the development of persister cells within the population. A similar adaptation was also seen upon prolonged exposures to ionic silver (Ag+). The persister population resumed normal growth after subsequent passage in the absence of silver, highlighting the potential risks of recurrent infections with long-term NAg (and Ag+) treatments of biofilm growth. The present study further observed a potential silver/antibiotic cross-resistance, whereby NAg (as well as Ag+) could not eradicate an already growing gentamicin-resistant P. aeruginosa biofilm. The phenomena is thought to result from the hindered biofilm penetration of the silver species. In contrast, both silver formulations inhibited biofilm formation of the resistant strain, presenting a promising avenue for the control of biofilm-forming antibiotic-resistant bacteria.ConclusionThe findings signify the importance to study the nanoparticle adaptation phenomena in the biofilm mode of bacterial growth, which are apparently unique to those already reported with the planktonic growth counterparts. This work sets the foundation for future studies in other globally significant bacterial pathogens when present as biofilms. Scientifically based strategies for management of pathogenic growth is necessary, particularly in this era of increasing antibiotic resistance

Corporate entrepreneurship, country institutions and firm financial performance

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordAdopting an institutional perspective, we propose that home country intellectual property (IP) and employee protection institutions moderate the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and firm performance. Examining 9,642 European firms, we find that whereas internal CE is more positively correlated with firm performance in countries with less stringent IP protection and less stringent employee protection, external CE is particularly negatively correlated with firm performance in countries with less stringent IP protection and more stringent employee protection. These results provide a richer view of the relationship between CE and firm performance than the extant entrepreneurship and international businesses literatures sugges

Viewing instructions accompanying action observation modulate corticospinal excitability

Action observation interventions may have the potential to contribute to improved motor function in motor (re)learning settings by promoting functional activity and plasticity in the motor regions of the brain. Optimal methods for delivering such interventions, however, have yet to be established. This experiment investigated the effect on corticospinal excitability of manipulating the viewing instructions provided to participants (N = 21) prior to action observation. Specifically, motor evoked potential responses measured from the right hand muscles following single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to the left motor cortex were compared when participants were instructed to observe finger-thumb opposition movement sequences: (i) passively; (ii) with the intent to imitate the observed movement; or (iii) whilst simultaneously and actively imagining that they were performing the movement as they observed it. All three action observation viewing instructions facilitated corticospinal excitability to a greater extent than did observation of a static hand. In addition, the extent to which corticospinal excitability was facilitated was greater during combined observation and imagery, compared to passive observation. These findings have important implications for the design of action observation interventions in motor (re)learning settings, where instructions that encourage observers to simultaneously imagine themselves performing the observed movement may offer the current optimal method for improving motor function through action observation

Applications of time-series analysis to mood fluctuations in bipolar disorder to promote treatment innovation: a case series.

Treatment innovation for bipolar disorder has been hampered by a lack of techniques to capture a hallmark symptom: ongoing mood instability. Mood swings persist during remission from acute mood episodes and impair daily functioning. The last significant treatment advance remains Lithium (in the 1970s), which aids only the minority of patients. There is no accepted way to establish proof of concept for a new mood-stabilizing treatment. We suggest that combining insights from mood measurement with applied mathematics may provide a step change: repeated daily mood measurement (depression) over a short time frame (1 month) can create individual bipolar mood instability profiles. A time-series approach allows comparison of mood instability pre- and post-treatment. We test a new imagery-focused cognitive therapy treatment approach (MAPP; Mood Action Psychology Programme) targeting a driver of mood instability, and apply these measurement methods in a non-concurrent multiple baseline design case series of 14 patients with bipolar disorder. Weekly mood monitoring and treatment target data improved for the whole sample combined. Time-series analyses of daily mood data, sampled remotely (mobile phone/Internet) for 28 days pre- and post-treatment, demonstrated improvements in individuals' mood stability for 11 of 14 patients. Thus the findings offer preliminary support for a new imagery-focused treatment approach. They also indicate a step in treatment innovation without the requirement for trials in illness episodes or relapse prevention. Importantly, daily measurement offers a description of mood instability at the individual patient level in a clinically meaningful time frame. This costly, chronic and disabling mental illness demands innovation in both treatment approaches (whether pharmacological or psychological) and measurement tool: this work indicates that daily measurements can be used to detect improvement in individual mood stability for treatment innovation (MAPP)