Sub-optimal presentation of painful facial expressions enhances readiness for action and pain perception following electrocutaneous stimulation

Observation of others’ painful facial expressions has been shown to facilitate behavioral response tendencies and to increase pain perception in the observer. However, in previous studies, expressions were clearly visible to the observer and none of those studies investigated the effect of presence of peripheral stimulation on response tendencies. This study focuses on the effect of sub-optimal presentation of painful facial expressions in the presence and absence of an electrocutaneous stimulus. Twenty-two healthy individuals categorized arrow targets which were preceded by a sub-optimally presented facial expression (painful, happy, or neutral in different blocks). On half of the trials, aversive electrocutaneous stimulation was delivered to the wrist of the non-dominant hand between the presentation of facial expression and target (an arrow directing to right or left). Participants’ task was to indicate direction of the arrow as soon as it appears on the screen by pressing the corresponding key on the keyboard and to rate their pain at the end of block. Analysis showed that responses were faster to targets preceded by aversive stimulation than to targets not preceded by stimulation, especially following painful expressions. Painfulness ratings were higher following painful expressions than following happy expressions. These findings suggest that sub-optimally presented painful expressions can enhance readiness to act to neutral, non-pain-related targets after aversive stimulation and can increase pain perception

Urinary mineral concentrations in European pre-adolescent children and their association with calcaneal bone quantitative ultrasound measurements

This study investigates differences and associations between urinary mineral concentrations and calcaneal bone measures assessed by quantitative ultrasonography (QUS) in 4322 children (3.1–11.9 years, 50.6% boys) from seven European countries. Urinary mineral concentrations and calcaneal QUS parameters differed significantly across countries. Clustering revealed a lower stiffness index (SI) in children with low and medium urinary mineral concentrations, and a higher SI in children with high urinary mineral concentrations. Urinary sodium (uNa) was positively correlated with urinary calcium (uCa), and was positively associated with broadband ultrasound attenuation and SI after adjustment for age, sex and fat-free mass. Urinary potassium (uK) was negatively correlated with uCa but positively associated with speed of sound after adjustment. No association was found between uCa and QUS parameters after adjustment, but when additionally adjusting for uNa, uCa was negatively associated with SI. Our findings suggest that urinary mineral concentrations are associated with calcaneal QUS parameters and may therefore implicate bone properties. These findings should be confirmed in longitudinal studies that include the food intake and repeated measurement of urinary mineral concentrations to better estimate usual intake and minimize bias

The Flexibility of Nonconsciously Deployed Cognitive Processes: Evidence from Masked Congruence Priming

Background: It is well accepted in the subliminal priming literature that task-level properties modulate nonconscious processes. For example, in tasks with a limited number of targets, subliminal priming effects are limited to primes that are physically similar to the targets. In contrast, when a large number of targets are used, subliminal priming effects are observed for primes that share a semantic (but not necessarily physical) relationship with the target. Findings such as these have led researchers to conclude that task-level properties can direct nonconscious processes to be deployed exclusively over central (semantic) or peripheral (physically specified) representations. Principal Findings: We find distinct patterns of masked priming for "novel" and "repeated" primes within a single task context. Novel primes never appear as targets and thus are not seen consciously in the experiment. Repeated primes do appear as targets, thereby lending themselves to the establishment of peripheral stimulus-response mappings. If the source of the masked priming effect were exclusively central or peripheral, then both novel and repeated primes should yield similar patterns of priming. In contrast, we find that both novel and repeated primes produce robust, yet distinct, patterns of priming. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that nonconsciously elicited cognitive processes can be flexibly deployed over both central and peripheral representations within a single task context. While we agree that task-level properties can influence nonconscious processes, our findings sharply constrain the extent of this influence. Specifically, our findings are inconsistent with extant accounts which hold that the influence of task-level properties is strong enough to restrict the deployment of nonconsciously elicited cognitive processes to a single type of representation (i.e. central or peripheral).13 page(s

The Flexible Nature of Unconscious Cognition

The cognitive signature of unconscious processes is hotly debated recently. Generally, consciousness is thought to mediate flexible, adaptive and goal-directed behavior, but in the last decade unconscious processing has rapidly gained ground on traditional conscious territory. In this study we demonstrate that the scope and impact of unconscious information on behavior and brain activity can be modulated dynamically on a trial-by-trial basis. Participants performed a Go/No-Go experiment in which an unconscious (masked) stimulus preceding a conscious target could be associated with either a Go or No-Go response. Importantly, the mapping of stimuli onto these actions varied on a trial-by-trial basis, preventing the formation of stable associations and hence the possibility that unconscious stimuli automatically activate these control actions. By eliminating stimulus-response associations established through practice we demonstrate that unconscious information can be processed in a flexible and adaptive manner. In this experiment we show that the same unconscious stimulus can have a substantially different effect on behavior and (prefrontal) brain activity depending on the rapidly changing task context in which it is presented. This work suggests that unconscious information processing shares many sophisticated characteristics (including flexibility and context-specificity) with its conscious counterpart

Frequency and gender differences in the use of professional home care in late life: Findings from three German old-age cohorts

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of and the gender differences in the use of professional home care in Germany. Methods: We used harmonized data from three large cohort studies from Germany (“Healthy Aging: Gender-specific trajectories into the latest life”; AgeDifferent.de Platform). Data were available for 5,393 older individuals (75 years and older). Mean age was 80.2 years (SD: 4.1 years), 66.6% were female. Professional homecare outcome variables were use of outpatient nursing care, paid household assistance, and meals on wheels’ services. Logistic regression models were used, adjusting for important sociodemographic variables. Results: Altogether 5.2% of older individuals used outpatient nursing care (6.2% women and 3.2% men; p < 0.001), 24.2% used paid household assistance (26.1% women and 20.5% men; p < 0.001) and 4.4% used meals on wheels’ services (4.5% women and 4.0% men; p = 0.49). Regression analysis revealed that women had higher odds of using paid household assistance than men (OR = 1.48, 95% CI: [1.24–1.76]; p < 0.001), whereas they had lower odds of using meals on wheels’ services (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: [0.42–0.97]; p < 0.05). No statistically significant differences in using outpatient nursing care between women and men were found (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: [0.87–1.81]; p = 0.225). Further, the use of home care was mainly associated with health-related variables (e.g., stroke, Parkinson’s disease) and walking impairments. Conclusions: Our study showed that gender differences exist in using paid household assistance and in culinary dependency. For example, meals on wheels’ services are of great importance (e.g., for individuals living alone or for individuals with low social support). Gender differences were not identified regarding outpatient nursing care. Use of professional home care servicesmay contribute to maintaining autonomy and independence in old age

Non-cognate translation priming in masked priming lexical decision experiments: a meta-analysis

The masked translation priming paradigm has been widely used in the last 25 years to investigate word processing in bilinguals. Motivated by studies reporting mixed findings, in particular for second language (L2) to first language (L1) translation priming, we conducted, for the first time in the literature, a meta-analysis of 64 lexical decision experiments across 24 studies to assess the effect sizes of L1-L2 and L2-L1 non-cognate translation priming effects in bilinguals. Our meta-analysis also investigated the influence of potential moderators of translation priming effects. The results provided clear evidence of significant translation priming effects for both directions, with L1-L2 translation priming significantly larger than L2-L1 translation priming (i.e., effect size of 0.86 vs. 0.31). The analyses also revealed that L1-L2 translation effect sizes were moderated by the interval between prime and target (ISI), whereas L2-L1 translation effect sizes were modulated by the number of items per cell. Theoretical and methodological implications of this meta-analysis are discussed and recommendations for future studies are provided

Selection effects may account for better outcomes of the German Disease Management Program for type 2 diabetes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The nationwide German disease management program (DMP) for type 2 diabetes was introduced in 2003. Meanwhile, results from evaluation studies were published, but possible baseline differences between DMP and usual-care patients have not been examined. The objective of our study was therefore to find out if patient characteristics as socio-demographic variables, cardiovascular risk profile or motivation for life style changes influence the chance of being enrolled in the German DMP for type 2 diabetes and may therefore account for outcome differences between DMP and usual-care patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Case control study comparing DMP patients with usual-care patients at baseline and follow up; mean follow-up period of 36 ± 14 months. We used chart review data from 51 GP surgeries. Participants were 586 DMP and 250 usual-care patients with type 2 diabetes randomly selected by chart registry. Data were analysed by multivariate logistic and linear regression analyses. Significance levels were p ≤ 0.05.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was a better chance for enrolment if patients a) had a lower risk status for diabetes complications, i.e. non-smoking (odds ratio of 1.97, 95% confidence interval of 1.11 to 3.48) and lower systolic blood pressure (1.79 for 120 mmHg vs. 160 mmHg, 1.15 to 2.81); b) had higher activity rates, i.e. were practicing blood glucose self-monitoring (1.67, 1.03 to 2.76) and had been prescribed a diabetes patient education before enrolment (2.32, 1.29 to 4.19) c) were treated with oral medication (2.17, 1.35 to 3.49) and d) had a higher GP-rated motivation for diabetes education (4.55 for high motivation vs. low motivation, 2.21 to 9.36).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>At baseline, future DMP patients had a lower risk for diabetes complications, were treated more intensively and were more active and motivated in managing their disease than usual-care patients. This finding a) points to the problem that the German DMP may not reach the higher risk patients and b) selection bias may impair the assessment of differences in outcome quality between enrolled and usual-care patients. Suggestions for dealing with this bias in evaluation studies are being made.</p

A genome-wide survey of human short-term memory

Recent advances in the development of high-throughput genotyping platforms allow for the unbiased identification of genes and genomic sequences related to heritable traits. In this study, we analyzed human short-term memory, which refers to the ability to remember information over a brief period of time and which has been found disturbed in many neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia and depression. We performed a genome-wide survey at 909 622 polymorphic loci and report six genetic variations significantly associated with human short-term memory performance after genome-wide correction for multiple comparisons. A polymorphism within SCN1A (encoding the α subunit of the type I voltage-gated sodium channel) was replicated in three independent populations of 1699 individuals. Functional magnetic resonance imaging during an n-back working memory task detected SCN1A allele-dependent activation differences in brain regions typically involved in working memory processes. These results suggest an important role for SCN1A in human short-term memory

The disease management program for type 2 diabetes in Germany enhances process quality of diabetes care - a follow-up survey of patient's experiences

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In summer 2003 a disease management program (DMP) for type 2 diabetes was introduced on a nationwide basis in Germany. Patient participation and continuity of care within the DMP are important factors to achieve long-term improvements in clinical endpoints. Therefore it is of interest, if patients experience any positive or negative effects of the DMP on their treatment that would support or hamper further participation. The main objective of the study was to find out if the German Disease Management Program (DMP) for type 2 diabetes improves process and outcome quality of medical care for patients in the light of their subjective experiences over a period of one year.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cohort study with a baseline interview and a follow-up after 10.4 ± 0.64 months. Data on process and outcome measures were collected by telephone interviews with 444 patients enrolled and 494 patients not enrolled in the German DMP for type 2 diabetes. Data were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>DMP enrolment was significantly associated with a higher process quality of care. At baseline enrolled patients more often reported that they had attended a diabetes education course (OR = 3.4), have ≥ 4 contacts/year with the attending physician (OR = 3.3), have at least one annual foot examination (OR = 3.1) and one referral to an ophthalmologist (OR = 3.4) and possess a diabetes passport (OR = 2.4). Except for the annual referral to an ophthalmologist these parameters were also statistically significant at follow-up. In contrast, no differences between enrolled and not enrolled patients were found concerning outcome quality indicators, e.g. self-rated health, Glycated hemoglobin (GHb) and blood pressure. However, 16-36% of the DMP participants reported improvements of body weight and/or GHb and/or blood pressure values due to enrolment - unchanged within one year of follow-up.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In the light of patient's experiences the DMP enhances the process quality of medical care for type 2 diabetes in Germany. The lack of significant differences in outcome quality between enrolled and not enrolled patients might be due to the short program duration. Our data suggest that the DMP for type 2 diabetes should not be withdrawn unless an evidently more promising approach is found.</p

Your Unconscious Knows Your Name

One's own name constitutes a unique part of conscious awareness – but does this also hold true for unconscious processing? The present study shows that the own name has the power to bias a person's actions unconsciously even in conditions that render any other name ineffective. Participants judged whether a letter string on the screen was a name or a non-word while this target stimulus was preceded by a masked prime stimulus. Crucially, the participant's own name was among these prime stimuli and facilitated reactions to following name targets whereas the name of another, yoked participant did not. Signal detection results confirmed that participants were not aware of any of the prime stimuli, including their own name. These results extend traditional findings on “breakthrough” phenomena of personally relevant stimuli to the domain of unconscious processing. Thus, the brain seems to possess adroit mechanisms to identify and process such stimuli even in the absence of conscious awareness