Alcohol Hangover and Multitasking: Effects on Mood, Cognitive Performance, Stress Reactivity, and Perceived Effort

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of hangover on mood, multitasking ability, and psychological stress reactivity to cognitive demand. Using a crossover design and semi-naturalistic methodology, 25 participants attended the laboratory in the morning following a night of (i) alcohol abstinence and (ii) alcohol self-administration during a typical night out (with order counterbalanced across participants). They completed a four-module multitasking framework (MTF, a widely used laboratory stressor) and a battery of questionnaires assessing mood, hangover symptom severity, and previous night’s sleep. The effects of the MTF on mood and perceived workload were also assessed. Participants in the hangover condition reported significantly lower alertness and contentment coupled with a higher mental fatigue and anxiety. Multitasking ability was also significantly impaired in the hangover condition. Completion of the cognitive stressor increased reported levels of mental demand, effort, and frustration, and decreased perceived level of performance. MTF completion did not differentially affect mood. Lastly, participants rated their sleep as significantly worse during the night prior to the hangover compared with the control condition. These findings confirm the negative cognitive and mood effects of hangover on mood. They also demonstrate that hangover is associated with greater perceived effort during task performance

The Power of the Situation: Approach and Avoidance Tendencies in Romantic Relationships

How a person handles conflict in a romantic relationship is closely linked with his or her relationship satisfaction. Seeking positive outcomes is correlated with greater satisfaction, while avoiding negative outcomes is correlated with lesser satisfaction. Whether a person tends to seek positives vs. avoid negatives is related to personality, but this study tested whether it also might be affected by aspects of the relationship itself. 114 undergraduates indicated how they were likely to respond in three romantic relationship conflict scenarios that varied the level of a person’s relationship investment, their level of relationship alternatives, and perceived relationship repair/dissolution. I also measured participants’ personalities, goals, and relationship experience. I will assess to what extent tendencies to avoid negative outcomes (e.g., conflict) vs. seek positive outcomes (e.g., intimacy) are affected by aspects of the situation and to what extent they are affected by personality

A qualitative study of older adults' perspectives on initiating exercise and mindfulness practice.

BackgroundMindfulness practice and exercise are ways by which older adults can improve and maintain their physical, emotional and cognitive health.MethodsThis single-site qualitative study gathered insights of older adults' perceptions about initiating and maintaining mindfulness and exercise practices. We carried out focus groups with 41 adults aged 65-85 who had recently initiated Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), structured exercise, or their combination as part of participation in a clinical trial. We used a semi-structured interview to ask them open-ended questions regarding the benefits, barriers and facilitators of participating in mindfulness and/or exercise interventions. The interview also included questions regarding translation of these practices into community settings as well as the long-term maintenance potential of these practices.ResultsOlder adults indicated that the mindfulness training increased their awareness and self-reflection and fostered a more self-accepting attitude. Furthermore, they improved their self-care habits and reported having better familial and social relationships. The main barrier for both the exercise and Mindfulness group was time management. The social benefits and sense of community were some of the primary motivators for older adults in the exercise and/or MBSR interventions. However, the research on how to motivate older adults to initiate healthy behavioral changes also needs to be answered. The benefits of exercise and MBSR are a motivation in and of themselves, as indicated by some of the participants.ConclusionsThis study indicates that mindfulness training and exercise can serve as tools to cultivate important health lifestyle qualities among older adults, who are in the midst of mental, social, emotional and physical change. If it were not for the purpose of the research or the incentives provided by the research team, these older adults may have never started the healthy behavioral changes. From the responses, this may indicate that older adults may need more incentives to begin and maintain behavioral changes other than for their own health benefit

Narrative skills in adolescents with a history of SLI in relation to non-verbal IQ scores

There is a debate about whether the language of children with primary language disorders and normal cognitive levels is qualitatively different from those with language impairments who have low or borderline non-verbal IQ (NVIQ). As children reach adolescence, this distinction may be even harder to ascertain, especially in naturalistic settings. Narrative may provide a useful, ecologically valid way in which to assess the language ability of adolescents with specific language impairment (SLI) who have intact or lowered NVIQ and to determine whether there is any discernable difference in every day language. Nineteen adolescents with a history of SLI completed two narrative tasks: a story telling condition and a conversational condition. Just under half the group (n = 8) had non-verbal IQs of 85. The remaining 11 had NVIQs in the normal range or above. Four areas of narrative (productivity, syntax, cohesion and performance) were assessed. There were no differences between the groups on standardized tests of language. However, the group with low NVIQ were poorer on most aspects of narrative, suggesting that cognitive level is important, even when language is the primary disorder. The groups showed similar patterns of differences between story telling and conversational narrative. It was concluded that adolescents with a history of SLI and poor cognitive levels have poorer narrative skills than those with normal range NVIQ even though these may not be detected by standardized assessment. Their difficulties present as qualitatively similar to those with normal range NVIQ and narratives appear impoverished rather than inaccurate

Differences in prefrontal blood oxygenation during an acute multitasking stressor in ecstasy polydrug users

Background: Cognitive deficits are well documented in ecstasy (MDMA) users with such deficits being taken as evidence of dysregulation of the 5HT system. More recently neuroimaging has been used to corroborate these deficits. The present study aimed to assess multitasking performance in ecstasy polydrug users, polydrug users and drug naïve individuals. It was predicted that ecstasy polydrug users would perform worse than nonusers on the behavioural measure and this would be supported by difference in cortical blood oxygenation. Methods: Twenty ecstasy-polydrug users, 17 polydrug users and 19 drug naïve individuals took part. On day 1 drug use history was taken and questionnaire measures were completed. On day 2, participants completed a 20 minute multitasking stressor while brain blood oxygenation was measured using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Results: There were no significant differences between the 3 groups on the subscales of the multitasking stressor. In addition, there were no significant differences on self-report measures of perceived workload (NASA – TLX). In terms of mood, ecstasy users were significantly less calm and less relaxed compared to drug-naïve controls. There were also significant differences at 3 voxels on the fNIRS indicating decreased blood oxygenation in ecstasy users compared to drug naïve controls at V2 (left DLPFC), V14 and V16 (right DLPFC), and compared to polydrug controls at V14. Conclusions: The results of the present study provide support for changes in brain activation during performance of demanding tasks in ecstasy polydrug users, which could be related to cerebral vasoconstriction

Plasma REST: a novel candidate biomarker of Alzheimer's disease is modified by psychological intervention in an at-risk population.

The repressor element 1-silencing transcription (REST) factor is a key regulator of the aging brain's stress response. It is reduced in conditions of stress and Alzheimer's disease (AD), which suggests that increasing REST may be neuroprotective. REST can be measured peripherally in blood plasma. Our study aimed to (1) examine plasma REST levels in relation to clinical and biological markers of neurodegeneration and (2) alter plasma REST levels through a stress-reduction intervention-mindfulness training. In study 1, REST levels were compared across the following four well-characterized groups: healthy elderly (n=65), mild cognitive impairment who remained stable (stable MCI, n=36), MCI who later converted to dementia (converter MCI, n=29) and AD (n=65) from the AddNeuroMed cohort. REST levels declined with increasing severity of risk and impairment (healthy elderly>stable MCI>converter MCI>AD, F=6.35, P<0.001). REST levels were also positively associated with magnetic resonance imaging-based hippocampal and entorhinal atrophy and other putative blood-based biomarkers of AD (Ps<0.05). In study 2, REST was measured in 81 older adults with psychiatric risk factors for AD before and after a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention or an education-based placebo intervention. Mindfulness-based training caused an increase in REST compared with the placebo intervention (F=8.57, P=0.006), and increased REST was associated with a reduction in psychiatric symptoms associated with stress and AD risk (Ps<0.02). Our data confirm plasma REST associations with clinical severity and neurodegeneration, and originally, that REST is modifiable by a psychological intervention with clinical benefit

Plasma REST: A novel candidate biomarker of Alzheimer\u27s disease is modified by psychological intervention in an at-risk population

The repressor element 1-silencing transcription (REST) factor is a key regulator of the aging brain’s stress response. It is reduced in conditions of stress and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which suggests that increasing REST may be neuroprotective. REST can be measured peripherally in blood plasma. Our study aimed to (1) examine plasma REST levels in relation to clinical and biological markers of neurodegeneration and (2) alter plasma REST levels through a stress-reduction intervention—mindfulness training. In study 1, REST levels were compared across the following four well-characterized groups: healthy elderly (n=65), mild cognitive impairment who remained stable (stable MCI, n=36), MCI who later converted to dementia (converter MCI, n=29) and AD (n=65) from the AddNeuroMed cohort. REST levels declined with increasing severity of risk and impairment (healthy elderly>stable MCI>converter MCI>AD, F=6.35, P<0.001). REST levels were also positively associated with magnetic resonance imaging-based hippocampal and entorhinal atrophy and other putative blood-based biomarkers of AD (Ps<0.05). In study 2, REST was measured in 81 older adults with psychiatric risk factors for AD before and after a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention or an education-based placebo intervention. Mindfulness-based training caused an increase in REST compared with the placebo intervention (F=8.57, P=0.006), and increased REST was associated with a reduction in psychiatric symptoms associated with stress and AD risk (Ps<0.02). Our data confirm plasma REST associations with clinical severity and neurodegeneration, and originally, that REST is modifiable by a psychological intervention with clinical benefit

Jekyll and Hyde: men's constructions of feminism and feminists

Research and commentary on men's responses to feminism has demonstrated the range of ways in which men have mobilised both against and for feminist principles. This paper argues that further analyses of men's responses require a sophisticated theory of discourse acknowledging the fragmented and contradictory nature of representation. A corpus of men's talk on feminism and feminists was studied to identify the pervasive patterns in men's accounting and regularities in rhetorical organisation. Material from two samples of men was included: a sample of white middle-class 17-18 year old school students and a sample of 60 interviews with a more diverse sample of older men aged 20 to 64. Two interpretative repertoires of feminism and feminists were identified. These set up a 'Jekyll and Hyde' binary and positioned feminism along with feminists very differently as reasonable versus extreme and monstrous. Both repertoires tended to be deployed together and the paper explores the ideological and interactional consequences of typical deployments along with the identity work accomplished by the men as they positioned themselves in relation to these

Effects of two doses of glucose and a caffeine-glucose combination on cognitive performance and mood during multi-tasking

Background: This study assessed the effects of two doses of glucose and a caffeine–glucose combination on mood and performance of an ecologically valid, computerised multi-tasking platform. Materials and methods: Following a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, parallel-groups design, 150 healthy adults (mean age 34.78 years) consumed drinks containing placebo, 25 g glucose, 60 g glucose or 60 g glucose with 40 mg caffeine. They completed a multitasking framework at baseline and then 30 min following drink consumption with mood assessments immediately before and after the multitasking framework. Blood glucose and salivary caffeine were co-monitored. Results: The caffeine–glucose group had significantly better total multi-tasking scores than the placebo or 60 g glucose groups and were significantly faster at mental arithmetic tasks than either glucose drink group. There were no significant treatment effects on mood. Caffeine and glucose levels confirmed compliance with overnight abstinence/fasting, respectively, and followed the predicted post-drink patterns. Conclusion: These data suggest that co-administration of glucose and caffeine allows greater allocation of attentional resources than placebo or glucose alone. At present, we cannot rule out the possibility that the effects are due to caffeine alone Future studies should aim at disentangling caffeine and glucose effect

Jockeying for position: the construction of masculine identities

In this paper we examine the construction of masculine identities within a real-life social situation. Using data from an extensive series of interviews with small groups of sixth-form (17-18-year-old) students attending a UK-based, single-sex independent school, the analysis looks at the action orientation of different constructions of identity. More specifically, it focuses upon how the identity talk of one particular group of students were oriented towards managing their subordinate status within the school. In a number of instances the identity of the `new man' was adopted as a strategy of resistance. However, it was found that the more common strategy involved buying back into values embodied within a more traditional definition of masculinity