200 research outputs found
Silver Lining Theories of Creativity:Commentary on “Why Being Bored Might Not Be a Bad Thing after All” by G. Park, B. Lim, and H. Oh
Engaging in Creativity Broadens Attentional Scope
Previous studies have shown that creativity is enhanced by a broad attentional scope, defined as an ability to utilize peripheral stimuli and process information globally. We propose that the reverse relationship also holds, and that breadth of attention also is a consequence of engaging in a creative activity. In Study 1, participants showed increased breadth of attention in a visual scanning task after performing a divergent thinking task as opposed to an analytic thinking task. In Study 2, participants recognized peripheral stimuli displayed during the task better after performing a divergent thinking task as compared to an analytic task, whereas recognition performance of participants performing a task that involves a mix of divergent and analytic thinking (the Remote Associates Test) fell in between. Additionally, in Study 2 (but not in Study 1), breadth of attention was positively correlated with performance in a divergent thinking task, but not with performance in an analytic thinking task. Our findings suggest that the adjustment of the cognitive system to task demands manifests at a very basic, perceptual level, through changes in the breadth of visual attention. This paper contributes a new, motivational perspective on attentional breadth and discusses it as a result of adjusting cognitive processing to the task requirements, which contributes to effective self-regulation
Person-task fit::Emotional consequences of performing divergent versus convergent thinking tasks depend on need for cognitive closure
We investigated how people high (vs. low) in the Need for Cognitive Closure (NFC) experience working on divergent and convergent thinking tasks. Based on the notion of person-task fit, we hypothesized that individuals high in NFC (but not those low in NFC) would feel less competent when solving divergent (vs. convergent) thinking tasks, because, being open-ended, divergent thinking tasks do not offer closure. We also predicted that, consequently, high NFC individuals would experience less positive emotions and more negative emotions when performing a divergent (vs. convergent) thinking task. To test this idea, we measured NFC among participants (N/=/549) from five European countries and asked these participants to complete a divergent (vs. convergent) thinking task and to appraise their own competence and emotions. Participants high in NFC (but not these low in NFC) felt less competent and experienced less positive and more negative emotions when solving a divergent (vs. convergent) thinking task. The association between task type and emotions was mediated by perceived competence but only for participants high in NFC
Near threshold eta meson production in the d+d->alpha+eta reaction
The d+d->alpha+eta reaction has been investigated near threshold using the
ANKE facility at COSY-Juelich. Both total and differential cross sections have
been measured at two excess energies, Q=2.6 MeV and 7.7 MeV, with a
subthreshold measurement being undertaken at Q=-2.6 MeV to study the physical
background. While consistent with isotropy at the lower energy, the angular
distribution reveals a pronounced anisotropy at the higher one, indicating the
presence of higher partial waves. Options for the decomposition into partial
amplitudes and their consequences for determination of the s-wave eta-alpha
scattering length are discussed.Comment: 8pp, fig.3 added, normalisation in eq.4.1 correcte
Deuteron-deuteron collision at 160 MeV
The experiment was carried out using BINA detector at KVI in Groningen. For
the first time an extensive data analysis of the data collected in back part of
the detector is presented, where a clusterization method is utilized for
angular and energy information. We also present differential cross-sections for
the (dddpn) breakup reaction within \textit{dp} quasi-free
scattering limit and their comparison with first calculations based on Single
Scattering Approximation (SSA) approach.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, presented at Jagiellonian Symposium 2015 in
Krakow, PhD wor
Associations of antidepressants and antipsychotics with lipid parameters: Do CYP2C19/CYP2D6 genes play a role? A UK population-based study
Background:
Dyslipidaemia is an important cardiovascular risk factor for people with severe mental illness, contributing to premature mortality. The link between antipsychotics and dyslipidaemia is well established, while evidence on antidepressants is mixed.
Aims:
To investigate if antidepressant/antipsychotic use was associated with lipid parameters in UK Biobank participants and if CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 genetic variation plays a role.
Methods:
Review of self-reported prescription medications identified participants taking antidepressants/antipsychotics. Total, low-, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (L/HDL-C) and triglycerides derived from blood samples. CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 metabolic phenotypes were assigned from genetic data. Linear regression investigated aims, adjusted for key covariates.
Results:
Of 469,739 participants, 36,043 took antidepressants (53% female, median age 58, 17% taking cholesterol-lowering medications) and 3255 took antipsychotics (58% female, median age 57, 27% taking cholesterol-lowering medications). Significant associations were found between use of each amitriptyline, fluoxetine, citalopram/escitalopram, sertraline, paroxetine and venlafaxine with higher total cholesterol, LDL-C, and triglycerides and lower HDL-C, compared to participants not taking each medication. Venlafaxine was associated with the worst lipid profile (total cholesterol, adjusted mean difference: 0.21 mmol/L, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.17 to 0.26, p < 0.001). Antipsychotic use was significantly associated with lower HDL-C and higher triglycerides. In participants taking sertraline, CYP2C19 intermediate metabolisers had higher HDL-C (0.05 mmol/L, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.09, p = 0.007) and lower triglycerides (−0.17 mmol/L, 95% CI: −0.29 to −0.05, p = 0.007), compared to normal metabolisers.
Conclusions:
Antidepressants were significantly associated with adverse lipid profiles, potentially warranting baseline and regular monitoring. Further research should investigate the mechanistic pathways underlying the protective effects of the CYP2C19 intermediate metaboliser phenotype on HDL-C and triglycerides in people taking sertraline
The influence of CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 genetic variation on diabetes mellitus risk in people taking antidepressants and antipsychotics
CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 enzymes are essential in the metabolism of antidepressants and antipsychotics. Genetic variation in these genes may increase risk of adverse drug reactions. Antidepressants and antipsychotics have previously been associated with risk of diabetes. We examined whether individual genetic differences in CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 contribute to these effects. We identified 31,579 individuals taking antidepressants and 2699 taking antipsychotics within UK Biobank. Participants were classified as poor, intermediate, or normal metabolizers of CYP2D6, and as poor, intermediate, normal, rapid, or ultra-rapid metabolizers of CYP2C19. Risk of diabetes mellitus represented by HbA1c level was examined in relation to the metabolic phenotypes. CYP2D6 poor metabolizers taking paroxetine had higher Hb1Ac than normal metabolizers (mean difference: 2.29 mmol/mol; p < 0.001). Among participants with diabetes who were taking venlafaxine, CYP2D6 poor metabolizers had higher HbA1c levels compared to normal metabolizers (mean differences: 10.15 mmol/mol; p < 0.001. Among participants with diabetes who were taking fluoxetine, CYP2D6 intermediate metabolizers and decreased HbA1c, compared to normal metabolizers (mean difference −7.74 mmol/mol; p = 0.017). We did not observe any relationship between CYP2D6 or CYP2C19 metabolic status and HbA1c levels in participants taking antipsychotic medication. Our results indicate that the impact of genetic variation in CYP2D6 differs depending on diabetes status. Although our findings support existing clinical guidelines, further research is essential to inform pharmacogenetic testing for people taking antidepressants and antipsychotics
Phase locking the spin precession in a storage ring
This letter reports the successful use of feedback from a spin polarization
measurement to the revolution frequency of a 0.97 GeV/ bunched and polarized
deuteron beam in the Cooler Synchrotron (COSY) storage ring in order to control
both the precession rate ( kHz) and the phase of the horizontal
polarization component. Real time synchronization with a radio frequency (rf)
solenoid made possible the rotation of the polarization out of the horizontal
plane, yielding a demonstration of the feedback method to manipulate the
polarization. In particular, the rotation rate shows a sinusoidal function of
the horizontal polarization phase (relative to the rf solenoid), which was
controlled to within a one standard deviation range of rad. The
minimum possible adjustment was 3.7 mHz out of a revolution frequency of 753
kHz, which changes the precession rate by 26 mrad/s. Such a capability meets a
requirement for the use of storage rings to look for an intrinsic electric
dipole moment of charged particles
Search for eta-mesic 4He in the dd->3He n pi0 and dd->3He p pi- reactions with the WASA-at-COSY facility
The search for 4He-eta bound states was performed with the WASA-at-COSY
facility via the measurement of the excitation function for the dd->3He n pi0
and dd->3He p pi- processes. The beam momentum was varied continuously between
2.127 GeV/c and 2.422 GeV/c, corresponding to the excess energy for the dd->4He
eta reaction ranging from Q=-70 MeV to Q=30 MeV. The luminosity was determined
based on the dd->3He n reaction and quasi-free proton-proton scattering via
dd->pp n_spectator n_spectator reactions. The excitation functions determined
independently for the measured reactions do not reveal a structure which could
be interpreted as a narrow mesic nucleus. Therefore, the upper limits of the
total cross sections for the bound state production and decay in
dd->(4He-eta)_bound->3He n pi0 and dd->(4He-eta)_bound->3He p pi- processes
were determined taking into account the isospin relation between both the
channels considered. The results of the analysis depend on the assumptions of
the N* momentum distribution in the anticipated mesic-4He. Assuming as in the
previous works, that this is identical with the distribution of nucleons bound
with 20 MeV in 4He, we determined that (for the mesic bound state width in the
range from 5 MeV to 50 MeV) the upper limits at 90% confidence level are about
3 nb and about 6 nb for npi0 and ppi- channels, respectively. However, based on
the recent theoretical findings of the N*(1535) momentum distribution in the
N*-3He nucleus bound by 3.6 MeV, we find that the WASA-at-COSY detector
acceptance decreases and hence the corresponding upper limits are 5 nb and 10
nb for npi0 and ppi- channels respectively.Comment: This article will be submitted to JHE
- …