scholarly journals Asymmetric practices of reading and writing shape visuospatial attention and discrimination

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Mendonça ◽  
Margarida V. Garrido ◽  
Gün R. Semin
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Congruency Effect ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Discrimination Performance ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Visuospatial Attention ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Attention Orienting ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right

AbstractMovement is generally conceived of as unfolding laterally in the writing direction that one is socialized into. In ‘Western’ languages, this is a left-to-right bias contributing to an imbalance in how attention is distributed across space. We propose that the rightward attentional bias exercises an additional unidirectional influence on discrimination performance thus shaping the congruency effect typically observed in Posner-inspired cueing tasks. In two studies, we test whether faces averted laterally serve as attention orienting cues and generate differences in both target discrimination latencies and gaze movements across left and right hemifields. Results systematically show that right-facing faces (i.e. aligned with the script direction) give rise to an advantage for cue-target pairs pertaining to the right (versus left) side of space. We report an asymmetry between congruent conditions in the form of right-sided facilitation for: (a) response time in discrimination decisions (experiment 1–2) and (b) eye-gaze movements, namely earlier onset to first fixation in the respective region of interest (experiment 2). Left and front facing cues generated virtually equal exploration patterns, confirming that the latter did not prime any directionality. These findings demonstrate that visuospatial attention and consequent discrimination are highly dependent on the asymmetric practices of reading and writing.

scholarly journals Electroencephalogram (EEG) Alpha Power as a Marker of Visuospatial Attention Orienting and Suppression in Normoxia and Hypoxia. An Exploratory Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Zani ◽  
Clara Tumminelli ◽  
Alice Mado Proverbio
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Visuospatial Attention ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Control Networks ◽  
Attention Orienting ◽  
Oxygenation Condition ◽  
Eeg Alpha ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Control ◽  
Electroencephalogram Eeg

While electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha desynchronization has been related to anticipatory orienting of visuospatial attention, an increase in alpha power has been associated to its inhibition. A separate line of findings indicated that alpha is affected by a deficient oxygenation of the brain or hypoxia, although leaving unclear whether the latter increases or decreases alpha synchronization. Here, we carried out an exploratory study on these issues by monitoring attention alerting, orienting, and control networks functionality by means of EEG recorded both in normoxia and hypoxia in college students engaged in four attentional cue-target conditions induced by a redesigned Attention Network Test. Alpha power was computed through Fast Fourier Transform. Regardless of brain oxygenation condition, alpha desynchronization was the highest during exogenous, uncued orienting of spatial attention, the lowest during alerting but spatially unpredictable, cued exogenous orienting of attention, and of intermediate level during validly cued endogenous orienting of attention, no matter the motor response workload demanded by the latter, especially over the left hemisphere. Hypoxia induced an increase in alpha power over the right-sided occipital and parietal scalp areas independent of attention cueing and conflict conditions. All in all, these findings prove that attention orienting is undergirded by alpha desynchronization and that alpha right-sided synchronization in hypoxia might sub-serve either the effort to sustain attention over time or an overall suppression of attention networks functionality.

Aberrant myelination of the cingulum and Schneiderian delusions in schizophrenia: a 7T magnetization transfer study

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (11) ◽  
pp. 1890-1896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Palaniyappan ◽  
Ali Al-Radaideh ◽  
Olivier Mougin ◽  
Tushar Das ◽  
Penny Gowland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Magnetization Transfer ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Magnetization Transfer Ratio ◽  
Cingulum Bundle ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Mri Study ◽  
Transfer Study

AbstractBackgroundThe structural integrity of the anterior cingulum has been repeatedly observed to be abnormal in patients with schizophrenia. More recently, aberrant myelination of frontal fasciculi, especially, cingulum has been proposed to underlie delayed corollary discharges that can affect sense of agency and contribute to delusions of control (Schneiderian delusions). Using the magnetization transfer phenomenon at an ultra-high field 7T MRI, we investigated the putative myelin content of cingulum bundle in patients with schizophrenia.MethodsSeventeen clinically stable patients with schizophrenia and 20 controls were recruited for this 7T MRI study. We used a region-of-interest method and extracted magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) from left and right dorsal cingulum bundles and estimated patients v. controls differences. We also related the cingulum MTR values to the severity of Schneiderian delusions.ResultsPatients had a significant reduction in the MTR, indicating reduced myelin content, in the cingulum bundle (right cingulum Hedges’ g = 0.91; left cingulum g = 0.03). The reduced MTR of left cingulum was associated with higher severity of Schneiderian delusions (τ = −0.45, p = 0.026) but no such relationship was seen for the right cingulum MTR (τ = −0.136, p = 0.50) among patients. The association between the left cingulum MTR and Schneiderian delusions was not explained by the presence of other delusions, hallucinations, disorganization or negative symptoms.ConclusionsDysmyelination of the cingulum bundle is seen in a subgroup of patients with schizophrenia and may be involved in the mechanism of Schneiderian delusions.

DMSA-scintigraphy in paediatrics: Is the evaluation of the geometric mean necessary for the calculation of the differential renal function?

2001 ◽  
Vol 40 (04) ◽  
pp. 107-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Roßmüller ◽  
S. Alalp ◽  
S. Fischer ◽  
S. Dresel ◽  
K. Hahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renal Function ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Posterior View ◽  
Renal Abnormality ◽  
Anterior View ◽  
Differential Renal Function ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Right ◽  
To Receive

SummaryFor assessment of differential renal function (PF) by means of static renal scintigraphy with Tc-99m-dimer-captosuccinic acid (DMSA) the calculation of the geometric mean of counts from the anterior and posterior view is recommended. Aim of this retrospective study was to find out, if the anterior view is necessary to receive an accurate differential renal function by calculating the geometric mean compared to calculating PF using the counts of the posterior view only. Methods: 164 DMSA-scans of 151 children (86 f, 65 m) aged 16 d to 16 a (4.7 ± 3.9 a) were reviewed. The scans were performed using a dual head gamma camera (Picker Prism 2000 XP, low energy ultra high resolution collimator, matrix 256 x 256,300 kcts/view, Zoom: 1.6-2.0). Background corrected values from both kidneys anterior and posterior were obtained. Using region of interest technique PF was calculated using the counts of the dorsal view and compared with the calculated geometric mean [SQR(Ctsdors x Ctsventr]. Results: The differential function of the right kidney was significantly less when compared to the calculation of the geometric mean (p<0.01). The mean difference between the PFgeom and the PFdors was 1.5 ± 1.4%. A difference > 5% (5.0-9.5%) was obtained in only 6/164 scans (3.7%). Three of 6 patients presented with an underestimated PFdors due to dystopic kidneys on the left side in 2 patients and on the right side in one patient. The other 3 patients with a difference >5% did not show any renal abnormality. Conclusion: The calculation of the PF from the posterior view only will give an underestimated value of the right kidney compared to the calculation of the geometric mean. This effect is not relevant for the calculation of the differntial renal function in orthotopic kidneys, so that in these cases the anterior view is not necesssary. However, geometric mean calculation to obtain reliable values for differential renal function should be applied in cases with an obvious anatomical abnormality.

Comparison of the efficiency of the indexes of Pont and Korkhause with Kernott technique in patients with narrowing of maxilla

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-203
Author(s):  
O. I. Admakin ◽  
I. A. Solop ◽  
A. D. Oksentyuk
Keyword(s):  
Dental Treatment ◽  
Standard Analysis ◽  
Clinical Hospital ◽  
Control Models ◽  
Diagnostic Models ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Asymmetry ◽  
The Right ◽  
The University ◽  
Medical University

Relevance. The narrowing of the maxilla is one of the most common pathologies in orthodontics. Recent studies show that the narrowing is always asymmetric which is connected to the rotation of the maxilla. To choose the treatment correctly one need a calculation that reveals the asymmetry, which is impossible with using standard indexes.Purpose – to compare efficiency of indexes of Pont and Korkhause with the Kernott's method in patients with narrowing of the maxilla.Materials and methods. The study involved 35 children aged from 8 to 12 years old undergoing dental treatment in the University Children's Clinical Hospital of the First Moscow State Medical University with no comorbidities. For every patient a gypsum model was prepared and after that to carry out the biometrical calculation. In this study two indexes were used: Pont's index and Korkhause's; using this standard analysis the narrowing of the maxilla was revealed. After using Pont's Index and Korkhaus analysis all the models were calculated by the method of Kernott with Kernott's dynamic pentagon.Results. As a result of the analysis of the control diagnostic models a narrowing of the maxilla in 69% of cases (n = 24) was revealed in all cases, the deviation of the size of the dentition was asymmetric. Thus, 65% of the surveyed models showed a narrowing on the right. This narrowing was of a different severity and averaged 15 control models.Conclusions. This shows that for the biometrics of diagnostic models it is necessary to use methods that allow to estimate the width of the dentition rows on the left and on the right separately. To correct the asymmetric narrowing of the dentition, it is preferable to use non-classical expanding devices that act equally on the left and right sides separetly.

scholarly journals Transcriptomic uniqueness and commonality of the ion channels and transporters in the four heart chambers

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanda Iacobas ◽  
Bogdan Amuzescu ◽  
Dumitru A. Iacobas
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Cycle Phase ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Expression Control ◽  
Gene Expression Control ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Phase Out ◽  
Right Atria ◽  
Agilent Microarrays

AbstractMyocardium transcriptomes of left and right atria and ventricles from four adult male C57Bl/6j mice were profiled with Agilent microarrays to identify the differences responsible for the distinct functional roles of the four heart chambers. Female mice were not investigated owing to their transcriptome dependence on the estrous cycle phase. Out of the quantified 16,886 unigenes, 15.76% on the left side and 16.5% on the right side exhibited differential expression between the atrium and the ventricle, while 5.8% of genes were differently expressed between the two atria and only 1.2% between the two ventricles. The study revealed also chamber differences in gene expression control and coordination. We analyzed ion channels and transporters, and genes within the cardiac muscle contraction, oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, calcium and adrenergic signaling pathways. Interestingly, while expression of Ank2 oscillates in phase with all 27 quantified binding partners in the left ventricle, the percentage of in-phase oscillating partners of Ank2 is 15% and 37% in the left and right atria and 74% in the right ventricle. The analysis indicated high interventricular synchrony of the ion channels expressions and the substantially lower synchrony between the two atria and between the atrium and the ventricle from the same side.

The role of visual experience for spatial numerical associations

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (0) ◽  
pp. 222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Proulx ◽  
Achille Pasqualotto ◽  
Shuichiro Taya
Keyword(s):  
Visual Experience ◽  
Opposite Effect ◽  
Random Number Generation ◽  
Number Line ◽  
Mental Number Line ◽  
Generation Task ◽  
Congenitally Blind ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right

The topographic representation of space interacts with the mental representation of number. Evidence for such number–space relations have been reported in both synaesthetic and non-synaesthetic participants. Thus far most studies have only examined related effects in sighted participants. For example, the mental number line increases in magnitude from left to right in sighted individuals (Loetscher et al., 2008, Curr. Biol.). What is unclear is whether this association arises from innate mechanisms or requires visual experience early in life to develop in this way. Here we investigated the role of visual experience for the left to right spatial numerical association using a random number generation task in congenitally blind, late blind, and blindfolded sighted participants. Participants orally generated numbers randomly whilst turning their head to the left and right. Sighted participants generated smaller numbers when they turned their head to the left than to the right, consistent with past results. In contrast, congenitally blind participants generated smaller numbers when they turned their head to the right than to the left, exhibiting the opposite effect. The results of the late blind participants showed an intermediate profile between that of the sighted and congenitally blind participants. Visual experience early in life is therefore necessary for the development of the spatial numerical association of the mental number line.

Abnormal prefrontal activity subserving attentional control of emotion in remitted depressed patients during a working memory task with emotional distracters

2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kerestes ◽  
C. D. Ladouceur ◽  
S. Meda ◽  
P. J. Nathan ◽  
H. P. Blumberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Depressed Patients ◽  
The Right

BackgroundPatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) show deficits in processing of facial emotions that persist beyond recovery and cessation of treatment. Abnormalities in neural areas supporting attentional control and emotion processing in remitted depressed (rMDD) patients suggests that there may be enduring, trait-like abnormalities in key neural circuits at the interface of cognition and emotion, but this issue has not been studied systematically.MethodNineteen euthymic, medication-free rMDD patients (mean age 33.6 years; mean duration of illness 34 months) and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HC; mean age 35.8 years) performed the Emotional Face N-Back (EFNBACK) task, a working memory task with emotional distracter stimuli. We used blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure neural activity in the dorsolateral (DLPFC) and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), ventral striatum and amygdala, using a region of interest (ROI) approach in SPM2.ResultsrMDD patients exhibited significantly greater activity relative to HC in the left DLPFC [Brodmann area (BA) 9/46] in response to negative emotional distracters during high working memory load. By contrast, rMDD patients exhibited significantly lower activity in the right DLPFC and left VLPFC compared to HC in response to positive emotional distracters during high working memory load. These effects occurred during accurate task performance.ConclusionsRemitted depressed patients may continue to exhibit attentional biases toward negative emotional information, reflected by greater recruitment of prefrontal regions implicated in attentional control in the context of negative emotional information.

scholarly journals Surface Evolution During Semiconductor Processing

VLSI Design ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 379-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ganesh Rajagopalan ◽  
Vadali Mahadev ◽  
Timothy S. Cale
Keyword(s):  
Riemann Problem ◽  
Surface Profile ◽  
Numerical Implementation ◽  
Jump Conditions ◽  
Semiconductor Processing ◽  
Explicit Integration ◽  
Surface Evolution ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Surface Angle

We discuss our approach to using the Riemann problem to compute surface profile evolution during the simulation of deposition, etch and reflow processes. Each pair of segments which represents the surface is processed sequentially. For cases in which both segments are the same material, the Riemann problem is solved. For cases in which the two segments are different materials, two Riemann problems are solved. The material boundary is treated as the right segment for the left material and as the left segment for the right material. The critical equations for the analyses are the characteristics of the Riemann problem and the ‘jump conditions’ which represent continuity of the surface. Examples are presented to demonstrate selected situations. One limitation of the approach is that the velocity of the surface is not known as a function of the surface angle. Rather, it is known for the angles of the left and right segments. The rate as a function of angle must be assumed for the explicit integration procedure used. Numerical implementation is briefly discussed.

scholarly journals Ventilation/perfusion mismatch during lung aeration at birth

2014 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin A. R. Lang ◽  
James T. Pearson ◽  
Arjan B. te Pas ◽  
Megan J. Wallace ◽  
Melissa L. Siew ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Arteries ◽  
Left Lung ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Lung Aeration ◽  
X Ray Imaging ◽  
Iodine Level ◽  
Pulmonary Shunting ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Near Term ◽  
The Right

At birth, the transition to newborn life is triggered by lung aeration, which stimulates a large increase in pulmonary blood flow (PBF). Current theories predict that the increase in PBF is spatially related to ventilated lung regions as they aerate after birth. Using simultaneous phase-contrast X-ray imaging and angiography we investigated the spatial relationships between lung aeration and the increase in PBF after birth. Six near-term (30-day gestation) rabbits were delivered by caesarean section, intubated and an intravenous catheter inserted, before they were positioned for X-ray imaging. During imaging, iodine was injected before ventilation onset, after ventilation of the right lung only, and after ventilation of both lungs. Unilateral ventilation increased iodine levels entering both left and right pulmonary arteries (PAs) and significantly increased heart rate, iodine ejection per beat, diameters of both left and right PAs, and number of visible vessels in both lungs. Within the 6th intercostal space, the mean gray level (relative measure of iodine level) increased from 68.3 ± 11.6 and 70.3 ± 7.5%·s to 136.3 ± 22.6 and 136.3 ± 23.7%·s in the left and right PAs, respectively. No differences were observed between vessels in the left and right lungs, despite the left lung not initially being ventilated. The increase in PBF at birth is not spatially related to lung aeration allowing a large ventilation/perfusion mismatch, or pulmonary shunting, to occur in the partially aerated lung at birth.

Handedness affects Emotional Valence Asymmetry

1989 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. McFarland ◽  
Robert Kennison
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Hemispheric Asymmetry ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Left Handed ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Asymmetry ◽  
The Right ◽  
Cerebral Processing

Music was played monaurally to 80 right-handed and 80 left-handed subjects. Right-handers reported more positive and less negative affect if the music was to the right ear. Left-handers reported experiencing more positive and less negative affect during music to the left ear. The hand × ear interaction was significant. The valence of emotional responses to the music seems influenced by a combination of at least two factors, (1) differences between left- and right-handers in the cerebral processing of emotional valence and (2) differences in the processing of emotional valence within each handedness group depending upon which hemisphere was initially most strongly engaged by the music. These results partially corroborate and extend the findings of previous studies in which briefer stimuli were presented tachistoscopically or dichotically. It is concluded that, while there is hemispheric asymmetry in the processing of emotional valence, the direction of the asymmetry may be associated with the handedness of the subjects.

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