scholarly journals Viewing images of snakes accelerates making judgements of their colour in humans: red snake effect as an instance of ‘emotional Stroop facilitation’

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 140066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Shibasaki ◽  
Tomoko Isomura ◽  
Nobuo Masataka
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Human Behaviour ◽  
Emotional Stroop ◽  
Biologically Relevant ◽  
Threatening Stimulus ◽  
Stroop Paradigm ◽  
Threatening Stimuli

One of the most prevalent current psychobiological notions about human behaviour and emotion suggests that prioritization of threatening stimuli processing induces deleterious effects on task performance. In order to confirm its relevancy, 108 adults and 25 children were required to name the colour of images of snakes and flowers, using the pictorial emotional Stroop paradigm. When reaction time to answer the colour of each stimulus was measured, its value was found to decrease when snake images were presented when compared with when flower images were presented. Thus, contrary to the expectation from previous emotional Stroop paradigm research, emotions evoked by viewing images of snakes as a biologically relevant threatening stimulus were found to be likely to exert a facilitating rather than interfering effect on making judgements of their colour.

Contribution of the Premotor Cortex to Consolidation of Motor Sequence Learning in Humans During Sleep

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (5) ◽  
pp. 2603-2614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Nitsche ◽  
Michaela Jakoubkova ◽  
Nivethida Thirugnanasambandam ◽  
Leonie Schmalfuss ◽  
Sandra Hullemann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Rem Sleep ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Motor Memory ◽  
Motor Sequence

Motor learning and memory consolidation require the contribution of different cortices. For motor sequence learning, the primary motor cortex is involved primarily in its acquisition. Premotor areas might be important for consolidation. In accordance, modulation of cortical excitability via transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS) during learning affects performance when applied to the primary motor cortex, but not premotor cortex. We aimed to explore whether premotor tDCS influences task performance during motor memory consolidation. The impact of excitability-enhancing, -diminishing, or placebo premotor tDCS during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep on recall in the serial reaction time task (SRTT) was explored in healthy humans. The motor task was learned in the evening. Recall was performed immediately after tDCS or the following morning. In two separate control experiments, excitability-enhancing premotor tDCS was performed 4 h after task learning during daytime or immediately before conduction of a simple reaction time task. Excitability-enhancing tDCS performed during REM sleep increased recall of the learned movement sequences, when tested immediately after stimulation. REM density was enhanced by excitability-increasing tDCS and reduced by inhibitory tDCS, but did not correlate with task performance. In the control experiments, tDCS did not improve performance. We conclude that the premotor cortex is involved in motor memory consolidation during REM sleep.

Behavioral consequence of painful electric shock

1962 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Dinnerstein ◽  
M. Lowenthal
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Choice Reaction Time ◽  
Shock Intensity ◽  
Electric Shock ◽  
September 11 ◽  
Laboratory Simulation ◽  
Painful Electric Shock ◽  
Pathological Pain ◽  
The Difference

Choice reaction time and hand steadiness were studied under conditions in which correct performance of a task produced painful electric shock. Task performance deteriorated in response to shock. Deterioration was greater when shock was applied to the active hand than when applied to the passive hand. The hand steadiness test also involved variation in shock intensity and administration of aspirin or placebo. Tremor increased with shock intensity, and aspirin decreased the difference in performance between shock and nonshock trials. The methods employed offer a means of laboratory simulation of disability produced by pathological pain and a possible means of evaluation of analgesic effectiveness. Submitted on September 11, 1961

scholarly journals Stop-Signal Reaction-Time Task Performance: Role of Prefrontal Cortex and Subthalamic Nucleus

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Eagle ◽  
C. Baunez ◽  
D. M. Hutcheson ◽  
O. Lehmann ◽  
A. P. Shah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Reaction Time ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Subthalamic Nucleus ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Stop Signal ◽  
Time Task ◽  
Stop Signal Reaction Time

Effects of Frontalis Tension Level on Discrimination Task Accuracy and Reaction Time

1988 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen C. Moran ◽  
Patrick J. Cleary
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Relaxation Training ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Muscle Relaxation ◽  
Frontalis Muscle ◽  
Tension Level ◽  
Training Programmes

The frontalis muscle is a Focal point of many relaxation training programmes, so the effects of varying frontalis tension levels on concurrent task performance need consideration when recommending in situ muscle relaxation. Two experiments are reported; performance on a discrimination task was examined across high, moderate, and low induced frontalis tension. When length of exposure to the task stimuli was unlimited, accuracy of discrimination was affected by tension; when exposure was limited, reaction time was affected. In both experiments the high frontalis tension resulted in better performance than the other levels. Implications for the practice of in situ relaxation are considered.

Effects of reaction time variability and age on brain activity during Stroop task performance

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 609-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Tam ◽  
Angela C. Luedke ◽  
Jeremy J. Walsh ◽  
Juan Fernandez-Ruiz ◽  
Angeles Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Stroop Task ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Reaction Time Variability
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document