scholarly journals Reduction of auditory input improves performance on the heartbeat tracking task, but does not necessarily enhance interoception

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Todd ◽  
Farah Hina ◽  
Jane E Aspell

Previous research utilising a between-subjects design has indicated that the use of noise-dampening ear-protectors might enhance interoceptive accuracy (IAcc). In the present study, we further examined this effect using a repeated-measures, within-participants design, and investigated potential mechanisms that might explain the effect. 50 participants completed the heartbeat tracking task (HTT) with and without the use of industrial ear-protectors, in a counter-balanced order. Participants were asked to count the number of heartbeats occurring in five discrete time intervals of 25, 35, 45, 55 and 95 seconds, without feeling for a manual pulse. HTT scores were significantly higher when ear-protectors were worn, and the improvement in performance was greatest for participants with lower baseline IAcc. The ear-protectors were associated with significantly increased self-reported heartbeat audibility, task-related confidence and concentration, and decreased levels of distractibility. Heartbeat audibility was also correlated with HTT performance when the ear-protectors were worn. Because the use of industrial ear defenders resulted in increased heartbeat audibility, this manipulation should not be used to assess causal hypotheses related to changes in IAcc. However, it may serve as a simple, non-invasive manipulation to assess the effects of externalised interoceptive signals.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Magdalena Ferstl ◽  
Vanessa Teckentrup ◽  
Wy Ming Lin ◽  
Franziska Kräutlein ◽  
Anne Kühnel ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Mood plays an important role in our life which is illustrated by the disruptive impact of aberrant mood states in depression. Although vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been shown to improve symptoms of depression, the exact mechanism is still elusive, and it is an open question whether non-invasive VNS could be used to swiftly and robustly improve mood. Methods Here, we investigated the effect of left- and right-sided transcutaneous auricular VNS (taVNS) v. a sham control condition on mood after the exertion of physical and cognitive effort in 82 healthy participants (randomized cross-over design) using linear mixed-effects and hierarchical Bayesian analyses of mood ratings. Results We found that 90 min of either left-sided or right-sided taVNS improved positive mood [b = 5.11, 95% credible interval, CI (1.39–9.01), 9.6% improvement relative to the mood intercept, BF10 = 7.69, pLME = 0.017], yet only during the post-stimulation phase. Moreover, lower baseline scores of positive mood were associated with greater taVNS-induced improvements in motivation [r = −0.42, 95% CI (−0.58 to −0.21), BF10 = 249]. Conclusions We conclude that taVNS boosts mood after a prolonged period of effort exertion with concurrent stimulation and that acute motivational effects of taVNS are partly dependent on initial mood states. Collectively, our results show that taVNS may help quickly improve affect after a mood challenge, potentially by modulating interoceptive signals contributing to the reappraisal of effortful behavior. This suggests that taVNS could be a useful add-on to current behavioral therapies.


1987 ◽  
Vol 66 (9) ◽  
pp. 1512-1515 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.D. Simmons ◽  
R.N. Moore ◽  
L.C. Erickson

Palatine rugae have been used as internal dental cast reference points for quantification of tooth migration. Some, but not all, investigators have reported the medial rugal region to be stable or to show predictable change. The purpose of this study was to use the longitudinal data base of the Child Research Council of Denver to examine the anteroposterior stability of the medial rugal region. Dental casts of 20 females and 21 males with untreated normal Angle Class I occlusions were selected. Time intervals measured were: T1 — primary teeth erupted, T2 — earliest cast with permanent first molars erupted, T3 - earliest cast with canines and pre-molars erupted, and T4 — ages 16 to 22. Distinctive left and right anterior and posterior rugae which appeared on all four casts were identified, the medial ends marked, and the anteroposterior distances measured. The data were evaluated with the paired t test, repeated-measures AN-OVA, and Tukey's multiple comparison procedure. From T1 - T4, the medial rugal region increased 1.4±0.6 mm in females and 2.3±0.8 mm in males. Only two cases showed a trend toward stability. There were no significant differences by side. Significant increases in size occurred between T2 and T3 for females and males and between T3 and T4 for males. Analysis of these data indicates that the medial rugal region increases significantly in anteroposterior length, but not uniformly between the sexes across observation times. Such changes are characteristic of general craniofacial growth and suggest that the rugal region is responding to the differential growth of the underlying bone. Therefore, medial rugal landmarks appear not to be stable reference points for tooth migration research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa E. Mash ◽  
Kimberly B. Schauder ◽  
Channing Cochran ◽  
Sohee Park ◽  
Carissa J. Cascio

Interoceptive awareness is linked to emotional and social cognition, which are impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is unknown how this ability is associated with age in either typical or atypical development. We used a standard test of interoceptive accuracy (IA) to investigate these questions in children and adults with and without ASD. Perceived number of heartbeats over 4 time intervals was compared with actual heart rate to determine IA. Effects of group, age, IQ, heart rate, and mental counting ability on accuracy were assessed using multiple regression. Post hoc correlations were performed to clarify significant interactions. Age was unrelated to IA in both groups when IQ ≥115. When IQ <115, this relationship was positive in typical development and negative in ASD. These results suggest that cognitive ability moderates the effect of age on IA differently in autism and typical development.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Shoemark ◽  
R. Wilson

Bronchiectasis is characterised by neutrophilic bronchial inflammation. Direct measurement of lung inflammation would be useful to assess disease activity, guide need for treatment, and monitor response. The aim of this study was to test whether exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH, a simple noninvasive test, provides a clinically useful measure of inflammation in the lungs of patients with bronchiectasis. 96 consecutively referred patients were studied when clinically stable, 20 followed up over two years, and a further 22 patients seen during an exacerbation. Subjects breathed tidally for 10 minutes into a condensing chamber (Ecoscreen, Erich Jaeger, Hoechberg, Germany). pH in EBC was measured immediately using a pH probe. In a representative group of 25 patients samples were deaerated with argon gas. This was to control for variations in pH ex vivo by removing CO2. EBC was acidic in bronchiectasis patients () compared to controls () and primary ciliary dyskinesia patients (). pH was related to lung volume but not disease severity. Repeated measures show EBC pH changes with symptoms. EBC is further acidified during an exacerbation of bronchiectasis (), this acidification persists following treatment (). EBC pH is not sufficiently sensitive or specific to monitor patients' health status or provide information to inform acute treatment decisions.


Earlier work from this laboratory has concerned the possible use of phosphorus n.m.r. as a method to monitor, in a non-invasive manner, the biochemical state of the perfused heart as a function of its mechanical performance. We showed that a simulated coronary infarction could be detected by 31 P n.m.r. (Hollis et al 1978 a and that hypothermia and KC1 arrest could preserve the pH and the ATP levels at more nearly normal values than in a non-arrested heart during long periods (40 min) of ischaemia (Hollis et al . 1978 b ).More recently it was shown that multiple doses of KC1, given at intervals, were more effective in this respect than was a single dose (Flaherty et al . 1979). These studies essentially followed the kinetics of transitions of the heart between two or more distinct physiological states (i.e. normoxic and ischaemic, with or without KC1 arrest) by observation of the 31 P n.m.r. spectra at various time intervals over periods of up to 1 h. As described in detail and demonstrated in Dr Truman Brown’s contribution to these discussions, the rates of chemical exchange reactions occurring in a steady state can be measured by the techniques of saturation transfer in various biological systems, including perfused hearts.


Diagnostics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Vigo ◽  
Leonardo Taroni ◽  
Federico Bernabei ◽  
Marco Pellegrini ◽  
Stefano Sebastiani ◽  
...  

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate changes of signs and symptoms in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) treated with intense regulated pulsed light (IRPL), and to further investigate which parameter could predict positive outcomes of the procedure. Twenty-eight patients who bilaterally received three IRPL sessions at day 1, 15, and 45 satisfied the criteria and were included in the study. Non-invasive break-up time (NIBUT), lipid layer thickness (LLT), meibography, tear osmolarity, and ocular discomfort symptoms were measured before and 30 days after the last IRPL session. Qualified or complete success was defined in the presence of an improvement of symptoms associated with an increase of NIBUT (< or ≥ 20%). After IRPL treatment, median NIBUT and LLT increased from 7.5 to 10.2 s and 2.0 to 3.0, respectively (p <0.001); tear osmolarity decreased from 304.0 to 301.0 mOsm/L (p = 0.002). Subjective symptoms improved after IRPL in 26 patients. Qualified success was reached in 34 eyes, while complete success in 16 eyes. Patients with lower baseline break-up time (BUT) values showed better response to treatment (p = 0.04). In conclusion, IRPL improved signs and symptoms in MGD patients, while lower baseline NIBUT values were predictive of better response to IRPL.


Author(s):  
Gary P. Latham ◽  
Lorne M. Sulsky ◽  
Heather MacDonald

A distinguishing feature of performance management relative to performance appraisal is that the former is an ongoing process whereas the latter is done at discrete time intervals (e.g. annually). Ongoing coaching is an integral aspect of performance management. Performance appraisal is the time period in which to summarize the overall progress that an individual or team has made as a result of being coached, and to agree on the new goals that should be set. Common to the performance management/appraisal process are the four following steps. First, desired job performance must be defined. Second, an individual's performance on the job must be observed. Is the person or team's performance excellent, superior, satisfactory, or unacceptable? Third, feedback is provided and specific challenging goals are set as to what the person or team should start doing, stop doing, or be doing differently. Fourth, a decision is made regarding retaining, rewarding, training, transferring, promoting, demoting, or terminating the employmemt of an individual.


2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Brehme ◽  
U. Stollberg ◽  
R. Holz ◽  
T. Schleusener

Without sensor-aided animal data measuring systems far fewer oestrus cycles are recognized because cycle length, oestrus duration and oestrus intensity have developed negatively at high animal performance rates. This development makes it eminently clear that observation of the mating season in the dairy cattle sector is even more important than assumed so far if the financial losses due to insufficient herd fertility are not to become a business problem. Electronic identification and measuring systems represent key technologies for progressive automation in animal husbandry in modern, future-oriented livestock farming. Suitable objective measuring systems are needed in animals husbandry to quickly and safely recognize animal illness, normal oestrus cycle, silent heat or suffering from stress. Pedometer and transponder from different companies play an important role for measuring from animals data and statements in animals health and oestrus monitoring. Modern sensors (sensors, bio sensors), increasingly non-invasive measuring and transfer methods make crucial improvements in the potential for measuring animal data. A new type of pedometer, called ALT pedometer, for three measurement parameters (activity, lying time, temperature), a real time watch and a change measuring time interval was developed. With this system it is possible to select different time intervals between 1 and 60 min for continuous measuring. The results for oestrus detection are excellent. The high correspondence between the measuring parameters activity and lying time allow a statement to be made early and safely on animal illnesses and the time of the oestrus cycle.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinayak Smith ◽  
Senthuran Arunthavanathan ◽  
Amrish Nair ◽  
Diane Ansermet ◽  
Fabricio da Silva Costa ◽  
...  

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rey ◽  
Atxaerandio ◽  
Ruiz ◽  
Ugarte ◽  
González-Recio ◽  
...  

The aim of this trial was to study the agreement between the non-dispersive infrared methane analyzer (NDIR) method and the hand held laser methane detector (LMD). Methane (CH4) was measured simultaneously with the two devices totaling 164 paired measurements. The repeatability of the CH4 concentration was greater with the NDIR (0.42) than for the LMD (0.23). However, for the number of peaks, repeatability of the LMD was greater (0.20 vs. 0.14, respectively). Correlation was moderately high and positive for CH4 concentration (0.73 and 0.74, respectively) and number of peaks (0.72 and 0.72, respectively), and the repeated measures correlation and the individual-level correlation were high (0.98 and 0.94, respectively). A moderate concordance correlation coefficient was observed for the CH4 concentration (0.62) and for the number of peaks (0.66). A moderate-high coefficient of individual agreement for the CH4 concentration (0.83) and the number of peaks (0.77) were observed. However, CH4 concentrations population means and all variance components differed between instruments. In conclusion, methane concentration measurements obtained by means of NDIR and LMD cannot be used interchangeably. The joint use of both methods could be considered for genetic selection purposes or for mitigation strategies only if sources of disagreement, which result in different between-subject and within-subject variabilities, are identified and corrected for.


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