The Influence of Noise in the Neurofeedback Training Sessions in Student Athletes

Considering that athletes constantly practice and compete in noisy environments, the aim was to investigate if performing neurofeedback training in these conditions would yield better results in performance than in silent ones. A total of forty-five student athletes aged from 18 to 35 years old and divided equally into three groups participated in the experiment (mean ± SD for age: 22.02 ± 3.05 years). The total neurofeedback session time for each subject was 300 min and were performed twice a week. The environment in which the neurofeedback sessions were conducted did not seem to have a significant impact on the training’s success in terms of alpha relative amplitude changes (0.04 ± 0.08 for silent room versus 0.07 ± 0.28 for noisy room, p = 0.740). However, the group exposed to intermittent noise appears to have favourable results in all performance assessments (p = 0.005 for working memory and p = 0.003 for reaction time). The results of the study suggested that performing neurofeedback training in an environment with intermittent noise can be interesting to athletes. Nevertheless, it is imperative to perform a replicated crossover design.

The Visual, Auditory, and Physical Environment of Livestock Handling Facilities and Its Effect on Ease of Movement of Cattle, Pigs, and Sheep

The visual, auditory, and physical environment livestock are handled in will have an effect on the ease of movement through races and corrals that are used for veterinary treatment, loading trucks or at slaughter houses. When livestock refuse to move easily through a handling facility, people are more likely to use electric goads (prods) or other aversive methods to move them forward. This is a major animal welfare concern. Modification of the environment can improve livestock movement and reduce aversive handling methods. In existing facilities used for handling cattle, pigs or sheep, simple changes such as, adding a light to a dark race entrance or reducing loud intermittent noise may improve livestock movement. Eliminating distractions such as, a noisy truck near a lairage can also facilitate cattle movement and reduce stopping or turning back. In an outdoor facility, sharp shadows on the floor were more likely to be associated with cattle stopping compared to no shadows or soft faint shadows. The installation of small solid walls to prevent approaching animals from seeing either moving equipment, vehicles or people in front of them may also improve forward livestock movement. Non-slip flooring is essential to prevent slipping and falling during handling. Rebuilding or completely redesigning an existing facility is often not required. Outcome based indicators should be used to assess continuous improvements in handling. Some of the commonly used measurable of handling are slipping and falling, stopping, turning back, vocalization during handling and electric prod use. Collecting data both before and after an environmental modification can be used to determine its effectiveness.

Chronic cerebral venous dysfunction: diagnostic and treatment-and-prophylactic aspects

As a continuation of the topic of the article in the previous issue of the International Neurological Journal, which presents an analytical review of domestic and foreign studies on the syndrome of chronic cerebral venous dysfunction (SСCVD), this section discusses the classification of pathology, key issues of diagnosis and treatment. It is noted that in Ukraine and in most countries of the post-Soviet space, clinical classifications of M.Ya. Berdychevsky and A.V. Shemagonov are still used, where clinical forms, etiological factors, stages and types of the pathology were identified. In the ICD-10, venous cerebral insufficiency may correspond to the following chapters: G46, I87.8, I98, I99. Diagnosis of SCСVD, first of all, is based on a clinical assessment. Having quite characteristic general clinical symptoms, the pathology nevertheless differs in certain features of the course. Most often patients with SCСVD complain of chronic stabbing, monotonous headache, a feeling of heaviness in the head and so on. In addition, most patients have constant or intermittent noise in the head, ears, dizziness and vertigo. Additional verification methods are ultrasound examination of the vessels of the head and neck, plethysmography, magnetic resonance angiography. Since SCСVD is not an independent unit, the treatment of this pathology primarily requires the elimination of the underlying disease that provoked cerebral venous discirculation. As important preventive and curative measures, non-drug methods that reduce congestion in the body should be considered: regular physical activity, dosed exercises for the spine, various types of massage and physiotherapy, reflexology. It is important to adhere to a certain diet and quality of food. Among venotonic drugs, there are those of plant origin (flavonoids and saponins), synthetic agents, combined drugs.

The Effects of Onset and Offset Masking on the Time Course of Non-Native Spoken-Word Recognition in Noise

Using the visual-word paradigm, the present study investigated the effects of word onset and offset masking on the time course of non-native spoken-word recognition in the presence of background noise. In two experiments, Dutch non-native listeners heard English target words, preceded by carrier sentences that were noise-free (Experiment 1) or contained intermittent noise (Experiment 2). Target words were either onset- or offset-masked or not masked at all. Results showed that onset masking delayed target word recognition more than offset masking did, suggesting that – similar to natives – non-native listeners strongly rely on word onset information during word recognition in noise.